Onside Kicks in EF

[Joe Greco]

In a game over the weekend a coach needed to complete an onside kick in order to have a chance to win the game. Based on the rules for recovering an onside kick that we were playing under he really had almost no chance to recover the ball.

I was trying to find the actual percentage of successful onside kick recoveries in the NFL and the only information that I could find (without spending a lot of time on this) was that in the 2004 season 23% (12 out of 52) of "anticipated" onside kicks were successfully recovered.

I had heard that in either Baltimore or D.C. they had a good system for allowing a reasonable percentage of successful onside kicks (but I did not find out what that method was).

If you could please let me know what method other leagues are using that may allow a reasonable percentage of onside kicks to be recovered.

Thanks.

Joe G

[artlax]

Check the video I recently posted on You Tube. Link can be found in my post in game highlights thread.

In our house league NDEFL - you can adjust everyone - board runs 3 seconds. If no touch re-adjust and run again.

I had 14 guys playing 2 teams each in my Army EFL back before Desert Storm in Oklahoma. We didn't use the TTQB back then. Instead we handtossed the rock when Passing and we "flicked the booger" when Kicking. We allowed our OSKs to hit and ricochet off the front line of the KR team. Doesn't that sometimes happen? Doesn't that take skill to do? Even using the TTQB to Kick, which since playing mini-ARENA I have become quite proficient at Kicking and ricochetting off the nets and sideboards, takes some skill to aim AND ricochet the ball back toward your team. Why not allow that? THAT'S FOOTBALL! The odds of actually getting the ball closer to your team than the other's is about 1:5 or 2:10 or 20%. Sometimes it just sticks on the guy I'm aiming at; sometimes it hits him and bounces thru his legs; sometimes it misses and rolls into the back wedge; sometimes it even bounces OB! Sounds like REAL life doesn't it? Then why do the rulemakers in this hobby disallow things that happen in real life? Time is one reason. Use a clock! Refusal to practice is another. Then just outlaw it. That makes sense.

I love dice, spinners and the cards. But there's no emotion in those. Using your TTQB - and soon The TDK!!! - to ricochet that puppy off someone else's front line and it lands in YOUR lap - THAT'S PRICELESS!!!

So, Joe, if you plan on using my own tactics against me in June...I'LL BE READY FOR YA!!!