By his own admission, Justin Tucker has not regularly practiced tackling since high school.
Does that mean the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history might want to cede his kickoff duties to a Ravens teammate now that radically revised league rules could put him more regularly in the line of fire?
No, sir.
Asked Thursday if he wants to be the man kicking off this season, Tucker said: “Hell yeah! I want to be out there. Any chance I get to be on the field, living out my childhood dream — wherever, whenever that is, I’m going to make sure I’m ready to go and put the best product on the field I possibly can.”
The new rule, designed to increase sharply the number of kickoff returns, has coaching staffs across the league dreaming up potential innovations. Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub, for example, has said he’s considering using safety Justin Reid to kick off instead of kicker Harrison Butker. Reid has a strong leg and would give the Chiefs an extra tackler to reduce the possibility of big returns.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said it makes sense to consider all possibilities, but he didn’t mention any specific candidates to nudge Tucker out of his traditional role.
“I would say that we’ve thought about everything,” Harbaugh said. “It’s just a matter of, ‘Do you have a guy that can kick it in there consistently?’ If you do, it probably is an advantage because you get an extra tackler in there, and you don’t put your kicker at risk. So, I’d say we’re looking at every aspect we can think of.”
Tucker agreed that “it’s totally fair to turn over every stone” if a team can find a practiced kick defender who’s also able to place kickoffs “on a dime.”
“There might be a hidden gem in our locker room,” he said, tongue perhaps slightly in cheek.
Kickers will continue to kick from the 35-yard line, but the other 10 players on the kicking team will line up at the opposing team’s 40, with at least nine players on the receiving team lined up in a “setup zone” between the 35 and 30 and up to two returners in a “landing zone” between the goal line and 20.
Only the kicker and returner(s) will be allowed to move until the ball hits the ground or a player in the landing zone.
No fair catches will be allowed and touchbacks will be marked at the 30. If a team wishes to attempt an onside kick, it will have to tell the officials and would be allowed to line up in a traditional formation, thus eliminating the surprise element.
Asked if he laments the change or views it as an opportunity to gain a potential advantage, Harbaugh said the latter.
“We told the guys, ‘This is a collaboration. We’re learning this together. Where do we want to drop? What’s our targets? What are our landmarks? What are our leverages in the kickoff? What are our angles? Tell us what you think when you’re out there,’” he said. “So, we’re trying to make sure we do the best we can to enter the season understanding the play as well as we can. Then, I’m sure we’ll learn a lot once it starts happening for real.”
Tucker said that like Harbaugh, he appreciates the NFL seeking new rules that will create excitement after the kickoff game had become dominated by touchbacks in recent seasons.
“My initial reaction was you’ve got to be positive about it and think about it in terms of this is going to keep the play in the game,” he said. “It’s not just going to keep the play in the game; it’s going to be a lot more exciting. I think there’s going to be a lot more action.”
He’s enjoying “trying to figure out whichever way we can, in our minds, gain an advantage.”
It’s a fresh challenge for a man who has devoted his entire professional life to mastering the minute details that set apart the best NFL kicking operations.
Ravens special teams coaches have spent the offseason analyzing every XFL kickoff in hopes of cracking the code. Intense routines dominate NFL life, so a brand new play represents a fun shock to the system.
Harbaugh, with his background coaching special teams, seems legitimately intrigued by what teams might try come the regular season.
“I think having a kicker that can put the ball in spots with various types of hang times will be an advantage, and Justin definitely is a guy that can do that,” he said. “But I don’t know if hang time is going to matter or not. We’re just going to have to see how it all plays out that way. We have a lot to learn about the play.”
Tucker joked that he has added 3.8 pounds of muscle in the weight room after watching how often XFL kickers had to tackle when playing under rules similar to the ones the NFL will use.
“Can you guys tell?” he said. “Probably not.”
Do the Ravens want him boning up on his tackling? After all, if Tucker were to suffer a freak injury on a hit, his replacement would be significantly less accomplished.
“It’s one of those things that just comes naturally. If you’re a ballplayer, you stick your nose in there,” he said. “I don’t think it’s something that is necessarily encouraged. But it’s not discouraged either. It just comes with the territory. It’s a football play. We’re all football players out there.”