I am expalining the CFL to a american and he asked me why the posts are in front and I have a brain cramp and can't give him a answer, so what are all the reasons for that . thanks.
...because, that's why...
All football was like that until the Americans decided to put it at the end of the end zone back in the 70's (thanks Red 
), not exactly sure when but not all that long ago. It makes sense on the dinky sized American field but I still like it the way it is on our field size.
...don't listen to my evil twin...actually, you can provide your american friend with a question to answer his question....in 1974 the NFL moved their goalposts from the goal line to the back of the endzone where they currently reside...why?...
thats easy. On the already two short field, with kickers getting better at the time, field goals were just too easy.
Personally, I think cfl should move them back as well.
...given some recent games regarding missed field goals the NFL should put their posts on the 20 yard line...
^^ :lol: Yeah, I'm pretty sure Graham's cursing the move right now. :lol:
Personally, I like having the goal posts at the front because it allows the opposition to return a missed field goal, something you don't often see in the NFL.
All field sports have the goalposts on the goal line (what an amazing concept!) Soccer, rugby, Australian football, Canadian football, lacrosse, hurling...the exception being American football which moved the goalposts to the back of the endzone in 1974, (not sure about the NCAA). American football used to also have 3-downs to gain 10 yds...up until 1912 when they decided to change to 4 downs, to add more offence into their game which was suffering after they reduced the field size to fit into professional baseball stadiums. Yes, American football used to be played on larger rugby or Canadian-sized fields in the past.
Part of the reason was because the QBs are not smart enough to throw the ball over the crossbar.
Seriously, I remember during the debate over moving it back, they kept showing clips of passes hitting either the crossbar or the upright. When was the last time anyone saw this happen in the CFL?
over the last 44 yrs, I have seen it more times than I could begin to remember. Cannot remember the last time, but it was not long ago
But certainly not enough times to make it an issue!
it only takes once, if it was a third down pass for game winning td.
but still, not my issue as much as too many midfield fg attempts and converts being almost automatic. I would guess with the posts moved back, we would see a few more 2pt attempts.
my understanding is this; when a touchdown is scored, the ball must just cross the plain of the goal line. this is the same for the field goal, crossing the plain of the line. Thats what they told us back in the day of my HS football. i think if it went the way of the americans, it might nigate the possibility of a run back on a missed f/g...
If the CFL moved the posts back a 45 yard field goal attempt would become 65 yards (I think the all-time record is 63?). So to have a reasonable chance of making a field goal the ball would have to be around, what, the 25? That's a bit much and I doubt many would want a ten yard end zone to partly compensate for the extra distance.
Thats what I want. I think a team should be expected to get inside the 30 at least. Also, if they would change the rouge rule so that a puntkick would have to hit the ground before going out the endzone, then the combination of these two changes would make for some very interesting strategy and plays.
Not me. I like long kicks. Though I agree about the single.
there would still be long kicks, they would just be closer to the goal line.
Why do they call it a goal line when there are no goals in north american football??
I imagine the term “goal line” is a holdover from the game’s Rugby football origins.
This is my 1000th post. I was waiting for an interesting topic before crossing the great threshold of procrastination from what should otherwise be a productive lifestyle… I enjoy discussing these details of the Canadian game so here we go:
In gridiron football there are indeed goals: field goals originally known as ‘goals from the field’. As the rugby derivative sports diverged from soccer in the mid to late 19th century, the field goal was generally worth more than the try or what is today known as the touchdown in gridiron football.
As it stands, a similar field position is required for a field goal attempt in either American or Canadian football. When the result of the game is up in the air, generally pro football teams don’t attempt field goals in excess of 50 yards. With the field dimensions as they are, this generally requires a scrimmage at the 43 yard line (12 yards past half) in Canadian football, or the 33 yard line (17 yards past half).
If Canadian goal posts were relocated to the dead line with the existing end zone, you’d have to march to the 23 or 32 yards into your opponent’s territory to even think about trying the field goal. I suppose in turn longer field goals would be attempted more often beause as the Canadian rules stand, scoring a rouge on a field goal will allow the receiving team to scrimmage from the 35 or the previous line of scrimmage, whichever is further from the goal line. So every missed field goal would almost automatically be scrimmaged from the 35 anyways so why not attempt 65 yarders scrimmaged from the 38?
I don’t think you could keep the rouge as is with dead line goal posts given any missed field goal within 50 yards would be an automatic single as today’s shanked 20 yarders are.
And I’ll say it again, I still think given the status quo with Canadian football that we should modify the rouge to count on only returnable kicks from scrimmage and kick offs and exclude rouges that are simply kicked through the end zone.
I don’t think the posts should be moved. I thought it was a mistake in the NFL, but they don’t have the depth that we have in the endzone for crossing routes, so the move was justified for safety reasons. As for the single, if the ball cannot be returned to the field of play, It should be a single. Whether it touches down in the field of play or not.
LTF