Comparison of American and Canadian Football - Strategic and Tactical Differences

Strategic and Tactical Differences

Although the rules of Canadian and American football have similarities, the differences have a great effect on how teams play and are managed. Generally, the "big play" is more important in the Canadian game, and offensive series are more difficult to manage.

Red-zone management

Due to the larger end zones and the goalposts being on the goal line in Canadian football, teams must avoid hitting the goalposts. Thus most touchdown throws are aimed away from the centre portion of the end zone. End zone passing becomes even more complicated when the corners of the end zone are truncated, as is the case at stadiums where the field is bounded by a running track. However, the offensive team enjoys a counteracting advantage of end zones more than twice the size of those in American football, allowing the freedom to run some pass patterns not available in American football's red zone.

Special teams

Punts are more common in Canadian football because the offense has three attempts to attain a first down compared to four in American football. Accordingly, special teams make a larger contribution to the team's success.

Management of offensive drives

Having three downs gives Canadian teams less room for experimentation and short rush attempts than their American counterparts. Since the same ten yards must be gained with one fewer attempt, teams must try for the big gain. For this reason, Canadian teams usually prefer passing over rushing to a greater extent than American, since pass attempts generally tend to gain more yards than rushing. In addition, the wider field and much larger end zones further encourage passing in the Canadian game. Offensive drives (continuous possession of the ball) tend to be shorter. Long drives of half a quarter or more are common in American football but rare in Canadian.

Backfield motion

Perhaps the greatest difference arises due to the virtually unlimited movement allowed in the defensive and offensive backfields on a play from scrimmage in the Canadian game vs. very restricted offensive movement in the American game. Thus the offense has more options, forcing the defense to anticipate more possibilities.

Late comebacks

In both the college and pro games, the clock stops more in the Canadian game. In the Canadian Football League, the rules require more clock stoppages in the last minutes of a half whereas in the National Football League there are fewer. On top of this, a team that is ahead has less opportunity to kill clock time in the Canadian game with three downs, much less time to start a new play, and (after the three-minute warning) a loss of down for failing to start the new play in time.