By its very nature, it’s a disruption.
Architecture has never been better than it was in the 1930s.
Cars have never been more stylish than they were in the late ’60s.
Movies reached their zenith in the ’80s.
That goes double for pro football.
The powers that be took a league that had achieved near perfection, and they meddled with it.
They added the watered down product that is Thursday Night Football.
Admittedly, the kickoff rule that debuted at the Hall of Fame Game is just the latest.
My default setting will always be to prefer rules that any idiot can understand.
The longest of the eight was returned to the 31-yard line.
Three were brought back to the 26.
One was a touchback that came out to the 30.
The average starting position was the 25.6-yard line.
It’s just one game, but there was a noticeable lack of explosive plays.
It even caught Bears Hall of Fame returner Devin Hester off guard.
“You know, that’s shocking.
But hey, it’s the first game.
But right now – it’s kinda shaky right now.
We’ll see.”
“We’ll see” is right.
But if nothing else, if no other factor is considered, at least these were actual plays.
The football being caught and run with.
Blocks being thrown and shed.
Ballcarriers being pursued and tackled.
Which is something we’ve seen far too seldom since the last time the league tinkered with the kickoff.
The result is a good 10 minutes between competitive plays.
When that’s the case almost eight out of 10 times, it’s too much.
It’s sand being thrown on the ice.
And for the immediate future, it’ll be interesting to see different teams' approaches.
So I think it will increase the size of the players that are on the field.
One can only hope.
