Does anyone watch the CFL....?

Question

Can someone explain the "rouge" in Canadian football..?

If I am understanding this 1 point score correctly, situations in the NFL that would usually result in a touchback (kneeling in the endzone, ball kicked off or punt through the endzone) result in a single point being awarded to the kicking team, am I correct so far? I also heard that 1 point is awarded when a team MISSES a field goal. Is this correct also? If so, does that mean in a tie game with :01 left, all a team has to do in the CFL to win is punt the ball through the end zone? Would this result in 1 point for the kicking team and a win? If I am misunderstanding the "rouge" or if I was misinformed, please explain.

Answer 1

ur correct about everything but the field goal, the missed field goal must be downed in the endzone for the kicking team to recieve a point

Answer 2

You are correct about the rouge.

While I do agree a reward for a missed field goal is silly, I like that you can score on a punt.  It forces teams to return the ball back in close games.

Answer 3

not really...I love the NFL and I can't wait!

Answer 4

Actually, I think the touchback is kind of dumb in certain situations.  Put it this way: when team A punts, team B fields the punt and takes the ball over at whereever the kick returner gets tackled.  Well if the returner gets tackled (or takes a knee) in the end zone, why should the returning team get an automatic 20 yards for that?  They should have to field the ball where it lies.  Unfortunately, it lies in the end zone.  So to compensate for the receiving team getting "free" yardage, the kicking team gets 1 point.

This holds for punts or field goals (in the CFL, the goal posts are at the goal line, and the end zone is 20 yards long).  So the kick returner in the end zone has to decide whether to try to run it out and possibly end up with crappy field position, or to give up a point to get better field position.  This decision, especially at the end of a close game can be difficult one.  Imagine returning a kick in the end zone down by three points with one minute left?

To expand on what the previous poster said: You are NOT rewarded for missing a field goal.  You ARE rewarded for putting the ball in the end zone (or for the defence failing to keep the ball OUT of the end zone).  6 pts for running or catching the ball in the end zone.  3 pts for kicking it through the uprights.  1 pt for kicking it into the end zone.  Simple as that.

Answer 5

I think it's dumb how when the US adopted football from Canada back in the 1800's, they decided to add a fourth down and shrink the field from 110 yards + 20 yard end zones to only 100 yards + 10 yard end zones, thus making it 30 yards shorter, and narrower, too.

So to each their own.

Answer 6

Yes you get 1 point for kicking the ball through the endzone...however not on a kickoff...the player must kneel down with the ball to get the one point....and the team can decline the point and take the ball at the 20 yard line as well....so many variations i cant get into it all.

Answer 7

You are correct.

Keep in mind, the end zone is 20 yards, unlike 10 in U.S. football.

Answer 8

You are exactly right in how the "rouge" works.

Example came the other night in Edmonton, actually.  Calgary, down 32-31, lined up for a last second field goal.  The commentators mentioned how Calgary's kicker, DeAngelis, would kick it as hard as he could in case he missed as the single point would at least send the game to OT.

DeAngelis made the kick, so it was irrelevant this time, but the rouge would have affected things.

Answer 9

yes, in the CFL if the game is tied and time is running out,  you can punt it through the end-zone, gain a point, and win.

from wikipedia:

Single  

Scored when the ball becomes dead in the possession of a team in its own goal area, or when the ball touches or crosses the dead-line, or side-line-in-goal, and touches the ground, a player, or some object beyond these lines as a result of the ball having been kicked from the field of play into the goal area by the scoring team. It is worth one point. This is different from a Safety (see above) in that team scored against receives possession of the ball from a kick.

Officially, the single is called a rouge (French for "red") but is often simply referred to as a single. The exact derivation of the term is unknown but it has been thought that, in early Canadian football, the scoring of a single was signalled with a red flag.

Answer 10

Just to put the record straight.

No one is awarded one point for a miss field goal. The kicking team gets one point only if the receiving team take a knee (or the ball gets dead) in the end zone after catching the ball.

If the receiving team able to rush the ball to the field, no single is given. In fact, if the receiving team able to rush the ball all the way to the kicking team's end zone, the receiving team scores a touchdown.

And that what happened with Montreal last week.

And I agree that the American rules removed a lot of excitement by adding the fourth down, thus making a touchdown a lot easier.