Cordarrelle Patterson is not convinced by the new kickoff bats: “I have a feeling they will change it again”

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed Cordarrelle Patterson in response to the NFL's change in kickoff rules. But will they even last? The league's proposal to radically revise the kickoff can only be implemented on a trial basis for one year and is subject to further approvals. So far, the initial results of the first week of preseason have not generated much enthusiasm for a permanent solution.

Even Patterson himself seems uncertain about the future of the game – and the current state of the game itself. He's talked about having mixed feelings about it in the past, but now he can actually work on it. Patterson was only recently activated from the non-football injured list and missed most of training camp due to a hamstring injury.

“It's different. It will be completely different. Nobody is used to it [because] “That's never happened in the NFL,” Patterson said earlier this week. “I have no control over it. They're going to change it. I feel like they're going to change it again before it's all said and done. I just have to go out there and show myself and try to make my mark everywhere I go.”

In the new “dynamic kickoff,” the kicker still kicks from his own 35-yard line, but the coverage players are not near him. They now line up on the receiving team's 40-yard line and are not allowed to move until the returner catches the ball or it hits the ground. A touchback now takes the ball to the 30-yard line without reaching the “landing zone,” putting it on the 40-yard line. The landing zone is inside the receiving team's 20-yard line. The receiving team must line up at least nine players in the lineup zone between the 30-yard line and the 35-yard line. A kick that lands inside the landing zone and goes out of the end zone moves to the 20-yard line.

Overall, the dynamic kickoff didn't create much momentum and produced relatively few notable results. The Steelers definitely lacked momentum in their first preseason game, but maybe Cordarrelle Patterson could have done something about that. That's what they're paying him $3 million a season for.

Patterson's comment is interesting, though, because he's not alone. Many people have speculated that the NFL might change the rule before the regular season. Even teams are concerned about it, and Sean Payton, head coach of the Denver Broncos, even suggested a change to the touchback. Pro Football Talk commented on the possibility of the league changing the play before Cordarrelle Patterson even gets a chance to make a touchback.

The NFL made this rule change with good intentions, and we still need a lot more data than we currently have. After all, the league's goal wasn't to produce a consistent stream of touchdowns. The main goal of the changes was to make the game safer while still being a play. However, many fear that teams will simply opt for the touchback if it only goes to the 30-yard line. That's why Payton suggested that the touchback should go to the 35-yard line. Otherwise, Patterson could lose his job if the new kickoff becomes the same as the old kickoff.