New NFL kickoff rules for the 2024 season, and the need for live work in training camp to learn the new rules were key reasons that the Pittsburgh Steelers scheduled a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills in mid-August.
At least, that’s the stance Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin took Wednesday in his press conference with the media after reporting to training camp.
The Steelers announced the joint practice on August 15 against the Bills, marking the first time since 2016 that the Steelers will have participated in a joint practice in the preseason.
“Particularly with the new kickoff, I’m just interested in getting some work against other people,” Tomlin said of why the joint practice was scheduled, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “Most of the time when you do joint practices, a lot of it is about special teams and young guys getting intense work, and that’s the spirit in which we’re going into it.
“Obviously, we’re gonna get some offense versus defense and things of that nature, but if you really talked about what stimulated our sincere interest in doing it this year, it’s just really great special teams work.”
That the joint practice is with the Bills and head coach Sean McDermott is not a surprise, considering the relationship that McDermott and Tomlin have dating back to their time at William & Mary. The two franchises are also very familiar with each other, having played each other often.
How “live” those reps in the joint practice session will be remains to be seen, but the two teams will at least be able to control the environment some. Having it in practice will set up certain situations rather than having it in a preseason game.
The new kickoff rules will present a challenge as things will be more even with the coverage teams lined up five yards away from the return unit. This will make things a bit safer from a collision standpoint while also creating quite a bit of space for the returner, which could generate some major splash plays on special teams.
It’s a big concern for the Steelers, especially for coordinator Danny Smith. However, he loves the challenge it presents.
The rule change was approved by a 29-3 vote in late March. It brings an exciting play back to the NFL game while also seemingly lowering the risk of injury involved.
According to the new rule, the coverage team will be lined up together on the receiving team’s 40-yard line, and five players must be on either side of the ball. This is designed to lower the large-scale collisions that occur when players run full speed down the field at each other.
On the other side of the field, the receiving team will be set up from the 30-yard line to the 35. Most of the receiving team will line up at the 35 and will be allowed to have two returners back to field the kickoff. The fair catch has been eliminated from kickoffs.
If the kickoff doesn’t go beyond the start of the landing zone, it is considered out of bounds, and the returning team will get the ball at the 40-yard line, much like when it went out of bounds previously. Touchbacks, which have been at the 25-yard line since 2016, will now start at the 30-yard line.
Getting players live reps in practice will be huge for the Steelers. They’ve placed a major emphasis on special teams in recent years and did so again this offseason, retaining first-team All-Pro Miles Killebrew and then signing special teams standout Tyler Matakevich last week.
