As much as I try and enjoy the NFL......

[BCLions4Ever]

The CFL season ends and I start watching NFL to get my football fix. I struggle with some of the rules and how little sense they make, but I also enjoy some of the strategies. The three timeouts per half bores me, along with many other things. I don't recall seeing a single punt return of more than 20 yards in any of the games I watched. The most exciting game I watched was the Seattle-New Orleans wildcard playoff game. That one got me fired up.

However, I watched the Jets and Steelers play yesterday and it all came back to me in the final minutes why I just can't embrace the NFL as the "be all and end all" that some people think it is. The Jets made a valiant attempt to get back in the game after they were down 24-0. The offence and the defence both stepped up and 19 unanswered points were put on the board. With less than 2 minutes remaining it looked like the Jets might have a chance. They were holding the Steelers back and might just get the ball back. Under pressure, Big Ben passes for the first down and with the clock at 1:45 the game is basically over. Huh? Oh yeah - 40 seconds to put the ball in play x 4 downs equals 160 seconds, so no need to do anthing but take a knee three times. BORING!!! The game is over just like that, but there's still a pile of time on the clock.

Had this been a CFL game the Steelers would have had to try and make another first down to retain possession and if they couldn't, they'd have to punt it away and the Jets would still have plenty of time to try and drive it down the field, score a TD and win 25-24. Man that would have been exciting to watch them at least try. It was like I was blowing air into a balloon and suddenly, POP!! and I just sat there stunned, thinking why is the game even 60 minutes long? Why not just make it 58 minutes and if the winning team has the ball at the two minute warning just end the game. It just seems lame that the game can end like that - you should have to keep playing until there is no time left.

I'm probably preaching the the converted here, afterall this is a CFL fans forum, but I just needed to vent a bit. I'm neither a Jets or Steelers fan, I was just looking for an exciting game and for a time I thought I had one, then the good old NFL let me down again with their boring rules.

[B.C.FAN]

True, the last few minutes of a CFL game are more like the last few minutes of a basketball game. There can be several changes of possession and lots of scoring. NFL teams have more timeouts to stop the clock but if they're already used, the last few minutes can be a snore.

[CFLFanfromVancouver]

I don't care much for the NFL either, The CFL is the most exciting Football league around, just look at how it started last year with that amazing Alouettes/Riders Game! there are some amazing athletes in both leagues, CFL to me though is more exciting.

[TheLionKing]

Too many timeouts.... boring. Nothing worst than watching teams walking off the field with less than 40 seconds left in the game.

[joe kapp22]

Well, I really enjoy the NFL but agree with the OP, 1 first down inside of 2 minutes shouldn't be the end of the game.

That bothered me as well, as the contest was not played out to the end, it was played out for 58:01, the last 1.59 did not matter.

Now one thing I don't like about how the CFL does things is there is no imperative to get out of bounds late in the game, catch the ball and fall down and the clock automagically stops.

[ziggy]

Funny as a longtime Packer fan who has lapsed over the last 10 years, I started watching a little NFL again. I was shocked at the size of the lineman,they looked anything but athletic. I couldn't help but think Sumo wrestlers! It can't be healthy for anyone to carry that much weight, especially around the gut.

[notahomer]

I follow both leagues, faithfully. No question I prefer the CFL. In part because I live in a city with a CFL team.

Yes the differences in rules do cause for some puzzling thoughts for me as a person who follows both leagues. Actually I thought BigBen and the Steelers were not following usual NFL form/strategy at the end of yesterdays game. Often a team would have run the ball on every down until forced to punt. The Steelers made two seperate first downs via the pass, IIRC.

Both Conference Championships were games where the eventual winner got out to big head-start and coasted to the win. My favourite playoff game, so far, was probably the Jets late fieldgoal winner over the Colts. Wild-card Weekend had the best games, IMO.

In past years I'd even resort to taking in an Arena Football game during the CFL off-season. Football is my favourite team pro-sport. Yes, the CFL is better than the NFL (IMO). I have often wondered how certain NFL-ers would do playing under CFL rules. Of course many have (Wake, Moon, Garcia to name a few) but I'd like to see this upcoming Superbowl matchup (Rodges/Packers versus Ben/Steelers)played under CFL rules. Never gonna happen but....

[BCLions4Ever]

Now one thing I don't like about how the CFL does things is there is no imperative to get out of bounds late in the game, catch the ball and fall down and the clock automagically stops.

True, but the 20 second clock keep things moving along pretty rapidly.

[Tighthead]

Now one thing I don't like about how the CFL does things is there is no imperative to get out of bounds late in the game, catch the ball and fall down and the clock automagically stops.

True, but the 20 second clock keep things moving along pretty rapidly.

