JSN CFFL
Basic Rules of Play
This is just a basic
guideline of rules of play, this is not the actual constitution, but will act
as a Constitution and the Official Rules until such time that it is deemed
necessary to write up a League Constitution. Until that time, in case of any
discrepancy, this guideline shall act as the official rules governing the JSN
CFFL and will be the basis upon what issues need clarification. If there are
any grey areas or situations that arise that is not covered in this article, it
will exclusively be the decision of the Commissioner to make the appropriate
ruling on such issues. After that time, the new issues will be discussed at the
next AOM and will be added to this document, until that time the Commissioner’s
decision will be final.
1 – The opponents are
determined by the schedule posted on the website. The Home team announces their
starting lineup first on the league message board for all to see, (preferably a
minimum of 2 hours before kickoff of the first game). Once the Home team has
announced their lineup, the Visiting team can post their lineup before kickoff
of the first game. The Visiting team CANNOT use ANY of the players that the
Home team has advised is in their lineup. If this happens, the Visiting team
will get a 0 for that player. There are many rules involved with what happens
if one of the teams does not post their lineup on time which will be clarified
later in the official Constitution, but it does allow for the non-infracting
team to make changes to their lineup AFTER the games have started. So please
post on time.
LINEUP PENALTIES:
In the event that the Home
team does not post their lineup on the league message board, or advise their
opponent or Commissioner of their lineup in time for the first game of the week
the following can/shall apply:
The Visiting team can play
any players whose game(s) have already started. This means that if a Home team
does not post a starting lineup on by kickoff of the 1st game of the
week, the Visiting team can then wait until halftime of the game that has
already started to decide to use any players from that game. Failure of the Visiting
team to post a player by halftime eliminates this advantage for the Visiting
team. Also, if the Home team has not posted by kickoff, they will not be
allowed to post a lineup that includes any of the players from the 1st
game at all.
If a Home team continually
posts late, the Commissioner’s office will investigate and will deal with
accordingly.
If the Home team has posted
late but has used players from a game that has already started, it is the
Visiting team’s responsibility to bring that to the Commissioner’s attention.
The League Office will not be monitoring times lineups are posted, that is
between the 2 owners involved in the game. The Commissioner will look at the
time stamp on the message board and will allow a marginal grace period (usually
around 15 minutes after the scheduled kickoff time, keep in mind that the
scheduled televised time and kickoff time are NOT the same. Just because the
game starts at 6pm on TSN, doesn’t mean that kickoff is right at 6pm, this will
be taken into consideration when determining the lateness of an Owner’s
posting), however, if the Commissioner deems the Home team to have posted late,
the Commissioner will remove the infracting players from the Home team’s
lineup, will advise the Visiting team of their deadline to post players/change
lineup including players from the game(s) that have already started. After the
Visiting team has made their changes, the Home team is then allowed to correct
their lineup but cannot use players that the Visiting team has played.
If either Owner starts a
player that is not playing, they will be allowed to change them for another
player but only one who is playing in a later game. The Owner needs to bring it
to the Commissioner’s attention to order to determine if the infracting Owner
has enough time to switch the player out or if it is simply too late. Because
quite often a player is a game time decision or last-minute scratch a little
extra leeway will be given with the grace period, but only an extra 5 mins.
This is always up to the Commissioner’s discretion and the Commissioner’s
decision is final.
If the Visiting team plays a
player that the Home team has already announced as a starter for them, the
Visiting team will be allowed to switch out that player for another one unless
that player’s game has already started. No grace period will be given. Playing
someone who has already clearly been indicated as a starter is different than a
last-minute scratch.
Any other issues will be
added as they are encountered.
2 – A starting lineup
consists of the following:
Quarterback – as of the 2018 AOM it may be counted as a Canadian
6
offensive players – any offensive players from any team, only stipulation is
that there must be 1 Canadian players (maximum of 1 at any position) changed from 2 Canadians to 1 at the 2019 AOM
Kicker – may be a Canadian, but ONLY the Visiting team has the option
of using a Kicker as the 1 required Canadian in their starting lineup, the Home
team does NOT have this option, amended at 2019 AOM
Special Teams/Defence
Head Coach
3 – You can make changes to
your lineup by simply posting a message on the message board as to who is out
and who is in, if your game hasn’t started yet. However, please keep in mind
that there are a few minutes of leeway given regarding that. A lot of times the
games don’t start right on time and we don’t find out who is playing until the
first offensive series. Your messages are time stamped on the website, if
you’re not more than 20 minutes past kickoff, you should be okay. The
Commissioner will have final say if there are any concerns regarding late
posting. These late postings do NOT apply to the Home team posting their
initial lineup. If kickoff was 6pm and your posting is time stamped as 6:01,
you are late and the late penalties shall apply and the Visiting team can take
advantage of this if they so wish.
