Chiefs News: Kansas City could take Harrison Butker off of kickoffs

Probably the most important guidelines change to the NFL shall be seen the second the brand new season begins.

In March, the league introduced a sweeping change to kickoffs for the 2024 season aimed toward considerably rising the variety of returns. We covered the specifics of the novel distinction from the outdated guidelines.

After the Kansas City Chiefs concluded their organized-team-activity (OTA) session on Thursday, assistant head coach and particular groups coordinator Dave Toub mentioned how the workforce is making ready for the change.

Saying one of many league’s longest-tenured special-teams minds is happy could be an understatement. It’s nearly as if Toub has rediscovered a misplaced good friend in kickoff formations.

“I didn’t work on kickoffs,” he said of latest seasons, “as a result of we had been simply going to kick a touchback. All of my time was spent on punts, punt returns, discipline objectives, and discipline purpose blocks. That is large. It’s going to create jobs for returners…Final yr, there have been 1970 touchbacks all through a 17-game season. Now, we expect there’s going to be 1600 extra precise soccer performs…It’s going to be thrilling for the followers and the gamers — they’re enthusiastic about it too.”

Because the Chiefs put together for the season, the brand new rule — modified from final yr’s XFL season — closely drives Toub’s part of practices.

“With out giving every part away,” he defined, “we’re attempting to get the ball on the bottom away from the returners as fast as potential as a result of that’s when the kickoff workforce and the kickoff return workforce can go: as quickly because the ball hits the bottom within the goal zone, not when it’s touched. In contrast to the XFL — they waited till the ball was touched earlier than they went. That’s a serious distinction between our rule and the XFL rule.”

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An impact of the brand new formation that disallows most motion till a kickoff is fielded shall be a rise of kickers having to make a sort out because the final line of protection. Toub mentioned what could possibly be a serious benefit for the Chiefs this season: the power of security Justin Reid to rotate in on kicking duties. Don’t be shocked if Reid is incessantly a most popular choice to longtime placekicker Harrison Butker on most kickoffs.

“I’d wish to have someone who can return and is ready to make a sort out,” the coach confirmed. “Butker is ready to make a sort out, however I actually don’t need him making tackles all yr lengthy. Should you watch the XFL — we watched each play — I’ll wager kickers had been concerned in no less than 25 to 40 % of the tackles: both attempting to make a man bounce again or making the sort out itself or simply lacking the sort out.”

The Chiefs are discovering they could have but another choice for kickoffs: former rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, who joined the club earlier this offseason by way of the Worldwide Participant Pathway.

Whereas the Welsh-born Rees-Zammit is clearly uncooked in comparison with his seasoned friends, Toub praised his efforts each on kickoffs and return reps.

“Louis has achieved above and past what I anticipated,” stated Toub. “He can kick discipline objectives. He generally is a kickoff man for us. He’s each bit nearly as good as Justin is transferring the soccer on kickoffs. He’s actually working laborious on the returner job. I’ve acquired him in there as a starter now, so he will get as many reps as he can.”

Picture by Jamie Squire/Getty Pictures

Nonetheless, there shall be conditions the place Butker’s reliability shall be prioritized.

“He’s acquired a number of skill to maneuver the ball,” Toub noticed, “whereas the opposite guys will not be as apt to doing that. He can nonetheless kick a touchback if we’d like it.”

Touchbacks now start an opponent possession on the 30-yard line, which Toub estimates makes groups three % extra more likely to rating. The always-thorough coach, nonetheless, is aware of the scenario that might nonetheless name for placing the ball into the tip zone.

“Should you’re attempting to get out of a sport,” he defined. “You’re up [and] you don’t need to surrender the potential of a giant return in opposition to you. You simply say, ‘Hey, we’re going to surrender the 5 yards and provides them the ball on the 30.’”

Followers may have a serious adjustment to a brand new kickoff that sees hangtime rendered meaningless. Toub elaborated on a few of the new issues that would see opponent drives beginning on the 40-yard line if not practiced.

“Now,” he famous, “it’s about accuracy, seeing what you might be getting and the way the returners are lined up, and attempting to kick away from them within the corners. You possibly can’t take an excessive amount of of a danger as a result of in the event you hit it out of bounds, now you might be giving the ball up on the 40. Should you hit in need of the goal zone, you’re giving to ball up on the 40.”

Because the season attracts nearer, it will likely be essential to contemplate that gamers and even skilled coaches are getting a crash course on the brand new rule.

“Each time we observe, we study one thing new,” Toub revealed. “I drew up a play — and it appears to be like nice on paper — and you’ll’t do it. You possibly can’t get sure blocks you assume you may get to. So that you throw it out, and it’s the subsequent factor. I’ve been doing this for a very long time with the outdated kickoff return stuff for a interval of years. Now we’re placing on this entire kickoff system in an offseason.

“The workforce that figures it out — kickoff-wise and kickoff return-wise — goes to actually excel early. We need to be that workforce.”