If the NFL wants to add some excitement to the kickoff, then someone in the league might want to give John Harbaugh a call, because the Ravens coach has an idea that would definitely add some spice to the play.
As you probably heard, the NFL approved several new kickoff rules this week in an effort to cut down on collisions and make the play safer. Not only would Harbaugh's idea accomplish both of those things, but it would also introduce a crazy new option: Kickers would be able to score on the play.
Although Harbaugh is a fan of the new rules being implemented this year, he thinks the league should take things one step further and give kickers the chance to score one point by putting a kickoff through the uprights.
"I think we did good," Harbaugh said of the new rules, via the Ravens' official website. "The only question I have is, 'Did we go far enough?' If we have to go a little further next year and incentivize the kickoff, the deep kickoff more, maybe we kick it out of the back of the end zone and put the ball at the 20 [-yard line]. Or maybe we take it another step and make it really fun for everybody: If we kick it through the uprights, you give the kicking team a point."
With kickoffs taking place at the 35-yard line, a kicker would have to knock the ball roughly 75 yards to get it through the uprights.
Harbaugh first brought this idea up in 2016 when it wasn't clear if the NFL's kickoff rules would be changing, and it was kind of shrugged off. Now, maybe we shouldn't be shrugging it off. Of course, one reason Harbaugh is a fan of this potential rule is because he has the one kicker in the league who could probably put it through the uprights every time: Justin Tucker.
"We're going to be for [the kickoff point] -- we have Tucker, right? But imagine how much fun either one of those would be? So now a touchback becomes worth watching," Harbaugh said. "We make the game more fun. Those are things I think we all talked about and people are interested in, so we'll see what happens."
The NFL spiced up the extra point in 2015 by moving it back 13 yards, which made life tougher for kickers. Back in 2016, Tucker said the league should even things out by adding the one-point kickoff.
"If we're going to keep making the game harder for kickers, you gotta reward us in some way," Tucker said. "The ownership, the competition committee, the NFL, they're great at this give-take thing when [CBA] time comes around, maybe we can throw that one out there. Maybe you get a point for putting the ball through the uprights on a kickoff. I'd really appreciate that."
Not only would this rule add excitement to the kickoff, but it would also add a wrinkle to late-game strategy. For instance, if your favorite team was trailing by nine points with 40 seconds left to play, they would only potentially need one score to tie, instead of two. They could get a touchdown, make the two-point conversion and then get a kickoff point.
Who doesn't want a Super Bowl decided by a last-second kickoff point? Please tell me where to sign to make this rule happen.
Although Harbaugh's proposal sounds kind of crazy, the league might want to listen. Of all the head coaches in the NFL, Harbaugh is one of the most knowledgable about special teams. Before being hired by the Ravens, Harbaugh spent 10 years as Philadelphia's special teams coordinator.
If the NFL doesn't want to get too crazy, they could still incentivize teams without tacking on the kickoff point. Instead of letting kickers score, the league could have the opposing team start at the 10-yard line after a kickoff goes through the uprights for a touchback.
