Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone says every special teams coordinator and player in the NFL opposes the league’s new rule that puts the ball on the 25-yard line after fair catches on kickoffs.
“All the coordinators were against it, the players are against it, but supposedly there’s data,” Ventrone said, via Cleveland.com.
The data the NFL used to justify the new rule is that concussions are more common on kickoffs than on other plays. But Ventrone was among those who watched the film of the kickoffs on which the NFL said players suffered concussions and wasn’t convinced.
“We see a cut-up of the concussions that happened on kickoff. Me personally, do I agree that all those concussions are a result of how the play is? No, I completely disagree on that, actually,” he said. “Do I feel like that play is safe? I do feel like that play is a safe play. I don’t feel like it’s a dangerous play.”
Ventrone indicated that he’s going to encourage his returners to return the ball rather than fair catch it.
“I don’t think a lot of players want to use a fair catch, nor do coaches,” Ventrone said. “So I feel confident in our group to this point. I know we’ve got a lot of good returners. We’ve got depth in all those ball handlers on the roster, so my mentality would be to return first, but we’ll explore every option that we have with it. There’s a lot of situational, things that play into effect as well, so just kind of play it by ear.”
Ventrone also said he believes kickoffs should remain an integral part of the sport.
“You turn on a football game, you want to see the ball being kicked off,” he said. “It’s just basic stuff to me.”
Every game ever has started with a kickoff, but the kickoff may not be a basic part of football for much longer.