2017 CFL Thread

[Suicane75]

Kickoff Thursday with Saskatchewan visiting Montreal. Got a heavy bet on the Stamps winning it all. Revenge is coming.

[bryce]

When I read that VY joined the Riders I was really interested in following the league this year. But then he tore his hammy. I still tune in when I notice it's on during the summer when there isn't much else on sports-wise (especially when your baseball team stinks). Did the team end up cutting him loose or are they holding on to him, I haven't even checked recently.

[Fidatelo]

He got cut.

[Young Drachma]

I try to watch this a bit, but always forget it's on. But want to try to follow it more this year, prefer 3 down rules anyway.

Tangentially related to gridiron football played abroad, as part of my sports package for watching Finnish baseball, I can also watch their pro gridiron football league since it has a tv deal now. The quality is beyond bad, but it's still a trip that it's even a thing. (Jenkkifutiksen SM-sarja - Vaahteraliiga)

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

I try to watch this a bit, but always forget it's on

Yep. And I need something other than baseball. Had Mets/Dodgers on just now and it just wasn't doing it for me. So I switched yet again to...King of Queens.

[Suicane75]

Absolute barn burner so far. Nil-Nil in the 2nd perio.

[Suicane75]

Drachma, you got any youtube links for that league? All I'm getting is soccer but I'm dyeing to see what it's like.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Drachma, you got any youtube links for that league? All I'm getting is soccer but I'm dyeing to see what it's like.

Provided you mean the Finnish Football league (Vaahteraliiga) yeah I'm not finding anything for some reason either. It's probably because of the Ruutu TV deal and also, because the clubs themselves probably aren't doing much in the way of repurposing the content.

I'll ask around though on Finnish Twitter. Youtube has old footage of the league, but yeah there's nothing remotely well packaged that I can find outside of Ruutu.

[Suicane75]

Yeah, that was the one.

Montreal looks like the same old Montreal, even with Durant in at QB. For whatever reason they just don't play at the level you'd think they would. Gonna be a long while before the RoughRiders are good again me thinks. The whole team seems like a dumpster fire.

Grey Cup rematch tonight, Ottawas win last year was such a fluke. A case can be made that they were at best the 4th best team in the league. A league of 9. Anyhoo, looking forward to watching the Stamps try and make up for a horrible loss, both tonight and throughout the season.

Eskimos/Lions should be fun as heck tomorrow night.

[Young Drachma]

Gonna try to do CFL Fantasy on their site as an excuse to keep up with the league halfway.

I created a FOFC league in case you get bored and want to have a team you half pay attention to or beyond.

https://fantasy-api.cfl.ca/en/league...8-5a1a2e0fdd1b

[Miller Time]

Redblacks Stamps last night was a lot of fun. I think that will be the Grey Cup matchup again.

Redblacks dressed only 1 import RB last night and it came back to hurt them. The young Canadian kid with no experience was put in a tough spot and his fumble up 14 with 8 to play was the turning point IMO. I like William Powell a lot but he is coming off an achilles tear. So I have no idea why they did not dress Moises Madu as well as insurance.

Should be a fun season!

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by Miller Time

Redblacks Stamps last night was a lot of fun. I think that will be the Grey Cup matchup again.

Redblacks dressed only 1 import RB last night and it came back to hurt them. The young Canadian kid with no experience was put in a tough spot and his fumble up 14 with 8 to play was the turning point IMO. I like William Powell a lot but he is coming off an achilles tear. So I have no idea why they did not dress Moises Madu as well as insurance.

Should be a fun season!

What's the rule on # of Canadians & foreigners that have to be on rosters? When I started watching I was sort of surprised there weren't more skill position Americans.

[Young Drachma]

2017 Intl Federation of American Football women's world championship apparently being live streamed

https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tfsetv/

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

What's the rule on # of Canadians & foreigners that have to be on rosters? When I started watching I was sort of surprised there weren't more skill position Americans.

https://www.cfl.ca/game-rule-ratio/

Can have 16 on the roster, but you must have 7 Canadian (national) starters

[Fidatelo]

Living in Canada you would think I would know this, but how do they define a 'starter'? Is there a snap % requirement or something? It has to be something beyond just the 12 guys on the field for the first snap on offense and defense.

