With the NFL instituting the hybrid kickoff rule in 2024, there’s a lot of unknown about how the kickoff will look and how teams will choose to kick or return kicks. It’s one of the biggest questions heading into the season, and Mike Tomlin might have an ace up his sleeve: Madden. Speaking to reporters after practice today, Tomlin joked that he’ll be looking at “the EA Sports game” to get a feel for how the kickoff looks.
“I think anybody that’s saying they got a handle on it is probably lying or naive. There’s no video, all we have is words on a page. I think that’s a component of it that makes it exciting,” Tomlin said via Steelers.com. “There’s going to be some anxiety among my peers regarding these concepts until we get some video. I’d imagine there’s a lot of guys in my position gonna be watching the Hall of Fame Game to see what some of it looks like. I’ll be looking at the EA Sports game when it comes out to see what it looks like. It’s just uncharted territory and so you pay respect to the unknown with preparedness and anxiety at times.”
.@CoachTomlin will be looking to @EAMaddenNFL and the @ProFootballHOF for a first look at the new Dynamic Kickoff.
To learn more about the new rule, visit: https://t.co/oGMxCOfoEr pic.twitter.com/zgUKU28Zxy
— NFL (@NFL) July 27, 2024
If Madden’s trailer is any indication, when Tomlin boots up Madden and goes to return a kick with the Steelers, he might see his quarterback Justin Fields back deep. All joking aside, there technically is video of how the kickoff rule works — it’s the same one used by the XFL — so there’s at least some tape for coaches to go off.
Of course, there’s nothing showing how the kickoff works at the NFL level, and the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 1 will be the first time coaches get a look at the new kickoff rules in action. In reality, Pittsburgh will have a chance to view the kickoff rule in its own preseason game on Aug. 9 against the Houston Texans before Madden releases on Aug. 13. The idea Tomlin was getting across is that he and coaches around the league will use anything at their disposal if it will give them an edge with the new rules.
Pittsburgh has added or retained quality special teamers this offseason by re-signing Miles Killebrew and signing Tyler Matakevich while on the return side the Steelers also added Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson is nursing a hamstring injury though and hasn’t taken the field in camp yet, so the Steelers haven’t gotten a good look at him since OTAs and minicamp. Still, he’s expected to start the year as the team’s kick returner.
Madden or not, whatever method the Steelers use to help them figure out the kickoff will help them gain an edge. With how difficult the AFC is, any edge will be needed for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs.
