youcandoit1687
08-08-2006, 02:59 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=5813
Player safety, though, underscores many of the changes for the coming year; it was a common theme of Anderson's session with local media last week. Perhaps no change in this regard will be as obvious as the one that will come on on-side kickoffs.
In past years, kicking teams could stack as many players on one side of the kicker as they wanted, and would often place nine or even 10 players to one side of the kicker, serving to provide a clear hint as to the ball's eventual path but also allowing some kicking-team players to slam indiscriminately with a 10-yard head start into members of the receiving team, thus helping create chaos that could result in recovery of the loose football.
"Those guys are just running down there pretty much at full speed," Anderson said. "When it was discussed by the competition committee, it was from (the safety) aspect of it."
Now, a team can place no more than six players on one side of a kicker, leaving all kickoff formations to involve either a balanced five-a-side alignment or the use of a six-and-four arrangement.
"It makes it fairer," Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. "When you overloaded a side, it means you had six or seven guys just going down trying to take somebody out and two guys staying back.
"We were afraid somebody was going to break their neck, and I thought it was good by the competition committee that you've got to have four guys on one side by the safety factor."
i ges onside kicks will no longer have 5 blockers in front with 5 receivers in back. very weird rule and IMO should be changed for kicks under 25 yards or something like that.ruins the excitement although i can see the danger in it.
Player safety, though, underscores many of the changes for the coming year; it was a common theme of Anderson's session with local media last week. Perhaps no change in this regard will be as obvious as the one that will come on on-side kickoffs.
In past years, kicking teams could stack as many players on one side of the kicker as they wanted, and would often place nine or even 10 players to one side of the kicker, serving to provide a clear hint as to the ball's eventual path but also allowing some kicking-team players to slam indiscriminately with a 10-yard head start into members of the receiving team, thus helping create chaos that could result in recovery of the loose football.
"Those guys are just running down there pretty much at full speed," Anderson said. "When it was discussed by the competition committee, it was from (the safety) aspect of it."
Now, a team can place no more than six players on one side of a kicker, leaving all kickoff formations to involve either a balanced five-a-side alignment or the use of a six-and-four arrangement.
"It makes it fairer," Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. "When you overloaded a side, it means you had six or seven guys just going down trying to take somebody out and two guys staying back.
"We were afraid somebody was going to break their neck, and I thought it was good by the competition committee that you've got to have four guys on one side by the safety factor."
i ges onside kicks will no longer have 5 blockers in front with 5 receivers in back. very weird rule and IMO should be changed for kicks under 25 yards or something like that.ruins the excitement although i can see the danger in it.