What is this, flag football?

Courtesy of ESPN

       On Sunday, I was watching the Bears game with my dad. At  the start of the second half, when the Bears were receiving the kickoff, the ball was kicked way over Devin Hester's head. My dad then complained how Hester didn't get a chance to return the ball. At this point I realized that my dad was unaware of the new Kickoff Rule that moves the kickoff from the 30 yard line to the 35 yard line. As a result of this new rule, the number of touchbacks has greatly increased. The rule change is in an effort to lessen injuries created by high speed collisions on kickoffs.
       Once I had explained this to my dad, all he said was, "But wait, that's part of the game. They can't just get rid of it." This made me question whether the NFL should make drastic changes to the game to make it safer. This rule change is particularly frustrating for teams that have invested huge sums of money for high profile returners and years of development for talented rookie returners. Since 2006, when Hester joined the Bears, special teams has been an exciting phase for fans and a huge threat to the other team. It's definitely not something that fans or teams want to lose.

Two talented and famous kickoff
 returners, Josh Cribbs and Devin Hester.
Courtesy of Barstool Sports. 

      I understand the stresses on eliminating helmet-to-helmet hits and defenders leading with their helmets. That's different. Players can tackle without hitting helmets and causing concussions. But when the NFL threatens to almost eliminate a whole phase of the game, that seems to go too far. Football has been unsafe for years and everybody knows that. Monday's news is overrun by injury reports, some minor and some season ending. ACL's are still tearing, arms are still breaking, and heads are still concussing with or without the kickoff change. The league shouldn't compromise such a vital and exciting part of the game because of safety concerns, when the rest of the game is just as unsafe and injury laden. Soon enough, they will be pulling flags instead of tackling.