New kickoff fair catch rule?

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- 07/25/2018 at 8:49 PM #61652
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  Tony (admin)
  Admin/Founder
  
  @admin
  
  Listening to the KW interview in the previous post (thanks KiYi-Ute) they mentioned that players can now fair catch a kickoff. And it sounds like IF they fair catch the kickoff the ball will be placed at the 25. Is this correct?
- 07/25/2018 at 9:02 PM #61654
  
  jamarcus24
  Ute Fan
  
  @jamarcus24
  
  You could always fair catch a kick off but the ball would be spotted where it was caught. The new rule is if a player signals a fair catch inside the 25 then it’s considered a touchback.
  - 07/25/2018 at 9:08 PM #61655
    
    PlainsUte
    Ute Fan
    
    @plainsute
    
    One thing this does is reduce the effectiveness of an accurate kickoff specialist. Not a big part of the game but I always thought it’d be good if the kicker could kick high so the ball would land inside the 10 and off to one side of the field. The returner would want to return it but the kick being high it would give time for the coverage guys to get down there, being near the sideline would help bottle him up to one side.
    - 07/25/2018 at 9:27 PM #61656
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      Tony (admin)
      Admin/Founder
      
      @admin
      
      Right. But kickoff is pretty dangerous. Then again, football is dangerous.
      - 07/26/2018 at 9:08 AM #61680
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        utefansince79
        Ute Fan
        
        @utefansince79
        
        All comes down to lots of injuries occurring on kickoffs (where players running at full speed in opposite directions meet up with each other). One of the more thrilling plays in football is when a player returns a kickoff all the way, but it does lead to a lot of banged up players.
        
        07/26/2018 at 9:16 AM #61683
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        St George Ute
        Ute Fan
        
        @stgeorgeute
        
        I like the Greg Schiano solution to kickoffs. The kicking team gets the ball on their own 30 in a 4th and 15 situation. They have the option to punt, fake punt, or run a play. If they convert then they keep the ball with a fresh set of downs.
        
        In most situations they’ll opt to punt, but when down with little time left on the clock, you still get the excitement of a long play attempt or a fake punt. You also keep the possibility of a long return for a TD by the receiving team.
        
        Statistically the kicking team is more likely to convert a 4th and 15 than it is to recover an onside kick. More important, it’s less risk of injury to the players.
    - 07/25/2018 at 9:48 PM #61658
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      EagleMountainUte
      Ute Fan
      
      @battlegroundute
      
      Knocking it out of bounds to be placed at the forty is too risky. I say back of the end zone especially with our coverages lately.
  - 07/26/2018 at 8:20 AM #61675
    
    Tony (admin)
    Admin/Founder
    
    @admin
    
    Right. I used to know that.