UPDATE: The Steelers go to Europe to develop their kickoff strategy.

UPDATE: The Steelers go to Europe to develop their kickoff strategy.

The spring leagues are the focus of most attention when it comes to the kickoff change. Mostly, the USFL in 2022 and 2023 laid the groundwork from which the NFL later borrowed. Coaches are analyzing all available data to determine how to adapt and seize the new opportunities in light of one of the largest rule changes in football in the last 20 years.

This means that the Pittsburgh Steelers must also look abroad. Danny Smith, the coordinator of special teams, stated during mandatory minicamp earlier this month that he has also observed the actions of the European American Football Leagues.

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These new kickoff regulations were implemented by the European League of Football (ELF) one year after the USFL. The league was founded in 2021 and now represents 17 nations, yet it has an NFL Europe vibe to it. Fifteen years later, many team names from the NFL’s real minor league, which produced players like James Harrison, were still in use. At least in name, the Rhein Fire, Hamburg Sea Devils, and Frankfurt Galaxy were all brought back to life.

The league mostly used NFL regulations as the basis for their game. They employed conventional kickoff alignment for the first season. However, they probably adopted the rule change for the start of their 2022 season, which was played that same fall, after viewing the USFL’s adjustment for 2022. This is the first kickoff of the Vienna Vikings vs. Hamburg Sea Devils 2022 Championship Game, which took place in late September. This resulted in a strong return with room to the left, which the NFL hopes to see materialize in 2024.

Most intriguingly, the league’s kickoff statistics significantly decreased after the regulation modification. The total number of kick returns almost increased, while the average return dropped and the number of touchdowns dropped sharply. These are the ELF kick returns data for 2021 and 2022.

2021 (a total of 235 kick returns): 8 touchdowns, 27.5 yards per return

2022 (400 returns in total): 3 touchdowns, 23.6 yards per return

Strangely, the only way I could obtain 2023 stats was to pay $15 for them from their official store. Even if I adore special teams, in 2024 I will not pay for fundamental statistics. However, you can watch this video at the 23:20, 35:09, and 42:00-minute timestamps to see the 2022 kick return scores.

Based on available data, it appears that kick returns have become less of an impact play. That could be due to a number of factors, mostly to players’ and coaches’ adjustments following a full season. After a season, teams usually tighten up and learn how to stop returns better than they did the first time around. Furthermore, it is evident that the NFL and European leagues have enormous talent discrepancies, which make performance evaluation challenging. According to this data, there was no discernible rise in either average or touchdowns in the USFL as compared to the NFL.

However, that is not the main point. The lesson is that, to Smith, what counts is that the kick has the same appearance. Observe as much of the implementation of this rule change as you can to gather as much knowledge as you can about the Steelers. If nothing else, maybe it will assist him identify the team’s kick returners and grasp what qualities and skill sets are most important to put back there.

These plans move from theory to reality with the team’s first preseason game approximately six weeks away, and Smith can study NFL footage in this brave new world of kickoffs.