SNIDER: Commanders adapting to new kickoff rules

The new NFL kickoff rule will create two classes – the quick and the dead. Washington Commanders special teams Larry Izzo is determined to survive.

Those quickly solving the one-year trial puzzle will thrive. It requires a complete overhaul from speed to agility while keeping starters on the field.

“It’s a challenge,” Izzo said.

One that has dominated Izzo’s thoughts over the offseason. Where to put his best blockers, maybe even using offensive linemen rather than linebackers and tight ends for a quick surge up the middle. Try running backs or receivers to break inside tackles rather than returners.

“Experiment” is Izzo’s constant default. Two kickers on the roster might be too much so maybe there’s a positional player who can kick off.

“Try to figure this play out as fast as we can,” he said. “We look at it as a race against time. It’s new for everybody so we’re trying to see how fast we can figure it out.

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about over the offseason. I’m obsessed with this 24-7 thinking about all the variables.”

The NFL has two objectives to a new kickoff created by the XFL. Certainly, the league wants to reduce injuries caused by full-speed collisions via 40-yard runs by coverage players.

But, it also wants kickoffs to factor once more. Just 21.8 percent of kickoffs were returned last season. Four kickoffs were returned for touchdowns – the fewest since 1993. Only 37.5 percent of kickoffs were returned in 2022 versus 80 percent in 2010.

The ball must land between the 20 and goal line or else it will be spotted on the 30 or even 40-yard line depending on several variations rather than the 25 in the past. Each side lines up on its 40-yard line and no one moves until the returner touches the ball or it hits the ground. That leads to a mad scramble for blockers and plays likely emerging in the middle of the field.

“It’s taken a lot of the speed and running out of the play,” Izzo said. “It’s going to look very different. It’s going to lead to more impactful plays from a special teams standpoint. The value of the returner has gone up. They’re going to get more touches.”

Naturally, coaches will try to beat the system, perhaps with “dirty balls” similar to onside kicks. It will be a bam-bam play with the kickoff team hoping to recover a loose ball.  That’s why Izzo and his special teams brethren have been pre-occupied through the offseason trying to gain an edge.

Because kickoffs now aren’t about who can breakaway with speed. It’s about the quick or the dead.