Under the old kickoff rules, kickoff distance wasn’t the only factor. Like a punt, hang time mattered as much as anything, a high-arching boot far more valuable than a low-line missile. The longer the ball is in the air, the more time the returner has to wait, the more seconds the kick coverage team had to get down to make the tackle.
Say goodbye to all that. Like many other aspects of the new kickoff rule changes, hangtime is an element tossed out the window. Special teams coordinator Danny Smith knows it.
“Just the catch of the kick is new,” he said via a team provided-transcript last Tuesday.