In an exciting game on Sunday November 14, 2010 the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and were knocked out of the league's play-offs. The final was 41-38 and the game, in particular the end of it, highlighted one area that the CFL has it all over the stronger National Football League.
Overtime in the CFL sees each team get a chance at winning the game with their offence. In the NFL a coin is tossed and, in what has to be a disturbing stat for the league, 34.4 percent of the time the team who wins the toss and receives the ball wins the game without the other team getting a chance at offence. Sixty percent of the time the team winning the toss wins the game.
Rule Differences Between NFL Football and CFL Football
The CFL has a number of rule differences from the NFL including a wider and longer field, 12 players, three downs instead of 4 and a different overtime in which each club is given an equal number of chances to score. They alternate scrimmaging the ball on the other team's 35.
If the first offensive team doesn't score a touchdown then when they are down to their last down, unless there's been a sack, given that they started on the opponents 35 they are more often in field goal range and go for the three points. The other team then gets a chance to either score a touchdown and win or at least kick a field goal and tie, setting up another round.
If the first team gets a touchdown the next must match it or lose. In a further wrinkle in 2010 they took away the one-point conversion in overtime and teams must go for the two-point conversion. Games can see one team get a touchdown and fail on the two-point conversion and the other team get the touchdown and the conversion to win.
Playoff Overtime Game Illustrates Value of CFL Method
The Saskatchewan win November 14 over the Lions saw B.C. tie it on the last play of regulation when Travis Lulay, a former record-setting quarterback with the Montana State Bobcats who had brief stints with Seattle and New Orleans, threw a Hail Mary to Emmanuel Arceneaux.
The overtime started with Saskatchewan scoring a touchdown and the two point conversion, sending the hometown fans into a frenzy. But B.C. dramatically matched that and they were again tied. As B.C. started on defence in overtime rules say they start the second round on offence. They were stalled after one first down and had to settle for a field goal. Saskatchewan converted a second down and long to keep their drive going and then got a touchdown to win. It was thrilling.
2010 NFC Championship Game Won in Overtime
Last season the Minnesota Vikings and Brett Favre engineered a late drive to tie the NFC Championship game with the New Orleans Saints only to lose the coin-toss. Their offence then sat on the sidelines and watched Drew Brees and the Saints drive downfield and kick a field goal that sent them to the Super Bowl. In overtime Favre didn't so much as step on the fielde.
Many NFL officials felt that game illustrated the need for a rule change and in the off season at the NFL's annual general meeting in March they did just that. The league voted to change the overtime rule but not go the way of the CFL or the NCAA, whose rules are similar to those of the Canadian league.
NFL Rule Changes for Play-off Overtimes
What they are doing is this: if the team that wins the coin toss and gets the ball kicked to them should get a field-goal, as New Orleans did, then rather than win the other team gets a chance to match or beat that. In other words the Saints would have had to kick off to the Vikings and Minnesota could have tied with a field goal or won with a TD.
Two other things to note: if each team has had a chance at offence and it is still tied, the old rules kick back in, a field goal can win it. Further, if on the first offensive possession the team that wins the coin toss scores a touchdown the game is over with the team losing the coin toss still not getting a chance at offence.
NFL Regular Season Has Old Overtime Rule
It's a better rule though arguably not as fair as the CFL/NCAA rule. At the meeting the league said they would think further about the new method with a view to also changing it for regular season. Expect that to happen for the 2011 NFL season and now that the overtime gates are open expect them to discuss the way things are done north of the border.
Sources:
- Associated Press; 'Proposal to change OT rules in playoff games passed by 28-4 vote; published March of 2010, accessed November 14 same year; NFL.com.
- CFL Website.
- Cole, Cam; 'Lulay, Lions, run out of miracles'; published November 14, accessed same day; The Vancouver Sun.
- Minnesota Vikings website.
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