near Oklahoma City, he didnt pay them much mind. A veteran of the

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Each time Marc Mariani heads out to catch a kickoff, he huddles first with the Tennessee special teams coach for a quick strategy session. Once he reaches the end zone and the balls in the air, the mental calculations begin.Where will the ball come down? Short of the goal line or behind? Catch it and run? Catch and kneel? Or just let it roll out of the end zone for a touchback?All in the seconds that it takes for the ball to fly off the kickers foot to the returner.It makes you second guess taking it out of the end zone now, and I think thats what the NFL wanted , said Mariani, a 2010 Pro Bowler as a return specialist.The NFL is halfway through its one-season experiment with a rule placing the ball at the 25-yard line instead of the 20 on touchbacks . The league wants to see how that impacts kickoff returns while hoping to keep players safer by reducing runbacks. Studies have shown players are at greater risk of injury on a play sending teams running at each other, creating relatively high-speed collisions.Through nine weeks, touchbacks are up to 60.9 percent on kickoffs, according to Sportradar. Thats a jump from 58.8 percent a year ago and is the highest rate at this point in any season over the past 11 years. Teams also are averaging just 20.5 yards per return, the lowest average since the start of the 2006 season.Titans special teams coach Steve Hoffman said the rule is having the effect special teams coaches expected, making it very difficult to reach the 25 returning a kick. Teams with fast players who recognize an opponents coverage scheme still can attack, though the decision on when to risk returning a kick often depends on the score and time left on the clock.Its hard to get it to the 25, Hoffman said. You ask most offensive coordinators, theyre going to call plays a lot different at their own 15 than their own 27. They dont want to take negative plays. They dont want to take a sack, so what everybodys trying to do, theyre just trying to pin it.Through the first eight weeks, only two kicks had been returned for touchdowns -- both by the Philadelphia Eagles.Then within an hour of each other, Kenyan Drake returned a late kick 96 yards for a TD , helping Miami beat the Jets 27-23. And Colts running back Jordan Todman took the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown , setting the tone for a big win at Lambeau Field on a play Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy called a big swing.You cant have it, McCarthy said. Thats coverage unit 101.Kickoff returns remain thrilling plays, and those pushed the NFL to four TDs midway through the season, matching the four such TDs at the same point each of the previous two seasons. The league hasnt had double-digit touchdowns off kickoff runbacks through nine weeks since 2010 -- the year before the NFL moved kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35.Cordarrelle Patterson of Minnesota had 10 returns of 50 yards or longer during his first three seasons with the Vikings. This season, he surprised Tennessee with a 61-yard return coming out of halftime in the season opener, but has had nothing longer than 37 yards since.Patterson used to have the green light even backed up in his end zone, with the Vikings confident Patterson he could reach at least their 24. Now getting to the 24 means Patterson might as well have taken a knee in the end zone, and Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said the rule has affected how they think.I think its going to be interesting going forward with what the league does with it as long as we keep the play in the game, Priefer said. Its an exciting play. It does make a difference on field positioning. The way we teach it here is to teach our techniques to keep guys safe, keep the head out of the game, and I know a lot of coaches are doing that now. I dont think theres as many injuries as there has been. So, were going in the right direction.The NFL still has half a season left before deciding whether to make the rule permanent. With the weather turning cooler, especially for northern teams, Darren Rizzi, Miamis assistant head coach/special teams coordinator, expects more teams to opt for the high, shorter kickoff that has been used mostly by those with both good kickers and coverage units.So, there have been some unseen things I think that theyve been pretty interesting, so I think that itll continue to trend downward, Rizzi said.---AP Pro Football Writers Dave Campbell and Rob Maaddi and AP Sports Writers Steve Wine and Michael Marot contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Tarik Cohen Youth Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Anthony Miller Youth Jersey . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. http://www.chicagobearfootballauthentic.com/authentic-william-perry-bears-jersey/ . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Riley Ridley Youth Jersey . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Khalil Mack Youth Jersey . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style.Week eight marks the end of the International Series fixtures, and Sky Sports has every angle covered this weekend. Four live games will be shown from 1pm on Sky Sports 3, including the Cincinnati Bengals clash against the Washington Redskins, live from Wembley Stadium. Join Dara Kennedy, Shaun Gayle and Neil Reynolds live from the ground, before heading back to the Sky Studios where Brian Baldinger and Dallas Clark join Kevin Cadle to go through the rest of the nights action. The Washington Redskins are hoping for a bounce-back win in London this week after losing to the Lions in week seven Following the game from Wembley, we will bring you exclusively live coverage of the New England Patriots trip to Buffalo to face the Bills in an AFC East divisional match up. The last time these two sides met, Rex Ryan and the Bills shut out the Patriots 16-0 in their only loss of the season to date. This time round, New England look a different team as Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are back, while the Bills could be without superstar running back LeSean McCoy, who is doubtful after aggravating a previous hamstring injury. Tom Brady missed the Patriots 16-0 loss to the Bills and will hope to avenge that result on Sunday night NFL Week Seven grades Which teams joined the New England Patriots at the top of the class aand which failed spectacularly? Following that, the Green Bay Packers travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons in the Georgia Dome, live from 8:30pm.dddddddddddd After a four-game winning streak, the Falcons have lost their last two and will be looking to get back on track against an out-of-sorts Packers team who have managed a 4-2 record without being overly convincing so far this season.The final game of Sunday night involves two rookie quarterbacks that have exceeded expectations from the start as Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles play Dak Prescotts Dallas Cowboys live from 12:30am, to complete over 12 straight hours of live NFL. Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott has impressed after the fourth-round pick was thrown into the first team, following Tony Romos back injury As well as our live coverage, all the action from around the league will be available through NFL Redzone on Sky Sports Mix from 6pm. Follow the scores, incidents and updates, and keep up to date on all the breaking story lines with uninterrupted coverage throughout the evening. There will be a live blog on SkySports.com to complement the action, delivering reaction and highlights, as well as Twitter updates and debates via @SkySportsNFL. If you miss any of the action, highlights will be available on SkySports.com as well as on demand, and dont forget that Sky Sports 1 brings you exclusively live coverage of the Monday and Thursday night games every week too. Also See: NFL week seven pick six Who is Jay Ajayi WATCH: Sunday Blitz Giants release Josh Brown ' ' '