So, I noticed it was week 6 (7?) of the once again rebooted XFL and hadn’t heard anything about it so far.
I suppose ratings and attendance are as low or lower than expected. I haven’t watched or attended (Houston has a team), and none of the usual sports fans at work have said a word
Anybody been watching?
I’ve watched some games, they’re not bad. I’m not sure how well the extra point system works. But some games have been legitimately exciting.
TIL XFL is back. I thought it was cancelled a second time when the pandemic hit?
I am warily reading this as it is April Fool’s day.
Fair point. I’d be suspicious myself.
But there was a game on ESPN today and apparently one tomorrow if you want to assuage your doubts. I had not had the impulse to watch yet but was curious if this is the time the concept sticks.
It was; they were partway through their relaunch season in 2020, when COVID shut them down, and they then declared bankruptcy. They were then sold to a group of new owners, including Dwayne Johnson, and this year is their second relaunch.
I’ve watched every game so far, and here’re my thoughts:
Pluses:
The action on the field is good. A lot of the players have NFL experience, and there’s no shortage of solid tackles as well as open field running.
The league features “all access” meaning the coaches, officials, and some players are miked up, so you can, for example, hear the officials’ conference during a penalty. In the NFL, you see the officials huddle up, but don’t know what they’re saying. This can be a moot point, since you ultimately find out the call, but hearing the process is interesting. They also get the booth official’s reasoning for a certain call.
Kickoffs must hit the field between the 20 yard line and the goal line. This prevents touchbacks, which to me, is a huge problem in the NFL. In the NFL, almost every kick turns into a touchback. Why bother when the receiving team will start on the 25 yard line?
For player safety, the kicking team can’t start running until the receiver has caught the ball (or 3 seconds after the ball hits the turf). This means the receiver has a chance for a runback. Both teams line up 5 yards from each other, so they can still hit and tackle the receiver; they just don’t have a 70 yard full-speed head start.
There is no kicking PAT. The scoring team can try for 1 point from the 2 yard line, 2 points from the 5, or 3 points from the 10. Call it a gimmick, but I’ve heard of calls over the decades for the NFL to get rid of the kicking PAT because it’s too much of a gimme.
Minuses:
Mostly the broadcast. While they mike up the coaches, they often show the OCs or DCs talking at the same time, so you can’t understand either one.
Similarly, they interview players after a big play while the next play is being run, taking eyes away from the field. Sometimes it’s side-by-side, but it’s distracting. I tend to FF during the in-between plays, so I watch only the plays (and penalties).
Ditto the fans. The Washington DC team’s (DC Defenders) fans start a “beer snake” of empty cups in the stand. The broadcasters seem to think this adds to the action (maybe it does, but not for me).
There are only 8 teams in two divisions (North and South). But it’s early, and if it sticks around, I’d guess that more teams will start up.
The emphasis on gambling (which isn’t the league’s fault–I think the NFL is getting in on it too). By this I mean they spend a lot of time giving the over/under and Caesar’s official line. Not everyone will agree with this, and that’s fine. I’m not against gambling; people are going to do it, I just think it’s dumb. It’s not a moral choice for me, and I’m in no way saying it should be outlawed. As long as I’m not forced into it, do what you want.
You can call the current iteration of the XFL (as well as the USFL) “minor league” but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. It depends on the on-field action, and I think the games are pretty good. It’s a million times better than Vince McMahon’s 2001 “smashmouth” version.
What I think will really be interesting is to see if there’s room for two spring football leagues. Or even one. Will the XFL and USFL merge? Will one go bankrupt (again) and one survive? Will both survive? Will the NFL absorb one or the other? Who knows? In the meantime, I’m just enjoying the on-field action.
The NFL has decided that touchbacks on kickoffs are a feature, not a bug.
Kickoffs have the single highest injury rate of any kind of play in the game. This is why they returned the kickoff point back to the 35 yard line a few years ago, after it being at the 30 for a while, and then changed the rule so that a touchback on a kickoff is placed at the 25, rather than the 20 – both changes were made to intentionally encourage touchbacks. 60% of NFL kickoffs last season wound up being touchbacks.
There’s been a number of proposals to do away with kickoffs entirely, due to the injury factor, but the league seems to be reluctant to cross that bridge at this point, likely because long kickoff returns are exciting (though relatively few returns go longer than 20 yards), and because kickoffs have always been part of the game. That said, I wouldn’t be too surprised if they cease to exist in the NFL within the next decade.
What happens if it doesn’t- say, the ball sails into the end zone. 5 yard penalty and re-kick?
In St. Louis, the Battlehawks certainly generated a fan response with this April Fool’s Tweet.
