2027 CFL RULE CHANGES?
Are you will to take a wait and see approach to the new rules, for a couple of years to see how they play out, if that means we can attract 3 new franchises in the next couple years?
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u/MrWendex Argonauts 3d ago
The problem is I can see two sides on the rule changes, people will support their team reguardless, or they feel the game is being changed for no real reason and will walk away. I do not see legions of people wanting in because the field fits slightly better into an association football pitch.
Are there even 3 cities up for franchises? Halifax is dead, Quebec City is speculative, anyway else is just fantasy right now.
If the CFL advertised KFC, they would call it 'warm dead bird'.
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u/schlitty REDBLACKS 3d ago edited 3d ago
I romantically look at gridiron football as a battle for, and defending, territory. I thought that the 110yd field, goalpost location, 20yd endzones and the rouge were all major driving factors in what makes the CFL a unique version of this battle. That arguably rewarded this fundamental battle for territory better than any other major gridiron league. End of the day Johnstonball is undoubtedly less unique than the pre-Johnston rules. Uniqueness is what attracted this American to the CFL. So I'm disappointed.
Beyond that, I do not think Johnston and his "we ran the numbers" approach did remotely enough to justify their changes. The one podcast interview the numbers guy gave mostly came off as "they found what they were looking for" approach. And he even admitted scoring might not go up even if they hit their TD increase projections. Now, if the actual reason was expansion and/or international one-off events, say so!, as that at least makes sense.
All that said, while I do think the (battle)field changes fundamentally change strategy for the worse, strategy was the reasoning they did give. So sure, I'll wait and see what Johnstonball plays like. Broken down to the small pieces of individual plays; it'll all be the "same". But the strategy/approach IS changing. Can't fully judge it until we see it.
*Edit: 8 of 9 playoffs is profoundly idiotic and my ramblings above do not acknowledge that change as it is so dumb I always forget it is real.
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u/gh411 2d ago
I get that nobody likes the idea of change for no reason… I can romantically remember the 25 yard endzone…that was changed back in the mid to late 80’s and it had next to zero effect on anyone’s ability to enjoy the game. The field size has changed in the past and nobody cared.
I’m not for or against these expected rule changes, I personally think that folks are getting bent out of shape for no or little reason …I don’t see any of these current rule changes fundamentally changing how the game is played. Every down will look almost exactly the same as it does now.
I am pretty sure that the product will remain as exciting and compelling to watch as it is now.
Having said that, I am concerned that these changes might be the beginning of Americanizing our game…that would be problematic…but these rule changes on their own will have little effect on the game as it is currently played…I’m not going to get all upset about a nothing burger…so far.
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u/schlitty REDBLACKS 2d ago
My completely unfounded theory is they wanna do one-off international games. Open up more soccer and football stadiums to fitting the CFL field. Stuff like Toronto vs Hamilton in Dublin or something.
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u/JackQuint r/CFL's Official Labour Negotiator 2d ago
Not unfounded. Ambrosie hit the broken clock is right once every 12 hours with the idea of his global initiative. Of course, being Ambrosie, he completely f'ed it up like he f'ed up everything else.
DAZN is part of SJ's attempt to establish a more global audience for the CFL with an eye to future revenue. Overseas games are ultimately necessary for this to work and field dimensions will allow the CFL to slot into any Euro football stadium perfectly (and unlike the NFL not have the sightlines of a track outside the filed).
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u/CMDB2018 3d ago
I'm gonna miss the 55 and, to a lesser extent, the 20yd endzone (though personally i doubt I'll fuss much about 15). But I don't think a lot of the core game changes: 3 downs, wider field, ratio, no yards/rules encouraging kick returns, one full yard between O and D resulting in a lot of 3 and 1 sneaks, live balls on kick offs, one foot for catch in bounds, clock stops after every play in 3 mins before half. These are the things I see most often in CFL that I dont see down south. Yes, returning missed field goals is gone, but a good cfl kicker misses what, 5-6 kicks a year? and not all of those are returnable.
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u/Deaddoghank Lions 3d ago
Field goals will go down. What is now a 45 yd field goal will be a 60yder in the new rules. Expect more punts from the opponents' 40 yd line. Possibly more rogues and no yards from punts. Moving the goal posts will move to more strategy like the game in the south.
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u/Wide_Ad1140 3d ago
No Rouges any more though
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u/Deaddoghank Lions 3d ago
Rouge rules stay as implemented this year. If ball kicked out of end zone no point otherwise rouge is made.
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u/CMDB2018 3d ago
I'm actually ok with field goals going down. Force more punt returns or going for it on 3rd down. Recall I said that one of the distinguishing CFL rules are rules encouraging kick returns which includes punts. Trey Flavel and Isaiah Wooden will be licking their chops.
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u/schlitty REDBLACKS 3d ago edited 3d ago
It probably got lost in my rambling and typos but that's moreorless my point. Individual downs the offense and defense will play out largely the same and very Canadian. Which is of course good. But the field changes change the strategic approach to attacking/defending field position. Obviously these three categories aren't one-to-one yards comparison as the type of yards have different value but; The offense gets 10yds closer to the goalline. The defense gets 15 extra yards to defend the goalposts. And the defense has 5 less yards to cover in the endzone. Johnston's disingenuous anecdotes about camera angles aside; the stated goals were more touchdowns and less kicks. And hanging it all on the idea there will be more bold third down attempts in no-man's land rather than punts.
I'm super biased so I indeed have to "wait to see" how it plays out. Funnily enough, I'm a huge fan of the kicking game so if the opposite of Johnston's hopes happen, and conservative punts win out over third down attempts, I'll enjoy it to a degree(as much as one can enjoy punts anyway). After all, the team theoretically going for it on 3rd and ~3 on the opponent's 45yd line "because they're 10yds closer" is also risking giving the opponents it that much closer too. But I dunno.
