The NFL hasn't officially come out said it, but if you read between the lines, it certainly appears that the league has no interest in kick returns.
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy has read between the lines.
"Do you want the kicking game in the game or not in the game?" McCarthy told ESPN's Rob Demovsky on Wednesday. "If it's in the game, let's kick it and return it and let's play the play. I just don't like (it), let's not reward a decision not to compete with five extra yards.
"If we're going to compete, let's compete. If we're not going to compete, let's not compete."
The new rule states that the ball will now be placed at the 25-yard line as opposed to the 20-yard line following touchbacks.
NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent admitted that the point of the rule is to create less returns, although the league is unsure that's how it will play out.
"It was debated and discussed at length, and I think that's why it was a one-year playing proposal to see: Are the implications what we hope they will be, with less returns?" Vincent told NFL Network on Wednesday.
McCarthy also questioned the affect that eliminating chop blocks will have on the NFL game and the league's decision to make as many changes as they have.
"I'm all for adjusting technique and everything, but when you start making all these changes, now you're going to adjust all the schemes and so forth, it just limits your capabilities to attack your opponent," said McCarthy. "I don't think that's good for the game."
