The Rules of American and Canadian Football: A Comparison
The rules of American
football are very similar to those of Canadian football. Canadian and
American football do not much resemble soccer, the sport which most of
the world calls "football." However, both of these games have their
origins in rugby football, usually known in North American simply as
"rugby".
Football was introduced to North America in Canada, by the British Army garrison in Montreal, which played a series of games with McGill University. In 1874, McGill arranged to play a few games in the United States, at Harvard, which liked the new game so much that it became a feature of the Ivy League. Both the Canadian and American games still have some things in common with the two varieties of rugby, especially rugby league, and, because of the similarities, the National Football League has established a formal relationship with the Canadian Football League.
Many, perhaps most, of the rules differences have arisen because of
rules changes in American football in the early 20th Century which have
not been copied by Canadian football. The major Canadian codes never
added a 4th down, shortened the field of play to 100 yards, abolished
the onside kick (see "Kicker advancing the ball" below), restricted
backfield motion, or moved or changed the dimensions of the goals, while
the NCAA (from which American codes derive) did. Canadian football was
late in adopting the hand snap and the forward pass, although one would
not suspect the latter from play today, and slower and not as severe in
reducing the number of players on the field. Canadian football was also
much slower in removing restrictions on blocking, but caught up by the
1970s so that no significant differences remain. Similarly, differences
in scoring (valuing touchdowns relatively less) opened up from the late
19th Century but were erased by the 1950s. For these reasons, this
article would have been considerably longer during about 1910-50. An
area in which American football has been more conservative is retention
of the fair catch.
In some regions along the Canada-USA border, especially western areas,
some high schools from opposite sides of the border will regularly play
games against one another (typically one or two per team per season). By
agreement between the governing bodies involved, the field of the home
team is considered a legal field, although it is a different size from
one school's normal field. Rules agreements appear to vary; some have
asserted that the rules switch depending on which team possesses the
football, but most Internet-accessible newspaper reports on cross-border
games seem to indicate that the rules of the home team are followed
throughout the game.
Because of the similarities between the two games, many outside of
Canada today consider Canadian football a minor variation of the
American game and the CFL to be a minor league and not a major
professional league. However, the Canadian game is relatively popular in
Canada, and the CFL is considered a major league in the country,
arguably being the second most popular professional sports league after
the NHL. Indeed, many Canadian Football League players are Americans who
grew up playing American football.
For these players who played both Canadian and American styles, a
player's professional football statistics is considered to be their
combined totals from the player's CFL and NFL careers. However, it is
very unusual for a primarily Canadian football player to have their
American football statistics affect their career totals, or vice-versa.
Because of the greater popularity of American football, so-called
legendary football accomplishments are frequently on the basis of
American football totals alone, as few players have achieved such a
level by playing both styles of football, and even fewer by playing
Canadian football alone.
Important Differences
There are several important
specific differences between the Canadian and American versions of the
game of football:
Playing Area
The playing field in Canadian football field is generally larger, similar to those of American fields prior to 1912. The Canadian field of play is 110 yards (101 m) long and 65 yards (59 m) wide, rather than 100 yards by 53 1/3 yards (91 by 49 m) as in American football. The end zones in Canadian football are anywhere between ten to fifteen yards deeper, although the Canadian Football League uses 20 yard (18 m) end zones. The goalposts for kicking are placed at the goal line in Canadian football and the end line in the American game. Frequently, however, the Canadian field will have its end zone truncated at the corners so that the field fits in the infield of a track. The distance between a sideline and a hash mark are the same in both fields, which leaves a greater distance between the hash marks in the Canadian game.
Because of the larger field, many American football venues are generally
unfit for the Canadian game. In many American venues, the sidelines and
endlines would be several rows into the stands. During the CFL's failed
expansion to American cities, Canadian football was either played on
converted baseball grounds, or in some cases, on a field designed for
American football (most famously, the Memphis Mad Dogs of the CFL,
playing out of the Liberty Bowl, played the Canadian game on an American
field due to the inability of the stadium to adapt to the larger field).
The Alamodome is the only American venue built with Canadian football
(the CFL's San Antonio Texans) in mind, although it is now no longer
used for this purpose.
Team Size
Canadian teams have twelve
players per side, while American teams use eleven players. Both games
have the same number of players required at the line of scrimmage, hence
the twelfth player in the Canadian game plays a backfield position.
Because of this, position designations of the various offensive and
defensive lines vary. For example, there is no tight end in Canadian
football. The typical offensive arrangement in Canadian football is for
there to be two slot backs instead of the American tight end, while on
the defensive end of the ball, two safeties are employed instead of one.
