1.Should the rule requiring the defense to line up one yard away from the line of scrimmage be removed from Canadian football? What effect would such a change have on the Canadian game?
Should the rule requiring the ball to be replaced to the one yard line, when the ball is grounded inside the one yard of a teams end zone, be removed and thus require the offense to play from where it was grounded? The replacement of the ball back to the one yard line seems to penalize the team which is near it's opposition endzone, whether they are on offense or defense.
The whole 1 yard neutral zone isn't something I've thought about a lot other than explaining to NFL fans why the CFL game might seem slower given players have to traverse that 1 yard when the ball is snapped.
Is it integral to Canadian Football like 3 downs, the big field and the rouge? I don't know. I'm not so sure what it would do to defensive strategy or the dynamics of pass or run blocking since I haven't played offensive or defensive line since tyke football.
The matter concerning scrimmaging from the 1 yard line I believe goes hand in hand with the neutral zone. It is necessary so long as this neutral zone exists. It is kind of inconsistent to have 3rd and inches be essentially a given first down while to score will always take a hearty gain of 36 inches with the defense stanced on the goal line.
So dump the scrimmaging from the 1 if the neutral zone is dumped. Dump the neutral zone if there's a good reason to do so. I don't see why or why not.
Well, #2 is in place partially because of #1. If they eliminate #1 then I'm sure they would eliminate #2. Or if they eliminate #2 they would have to eliminate #1.
Rule #1 does make it easier for the offence to get a first down when there is less than a yard to go.
Eliminating the 1 yard neutral zone would make it a lot more difficult to make a 1st down with only 3 downs. Plus, you'd see a dramatic difference in the linemen. They would get a lot bigger and a lot slower, just like they are in the NFL. I think it would be a bad idea, personally. It would take some of the speed of the Canadian game away.
If this 1 yard neutral zone is critical in maintaining a measure of fluidity to the running game in 3 down football, as well as encouraging the use of smaller or more mobile players in the trences, then I'm definitely in favour of its retention.