HoF NFL head coach urges league to implement changes including removal of QB kneel
Does anyone like the QB kneel? Your answer to that question is likely dependent on a couple of follow-up questions. 1. Is it late in the fourth quarter? 2. Is my team winning?
One man who certainly isn't a fan of QB kneels is former Minnesota Vikings and Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach, Bud Grant. At 95, and with his bust already in Canton, he has probably forgotten more about football than most people ever knew.
Football doesn't need fixing, but that doesn't stop @HPBudGrant from imagining improvements startribune.com/bud-grant-viki… #NFL #CFL via @StarTribune
In a recent interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Grant, who led a Vikings team that included the famous Purple People Eaters defensive line to four Super Bowls, discussed his ideas for improving the game.
One of the HOF coach's ideas is to remove the QB kneel from the playbook, arguing that it does nothing to add to the spectical, and it is not a good look seeing people leave the stadium as QBs are kneeling down to run out the clock.
He does, however, have a radical solution after years of being told it would be impossible to get rid of the play. Grant suggests that, if teams fail to gain, at least, a yard on any play, then the clock should continue to run.
The removal of the QB kneel is not the only change that Grant would like to make. He feels that kickoff and punt returns have become almost obsolete, and would like the NFL to follow the example of their Canadian counterparts, the CFL, and remove the fair catch by allowing the returner an initial five-yard cushion.
For kickoffs, the taking of a knee in the endzone should result in the ball being placed on the 15-yard line, rather than the 25. Certainly interesting ideas which have sparked more debate among a certain group of fans who feel the NFL has become overly cautious.
Adaptations to kickoff and punt returns appear unlikely. These changes were only implemented after the league had conducted extensive research aimed at making the game safer. Grant contends that has more to do with the NFL not wanting to be seen as using ideas from other leagues. But the data collected by the NFL highlighted a clear link between returns and increased incidence of concussions.
At today’s Annual Meeting, owners voted to make permanent the kickoff rule changes that were implemented in 2018. The changes resulted in a 38% reduction in kickoff concussions vs. 2015-17, largely impacted from eliminating wedge blocks. Here's an overview. https://t.co/RISl3DT9Kr
Grant's ideas are interesting, and it would be fair to say the changes to punt and kick returns have taken away one exciting element of the game. What we have gained is a safer game, with fewer injuries. For some, they would rather have the increased risk, do you agree?