>>> WELCOME BACK. THE NFL SEASON KICKS OFF TONIGHT ON NBC AND PEACOCK AT 7:00 P.M. EASTERN WITH THE DEFENDING CHAMP KANSAS CITY CHIEFS HOSTING THE BALTIMORE RAVENS. THE NFL ITSELF IS COMING OFF A STRONG SEASON WITH THE HIGHEST VIEWERSHIP IN EIGHT YEARS. MIKE TIRICO IS HOST AND PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER FOR NBC HOSTS AND HE'LL BE CALLING IT FOR NBC. MIKE, THANK YOU FOR MAKING TIME FOR US TODAY. IT'S GOOD SEE YOU. WELCOME. >> GOOD TO SEE YOU. HAPPY NFL SEASON. HERE WE GO. >> SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. I WANT TO START WITH SOMETHING TO CLARIFY THAT I HEARD. ARE THEY CHANGING THE KICKOFF RULES TONIGHT? YEAH. >> SO WHAT'S IT GOING TO LOOK LIKE WITH THE FIRST OPENING PLAY? >> YEAH. WE SAW IT IN THE PRESEASON. THEY WANTED TO DO TWO THINGS. KICKOFFS WERE AT THE LOW OF THE POINT EVER IN TERMS OF RETURN KICK OFFS IN THE HISTORY OF THE LEAGUE LAST YEAR AND THE KICKOFF HAS BEEN A PLAY THAT INDECKED HIGHER IN TERMS OF INJURIES THAN ANY OTHER PLAY AND THEY WANTED TO ADDRESS BOTH. IF YOU DIDN'T SEE IN THE PRESEASON. TEAMS WILL STILL KICK OFF THROUGH THE 35 YARD LINE, BUT ALL OF THE GUYS COVERING KICK WILL BE A LOT CLOSER TO WHERE THE BALL HAS TO LAND AND ESSENTIALLY THEY WANT THE BALL TO LAND IN AN AREA BETWEEN THE 20 YARD LINE AND THE GOAL LINE. IF IT LANS YOU HAVE TO RETURN IT. IF IT GOES OUT OF THE BACK OF THE END ZONE IT'S A TOUCHBACK AND INSTEAD OF THE 35 IT'S AT THE 30 YARD LINE. I'M GETTING THE SENSE EARLY ON, YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF TOUCHBACKS EARLY ON UNTIL PEOPLE GET A GRASP OF THIS RULE AND IT WILL LOOK DIFFERENT IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE NFL IN THE PRESEASON. >> A BIG CHANGE. >> IT IS A BIG CHANGE. >> IT'S DOM HERE. >> YEAH. >> YOU'VE BEEN COVERING FOOTBALL AND NO REFLECTION ON YOUR AGE. >> YOU'RE JUST A VETERAN. >> THANKS, DOM. >> HOW MUCH HAVE YOU SEEN OVER YOUR SPORT CS CAREER. A LOT OF THE CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO MAKE THE GAME MORE ENTERTAINING AND THE GAME HAS EVOLVED OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 20, 30, 40 YEARS. >> SURE. >> I WONDER IF YOUR LIFE SPAN COVERING FOOTBALL, IS IT MORE ENTERTAINING FOR YOU NOW GIVEN WHAT YOU SEE TODAY OR WASES IT MORE ENTERTAINING FOR YOU WATCHING AS IT WAS AS A KID DURING THAT SPAN? >> I THINK IT'S EVOLVED FROM A ROUGH PHYSICAL WHERE THE COLLISIONS WERE ALMOST CELEBRATED TO A GAME THAT IS, ONE, A LITTLE MORE UNDERSTANDING OF PLAYER HEALTH AND SAFETY DOWN THE LINE AS WE'VE LEARNED MORE. LITIGATION IS PROBABLY FACTOREDED INTO THAT SOMEWHAT, BUT I SEE THE NFL ON A VERY REGULAR BASIS. THEY USE A LOT OF DATA, A LOT OF STUDIES AND LOOK AT A LOT OF PLAYS AND WHEN THEY SEE BEHAVIOR LEADING TO INJURIES THEY WANT TO CHANGE THAT. WHEN YOU SEE THE QUARTERBACKS PLAY WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF RULES THAN THE REST OF THE PLAYERS ON THE FIELD BECAUSE YOU WANT TO SEE PASSING. WHEN YOU TALK THEM THEY ARE PRO-PASSING AND ANTI-DEFENSE. THIS IS AN ENTERTAINMENT VEHICLE AND I THINK WE'VE SEEN MORE OF THAT. SCORING CAME DOWN A LITTLE BIT OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO. SO I THINK YOU'LL WATCH CLOSELY TO SEE IF THE GAMES ARE SCORED BECAUSE THAT KEEPS FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYERS INVOLVED. >> TRUE. >> JUST AN EXCITING UP AND DOWN GAME ON THE FIELD. WE ARE A SOCIETY THAT HAS TAKEN A LONG TIME TO WARM TO SOCCER BECAUSE EVERYONE SAID A 2-1 GAME IS BORING. NOW IT'S MORE EXCITING. MORE OF US PLAYED