but you can't get both, you can't have yardage and the foul.
the rules of football in the NFL are a little off the wall.
American Football is the only league that allows a penalty that has no bearing on the play should not be added on.
in the CFL (where the rules make sense) if you get an offside penalty on the defense and you have an incomplete pass, no worries you have the 5yds and repeat the down.
if you have a completion or gain the first down, then you don't need the penalty to assist you because you've already gained the necessary 10 yards and have reset the set of downs.
that's why the penalty is declined.
it's like if you have a holding on the offense and it's 3rd down, you don't make it 4th down and take the penalty yards because like in football a penalty makes you repeat the down.
the only time where a penalty and a loss of down occurs (in the CFL) is where you run out of 20 seconds to get the play running or if you have an Intentional Grounding (both leagues)
NFL has always been backwards when it comes to penalties.
remember.. Both Pro Football Leagues in North America Originated from Canada.
the Americans took the game that McGill introduced to them and then altered it to suit them, but over time.
I find the NFL is way too North south, black and white. there's very little creativity in the game but that's likely because of their rules.
the fact the running back can't move up until the snap of the ball is one
only one player in the backfield (receivers, RB's) can move at a time and it has to be sideways - thats two
that ridiculous rule that you are allowed to just throw the ball into the dirt to waste a play - that's three
The field being smaller also makes it more difficult to create offenses that are more challenging.
that extra player on the field creates a lot of havoc for QBs. many American QB's who have come to Canadian training camps have said how they always forget to account for that 12th man and it hurts their performance.
guys like Flutie and Garcia who both had success in the NFL after being in the CFL stated how they found it easier to read defenses and find their open receivers because there is no 12th man on the field.
the NFL is embarrassing themselves this year with their 90% of the kickoffs going deep into the endzone with no returns at all. like how exciting is that?? ooooooh.
not to mention the group of monkeys (players) bouncing up and down on the field circling the ball on a punt when the returner calls a fair catch. ugh.
Americans only know of the NFL, most of them probably never have seen a CFL game in their life. they only know about the American way of the game.
Canadians who play the game know there are two kinds of football out there.
there's 12 man where you play on a 65yd by 110 yd field, with 3 downs, 20 seconds. unlimited motion. among other rules
the 11 man with a 53 1/3 yds by 100 yds. 4 downs 40 second clock, no motion in the backfield.
Canadian fans who cheer for the NFL all because they have the best players who get paid the most.
they're always knocking the CFL. it's one thing to have a preference over one league, but to call the CFL names and put down their game is not necessary. the CFL may not have the best talent you can find out there, but the game is still exciting, fun, fast, competitive and more challenging to learn.
Football fans should be capable of loving both leagues. But it's hard for some, me included.
I watch a CFL game with two teams that have a huge rivalry, they go out and they have 3 downs to get 10 yards, so they need to pass more, they have a bigger field so they come up with more spread out plays and it creates the need for athletes who are able to use more of the field. then they have 20 seconds only to get the play going so they're moving quicker to get going again. they have unlimited motion so they have to create more complex defenses to stop them which makes the offense get more creative.
I find the Canadian game when I watch it on TV or see it live, to be quicker, more excitement, faster plays, more creativity.
I turn on the NFL on tv and immediately the tone of the game, the attitude the tv broadcasts are low key, toned down, less excitement. it's like they are drowning out the crowd more. the two guys who do the game seem to talk more about stuff and there's a lot more time inbetween each play. so when you've been watching a CFL game and you see 20 seconds and a play, 20 second and a play.
then you see NFL and it's 40 seconds.. a play.. the offenses don't have to hurry as fast to get back to the huddle, they can take longer to decide the plays, they're not moving as fast. so the pace slows.. there is a lot more jabbering and chit chat between the Play by Play and Color commentator during NFL games than CFL games.. because they have twice as long to do so.
I see a lot less creativity in offensive plays, most of the time the running back gets the ball and he goes right up the middle or just off to the left or right.. the QB then throws the ball and so often the receivers is running a fly pattern up the field, not much else.. very few outs or curls or fancy crossing routes, and you don't see very many offenses where they have no backfield and there's 1 receiver on one side and 4 on the other (maybe cause they can't fit all 4 there?)
there's a minimal amount of creativity in American offenses.. the stuff you can do in Canadian Offenses is outrageous but you can't in the NFL because you don't have the ability to have all the receivers moving around before the snap.
it's difficult for me, a hardcore CFL fan to be able to sit and watch an NFL game where they are limited in so many ways.