Marvin Lewis Thinks The NFL Kickoff Rule Change May Eliminate Up To 40 Concussions A Year

Marvin Lewis Thinks The NFL Kickoff Rule Change May Eliminate Up To 40 Concussions A Year

Marvin Lewis has an extremely difficult job in Cincinnati trying to deal with some of the personalities on that roster and this offseason it’s going to be even more difficult for the Bengals head coach.Noonly does he have to deal with Chad Ochocinco, but now his franchise quarterback is disgruntled andwants out of the Queens City. It makes everything so difficult for the Bengals this offseason as theytry to figure out what they will do with their 4th overall pick. It could mean that they try to fill theGrand Canyon-sized hole that would be left behind if Palmer does indeed leave Cincy.Not only does Lewis have to deal with everything going on in Cincinnati, but he also happens to be on thecompetition committee and he was front and center at the owners meetings changing the kickoff rulein the NFL.Marvin Lewis joined the Zone in Atlanta with Pollack and Bell to talk about the decision to change the kickoff rule in the NFL, if the new rule will take some excitement out of the game, how the Carson Palmer situation will affect the Bengals offseason, and what is the biggest thing they are trying to address this offseason.

Whether or not he is in favor of the new kickoff rule in the NFL:

I’m on the competition committee so I’m in favor of everything that we do. That’s part of what I do and what we try to do. Kinda charged with trying to improve player’s safety or the flow of the game.Had a couple of proposals of things that were kinda changed. We’re going to adjust the kickoff thisyear, kickoff from the 35 is probably the biggest things then add a booth review for every scoring play if needed. Those are really the two major things.”

How much excitement the new rule will take out of the game:

Maybe a little bit of excitement, but we’re also going to really attend and put a focus on player’s safety. Maybe we will have 40 less concussions and if we do that we will have improved the game.”

How much the Carson Palmer situation will affect the Bengals plans this offseason:

“Can’t be concerned with things that are out of my control at this point. Our biggest concern is the preparation for the draft. As we’re in this process and have another four weeks or so we’ve got some guys that are going to come in and visit us and we’re going to spend some time with some guys in the next three weeks or so. We’re excited about that process. It’s a big day down there at David’s  old stopping grounds today in Athens. Days like that and then we will spend some time with these guys individually so just trying to get all our work done and evaluation done that way. Then we will get together the last two and a half or three weeks before the draft and hammer it all out.”

What their biggest area of need is that they have to address this offseason:

“The biggest thing is unfortunately were in that four spot as you mentioned so if we have to stand there and pick at number four, we have to make sure we get a player that’s equal to the value of that pick. That’s an important thing. That’s the concern right now. That we use our picks in the upcoming draft and hit on players that can have fine careers in the National Football League.”

On Chad Ochocinco and how he deals with Chad being Chad:

Well you gotta score touchdowns to do his thing so he didn’t have a chance to do as much of that as he’d like. That’s unfortunate for us because we like when he can go in the end zone and dance when he scores a touchdown.  Those are big moments and I don’t ever mind that, but we didn’t get enough of those last year. He’s probably got some demonstrations on hold.”