2006 Canarsie Football League Rules

1.  We will run the league using NFL season stock teams from 1980, 1981, 1983 & 1984.

2.  There will be 24 teams (12 from each conference) participating.  1 from each franchise.

3.  We will draft new teams (based on theme) using a lottery system for non-playoff teams and order of finish for playoff teams.  All expansion franchises will draft after all previous participants pick.

4.  We will play the NFL schedule from that season or a randomly generated schedule if playing across eras.

5.  PLAYOFFS:  Each Conference will have 3 division winners + 2 Wild Card teams qualify for the playoffs.

6.  Playoffs Opening round:  Each of the 6 division winners will have HFA in the opening round of the playoffs.  The top 2 seeds in each conference will be the top 2 division winners.  The Championship game will be played at a neutral site.  All NFL playoff tie breakers will be used if needed to see who qualifies for the post season.

7.  Road Team Hosts unless there are hosting issues or their is a mutual agreement between opponents.

8.  A player can not be injured for more time than he was actually injured during the NFL season.  He can be shaken up and/or miss the rest of a game, but he can not be injured for anymore full games once he has hit his limit. (See special penalty modification rule for 16 game season teams, playing 12 games below)

9. If a player can’t make his game a proxy coach can be elected by the league to cover for that player.  A proxy coach must not be from the same conference as the team needing coverage.

10. If both players can not play the game will be "simmed" by the league.

11. Coaches who miss more than 2 consecutive games or 3 games in a 4 week period will be removed from the league and replaced, unless a temporary sub coach has been arranged due to family, work or health concerns.

12. All coaches must have AIM screen names and access.

13. The 4th down rule is in effect (see below).

14. The Trick Play rules are in effect (see below).

15. The Hurry Up Offense rule is in effect (see below).

16. Players may play out of position only when you have run out of healthy players at that position.  The exceptions to this rule are:  Offensive linemen can be used in the backfield and as TE's.  No full house backfield formation since this was not prevalent during this era.  3 RB's can be in the game at the same time, but at least 1 must be split out as a WR.

17. GAME REPORTING:  All game reports are due at 11:59 pm EST the night of the announced weekly deadline, and should be reported to the league newsgroup at canarsie@yahoogroups.com. Each owner is responsible to see that his game results & stats are reported on time on a weekly basis. If an owner should fall behind in the playing and/or reporting of his games and/or stats to a point where the Commissioner should doubt his ability to finish the season that owner can and will be replaced. Constant missing of deadlines is cause for removal from the CFL without any notice.  Games can also be uploaded to the Yahoo Group File Area.

18. SCHEDULING GAMES:  Both teams (home and away) must e-mail the league at marc@bgatour.tv, within 48 hours of the present week’s league file being released with proof of contact, hereafter called POC (including a listing of days and times during the week you will be available, or a response to the days suggested by your opponent...simply saying "what time can you play" is just not good enough). This does not mean the game, necessarily, has to be played at that time, as long as both coaches agree to an alternate time, but shows that contact between the two coaches has been made and a time agreed upon. If you have had no response from your opponent, an e-mail showing you have attempted to contact, with adequate time for response, must be forwarded to the league 48 hours after it was sent. Proof of an established time of game (POT) must be made and sent in by Thursday of each week at midnight Eastern (if the game has not already been played). If the week's game has been played on Monday or Tuesday the above does not have to be submitted as long as the game file has been reported to the league.  Each team is allowed a sub without penalty two (2) games per season, as long as they contact the league to say they will not be able to play. Failure to contact the league and any games subbed after the 2 freebies will result in dropping one draft slot down in next season’s team draft. Subs will be provided by the league office to prevent any conflicts of interest (if possible), and a list will be maintained of all owners that wish to be used as subs.  Any coach that gets "stood up" for a game for any reason has the immediate option of getting a sub for that game, and it will count as one of the two subbed games allowed by that coach, or it will result in a penalty if the offending coach has already used his two subs for the season. The coach that was left waiting must submit proof of a confirmed and established time of game to be eligible to use an immediate sub.  If any game has to be simmed BOTH teams involved in the game will be penalized. There will be NO exceptions!

