Not really. You can't judge the effect of this rule simply by how many times the receiving team fails to field the KO, thus turning it over the team when they do (which happens probably anywhere from 10 to 15 times per year I'd guess). By being a live ball, KO's force receiving teams to sometimes have to change-up personal to field a team of "sure handed" players, which kills the very idea of setting up a return.
Why not simply treat a KO like a punt in allowing the KO team to down the ball and pin the receiving team back? The KO team has just scored (or is alternating KO's at the beginning or half) and should not have an immediate right to the ball again unless the receiving team is to fumble or touch the ball first. Those are the rules for turnovers during the rest of the game and a TO is essentially what's happening here.
Right, or at the spot where he last maintained possession.
Especially at their own 20! Whatsmore, the fumbling team was the last one to maintain possession of the ball. At no other point in the game does a team get rewarded with a TO when they haven't been the last team to possess the ball, so why now?
I wouldn't consider that a rule, as it doesn't potentially affect the outcome of the game. That's for statistical purposes only.
