Things could look very different for the New York Giants on special teams in 2024. Not only is new special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial taking over for the fired Thomas McGaughey, but the NFL has instituted significant changes to the rules governing the kickoff.
To recap: Kickoffs will still originate at the 35-yard line, but the coverage players other than the kicker will line up on their opponent’s 40-yard line. Kickoffs will now feature a 20-yard “landing zone” between the opposing end zone and the 20-yard line, where opposing returners will align. The rest of the opposing teams’ players will line up in a 5-yard “setup zone” between the 30 and 35-yard line.
The kicker can’t cross the 50-yard line, and his teammates can’t move off of their spots at the 40-yard line, until the ball is caught by the return team or it hits the ground in the landing zone. Kicks that hit the ground in the landing zone must be returned, and kicks that hit the ground in the landing zone and roll into the end zone must be returned or downed by the receiving team. Kicks that land in — or go out the back of — the end zone are still treated as touchbacks, while kicks that land short of the landing zone are treated as kicks that go out of bounds.
The changes were instituted to spark excitement on kickoffs, and will inspire s changes in tactics and strategy.
“It’s going to look more like the offensive run game than people think,” Ghobrial said. “The NFL has taken the speed and space out of it and there is just less space to necessarily get as creative with your blocking schemes as you would think.
“But the thing I’ve always coached our guys on, is it [the kick return] is the first offensive play of the series, and it’s our job as the kickoff return unit to put our offense in the best position to have success.”
That last bit is key for fans to remember: Special teams are important — occasionally vitally so. Games are won and lost on special teams plays, with yardage gained or lost on returns often being critical. Big returns or blown tackles often get highlight reel attention, but picking up an extra 5 or 10 yards every special teams play can add up in a big way.
For Ghobrial, the opposite is true for covering kick-offs (or punts).
“Kickoff is the first defensive play of the series,” he said. “When you look at the purest form of football, you’re talking about block destruction, pursuit angles, disengages, all those things you’ve that have still been prevalent in our game.
“That doesn’t necessarily change. So the biggest thing is those fundamentals have to come to life, and you have to be able to practice those. It’s just the matter of when you could use it and how quickly you use it.”
One of the less obvious changes to kickoffs with the new rules is that players can’t move until the ball hits the ground in the landing zone or is fielded. That significantly changes the timing of the play, when everyone started moving when the ball was struck. As Ghobrial mentions earlier, that takes the element of hang-time out of the kick and will significantly change the timing aspect.
He mentioned that his units will have certain rules in place, at least to start. The next challenge, according to Ghobrial, will be coaches and special teams units around the league adapting and innovating based on what happens in preseason.
“I think the number one thing is you always want to make sure your players are versed on the rules, number one,” Ghobrial said. “Whether it be alignments, when they can take off, those are the biggest things that I think you have to start when you’re installing a drastic rule change. What are they allowed to do and not allowed to do.
“Once you get to that, then some challenges can certainly unfold. The fact of the matter is things will reveal itself when it’s a little bit faster tempo and you are going against another team. So I think the challenge for every coordinator in this league is how quickly they can evolve after their first preseason game when they see it.”
NYG special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial on the potential of rookies Tyrone Tracy and Dante Miller as returners. pic.twitter.com/KtpxVo619t
— Big Blue View (@bigblueview) June 13, 2024
For instance, the Giants have been using two returners on kickoffs — with rookie running backs Tyrone Tracy and Dante Miller among the group. Ghobrial said on Wednesday that he’s excited to work with them.
“Man, you talk about two young bucks that I’m excited to see what they do in preseason,” he said. “Both of them just tremendous human beings, number one, and so excited, so eager to put their best foot forward. Both have such a skillset to be good returners in this league.”
Ghobrial also said that the goal of using two returners is not force a single returner to cover the entire landing zone.
“Number one, I think you got to look at the rule changes, right, where people can’t necessarily leave until the ball has landed in the landing zone or the returner catches it,” Ghobrial said.
“So if you think about what’s really irrelevant right now, it’s hang time. You’re going to see a lot more lower kickoffs, which is going to cause returners to have to cover more ground.
“What allows you to cover more ground is potentially putting two back there. Now, there are still going to be elements where people will still put one returner there, in which case you’ve just got to really challenge your returners, see how much ground he can cover, and see if you can get away with it.”
