Bill Belichick says the NFL’s new kickoff rule, which will see 10 players on the kicking team and nine players on the return team lined up five yards apart, will lead teams to prioritize size over speed on special teams.
“There will be more of an emphasis on size players in the return game than speed,” Belichick said on the Pat McAfee Show. “You just need guys who can play at the point of attack, shed blocks and defend their space because of the new alignment. So I think it will increase the size of the players that are on the field. And I do think that because everybody is spread across the field, if these returners, if they hit a little bit of space, they’re gone.”
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