College Football: The NCAA Changes the Game

The NCAA has instituted some new rules for the upcoming season. Some of them make sense, some left me scratching my head wondering, what were they thinking. It appears the NCAA wants to eliminate kick off returns and just go with touch-backs. I understand wanting to make the game safe but getting rid of kick off returns? To me that is crazy. Kick off returns can be electrifying game changing plays and now the NCAA is trying to minimize the chances of seeing those magic moments of a guy breaking one all the way back to the paint. The new kick off rule places the ball at the 35 yard line for kick offs. Players on the kicking team will be restricted to a 5 yard running start in an attempt to reduce high impact injuries. That I do support. Even the NFL moved the ball up and this last season we saw an increase in touch-backs. Another change......instead of placing the ball on the 20 yard line after a touch back.......the ball will come out to the 25 yard line. Defensive players will no longer be allowed to leap over players blocking to protect the punter. I see the sense of this rule and how it will reduce injuries. It will make punt rushers have to come up with other ways to pressure the punter. When a player loses his helmet during a play he must cease participating in the play. That makes perfect sense. The other half of the rule..........I don't understand......perhaps some of you can explain it to me. If a player loses his helmet he must sit out one play. Where is the logic in that? What am I missing here. I can see this rule creating a whole new set of problems. Like at the end of a game when a team is driving for a come from behind win.....would defensive players try to remove the helmet from a key offensive player? There will be more rules announced that will pertain to blocking below the waist. In my opinion some of these new rules make perfect sense while others don't. I welcome your insights and comments. If you are interested in football coaching and training videos or football training aids visit our online store. http://www.scoretouchdowns.com/