Rules, announcers, viewing/distribution methods

We hope to see the spring football league continue for more than a few seasons next year.

The United Football League, the new league created by the merger of the XFL and USFL, will premiere Saturday on Fox.

Similar to the 1970 merger of the AFL and NFL, the UFL would host two conferences consisting of four teams each from the previous two leagues: the XFL Conference and the USFL Conference. Some teams may be familiar to soccer fans, such as the Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades. These teams will kick off the UFL on Saturday at 1pm on FOX.

Unfortunately the Philadelphia Stars — the city’s successful USFL team, which was recalled during the league’s 2022 restart — was unable to compete. But if all goes well, the league hopes to increase the number of teams to 12 next year and 16 in 2025, according to former New Orleans Saints coach and current D.C. Defenders coach Gregg Williams. It is said that there is.

Quarterback Case Kucas, who led the Stars to the 2022 USFL Championship Game but broke his leg during the game, is playing for the Memphis Showboats this season.

While the names of many of the players may not ring a bell, you should know that UFL Sports is home to many Eagles fans who are former NFL and NCAA coaches. Among them is former Birds quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, who will become head coach of the Memphis Shoboats after coaching the USFL's New Orleans Breakers, who missed out on the tournament.

Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips will coach the San Antonio Bramas, and former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops will return to coach the Arlington Renegades. Former NFL tight end Anthony Becht will return for his second season as head coach of the St. Louis BattleHawks.

The UFL schedule consists of 10 weeks. The top two teams from each conference will meet in the playoffs on June 9th, with the winner advancing to the UFL Championship on June 16th.

Here's what you need to know to watch and stream this weekend's UFL Week 1 matches.

Saturday

Sunday

for a long time fox nfl sunday Host Curt Menefee will be the network's top UFL voice

Curt Menefee, host fox nfl sunday 17 years and co-sponsor good day new york On Fox 5, he will be the network's top play-by-play voice for the UFL. This seems fitting since Menefee was also the lead announcer for USFL broadcasts the past two seasons.

Joining Menefee again is Joel Klatt, Fox's lead college football analyst. Former NFL quarterback Brock Hurd will handle sideline reporting duties.

The second Fox staff member will be play-by-play announcer Kevin Coogler. He joined the network's NFL broadcasts in 2020 and has appeared at a significant number of Eagles games since then. In addition to Kugler, the booth will also feature former Michigan State quarterback and former Denver Broncos tight end Devin Gardner. Jake Butt reports from the sideline.

Former Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez, who joined FOX as an analyst in 2021, will also be called up for some UFL games.

Mike Monaco and Lowell Galindo will be the play-by-play voices for ESPN. They will be joined by a group of analysts including Tom Luginbill. former NFL linebacker Sam Acho;

ESPN will have side reporters Stormy Buonantoni and Kayla Barton, as well as analysts Cole Kubelik and Harry Douglas on site. ESPN is not going to learn from the 2018 Boogermobile debacle and just throw them into bulky carts that carry them up and down the field.

How is the UFL different from the NFL?

Like its predecessor, UFL looks and feels like an NFL game. But league officials specified some notable differences in the rulebook last year that will be familiar to anyone who watched an XFL or USFL game.

First, teams have three extra point options after a touchdown. A field goal from the 15-yard line scores 1 point, a play from the 2-yard line scores 2 points, and a play from the 10-yard line scores 3 points. yard line.

Overtime ends with a best-of-three soccer-style shootout, with teams attempting to score from the 2-yard line. For each successful score he is awarded 2 points and the team with the highest score after 3 plays is the winner. If the score remains tied, teams each get his one shot in a sudden-death approach until a winner is determined.

The UFL will stick to a traditional kickoff for its inaugural season, even though the NFL changed its kickoff rules largely based on what the XFL did last season. That would be more or less what the USFL did over the course of two seasons. Kickoffs were taken from the 20-yard line, eliminating most touchbacks.

Teams can still attempt an onside kick, but they also have the option of running 4th down and 12 plays from their own 33-yard line. If a team gains a first down, the football is up for grabs. If that fails, the defense receives the ball.

As far as punts are concerned, if the punt goes out of bounds inside the 25-yard line, it is considered a touchback and the receiving team gets the ball at the 25-yard line. This is an effort to eliminate so-called coffin corner punts, which encourage fourth-down attempts and potentially lock the receiving team near their own end zone.

The UFL also reinstates a rule that existed in both the XFL and USFL, allowing two forward passes on one offensive play, unless the ball crosses the line of scrimmage before the second pass is attempted. That's what it was.

Notable former Eagles player

Other than Quizzo Champion, fans may not remember many of the former Eagles players who will be on the field in the UFL. That's because most of them have been demoted to the practice squad and have never played down with the team.

Perhaps the most famous is wide receiver John Hightower, whom the Eagles drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Hightower appeared in 13 games and had 10 catches that season, but was plagued by dropped balls during the final eight weeks of the season during a bizarre COVID-19 pandemic that forced him to join the practice squad. He was later traded to the Chargers, but was waived before the start of last season and ended up being traded to the DC Defenders.

Arlington Renegades wide receiver Deontay Barnett had three receptions in two games against the Eagles in 2020. His teammate, linebacker BJ Bello, appeared in three games for the Eagles in 2018 before being waived by the team in June 2019.

Defensive tackle Marvin Wilson recorded three tackles for the Eagles in the final game of the 2021 season, but ended up joining the practice squad in 2022 and was ultimately waived before last season.

Houston Roughnecks quarterback Reid Sinnett spent the final two months of the 2021 season on the Eagles' roster, but never appeared in a game. He eventually joined the practice squad and was waived just before the start of the 2022 season.

Birmingham Stallions wide receiver Deon Cain played twice for the Eagles. Although he showed flashes during the preseason, he ended up on the practice squad in 2022 and was waived before the start of the 2023 season.