Apparently moving kickoffs from the 30 yard line to the 35 yard line a few years ago didn’t take things far enough for at least some NFL owners. Via profootballtalk.com:
“The Competition Committee announced today that owners will vote at next week’s league meeting on whether to move kickoffs again, this time to the 40-yard line.
“According to the Competition Committee, this is a rule proposal designed to take player safety into consideration: Moving the kickoff will result in more touchbacks, fewer returns and therefore fewer collisions. The NFL in recent years has identified kickoffs as some of the most dangerous plays in the game of football.”
I will never understand this. There is a proposal to to move the extra point back to the 25 yard line because the almost automatic kick from the 3 yard line is too boring and a waste of time. But is there a bigger, more boring waste of time than a touchback on a kickoff?
Either the play is too dangerous or it isn’t. If it isn’t they should have the kickoffs from the 30 yard line and let the players play. If it is, the owners should stop playing around and eliminate it.