• Cfl Rules Compared To Nfl Rules And Regulations
• Cfl Football Rules And Regulations
• Cfl Rules Compared To Nfl Predictions
• Is Cfl Better Than Nfl
• Cfl Rules Compared To Nfl Playoff

1. The rule of when a player is down is one of the major differences between NFL and college football, and the NFL is more forgiving. The NFL’s dead ball rule is complex, but to simplify it, a pro player on the ground isn’t down unless a defender puts him there or contacts the ball carrier while he’s down.
2. On the season, Green Bay has allowed 28.1 points per road game compared to only 19.5 at home. Playoffs or no playoffs, this regular season swan song is a do-or-die game for Chicago, Trubisky,.

Matt Dunigan has been known to forget where he placed his car keys, though the 51-year-old former quarterback can vividly recall his final game in the Canadian Football League, down to the last few mind-numbing hits.

It's Friday night in August of the 1996 season, his Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the B.C. Lions.

This rule was a revival of a 1968 preseason experiment by the NFL and American Football League. The XFL's first incarnation employed a similar rule in which teams ran a single offensive down from the two-yard line (functionally identical to the NFL/NCAA/CFL two-point conversion), also for one point. By the playoffs, two-point and three-point. Regardless of if I am talking about the NFL, CFL, NCAA, Arena League or upcoming XFL, the point spread is the most popular wagering option for bettors who love to test football betting skills.

The gritty, 5-foot-10½, bow-legged signal-caller surveys the field before absorbing a hit that sends his body and head bouncing off the turf. As the football comes free, a woozy Dunigan instinctively scrambles after it only to be slammed to the turf again. He leaves for the sideline with a team trainer's assistance. After a quick turnover, though, he is back on the field at Ivor Wynne Stadium, yet again dispatched to the turf like a ragdoll on successive incomplete passes.

Cfl Rules Compared To Nfl Rules And Regulations

'I didn't need six neurosurgeons telling me it was over with,' says Dunigan, who played in five Grey Cup championship games, winning twice.

These days, Dunigan is a popular CFL analyst, a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and a concussion crusader, lending his name to Canadian efforts to study the repercussions of traumatic brain injury. Dunigan last year agreed to donate his brain and spinal cord to be studied after his death by researchers with the upstart Canadian Sports Concussion Project.

The Dunigan name may lack cachet outside of Canadian football circles, but he did grow up in the shadow of Texas Stadium outside Dallas and starred at Louisiana Tech, which a decade earlier had served as a launching pad for NFL great Terry Bradshaw. By his unofficial count, Dunigan sustained at least a dozen concussions that caused him to sit out snaps during a 14-year CFL career.

The last, on that August night, didn't just leave him seeing stars and fighting cobwebs. It led to a hell hole that plagued him for months and lingers to a lesser degree to this day. In the days after, on the outside he looked fit and ready to dominate a huddle, but his head wasn't right. He couldn't complete a thought. His personality turned dour and angry, so much so that his wife and college sweetheart, Kathy, feared leaving him alone with their three young children.

'I couldn't put sentences together for the first two weeks,' Dunigan says. 'My lips were moving, but I wasn't digesting much information at all. It just wasn't happening. I didn't say a lot. I would go to practice. People would be, 'Hey, you look good, what is wrong?'

'After 16 years, I am still running the gamut of post-concussion symptoms. That is something I continue to deal with. I don't use it as a crutch. It is just my opponent in today's world.'

He is not alone in his fight. Concussion-related issues exist both in the CFL and for those playing in the National Football League. Grown men bang heads in both leagues, though anecdotally the CFL game appears home to fewer violent hits and a smaller percentage of former players suffering the effects of traumatic brain injuries.

Unlike the NFL, which faces a class-action lawsuit brought by nearly 3,000 players or their family members, the Canadian league isn't hounded by a pack of aggressive attorneys. At least three former players, however, who spent some time in the CFL have signed on as plaintiffs in the NFL suit -- Raghib 'Rocket' Ismail, Sean Salisbury and Mike Schad.

