Four weeks into the season, Arena Football League games are moving a little faster and more smoothly.
For that, Bob Mantooth credits a few significant rules changes the league adopted this season.
“Most of them were made to make the game flow a little better and to make it easier to officiate,” said Mantooth, a longtime local official who was an AFL official for 14 years before becoming one of four supervisors five years ago. “In the AFL, we’re always looking to make the game more fan friendly, so I think everybody’s happy with the way things are going, especially the players and the fans.”
Mantooth said the biggest change was going to a 35-second play clock and 25 seconds after any administrative stoppage.
“It starts at the end of the play, and it really helps get the players into a rhythm,” he said. “Anytime we have a stop, even after a score, they’re on the clock, so it cuts down on all the crazy celebrations. Before, we were wasting a lot of time rowing boats and driving buses.”
Another significant change is unlimited substitution on kickoffs.
“The (six) guys that play both ways don’t have to play on kickoffs, but they have to come back in for the next play from scrimmage,” Mantooth said. “It makes it nice for some of those 300-pounders.”
Kickoffs that go over the net or off to the side are now placed at the 20-yard line instead of the 5. This discourages strong- legged kickers from booming it away, and therefore increases the number of kickoff returns. Tie games have been eliminated by adopting a sudden-death system previously used only in the playoffs.
And “sucker plays” are now ruled unsportsmanlike. An example would be snapping the ball and throwing it away to take advantage of a defensive lineman who hasn’t taken his down stance.
“We’ve made a couple of other changes, but those are the major ones,” Mantooth said. “It’s going very well. Everybody seems to pleased with it. It’s easier for the officials, and I think it’s more fun for the players. I haven’t had any complaints from anybody.”
Footnotes
Despite its 58-36 loss at Nashville on Saturday, the Colorado Crush continues to rank as the top scoring team in the league, averaging 56.8 points. The Crush also is first in scoring efficiency (77.3 percent) with 30 touchdowns and four field goals on 44 possessions and last in scoring defense efficiency, giving up 30 touchdowns and four field goals on 41 possessions for 80.4 percent.
Joseph Sanchez can be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
