Henry Burris: new CFL rules will not increase touchdown passes

Photo courtesy: Ottawa Redblacks

Henry Burris knows a thing or two about throwing touchdown passes in the Canadian Football League, having tossed 373 of them over his 18-year career. Though the league’s announced rule changes are intended to increase touchdowns, Burris believes they will have the opposite effect.

“When you shorten the end zone, it’s actually going to lessen the amount of touchdowns,” Burris recently told the 3DownNation Podcast.

“As you’ve seen here in the NFL and in the U.S. game, less touchdowns will be thrown because it’s five yards less that a defence has to cover. When you have that extra guy on the field, that’s one more guy that you have to worry about now when you’re condensed and the room is restricted in comparison to having five yards more and being able to run just your regular offence on the one-yard line.”

“It’s gonna make it more challenging for offences, but now it’s gonna allow it to be much more of a defensive-style game, especially later on into the season. More points won’t be scored because of that — less points actually will occur and you can just look at the U.S. model and that’ll help decide that for you.”

In September, the CFL announced several rule changes that will be implemented over the next two years. In 2027, the uprights will be moved to the back of the end zones, which will be shortened from 20 to 15 yards.

Citing internal data, the league has claimed these changes will result in 60 more touchdowns being scored per season, an increase of around 0.75 touchdowns per game.

CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston has touted the changes as being unanimously and enthusiastically approved by the board of governors. He attended rules committee meetings in January and indicated he didn’t receive any pushback from those in attendance, which included many of the league’s head coaches and general managers.

The changes have received mixed reviews from critics and fans. Reigning CFL M.O.P. Nathan Rourke and legendary quarterback Doug Flutie have both been critical, accusing the league of trying to Americanize its uniquely Canadian game.

A poll conducted in October by Manitoba-based firm Probe Research found that 42 percent of respondents who identified as CFL fans or who were aware of the rule changes said they would watch fewer games if the changes were implemented. That number rose to 58 percent among respondents who were considered engaged fans.

When the rule changes were first announced, Johnston recalled playing quarterback in his youth and suggested the uprights were an impediment for attacking the middle of the field. Over the course of 277 career regular-season CFL games, Burris learned to use the uprights to his advantage.

“If they’re using (the goalpost being an obstacle) as one of the optics or the measurables as far as making the decision (to change the rules), they’re wasting their time because all you have to do is ask the quarterbacks and they’ll tell you that’s never been an obstacle for us,” said Burris.

“In the beginning, (the location of the goalpost is a problem) because it’s weird to see it at the front of the end zone, but as your career goes on and you get used to practicing with the goalpost right there, for me, it wasn’t a deterrent because you knew where it was, it was just part of the plan. Honestly, … you teach (your receivers) how to use that as the tree in the backyard — run these rookie defensive backs into the goalpost while you’re running your route, use it as an extra guy or extra obstacle.”

“You can run choice routes to where a guy just circles right around the goalpost and opens up, so there’s many ways you can use it to work to your favour, and that’s what you learn when you put in that time. … To me, at the end of the day, coaches never used that as a deterrent to run certain plays. For us quarterbacks, we just work it in practice and make sure that we’re smart. We learn every throw and angle just to make sure we can maneuver whatever throw possible around the goalposts, so for us, it was never a deterrent.”

Burris sees value in slightly shortening the end zones for consistency and aesthetic reasons. The end zones have never been regulation size at BMO Field in Toronto, where they’re only 18 yards deep, or Percival Molson Stadium in Montreal, where the corners are cut off due to the surrounding track. The corners of the end zones at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton were also cut off due to the presence of a track until 2014.

“I do like the idea of shortening the end zone a bit just so you can have a full end zone to work with,” said Burris. “We throw a lot of corner routes up there, so you don’t want guys catching it and getting tackled in lane number five on a track that surrounds the field.”

The 50-year-old native of Spiro, Okla. is currently assessing his future after his two-year coaching stint at Florida A&M University came to an end last month. He has followed the CFL since he left the media to pursue coaching and isn’t a fan of the league making rule changes, even referencing the narrowing of the hash marks that occurred in 2022.

“I’ve seen the changes. Watching that hash move from being the beautiful wide hashes that we had 22 yards apart to these new hash marks where it looks like the NFL, and I see the game kind of moving in that area. Am I a fan of it? No, but it is what it is,” said Burris.

“As long as it’s putting extra butts in the seats and creating a bit of a buzz, I’m all for it, but from what I’m hearing, I don’t know if it’s going to do that.”