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Word first emerged in early March that the Philadelphia Eagles were proposing their onside kick alternative for the second year in a row. You know, the scenario where the kicking team would be allowed to set up a 4th-and-15 from their own 25-yard line?
Yeah, well, that proposal isn’t passing this year. It’s not even going to a vote; the Eagles have decided to table it all together, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Schefty did add that the Eagles still stand by their proposal but also believe the competition committee’s proposal to aide onside kicks “deserves a trial year.” This proposal, which might be more likely to pass, would “limit teams receiving onside kicks to nine players in the setup zone 10-25 yards from the spot of the kickoff.” And then depending on how that goes, the Eagles might move forward with their original again in the future.
The feeling here all along has been that the NFL is being pretty lame by not giving the Eagles’ proposal a trial run. What’s the worst that could happen? More fun could be introduced into the game? The horror.
I thought my BGN Radio co-host put it well:
If the rule were always that a scoring team could have a 4th and 15 at their own 35 to retain possession after a score, and someone proposed a whole set of rules for something called an “onsides kick,” which didn’t already exist, people would thing that was the dumbest shit ever.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) April 21, 2021
Just give it a try, you cowards.