Excuse my ignorance but is there a difference,rules wise between american and canadian football?

Question

Excuse my ignorance but is there a difference,rules wise between american and canadian football?

Answer 1

Yes Canadian football has 3 downs American has four Canada uses meters to measure the field.

Answer 2

No...the field size is different.

Answer 3

Note to shadouse: A Canadian Football League (CFL) field is marked in yards, not meters.

A couple of other differences between the CFL and the NFL: In the CFL, the goalposts are at the front of the end zone, rather than the back and a single point is awarded for a missed field goal if the ball isn't or can't be run out of the end zone.

Answer 4

Yes.

Canadian football has 3 downs, whereas American football has 4 downs.  So in Canadian football, they pass the ball much more.  Also on a kickoff, the receiving team isn't allowed to touch the defense in regard to blocking.  You can stand in front of them and discourage them, but that's it.  And on a kickoff, there's no fair catch.

Also the field in Canadian football is a little bigger in regards to the end zone.  The Canadian end zone is about 15 yards deep, whereas in American football, it's only 10 yards deep.

There may be some other differences, but that's the ones that I know of.

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

Two of the biggest differences in rules are:

--number of players - Canadian Football has 12 players per team at a time, American football has 11 players

--number of downs - Canadian Football allows three attempts (downs) to earn a first down, American football allows four downs

Here's a chart showing more of the differences in rules, scoring,  and field size.

Answer 6

Another difference is that a CFL team only gets one time-out per half, compared with the three in each half an NFL team would get.

Also in the CFL, the teams must run a play before a quarter, half, or game is over. The teams cannot just walk off the field with 45 seconds remaning.

Answer 7

yes cfl has 12 players mfl 11 cfl field 110 yards nfl 100 cfl 3 downs nfl 4 cfl needs to have half canadian players

Answer 8

I don't know a lot about football, but I do know there are some differences.. Here is a site that mentions a bit..

http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/5653...

Answer 9

I have relatives who have played both Canadian and American football. Aside from the obvious differences in field size/width and the downs, in Can football, they have the 3 minute warning that is equivalent to the 2 minute warning in Am football. Obviously w/ the field size being different, usually Can footballers require more speed; they're faster, on average, than Am footballers. In Am football, once the ball is snapped, there can only be one eligible receiver moving. In Can football, most of the offence - except for the offensive linemen and QB - can move. Most Canadians also play special teams b/c their roster is not as big and there is less time in between plays in a series, so Can footballers play the game longer.