Possibly coming soon to a CFL stadium near you: converts worth more than one point, greater space for kick returners or even stricter pass interference rules.

Every off-season the league and its football operations folks get together to discuss how to improve the product on the field. Those who watched some of last year's snoozefests would suggest there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to the three-down product.

The league doesn't necessarily disagree, but officials are not hitting the panic button just yet after scoring took a serious hit and penalties skyrocketed in 2014.

“Every year we have a discussion on the rules and how to make the game better,” Matt Maychak, the CFL's vice-president of communications, said Wednesday in Winnipeg at the league's annual congress. “This year it's fair to say it had a greater urgency to it because of the year we had. That's fair.”

Former commissioner Mark Cohon said in his final state of the league address in November that the league would do an “in-depth” analysis when the league's power players got together in Las Vegas last month for their annual review of the season, and Maychak said Wednesday there was more “brainstorming” in that meeting than there usually is.

“I don't want to make it sound like there's a great panic in the land, but I also don't want to make it sound like there's no problem,” Maychak said. “The coaches just said it's often cyclical. They're coaches. They adjust from year to year.”

Kevin McDonald, the CFL's vice-president of football operations, seems to be more in the camp that several significant factors led to points per game dropping from 52.4 in 2013 to 45.5 in 2014. McDonald believes the Ottawa RedBlacks expansion, injuries to almost every starting quarterback and the primary use of the extra designated import on defence led to the scoring drop. Specifically, the extra import was used on the defensive line.

“It was creating a fresher defensive attack on offensive linemen, which maybe resulted in quarterback injuries,” McDonald said.

So now the question that must be answered is this: Was 2014 a one off, or was it just the start of a bad trend that turned off some fans?

“I don't want to speak for all the football guys, but there was a sense that some of this is cyclical, that football constantly adjusts and adjusts to the adjustment, and some of the guys felt some of this will iron out over time,” Maychak said. “Some of it was seen as unique to this year.

“You add a ninth team, you've got a lot of new guys, a lot of young guys, so offensive play is affected by false starts and offsides and things like that.”

There is one thing the CFL vowed it won't do, however, and that is turn into a newer version of the now defunct XFL, which replaced its coin toss with a race to the 50-yard line.

“There's some willingness on the football people's part to open up discussion about how to improve the game and how to improve scoring, whether that's simplifying PI or looking at making the convert more exciting, for instance,” Maychak said. “But at the same time they were saying it goes in cycles. Don't opt for gimmick. Be thoughtful.”

And if anyone out there has any thoughts, the CFL is always willing to listen.

Convert discussion could be on table

The CFL is looking at making changes to four areas of the game in an effort to increase scoring.

Details were scarce on Wednesday at the annual CFL congress in Winnipeg, because those on the rules committee have not yet been made aware of what will be up for discussion this spring. One source, however, shared the general ideas that could be on the table soon.

The first, and likely most interesting from a fan perspective, is the boring old convert, which would be taken out back and put out of its misery if we were in charge. One option is forcing teams to go for two, while another is having them kick from greater distances than the 12-yard line like it is now. The longer the convert attempt, the greater number of points that would be awarded if it's good.

That would drive coaches crazy from a strategy perspective, but it certainly sounds entertaining. Another option, according to the source, is getting rid of the convert entirely.

The other three areas of examination revolve around kick returns, pass interference and the flow of the game. All would improve scoring, of course.

Also, the ability to review pass interference calls and non-calls, which the league implemented last season for the first time in any professional football league, could still be removed from the rule book or altered.

kirk.penton@sunmedia.ca

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