The NFL made a dramatic change to its kickoff format this upcoming NFL season. As teams begin OTAs, coaches across the league are exploring how they want to handle it, and that includes Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, who recently compared the changes to a different sport: baseball.
Under the new rules, the kickoff coverage team cannot move until the returner catches the ball. And Sean Payton drew a comparison to baseball, where a tagging runner cannot advance bases until a fly ball is caught by the fielder.
“[Special teams coordinator] Ben [Kotwica], our special teams coaches, we’re practicing it,” Payton said according to Pro Football Talk. “We had the officials in yesterday. They kind of went through all the rule changes, but specifically we spent probably half an hour on this. I would say the one thing for you — the kick is made, no one moves and when it’s caught, we all move. I would liken that to being on second base and I’m tagging up. I’m watching, I’m watching, and when the ball is caught, I can go to third. So you’re going to see if you leave early, it’s a foul. It would be very similar. Now there was a time when most of these guys played baseball. Now maybe a third of these guys have played baseball. I would say, ‘You’ve never tagged up on a fly ball?’, but I think that’s what it would be like timing wise as you wait to move.”
It’s a pretty apt comparison, but it will still be interesting to see how teams handle it.
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