'As a society, we don't litigate as much as you down there,' says Leo Ezerins, executive director of the CFL Alumni Association. 'The other side of it is the CFL is another professional football league in North America, but it is far away from [the NFL]. As an example, we generate let's say $200 million amongst eight teams, and the NFL is almost $9 billion.'

Perhaps then it is no surprise that the early research approach to the brain injury dilemma in Canada is as different as the two pro football leagues' financial statements.

While two research teams -- one centered at Boston University and the other, the Brain Injury Research Institute, led by Drs. Julian Bailes and Bennet Omalu -- have been acquiring and studying post-mortem the brains of NFL veterans and other athletes for a decade, the Toronto-based Canadian Sports Concussion Project only two years ago began to attract funding and gain research ethical board approval.

The Canadian group just recently announced a $25 million fundraising campaign in support of its concussion studies. Research leaders note the CFL Alumni Association has assisted in raising funds and acquiring brains to study, though the CFL itself hasn't contributed. By contrast, the NFL, after having at first failed to fully acknowledge the long-term effects of concussions, donated $1 million in 2010 to the Boston University research group.

Despite their late start, the Canadian researchers have developed a relationship with the Boston group and have had access to some of its findings related to the brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is characterized by an abnormal build-up in the brain of a protein called tau. Researchers believe one of the causes of CTE is repetitive concussions, the likes of which are particularly seen in such contact sports as football, hockey and boxing. CTE is known to result in memory impairment, emotional instability, depression and, in some instances, dementia.

The Boston group links a former athlete's name to a study only when family members allow for it to be made public, but the group's director, Dr. Robert Cantu, told 'Outside the Lines' that researchers have to date autopsied more than 80 brains of athletes and identified CTE in 68 of them. Such a high percentage is not unexpected, he cautions, because many of the athletes had previously exhibited CTE symptoms, or at times even violent or suicidal behavior. 'The brains that we have are of people that have had a lot of trouble,' Cantu says.

Of the six brains of former CFL players studied so far, Canadian Sports Concussion Project researchers have found that three had CTE. The sample size is relatively modest, but the medical team remains puzzled that half showed no signs in light of the fact that all of the players had had a history of multiple concussions.

'One difficult part of this type of research, which is really retrospective research where somebody dies and the family is good enough to donate the brain to our project, is we have to scramble for the clinical details,' says Dr. Charles Tator, the neurosurgeon overseeing the 15 doctors and scientists attached to the Toronto-based project. 'Very often if it is an older person that dies, the clinical details are not available to any great extent. So it is an estimate of how many concussions they had, and that is why we also want to do prospective research where we can collect this data directly ourselves before [the athlete's] death.'

Toward that end, Canadian researchers have begun the clinical aspect of their project, which to date has seen five retired CFL players put through a series of two-day exams, including neuro-psychological testing and MRIs. The idea is to not only gather clinical data on younger retired players, but also to diagnose CTE in its early stages in hopes that the condition is reversible.

Another of the long-term aims is to determine if CTE is less prevalent among former CFL players than their NFL counterparts, which might be a step toward providing definitive proof that the Canadian game is safer. The league has generally been thought to be a more open, less-physical game because of a host of rule variances.

Among those most commonly cited:

• Three downs vs. four per offensive series, which translates to less reliance on the physical running game.

• Defensive linemen required to line up one yard from the offensive line vs. head-to-head in the NFL.

• Larger fields, less time between plays and fewer timeouts per half lending the league to smaller, less physically imposing athletes.

'I can tell you it is culturally different in the CFL and the NFL,' says Robert W. Turner, an author and sociology professor at the University of North Carolina who played in the USFL, the CFL and briefly in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s. 'Your practice day is a whole lot shorter. You almost do no hitting during the season in practice. And your offseason, you are totally off. You're not playing any football whatsoever. Is the game equally as aggressive? Absolutely, yes. But your time actually combating compared to the NFL is less.'

