NEW ORLEANS -- Saints coach Sean Payton foresees a comeback for the kickoff return in the NFL this season -- and hes not alone.The change stems from the NFLs decision to move starting field position on touchbacks from the 20-yard line to the 25 to reduce incentive for returners to bring the ball out of the end zone. The perhaps unintended effect is that NFL clubs have experimented with popping up kickoffs so they have more hang time and land in front of the goal line.The rule change is actually going to work in the opposite manner of the intention, Payton said earlier this preseason. We are going to have more kickoff returns, because most teams feel like you can cover a kick inside 25 yards.Payton took full advantage of exhibition games to test his hypothesis; only one of the Saints 15 kickoffs resulted in a touchback.Conceding a touchback to the 25 is a little different than the 20, Payton asserted. I guarantee you were not the only team working on that.The difference in only a few yards in starting field position matters to NFL coaches, who seek any edge in a league where games routinely are competitive into the final moments.You give (Green Bay quarterback) Aaron Rodgers the ball at the 25 as opposed to the 20, 19, 18, I think thats a big difference, Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. Plus, when theres 47 seconds left and you kick it and make them return it, theres seven, eight, nine seconds that go off the clock. So all those things are factors that we think about and that keeps me up at night.The NFL has sought to enhance player safety by reducing kickoff returns. Studies have shown that the relatively high-speed collisions on kickoffs put players at greater risk of injury, including concussions.NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino stressed that the NFLs decision to move touchbacks to the 25 is only a one-year change because we want to study what happens.According to statistics provided by the NFL, 57.9 percent of kickoffs were returned this preseason, up from 56.6 percent through the same period in 2015. Of the kickoffs returned, 38.8 percent of the run backs came on kicks that did not reach the end zone, compared to 22.1 percent in 2015 -- an indication that kickers more often sought to land kicks between the goal line and the 5.I really dont think it was well-thought through, Minnesota kicker Blair Walsh said. Guys are going to start dropping the ball before the goal line, which is basically forcing the returner to take it.If the goal is safety, Payton said, it would be better to prevent the kicking team from getting a running start.In other words, to line up on the kickoff line, and thats a pretty easy one, Payton said.Blandino said that is among many considerations.In 2011, kickoffs were moved from the kicking teams 30-yard line to the 35, making it easier for kickers to blast the ball through the end zone to negate the possibility of a long return. But kicking has become so nuanced that many kickers are comfortable adjusting the swing planes of their legs to change the flight of the ball. They often compare it to golf -- a driver when you want a touchback, or maybe a 7-iron when you want drop a high, arching kick around the 2- to 5-yard line.You can do all kinds of things with the football, Panthers kicker Graham Gano said. When I was coming into the league, my special teams coaches told me ... `You have a strong leg, but you need to figure out how to get more clubs in your bag.Veteran Giants kicker Josh Brown said there will be an emphasis probably from me to kick the ball much higher, not necessarily longer.Much will depend on the weather, the ability of an opponents kick returner, the score of the game and time on the game clock, Brown said.There will be games where we just need to pound it, too, and let the defense do its work, Brown said.While Panthers special teams coach Thomas McGaughey sounded confident in Ganos ability to vary kickoffs, he said some kickers are not as comfortable doing that.Its not as easy to do as you might think it is trying to hang the ball up, especially if you have a guy who has a really, really strong leg who is used to pounding the ball, McGaughey said. Then you are trying to make him slow down and control it.Last season, the Panthers ranked seventh in the NFL in touchback percentage at 66.1 percent. This preseason, 40 percent of Panthers kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.If you have a great cover team, you may scheme like that, Jets coach Todd Bowles said. If not, you may try to kick it out (of the end zone). Everybody will be different.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell, and Sports Writers Tom Canavan, Schuyler Dixon, Steve Reed and Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed to this report. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Jason-Peters-Jersey/ . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Timmy-Jernigan-Jersey/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Harold-Carmichael-Jersey/ . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Jalen-Mills-Jersey/ . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Vinny-Curry-Jersey/ . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs are not expecting Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry to join his teammates for the start of training camp this weekend, a source said.Veterans are to report to camp Friday and the Chiefs first full-squad practice is Saturday.Coach Andy Reid said he has been in contact recently with Berry, the Chiefs unsigned franchise-tag player, but was unaware whether Berry would report Friday.Im hoping hes here, Reid said at Missouri Western State University, where the Chiefs will begin a three-day minicamp for quarterbacks and rookies Wednesday. If hes not, I understand that, too. Ive been doing this for a few years, so I know how things go. It will all work out one way or another and hes going to continue to be a heck of a football player for us. We look forward to getting him back in here and rolling with him.We love Eric Berry. Hes a huge part of this football team. Whether hes here or not [on Friday], I cant answer that.NFL Network earlier reported news of Berrys intended absence.Berry has yet to accept the one-year contract worth about $10.8 million the Chiefs are obligated to offer him as their franchise player. The sides failed to agree on terms of a multiyear contract by July 15, the deadline for getting such deals done with a franchise player.ddddddddddddIf Berry plays for the Chiefs this year, it will be under the one-year contract. He cant participate in training camp without first signing the contract.Reid didnt sound as if he was expecting Berrys absence to be extended.Whatever way you cut it, Eric Berry is a great football player and good things are going to happen to him here, Reid said. I know how hes wired. He loves to play the game. Thats how it is.Its a weird dynamic that youre juggling with finances and playing and all those things. Ive seen it before. Guys normally come in and they just go. When its time to play, they play. They put the business side aside and they get after it.Reid indicated linebacker Justin Houston, the Chiefs leader in sacks in each of the past four seasons, would not participate in training camp. Houston underwent knee surgery in February.Thats not going to happen, Reid said. Hes not going to work here. Hell be here. Hes just not going to be able to do the football stuff.The Chiefs final practice in St. Joseph is Aug. 18. Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys China NFL Gear Wholesale NFL T-shirts Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Hoodies Black China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys Store China Jerseys ' ' '