Minor changes made to rule book
Alterations less radical than past two seasons, CFL vice-president says
For the third straight spring, Glen Johnson toured CFL outposts to discuss rule changes with coaching staffs and media members.
Some of the changes over those years have been large (allowing coaches to challenge defensive pass interference calls or noncalls) and some have been smaller (unsuccessful two-point converts will be automatically reviewed), but the fact remains that Johnson has had to discuss them all.
While fans may not have been able to keep up with all of the changes, Johnson — a former referee who is now the CFL’s senior vice-president, football — doesn’t think the league has been tinkering too much with its rule book.
“We’re innovating for good reason,” Johnson said during a recent stop in Regina. “With the playersafety stuff, as we learn more, it’s all about education and it’s all about evolution. The more we learn, the more we can change and I think it’s the same with the rest of the game.
“It’s a very complicated game, but at the same time, it’s an incredibly simple game. We want people to understand the simplicity of it and enjoy the simplicity of it. The things that may seem like tinkering, if they make the experience better for a fan and the fan is entertained and excited and the players are safer, I think we all win.”
The alterations to the CFL rule book were far less radical this offseason than in the previous two.
Prior to the 2014 season, the league gave head coaches the opportunity to seek reviews on defensive pass interference — a potentially game-changing wrinkle.
Before the 2015 campaign, the CFL altered its illegal contact rules — a move that forced defensive backs and receivers to change the way they operated within five yards of the line of scrimmage.
As well, the line of scrimmage for one-point converts was moved back to the 25-yard line in hopes of making the kicks more difficult. And the line of scrimmage for twopoint converts was moved up to the three-yard line in hopes of making them more attractive to coaches.
While there have been numerous changes this off-season, they represent more of a tweak to the rule book than some of their predecessors.
“It’s not major change,” Johnson said. “I feel good about that.”
The league’s board of governors approved 10 rule changes this offseason.
It made illegal any “push blocks” (when a defensive player shoves a teammate through a gap in the offensive line on converts or fieldgoal attempts) and “peel-back” blocks (low hits by any offensive player moving toward his own goal-line).
The league also lengthened the list of plays that can be challenged by a head coach, adding offensive pass interference, illegal contact, illegal interference on pass plays, no yards, called illegal blocks on kick plays, contacting/roughing the kicker or passer, and illegal interference on kickoffs.
A video official also has been added to each game’s crew. He’ll work in the Command Centre in Toronto and will be asked to correct obvious errors that aren’t challengeable by replay.
Johnson said there were 1.65 challenges per game last season, up from 1.54 in 2014. But the league isn’t concerned that increasing the number of reviewable plays in 2016 will slow down games because coaches still have the same number of challenges as they did previously.
The average length of games in 2015 was two hours 52 minutes, down three minutes from 2014.
Johnson noted that penalties have increased by 28 per cent over the past two years, including a hike of nine per cent from 2014 to 2015.
In hopes of eliminating a large number of penalties, the CFL has modified its rules for illegal procedure. Offensive linemen in their three-point stances now can move slightly but must be set for one second prior to the snap.
For Johnson, a main goal of the changes is to maintain the flow of games — and eliminating penalties is one way of doing that.
“We’ve changed a couple of rules that I think will take a couple hundred penalties out of the game, so that’s a very good thing,” Johnson said. “As well, we’re working hard with our officials to make sure they call to the standard.
“They know the standard, we’re coaching them to it and we just have to hold them accountable to make sure they do that.”