Through two games, the dynamic kickoff has largely gone as expected. Returns haven’t gone up.
In fact, they’ve gone down.
Of 24 kickoffs, five have been returned. Nineteen have not.
That translates to a 20.8-percent return rate. Or, conversely, as a 79.2-percent touchback rate.
Last year, 74 percent of all kicks were touchbacks.
Last night’s game featured one of the factors mentioned during the Thursday night pregame show — a line drive that hit inside the 20 and forced a return. The Packers did it, and the tackle was made at the 16. That’s a (math is hard) 14-yard improvement to field position.
Of course, the brilliance of Green Bay’s successful decision to put the ball in play was balanced by an idiotic decision to return the last kickoff of the game. The Eagles put the ball into the end zone, content to concede the 30 with 27 seconds to play and a five-point lead. The Packers brought it out — wasting five seconds and getting the ball to the 16.
It gave the Packers 22 seconds to go 84 yards. They would have had 27 to go 70.
Not that they would have won the game. But the decision made a slim chance even slimmer.
On Sunday, much more data will emerge, thanks to 13 total games. Some teams will refine decisions based on what happened Thursday and Friday night. Then, come Monday night, the 49ers and Jets will have the chance to even further sharpen strategies based on the 15 total games that came before them.
Much remains to be determined. For now, however, the new kickoff is indeed far more dud than dynamic.
