Does anyone know how the new WWF-run football league the XFL is going to be different from the NFL? The only rule changes that I have heard so far are (1) No fair catch rule, (2) punts are live balls, (3) one foot in for receivers, (4) no anti-celebration rules, (5) all tackles must be for a three-count (just kidding). Will the ref be easily distracted to make cheating easier?
Personally, I think the NFL is fine and I don’t hold out much hope for survival of the XFL. For one thing, I have a reliable source who says that the league letter to potential players says quite specific that there will be no drug testing at all, which i don’t think is good for the sport, and if they’re going to be as “smashmouth” as they say they are, then who’s going to be willing to play the sport for (comparatively) so little money?
I will say this, though: The Orlando Rage logo is pretty cool.
I can’t wait for the XFL season to start, which is early February. That’s one thing going for it, it gives Football fans more football after the season.
And it’s going to be different than the NFL because it, like WWF, is sports entertainment, think Harlem Globetrotters. I assume its gonna be no holds barred smash em up, fights like hockey, storylines like wrestling, but the thrill of football. Sounds like fun in my book.
Actually I heard on the Last Word that the XFL will be real football-- just recklessly dangerous football. For what it’s worth, they want to compete with arena ball and nfl-europe. But, I guess we’ll soon find out if it’ll be real or fake.
I don’t think the XFL will ever supplant the NFL, but I think it stands a very good chance of being more popular than NFL-Europe or the USFL.
Originally I heard they were going to go for only outdoor, grass venues. Old fashioned mud-and-snow ball. I’m not sure if they stuck with that or not.
One huge thing they have going for them is, they already have an agreement with a major network (NBC) to broadcast their games.
The level of very good college players who can’t quite make it in the NFL would seem to be nicely filled by the XFL. I hear a substantial portion of players’ pay will be tied to whether they win or not. That seems like a good idea.
Why the hell they didn’t start a franchise in Detroit, however, is completely beyond me.
If you go into this expecting real football (NFL-like), and not a show, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
Just keep an open mind and a sense of humor and you might just like it.
If they’re playing outdoors in Chicago in January, then Detroit should be fine. Of course, is there an outdoor football stadium in Detroit? I don’t think you could use the new Tiger Stadium, but it’d be awesome to have them playing at the U-of-M stadium.
This, of course, assumes that they ARE only doing outdoor venues…
If the outcomes of the XFL games were predetermined, Vince McMahon would be more than happy to admit that. He is the guy, after all, who looked at the American public and said, sure, the WWF is scripted, whaddaya wanna make of it?
I never said I thought the outcomes would be predetermined, I believe these guys are gonna play football, but it IS going to be a show. It does say the main announcer will read a script on the XFL’s site.
1- The fair catch rule: When the ball is punted (I hope you know what that is) the receiver has the right to call for a “fair catch.” He signals this by waving his arm above his head. If he calls for a fair catch, he may not be tackled after he catches the ball, BUT he cannot advance it either. Basically, everyone watches him catch it, and the play is over. The returner calls a fair catch if he thinks the other team is so close that he stands a fair chance of getting killed as soon as he catches the ball. Coaches sometimes tell their players to call for a fair catch to avoid the possibility of a fumble on the return as well. However, even if the punt returner doesn’t call for a fair catch, the opposing team can’t hit him until he has actually caught the ball. They can[ nail him as soon as he catches it if he hasn’t called a fair catch though.
2- punts are live balls: When the ball is punted, the punting team is willingly giving possession of the ball to the other team, the receiving team. The other team has the right to take possesion of the ball and advance it. This means that after the ball is punted a member of the punting team can’t run downfield, catch his own team’s punt, and run for a touchdown. His team no longer has possession of the ball-it is dead for his team, even during the play. The exception to this is if the receiving team’s punt returner drops the ball or if through some happenstance another member of the receiving team touches the ball without downing it. THEN, the ball is “live,” and a member of the punting team may recover the ball for his team. Blocked field goals or extra points are also live balls, and maybe recovered by either team. The mad scramble by every player for the ball after a blocked kick or dropped punt is because any player can recover the ball and advance it. It’s like rugby in that respect.
Hope that makes it clear. I know it sounds confusing. It’s a lot simpler to explain by showing in person than it is to explain in writing.
Okay, I get it. So, in the XFL, the receiver won’t be able to call it a fair catch, and just takes his chance of getting creamed?
