Quote:
Originally Posted by BoilerBacker
And I already stated only 20% of kicks were not returned, so the point about kicking it in the EZ is almost moot....it rarely happened before.
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I don't see how it "rarely happened before". I can think of plenty of examples where guys kicked the ball through the end zone, nevermind just got the touchback. If that is a Divison 1-A stat only, I think that 20% is significantly skewed when you consider the affect the smaller conferences have on the statistic. Half the teams in the MAC are an embarrassment to "kicking" for example and never get touchbacks.
I think an important difference is the distinction between the power conferences and the "rest". Teams with stud kickers who can kick the ball Mason Crosby style (or Jeremy Ito or Art Carmody) damn near into the stands are not going to be effected at all by the 5 yards. Those guys bombs through the end zone will simply become kneel-downs one would surmise. It's the teams with crappy kickers who are really going to be penalized by this rule because they will have to squibb or angle or kick out of bounds if their kicker can't even get the ball to the 15 yard line.
Again, the smaller conferences skew that 20% I would be willing to wager. There's no way 4 out of every 5 kicks are returned in major college football, IMHO.