Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's not, and who's not. This week's list induces...
The Canadian Football League is making some big changes over its next two seasons, and a long-time observer said he’s pleased with the updated rules and the new field layouts.
On Monday, the league announced major changes to the layouts and size of the fields, reducing the length to 100 yards and shortening the end zones to 15 yards while moving the goalposts to the back of the end zones. Those changes will take effect in 2027, while the league will implement changes to the single-point rouge and a new play clock starting in 2026.
Read more:
- CFL making changes to field layouts, rouge, play clock in next two seasons
- ‘See where it goes from here’: Riders react to CFL rule changes
- Jamie Nye: CFL flying close to the sun as league rolls out rule changes
The announcement has drawn a mixed reaction from fans. Many fans welcomed the changes, while others were less than pleased, to put it mildly.
Journalist, author and CFL historian Paul Woods said he expects to see more plays in each game after the introduction of the league’s new 35-second automatic play clock.
“The CFL has long had this reputation because there’s a 20-second clock, and people think that means that there’s more plays and (the) action is faster than American football,” he said.
But Woods said there are fewer plays in each CFL game than there were 30 years ago, partly due to the clock rules. He said the addition of the new clock could make for more exciting games.
Woods said the league has made some dramatic rule changes in the past, like when the touchdown changed from five to six points in 1956. Hash marks have also been moved over the years, with a recent change implemented in 2022 to move them closer to the center of the field.
“It affected the angles for quarterbacks to throw to receivers on the wide side and the short side,” Woods explained.
But while the league has seen a number of shake-ups in the past, he said the suite of changes announced this week could be been the most significant he’s seen in CFL history.
“Moving the goal post to the back of the end zone, reducing the end zone to 15 yards and reducing the field from 110 to 100 yards are all really significant changes.” Woods said.
“Nothing like anything that I can recall in the 60-plus years that I’ve been watching Canadian football.”
Woods said he believes CFL commissioner Stuart Johnston made the major changes in an attempt to make the game more entertaining and gain more interest from younger viewers.
Woods said that from a business standpoint, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are the league’s two most successful clubs. But while those two teams are turning profits every year, Woods said the league’s other seven teams are struggling to make money and retain fans while attracting new ones.
“Making these changes, it’s a bit of a home run play to try to get fans back into those seats and buying the products of the sponsors and all of those things,” Woods said.
“Let’s hope it works.”
