The NFL, hoping to improve football, makes new changes yearly. For the teams, this means extra work during the off-seasons and coming up with plays that match what the league now calls for
This year, Bryant Boyer, a top special team coach in the NFL, has emphasized his team’s hard work and dedication regarding these new rules.
Offseason practices, according to the New York Jets, are slower and lower-contact than football season. Giving coaches and players a decent amount of time to prepare in a more relaxed environment, and introducing the new rules now will help ensure they are clear in everyone’s mind.
According to the New York Jets, the NFL’s new rules helped them find the right balance between exciting plays and fewer injuries. Fans will also be drawn to the returners, who are responsible for signaling unreturnable kickoffs.
Two new rules, without getting too specific or complicated, focus on where the kicking and receiving team members can stand and how many are allowed in a certain area. Other rules, meanwhile, discuss what will happen when a ball lands in a certain area.
Throughout his quotes on the New York Jets website, Boyer emphasizes how the team can’t predict the future. Rather, they need to wait for the preseason games to start. With these new rules, however, he is expecting certain changes. Boyer believes “22 percent of all kicks last year were returned”. This year, however, he wouldn’t be surprised if that number jumped to somewhere between 70 and 80 percent. Despite this prediction, he is hesitant to say outright that 2024 will be a big touchdown season.
Already looking into possible returners, Boyer is considering WR Xavier Gipson, RB Tarik Cohen, and RB Isaiah Davis. He is also looking into possible tacklers and blockers for plays including double-teaming, backside cutoffs, and front-side pin blocks.
Despite all his questions surrounding the new rules and what’s to come, Boyer understands how much of an impact the changes will have on the sport. Boyer is hoping that there will be a significant impact on the game this year. For now, we’ll have to wait and see.
