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From: bbaker@cadsys.UUCP (William Baker)
Newsgroups: net.sport.football
Subject: Re: What makes exciting football?
Message-ID: <139@cadsys.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 16:55:13 EDT
Article-I.D.: cadsys.139
Posted: Thu Aug 22 16:55:13 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Aug-85 01:38:53 EDT
References: <15800001@hpfclp.UUCP>
Organization: Intel, Santa Clara, Ca.
Lines: 32

> 
> From another base note (I wanted to avoid massive drift):
> 
> > ... the CFL rules which are generally acknowledged to result in a more
> > exciting game.
> 
> Generally acknowledged by whom?! Why does everyone think that more passing
> makes the game more exciting? Since the NFL changed their rules to encourage
> the pass, the game has gotten more boring. The clock stops so often that
> they're trying to come up with newer rules to get the games back under
> 3 hrs.
> 
	I second this.  NFL games have gotten to be dull because 
of all the dead time.  Sure, on average a passing play is more 
exicting than a running play, but all the time in between passes 
is tedious.
	It seems that the NFL is changing back the rules that
opened up the pass-happy era, which is good.  The pass interference
rules were really bad.  There is one thing we might borrow from the
CFL, though:  The wider field.  A wider field might open up the
productivity of running offenses.  With the excellent speed of
modern linebackers, sweeps seem to be a thing of the past.  Since
modern atheletes are faster and bigger than the people who
originally started the game, they should be playing on a bigger
field.  Given the increasing range of placekickers, it might be
worthwhile to make it longer, too.  
	If nothing else, making the field wider will make thousands
of American rugby players happy.  We're damned tired of playing on
those narrow football fields.

					Bill Baker
					intelca!cadsys!bbaker