http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bill-belichick-isnt-bending-to-nfl-kickoff-rule-and-others-may-follow-suit-001819719.html
I got a push notification on my phone about this story with the amazingly shitty headline of (paraphrasing) "Belichick eschews player safety on kickoffs"
I got a push notification on my phone about this story with the amazingly shitty headline of (paraphrasing) "Belichick eschews player safety on kickoffs"
Courtesy of a field goal, the New England Patriots had just taken a 23-21 lead against the Arizona Cardinals with less than four minutes remaining in Sunday’s game.
The ensuing kickoff was next. It’s a play the NFL is trying to, if not eliminate, at least minimize due to safety concerns. Having 11 players charge down a field and collide with 11 others – blockers or ball carrier – makes the kickoff one of football’s most dangerous plays. This decade the league has implemented rules to make touchbacks more common, mostly by moving the kickoff spot up to make it easier to boot the ball in, or through, the end zone. As such, violent contact becomes more rare.