Time to Amend the Rouge!
Published: Tuesday, Jul 9th 2019, 2:07pm
Time to Amend the Rouge
By Alex Dormuth (@RealAlexD)
We all love the 3 down game and it’s quirky little nuances… that’s what makes it different from our American counterparts with the NFL. But we need to stop rewarding failure.
Toronto lost 18-17 to BC on Saturday because BC missed a game winning field goal as time expired. The kick went far enough and Toronto’s returner Chris Rainey caught the missed kick a step out of bounds. Rouge. Single point, Lions win.
I know the rule of the rouge says that if the ball goes through the end zone on a missed field goal, it’s a single point, but we need to change that.
I’m not saying the rouge needs to be eliminated, just amended.
KEEP the rouge if your team wants to concede the point by kneeling down after a missed field goal. If they are prepared to do that for some extra field position, sounds great to me. That’s the chance you take and it’s a trade off.
KEEP the rouge for a punt that goes through the end zone. If you miss a coffin corner kick or the wind takes the ball through the endzone, whatever. Leave that as is.
KEEP the rouge for a punt that stops in the endzone and the returning team kneels down. They are making the decision to concede, keep it as is.
LOSE the rouge for a missed field goal that goes through the endzone, like the case here Saturday in Toronto. You shouldn’t automatically get a point because you MISSED a kick. You don’t get a single point in the NBA by missing a 3 point shot, why in the CFL? You missed. You failed. You don’t get a mercy pass. I mean, congrats, you kicked the ball 20 yards past where you needed it to go (17 in this case in Toronto), but putting the ball through the uprights is your goal.
Now, should Chris Rainey have had better awareness to make sure he caught the missed kick in bounds? Absolutely. If he caught the ball in bounds and then stepped out, that should still be a rouge. I’m not looking for a giant change… just… get rid of the failure rewarding please.
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