NFL proposal to reward teams for putting kickoffs through the uprights is no good

A rule that would reward kickers for splitting the uprights on kickoffs has been shot down by NFL executives. The policy change, proposed by Washington, would have moved touchbacks from the 25-yard line to the 20 when kickoffs clear through the goalposts.

The measure needed at least 24 votes — a 75 percent majority of the league’s owners — to pass. It received only 11 votes on Tuesday, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

The proposal was one of the more unorthodox proposals on the docket. Kickers with the leg strength to boot the equivalent of an un-rushed, 75-yard field goal would have had the opportunity to gift their defenses an extra 5 yards of field position.

However, the unique proposal also carried some flaws. Teams in domed stadiums would have an unfair advantage by playing in a wind-less environment for at least half their regular season games. Anyone kicking in Denver — a thin-air environment that offers less air resistance and longer flight times — would also stand to benefit significantly from the change.

Even so, big-legged kickers like New England’s Stephen Gostkowski and Oakland’s Sebastian Janikowski would have been able to add a little more special teams value regardless of setting.

That potential to create an unbalanced playing field was too much for league officials, who shot down Washington’s request.