the action in Canadian football more open than is the case in the American game. Offensive drives (continuous possession of the ball) tend to be shorter. Having three downs on a much longer and wider field with unlimited backfield motion results in Canadian teams requiring faster, more nimble athletes (comparatively) than their American counterparts. Paradoxically, this makes Canadian defense better at defending rushing plays. Rushing plays tend to be unlikely to produce a full ten-yard gain, and if correctly anticipated by the defense, much gain at all. The fewer downs means that an unsuccessful rushing play leaves an offense to have a single play to make comparatively longer first down yardage, so rushing plays are less favored unless the team on offense is actively managing the clock while maintaining the lead. Pundits often like to claim that a Canadian team that rushes for 100 yards or more per game is likely to win, but the reality is winning teams rush the ball in defense of their leads, and not as a tactic to produce drives that lead to points unless they are markedly superior to their opponents. The larger field generally permits greater YAC (yards after catch) on each individual catch, where the NFL produces passing plays that either result in immediate tackles for relatively few YAC, or huge gains resulting from missed tackles or broken coverage. In theory, an NFL team taking possession on their own one-yard line, using three downs for each first-down conversion and the full 40 second clock could run 27 plays and consume a full 18 minutes of clock time covering the 99 yards. A CFL team doing something similar (two plays per conversion, 20 second clock, average 10 seconds of clock time while the officials reset the ball between plays, 109 yards) would run 24 plays and consume 12 minutes of clock at the most. One other notable difference is the propensity of CFL quarterbacks to rush the ball, both by design and as a result of reacting to the defense. Damon Allen (the younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen) had 11,920 rushing yards to go along with 72,381 passing yards in his 23-year career and actually sits third overall in career rushing yards. Contrast that with Randall Cunningham's 4928 yards over 16 seasons. 1000-yard rushing seasons for CFL quarterbacks have occurred, and 400-yard seasons for playoff-bound teams'