[Suicane75]

How bout that. I'd figure you'd see more "name" American players given those parameters. Maybe the learning curve for the game is steeper than I think.

[Suicane75]

Edmonton/BC got off to a slow start but more than made up for it at the end. Edmontons D in the 4th quarter looked about as bad as they were last year, letting BC get back into it, but Riley bailed them out.

The Mark Trestman era in Toronto begins in a few hours.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

Living in Canada you would think I would know this, but how do they define a 'starter'? Is there a snap % requirement or something? It has to be something beyond just the 12 guys on the field for the first snap on offense and defense.

So here's the actual breakdown:

Each team may have a maximum of 44 players, including 3 players who shall be identified as quarterbacks and 41 other players, of whom not more than 20 may be international players.

Each team must establish a reserve roster of 2 players. These 2 players may be national or international players.

Each team may dress a 44-man active roster consisting of:

3 QBs (no designation)
Maximum of 20 international players (4 of which must be identifed as designated internationals)
Minimum of 21 national players

The four designated international players are players who can play on special teams OR replace an international starter (they cannot start).

Of the 24 starters on a team, a minimum of seven starters will be nationals players. When applied to a starting roster of a team it breaks down as follows (when using the minimum number of national players):

1 QB
16 international players
7 starting national players

The following Players shall be classified as National Players (formerly non-import):
(a) Canadian citizens at the time of signing of the Player’s first contract;
(b) A Player classified as a non-import prior to May 31st, 2014; OR
(c) A Player who was physically resident in Canada for an aggregate period of five (5) years prior to attaining the age of eighteen (18) years.

A Player is classified as an International Player (formerly import) if the Player is one other than one referred to in the definition of a National Player (formerly non-import).

[Young Drachma]

Dola

I presume starter must mean that at any given time on the field, you must always have (at least) 7 national players.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Dola

I presume starter must mean that at any given time on the field, you must always have (at least) 7 national players.

That doesn't account for offense/defense, though. So 7 out of 24 'starters' must be nationals, so in that scenario you would basically need at least 14 to always have 7 on. So then I guess you could divide them between 'O' and 'D' but I guess you would have to declare your O/D ratio before the game or something? Like "we will always have 4 nationals in play on offense and 3 on defense"? What about injuries? I don't know, it feels like there is a lot more to it than just what is outlined in that rules section.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

That doesn't account for offense/defense, though. So 7 out of 24 'starters' must be nationals, so in that scenario you would basically need at least 14 to always have 7 on. So then I guess you could divide them between 'O' and 'D' but I guess you would have to declare your O/D ratio before the game or something? Like "we will always have 4 nationals in play on offense and 3 on defense"? What about injuries? I don't know, it feels like there is a lot more to it than just what is outlined in that rules section.

Apparently, there are fines for not having 7 on the field (O/D) at any time. From 2015:

CFL right to punish Riders for skirting ratio rules - 3DownNation

To wit: The league fined the Saskatchewan Roughriders $15,000 for having too many international players on the field. That means there weren’t enough Canadians playing for the Roughriders. And the league office noticed… about three weeks after it happened!

but if it’s caught during a game (as it should have been) the infraction earns a 25-yard penalty, plus a fine.

[Suicane75]

Week 1 Musings,

Calgary: Something feels off about this team, the last 2 games are a small sample size obviously, but if you're watching the games, they just aren't clicking like they were most of last year. That being said I still think they're as good as anyone in the league but I'm not sensing that they're so far and above everyone else as they were most of last year.

Ottawa: Probably the class of the East but I'll need to see them do it on a week to week basis. New QB looked good and they played a hell of a game against Calgary.

Edmonton: Defense looked better but still shaky, granted against a top flight offense but I still don't think I trust them to make a stop when needed.

BC: Like Edmonton, they looked rusty in the first half but were able to open things up in the 2nd half. I think this is the team that challenges Calgary for the title out West.

Saskatchewan: Don't trust this team at all. I know the coach has a pedigree but the whole team seems like a clown show right now. Reports of arguing on the sidelines, nothing about their O or D stood out to me as being anything above average.

Montreal: I like their D, I like their QB, I like that they're on the uptrend, I feel like they could be legit but they'll have to prove it going forward.