With safety in mind, the CFL's board of governors put in a rule this season that a play is to be blown dead immediately if a ball carrier loses his helmet. The ball is placed at the spot where the helmet came free. If the helmet comes off a non-ball carrier, he can no longer participate in the play and, if he does, his team incurs a 10-yard penalty.

The place occupied by the game in the countries' sporting cultures is also night and day.

'I am a Canadian, and I played college ball in the U.S., the [CFL] game is more wide open so you don't have as much contact,' says Ezerins, the alumni leader and a member of the Canadian Sports Concussion Project. 'And then it is not nearly as intense. You just don't realize how much football teams are playing professionally and in college. Or how much more football is played and practiced in a career in the U.S. vs. Canada. Now hockey, that is a different story.'

But don't try telling Dunigan, the old quarterback, or his family that football north of the border is a soft game played by a bunch of semi-serious guys. He was, in his words, 'a slow, white Irishman' who rarely took a knee or ducked out of bounds to avoid a hit.

'There are good days and bad days,' Dunigan says, assessing his physical and mental status. 'There are issues with equilibrium. There are headaches. It is mood swings. It is depression.'

Cfl Football Rules And Regulations

His wife, Kathy, suggests the concussions stole a part of his outgoing personality. The funny guy she first set eyes on at Louisiana Tech had turned very serious. Even today, they live with the fallout of what transpired on football fields two and three decades ago.

'Everything is a struggle for him,' she says. 'He is 51 and I am 50, so it is hard to say what part of that may be related to aging. He is more forgetful now, for sure. He'll tell me, 'I told you that. I showed you that.' And I am like, 'No you didn't.' His speech is fine. He still has really bad headaches, but a lot of people do. I still think they are from the concussions because he didn't have them before.

'He gets involved working in the yard. He just goes somewhere in his head where he likes mindless things. I mean pruning bushes, trimming and mowing, those things he just doesn't have to think. He is really good with those mindless tasks. He really enjoys that. It takes a load off of him.'

Yet Dunigan, a proud dad, didn't sit mindlessly when he witnessed his teenage son have his bell rung one too many times. Four years ago, Dolan Dunigan was a high school freshman quarterback, well on his way to 6-foot-5, with a head for the game and a rifle of an arm like his dad. Not to mention, unfortunately, a history of concussions.

After seeing his son motionless on the sideline after a hit, the teenager's eyes rolling back in his head, Dunigan pulled the plug on his son's promising football career -- sending him full time to baseball and the pitcher's mound.

'That is one of the most difficult things I had to do as a parent was to tell my kid what he couldn't do as opposed to encourage him to do the things that he wanted to do,' Dunigan says. 'At the time, he was doing things at the quarterback position that you can't teach. I thought he had a bright future.

'It kills me every time I look at him, but it's also fortunate that I had the education and understanding of what people potentially can go through. Hopefully, we'll get to the point that no parent has to be faced with that kind of decision.'

NFL POINT SPREADS EXPLAINED:

The NFL is the most wagered upon sport in North America and it's not even close. I will spare you the grand introduction and lead you right into the mean and potatoes of this article. If you are a novice bettor who is just learning how to bet on the NFL, keep reading. If you understand the common concepts like money line, spread and totals wagering, you can skip down to the advanced wagering options by clicking here. If you want to know how to lay a few bets down on the futures market, I suggest you click here.

Betting on the NFL Money Line

As a concept, this is the simplest wager you can make on any game in any sport (except soccer). The money line betting option allows you to place a bet on the team you think is simply going to win the game. In the NFL, this bet includes overtime, but there have been a few instances where the game finishes tied at the end of OT and both sides get their money refunded.

