Pittsburgh Steeler’s special teams coordinator Danny Smith is generally a straight shooter. He’s an old-school guy coaching because he wants to, not because he has to. Though it’s rare we get to hear from him, when he offers his thoughts, he’s usually to the point. But when it comes to the NFL new kickoff rule, allowing teams to fair catch the ball and start at their 25, Smith’s views seem a bit vague.
Smith spoke to reporters during the first day of the team’s mandatory minicamp and offered a cryptic phrase about the change, as tweeted by The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly. He was asked if the change made the game safer and after a long pause, gave this answer.
“I’m being honest with you guys,” Smith said. “I really am. I was supposed to say no. But…I’ll leave it at that.”
That doesn’t seem to fall under the category of “honest.” Special teams coordinators came out against the rule change and it seems like Smith is toeing the line. But it appears he may disagree with that assessment.
The point of the league’s rule change is to limit the number of kick returns, which naturally decreases the number of collisions and concussions. Kickoff is where head injuries appear to be the most frequent given their car-crash nature, one side running full speed into another.
By definition, fewer returns will lead to fewer concussions which makes the game safer. But separately, Smith said the data the NFL provided about the rate of concussions on kickoffs may be lacking context. He made that point as tweeted out by ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
This became a conversation point last month. The NFL reportedly claimed 19 concussions occurred on kickoffs last season. But per PFT’s Mike Florio, special teams coaches pushed back on that data, saying they could only identify eight. How a coach could judge a concussion on tape is up for debate but their point, as shared by Smith, is to say there were many instances where a player wasn’t contacted on a kickoff where the NFL says they suffered a head injury.
Agree of disagree with the rule change, Smith says he’s not surprised by the league’s business calculation. Again, as shared via Pryor.
As Smith notes, this is a one-year test that the competition committee will review next offseason. While the rule could be rescinded or modified, it’s clear the NFL would rather have fewer concussions and fewer kickoffs than the other way around. There are other ways to attack this problem. The XFL’s kickoff rules seem to work well, placing the coverage and return team five yards next to each other to reduce their runway to build up speed, all while allowing for returns to occur like normal.
For now, the NFL will give this method a shot. In Pittsburgh, it’ll make it harder for them to find their kick returner, a position they’re looking to fill after losing Steven Sims this offseason. Candidates include Gunner Olszewski, Calvin Austin, and rookie Jordan Byrd.
