Patriots' Jason McCourty Rips New Onside Kick Rule as Helping Losers
By Michael Luciano
While most were excited to see the NFL replace the outdated onside kick with a fourth-and-15 conversion play, New England Patriots cornerback Jason McCourty took a hard stance against this rule change.
McCourty claims that making the securing of possession of the ball after a score a touch easier is, in effect, rewarding teams for playing from behind for most of the game.
Asked about the proposed onside kick alternative, #Patriots DB Jason McCourty said he doesn't really understand it. "We're now basically rewarding you for being behind."
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) May 27, 2020
He did admit that the NFL is about entertainment and this rule is more exciting than an offside kick.
Fourth-and-15 is by no means an easy conversion, but McCourty seems to think that allowing a team to try a play that has a slightly higher conversion rate than the archaic onside kick is giving teams a pass for not asserting control through the indended, conventional means.
Support has been growing for this new rule change, which would take place during an untimed down Teams are additionally not permitted to change their decision from a conversion to a kickoff if there is offensive pass interference on the play. What is not to like here?
NFL tweaks onside kick alternative proposal again, now an untimed downhttps://t.co/8L4ghSQARS
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 27, 2020
If McCourty was opposed to the new conversion proposal because he wasn't a fan of making changes just for the sake of changes, then fair enough. Claiming that it rewards losing doesn't make a ton of sense, however.