It’s a pretty hopeless feeling when your team is down by two scores with just a couple minutes on the clock. Not only do you have to flip the script on the team that has outplayed you to this point, but you also need two possessions to do so.
And that is debatably the hardest part. Not selling out to the pass and scoring a couple touchdowns, but completing an onside kick to retain possession. That is the true hopeless feeling, because they will almost never work. According to ESPN, 52 onside kicks were attempted during the 2018-19 season. Four were recovered.
Each year, the NFL invites teams to propose rule changes, and then it is sent through to a committee to either endorse or decline the rule change. With onside kicks becoming harder than ever following the new kickoff rules implemented last year, a rule change to this particular element seems like it may be something that is listened to.
The Denver Broncos were the team to say something, they want something done about the daunting odds of an onside kick. The rule change they’ve proposed is actually pretty intriguing.
Basically, instead of the onside kick, a team that is trailing in the 4th quarter but coming off a score would be given one chance to retain possession. Essentially, it would be a 4th-and-15 situation from their own 35 yard line, and if they are able to convert, they retain possession.
Something as drastically different as this to an onside kick is sure to bring a fair share of naysayers, but if you think about it there are lots of reasons why this may be a positive change.
First of all, it likely takes out the “luck” factor of an onside kick. While there are techniques to an onside kick, you need some help from the way the ball happens to bounce. Sending an offence onto the field would mean you’d have to use skill and playcalling to convert, rather than luck.
Secondly, it would likely lead to more conversions. 4-for-52 are horrible odds. Then again, maybe a team shouldn’t be given better odds if they failed to keep the game close through the first three quarters.
Lastly, it would simply be more entertaining – which is debatably what football is all about. It still leaves the odds unlikely, but it’s not as far off a dream to think that maybe your team can come back and win it.
Other proposed rule changes included expanded replay time, a “sky judge” added to officiating crews, and – perhaps most topically – the Washington Redskins proposing any play be challengeable. This is certainly something the New Orleans Saints wished they had during the blown pass interference non-call during the NFC Championship.
It is still a long way from any rule change happening, but planting the seed that onside kicks are a problem is a start.
(H/T ESPN)
