3-Down Football??? - 8/10/14

My love for and involvement in the game of football over most of my life is both well-known and well-documented. As football has become a year-round sport and my experiences as both a coach and a player have developed, my love of the game has grown exponentially. The NFL season goes from August to February. The college football season goes from August to January. The NFL has the draft and minicamps to occupy fans from March to June. College football has its annual rite of passage known as spring practice that takes care of March and April. But the end of June through July is a rare quiet period for football. Thankfully, there is something out there to rescue us from that quiet period and provide us with competitive football while our college and NFL teams are knee-deep in practice and reorganization.

Enter the wonder that is the CFL...the Canadian Football League.

The CFL has been a bit of a passing fascination for me...for the better part of the last twenty years. I remember growing up and watching the "Run and Shoot" Houston Oilers, led by quarterback Warren Moon. There were many times when the announcers made a reference, veiled or blatant, to Moon's time in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos. Then we had the Doug Flutie experience with the Buffalo Bills in 1998. His wild success story, after washing out of the NFL in the mid-'80s, was accompanied by plenty of film of Flutie in a Calgary Stampeders uniform. A few years later, Jeff Garcia worked wonders for San Francisco. He, too, spent some time with the Stampeders. In 2010, I remember actually turning on a CFL game for the first time (They're not exactly easy to find in here in the States.). I recall it was the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Riders were running their offense onto the field and quarterbacking the team was Darian Durant. I remember when I was at Syracuse and we played UNC in a home-and-home; Durant was the quarterback for the Tar Heels. My familiarity with a key player led me to continue watching. I caught a few more Riders game that year and the few years following that but I hadn't gone all-in just yet. In 2013, the NBC Sports Network simulcast a few CFL games, as did ESPN, so I was able to watch the Riders capture the 101st Grey Cup. I figured this year would be another year when I would catch a game or two and call it a day. But something was different this time around.

It started in mid-June with a few tweets from legendary Sports Illustrated football writer Peter King. King was tweeting about his new Monday Morning Quarterback website and mentioned that he was going to do an entire week devoted to the CFL as their season opened up, complete with guest columnists and game coverage. The first guest column was composed by Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman. When the Bears hired Trestman prior to the 2013 season, I recalled his time as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in San Francisco and Oakland (He was the OC for the Raiders when they lost to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXXVII.). I overlooked or hadn't even realized (depending on how you want to look at it) that Trestman spent five seasons as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes, leading them to three Grey Cup appearances and back-to-back Grey Cup Titles in 2009 and 2010. Trestman's column that day was an excellent read. It did a great job of highlighting some of the major differences between American football and the CFL. But in addition to the obvious differences in the rules, Trestman pointed to things such as the rule that seven of a team's 24 starters (There are 12 men on the field at a time) must be Canadian and 20 of the 42 players on your gameday roster must be of Canadian heritage. Or the fact that in the last three minutes of each half the clock stops after every single play. This leaves room for lots of change of possessions and prevents a team from ever really truly being out of the game. Reading about all the rules and the small-town charm/feel of the CFL (The minimum salary in the CFL is $45,000...which is roughly 12 percent of the minimum NFL salary.) pushed me to pay a bit more attention but it was the passion with which Trestman wrote the column that really made me think twice. Here's an individual who is at the pinnacle of his profession yet clearly has such passion and love for his time in the CFL. Seeing this made me want to pay more attention. Then ESPN did me a favor, reaching a broadcast deal in which ESPN will televise all CFL games, giving us the TSN broadcast simulcast over ESPN2 or on the internet with ESPN3/Watch ESPN. Now having such great access, I went right back to where I started and tuned in to the Roughriders.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Riders take down Hamilton, 31-10, on opening night and resolved that I would do the best I could to keep up. Having familiarity with several Riders besides Durant (Taj Smith, Macho Harris, Chaz Schilens, Anthony Allen, and Tyron Brackenridge...to name a few) drew me in but it was the passion of the fan base that affectionately calls itself "Rider Nation" that kept me there. The Saskatchewan fans take great pride in their Riders. The passion and enthusiasm they have for their team and their unique brand of football is apparent, even through a computer screen. Peter King highlighted this when recounting his trip to Regina and every game I've watched always had a brief feature highlighting the proud province and its fan base. To boot, the team recently released its new CFL Signature uniforms. The emphasis on the "wheat to the sky" logo pays homage to the province while the "I Am Rider Nation" on the inside collar gives some love to the club's rabid fan base. Furthermore, the Riders have an ownership model similar to that of the Green Bay Packers. The fans and the people of Saskatchewan own the team and there was recently another share offering back in 2011.

