Jamie Nye: The CFL is still kicking, thankfully

Opinion

The CFL literally kicks the NFL’s butt when it comes to the return game.

The National Football League took another step of taking the “foot” out of football with a new rule that allows a fair catch on kickoffs.

Yes, now a player can wave down a kickoff to allow his team’s offence to get the ball at the 25-yard line whether the return man is on the one-yard line or the 15.

Of course the fair catch has been a prominent part of the punt return in the NFL since Curly Lambeau caught the first one in 1921.

There is nothing more exciting to a football fan than watching a capable playmaker waving his hand in the air like he’s hailing a cab to haul in a punt, signalling the play dies when he catches the ball.

It’s only slightly more entertaining than when that same capable playmaker, who is supposedly paid money to actually return a kickoff or punt, lets the ball bounce around and roll to a stop or until a player from the kicking team touches it.

The kickback for the kickoff rule from NFL elites is swift and deserved.

Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce calls it “absolutely stupid.”

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who worked his way up in the coaching ranks as a special-teams co-ordinator and was actually consulted on the rule change, said there were better options. He’s clearly not a fan.

Why would he be?

While the NFL says this is a one-year trial, if it is indeed for player safety, I doubt it’ll be changing its opinion.

Really, we’re getting to the point in the National Football League that they’re going to get rid of kickoffs altogether.

Other leagues are already using some alternatives to the onside kick strategy. A team has the option to scrimmage as if it’s a fourth-and-15 after it scores a touchdown or field goal in order to maintain possession at the end of the game.

So it seems inevitable that the NFL will just start every possession from the 25-yard line sooner rather than later and take out the possibility of kick returns and punt returns altogether.

No more Devin Hester, Deion Sanders, Desmond Howard or Brian Mitchell, all of whom brought fans out of their seats every time they got the ball in their hands and started to gear up.

Nope, now fans get to see more hands waving through the air to signal they still have time to buy their beer or grab a snack from the fridge.

Thankfully the powers that be in the Canadian Football League haven’t lost their minds and still understand that football is a contact sport and the return game and special teams are a major part of the game.

There were three punt returns for touchdowns in the NFL last season. Total. All 32 teams combined for three punt return touchdowns.

They combined for just six kickoff return touchdowns.

In 272 games, there were nine return touchdowns.

Let’s look at the CFL. In its 81 total games last season, there were 11 return touchdowns.

And nowhere is there a person on the rules committee thinking, “How can we limit those game-breaking, highlight-reel plays?”

I couldn’t imagine this league wasting the electrifying talent of players like Pinball Clemons, Gizmo Williams or Rocket Ismail by allowing them to stand around waving at footballs.

The CFL has and always will have the superior product because of the big-play potential on any play. It’s what has allowed our league to have some special moments by some special talents on special teams.

That’s why if anyone claims the National Football League is the better “game,” they are out to lunch.