A look at the Dallas Cowboys and KaVontae Turpin practicing the new kickoff return
For the first time, in a very long time, we are entering a completely new world in the NFL. This is the case because of the adjustment to kickoffs as we have always known them to be. This past offseason saw the league approve to utilize a method of kickoffs that was most recently seen in the XFL. Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel was among those who presented the idea to league owners (successfully so) which means that theoretically he understood it before anybody else did.
It is for this reason that getting to see the Cowboys work on it was something that we were all very excited about. Sunday marked the fourth practice of camp so far (unfortunately a serious one with Sam Williams being carted off) and the first official debut of the kickoff (at least in terms of videos surfacing from practice).
Obviously this is just a glimpse at this, but anything we can get our eyes and hands out right now is significant. There is little chance that the Cowboys will show off much of what they have up their sleeve in terms of the new kickoff during the preseason in an effort to keep it around for when games actually mean something, but baby steps are steps nonetheless.
You can hear Fassel at the beginning of the clip continually reminding the players that they have to wait for the catch. This is part of the rule change as no players are permitted to leave their starting positions until the returner does in fact catch the ball.
It may appear mundane, but again this is a change from how these players have done this activity for literally their entire lives. Not setting a proper foundation could lead to mistakes or penalties and set the team up poorly in a critical spot.