CFL/NFL Player Size

I think at the pro level, with 40 outdoor pro football clubs and the huge pool of college talent that there is a very marginal difference in the talent between the leagues...

I also think that the idea that NFLers are on average bigger AND faster isn't true.

I honestly think the following factors contribute to the general idea that NFL athletes are faster in spite of being bigger:

  1. The action is constrained to a field of play 3/4 the area of a Canadian field. This makes the sidelines approach alot faster as well as making the players look more mamoth than they are.

  2. Smaller distances are more significant in 4 down football... muscling for 3 yards to gain a first against a gang tackle in the NFL might look like a titanic feat while in the open spaces of the CFL the same might be perceptually marginalised.

  3. No neutral zone.... eliminates the first stride for guys like Julius Peppers in his hunt for the passer. The lines strike immediately where as in the CFL, linemen have to take a stride to make contact.

I really think that it has more to do with the fact that more of your positions in the CFL have to go to speedsters & while in the NFL, more roster spots have to go to power positions.

Both skilled... but different skill requirements... thus different athletes.

Vince Ferregamo was only average for Montreal and certainly never dominated any games when he played QB up here, despite the NFL pedigree. AT the time it was the smaller guys like Deiter Brock, Conredge Holloway and Tommy Clements who were the league leaders.

So, here are a few more stats as I work my way through the player rosters. Let's see how height stacks up:

BC Lions - Average Height: 6',1.2"

Chicago Bears - Average Height: 6',1.8"

So, the Bears have just over half an inch on the Lions and about 8 pounds. I wouldn't call that significant.

Anyone know where I can get stats on how the players run the 40?

CFL=skill over size NFL=size over skill
more like:

CFL=skill over size
NFL=size and skill

I would say that Ferragamo was “lousy” rather than average in the CFL. I was at his first CFL game at Empire, and take my word for it, he’s no Jerry Tagge (Lions 48 Als 8.) And I wouldn’t exactly classify Deiter Brock as a “small” QB either :lol: .

Now this sounds a little more intelligent. I wonder how some of our more ignorant posters would explain how the smaller Colts players ended up defeating the bigger Bears .

Although as already demonstrated in the first post here , CFL players aren’t that much smaller anyway. Our players have gotten much bigger over the years too. Our average O-lineman is now over 300 lbs also .

Another guy who had a bit of success in the NFL and bombed in the CFL - Quincy Carter.

I like that "CFL takes skill over size, NFL takes size and skill" comparison, too.

So here are my final stats with the average height of the Alouettes and the Colts added in:

[b]BC Lions - Average Weight: 231.7 lbs
BC Lions - Average Height: 6'1.2"

Montreal Alouettes - Average Weight: 229.6 lbs
Montreal Alouettes - Average Height: 6'1.1"

Indianapolis Colts - Average Weight: 237.2 lbs
Indianapolis Colts - Average Height: 6'3.5"

Chicago Bears - Average Weight: 239.8 lbs
Chicago Bears - Average Height: 6'1.8"[/b]

Again, the Alouettes averages are based on a 63 man roster, as currently posted online, compared to a 53 man roster for the other three teams.

i'm a fan of both cfl/nfl so i think i have an unbiased opion. the truth is something cfl fans won't want to admit but...

the cfl doesn't choose skill, size, or much else becuase the cfl gets players who just didn't make the cut in the nfl.

and if they do well in the cfl they instantly try to go to the nfl.

ex kenton keith.

Charlie never had a shot at an NFL team even though he Dominated in College he was never really looked at due to his Height

Charles roberts college Career:
‘COLLEGE CAREER – The leading rusher in NCAA Division I history originally became a Winnipeg Blue Bomber when he inked a pact with the CFL club May 22, 2001. Roberts is a U.S. college football legend. During his time with the Hornets, Roberts set or tied nine NCAA I-AA records, 13 Big Sky Conference records and 27 Sacramento State records.’

However he played in AA the big knock on him.

But if you look at how Charlie does against NFL players(either ex-nfl guys or potential NFL guys) he does do really good against them.

an example of this:
The 2006 blue bomber defence had 2 ex-NFLers(Brown and Warner) and 3(atleast) potential NFLers(Charlton, Samuels, Hebert) However anytime the offence went against the Defence Roberts remained a consistent threat in any practice/Scrimmage whatever it was.

And for size discrimination everyone is forgetting one of the key players who it effect, Doug Flutie anyone? he was what 5’10" and that’s why he didn’t get a legit NFL shot and when he did go down to Buffalo and San Diego he was always pushed behind young guys until they got injured or the season looked down so he could win some games.

The NFL is not really better then the CFL the two League were Equal for a long time until ESPN/FOX/NBC and the other major Media gave started giving the huge TV contracts to the NFL screwing up the CFL’s ability to compete for players, if the NFL depended on Gate Revenue the CFL wouldn’t be dominated like it is in terms of Money. Sure the NFL would make more(average team would make around 40M) but they would be spending 20-25M on rosters compared to the current 80+ Thus being a starter in the CFL would pay more then just being on a NFL roster.

it would be like 80K to be on a NFL roster and 90-100K to start on a CFL roster. Atleast allowing CFL teams to keep their stars.

I've played on both fields and one of the reasons NFL players are bigger is just that they don't have to run as far. A linebacker in the US league can truck to the near sideline in about twenty steps. His job is to deliver a load when he gets there. In the CFL you really have to move and there's far more chance for cut-backs and reverses. You just can't carry all the extra weight. I do remember Arron Brown years ago gaining about fifteen lbs. when he went south, but he worked hard to drop it as soon as he got back.

re-Ricky Williams didn't cause bigger CFL rosters.
Several cfl teams added free agent l.b,s after the args signed williams,they bulked up, allthough the size and power never really affective agaisnt speed and team tackling that CFl defences are set up for. IMo the williams expeiriment proved Canadian football is tactically superior And skill level is equal to nfl.

It's a lot easier to compare player size but much harder to compare talent. There are certainly plenty of examples of NFL talent coming north and bombing and CFL talent going south and failing to stick and vice versa. If I was to ask why the CFL doesn't always attract the most talented players, I would answer that its simply a question of economics - the NFL pays better. That said, the NFL doesn't always keep the best talent and simply lets a lot of talented players lanquish on the sidelines. Some guys get tired of waiting for their opportunity. Others just never had the chance. Regardless, the talent debate has no real answer. As for entertainment value though, I still pick the wide open CFL!