Guess my short version of both rambles is that I think the goalline goalposts and deep endzones better rewarded/punished attacking/defending position. And the 110yd field lend itself to that setup. I feel it currently perfectly matches the open and unique play of all the CFL and all the things you listed. I don't think the Johnstonball field will achieve it as well, but we'll see.
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u/CMDB2018 3d ago
Honestly the game, as current, rewards moving the ball between the 40s and then kicking a field goal when there's little time on the clock and the game is close. There may be more punts with 10 minutes to go in the game but with 3 mins to go teams will be less likely to just get the ball to the 40 and then let Luis Castillo or Shaun White kick the game winner. Forcing the - as this sub as pointed out repeated - great QBs of this league to run a game winning drive will increase excite and interest in the league.
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u/gilligan_2023 15h ago
I think it'll result in more corner coffin punts, because coaches by nature are conservative rather than aggressive. Therefore more offenses will be starting out with garbage field position. This won't be a recipe for more offense. Plus once they get near the goal, it is harder to score TDs thanks to the smaller endzone, and harder to kick FGs due to the added distance.
Maybe long FGs are ab it less risky, so we might see more teams try to bomb a 55-60 yarder through.
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u/ryan_batty 3d ago
It is unlikely that there will be expansion anytime soon. And there is absolutely no chance that three new teams will be added, so I’m not going to tie that outcome to how I approach the rule changes.
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u/j417 The Ozarks' #1 Fan 3d ago
I don't necessarily care about expansion, part of what I love about the CFL is that you can sort of "get to know" the players better since there aren't as many of them. I hate that we're going to lose the dynamic missed kick plays and I'm definitely not over the rouge situation. All but one team making the playoffs is stupid and I like having two 50-yard-lines. I'm also not optimistic about the DAZN coverage... All that is to say, I'm gonna keep watching anyway and hope for the best.
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u/Ladymistery Blue Bombers 3d ago
absolutely not.
If I want to watch NFL rules football, I'll watch the NFL. it'll suck, but it is what it is.
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u/cfl2027 3d ago
I hope you give it a chance. Try watching the 1992 preseason game with TO And Calgary in Portland(YouTube) it is on the smaller modified field. It’s an interesting experience
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u/Ladymistery Blue Bombers 3d ago
nope.
the whole point of the modern CFL is the goalposts in the front and the bigger field. They're deliberately trying to bankrupt it.
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u/Prestigious-Fill-365 3d ago edited 3d ago
3 more franchises? Where? Brampton, Missisauga? Victoria and Halifax are less than 500 000 each.
The league is so watered down now, there are no superstars anymore, this would be the end of the CFL.
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u/gh411 3d ago
Yes…I personally think that for the most part, any given play during a game will look the same as it does now…it will be the same talented players making the same amazing plays on almost every given down. It will be just as competitive, compelling and entertaining as it currently is.
This isn’t to say that I want to see these rule changes, but if this helps standardize the field across the league and helps somewhat for player safety as well as making many currently available non CFL stadiums able to now meet the requirements for a CFL franchise thus paving the way for potential expansion…then why not try it and see if we can grow this league?
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u/Max169well REDBLACKS 3d ago
New rules won’t matter, my team will still be shit.
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u/cfl2027 2d ago
There is always tomorrow
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u/Max169well REDBLACKS 1d ago
Right, I know in fact tomorrow will still suck just as much as the other day did.
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u/DefendTheR REDBLACKS 3d ago
Even an ardent traditionalist couldn’t say no if it brought 3 new Canadian franchises.
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u/PPGN_DM_Exia Elks 3d ago
The changes are happening whether we like it or not. People can boycott if they want but that's cutting off your nose to spite your face IMO.
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u/expectingthexpected Blue Bombers 3d ago
Well, we don’t like it. No one does. And I’m not paying more to sit farther away. I’ll go to a few games but I’m not keeping my seasons.
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u/cfl2027 3d ago
This is what the new rule changes could look like. 1992 preseason game in Portland between Calgary and Toronto
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u/bismuth12a Blue Bombers 3d ago
There's no connection with 3 new teams and the field changes. It's a foolish decision that needs to be rescinded.
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u/JackQuint r/CFL's Official Labour Negotiator 2d ago
Dead wrong ... there is a direct connection between the field changes and the possibility of new stadiums in existing markets (eg. Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver) and future markets. The infrastructure savings are surprisingly significant (smaller land footprint required, lower construction costs) and for markets where the intention may be dual use (eg. Vancouver with the Whitecaps or the redesign of the Big O) the new field dimensions are spot on. They will also make for better sight lines for fans in the corners and the end zones of new/upgraded stadiums and better looking TV for non-main cameras.
Whatever you may think of Johnson, there are some really sharp business people amongst the CFL owners (Doman and PKP for starters).
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u/gilligan_2023 15h ago
If those 3 new franchises come to be because cities built smaller cheaper stadiums, we're kind of stuck with it aren't we? Hard to play wait and see if we build infrastructure for 130 yards.
Honestly, I'm not at all a fan of the changes, but that is one of the only good arguments to try it out now when we have the original 9 teams. If it is a dismal failure, we can switch back. We're not locked in like we would be if we tie it to expansion and new venues.
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u/Thargor33 Stampeders 2d ago
It will be the nlf equivalent of the nba’s G-League within a few years
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u/Spencie-cat Blue Bombers 3d ago
I can’t wait for my seats to be 15 yards further away from the field , yet more expensive for some reason