The Problem
Enough, enough, enough already, how many times must I see this? A team battling their opponent and an unstoppable clock as battered, bleeding lineman bend over sucking air, a quarterback holds his hands over the earholes on his helmet to hear the play call over a full house of boisterous fans, while a wide receiver tries to clear his head from the vicious hit he took while teammates pat him on the rear for holding on to the ball. They break the huddle, the ball is snapped and the running back plows into a line of 300 lb maniacs who use every trick in the book to pry the ball loose. But thanks to years of work in the weight room, he holds on as they grind his face mask into the ground and the whistle blows. The ball is marked one yard short of the big red arrow on the sideline and eleven men in dirty uniforms trudge off the field as another eleven run on. One player oddly stands out from the others, he has a puny face mask, a clean uniform and swings his leg from side to side as he stares at the goal post a mere 32 yards away
It all comes down to this - world class athletes who perform stunning displays of running, catching, throwing, covering, blocking and tackling must put the fate of the game and possibly a season into the hands of someone who can't do any of those things. They have to hope this guy can kick the ball at least 10 feet high while it travels 96 feet through two poles 18.5 feet apart - what does this have to do with anything else related to the game? Real football players tolerate kickers and I believe would welcome a change that puts their fate in their own hands.
I don't have anything against kickers, I just don't think they're football players. Let the game be decided by players who bust their butts doing gassers in training camp, who do offseason training till they puke, guys who have to learn a playbook and more technique than step, step, kick.
There is better way ....