The other thing I'd never really noticed before is the NFL rule that once a part of your body, other than the hands or feet of the ball carrier touches the ground, the ball is dead, whether you were touched by a defender or not. I know this is a rule in US amateur football but I didn't think it was in the NFL, but I saw it applied a couple of times in the Seattle-New Orleans game. There were some awesome CFL plays this past season where the receiver either caught the ball on his knees, or did a sprawling catch (Dressler) and roll, then got up and ran the ball. In the CFL, if no one touches you, you can get up and run and that makes for some exciting stuff that apparently can't happen in the NFL. The NFL rule makes no sense - if the defence was not involved in the receiver going down, why should the ball be dead? The receiver should be allowed to get up and make the YAC.

You are completely wrong.

[BCLions4Ever]

Yep, I am completly wrong. After I posted, I thought some more about it and it was actually the BCS Championship game or one of the other Bowl games where I saw this happen a couple times, so not the NFL at all, but US College football where that is the rule. MY BAD!! So not a gripe against the NFL, but against another version of US football.

[Tighthead]

We are all completely wrong at times. I agree that the NCAA rule is bad - it makes a slippery field part of the defence.

In general, I think both leagues rules largely work for their respective leagues, but both have warts as well.

I don't like to see a team take three kneeldowns to kill out the clock, but you have three timeouts. If you don't waste them, you can force a team to punt after a three and out with little time off the clock. The use of a timeout at any point earlier in the game is an error - I also think teams should sometimes take the 5 yards and save the timeout, or on defence if they don't have the right personnel just bump the centre before the snap - 5 yards, no timeout burned.

As for the CFL clock, the last three minutes can be exciting, but it is kind of an artificial construct. I think the rules in the last three minutes are just too dramatically different from the preceding 27.

The NFL is more of a grind it out league, the CFL a little more explosive. A drive like the Steelers had to open the game yesterday is masterful, and suits the NFL strategy. I have always thought that 24-21 is a great NFL game and a dull CFL game, similarly a 38-35 is purrfect for the CFL, but not good for the NFL.

I disagree that NFL coaches play not to lose, and CFL coaches play to win. Wally may be the most conservative coach I have ever seen.

I would also say that at this time, the NFL is in a period of diversity and innovation, adn the CFL is in a trough. If you look at a team like the Packers, they will use several formations during a game, from full house backfield to empty backfield 5 wide, and deploy them in non-specific situations. Granted they have a larger roster, but the CFL has 12 men on offense and still the formations are largely similar.

In the 80s and into the 90s the NFL was generic and riddled with groupthink. I think the CFL has more groupthink now, but everything is cyclical. The CFL has also been less wide open in the last 10 or so years.

I think fans are best served when each league offers a distinct flavour.

[WestCoastJoe]

Some good points of discussion ...

NBA

The last minute or two take forever. Deliberate fouls, not called, to force free throws, to get a chance to give up 2 or less and make 3. Keeps the game alive. Makes it hard to close out a win. It's a mixed blessing. Lots of tension. Good advertising opportunities.

Same with the CFL. Exciting finishes. Lots of scoring in the last couple of minutes. Can't sit on the clock as much. It's great for football IMO.

Seeing Roethlisberger run out the clock was ultra boring.

In this type of situation, I much prefer the CFL rules.

One change I would advocate is dumping the single point rouge. IMO it is a bit hokey. Does not seem appropriate to play a close, hard fought game, which can then be decided by missed field goal or a punt. And the attempts by the defending team to get the ball out can be comical (not desirable to look comical in a pro sport).

In any case, count me amongst those that prefer the dynamism of the CFL game. The offence also allows much more innovation because there are more elements involved (12 players, motion, larger field etc.). And that goes for defence too.

One more factor: the yard off the LOS gives the O an advantage that would otherwise not be there.

[Hawkballer 14]

I like both brands, though I'm more of an NFL guy than CFL. Played it and currently coach it in HS, as an offensive coach I like having the additional down.

A little off-topic: WCJ mentions the larger CFL field, something that I think would be very beneficial for the NFL to adapt. So much has been made of head shots and concussions lately, and rightfully so, which seems to be a byproduct of big strong fast players playing on a very crowded surface (similar to the NHL). If the NFL were to use 11 players on a CFL-sized field, I am positive that the rate of head injuries would decrease dramatically. Plus, the skilled players would have that much more room to operate.

[korey&dante4ever]

Now one thing I don't like about how the CFL does things is there is no imperative to get out of bounds late in the game, catch the ball and fall down and the clock automagically stops.

Well, getting out of bounds within the last 3 minutes of a half, saves you about 4-5 seconds on average (however long it takes you to snap the ball from the time the ref blows the play in)... so it does help.