The Ball
The specifications of
Canadian and American footballs are slightly different, and imply that
on the average the Canadian football will be slightly shorter although
not, as popularly believed, slightly fatter. Canadian Football League
rules specify that the long circumference of the ball should be not less
than 27 3/4 inches (705 mm) nor greater than 28 1/4 inches (718 mm),
while the short axis should be no less than 20 7/8 inches (530 mm) nor
greater than 21 1/8 inches (537 mm). The dimensions of the official
National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association
football are specified by its manufacturer as: short circumference: 20
3/4 to 21 1/4 inches (527 to 540 mm), long circumference 27 3/4 to 28
1/2 inches (705 to 724 mm).
However, since most official
Canadian and American footballs are made by the same company (the
exception is Arena Football League balls, which are made by Spalding,
but the dimensions are the same), it is likely that their dimensions are
identical. The chief difference between a CFL, NFL, NCAA, and AFL balls
is the type of stripe applied (or not). Canadian balls have a complete
white stripe around the football 1 inch (25 mm) from each end, NCAA
balls have broken stripes, NFL balls have no stripes, and AFL balls are
tan with two blue s-shaped stripes.
Sources: CFL rulebook, Wilson Sporting Goods, Arena Football League 101
Number of Downs
In both games, a team will
have a limited number of downs to advanced the ball ten yards. In
American football, there are four downs, while in Canadian football,
there are only three.
Scrimmage
In both games, the ball is
placed at a line of scrimmage, in which a player known as the center
(centre in Canada) performs a snap to start a football play. In Canadian
football the snap is required to go between the centre's legs; not so
the snapper in American football. The defensive team must stay a
distance away on their side of the line of scrimmage. If an offensive
play results in the goal line being inside such a distance, the ball is
moved back so that the defense is positioned at the goal line.
In Canadian football, this distance is a full yard (914 mm). That is, a
play can never start inside the defending team's one-yard line. Because
of this one-yard (914 mm) distance, teams will tend to gamble on third
and one. In American football, the distance is eleven inches (279 mm) -
the length of the ball, creating the illusion of the teams being
"nose-to-nose" against each other.
Fair Catch
In American football, if a
punt returner sees that, in his judgement, he will be unable to advance
the ball after catching it, he may signal for a fair catch by waving his
right hand in the air, and forgo the attempt to advance. If he makes
this signal, the opposing team must allow him to attempt to catch the
ball cleanly; if he is interfered with, the team covering the kick will
be penalized fifteen yards (14 m). In contrast, there is no fair catch
rule in Canadian football: instead, no players from the kicking team
except the kicker and any player who was behind him when he kicked the
ball may ever approach within five yards of the ball until it is or has
been in the opponents' possession.
Furthermore, in American
football the receiving team may elect not to play the ball if the
prospects for a return are not good and the returner is not certain he
can successfully catch the ball on the fly. American players are
generally taught not to attempt to touch a bouncing football.
Oftentimes, the ball hits the ground and is surrounded by players from
the kicking team, who allow it to roll dead, at which point play is
stopped. In Canadian football the ball must be played by the receiving
team.
Backfield in Motion
In Canadian football all
offensive backfield players, except the quarterback, may be in motion at
the snap -- players in motion may move in any direction as long as they
are behind the line of scrimmage at the snap. In American
football, only one backfield player is allowed to be in motion, and he
cannot move toward the line of scrimmage until after the ball is
snapped.
Time Rules
American football rules allow
each team to have three timeouts in each half, and the National Football
League stops play for a two-minute warning. In the Canadian Football
League, each team has only one time-out, while at lower levels of
Canadian football each team has two. However, at all levels of Canadian
football, the clock is stopped after every play during the last three
minutes of each half.
Timing rules change drastically after the end-minutes warning in both leagues. In American football, the clock continues to run after any tackle in bounds, but stops after an incomplete pass, or a tackle out of bounds. If the clock stops, it is restarted at the snap of the ball. In Canadian football, the clock stops after every play, but the starting time differs depending on the result of the previous play: after a tackle in bounds, the clock restarts when the referee whistles the ball in; after an incomplete pass or a tackle out of bounds, the clock restarts when the ball is snapped.
These timing differences make for spectacularly different end-games if
the team leading the game has the ball. In American football, if the
other team is out of time-outs, it is possible to run slightly more than
160 seconds off the clock (almost three minutes) without gaining a first
down. In Canadian football, just over 60 seconds can be run off. In
American football, the clock need not run out for the half or the game
to be called. Canadian football requires that the clock be run out for
the half or the game to be called. A final play is also permitted if
time expires between plays in Canadian football.
In Canadian football, the
offensive team must run a play within 20 seconds of the referee
whistling the play in; in American football, teams have 40 seconds from
the end of the previous play.
Kicker Advancing the Ball
The Canadian kicker, or a
player behind the kicker when he kicks the ball, may recover his own
kick and advance with the ball. American kickers are not allowed to do
so, except on a kick-off, when the kicker and anyone behind him (i.e.,
the entire team, lest they be off-side), are eligible to recover the
ball, so long as it has progressed at least ten yards down the field;
hence the "onside kick" play. Canadian football extends this principle
to all kicks, including those downfield.