19. PENALTIES:  All Coaches are expected to meet league deadlines established by the League Office. Penalties shall be given on the following basis: first offense in any season will result in a draft position drop of one place. The second offense will result in an additional 2 positions dropped. The 3rd offense will result in the removal of team ownership from the offending coach and banishment from the league.  If an owner is removed from the league for being habitually late, or for any other reason, his fines will be deleted and not be passed on to the new owner. An exemption from any penalties can be granted by the League Office, but will be issued very sparingly if at all, and only in case of extreme emergencies.

20. CONFLICT RESOLUTION:  We are all human, and because we are human conflicts or disagreements will arise.  A team of 3 league members (Marc Weiss/Howard Fortel/Bill Keller) will vote to resolve an conflicts not specifically covered by our Rules Charter.  If for any reason the conflict involves 1 or 2 of these three they will be replaced on the committee by the next senior member of the league.

4th Down Rules

1. You can NOT go for it on 4th down if you are on your side of the field unless:

1. There is 10 minutes or less left in the game or 5 minutes left in the first half
2. Your team is down by 21 or more points at any time during the game
3. You have the ball on your opponents side of the field (50 yard line on in).

Failure to follow the 4th down rule results in the following:

• Voiding the 4th down play (if offending team makes the 1st down).  If offending team does not convert the play will stand and possession changes.
• Closing the game and RESUMING from the previous play, which wipes out the 4th down play (if offending team made the 1st down)
• If the START / RESUME feature does not work a immediate PUNT to your opponent must be done.
• If a 4th down violation occurs during the game and goes un-noticed the games results will not count.  It is incumbent on both players to recognize the rule and respect it.  This rule has been instituted to preserve the integrity of game play, because we acknowledge that the game engine does not accurately handle 4th down situations.  Anyone who does not agree with this rule, need not participate in this tournament.  Plenty of other leagues will allow you to exploit this hole in the software.  We DO NOT.

Trick Play Rules

1. You are allowed to use 3 trick plays per half (maximum). 
2. QB Kneel, Take Safety, Delayed Draw and Over the top are NOT considered Trick Plays and can be used an unlimited amount of times.

Failure to follow the Trick Play Rule results in the same penalties as violating the 4th down rule.

Minimum of 2 Active QB's Rule

1. Every team will start each game with 2 healthy quarterbacks..
2. If a team has only one healthy quarterback, the injured quarterback with the shortest remaining time left will be un-injured and marked not available.
3. This player can only be used if all other remaining quarterbacks are injured during a game.
4. In that case, the inactive quarterback can be activated and used in that game.
5. This rule prevents teams from not having any QB's available for use because of injury.

Penalty Modification (3/4 rule)

We play a 12 game season, but the game bases penalties off of a 16 game season, which our teams originally played.  We will modify penalties accordingly on a week by week basis.  See below:

1. A player can not have more games injured than in real life (pro-rated).
2. Since we are playing 12 games, not 16 (3/4 of the season) we will modify all penalties over 2 games by using the .75 formula.  Rounding for fractions will go back to the previous number.  Example:  3.95 will be rounded back to 3.
3. Example:  A player played in 9 games in real life.  He got injured for 7 games during a game.  We multiply 7 x .75 and get 5.25 games, so we round down to 5 games injured.
4. The injury list will not reflect the game injury records.  The league will manually modify all injuries prior to the files being released.
5. Each team is responsible for tracking if a player(s) has exceeded his injury count for the full season.
6. Players that exceed their injury count in games can only be injured for the balance of the game they get injured in.  All additional games will be removed.

Hurry Up Offense Rule

Abuse of the Hurry Up PACE will not be tolerated.  Hurry Up is defined as utilizing the VERY FAST HURRY UP mode.  Hurry up can be used in the following scenarios:

1. If your team is down by 21 or more points at any point in the game you can use Hurry Up without any penalty even if you bring the score under 21.
2. The last 5 minutes of the 1st half
3. The last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter
4. Anytime during the game provided you IM your opponent prior to choosing it.  This will prevent the defense from being trapped in the wrong formation, which is why this rule has been instituted.

Remember that this is a game without a mind so when plays happen that don't make sense to you (and they will) don’t make a big deal about.  Always be cordial to your opponent.  Don't whine, don't complain, don't do anything that can be deemed offensive.  Sportsmanship is emphasized !