The 2023-24 league year

daves

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I'm a fan. Although I wish they would have allowed the 4th and 20 rule instead of an onside kick.
This... and I hate that onside kicks are only allowed in the 4th quarter and must be declared! They should've figured out a way for the kicking team to retain possession - with about a 10% likelihood of success - while still lining up in the same formation. Maybe if they expanded the "landing zone" out to the 30 yard line and made the kick a live ball that could be recovered by either team, kickers could develop the skill to have the ball bounce high and nearly straight up, giving the kicking team a chance to recover. :shrug:

Other than that, it looks as though it will be a reasonably exciting way to put the ball in play, which still looks like a football play, though the rules seem overly complex.
 

BullheadCardFan

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“We used to say, when the referee would come and face you and say, ‘After discussion it was determined there was no intentional grounding,’” McKay said. “You’re gonna change this year. When the replay assistant actually does say something or impact the referee, the referee is going to say, “After consultation with the replay assistant the flag is picked up. . . .

“We’re gonna try to make it clear to you at home and you in the stadium what’s going on because . . . it’s one thing for the people at home and begin to think things, but people in the stadium don’t know either. So our idea was to be very clear and very transparent on what is impacting the call and why.”
 

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So if the team that scores a touchdown opts for the traditional one-point try, what’s the downside to sending players aggressively after the kicker, with a directive to go all out for the block and not worry about crashing into him? The penalty, whether five yards for running into the kicker or 15 for roughing the kicker, will mean nothing to the ensuing kickoff.

Hopefully, teams won’t deliberately try to injure the kicker. That said, it would potentially be open season on hitting them during or after a kick, because there will be no fear of a significant downside. Once kickers realize it’s coming, they might get even skittish before the kick — making a miss more likely. And if, through the application of a clean, legal hit the kicker is unable to continue in a given game, the kicking team will potentially have a hard time placing the ball in the 20-yard landing zone with a backup kicker.
 
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