CFL vs. NFL debate is no debate
By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer
Iām tired of hearing people go on and on about how vastly superior the NFL is to the CFL. Iām tired of hearing about how the worst NFL team could beat the best CFL team easily. It makes me want to make like that delightful Facebook page and high-five them. In the face. With a chair. Honestly, think this one through.
Saying that the Kansas City Chiefs could beat the Toronto Argonauts is crazy talk. First of all, the Chiefs canāt even beat a pewee football team. Secondly, if no one noticed, the two leagues donāt play with the same rules. The CFL has a bigger field, one extra man, one fewer down, puts multiple receivers into motion before the snap, has the field goal posts at the front of the endzone instead of the back, doesnāt have fair catches, and a dozen other differences. āDerrr, but itās still football, right?ā Yes, both leagues play football, but theyāre not playing the same game.
CFL players need to have different skill sets than their NFL counterparts. For example, while an NFL quarterback just needs to be able to sit in the pocket and have an arm, a CFL quarterback needs to be mobile. If you canāt move in the CFL, youāre not going to make it. And before someone makes a crack about Anthony Calvillo, keep in mind that he had an 8.2 yards per rush average this season. Staying with the QB theme, an NFL pivot can get away with having an average to below average arm, but a CFL signal caller canāt. With the wider field, throwing that cross-field out route becomes that much more dangerous. A lame-duck toss is just asking for the defensive back to pick it off.
Running backs from the two leagues also differ. The NFL is a running league. Backs need to be able to pound the ball time and time again and grind out a few yards on the ground. The successful ones generally tend to be tough bruisers. The CFL, on the other hand, is a passing league. Our ball-carriers donāt need to be all brawn. Thereās more space to take a handoff and bounce it to the outside. They also donāt (usually) see as many carries. CFL running backs also need to be effective receivers, something many NFL backs seem completely incapable of.
With it now firmly established that the two leagues are different, one should begin to realize that a game between the two is impossible, and thus, neither league can be deemed superior. Of course thereās more money in the NFL and a far larger pool of talent, which leads one to believe that the NFLās athletes are better, but the two simply arenāt comparable. How would one even set up a game between the two leagues? Would it be NFL rules or CFL rules? On an NFL field or a CFL field? With our awesome football with two stripes or with their lame brown pigskin? I honestly donāt care which league people prefer, but please stop with the uninformed comparisons.
