Did you notice the quirky thing the Las Vegas Raiders were doing last week in that awful loss to the Los Angeles Rams?
If not, here’s the recap: The Raiders used a holder on kickoffs, despite the fact that it was a Thursday night game that took place indoors. That’s because the holder was putting the ball on a tee rather than having the football nestled it in there as usual.
Pro Football Talk recapped why: That gave more hang time to Daniel Carlson’s kicks.
“They clarified a rule a couple weeks ago, that you’re permitted to hold the ball on the top of the tee now, so we’ve got a good kicker, you can add hang time to the kick, and I think you saw Daniel use that to our advantage,” head coach Josh McDaniels said, via PFT. “As long as you don’t kick it into the end zone, extra hang time, put it at the goal line, we’re further down there, it gives the coverage team a better opportunity to make tackles inside the 25-yard line.”
Smart! Except now, per a report from Football Zebras, the NFL changed its mind after Las Vegas had run it by SVP Walt Anderson — specifically, “the league have reconsidered that interpretation, according to league sources familiar with the reversal.”
So what happened here? Football Zebras says in 1994, the height of a tee was made to a 1-inch elevation:
Even though the kicker may place a ball in any manner on top of or resting against a tee, by placing it in an upright position on the lip circumvents the 1-inch requirement. When the NFL approved this tee style, the upright position of the ball was intended to be placed in the cavity, and so the height of the surrounding structure was largely irrelevant. Since the holder is facilitating a placement that is not possible due to gravity, the officiating department reversed course. They informed all teams about this revised interpretation following the Raiders Thursday night game against the Rams.
Good try by the Raiders!
