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The Rules: AFL vs. NFL

An indoor pigskin primer for the uninitiated

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It's safe to say that most guys know the ins and outs of the NFL. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the AFL. From the playing field to the scoring format and size of the teams, Men's Fitness reveals the basic differences between the Arena Football League and the NFL.

The Gridiron Breakdown:

	The AFL	The NFL
Field	85 feet wide, 50 yards long, for a faster, higher-scoring affair	160 feet wide, 100 yards long
Goal posts	Nine feet wide with a 15-foot high crossbar	18 1/2 feet wide with a 10-foot high crossbar
Roster	20-man rosters; eight men on the field	53-man roster; 11 on the field
Scoring	Mostly the same as NFL, but a successful drop kick earns two points on the extra point and four points as a field goal	Hey, even your five-year-old nephew knows this: 6-pt TDs, 3-pt FGs ...
Rebound nets	Kickoffs and passing plays that bounce off the nets are still in play	What rebound nets?
Passing	Just like in NCAA, receivers only need one foot inbounds	Both feet inbounds
Punting	Not allowed. You gotta man-up and go for it on fourth down	Wimps go three-and-punt
Overtime	15 minutes, with at least one guaranteed possession for each team	15-minute sudden death

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