Last week, the Eagles used a holder on their kickoffs so that the ball could be placed at an angle that affected the trajectory of the ball and made it harder for the returner to field. This week, the Bears are preparing to face the Eagles on Monday night, and Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower says he doesn’t think the Eagles should be able to do that.
Hightower, who was one of the special teams coaches who was involved in adopting the NFL’s “dynamic” kickoff, said permitting a 12th player on the field to hold the ball was intended to be for windy conditions with the ball in a tee, and not for what the Eagles are doing.
“Two years we talked about it, where you could use a holder,” Hightower said. “It evolved to weather-related only. This past year it changed to you can use it at any time. But . . . the intent of the rule is the ball is supposed to be in a tee when you have a holder out there. It’s not to be used like you’ve seen it used here lately.”
Hightower said there was a conference call with special teams coaches scheduled to discuss the matter.
“We’re all getting together on that shortly and we hope to get that fixed and corrected within the language of everything done in the rulebook,” Hightower said.
Hightower said he believes the NFL could make a change now requiring that the ball is placed in a tee if there’s a holder on a kickoff, and that the change wouldn’t need to wait until the offseason.
“That’s the intent of the rule and what we want to have happen, so that’s the way it should be, and that’s the way we’d like it going forward,” Hightower said.
There’s precedent for the NFL making such a change during the season: In 2022, the Raiders were using a holder on kickoffs to place the ball on top of the tee, rather than in the tee, something the NFL initially allowed — only to change course during the season and ban it. Hightower wants to see the NFL do the same thing with the Eagles’ tactic.
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