4 – Any player can be
replaced at any time through the course of the ‘game’ with any other qualifying
player as long as none of the players’ games have started yet. (see rule 3
above for clarifications on start times)
5 – All starting lineups will
accrue points based on the following table (which is also posted on the
website)
JSN CFFL Scoring
Table: Updated Post 2018 AOM
Red Font = Change or addition since last AOM
Amended:
OFFENSIVE SCORING DEFENSIVE
SCORING
Type of Score Pts Type
of Score Pts
TD Pass 5 Sack 1
TD Rush 6 Interception 2
TD Reception 6 Fumble
Recovery 2
2pt Cvt Pass 2 Safety
Touch 5
2pt Cvt Rush 2 DEF/SP TD 6
2pt Cvt Reception 2 Shutout 10
INT Thrown -2 3rd
Down Turnover 2
Fumble Lost -2 All
DEF/SP Scores
PERFORMANCE BONUSES K
& SPECIAL TEAMS
10 rush yards 1 Field
Goal 3
10 rec yards 1 Field
Goal 50+ Yds 2
50 pass yards 1 Convert 1
Reception 1 Rouge 1
Rushing Attempt 0.5
Head Coach Win 2 Handicap
Scoring (in standings)
Head Coach Tie 1 Visitor
Victory 3
Home
Victory 2
All scoring also counts for individual player as well
when applicable
6 – The game is complete when
the weekend’s CFL games are complete. At the end of the game, the Commissioner
will post the final ‘unofficial’ scores on the message board including
individual player scoring. This is all done manually for the most part so it is
very possible that there are errors in the scoring. It doesn’t happen often,
but there is a margin of error. It is each owner’s responsibility to ensure the
accuracy of the scoring for both themselves and their opponent. Bring any
issues to the Commissioner’s attention immediately. Once the next week’s games
have started, the prior week’s games become official and cannot be changed. In
this case an appeal can be made to the Commissioner.
One thing to note here is the
difference between how John reported the scores and how I report the scores.
John would wait until the games were over and post very soon after the final
game. I like doing the “live scoring” way of things and posting them at the end
of each “quarter” (1st game of the week being the 1st
quarter and so on), this makes less work for me at the end of the game, gives
you an idea of how you are doing and allows all owners to question scoring much
sooner.
7 – Once the scores are
posted, the Commissioner will update the schedule & standings and will post
on website. We will continue in this fashion until all 14 weeks of regular
season are played.
8 – As of the end of regular
season, playoffs will be as follows:
1st place team in
each division will receive a bye in the 1st round.
2nd place team in
each division will host their respective playoff game
The next 2 highest ranking
teams, regardless of division will make the playoffs. The team that crosses
over will stay in that division until the end of the playoffs. If no team
crosses over, then the 3rd place teams will play the 2nd
place teams and the winners advance and so on. The Commissioner will make all
the final decisions regarding tie breakers, playoff placement etc. If there are
any issues, the Co-Commissioner will make the final decision if the
Commissioner cannot rectify the situation.
9 – When the season is over,
the Commissioner will tabulate all the financial info, contact each owner
individually and will assess the financial situation of the franchise, pay out
all winnings and provide a financial statement for all to see.
10 – Miscellaneous stuff:
All owners will pay $70 entry
fee
The Commissioner will pay for
the engraving of the trophy out of pocket (as per 2016
AOM)
If there are ANY issues, the
Commissioner’s decision is final. If it is acceptable, an appeal on any
decisions can be made to the Co-Commissioner, his or her decision is final and
cannot be appealed any further.
When in doubt, let your
opponent know as well as posting something on the message board. Give others
the same courtesy that you would like given to you. Almost all of us are
texting now, shooting a quick text to your opponent is appreciated.
The only way this league
stays so enjoyable and easy to play/run is when ALL the owners are on the same
page and all abide by the rules, ESPECIALLY posting your lineups in a timely
manner. I understand that we all get busy from time to time, but there is no
excuse for not posting on time if you are the Home team. We had almost zero
issues with this the past couple of years, I trust that will continue.
I am sure I am forgetting a
bunch of little things here, I am sure they will come up at some point.
If anyone has any questions
about ANYTHING relating to this league and its rules, please contact me
directly. Thanks, and good luck to all this season.