4th and 20 as an alternative to an onside

[12intheBox]

Can the NFL revive the ‘dead’ onside kick? What about fourth and 20 instead?

Here are five things to know as Week 16 of the NFL season approaches, including the league’s top five teams. - - -Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Can the onside kick be fixed? The NFL plans to try. The NFL appears to...

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As a Rams fan, I have a hard time with this. 4th and 20 seems a bit too easy to me. Still, the onside kick is broken.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

If you have the Raheem Morris defense, 4th and 20 is almost guaranteed. And no blue font on that one either. He would give the receivers a 25 yard cushion.

 

[Q729]

Even in the Spring leagues it seemed relatively easy to complete.

 

[dang]

If you have the Raheem Morris defense, 4th and 20 is almost guaranteed. And no blue font on that one either. He would give the receivers a 25 yard cushion.

Sorry. I’d give you 8 yards but calling BS on 25 yards. And - No blue font either.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

Sorry. I’d give you 8 yards but calling BS on 25 yards. And - No blue font either.

I can't count the times it was 4th and 10, and the DBs were like 15 yards back. He was so afraid of getting beat deep, he would literally GIVE them a first down, even on 4th down.

 

[Tano]

I can't count the times it was 4th and 10, and the DBs were like 15 yards back. He was so afraid of getting beat deep, he would literally GIVE them a first down, even on 4th down.

Actually they would be 8 - 10 yards back and then drop back another 5 yards after the ball was hiked.

It only seem like they started 15 yards back.

 

[brucebruce]

Can the NFL revive the ‘dead’ onside kick? What about fourth and 20 instead?

Here are five things to know as Week 16 of the NFL season approaches, including the league’s top five teams. - - -Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Can the onside kick be fixed? The NFL plans to try. The NFL appears to...

www.yahoo.com

As a Rams fan, I have a hard time with this. 4th and 20 seems a bit too easy to me. Still, the onside kick is broken.

The onside kick shouldn't be easy. Don't put yourself in a position where you must score two more TDs with five minutes left. Your defense needs to be fixed—not the onside kick rules. The team that has taken the commanding lead has earned a level of buffer instead of the league making it easier for teams to snatch away the lead with some absurd non-football plays. Not every game needs to be a nail-biter because it'll dilute true comebacks. If a team needs the ball back, then they can defend and earn a three and out. Need it faster? Force a turnover. Better yet, don't let the game get out of hand. Practice urgency from the first whistle.

 

[Steve808]

Can the NFL revive the ‘dead’ onside kick? What about fourth and 20 instead?

Here are five things to know as Week 16 of the NFL season approaches, including the league’s top five teams. - - -Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Can the onside kick be fixed? The NFL plans to try. The NFL appears to...

www.yahoo.com

As a Rams fan, I have a hard time with this. 4th and 20 seems a bit too easy to me. Still, the onside kick is broken.

I think it's completely ridiculous that you can even do an onside kick. Two teams fight it out, but the outcome can change over a short kickoff where the teams fight for the ball? Same with a 4th and 20. Once bad call like pass interference or holding and an automatic first down? Keep it the way it is. A very remote chance to get a free possession. IMO of course.

Anyone remember the 1999 Rams in the playoffs? We were beating the Vi-queens 49-17 with a few minutes left and then 2-3 successful onside kicks and the final score was 49-37? Didn't matter in the end but what if the lead was 28-17?

 

[XXXIVwin]

The onside kick shouldn't be easy. Don't put yourself in a position where you must score two more TDs with five minutes left. Your defense needs to be fixed—not the onside kick rules. The team that has taken the commanding lead has earned a level of buffer instead of the league making it easier for teams to snatch away the lead with some absurd non-football plays. Not every game needs to be a nail-biter because it'll dilute true comebacks. If a team needs the ball back, then they can defend and earn a three and out. Need it faster? Force a turnover. Better yet, don't let the game get out of hand. Practice urgency from the first whistle.

Agreed, well said.

NFL has already done a great job of producing tons of super-close one-score games. We don't need to artificially manufacture even more parity.

Besides, an onside kick SHOULD be a desperation-only type play, with a low success rate.

And I'm concerned that a proposed 4th-and-20 rule might result in too many games being decided by "tacky-tack" calls.

 

[TSFH Fan]

Bottom line is that the League is looking for a higher probability play than the current onside kick. So, while fans may be correct in concluding that the onside kick is working as it should be, with ultra-low probability, that is the problem.

The 4th and 20 option would seem to yield a too high of a success rate. Of course, you can adjust one or more of the variables for a preferred success rate. Fourth and 50 from your own 1-yard line would probably be too low of a success rate for the League.

Try this: keep the current onside kick, but make it 3 on 3 or 5 on 5. Sure, there would be significant injury risk in the mad scramble for the ball, but that's only an issue for people who believe the League genuinely cares about player safety.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

The only way I could stomach this rule change would be if a dpi can't be called. If the other team wants the ball back so bad they have to earn it. No free play.

.

 

[Mojo Ram]

No more changes are needed to increase scoring, handicap defenses, eliminate blowouts and keep viewers glued for 4 qtrs. Stop the insanity.

The Parity police wearing stripes already have enough power to call any number of grey area penalties to influence games.

 

[Londoner]

The only way I could stomach this rule change would be if a dpi can't be called.

Wouldn't that give defensive backs carte blanche to just hurl receivers out of the way?

 

[Faceplant]

Wouldn't that give defensive backs carte blanche to just hurl receivers out of the way?

Hell yeah!! Back in my day, we called that Smear the Qu......ummm...500!!

 

[Psycho_X]

Like others have already said I would not be in favor of that with the way rules are against the defense. If you lose in 4 quarters the other team doesn't deserve a second chance due to some BS pass interference call or holding or roughing QB etc. Onside kick is fine enough. You lost during after most of the game is over you can try a low chance way of continuing the game. Should not be an easy thing.

IF they decided to do something like that there would need to be some rules attached to it. First off, a team could only do it once a game... after that they are only allowed to do onside kicks. I think limit the type of play... Idk what exactly that would be but my first thought is the ball can't travel past 20 yards. No hail mary's or throw and pray routes. Have to throw it or run it and make a player have to gain YAC past 20 yards to make it count. Penalties can be called but none are automatic first downs. Pass interference, holding, etc can be called but it wouldn't result in a first down.

 

[dieterbrock]

The onside kick shouldn't be easy. Don't put yourself in a position where you must score two more TDs with five minutes left. Your defense needs to be fixed—not the onside kick rules. The team that has taken the commanding lead has earned a level of buffer instead of the league making it easier for teams to snatch away the lead with some absurd non-football plays. Not every game needs to be a nail-biter because it'll dilute true comebacks. If a team needs the ball back, then they can defend and earn a three and out. Need it faster? Force a turnover. Better yet, don't let the game get out of hand. Practice urgency from the first whistle.

This
Every bit of it

 

[RhodyRams]

the NFL has been changing KO rules at a high rate, but with the onside kick. all bets are off. The rule won't change again until there are a slew of injuries from them

 

[fearsomefour]

Revert back to the old onside kick rules.
4th and 20.....and the borderline D holding an a DB away from the play.....first down.

 

[DzRams]

If you have the Raheem Morris defense, 4th and 20 is almost guaranteed. And no blue font on that one either. He would give the receivers a 25 yard cushion.

We need a font color for statements that contain some truth but are extreme exaggerations. I'm thinking purple font.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

Imagine it's 4th and 20 and your defensive lineman accidentally breathes on Princess Allen.
They would get the ball back at the 50 yard line immediately and only one play from FG range.