NFL Rules for a Kickoff

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Lawal McCray Senior, I'm the Head Football Coach at Blanche Ely High School, we're located in Pompano Beach, Florida. Let's talk about the NFL rules for kickoff. One, is Toss Off with the kicking of the ball, the ball is lined on a thirty yard line, and must be kicked more than ten yards for to be classified as a leg or kick. If the ball is not kicked more than ten yards, and it is touched by the kicking team, the kicking team will receive a penalty. Once the ball travels more than ten yards, and if the kicking team recovers it, then it'll be their ball. If the kicking team kicks the ball out of bounds before it goes into the end zone, they also receive a penalty for that. And the ball will be placed on the thirty yard line. The kickoff team sets the tone for the defense. Some of your hardest hitters, and the most exciting players, play on the kickoff team. Now there are different types of kick offs, also. Now you have your own side kick, that's when the kicking team intentionally kicks the ball ten to fifteen yards, and tries to recover it from the offense. This typically happens when the team is behind, they're trying to get the ball back to score, again. Also you have the Corner Kick, the Corner Kick is basically when the kickoff team is trying to kick the ball between the hash marks, to pin down a dangerous return. Now the third type of kick you have, is called the Squib kick. The Squib kick is intentionally done once again, is kick the ball on the ground, hard as possible, straight down the field. Teams try to do this because they're trying to disrupt the return team's player, a return scheme. A lot of times, mostly the ball's on the ground, it'll confuse the return team and allows the kickoff team to get an edge. The kickoff team is a very complex part of the game and it's very vital to assess the teams."