Edmonton Wins CFL Shootout Over Calgary
The Edmonton Eskimos survived a wild back and forth CFL shootout against the Calgary Stampeders before prevailing 38-35 to take over sole possession of first place in the CFL West. Edmonton improved to 4-3 with the win, while Calgary dropped to 3-4.
After the game, winning QB Ricky Ray said that he enjoyed the wild contest:
“That was a ton of fun. In the CFL you get to play in a lot of games like this, especially against a guy like (Calgary quarterback Henry) Burris, who has done this to us. It’s great to come out on the winning end of a shoot-out like that. It’s a great uplift for the team. It’s a huge win for us.”
Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said that the outcome couldnt have been timed any better:
“Regardless of what happens, we are coming back in first place. Now we have one up on Calgary. It’s going to be a dogfight for all the teams in the West and any chance you get to win, especially a win like this, it’s a real bonus. It’s great for our confidence.”
Calgarys Burris remembered a very similar game last year where Edmonton won by the same margin on a last play touchdown:
“They got us last year in this situation and of course you didn’t think it was going to happen again or even could happen again. It felt so great to get that late touchdown and with 38 seconds on the clock nobody was even thinking about last year. We had to stop Jackson and we didn’t. And we had to stop Ray and we didn’t. Kudos to Edmonton.”
Both teams have a bye next week. Calgary returns to action on Aug. 28 in Toronto while the Eskimos will next play on Aug. 29 when they host Hamilton. The two CFL provincial rivals from Alberta will face each other twice more this season.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
CFL Canadian Football For The American NFL Football Fan
While football in the United States is associated with crisp autumn days and cool nights, in Canada professional football begins in the summer time. While NFL training camps won’t open until mid-summer by then the Canadian Football League (CFL) will be well into their regular season schedule.
The CFL is almost as old as the NFL, coming into existence in’30. The league’s Grey Cup championship trophy is even older, having been awarded to the best Canadian professional football team since’09. There have been a number of NFL stars who got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Randall Cunningham and Jeff Garcia.
The CFL is a very professional and highly competitive league, but its important to understand some important differences between it and the NFL:
First of all, the football itself is bigger–the CFL ball is larger than its American counterpart. If you know anything about rugby, its roughly the same as a #3 rugby ball meaning it is somewhat longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL field is also longer (110 yards) and wider (65 yards vs. the NFLs 53.5 yards), and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep as opposed to 10 yards in the NFL. The CFL goal posts are on the goal line, while the NFLs are on the end line at the back of the endzone.
CFL teams are allowed an extra offensive player (a wide receiver), and on defense they’re allowed an extra defensive back. This means that 12 players can be on the field at one time as opposed to 11 in the NFL. CFL football also differs in that teams only have three downs to gain ten yards, as opposed to four in US football. The phrase “two and out” is as commonplace in CFL football as is “three and out” in the US game.
A major difference in the scoring is the ‘single’ which awards CFL teams one point for a kick–usually a punt or missed field goal–that lands in the end zone. This will frequently produce partial game scores of 1-0 or 1-1 that are impossible in the US game.
Of all the rule differences between the NFL and CFL the one that has the most significance on the game isnt enforced on the field; its enforced in the GMs office. Canadians are big on laws and rules to protect their national identity–thats why their TV and radio stations are required to devote a certain percentage of their airplay to Canadian content. That has led to a number of Canadian-only media stars both good (The Tragically Hip, Sloan) and bad (Avril Lavigne, early 90s white rapper Snow). The CFL has a similar rule which requires that’ of the 40 players on a roster must be Canadian born. This keeps the CFL from becoming a de facto NFL developmental league, and helps maintain its unique identity.
Many US football fans look at the rules that include more players, a wider field, and fewer downs meant to encourage more passing and expect to see a wide open high scoring style of play similar to Arena Football. That’s not really how it works out–most games end up with final score totals in the 40′s, but the game itself really isn’t much more offensively oriented than its American counterpart. The rules may be different, but as in the NFL you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.
The requirement of native born players making up 50% of a CFL roster also results in a much more even distribution of talent across the league. Certainly there are good teams and bad teams, but the end result is greater parity than is found in the NFL.
The CFL isn’t in a financial position to draw the top level US players away from the NFL or, in most cases, even a NFL practice or developmental squad. While some US players are uniquely suited to the CFL style of play, most of the US players that end up there are of a similar talent level as to that seen in Arena Football.
Despite the differences between the CFL and American football, at the end of the day its still high level, professional football. Once you understand the unique aspects of the CFL, it’ll become second nature much as NFL viewers quickly assimilate rule changes there.
In the pre-Internet era, it was often difficult for US fans to find information on the CFL. They don’t get coverage on ESPN, but they receive extensive attention in the Canadian press. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and the official CFL website also has many resources including previews and statistics.
Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.