NFL’s new touchback rule is backfiring and the Broncos are trying to adjust

Source: www.denverpost.com --- Thursday, August 25, 2016
The last time the Broncos returned a kickoff for a touchdown feels like ancient history. Trindon Holliday, a 5-foot-5 mighty mite, ran 105 yards through a crowd of head-hunting Philadelphia Eagles defenders from deep in his end zone to the other coast in 2013. There were, amazingly, two kickoff returns longer than Holliday’s that season, a 109-yarder and another for 108. Fans may never see it again. If the NFL has its way, the return will go the way of leather helmets and a coach’s fedora, a relic of a long-ago game. Safety is the goal. Kickoffs are among the most dangerous plays in football, with two groups of 11 large men running full speed at each other, many of them young players trying to make a big hit to make a big impression on their coaches. So the NFL, for the second time in five years, tweaked its return rules. But instead of eliminating the kickoff altogether, the NFL is trying to nudge teams into doing it themselves. And the idea is backfiring. Related Articles August 25, 2016 Broncos have more questions to answer than quarterbacks Saturday against Rams August 24, 2016 Broncos quarterbacks eager to clean up mistakes, but won’t be “trigger-shy” August 23, 2016 A New Era: How Broncos players, coaches are navigating QB competition The NFL’s new kickoff rule — which moved touchbacks from the 20-yard line to the 25-yard line — is having the opposite effect of the league’s intended impact. Instead of kick returners staying ...

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