Example:

Chicago Bears: +150 ML
Minnesota Vikings: -200 ML

The money line betting odds correlate to the listed point spread. In this example, the Vikings are the favorites and you must wager $200 dollars to turn a profit of $100. If you are a homer or love betting on the underdog, the Bears will return you $150 for every $100 you wager on them if they pull off the upset. If the game happens to end in a tie, bettors with money line tickets on either side will be refunded.

Betting on the Point Spread

Regardless of if I am talking about the NFL, CFL, NCAA, Arena League or upcoming XFL, the point spread is the most popular wagering option for bettors who love to test football betting skills. The point spread is an indication of which team is the favorite and underdog heading into their matchup.

A negative betting line such as -2.5 indicates that the team is expected to not only win the game outright, but win by three or more points. On the flip side, positive betting lines such as +2.5 indicate a team's underdog status. Not only is the underdog expected to lose, but they are expected to lose by at least a field goal

When looking over betting options for the NFL, you will come across lines that look like the following:

Chicago Bears +2.5 (-110)
Minnesota Vikings: -2.5 (-110)

Depending on which side you select, your team must 'cover the spread' in order for your wager to be graded a winner.

If you choose to take Chicago +2.5, you will be a winner if either of these three scenarios play out. The first being Chicago wins the game outright by any score. The second being Chicago loses by two or fewer points, thus 'covering' the +2.5-spread. And the third being if the game finishes as a tie.

If you decided to wager on the Vikings as -2.5-point favorites, they must win by three or more points in order for wager to be graded as a winner.

One thing to keep in mind when betting on the point spread is that the point spread moves up or down depending on how much action a certain side is receiving. If you are able to lock in your bet at -2.5 and the line goes down to -1.5, your ticket would only be a winner if your team won by three or more points. If they won by two, they would have beat the closing spread of -1.5, but your odds are locked in from the time your ticket is printed or you click place bet.

Betting Game Totals

Despite being classified as the same sport, the NFL and CFL couldn't be more different. The NFL is played on a much smaller field and gives teams three downs to make a first down before electing to punt. The NFL is generally a much lower scoring league than the CFL, but that doesn't mean that betting 'unders' are the way to turn a profit in the NFL.

When looking at betting an NFL total, there should be three things you take into consideration. The first being the weather. The second is both team's offensive and defensive numbers. And the last thing is the intangibles such as is it a short week, does a team have injury problems, travel delays, etc.

Let's look at an example of a game total:

Chicago Bears/Minnesota Vikings – 'Over' 38.5 -110, 'Under' 38.5 -110

If you are to bet the 'over' 38.5, there must be a total of 39 points or more scored in the game in order for you to be a winner. If there are 38 or fewer points scored, then those who bet on the 'under' will cash their tickets.

If totals are whole numbers such as 38 or 40 and the total happens to land exactly on the number, your bet, regardless whether it's an 'over' or 'under' bet, will be graded as a push and your money will be returned to you.

Advanced NFL Wagering Options

The NFL is the most popular sport in North America to wager on. It draws in the most money among the four major sports and there should be no surprises why. Sportsbooks offer up an endless amount of wagering option to go along with the most common three wagering options; money line, spread, total. Here are some of the popular options.

Team totals

This works almost exactly like the game total, but revolves around one team instead of both. With the 'team total' wagering option, you are essentially betting on whether you think Team X will score more or less than the line given out by the sportsbooks.

Example:

Chicago Bears Team Total: 'Over' 16.5 -110, 'Under' 16.5 -110.

In this case you have two options. You can bet them to score 17 or more points or 16 or fewer. The decision is ultimately up to you. This bet also includes overtime, unless otherwise stated in the betting rules provided by your sportsbook of choice.

First Half Spread

The 'first half spread' betting option is a trickier form of betting the full-game point spread. This option takes into account the score at half time in order to determine a winner. The first half spread is usually half of what the full game spread is.

