Through two games, the dynamic kickoff looked to be a dud. Through 16, it packed a lot more punch.
Per the league, Week 1 had 57 kickoff returns and a 33-percent return rate. Both were five-year highs.
Of the total kicks, 25 percent were caught or hit the ground in the 20-yard landing zone. Another 73 percent were kicked into or through the end zone. Three kickoffs failed to make it to the landing zone or went out of bounds.
No tackles were made by kickers — which isn’t surprising, because we’ve seen clips of plenty of kickers getting blown up by blockers during the preseason.
Here’s the most important fact, in our view. The average starting point for all drives is 29.4 yards. For returns, the average starting point is the 28.
For coaches who have decided to kick the ball out of the end zone and concede the 30, the average starting field position of the 29.4 makes it even more likely that they’ll keep doing what they do. If the risk of a long return can be eliminated and the net difference is less than two feet of field position, why not kick out of the end zone?