The NFL Owner’s Meetings are this week in Minneapolis and JP Finlay on the scene, and here’s one of the things he’s hearing they are discussing: a new idea that on kickoff returns, a player can call for a fair catch anywhere inside the 25-yard line and get his team the ball at the 25, as if it were a touchback.
It’s one of many competition changes the league is discussing, this one under the guise of player safety and concussion avoidance…but Brian Mitchell, who made his living as a return man, thinks ‘it’s a bunch of crap.’
“I would love to speak to them. Colt McCoy did not play kickoff return, did he? All the linemen who got concussions last year did not play kickoff return, did they?” Brian asked. “Why is it that they’re still trying to act as if this is where all the concussions are coming from? There’s a person every week going down on all sides of the ball, but people heart that narrative and fall for it – and that’s a bunch of crap!”
According to JP, special teams players across the league are against it, and Ravens coach John Harbaugh is apparently the leader of a coach pushback that includes Bill Belichick, Sean Payton, and Dan Campbell.
“They understand that if I kick the ball, I have a kicker who can kick the ball with some hang time,” BMitch said. “If you catch it at the five, we’re going to tackle you inside the damn 25, and they understand that those five or 10 yards you may not get makes it harder to score a touchdown! We don’t want to just give you the ball on the 25, but you have these coaches who don’t coach special teams, and those lazy asses just want to sit there and accept it, because they don’t know how to change things up.”
Mitchell explained how coaches can change kickoff coverages and returns based on the flow of the game, but it’s those who don’t want, care, or know how to, who benefit from the rule.
“Coaches are getting bailed out because they lack the skill to get their guys ready to go,” Mitchell said.
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