Should we increase the length of a football field to 120 yards?

[Rain Man]

The length of a football field hasn't changed since Jim Thorpe was bowling over George Halas, but the game has changed immensely.

Back when Thorpe and Halas were playing, 100 yards was an immense distance. You were gaining three yards and a cloud of dust, and there was no passing game to speak of. You had to brute force your way down the field like General Grant in the Wilderness Campaign.

And kickers and punters? Forget about it. Other than Sammy Baugh, a 35 yard punt was a good day.

Now look at what we've got. Kickers already have an effective 120 yard field given that the goal posts were moved to the back of the end zone, but they're still making field goals from beyond midfield. Kickoffs are a boring joke because kickers put the ball in the stands. And punters are so strong that distance isn't an issue any more. It's placement of the punt.

Now let's look at offenses. The game of football is all about passing now, and the rules are slanted to the passers' advantage. Half the time the only thing that can stop an offense is a mistake or mis-execution on their part. Scoring is way up and excitement is way down.

Now let's consider a world with a 120 yard field. What happens?

1. You have a larger stadium that can sell more tickets. Owners like it and fans like it.

2. The kickoff return makes a comeback.

3. It lowers scoring while keeping the passing game electric, because the offense is more likely to make a mistake.

4. Long passes and runs become more common. People get excited about those. At the same time, having a fast defender makes it more likely that you'll have an interesting chase where the defender can win.

5. Field goals are de-emphasized since the average field goal attempt will be notably longer.

6. The run game could have a resurgence because a strong running team can drain almost an entire quarter off the clock with a long drive.

I think the time has come to adjust the length of the field. This is the 21st century, and we're still using fields from the 1920s.

[Graystoke]

It’s not length that matters. It’s girth

[Megatron96]

It’s not length that matters. It’s girth

Not the size of the ship, but the motion of the ocean . . .

[eDave]

I see no earthly reason to do this.

[Rasputin]

Who hijacked Rain Man computer to come up with this terrible idea? I know Rain Man wouldn't come up with this idiotic thinking.

[PHOG]

Absolutely not. :shake:

[Coach]

Technically speaking, it is 120 yards if you were to include the 10 yard end zones.

[EPodolak]

I say anything that makes the Raiders stadium outdated is a win.

[Rain Man]

I see no earthly reason to do this.

I just listed half a dozen very compelling reasons.

Plus, the universe is expanding. As time goes by, football fields become a smaller surface area of the universe. We have to keep up with that growth at a minimum.

[Mahomes_Is_God]

Increase the length of this dick!

[Rain Man]

Who hijacked Rain Man computer to come up with this terrible idea? I know Rain Man wouldn't come up with this idiotic thinking.

That's what they said about Walter Camp when he invented the forward pass. Some of us are visionaries who see what the game could become if the ball is being passed on a 120 yard field.

[Hammock Parties]

The field should be an infinite length, because Tyreek Hill will never be caught.

[patteeu]

I was just thinking this very thing the other day, mainly because of FG kicking and punting. I’m in.

[patteeu]

I say anything that makes the Raiders stadium outdated is a win.

LMAO That would be funny.

[Rain Man]

The field should be an infinite length, because Tyreek Hill will never be caught.

A giant Figure 8 field would be kind of interesting. Put the goal lines on the outside edges of each loop, and then the runner can keep going and score multiple touchdowns if he can complete more than one lap. But due to the Figure 8 configuration and the defenders' freedom to run in either direction he'll have to be fast and a good broken-field runner.

I really like that concept.

[Rain Man]

I was just thinking this very thing the other day, mainly because of FG kicking and punting. I’m in.

I can feel the issue gaining momentum with every passing moment. 120 yards. It's the future of football.

[Marcellus]

This would benefit guys like Mahomes for sure.

[Bearcat]

It’s not length that matters. It’s girth

120 yards wide seems excessive.

[carcosa]

I'm in favor of anything that would make Patrick's stats even gaudier

[mlyonsd]

If I ever owned a business that needed an out of the box thinker I'd hire Rain Man and pay him eleven zillion dollars.

[CarlosCarson27]

Try 110 or 105 first

[KurtCobain]

120 yards wide seems excessive.

I like it.

[Hoover]

Stadiums are going to get smaller, not larger.

[kccrow]

I could get on board with a 20 yard increase, but at the same time increase the width to 60 yards, move the hashes to 10 yards apart and increase the height of the crossbar to 12 feet.

[htismaqe]

What is this, Arena Football?

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[Zap Rowsdower]

What if we put a corn maze in the middle of the field?

[scho63]

Let's give this poll a rest......

[dj56dt58]

I think they should change it to 15 yards for a 1st down..10 yards is nothing these days

[Rain Man]

I could get on board with a 20 yard increase, but at the same time increase the width to 60 yards, move the hashes to 10 yards apart and increase the height of the crossbar to 12 feet.

That's the really interesting part about a length change. If you change the width of the field, it changes everything. The personnel will adjust toward smaller players, the play design will adjust toward more outside passes and runs, and the game will fundamentally change.

But if you change the length, the changes are more subdued. It really affects the kicking game, but otherwise I don't think it would change the prototype players at each position or the types of plays that are called. It would bring positive benefits without a lot of unintended impacts.

[Gravedigger]

Clearly almost every football stadium was constructed with a 100 yard football field in mind. You're expecting all stadiums to conform to a new standard, pay for construction and lose revenue at the same time? You did understand the basic math of it all right?

