MORE FLAGS, BUT RULES HAVING DESIRED EFFECT
Receivers have more leeway, and result has been more scoring in CFL and closer games
— The Canadian Football League has produced plenty of flag aggravation during the first three weeks of the 2015 regular season.
A torrent of penalties has prompted many anguished followers of Canadian professional football to emote via social media or other forums. One Twitter comment referred to the CFL as the “Continuous Flag League.”
The anguish is understandable, but somewhat misdirected.
Yes, there has been a notable increase in the frequency of penalties. There has been an average of 28.5 penalties over the first 12 games of the season. Last year’s average, over an 81- game regular season, was 21.6. In other words, penalties are up 31.9 per cent over a year ago.
When asked why flags are flying more often across the league, Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Chamblin responded: “With the change in rules, you’re trying to change a mindset that has been in this league.”
But are the rule changes really the issue?
Of the 342 penalties assessed to date in 2015, only 30 of them have been for illegal contact on a receiver — an average of 1.25 such penalties per team per game.
If anything, that is a modest total, considering the implementation of a new rule that prohibits defensive backs and receivers from contacting one another beyond five yards from the line of scrimmage.
Given the fundamental change in how receivers are covered, it was reasonable to expect an explosion in illegal- contact penalties.
There has been an increase. CFL head statistician Steve Daniel told TSN’s Glen Suitor ( who has written about the penalty issue on the network’s website) that there were nine illegal- contact penalties at this stage of the 2014 season.
But when you look at the CFL’s weekly statistical release, compiled by Daniel and issued Tuesday, another figure — 153 — explodes off the page.
Of the 342 penalties, 153 have been what the league refers to as preventable fouls — most notably offside ( 65 such penalties to date), illegal procedure ( 31), objectionable conduct ( 19), no yards ( 14) and time- count violation ( 10).
The Toronto Argonauts, by themselves, have been flagged for offside an eye- popping 16 times. In this instance, and in other cases, shouldn’t the onus be on the players and coaches to spearhead a reduction in penalties?
The CFL’s penalty tally reveals that many of the calls are not discretionary. Offside and illegal procedure account for 28.1 per cent of the infractions so far this season. Contrast that to the frequency of illegal- contact calls ( 8.8 per cent).
Good for the officials for calling illegal contact in the proper fashion. Double the 8.8 per cent and no objections would be raised here.
For far too long, defensive backs were allowed to clutch, grab and impede receivers. The league’s tacit endorsement of such behaviour detracted from the game. An emphatic move had to be made in order to attempt to liberate the receivers.
Has it worked? To a degree, anyway.
Twelve games into this young season, teams have combined for an average of 50.6 points per game in regulation time — a marginal increase over last year at this juncture ( 49.7).
The early- season point production is more impressive when compared to the 2014 season as a whole. Last year, scoring dropped to 45.7 points per game, a notable decline from the 2013 figure of 52.4.
Passing yards per game are up by 16 per cent ( from 481 to 556 yards), comparing the 12- game figures to last season’s 81- game average. This season’s sample is comparatively small, but there is a significant difference in the average yards per game.
As for touchdown passes, well, it depends on the interpretation.
There were 39 touchdown passes — an average of 3.25 per game — over the first three weeks of the 2014 season and that number has been matched in 2015. In fact, the TD pass total after 12 games in 2014 is actually more impressive, when you consider that four of this year’s scoring tosses have been registered in overtime.
But one can always perform gymnastics with numbers. The 3.25 TD passes per game compares favourably to last season’s 81- game average of 2.28.
At the risk of being too numbers-oriented, one more statistic points to an improved game. It does not pertain to the frequency of scoring, but instead to the teams’ relative competitiveness.
There has been a single- digit margin of victory in seven of the 12 games during this young season, including the last three contests — whereas in 2014 only three of the first dozen games were decided by fewer than 10 points.
Back- to- back overtime games involving the Roughriders also underline the excitement. Saskatchewan lost 42- 40 to the visiting Argonauts on July 5 before falling 35- 32 to the host B. C. Lions five days later.
The latter game was also a penalty-fest, with the Roughriders and Lions collaborating for 32 infractions and contributing to the outcry over the non- stop flags.
But even with the prevalence of penalties, the CFL is providing an enhanced level of entertainment. And isn’t that the bottom line?