As I've continued to watch the Riders, I have become fascinated by the little quirks of Canadian football. With just three downs to go ten yards, most offenses prioritize the passing game. However, on third-and-one, teams are quite inclined to go for it as the defensive line must line up one yard off the line of scrimmage. Throw in the fact that all six receivers are allowed to be in forward motion prior to the snap, a wider field, and a 20-second play clock and you have the making of a very fast-paced, exciting football game. Although it appears many of the CFL's rules favor the offenses, there is plenty of defense to be found across the league as well. Defenses get very creative with their pressure packages and I have seen more sacks per game than I'm used to seeing in the NFL. The differences I enjoy the most, however, come in the special teams department. For starters, there are no fair catches. All kicks have to be returned and coverage teams have to leave a five-yard halo around the returner. Then there's the rouge. Honestly, it's taken me some time to understand this one and I still don't think I quite understand it. If teams miss a field goal or punt the ball out of the end zone, they are awarded a single point. However, if teams return those missed field goals (The 20-yard end zone with the goalposts in the front make this a regular occurrence.), the single point is wiped off the board. The wildest special teams quirk is the rule that if a player is even with or behind the punter when he kicks, that player is eligible to recover and advance the ball. A few weeks ago I was watching the Riders take on Ottawa. Saskatchewan was up 28-0 and Ottawa was having all sorts of trouble moving the football. On third down, Ottawa lined up for a quick kick but motioned a player behind the kicker. That player raced down the field and recovered the football in the end zone for an Ottawa touchdown. Crazy!

All of these rules make the gameplanning process in the CFL so different from that in the NFL, college, and high school football here in the States. As a coach, I am very fascinated by these nuances and all the possibilities that the kicking game holds in Canadian football. And managing the clock is a more developed and valued skill as well. With that 20-second play clock, there isn't much down time. Players have to be in tremendous shape and the fans don't get much opportunity to blink for they may miss something big. It's a constant state of excitement and the pride that the fans, players, coaches, and league officials take in their unique brand of football make enjoying the CFL infectious. It also fits in the perfect time frame. June, July, and August possess no actual competitive on-field football (Sorry, preseason games don't count for fans...only as great evaluation tools for coaches and team personnel.) so the CFL fills a tremendous void stateside. I feel like it's catching on a bit around here but there are many fans who still don't give the game its due. People whine about all the rules and the differences from our game instead of just accepting them. If you just accept the CFL for what it is, I believe you'll find it quite enjoyable as it is highly competitive football. Everyone involved is professional and gives everything he has to the game. It's awesome to see how the CFL connects the entire country. The connection between the CFL and its fans is very obvious no matter what game you may be watching. CFL commissioner Mark Cohon always references how proud he is of the league's "uniquely Canadian football."

And that's what really got me. I absolutely love how everyone involved takes full ownership of the game. They don't make excuses. They don't act like they're minor league. The players who spent time in the NFL take their CFL jobs seriously. Those who used to be in the CFL and are now in the NFL speak of their time in Canada openly and quite fondly. I feel like you don't hear many coaches or players talk about the NFL the way the employees of the CFL talk about their league and their game. Seeing people work so hard yet enjoy their work so much makes you want to be a part of it. It makes you want to pay attention. I also enjoy the familiarity teams have with one another. Playing an 18-game schedule in a league with just nine teams breeds familiarity and plenty of contempt among players, coaches, and fan bases...yet another exciting layer to the product. Hopefully the CFL will take advantage of America's love of football and spread their game stateside. In the mid-'90s the league put teams in Las Vegas, Baltimore, Sacramento, San Antonio, Memphis, Shreveport, and Birmingham but they all folded as stateside fans failed to back these teams and couldn't get used to the differences between the CFL and NFL games.

As the league continues to grow and TSN puts all CFL games on national television, the game will continue to flourish in its home province. Seeing ESPN give its name and resources to the CFL gives me hope that it may stick around stateside and provide a great summer outlet for all of us die-hard football fans. In the meantime, I will continue to follow the Riders and the rest of the league. This American is firmly entrenched in Rider Nation and I intend to further immerse myself by taking the trip to Regina next season and attending a game before the Riders head to the new Mosaic Stadium in 2017. Can't wait!

Until next time...

-Meech