[A Salt Weapon]

Liking the idea of obstacles, how about we add bumpers like that version of a pool table.
Definitely need to add some girth, err I mean width. Maybe 10y wider does the cheerleaders can be like “damn, this field is thick”.
No standard, allow individual teams to have different size fields, like baseball does.

[Rain Man]

Clearly almost every football stadium was constructed with a 100 yard football field in mind. You're expecting all stadiums to conform to a new standard, pay for construction and lose revenue at the same time? You did understand the basic math of it all right?

I handle concepts. The league and teams have people who can handle implementation.

[oldman]

Does Rain Man live in a 420 friendly state? What's next, changing it to 100 meters? Nope, just keep it at 100 yards (120, counting endzones).

[Rain Man]

Liking the idea of obstacles, how about we add bumpers like that version of a pool table.
Definitely need to add some girth, err I mean width. Maybe 10y wider does the cheerleaders can be like “damn, this field is thick”.
No standard, allow individual teams to have different size fields, like baseball does.

You could have a menu of items like different widths, bumpers, hills, manmade mud or snow, etc., and before the game each team gets to pick one item off the menu. It would be cool to see how teams respond to the different combinations.

[eDave]

Clearly almost every football stadium was constructed with a 100 yard football field in mind. You're expecting all stadiums to conform to a new standard, pay for construction and lose revenue at the same time? You did understand the basic math of it all right?

Na. You could extend it, but lose some seats on both ends.

[TribalElder]

this sounds like canadian football

[Chargem]

2. The kickoff return makes a comeback.


You could also achieve this by insisting that all kick offs are made by dwarves/midgets. You'd have to create a dwarf only additional roster spot.

[listopencil]

Only if the field is changed to a hexagon.

[KCUnited]

From the 60 anything is possible

[Dunerdr]

I think kickers should get a kick off run at field goals.

[Dayze]

would be an interesting idea.

I'd like them to narrow the distance between the uprights of the goal posts.



and so something about the kickoff. it's a pointless play 99% of the time. I wonder what the stats are for touchbacks; or kicking it completely out of the end zone (not even bouncing in bounds).

[Dayze]

From the 60 anything is possible

LMAO

[HonestChieffan]

better to make one side 50 yards and the other 70. Both teams have to play each end. adds drama and viewer interest. And penalties will add or subtract from the playing field. Make it all virtual.

[AdolfOliverBush]

I'd eliminate the kicking game altogether. A game featuring monstrous humans destroying each other for 59 minutes should never, ever be decided by a relatively puny specimen who almost never gets dirt on his uniform. Punting can stay...for now.

[alpha_omega]

this sounds like canadian football

Sure does. Let's keep that concept up there.

[ChiefsCountry]

https://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/13160650/investors-group-field-2013-2-1395849623.jpg

[Rain Man]

better to make one side 50 yards and the other 70. Both teams have to play each end. adds drama and viewer interest. And penalties will add or subtract from the playing field. Make it all virtual.

Oh, I really like that.

[ChiefsFanatic]

Did anyone point out that a football field is ALREADY 120 yards long. Sorry, at work and can't read thread.

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[dj56dt58]

I think kickers should get a kick off run at field goals.

I think a kickoff that goes through the uprights should count as a field goal. Butler did that a few weeks ago after missing a pat

[dj56dt58]

Clearly almost every football stadium was constructed with a 100 yard football field in mind. You're expecting all stadiums to conform to a new standard, pay for construction and lose revenue at the same time? You did understand the basic math of it all right?

That’s why I like the idea of 15 yard first downs. It makes it more difficult without changing the dimensions. I was actually thinking about this the day before this thread. 10 yard first downs are just too easy. They get them off simple swing passes constantly because guys are so fast

[Hydrae]

I'd like to stick with the classic 100 yard length, please.

And don't even start mentioning the metric crap!:$2500:

[patteeu]

I like the idea of narrowing the space between the uprights too. My main goal would be to reduce the effective range of FG kickers (or in the 120 yard proposal, reduce the effective range relative to the overall field length).

[kccrow]

That's the really interesting part about a length change. If you change the width of the field, it changes everything. The personnel will adjust toward smaller players, the play design will adjust toward more outside passes and runs, and the game will fundamentally change.

But if you change the length, the changes are more subdued. It really affects the kicking game, but otherwise I don't think it would change the prototype players at each position or the types of plays that are called. It would bring positive benefits without a lot of unintended impacts.

It's purposeful. The current width is 53-1/3 yards so you're not adding but 3 yards to each sideline. But it does give a tad bit back to the offense with slightly more space to spread things out. That said, moving the hashes out further in my proposal also adversely affects the offense. The current distance is 18 ft 6 inches, so you're moving the hashes out nearly another 12 feet. So now you've consumed the 3 yards of extra width plus another yard to the narrow side of the field. This dictates the spread of the offense and negates some of what you say here. The wider hashes and higher goal post will also adversely impact the kicking game. Plus, the entire proposal evens everything out. 120 x 60 yard field plus 10 yard endzones, hashes 10 yards apart. Mathematically it's simplistic.

[Brody Wa]

I would like to see extra points eliminated from football.

[scho63]

I wanna see a field of 53 1/2 yards long by 100 yards wide.

That will rack up the points for sure! ROFL

[htismaqe]

I wanna see a field of 53 1/2 yards long by 100 yards wide.

That will rack up the points for sure! ROFL

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[SuperBowl4]

I would like to see the field remain 120 yards but a slight curve. The 50 yard line being the high point and then gradually decreasing towards both end zones. :thumb:

[CarlosCarson27]

They'll have to make the field wider for covid. So linemen are six feet apart etc