Example:

Chicago Bears +1.5 1H
Minnesota Vikings -1.5 1H

Depending on what side you are on, the score going into half time is what is used to determine a winner. If the score is 17-14 in favor of the Vikings, bettors holding a Minnesota -1.5 1H ticket are winners since they were able to cover the -1.5- first-half spread.

As I mentioned above, the first half point spread is typically half of what the full game line is.

Player Props

Betting on NFL player props is a tricky situation since not all football games go according to plan. If you believe Quarterback X will complete more than 22.5 passes, but his defense scores twice and they are blowing out a team, the chances of him reaching 23 completions is very low. He will just simply hand the ball off and run out the clock.

If you think a running back has a distinct advantage of going up against a poor run defense, you may take that running back to go over the posted rushing yards line. However, if the team with the poor defense gets a sizeable lead, you can almost forget about it. That team will go into throwing mode and the running back will be the one to suffer.

Examples:

Tom Brady: 'Over' 22.5 completions -110, 'Under' 22.5 completions -110
Jay Ajayi: 'Over' 74.5 rushing yards -110, 'Under' 74.5 rushing yards -110
Antonio Brown: 'Over' 4.5 receptions -110, 'Under' 4.5 receptions -110

For each of these three player prop options, each player must go 'over' or 'under' the posted line. If you think Brady will complete at least 23 passes, you would take the 'over'. If you think Brown will be held to four or fewer catches, you would bet the 'under'.

First Touchdown Scorer/Anytime Touchdown Scorer

This proposition is the most popular when Super Bowl rolls around. For one reason or another, people always make a big deal about who is going to score the first touchdown in the Super Bowl. I get that the first touchdown is important, but rarely does a game end with only one touchdown scored.

If you wager on the First Touchdown Scorer prop your goal is to (obviously) pick the player who will score the first touchdown.

First Touchdown Scorer Example:

Rob Gronkowski +400
Danny Amendola +500
Brandin Cooks +650
Jay Ajayi +750
Alshon Jeffery +1200
Nick Foles +3300
Tom Brady +4400

Anytime Touchdown Scorer Example:
Rob Gronkowski -150
Danny Amendola +120
Brandin Cooks ++300
Jay Ajayi +350
Alshon Jeffery +400
Nick Foles +2500
Tom Brady +3000

As you can see, the 'any time touchdown scorer' odds drop drastically compared to the first touchdown scorer. But with this prop, your player can score a touchdown in any quarter, including overtime in order for you to cash your ticket.

Futures Bets

A futures bet is a wager placed in the time leading up to the start of the event on a team or player that you believe is going to win their respective competition. Heading into the 2018 NFL season, the Super Bowl futures odds look like this:

Super Bowl LIII Champion: New England +500, Philadelphia +750, Green Bay +1200, Minnesota +1200, Pittsburgh +1400, San Francisco +1600, Los Angeles +1800, New Orleans +1800, Jacksonville +2000 etc.

In order for you to successfully cash your ticket, you must correctly choose the team that will hoist the Lombardi trophy at the conclusion of Super Bowl LIII.

Team Win Totals

This is another popular type of futures bet amongst pro handicappers. The concept is straight forward. Every sportsbook will put out a 'win total' for every team long before the season begins. Handicappers must simply decide whether they believe that team will exceed the posted win total or fall short of it.

Cfl Rules Compared To Nfl Predictions

Example:

Pittsburgh Steelers Win Total: 'Over' 11.5 wins -110, 'Under' 11.5 wins -110

Is Cfl Better Than Nfl

If the Steelers go 12-4 or better, the 'over' would cash. If they go 11-5 or worse, the 'under' would cash.

Free NFL Picks + Predictions, Betting Tips and Parlays for Today..

Cfl Rules Compared To Nfl Playoff

Here is a list of our other betting lines and odds pages.
College Football Odds NBA Odds College Basketball Odds MLB Odds NHL Odds Soccer Odds WNBA Odds CFL Odds Boxing Odds Golf Odds