One of the more interesting developments this past week was the NFL considering the retirement of the onside kick. A rule that has been in football for age seems to have lost its value due to attempts by the league to improve player safety. This led to discussions about finding an alternative. Among those that gained the most traction was the “4th and 15” rules. Teams would be allowed to go for a 4th and 15 attempt on offense from their own 25-yard line to keep possession of the ball. It seemed like a fun alternative to the onside, but apparently not enough teams were behind the idea. The Chicago Bears included.
According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, there was a basically a count of raised hands for or against the rule change. Not an official vote. The room was split right down the middle 16 to 16. A lot of teams felt such an idea was a little too gimmicky and put an unfair advantage in favor of the offense. Especially against teams who had elite talent at a certain position.
Something the Bears representatives pointed out in hilarious fashion.
“One team said in jest, ‘If you have a future Hall of Fame quarterback on your roster, you should be excluded from the conversation.’ I am told that team that joked about it was the Chicago Bears. So they were referencing Aaron Rodgers, how about that one?”
Chicago Bears are right to feel that way after 30 years of abuse
No team has more of a right to make that statement than the Bears. They’ve been victims of Hall of Fame quarterbacks for almost three decades. First with Brett Favre and now Aaron Rodgers. Stopping either of those guys on 4th and 15 would be a huge challenge. Even for a good defense. Even Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid admitted his team would have an obvious advantage with Patrick Mahomes.
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This is why the rule change was tabled. It’s clear things need further discussion and hashing out. How can they find a way to make such an idea more balanced to where it’s fair for the offense and defense? Maybe go from 15 yards to 20 yards. There are possibilities. It’s not a bad idea, just kind of a half-baked one at this point. Credit the Bears for keeping a sense of humor in all of this.