Ex-Super Bowl champ, longtime WR on new NFL kickoff rules: 'You might see more superstar players back there'

NEW YORK -- The most exciting play in football is back.

No longer will fans have to leave their seats to grab food or go to the bathroom after a score. There won't be a break in the action anymore.

The kickoff has meaning again in professional football. In one of the biggest rule changes the NFL has made in decades, the league significantly altered the free kick to bring returns back to the game after last season recorded the lowest return rate in the 105-year history of the league.

"It was one of those plays that really started to disappear in the game," The NFL Today on CBS analyst Nate Burleson told CBS Sports last month. "I was a kickoff returner, I remember playing in Seattle coming out of halftime. We get the ball and I take it to the house, 90 yards. I go to celebrate and look up and there are so many seats open. That's what the kickoff return has become.

"In this new format, it makes it more enjoyable. It makes it safer. Viewers are now going to have to play more attention. There are stakes."

The ball is still kicked from the 35-yard line, but that remains the only constant with the new rules. All kicking team players other than the kicker will line up with one foot on the receiving team's 40-yard line and the kicker cannot cross the 50-yard line until the ball touches the ground or player in the landing zone or end zone. The 10 kicking team players cannot move until the ball hits the ground or player in the landing zone or the end zone.

There will be a setup zone for the receiving team, a five-yard area from the receiving team's 30-to-35 yard line where at least nine receiving team players must line up. Seven players on the receiving team must have at least one foot on the 35 and all players in the setup zone cannot move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone.

A landing zone has been created for the receiving team, which is between the receiving team's goal line and the 20-yard line. A maximum of two returners may line up in the landing zone and can move at any time prior to, or during, the kick. Any kick that hits in the landing zone must be returned and any kick that's short of the landing zone will be placed at the receiving team's 40-yard line (the play will be ruled dead). Any ball that will be kicked into the end zone will result in a touchback at the receiving team's 30-yard line.

The kickoff looks different and feels different, yet is welcome.

"I like it. No. 1, we're trying to bring back the return," The NFL Today on CBS analyst Bill Cowher said last month. "You had 13 kickoffs in the Super Bowl and not one was returned. I understand that part of it. It looks strange at first, but I'm excited for it. I'm hoping this brings the return back into play and it's much safer."

Super Bowl LVIII had 13 kickoffs in the game, yet all were kicked into the end zone for a touchback and not one was returned. That prompted the NFL to make a radical change to a play that's been abandoned over the past decade. Gone are the players like Brian Mitchell, Eric Metcalf, Donte Hall and Devin Hester -- all of whom churned out exceptional careers because of their return ability. The NFL vows to bring back those types of players with the new return.

"It was physical, I'm not gonna lie," Burleson said of the old format. "But I was the one with the ball. I didn't take a lot of the big hits. There were certain games you catch that ball and you look up and there was just collision after collision. It was like the casualties of war all over the ground, but that's part of the game.

"Now you get a condensed version of that. You still get the impact, still get the physicality. There are some windows and pockets in there for big returns to happen. I like it. This is going to be something that makes the viewership of special teams more exciting."

With the new kickoff rules in place and the return back in play, strategy significantly changes. All of a sudden the best athletes on the field will have another chance to make an impact.

"I would love to see Cheetah back there ( Tyreek Hill )," Burleseon said of the possibilities of the new return. "He's so explosive and all he needs is a window. I think because of the way they condensed it, you might see more superstar players say, 'Coach. Give me a shot.'

"Because of the rules, you might see more superstar players back there."

Of course, the new rules are still a work in progress. Balls kicked into the end zone will go to the receiving team's 30-yard line (in previous years it was the 25). The NFL considered the ball being placed at the 35-yard line, but tabled that change for another year.

"I think you gotta get some data. A lot of this is data based and that initiates change," Cowher said. "I think they want to get some data on how much returns have gone up, what has been the result of just the 30 as opposed to the 35.

"Then I think it's more of a deterrent to kick the touchback. Right now, I don't think that's the case. The other thing this does is kickers become more involved in the game, because now it's more like a punt return. I don't think you want to risk the kick.

"I think with the 35 in place, we'll see the return more valuable. With the 30, we'll see."

Early returns for the kickoff rule are positive. The strategy for the kickoff is back into play, as teams aren't giving anything away in August.

"We'll see when the regular season starts," Cowher said. "I don't think you want to kick the ball out of the end zone because you want to see who can cover, who can't, from a return standpoint. You wanna see players play.

"It will be interesting to see once the season starts, how much of a deterrent the 30-yard line is. That's the biggest question we have, risk vs. reward. We're going to be watching with open eyes what some teams, and the strategies they try to adapt."

The game changes come Week 1. No longer is the kickoff an opportunity for fans to leave their seat, which is what the NFL hopes to accomplish.

"It gave me hope that football is back when it comes to kickoffs," Burleson said. "All of these factors are now back into play. I just hope we see big returns. I missed that part of the game."