In the aftermath of the Competition Committee meetings at the Scouting Combine, the overhauled kickoff play did not have a specific proposal for dealing with penalties that would be enforced on the kickoff. The final proposal does.
In the full explanation the NFL released on Wednesday, the only thing that changes on a penalty that carries over to the kickoff is the spot from which the ball will be kicked. The rest of the play — the location of the kicking team’s players, the location of the receiving team’s players (but for one or two return specialists) and the landing zone between the goal line and the 20 — will remain the same.
That said, not as many penalties will carry over. Specifically, penalties that happen on a touchdown play will be enforced on the try. There will be no option to carry them over to the kickoff.
Penalties on the try will carry over to the kickoff.
This means that, for penalties that happen during the try, the kicker will have to adjust his kick to ensure it hits the 20-yard landing zone, either by taking something off the kick (if the penalty moves him closer) or by adding some leg to the kick (if it moves him back). Some kicking teams might just decline penalties on the try, in order to have a consistent kickoff distance.
Indeed, at some point the better approach might be to give teams the option of enforcing the yardage from a foul during the try either as to the kickoff or as to the first play from scrimmage after the kick.
