LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The new “dynamic” kickoff that debuted in the Hall of Fame game between the Bears and Texans wasn’t quite as exciting as the name suggested it would be, but it was instructive.
“I just took away that it happens really fast,” said special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. “It happens really fast. I took away that angles are really important, body types are really important and really… we're going to try some different things.”
On Saturday, head coach Matt Eberflus said one of those things they’re going to tinker with before their next preseason game is alignment. DeAndre Carter is expected to be one of the men in the forefront of the return competition, but he didn’t get a crack at it on Thursday. Even from the sidelines, he saw how the alignment of the coverage and return teams can lead to big gains.
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“The kicking unit is all on one level, so it's kinda like if you can get past the first line, it's just the kicker left, which I love of course,” Carter said. “But it's also a tough block for the return team because you gotta hold that block longer than the old style, which is tougher obviously. But as a returner, I think you can kind of manipulate the coverage a little more to make a cut and try to make a play.”
In all there were seven kick returns on Thursday and one touchback. The seven returns went for 24, 21, 15, 28, 31, 21 and 19 yards. That’s an average of 22.7 yards per return, which was lower than the averages many returners put up last year. In 2023, the league’s best KaVontae Turpin averaged 29.2 yards per return. Velus Jones Jr. averaged 27.2 yards per return for the Bears.
Hightower believes part of the reason the returns weren’t as “dynamic” as expected is because everyone in the league is still trying to figure out how to run the play as optimally as possible. Another reason is that teams are trying to hide some of their schemes and ideas while working on the play.
“It's a delicate balance obviously,” Hightower said.
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Add in the fact that the Bears and Texans play in Week 2 of the regular season, and things were even more basic on Thursday.
“We were both very vanilla on both sides,” said Hightower.
Following the new kickoff play will be one of the most intriguing storylines to follow throughout the year as teams try new schemes and systems. Will we see a shift towards quick, long players? Or burlier blockers who can create wide running lanes? Some teams will find success and other teams will copy them. Then everyone will adjust again.
“Very excited,” Carter said. “Very excited.”