Playbooks
Landingzone Heavy Kickoff Middle Old is a special teams kickoff play designed to boot the ball toward the middle of the field with a heavy landing zone configuration meant to discourage or limit returns. The kicking unit lines up with extra hangtime priority and coverage lanes funneled toward the center of the field, so this is not a route concept play but a coverage-lane special teams call. The primary read for the kicking team is watching the returner alignment before the ball lands, then flowing to your assigned lane to force the return up the middle into numbers rather than letting it bounce to a sideline crease.
Watch the returner pre-snap positioning, if he is set up near the middle hash, this kick directly challenges his primary return lane. Key the wall formation the return team builds, a middle-heavy wall means you should user your fastest coverage man to attack the crease before it forms. Post-kick, track the ball hangtime and adjust your lane runners accordingly, shorter hangtime means you need faster closing speed to avoid a clean middle seam. Look for return teams that cheat blockers to the outside numbers expecting a corner kick, this middle placement exploits that leverage and voids their blocking angles. Beware of return schemes with a designed middle return lane already in place, since kicking to their strength can backfire if your coverage lane discipline breaks down.
Use this kickoff when you want to force the return toward your heaviest concentration of tacklers instead of allowing an outside lane return.
Check the returner depth and blocking wall setup pre-snap, if the return team is stacked on one side, this middle kick can neutralize their setup.
Combine this with Landingzone Heavy Kickoff Left and Landingzone Heavy Kickoff Right in your play-calling rotation to keep opposing return coordinators guessing on landing zone placement.
Favor this call after you score in a tight game to prevent a big return swing, since the middle landing zone limits explosive return angles compared to sideline kicks.
If you already used a corner kickoff last possession, switching to this middle variant keeps your special teams unpredictable and prevents the opponent from pre-diagnosing your kick placement.