kicker Justin Tucker is preparing himself for the .The NFL's new kickoff rule was inspired by the XFFL and places the majority of the players between the two teams just five yards apart, starting from the receiving team's 40-yard line during the kick. Players can't move until the ball hits the ground or is fielded.While , Tucker echoed a reporter's question and confirmed he's been "back in the lab," preparing himself for more contact."We are back in the lab, and more recently, my lab has been the weight room," Tucker said. "This might be really surprising to a lot of you guys and a lot of my teammates, because I don't tend to hang out in the weight room too frequently. But after watching a lot of these XFL plays over the years, kicker seems to be involved in like 20-25% of the tackles. I've mixed it up a couple of times, I've gotten in there, but now I gotta get some more shrugs, get the traps going a little Roy Oswalt Jersey bit, just to make sure I'm prepared for a little bit more contact."Tucker, with a wry smile, said he's added 3.8 lb this offseason.Tucker said he's been working on different angles and different placements that might make it harder for the opponent to field the ball. He compared it to a pitcher working on his "stuff."The new rule helps make kickoffs safer, but also increases the likelihood of kick returns. Kickers will be the last line of defense more frequently under the new rule.The po sibility of more contact has teams preparing in different ways. The , for instance, to prevent him from getting injured.When asked if he still wants to be on the field for kickoffs this season, Tucker said, "Hell yeah!"Tucker added that he's excited to see how the strategy around the new rule evolves as the season goes on."It will be a lot of fun to see what we come up with and see what other teams come up with, and then see how we can gain an advantage on the play." Ken Giles Jersey