No one seems to know quite what to expect from the rule change, including coaches.
“It’s a big challenge with all these new rules,” Jets special teams coach Brant Boyer said. “It’s kind of a wait-and-see kind of deal, and you see what fits and what works and what kicks are best and who’s doing it, all that stuff. I think there’s a huge unknown, to be honest with you. We’ve done nothing but study and study and study, and been in here almost every day, to be honest with you, trying to figure out what’s going to work best, but nobody knows until you strap it up and the preseason games start.”
Brant Boyer and the Jets will need to adjust to the new kickoff rules. Bill Kostroun for the NY Post
The kickoff is going to be a huge storyline in the preseason, when casual fans tune in and see a play that looks very different from what they are used to.
The biggest visual difference is the formation.
The kicking team, other than the kicker, will line up with one foot on the receiving team’s 40-yard line.
“It all looks good on paper what we all have planned and what we try to do, but at the end of the day, nobody knows until we get out there in the preseason, and that’s the truth,” Boyer said.
The Jets expect the number of returns to increase dramatically with this new rule.
Jets running back Tarik Cohen (31) catches a pass at minicamp in Florham Park, NJ. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
They also had Jakeem Grant in for a tryout but did not sign him.
There is debate about whether teams will be kicking line drives at the returners or trying to skip it on the ground to make it tougher to field the ball.
There is also debate about what type of returner you want exactly.
“That’s part of the discussion for sure, like what kind of space is there going to be?” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “Are you breaking arm tackles? Are you running through space? But again, there’s a lot of unknowns. There’s going to be a lot of discovery made in this first year. There’s going to be a lot of discovery made within the first five weeks. By the time you leave training camp, there’s going to be a lot of discovery and thoughts on the direction that it’s going to go, so I think I definitely speak for this building that we’re all excited to see what happens with it.”
Special teams sometimes get overlooked in the preseason.
This year, the new kickoff will take center stage.
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