Quote Originally Posted by IndyBison View Post
It actually had a significant impact on the number of touchbacks. They increased from 16% to 45% in 2011. It didn't eliminate it like many predicted but it did greatly reduce the number of returns. The NFL toyed with changing the succeeding spot for touchbacks to the 25 but kept it at the 20. Once teams realized they could likely get the ball past the 20 on a kick in the end zone, you saw more returners do it. The reason they were able to do this is the kicking team didn't have as much of a head start. The NCAA rule did the same thing. By moving the touchback spot to the 25, they will reduce the number of returns even more because the reward for taking a knee is greater.
And it won't punish teams who bring in amazing athletes who can run back kicks by mandating no KO returns. IMHO I see more directional kicking and higher kicks for teams that know how to cover kicks and trust their kickers to not kick the ball out of bounds. Put some air underneath it and let them field it between the 5 and goalline. If your guys get down there to stop them inside the 20 more power to you. Especially against teams with sub par returners.