“Following a vote from XFL owners, the Battlehawks have been officially approved to relocate to the greater Los Angeles area and will do so for the 2024 season,[” the statement reads.] “St. Louis is a city known for its incredibly hard-working, passionate, and proud people. Bringing the XFL back to St. Louis in 2023 will go down as one of the proudest moments in our league’s history. This move isn’t about whether we love St. Louis or its fans, but rather about what is in the best interest of the Battlehawks organization.”
Which is why I like the XFL rule.
The other is that there were far more kickoff returns than in the NFL: Only 38 percent of kickoffs were returned during the 2022 NFL season, but 97 percent of kickoffs were returned during the short-lived 2020 XFL season.
NBC article
If the ball is kicked into the end zone and is downed it is a “Major” touchback and the ball is placed at the return side 35-yard line.
Out of bounds kicks and kicks that fall short of the 20-yard line will result in an illegal procedure penalty, taking the ball all the way out to the kicking team’s 45 yard line.
XFL Rules | XFL Newsroom
I’m not sure about the kicking team’s 45 yard line rule, because that seems like one helluva penalty. Maybe put it on the receiving team’s 45 instead.
I understand that; I’m simply noting that the excitement of kickoff returns comes at a heightened risk of injuries to players.
The teams line up five yards from each other. The kicker kicks the ball, and neither team can move until the receiver catches the ball, or 3 seconds after the ball hits the turf.
There are going to be injuries in American football, but the way the XFL has ruled it, the risk of injuries during kickoffs is lowered, not heightened.
And I’m not saying the XFL is necessarily better; my point has been I’ve been watching the games and I’m enjoying them. Have you watched any XFL games (specifically kickoffs)?
I have not. Those rule changes do seem interesting, though also apparently built for facilitating long returns, if the kicking team can’t even move until the ball is fielded. I’d be curious to learn if, over time, they do indeed lead to lower rates of injuries.
And, yes, there are always injuries in football, often ones that lead to lower quality of life for players after they retire (part of the reason why I’ve become ambivalent about the sport in recent years).
Hey, Leo, I figured since no one else posted, I was the only one enjoying the XFL. It’s been so much fun to follow, especially since my Sea Dragons are on a tear right now. I also can’t remember any game NFL or otherwise as exciting as the 0-6 Guardians beating the 6-0 Defenders by one point. Holy crap.
There hasn’t been a tie yet, which will be interesting to see. The tie-breaker is a shoot out with each team getting five chances at the end zone. I don’t recall the specifics.
The beer snake is dumb, but whatever gets people to the games. I also saw there was a beer snake at a Chicago baseball game yesterday, lol.
The league was specifically engineered and timed to funnel standouts to the NFL. So far, I think kicker John Parker Romo has a pretty good shot.
Y’all dismissing this league are missing out on a lot of fun. It gets better every week. Give it a try.
Oh, that Orlando-DC game was wild! That’s why I don’t bet…'cause I would’ve lost. 
But I loved it.
I don’t have a favorite yet, but I do pretty much root for Seattle. And DC. And St. Louis. Sometimes Orlando because you gotta root for the underdog.
And I’m with you, no one should knock it at least until they’ve tried it.
I heard about the XFL, but I didn’t know the USFL was alive again?
When do they play?
The USFL season starts in a couple weeks. They played an initial season last year with all games played in Birmingham. The idea is to have games in a few other cities this year.
I guess that re-launch also flew past a lot of heads.
It’s also a bit of a competition between TV networks. The XFL has Disney/ESPN behind it and the USFL has Fox Sports.
I also am a Sea Dragons fan, I still have original Dragons merch (including a hat, shirt, pennant, and mini football). I didn’t like the new logo so much, until I realized on distant shots of the helmet that the dragon looks like an “S” for Seattle.
I also love the QB Ben DiNucci. He’s capable of both amazing tosses to players in the back corner of the end zone and absolutely bone-headed tosses to defenders where there is no receiver around. Either way, there’s excitement!
And having Josh Gordon is cool. He got multiple chances with the Seahawks to revive his career, but had to be dropped after relapsing, but he’s now playing on another Seattle team. And he’s had some good play throughout the year.
I like the detail on the first logo, but overall I like the S even though it reminds me of the Kraken. How cool that you have merch from the first iteration! I’m not too thrilled with what’s available now, but I’m sure things will get better.
I really like the Nooch, too, especially since he seems to have cleaned up end zone interceptions while throwing into triple coverage, lol.
I’m a little anxious about DC this Sunday!
That was some exciting football over the weekend, although I’m heartbroken my Sea Dragons lost.