Saturday, September 09, 2006

Time to Build a House on a Small Field

Hey Folks,

I have very few issues with rules. Most of them make sense, and as long as people don't exploit loop holes the game moves relatively well. There is one rule which I think we should talk about, and it's the brick.

Pictured Above: My good friend Sasha did a little photoshopping in a ULW game in 2005. In the picture from left to right is Ian Brooks, Shawn Chua, and Inian Moorthy.

The premise of the brick is that if someone pulls the disc out of bounds then they are penalized a yardage. The official rules say 20 yards, but most people play between 10 to 15. Their basis for 10-15 is a claim that the field is small (short).

I'm a strong believer in the full 20 yards regardless of field length. The penalty is enforced since the defense gets extra time to setup when the disc is pulled out of bounds and the game slows down. This is key! On a small field with a small brick the defense gets time to setup, you're closer to your own end-zone, you can use a bad pull to reset your team, and the defenders don't have to worry about making a good pull.

I say, stick with the 20 yard brick, because you should be able to pull the disc in bounds on a small field. The better pulling team should get the defensive advantage, and a bad pulling team should suffer the consequence.

The only exception I'm willing to make on a shorter brick is when the field is narrower, but even then I think the better pulling team should keep their advantage.

Folks, it is time to make a stance on this rule.

PJ

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

this is a point that i feel strongly about as well. i hadn't thought about it as thoroughly, but you're totally right that not only is a team not being punished enough for a bad pull, but they are also given the advantage of setting up their defence.

I will most certainly argue more strongly for a full (or near full) length brick from now on.

Even beyond this, it's ludicrous that people just offer 5 and 10 yard bricks because that's what they think is fair, or worse, because that's what they think the rule is.

Those who know better should always be on the lookout to make sure that everyone knows the rules of the game. Not necessarily because they are scripture, but they are thought out.. and at least everyone can play (and argue) from a common, and informed, position.