The NFL kickoff rules implemented this year have been a polarizing topic and Fox NFL analyst Greg Olsen sees another impact that they may have on the game.
Olsen appeared on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina and talked about the ease in which teams are able to convert short drives into field goals, see the incredible Denver Broncos comeback win over the New York Giants last weekend.
Greg Olsen was asked by Traina that teams barely need any time at the end of a game to make a comeback thanks to the two trends squeezing the field. And that’s when Olsen said that NFL teams should make a major adjustment to their strategies and abandon the idea of short field goals because of the ease of scoring after a kickoff.
.@gregolsen88 talks about coaches having to adapt their strategies for field goals lately 👀
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“As an offensive coordinator, I’m saying, sure I’ve got three points, but I don’t want to kickoff. Kicking off stinks unless you score a touchdown. So I’m not going to kick the field goal because my three points is not worth giving you the ball at the 35 yard line. That’s 30 yards of field position, and all I got was three points added. I’d rather you have the ball at the minus 5 and I don’t get any points, than give you the ball at the 35 and you’re a first down and a half away from getting your three points right back,” Olsen said.
“We’re going to see teams saying, ‘you know what, I’m not kicking 30 yard field goals anymore. Those days are over. Because I don’t want to kick off.'”
It’s a fascinating point from Greg Olsen. The NFL adopted the kickoff rule from the XFL after trying to find a way for years to make the kickoff a more exciting and relevant part of the game instead of an automatic touchback. But it’s come at the same time as kickers are making longer field goals at incredibly accurate rates, leaving offenses with very little to actually achieve when it comes to scoring three points.
The numbers prove that is indeed the case. Kickers are making more field goals from over 50 yards than ever before with the highest four seasons coming in the last four years consecutively. Total field goals made per game has also never been higher as the average percentage for kickers stands at 84.5%, just off the all-time high.
On kickoffs, the touchback rate has fallen out of the sky from 64.3% to just 15.8% in one year with the more severe punishment to the kicking team for a touchback.
At the same time, passing yards and total yards from offenses are way down from their peak. NFL teams are averaging almost 30 yards less per game through the air compared to the record set ten years ago (214.8 vs 243.8) and at their lowest level since 2005. Total yards are at their lowest since 2008 at 327.3 yards per game by a team.
Add it all up and teams are doing less to score more than ever before. Right now, the game doesn’t seem properly balanced, at least not as it has historically. If NFL teams are encouraged to forget about short field goals because of concerns about kickoffs, it may throw that balance even further out of whack.
But perhaps that would further play to the NFL’s liking because more fourth down plays in the redzone would certainly bring additional excitement. If it does become a major strategic talking point, it would also make that aspect a lot more interesting. And if the NFL and other sports have proven anything, it’s all about the entertainment value. So if long field goals and short fields deliver on that front, it’ll likely stick around.
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