CFL 2015 News, Rumors: CFL Adopts Major Rule Changes
The Canadian Football League has approved major rule changes for the 2015 season. Most of the new rules deal with the point after conversion with an emphasis on making that play less automatic and create a more exciting convert attempt for the fans.
The CFL's President and Chief Operating Office Matt Copeland made the following statements as reported by CFL.ca: "The Board endorsed the view that this is a great time for our league to innovate. We're looking forward to putting in place changes that have the potential to improve an already great game."
The one point kick which was being snapped at the 12 yard line will now be moved back to the 32 yard line. In 2014 99.4 percent of the single point kicks were successful, which makes for boring play. In field goals attempted from the 31-33 yard line, the percentage dropped to 81 percent, which makes a one point convert less of an automatic play.
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In another rule the CFL moved the two point convert from the five yard line to the three. This was done in an attempt to get more coaches to take the risk of the two point play and create more exciting plays on the field. In 2014 only 30 percent of two-point conversions were successful, but the league as a whole only attempted 23 of them.
Beyond making for exciting single play in a game, the new rules could bring about a interesting scoring dynamic. If more scores are of six and eight points, then late game strategy could wind up being radically different. If a kicker struggles from 32 yards more CFL coaches may opt for the two-point try to make up for misses. Either way this is a growing trend in football and the NFL will likely adopt similar rules at the league meeting in May.
