The Arena Football League (AFL) is in full swing, attracting fans with fast, hard-hitting action, a lot of scoring, and dazzling plays made in tight quarters. The AFL, which has just entered its twentieth season, features 19 teams in two conferences - the National and American. Each conference is divided into two divisions, with the Eastern and Southern divisions in the National Conference and the Central and Western in the American.
If you've ever watched an AFL game, you certainly recognize it as being similar to the NFL version. Scoring is basically the same, although there are variations, and rules are also similar but, again, with some wrinkles that give the indoor version of American style football an added edge. The sport is a whole lot of professional football with some racket ball, basketball, and shrinkage thrown in. It's the Mini-Me of NFL football.
The Teams
The National Conference contains ten teams with the Dallas Desperados, New York Dragons, Philadelphia Soul, and Columbus Destroyers in the Eastern Division and the Orlando Predators, Austin Wranglers, Georgia Force, Tampa Bay Storm, and Kansas City Brigade in the Southern Division. Last season the Dragons and Force were tops in their divisions.
In the Central Division of the American Conference the four teams are the Colorado Crush, Chicago Rush, Nashville Kats, and Grand Rapids Rampage. The Western Division includes the Los Angeles Avengers, San Jose Sabercats, Las Vegas Gladiators, Arizona Rattlers, and Utah Blaze. There are a total of nine teams in the American Conference of which the Crush and Avengers were the best in their respective geographical divisions.
The Field
The dimensions of the AFL field are what help make this a unique brand of football. The indoor surface, which is padded, is 50 yards long and 85 feet wide. The goal posts, like the field, are also smaller than those in the NFL - nine feet high with a crossbar height of 15 feet as opposed to those in the NFL, which are 18 ½ feet wide with the crossbar at 10 feet.
There are 48 inch high sideline barriers made of high density rubber, which help to ease the impact of receivers, running backs, and defensive players smacking into the stands as they go out of bounds.
Each end zone, which is eight feet deep, has a rebound net that is 30 feet wide and 32 feet high. The rebound net keeps the ball alive after a missed pass. If a ball is caught off the net, it is live and in play until it touches the playing surface. This feature, which allows play to continue, provides additional action. The nets and the short field help to increase scoring opportunities and are partly responsible for the typically high scores. It's not unusual in an arena game for teams to put up a combined total of over 100 points! In fact the field, along with the rulebook, is geared towards creating a plethora of scoring opportunities, giving the AFL game an ongoing give-and-take unpredictability you often don't find in the NFL.
The Rules
The petite field demands fewer players; you'll find 8 rather than the standard NFL 11 on either side of the ball. There are also fewer specialists in the arena game - quarterback, one offensive specialist, a kicker and two defensive specialists. The offensive line must have four players and the defensive line three.
A few ways in which the rules are focused on keeping play continuous and action ongoing include the offensive/defensive rosters, the substitution rule and the play clock. Players, except for the specialists, play both offense and defense, which means there is less change over when the ball is turned over. Additionally, all non-specialists may substitute only once during a quarter. Finally, unlike the very long 45 second clock found in the NFL, the arena league has a more basketball-like 25 second clock, which over the course of a 60 minute game just about doubles the number of plays run.
There are four 15 minute quarters; however, unlike the NFL, the clock does not stop for out of bounds plays or incomplete passes unless the game is in the last minute of play in the half or the referee stops it for a penalty or injury. Once again, play occurs at a very quick rate, making the game action-packed. Each team gets three timeouts per half.
One thing that's missing from the AFL that you'll find in the NFL is the punt. That means, with the shortened playing field and the no punt rule, every play off the offensive line has the potential to put points on the board. The offense has four downs to move the ball 10 yards for a first down or to score.
Scoring is also a bit different from the other league with a drop kick after a TD being given 2 points and a drop kick field goal being awarded 4 points. All other scoring is the same.
Passing follows NCAA rules, which state that a receiver must have one foot inbounds when catching a pass. The nets are the other variation from the NFL game. The receiving team may also use the nets during a kickoff or a missed field goal to field balls. Thus, as long as the kick doesn't stray off into the sideline area, there is always the chance for a runback, since the ball cannot be kicked beyond the end zone.
Overtime rules also vary a bit from those in the National Football League. NFL football plays one sudden death overtime period during the regular season. AFL overtime runs the same number of minutes, but it is not a sudden death situation. Each team gets one possession in the overtime and if a team is ahead after that, they win. If the game is still tied after both have had one possession, then the next team that scores wins. A regular season game can end in a tie.
Wagering
With so many scoring opportunities and such a small playing field, it's obvious that one of the hallmarks of AFL football is high scores. Scores such as 62-63 are not unusual in the arena league. Depending on the weekly match-ups, over/unders can easily top 100 points, whereas NFL over/unders tend to range between 33 and 46 points. Overall point spreads are the same as typical NFL differentiations, ranging from +/- 3 to the rare 10 ½ or 14 ½ variance. However, the spreads are determined differently.
Scores in the games tend to be relatively close, although there are your 65-25 blowouts. One of the great things about arena ball for bettors is the league is much more open about team information, willingly reporting injuries to odds makers. Why is this the case? The AFL knows that one of the things that has made the NFL so popular is betting, and they'd like some of the recognition and mass appeal that comes with Vegas and sportsbook "action."
This is a less defensive minded league, which makes handicapping an AFL game different from analyzing an NFL contest. Remember, there's much less specialization in arena ball, which means players must have skills on both sides of the ball. This also magnifies the importance of an injury, which can have a bigger affect in the AFL than it does in the NFL. Squads are also smaller in the 50-yard league, with 20 men per team and four reserves. Again, that translates into each player carrying more weight in the game.
The typical home field advantage in the NFL results in a 3-point spread, whereas that advantage in the AFL is 5-points. Two things influence the higher spread - the high scoring and the intensity of AFL fans. In arena football, spectators are extremely close to the game, making the experience more like a NBA game than a NFL contest. The physical closeness of fans to tough, unrelenting play can exacerbate emotions. Arena football venues rock! Thus, the home field advantage has more power over the outcome of the game.
When wagering, you should carefully consider the kicking game. Remember, it's a fifty-yard field, which means an accurate kicker with a good leg can score from anywhere. Additionally, there are no weather conditions to influence kickers or any other players. Finally, there's a lot more passing in the AFL and when researching QB, offensive and defensive ratings you want to keep this in mind. Player power ratings are also determined differently because players perform on both sides of the ball.
Arena football, with its emphasis on offensive action, creating more scoring opportunities, and desire to have more continuous play than the NFL, offers fans and bettors a venue unlike any other. Rambunctious, fast-paced, and frenetic, arena football has created its own niche in the world of professional sports. Fans love it - take a look if you haven't already. If you love the sport of football, you'll probably get hooked.
Written By: Paul_Mroczka
