NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is on the cover of the latest issue of TIME. In the accompanying cover story, Goodell discusses a number of different things, including the decision to let the Chiefs play last weekend after the tragic deaths of KC linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins and player safety. And, one of the most interesting parts of the story is when Goodell talks about a very drastic rule change that may take place in the NFL sometime soon.
Specifically, Goodell talks about how he's thinking about eliminating kickoffs in the NFL and, instead, installing a rule that was proposed by Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano recently. That rule would call for teams who score to get a single possession from their own 30-yard line in a 4th-and-15 situation. If it's late in the game, teams would be allowed to go for it and try to make a first down. Otherwise, they'd have the option to punt to the other team and allow for a punt return, which is seen as a much safer option than kicking it off and allowing the other team to return the ball that way.
"I don't do things for public relations," Goodell says in the TIME story. "I do things because they're the right thing to do, because I love the game."
Would eliminating kickoffs be the right thing to do, though? As much as we'd love to see all the weird plays that would come out of those 4th-and-15 situations (we're sure Bill Belichick would have a field day with them), we'd also missing watching these. Wouldn't you?
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[via SI]
