New kickoff rules

I'm surprised nobody has raised this subject since it's all over ESPN radio. For those who are living under a rock and haven't heard, the rules committee approved a huge change to kickoff rules in an effort to make the most dangerous play in football safer. The new rules allow the receiving team to fair catch a kickoff anywhere inside the 25 yard line and the ball will still be placed at the 25 for the offense, first and 10. As has been discussed ad nauseum on the talk shows, there's no stopping the change as player safety is driving it, but many see this as just the first step to completely removing the kickoff from football. The problem in question is the high speed collisions involved in kickoffs. High speed collisions created by elite athletes getting a huge running start at their counterparts before the collision occurs. Collisions the human body isn't designed to absorb.

As a Bama fan stated on one show this afternoon, if this rule were in place 3 years ago, chances are we don't beat Clemson for #16. Because on any ball fielded inside the 25, the safe play is just fair catch it and start at the 25. Drake probably doesn't run it back. They are fundamentally altering the game. I understand the call for player safety but don't like the way this minimizes the potential for big plays on kickoffs.