Danny Smith is concentrated on the current. Making the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers’ particular groups pretty much as good as they are often. Proper now, they’re among the many finest in soccer. However he is aware of issues might look completely different in 2025, particularly relating to the NFL’s kickoff rule adjustments.
Talking with reporters Wednesday, Danny Smith revealed he met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell earlier than Monday night time’s Steelers-Giants recreation to speak about the way forward for kickoffs.
“The commissioner was on the recreation on Monday night time. He and I had a dialog earlier than the sport about that very factor,” Smith stated through the group web site on the subject of kickoffs. “Not that that dialog was personal or secret or something like that, however he talked about some issues to me that lead me to consider there’s much more dialogue gonna occur after this season.”
Goodell was in Pittsburgh this weekend after shocking an area highschool group and handing out Tremendous Bowl tickets to a household of a kid who beat most cancers. Pittsburgh native Curtis Martin additionally attended.
The NFL made one in all its most radical rule adjustments ever, adopting the XFL mannequin of kickoffs and kick returns. What they name the brand new “dynamic kickoff” that pits the protection and return group 5-yards aside, neither aspect allowed to maneuver till the ball hits the bottom or is fielded. The intent was two-fold. Improve the variety of returns (touchbacks now come out to the 30-yard line) and scale back the variety of head accidents by closing the area between the 2 groups, eliminating the full-speed “automotive crashes” that existed below the outdated mannequin.
The latter’s affect has been evident. Per the league, there was only one concussion on kickoffs by way of the primary six weeks after the league suffered eight in 2023, a yr through which there have been a traditionally low variety of returns. Kick return common has elevated to 27 yards per return, roughly three yards greater than the previous a number of seasons. The Steelers, although, have principally watched the ball both fly over their heads or be caught and downed ultimately zone, returning simply seven kicks all season. Of the groups who’ve but to have a bye, solely the Inexperienced Bay Packers (5) have fewer. Ace returner Cordarrelle Patterson, who has missed a month with an ankle harm, doesn’t have a single one.
For Danny Smith, it makes evaluating his unit and the rule tough.
“It’s all the data now we have,” Smith stated. “Is it sufficient? No, man, I don’t assume eight video games is a examine. However it’s all the data now we have. So we’re utilizing it lots. I believe you’ll see issues. Discussions come up after the season to see the place we go and, and the way we go.”
When the NFL unveiled the rule change, it framed it as a one-year trial run with no dedication to 2025. This implies they may return to the “outdated” method subsequent season. The school recreation hasn’t even adopted the change. They might tweak the present guidelines, transferring touchbacks to the 35 to encourage extra returns or making different alterations to the rule. Or they may get rid of kickoffs fully, one other drastic determination however the path the league was headed previous to this yr’s try.
Like something new, there determine to be offseason adjustments now that the NFL has seen it operate inside their very own stadiums as an alternative of conceptually or within the XFL and European leagues. General, it appears the framework of the change has been profitable. Extra returns, fewer accidents, and kickoffs aren’t “damaged” to the purpose the place they dominate the sport. However every coach can have their say this offseason, together with the 71-year-old Danny Smith, who has been on the job so long as almost any coach in soccer.
