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| Cory Chamblin's Saskatchewan Roughriders have had one of the roughest times adjusting to the CFL's new rules. |
After seeing scoring and offensive production take a hit in recent
years, the Canadian Football League's Board of Governors knew it was no
coincidence that both TV ratings and attendance were down as well.
In an attempt to enhance the on-field product and, ultimately, the
appeal of the game to fans, the league announced several new rule changes in
April that were designed to spark scoring and, as a result, the entertainment
level of CFL games as well.
Through four games of the 2015 CFL season, scoring numbers have indeed
increased. Teams are averaging a combined 47.6 points per game compared to last
year’s average of 45.5. In fact, the average after week three was actually 53.5
points per game, however a couple rainy affairs this week in Ottawa and Regina
brought the overall number down.
There's also a whopping 12 receivers on pace for 1,000 yard seasons, an
incredibly high amount considering last season only saw 3 pass-catchers eclipse
the millennium plateau.
But despite all this, the fans are still upset with the rule changes.
Rather, they're terribly upset with what the on-field product has become. Some
can't handle the increase in penalties, while others feel like the league is
taking away the integrity of the game by penalizing any sort of defence.
It sounds all too familiar, doesn't it?
Remember when the NHL introduced a plethora of rule changes skewed
toward offence following the 2004-2005 lockout season? It was their own attempt
to enhance the appeal of the game to fans by emphasizing entertainment, skill
and competition on the ice.
Similarly to the 2015 CFL season, the 2005-2006 NHL season featured
significant increases in the amount of goals scored and penalties called per
contest. Their increases were much more dramatic, however, as the average
amount of goals scored per game jumped 19.84% from 5.14 to 6.16,
while penalties sky-rocketed from 9.9 minor penalties per game in
2003-2004 to 12.76 in 2005-2006, a 28.75% increase.
I can recall so many hockey fans being disgusted with the so-called
"New NHL".
They felt the rule changes diminished what once was a terrific game,
mostly a result of the changes supposedly encouraging offence, flashy-plays and
individual-efforts over defensive hockey and team play. And to some degree,
they were right. The rule changes absolutely favoured offence, much like those
of the CFL's do.
The NHL introduced a zero tolerance policy to "obstruction",
which includes hooking, holding, slashing and any other infraction that a
defensive player might use to slow down an opponent. It was believed during the
2005-2006 season that there was nothing a defender could do to defend anymore
without being penalized. Players on the attack seemed to often embellish,
knowing that diving will likely result in a penalty for the opponent more times
than not with how hard officials were pressing to enforce the new rule
changes.
Hockey was supposedly ruined. The integrity of the game was lost.
Now that has to sound a little familiar, no?
The CFL's new interpretation of illegal contact is very much relatable
to the NHL's enforcement of obstruction infractions. Gone are the days of
defensive backs clutching and grabbing to impede a receivers' route. There's a
zero tolerance policy to this rule too, as it seems an official will throw an
orange flag should a defender even breathe on a potential pass-catcher past the
five-yard contact zone.
The NHL implemented several other rules in favour of offence, such as
prohibiting goaltenders from playing the puck outside the new trapezoid,
permitting two-line passes and decreasing the maximum size of goaltenders'
equipment. Many thought every game would be played like an All-Star game,
becoming a contact-free, wide open, high-scoring and overall boring game.
But that was not the case, and after a season of adjustments in
2005-2006, the NHL's rule changes began to really pay off. The average amount
of penalties per game has steadily decreased to this day, while as of the 2013-2014
season, the average amount of goals scored per game nearly came back down to
what it originally was 10 years prior. However as the NHL had originally hoped,
the game is still more open than before and the product is much more
entertaining. The upset fans came back long ago and since that, the NHL's
reaped from the financial success that ensued.
It's the perfect example how short-term pain will lead to long-term
gain, something the CFL has stressed since announcing the new rule changes a
few months back.
That's been their moniker, and with penalties drastically increasing
since last season, the short-term pain is definitely there.
But as the NHL has shown us, we have to trust that it'll all sort itself
out in the future and penalties will then return to the norm. The NHL hardly
has a "zero tolerance policy" towards obstruction infractions
anymore, as officials now give the players a longer leash and, sometimes, the
benefit-of-the-doubt when deciding on whether to call a penalty or not.
NHL players adjusted to the new rules and we should trust that those of
the CFL will do the same. As coaches move farther away from the physical
defensive backs that formerly excelled in impeding a receivers' route to the
now-desired speedy cover-guys, we'll see more good defence and the return of
man-coverage.
The officials will improve too, and they'll give defenders more rights
once they finish drilling the new rules into their heads first.
Also to be noted, a very large majority of the penalties called such as
offside, illegal procedure and holding have nothing to do with the
rule-changes, but rather the players themselves making bad mistakes and paying
the price. Penalties are typically higher at the start of the season anyway, so
you can certainly expect to see a decrease in the amount of preventable penalties
as the weeks go on.
So keep the faith, football fans. The CFL is simply in an adjustment
period, and it's a period the NHL experienced in 2005-2006 following their own
rule changes.
Soon enough, the steady decline in the amount of orange nylon flung per
game will noticeably become a drastic decrease, while it at the same time,
defensive coordinators will return to calling games closer to the way they did
before. They'll no longer be limited to almost exclusively running zone
coverage in fear of the poor results that ensue in calling man-coverage.
A new wave of defensive backs will arrive and the officials will grant
them a little more freedom. Offences will still have more space and open-field
like the league desires, but the mentality of "defence wins championships"
will return as well.
The CFL expected penalties to increase when they decided to alter the
rule book. They knew it would frustrate fans and possibly drive some away from
the game. But they also knew that in the end, it would be worth it.
Ask the NHL and they'll reiterate the same thing: short-term pain leads
to long-term gain.
The future's bright, people.
