![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/91805a2054f179683a0e492e94d0b486.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nDave Dickenson is urging his charges to live in the here and now.<\/p>\n
Think about this year and not 2026 or even 2027, when the two-year tear-down of many traditional Canadian Football League rules is complete.<\/p>\n
The Calgary Stampeders GM\/head coach wants his players focused on today, because whether they\u2019re for or against the impending CFL changes \u2014 highlighted by shortening the field and moving the goalposts to the back of the end zone \u2014 it doesn\u2019t change their job or even his.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally trying not to overthink it,\u201d said Dickenson, who emphasized his love for the CFL the way it is currently.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still employees of the league,\u201d the coach continued. \u201cI work for other people, and whatever they give us, we\u2019re going to do the best with it and try to understand how it might affect the change of game-flow pattern and hopefully get an advantage.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut as far as making policies or changing things, I\u2019m not really in that loop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jay McNeil, the Stamps president, is in that loop and was out after practice Tuesday to back the moves \u2014 aimed at producing more touchdowns \u2014 being implementing over the next two seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly changing the game,\u201d continued McNeil. \u201cAnd it\u2019s all about changing it for the better \u2014 be more entertaining, be more aggressive in the red zone, have more scoring and all about increasing fan engagement while also maintaining our Canadian roots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the announcement Monday delivered by CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston, fans across the city certainly became engaged \u2026<\/p>\n
And some became enraged.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Stampeders president Jay McNeil says \u201chopefully, over time, the data that the league has used for analysis (leading to the rule changes) is proven correct.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the purists, the moves are seen as a shot at tradition and the Canadian way of football. Moving the goalposts to the back of a shortened end zone \u2014 that by five yards to become 15 in depth \u2014 and shortening the length of the field between the goal-lines by 10 yards to become 100 instead of 110 is surely a sign the CFL is being Americanized.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly the traditionalist will not be happy, because the game is changing,\u201d McNeil said. \u201cHopefully, over time, the data that the league has used for analysis is proven correct and then we\u2019ll see that increase in scoring by 10% or more, and then the traditionalists will be happy with the changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still have the core fundamentals that make this the Canadian game \u2014 three downs, 12 players, the wide field, the waggle \u2026 those all still remain. And this is about making it more entertaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two major changes are slated for 2027 \u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 Moving the goalposts to the back of the end zones, which will be shortened to 15 yards from today\u2019s 20-yard depth. \u201cWe\u2019re standardizing the end zones, right?\u201d McNeil said. \u201cYou got Toronto with an 18-yard end zone. You got Montreal with the corners that are cut out of the end zone. So we\u2019re making them 15 yards so everybody can do that. It also maintains the biggest end zones in football.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Cutting the field of play to 100 yards between the goal-lines, down from the historical 110. \u201cRemoving the centre line is about being able to score faster,\u201d McNeil said. \u201cThere\u2019s less yardage to get into the end zone. And this is all about driving scoring.\u201d<\/p>\n
And next year\u2019s key changes include \u2026<\/p>\n
\u2022 The removal of the rouge \u2014 that\u2019s a single point \u2014 for a missed field goal or a punt or kickoff that goes through the end zone.<\/p>\n
\u2022 A 35-second automatic reset of the play clock, replacing the current 20 seconds teams have once the play is blown in by an official.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Requiring fields to have team benches placed on opposite sides of the field (for player safety reasons).<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I guess the major one is the clock,\u201d Dickenson said. \u201cWith that one, I\u2019ve started thinking about how many times you\u2019re going to be able to change personnel groupings. What happens if you get a long bomb \u2014 when\u2019s the clock going to start?<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a coach that has been frustrated through the years. Sometimes when teams sit on the sideline and wait and wait and wait, and then at the last minute, they send in their big guys, you then have to check in. And you can see, at times, a minute or a minute and 10 seconds running off the clock. And guess what? I love it when I\u2019m ahead, but I hate it when I\u2019m behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so, I don\u2019t mind change and trying stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coach says the players most affected by the new rules will be those on special teams, including the kicker.<\/p>\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5f78530d5a81b72f80aac6f441238b4e.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Stampeders kicker Rene Paredes expects fewer field-goal attempts under the new rules, adding \u201cI feel bad for the kickers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be less (field-goal) attempts per year,\u201d said Stamps veteran kicker Ren\u00e9 Paredes. \u201cUsually, I go between 45 to 60 attempts per year. I think I\u2019ll be about 45 attempts. So less kicking, less field goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean \u2026 they\u2019re trying to make more touchdowns, which I get. But at the same time, I feel they got to think about everybody else. And I feel they are taking away the biggest play in the CFL, which is the missed field goal for a touchdown returns. As a kicker, If it happens to me, it sucks. But it\u2019s a big part of the game that changes the game, and fans love it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel bad for the kickers.\u201d<\/p>\n
QB OR NOT QB?<\/p>\n
QB Vernon Adams Jr. practised fully Tuesday despite a taking an enemy knee to the back in last weekend\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoke up feeling much better (Tuesday),\u201d said the Stamps starting quarterback. \u201cI\u2019ll talk to the doctors and the trainers, and we\u2019ll progress after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s better,\u201d agreed Dickenson, of his QB. \u201cI think he\u2019s trending in a positive direction. But when you do extra work or do normal work, you kind of want to make sure how you feel the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, the Stamps (8-5) hope Adams will be ready for Friday\u2019s visit to play the Montreal Alouettes at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium (5 p.m., TSN, CHQR 770 AM\/107.3 FM the Edge).<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll bring a lot of blitzes on us, so we\u2019re prepared for that,\u201d added Dickenson, who has healthy QBs Josh Love, Quincy Vaughn and newly signed Logan Bonner he can turn to if Adams isn\u2019t good to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho gives his best chance to win? And then, as a quarterback, you\u2019ve gotta be able to get away and move around and those types of things. And we\u2019ll have a better idea of that (with Adams) as the week goes on.\u201d<\/p>\n
tsaelhof@postmedia.com<\/p>\n