Defensive Line
The defensive line can only
hold up a receiver within 1 yard (0.9 m) of the scrimmage lines in the
CFL, as opposed to 5 yards (4.6 m) in the NFL, allowing for more open
plays.
Fumbles
In Canadian play, if the ball
is fumbled, the last team to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds
gets possession -- rather than the last team to possess the ball as in
American Football.
Field Goals
Missed field goals which do not hit the uprights are live in Canadian
football – if the ball is not returned out of the end zone, the kicking
team receives a single point (a "rouge"), and the returning teams
scrimmages from their 35 yard line. The returner also has the
possibility of returning the missed kick for a touchdown; failing this,
his team will receive possession at the point to which he returns the
ball. In the amateur levels of Canadian football, if the returner exits
the end zone, they will automatically gain possession at the 20 yard
line if the returner is tackled before he reaches the 20 yard line.
Following a successful field goal, in Canadian rules, the team scored
upon has the option of receiving a kickoff or scrimmaging at its own 35
yard (32 m) line. In American football there is a kickoff after every
score.
Safety Touch
In both Canadian football and
American football, a safety touch awards 2 points to the defending team.
In American football, the team giving up the safety touch kicks off from
their own 20 yard line. In Canadian football, the team being awarded the
2 points has the option of scrimmaging from their own 35 yard line,
kicking the ball off from their own 35 yard line, or the opposing team
kick off the ball off from their own 35 yard line.
Extra Points
In both games, after a
touchdown is scored, the scoring team must then convert the touchdown,
which may be done through a kick or a scrimmage. If done through a kick,
the scoring team scores one point, and if done from a scrimmage, the
scoring team scores two. However, the position of the ball for
conversions is different in the two games.
Conversions are taken between
the 2 or 3 yard line in American football, and at the 5 yard line in
Canadian football. However, the Canadian kicker is actually closer to
the goalposts, which are on the goal line in Canada and on the end line
in the United States.
During conversions, the ball
is considered live in the Canadian Football League and American football
at the college and NFL Europe level. As such, this allows the defensive
team to score two points on an interception or fumble return. However,
in the National Football League, other levels of American football, and
amateur Canadian football, the ball is considered dead on a turnover.
Runner Down (amateur)
In Canadian amateur football,
the ball is not dead if a player kneels momentarily to, and does,
recover a rolling snap, onside/lateral pass, or opponent's kick, while
in American amateur football, such a situation produces a dead ball.
Other Differences
Other than converts, there is
no single-point score in American football; the same events that result
in a single in Canadian football result only in the award of a touchback
in American play.
Canadian receivers need only
have one foot in bounds for a catch to count as a reception, as in
American high school and college football. NFL play requires two feet in
bounds.
CFL roster sizes are 40
players (rather than 53 as in the NFL), comprising 19 non-imports
(essentially, Canadians), 18 imports, and 3 quarterbacks.
While the traditional
American football season runs from September or late August until
December with the NFL playoffs occurring in January and February, the
CFL regular season begins in July so that the playoffs can be completed
by mid-November, an important consideration for a sport played in
outdoor venues in locations such as Edmonton, Alberta and Regina,
Saskatchewan. Although, as recently as 1972, it was not uncommon for the
CFL season to end in December.
Note: Unwilling to give up on professional football after failing to gain an NFL team for the city, the next professional football venture hosted by Memphis and the Liberty Bowl was the ill-fated attempt by the Canadian Football League to enter U.S. markets rejected by the NFL. The Memphis team was christened the Memphis Mad Dogs, and played one season, 1995, the final year of the CFL's rather sad attempts to compete south of the border. Attempts to play Canadian football in most U.S. venues are somewhat hampered by the need for a far larger playing surface. The field of play is 10 yards longer and 35 feet wider than in the U.S. version, and the end zones were then 25 yards deep (now 20) rather than 10; few U.S. stadiums are designed readily to accommodate a playing surface of this size. In the Liberty Bowl these changes were necessarily largely ignored, due to the design features noted earlier. Had the attempt to play the Canadian game included an attempt to use the full width of that game's field, players not participating in the game and the coaching staffs would have to have been seated in the stands as was often the case in the early years of Arena football, which ironically was attempting to establish itself in the Memphis market simultaneously with the Mad Dogs. Likewise, 25 yards past the goal line at the Liberty Bowl puts one several rows up into the end zone stands. The only real concession to the Canadian format that was feasible at the Liberty Bowl was the moving of the goal posts to the goal line, where they are in the Canadian game, as opposed to the end line. The result was a hybrid game, mostly played by Canadian rules on essentially a U.S. field
*Rules comparison taken from Wikpedia on-line reference encyclopedia.