In Canadian rules, it’s a bit different - the punting team has to stay at least five yards away from the receiver until he’s caught, then they can try to tackle. So on a bouncing punt, you see the players from the punting team circling around the receiver, waiting for him to bring it under control - then they can tackle.
If they come within the five yards before the catcher has the ball, it’s a penalty called “no yards” and the receiving team gets the ball spotted 5 to 15 yards downfield from where their guy caught the ball.
Under our rules, the ball is always live once the receiver’s caught it - he can always run with it. If he bobbles it, it’s fair game for the other team, unless play is whistled dead.
On the live ball rule, do you guys have the short punt, for do-or-die plays at the end of the game?
As well, under our rules on a missed field goal, the ball is live - the receiving team can try to run it out of the end zone, like a punt return. (CFL goals are on the goal line, not set back like NFL ones.) If the kicking team is able to block the receiver from running it out of the end zone, the receiver takes a knee and gives up 1 point.
That would be what we wacky Americans call an on-sides-kick; if we are referring to the same phenomenon. (The trailing team scores, and on the ensuing kick off just taps the ball forward over 10 yards then tries to get possession back by jumping on the still-live kicked ball.)
Personally, I’d like to see the XFL die a quick, painful death for fear of the concept spreading to other sports - I think pro sports are going in the wrong direction anyway, and don’t think this will help anything. BUT, realizing that the WWF is behind it, you have to accept that there are a LOT of resources behind pushing it into popularity. Vinny, love him or hate him, is a very shrewd businessman and will probably be able to pull this off. I’m willing to wait and see, but I’m not hopeful. OTOH, I am a closet WWF fan, so maybe I’ll get gulity pleasure out of watching the XFL, too.
Thank you so much for explaining the rouge. I’ve heard of it, but never knew exactly what was going on. All I knew was that it somehow involved the kicking game. Has there ever been a CFL game, to your knowledge, that ended with a 1-0 score? That would be pretty freaky.
I like the CFL’s more liberal rules about men in motion, and it is kind of a cool novelty to hear the announcer say that a team has the ball on its own 54-yard line. But that three-downs-instead-of-four stuff just doesn’t cut it.
Ohh. I thought you were posting from Europe. If you’re familiar with Canadian football that makes it easier to explain. I’m not sure that “no fair catch rule” actually means that every punt returner must run the risk of getting killed. How would they get anyone to return punts? It does sound like that’s the case though. Without knowing more about the wording of the XFL’s rules, it’s hard to say exactly what “no fair catch rule” means in this context. Maybe they just mean the punting team can field their own punt? Help, anyone?
In American football there is also a zone that the punting team must stay out of to allow the reciever to catch the ball, but it’s MUCH smaller, like 1-2 yards. The officials also allow a lot of leeway on this. Occasionally you’ll see someone field a punt and get creamed half a second later-perfectly legal. But if the punt returner gets hit as he’s catching the ball, you’ll see those yellow flags a-flyin’. The penalty is called interference, and it’s pretty severe. The reason it’s a serious penalty is because the punt returner could get seriously hurt if he’s hit like that.
I always thought returning missed kicks for a point was an interesting aspect of Canadian football. It puts a lot of pressure on the kicking team, to set up to kick and then be forced to essentially cover a kick return.
The NFL used to have the goalposts on the goaline too, although I don’t think they ever had the rouge. They moved the goalposts back because they interferred with play in the endzone. I’m surprised a pass-happy league like the CFL hasn’t done the same thing.
Lizard, I think they just take the chance, and treat it as one of the risks of the game. I saw one highlight this year where the pass hit the cross piece - I’m pretty sure it was a Riders game, but can’t remember who they were playing.
As for the return on a missed field goal, you’re right - can make the game very interesting. Last month, in two different games the same weekend, there were touchdowns scored on missed field goals - I think on runs of around 120 yards, when you take into account the longer field and end zones. That’s when they break out the oxygen for the receiver!
Snooopy, I don’t know of 1-0 game, but I do remember one game where the score at the end of the first quarter was 1-0. As for the three downs, I think it makes for a lively game. One reason I don’t know the NFL rules is that I find their game is [how can I put this delicately?] sort of boring. I think I’ve watched only one NFL game all the way through.
Oh, Snooopy, just occurred to me - in last week’s game between the Toronto Argos and Montreal Alouetters, the score at the half was Montreal 27, Argos 1 - sad, very sad. Howver, the Argos erupted for a field goal in the second half, for a final score of 51-4: Ar-gooos.