One tweak to the NFL’s dynamic kickoff rule not only spiked the number of returns in Week 1 league-wide, but it might also eventually impact how teams approach the opening coin toss.
A touchback now brings the ball out to the offense’s 35-yard line, meaning even one first down ensures that, even if the offense punts, it will have a chance to pin the other team deep in its own territory.
Denver coach Sean Payton on Wednesday described it as starting in positive field position rather than neutral.
“If you’ve got a team that’s a little more touchback-oriented than put-it-in-play oriented, against those type of teams and you get a good weather day or, depending on the conditions — if you know you have a really good chance of starting at the 35-yard line — it may change that defer decision a little bit,” Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi said Thursday. “In the past, you really didn’t think about it.”
It also makes end-of-half and end-of-game situations more complex. The Broncos decided to try to cover a kick with 16 seconds left in the first half in Week 1 because Tennessee had two timeouts and only needed 20 yards or so to get into Joey Slye’s range.
The move backfired when Chimere Dike ran it back 71 yards and made the field goal a chip shot, but that’s what the league is looking for. More action on the play.
“It’s great because it’s made the play relevant again,” said Rizzi, who was part of an advisory group that’s helped the NFL adopt the dynamic kickoff rule and tweak its framework over the past two years. “For so many years, this kickoff play got a little bit irrelevant. I think we saw a Super Bowl a couple years with 13 or 14 touchbacks, whatever it was.
“Now this play has become more exciting, it’s become safer, and it’s become a must-watch play.”
Positive injury news. The Broncos overall got good news on the injury front Thursday.
Defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers (knee) and tight end Evan Engram (calf) each were full participants in practice, putting them on track to play Sunday at Indianapolis.
Engram only played one snap from the middle of the third quarter on in the Broncos’ opener against Tennessee and was in the medical tent twice during the second half. He was a limited participant Wednesday.
Franklin-Myers finished the game Sunday but didn’t practice Wednesday.
Tight end Nate Adkins, meanwhile, was upgraded to a limited participant Thursday, his first practice work since injuring his ankle Aug. 7 in a joint practice against San Francisco and having “tightrope” surgery. It remains to be seen if he’ll debut against the Colts, but the third-year player is on a return track.
Greenlaw still out. Inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, however, didn’t participate again Thursday. He has not practiced since the regular season began.
Payton on Wednesday said Greenlaw’s recovery is “going well,” but given the lack of practice activity, he is likely looking at a Week 3 return at the earliest. The Broncos didn’t put him on injured reserve to begin the season, a clear indication they expected him to miss fewer than four games.
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