The NFL tweaked its kickoff rules again this offseason, and Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said he expects the small change to where touchbacks are placed to lead to "significantly" more kick returns this fall.
"I'm fired up," Fipp said. "It's going to be great. We're going to get a ton of plays. I think it's going to change quite a bit."
Last year, the NFL overhauled kickoffs to make the play safer and encourage more returns, moving touchbacks from the 25- to the 30-yard line and repositioning the kick cover team on the return side of the field.
Returns ticked up, but only to a rate of 32.8%. And with the average drive start on a return being the 28.8-yard line, many teams — including the Lions — preferred to settle for touchbacks (and giving an extra 1.2 yards, on average) rather than give teams the opportunity for a big play.
By moving the touchback to the 35-yard line, Denver Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi — one of the architects of the new rule — estimated at the NFL's annual spring meeting that returns will be "in the 70-75% range" this fall.
"I think as you guys saw at the end of the year, the average drive start 29.5 or something like that, so it's really, there was ... really no benefit to obviously kicking the ball off or returning it," Fipp said. "But this year, if you said the average is a 29.5 and the touchback’s the (35), then obviously, statistically, it's saying, 'OK, we need to return the ball.' Or if you're on kickoffs, they really dictate the play. You need to kick it off and force these guys to return it."
The Lions returned just 15 kicks in 17 games last season, and allowed 24. Rookie kicker Jake Bates had 85 touchbacks on 110 kickoffs — a rate of 77.3% that was seventh-highest among kickers with at least 50 kickoffs last season.
Fipp said the Lions "will definitely play the play a whole lot different" this fall, both because of the new rules and their evolving personnel.
The Lions signed special-teams stalwart Grant Stuard in free agency, spent two Day 3 draft picks on players with the potential to be core special-teams players this fall (safety Dan Jackson and receiver Dominic Lovett), and Bates is entering his second NFL season after a standout rookie year.
Bates made 26 of 29 field goals last season, including six of eight kicks from at least 50 yards. The Lions were content to kick touchbacks much of last season in part because they wanted him to focus on field goals in his first year.
"We’ll play a lot more on the attack, a lot more aggressive, a lot more trying to create negative field position for those guys," Fipp said. "Kind of 'play conservative and not give up the big play' was a little bit more of our mentality a year ago while we kind of learned more about the play.
"And then a big part of that, too, is with Jake Bates kicking off, that wasn't necessarily a strength going into the season. We didn't want to add a whole lot to his plate ... so we kind of stayed away from some of that to help him a little bit, to be honest with you. But he was out there today kicking these balls. He looks great doing it, so I'm excited."
Fipp said he's excited about the Lions' new additions on special teams, too, saying Jackson and Lovett will have a chance to develop while contributing in the kick game and that Stuard will "demand a lot of resources from" opponents.
"We're fired up about Grant," Fipp said. "Obviously we played against him a year ago and when we played against him, all the guys in the room knew like, 'Man, this guy plays with his hair on fire.' He’s got a lot of energy. He's a tough out every single play."
