Raiders' Daniel Carlson: Kickers want to perform at the highest level, not be limited by rules
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson is among the many special teams players and coaches across the NFL who are uneasy about the new rule that will encourage fair catches on kickoffs.
“You want to be able to perform at the highest level and not be limited by rules ,” Carlson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “And so, we’re trying to figure out how to do that now and roll with the punches.”
The new rule puts the ball on the 25-yard line after fair catches on kickoffs. That means it will be very rare for a kicker to get good hang time and pin the opponent deep in opposing territory, and Carlson will miss that element of the game.
“Not only for field position, but also for kind of the momentum after a score to go pin someone down inside the 20,” Carlson said. “I think that’s a huge play for a team to set their defense up and to get guys fired up.”
Still, Carlson recognizes that there's no value in arguing about it now: “We’ll just have to adjust along with all the other teams in the league and try and figure out ways to take advantage of the new rules, just like offense and defense do when rule changes happen with them.”
