Story ostensibly about college football, but really not level-specific.

Anyone else find this outside-the-box idea rather intriguing? (not that it would ever go anywhere in the NFL)



LINK 

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I still have not seen a study that shows a statistically significant greater rate of injury on kickoffs than any other play from scrimmage. We are constantly fed anecdotal evidence, but studies have shown that rare events tend to stand out more vividly in our memory than everyday ones (it has to do with the mechanics behind long-term potentiation, which I am NOT going to elaborate on here). We remember the injuries sustained during kickoffs because a) they are comparatively rare and b) they are more dramatic due to the inherent speed and excitement of the play. I would still be almost willing to bet money that injuries on kickoffs are a relatively insignificant fraction of the total injuries sustained during a season.

On the other hand, I can't say I object too strenuously to his idea about replacing the onside kick with a play from scrimmage. Anything that encourages teams to run plays instead of punting has to be considered a good thing. I would rather give teams the choice whether to onside kick or run a play, though.

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I think the nature of the injuries, not the shear number, are the underlying concern.



I would be willing to bet that the percentage of career ending injuries (spinal cord related) are significantly higher on kickoffs than all other plays in the sport combined.



The fact the players are colliding full speed in the opposing directions with at a minimum 7 to 10  full tilt collisions per kickoff are occurring.. where all other plays from scrimmage at tops there probably is one collision of such force at the max where a ball carrier/receiver are in the open field. All other collisions and contact occur without a full build up of speed..

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Agreed. It is the dramatic nature of the injuries that is the concern. But that is not usually how the argument is phrased, from what I have seen.

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The article was not as crazy as I thought it was going to be. I've never thought of onside kicks as dangerous plays, but the author is correct that it is a play that depends largely on luck. And replacing kickoffs with punts might be a good thing. I do think there are more serious injuries on kickoffs than other plays, though it would be helpful to see some statistical evidence. It shouldn't be too hard for someone to run some numbers on this.

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No.

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