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XL Cover Story: The Austin Wranglers

April 7, 2005

» Cover Story: Everybody plays in arena football.
» Graphic: Football's indoor game

The NFL vs. the AFL
THE FIELD
Field is 100 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide, with 10-yard end zones. Goal posts are 18 1/2 feet wide with a 10-foot-high crossbar. Sideline barriers don't contribute to game play.	Field is 50 yards long -- makes for faster play, like basketball -- and 28 1/3 yards wide, with 8-yard end zones. Goal posts are a much narrower 9 feet wide with a 15-foot-high crossbar. Goal-side rebound nets are 30 feet wide by 32 feet high. A rebounded ball is considered in play, which is extremely odd to football purists. Sideline barriers are 48 inches high; ball is live off the wall -- except in the end zone -- again, very odd.
TIME PERIODS
Both leagues use four 15-minute quarters, with three timeouts per team per half. In the NFL, timeouts are taken at the 2-minute warning before the half and the end of the game. The offense has 30 seconds to begin play once the ball is placed on the field. The clock is stopped for incomplete passes or out-of-bounds balls. In sudden-death overtime, the first team to score wins.	With fewer clock stoppages, along with the shorter field, AFL games move much faster. Time-outs are taken at 1-minute warning before the half and the end of the game. The players have 25 seconds to begin play once the ball is placed on the field. The clock is not stopped for incomplete passes or balls out of bounds. Overtime begins as in the NCAA: Each team takes a possession and has a chance to score. However, if teams are still tied after both possessions, then sudden death is applied, and the next team to score wins.
THE PLAYERS
Eleven players on the field; 45-man active roster; unlimited inactive roster. All players are specialists, playing in spurts rather than continuously. Substitutions are unlimited and can be made at every play.	Eight players on the field; 20-man active roster; 4-man inactive roster. All players -- with the exception of a kicker, a quarterback, an offensive specialist and a defensive specialist -- play both offense and defense. (This leads to some tired-looking players.) All non-specialists may substitute only once during each quarter. The offensive specialist may be in motion before the snap, and offsides is called very seldom (almost never; it's unsettling) for this player.
GAME PLAY
Both leagues operate with the same objective: to gain 10 yards for a first down, or to score within four downs. Both leagues call players "down" when their knees touch the field and they have been touched by an opposing player. After a touchdown, only two options exist for extra points: 1-point place kick or 2-point successful run (or pass) across the goal line. In a field goal attempt, only one option exists for 3 points -- putting the ball through the posts. The ball is never "live" after leaving field of play.	After a touchdown, standard options exist for a 1-point conversion by placekicking or a 2-point conversion by successful run (or pass) across the goal line. In arena football, there's a third option: A 2-point conversion by drop kick (similar to rugby). In a field goal attempt, two options exist: a 3-point place kick or a 4-point drop kick. The ball can be rebounded off the side walls and rebound nets and is "live" if it doesn't touch the ground. In arena games, the same rules apply to hitting the sideline wall: An opposing player must have touched the player for him to be down; otherwise he can still advance.

--Source: AustinWranglers.com

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