[diamond]

As European, pls explain me the difference between Arena Football and NFL?

[pavyracer]

Originally Posted by diamond

As European, pls explain me the difference between Arena Football and NFL?

It's like comparing futsal and champions league.

[Kellen]

NFL-good Arena-Stupid

Arena is played on a smaller field. there is no defense involved as evident by the basketball sized scores. I personally dont like it but then again Ive only watched one game in my life. I dont think they use a RB like NFL either.

[coldhardfacts]

Actually, it's like comparing slo-pitch softball to baseball.

But, there are tremendous overlays and bad lines (like Orlando getting 5 at home from the Rush tomorrow.)

[Justin7]

NFL: you have 20 guys trying to figure out the line. The early lines come out Sunday evening, and by monday morning, the lines are solid (plus or minus pending injury information). NFL is a tough nut to crack betting sides.

Arena: You have 2 guys that are usually stoned saying "What do you think?" to each other. They throw out random crap. Lines frequently move 3+ points.

In sum, Arena (like all small sports) is much easier to beat.

Or did you mean the rules?
Start with NFL. Chop the field in half both ways (50 yard field, and narrower). 8 players per team. 3 linemen on each side. Only 3 line + 1 linebacker can rush the QB; whereas offense has 3 blockers + 1 fullback. Offense has 3 WRs, defense has 3 DBs. You either have man to man coverage, or a zone defense with 1+ guys wide open. In some cases, you have all kinds of guys open. What is the 8th defender doing since 4 are rushing and 3 are defending pass? Usually nothing. The 8th guy is called the "Jack linebacker". If he does something, he gets penalized. If this guy drops into coverage, you see a "jack out of the box" penalty (my favorite). If he rushes the QB, it's an illegal rush.

Other things... No punting in Arena. With 50 yard field, you can always attempt a FG. Offenses score on about 70% of all possessions. There are about 2 onsides kicks per game. These succeed about 25% of the time (compared to 12% in NFL). There's also a goofy rule during kickoffs... If you hit the FG posts (or the net behind it), the ball bounces onto the field. It's a live ball, anyone's game. The kicking team recovers this about once every two games.

Field goals/PATs... The up-rights are 9 feet wide (compared to 18.5 feet in NFL). 30% is a typical FG percentage (versus 70), and 83% is normal for PATs (verus 96% in NFL). Oddly, 2-pt conversions in both are about 43-ish %.

Defensive and special teams scoring... crazy high. A typical game sees about 1.5 scores. This is maddening - the bad beat factor is MUCH higher than in NFL. Fortunately, the lines are so bad, the pros can still make a killing if they can stomach the emotional damage.

[bettilimbroke999]

Well said and that's exactly the killer a turnover is just death in Arena football b/c of two reasons, number 1 the clock NEVER STOPS and I mean never not even on an incomplete pass or after a TD (while they are getting the extra point kicking unit in place it still runs) so basically you can run out the clock by just throwing 2 yrd completions to one of your half dozen receivers, and two b/c it is almost impossible not to score I mean YOU HAVE NO PUNT OPTION, so since ever drive is a four play drive until they are just in guaranteed FG position (and for 9 yrd uprights that is real close I mean I've seen em miss three extra points in a row and you're needing a field goal to tie even though both teams have scored 3 TDs) you essentially have to score. The only question is how fast will you score, a typical score would be like 56-49 and whether or not you will turn it over, as I said a turnover is essentially death b/c instead of being up 7-0 you are going to in all likelihood be down 0-7 and you have also upset the scoring possessions meaning that if you started the game with possession when it switches at halftime you will be ****ed out of 7 more points. Basically it is a practical joke but if you want some high risk entertainment/gambling its definitely the way to go and hey if your team gets a turnover then just cash your ticket you're a winner