Hamilton: Man, that was ugly. Did Toronto get that much better or are the Tiger Cats on the downswing? Defense looked slow, offense looked completely out of rhythm. It seems like the talent is still there but the results have not. Will be an interesting team to keep an eye on.

Toronto: Again, are they that much better, or was Hamilton just sleep walking? This week against BC will be a much better test but if Ray can stay healthy and these new receivers can continue to produce, they'll be a heck of a fun team to watch at the very least. The pedigree of the coaching staff has me leaning towards the side of a believer.

[SirBlurton]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Week 1 Musings,
...
Saskatchewan: Don't trust this team at all. I know the coach has a pedigree but the whole team seems like a clown show right now. Reports of arguing on the sidelines, nothing about their O or D stood out to me as being anything above average.
...

I'm a lifelong Rider fan and I can barely stand to watch games right now. Jones had "pedigree" as a coach. As a GM, he's a complete embarrassment. Always goes for high visibility "moon shots" on players that never pan out, all while dumping every "character" guy from a team that won a Grey Cup not that long ago.

The Riders got caught up in their own hubris and won't be good again until they get a coaching staff with at least a little humility and common sense.

[Suicane75]

Yeah, having just started watching last year I was sort of excited to see the Riders play given everything I was told about Jones, but they've just seemed so dysfunctional.

[Ajaxab]

I can't wait to see my Bombers take the field on Saturday night. Hopefully, they can generate a bit more offense this year to offset the unsustainable amount of turnovers the defense generated last year.

[Suicane75]

June Jones takes over as the head coach in Hamilton. The West will more than likely send 4 teams to the playoffs again as the East is a dumpster fire.

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

The West will more than likely send 4 teams to the playoffs again as the East is a dumpster fire.

Think the NBA has a conference balance. Try the CFL.

2017: 4th in W 5-4, 1st in E 4-5 Overall West 27-12-1 East 9-24-1
2016: 4th in W 10-8, 1st in E 8-9-1 Overall West 53-36-1 East 27-44-1
2015: More even West 43-47 East 38-34
2014: 4th in W 9-9, 1st in E 9-9 Overall West 53-37 East 28-44
2013: 3rd in W 11-7 1st in E 11-7 Overall West 40-32 East 32-40

And it's not like the expansion team in Ottawa has been killing the East, just everyone has been a tire fire, or a medical waste fire. Some kinda of toxic fire.

[nilodor]

Dola, and it's actually worse than this because they play unbalanced schedules, where you play more games in your conference than out. Yet they've done pretty well in the playoffs. I'm still hoping to have the crossover team make the grey cup. This year seems like the best shot at it.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

June Jones takes over as the head coach in Hamilton. The West will more than likely send 4 teams to the playoffs again as the East is a dumpster fire.

OK, might have found my CFL team for now. What June Jones did in Hawaii was awesome.

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by nilodor

Dola, and it's actually worse than this because they play unbalanced schedules, where you play more games in your conference than out. Yet they've done pretty well in the playoffs. I'm still hoping to have the crossover team make the grey cup. This year seems like the best shot at it.

I think they just not let the East into the playoffs this year, lol. It's horrendous.

[Suicane75]

So Hamilton hired Art Briles today to be an assistant coach under June Jones. And then people were like "ummmm", and then the league was like "uhhhhhh", and then Hamilton was like "Ohhh, nah we aint gonna hire him anymore I guess".

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

So Hamilton hired Art Briles today to be an assistant coach under June Jones. And then people were like "ummmm", and then the league was like "uhhhhhh", and then Hamilton was like "Ohhh, nah we aint gonna hire him anymore I guess".

OK, I take back my support of June Jones. Unbelievable that he tried to hire Briles.

[Thomkal]

No clue if he made the team or if he's even playing, but former Coastal Carolina QB Alex Ross was signed by BC. So I guess I'm a fan now

[cuervo72]

I'm an Alex Ross fan too!

(oh, quarterback Alex Ross)

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I'm an Alex Ross fan too!

(oh, quarterback Alex Ross)

well I like him too

[cartman]

Hamilton passed on Johnny Manziel, citing too many red flags. The same team that was going to hire Art Briles.

[bryce]

Originally Posted by cartman

Hamilton passed on Johnny Manziel, citing too many red flags. The same team that was going to hire Art Briles.

I hear Greg Hardy is still available if they're interested.