New Football League, XFL, Starts Today. Anybody Watching?

The XFL starts their inaugural season today. Looks like ABC is televising a game at 2:00 EST and FOX has one at 5:00 EST. Two games on TV tomorrow.

There are some interesting rules. Probably the most intriguing to me is that double forward passes will be allowed. Here is a highlight list of the rules that differ from the NFL:

1. Double forward passes are allowed. The first forward pass must be completed behind the line of scrimmage. The second forward pass must cross the line of scrimmage.

2. Extra points. No extra-point kicks. After TDs teams can try for a single point by running one play from the 2-yard line, try for two points from the 5-yard line or three points from the 10 yard like. Guess what? This means an 18 point lead is theoretically a 2 possession game! Also less chances for overtime games.

3. Receivers only need 1 foot inbounds.

4. Clock. Play clock will be 25 seconds. Game clock will run continuously up to the 2 minute warning. (Incompletions and plays going out of bounds will stop the clock.)

5. Overtime. Each team will have five tries to score from the opponent’s 5-yard line. Each successful try is worth two points. Overtime ends when one team has an insurmountable points lead.

6. Kick returns are back! The kickoff team cannot move until the kick returner catches the ball. (That can't be right, can it?) Punts are discouraged as the punting team can't cross the line of scrimmage until the punter kicks the ball.

Obviously, the rules are intended to speed up the game and provide for more scoring and more exciting finishes. I'm going to take a look.

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Yes, the constant interruption in play, TV commercials, replay review interruptions, slow paced games, automatic extra points, constant punting, etc. etc. of the NFL I can do without, thank you.

There will be a dedicated official in the XFL to spot the ball on the field so no more of the quaint practice of having three guys run the sticks and chain out onto the field to spot the ball.

Also, players will be allowed to have headsets inside their helmets to speed up play calling. This should be a fast and exciting brand of football.

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If you bet on your own team on Tuesday and Wednesday, you pull out all the stops to win. Maybe you pull the starting pitcher in the 5th inning because you want to bat a pinch hitter instead of batting the pitcher. So you use the bullpen more frequently. Maybe you have your closer pitch in both games, maybe more than one inning per game.

You've exhausted your bullpen on Tuesday and Wednesday and your closer is unavailable on Thursday, but no big deal, you're not betting on Thursday's game.

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I watched parts of both games. I thought they were entertaining. I loved the increased pace of play. I loved the fact that the refs didn't take over the games with penalty calls. I think I saw one pass interference call the entire time I watched and I know if this was the NFL there would have been two (or more) called on plays I saw.

I love they let guys hit each other. QB's can be sacked, not coddled. I saw a play in the endzone where a d-back had a bone crushing hit on a receiver, including incidental helmet to helmet contact, jarring the ball loose and saving a touchdown that would have been a penalty for sure in the NFL.

I love the transparent replay calls where the audience gets to see and hear the replay official work and listen as they speak with the officials.

Love the reduced amount of commercial breaks. This is due to the increased pace of play and the fact that each team gets 2 timeouts rather than 3 as in the NFL.

Love the 2 minute "catch-up" rule. In the final 2 minutes of each half the clock stops after each play. No more kneeling down to wind down the game. No more hurry up to the line and spike the ball to stop the clock.

Kickoffs are really interesting. The kicking team lines up on the opponents 35 yard line. The kicker kicks off from his own 30 yard line. Nobody except the kicker and the kick receiver may move until the kick receiver catches the ball. Once the receiver catches the ball, the coverage team springs into action. This rule preserves the excitement of the kickoff play and reduces chances of injury since the coverage team is not flying downfield at full speed.

Love that touchbacks on punts and kickoffs get the ball spotted at the 35 yard line. Also punts or kicks that go out of bounds. This discourages kicking into the endzone in general and discourages punting unless your team is really pinned down deep in your own territory.

The level of play was generally pretty good. Like watching a couple of top ten rated NCAA teams go at it. However, I did notice the individual speed of the players was less than NFL players. Not a big concern since most players were evenly matched. I did see a couple of embarrassingly bad pass attempts by the QB's.

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