Why Do We Need Kickers?

[AROS]

This has been a question I’ve had for a long time now. Why do we need kickers? Honestly? I get that it’s tradition and all of that but can we not evolve the game in the 21st Century?

I think we all can agree we have lost our shit over the years at times due to a kicker missing a game tying or winning field goal or extra point. Kickers missing field goals and extra points has to be at an all time high.

It doesn’t seem right or fair to me that a game where 22 players spend the entire 60 minutes fighting their butts off have to rely on a kicker to decide the game.

I would remove kickers. You start the game on the 20 yard line (this new rule of the 30 blows). Punters still do their thing. If you are in field goal territory you have to go for it on 4th down or punt. End of story.

All touchdowns are automatic 7 points just to keep that scoring paradigm alive.

Am I off my rocker? Am I on to something? What do you think?

 

[Torc]

My head goes in two directions:
1. Keep the kickers, but as their ability has grown it's become too easy at longer distances. Move the goalposts closer together to increase the difficulty and make it higher risk, especially at longer distances.

2. Follow your plan but replace the kickoff with a free kick, like after a safety. That way you only have one kicker on the team (the punter) and you keep the kickoff mechanic. It's too exciting a play to just remove it from the game. Also, remove the touchback from kickoffs and punts entirely, unless the ball goes out of the end zone without being touched.

 

[Seahawks Guy]

They'd have to change the name of the sport.

 

[jeremiah]

Go back to the 70's and 80's on rules, get rid of replay except in the last 5 minutes of the game. I want to see kickoffs, collisions, and violence. It is the main reason I loved it in my youth. Expand the roster to have special teams players so you don't get your very best starters hurt on kickoffs.

For 100 years, people would go get a beer, and hurry back to watch the kickoffs. They have destroyed football, it is seriously a joke. If they want less injuries, make them wear leather helmets instead of hard helmets. You don't have head on collisions when you KNOW your head is going to hurt if you use it as a weapon.. Old man rant, but the game is for pussies, compared to the old days. We have entire teams of primadonnas.

 

[NoGain]

There is no more odd yet significant position in all major team sports than the FG kicker. It's not even close. I can't even come up with anything resembling a relevant comparison. I've thought for years that it wouldn't bother me in the least if they did away with the position. There's no reason you couldn't punt on kickoffs, or start at the 25 yard line. There are a few additional things you could do to replace the one point extra point.

Yeah, it seems ridiculous to have all these elite athletes out there trying to win a game in a violent sport and then...at the end of the game...this guy trots of there who usually doesn't come close to resembling a football player...and his foot and state of mind decide the game.

How did this ever become a thing in the first place? I think I need to Google. I either forgot or never inquired before.

 

[AROS]

They'd have to change the name of the sport.

You have a hell of a point. Runball? Passball? Runandpassball?

Doesn't quite work, does it?

 

[GeekHawk]

You have a hell of a point. Runball? Passball? Runandpassball?

Doesn't quite work, does it?

Yeah, Handball is already taken.

 

[Seahawker]

You have a hell of a point. Runball? Passball? Runandpassball?

Doesn't quite work, does it?

 

[chris98251]

It's one play that can go wrong in so many ways and adds to it's not really automatic, a team should not have to have that guy decide a game if they are really good, it's the middling teams that hope he can bring an advantage. Kind of like a Punter that plays for the Chiefs, how often do they really use him as a defensive weapon.

 

[pmedic920]

This has been a question I’ve had for a long time now. Why do we need kickers? Honestly? I get that it’s tradition and all of that but can we not evolve the game in the 21st Century?

I think we all can agree we have lost our shit over the years at times due to a kicker missing a game tying or winning field goal or extra point. Kickers missing field goals and extra points has to be at an all time high.

It doesn’t seem right or fair to me that a game where 22 players spend the entire 60 minutes fighting their butts off have to rely on a kicker to decide the game.

I would remove kickers. You start the game on the 20 yard line (this new rule of the 30 blows). Punters still do their thing. If you are in field goal territory you have to go for it on 4th down or punt. End of story.

All touchdowns are automatic 7 points just to keep that scoring paradigm alive.

Am I off my rocker? Am I on to something? What do you think?

Come on Man/Bro


If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.

We already don’t like (most of us) the changes we see in the NFL, why would we lobby to change the game even further?

 

[Ramfan128]

Hell no to getting rid of kickers.

The most painful missed FG in recent years for me was....McVay's only Thursday loss, in Seattle in 2019.

We lost 30-29 and Zuerlein missed a 40-something yard FG at the buzzer so we "should have won" the game.

Except Russell Wilson had a near perfect rating and we gave up 30 points. It never comes down to one play, one way or another. A made/missed FG is no different than a dropped/caught pass, a bad throw, a missed block, a good/bad call by an official.

 

[Rat]

Kickers aren't all bad. Remember when Blair Walsh missed that 27-yarder at the end of our wild card game? That was pretty awesome, and hysterical.

I do feel kind of bad for Blair though. He was so ashamed by that missed kick, that he retired immediately after the game and never played again... as is my recollection.

 

[AROS]

A made/missed FG is no different than a dropped/caught pass, a bad throw, a missed block, a good/bad call by an official.

Except none of things are direct point givers or takers like a field goal or extra point is.

 

[AROS]

Kickers aren't all bad. Remember when Blair Walsh missed that 27-yarder at the end of our wild card game? That was pretty awesome, and hysterical.

I do feel kind of bad for Blair though. He was so ashamed by that missed kick, that he retired immediately after the game and never played again... as is my recollection.

Yikes, that's rough. I never knew that.

 

[projectorfreak]

Simply bcuz of the giants game against us and they missed 4 in a row id like to keep it
The amount of crap that usually goes sideways is on blocked punts , i wouldn't mind punting or drop kicking field goals or xtra points
I also wouldn't mind telescopic goalposts that made every kick as hard as a 40 to 50 yarder
The closer you are the narrower it gets
Probably too many issues with teams abusing their fields mechanism though
I get your point but I sure like it when it goes in our favor

 

[jeremiah]

My head goes in two directions:
1. Keep the kickers, but as their ability has grown it's become too easy at longer distances. Move the goalposts closer together to increase the difficulty and make it higher risk, especially at longer distances.

2. Follow your plan but replace the kickoff with a free kick, like after a safety. That way you only have one kicker on the team (the punter) and you keep the kickoff mechanic. It's too exciting a play to just remove it from the game. Also, remove the touchback from kickoffs and punts entirely, unless the ball goes out of the end zone without being touched.

Why not allow a full on blitz type of rush on the offense doing the kicking. It wouldn't be as easy if the Defense could use ALL availabe tools to block a punt or kickoff. Vaulting over players, including teammates etc. Get back to football as it was meant to be played. Rough, tough, and all out.

 

[HomerJHawk]

More choreographed dancing that can add a half point if voted 3 thumbs up by ex NFL non media partial judges.

 

[oldhawkfan]

You have a hell of a point. Runball? Passball? Runandpassball?

Doesn't quite work, does it?

Oblongball

 

[Cyrus12]

Come on Man/Bro


If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.

We already don’t like (most of us) the changes we see in the NFL, why would we lobby to change the game even further?

This. Don't turn this into what the NHL has done to their keague..kickers can still determine game outcomes..good or bad so why change it?

 

[OrangeGravy]

Come on Man/Bro


If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it.

We already don’t like (most of us) the changes we see in the NFL, why would we lobby to change the game even further?

I'm with you on this. I don't really like kickers and it sucks to lose a game because of a kick, but it's nice when you win.
And at some point you have draw the line with modifying the game otherwise you'll end up with 7 on 7 flag football.