Colin Unger

It can work the NFL already grants teams an extra practice roster spot if it is an international player. https://www.nfl.com/news/eleven-international-players-to-compete-for-spot-in-2021-nfl-international-playe

The more i keep reading statement the more I'm convinced that this is really happening.

When the NFL started to promote BLM this lots them some of those older white viewers. The things is that basketball always has the young demographic. They had it 30 years ago too. But eventually people grow out of it.

One of the key questions that needs to be asked is what happens with the CFL teams if this league goes under. Do CFL teams end up carrying the burden of potential unpaid bills?

Interest in football is still very high in the United States. Sure the pandemic and the BLM stuff has impacted the TV audience to a degree. Football will always be the number one sport in America. Basketball seems to come and go. It was supposed to take everything over back in the 90's with Micheal Jordan and then went into a bit of a bear market after that for a long time. Maybe it's on the rise again. Don't pay much attention to a sport where only 1 or 2 teams at a time have any chance of winning.

They wouldn't be watching CFL games persay. I don't think they would call the new league the CFL... There would be a CFL and an XFL division. I think there is a market for more football in the states driven by more opportunity to engage in Fantasy Football, betting, and DFS. Unfortunately i think that we would lose some of our unique rules. I think the field would be somewhere between the size of the CFL and the NFL and we would lose the rouge. The field size due to some stadiums in the states (and in toronto) not being set up for it and the rouge because americans will never understand it.

I kind of view Ambrosie as a new version of Preston Manning when he sought to unite the right. As soon as that process was completed he lost control over it.

With a larger league and a the potential for an american audience it opens up the potential for significant TV money from the states and they can also tap into things like Fantasy Football that is not really possibly with a 9 team league. Not to mention a video game based on the new league. Stuff like that would really become a possibility.

So does Ambrosie end up being the commissioner of the new league?

The second version was doing relatively well but the pandemic shut them down.

I think they are obviously looking at a lot more than sharing refs. At first I thought it was going to be something minor but now that I've read that the XFL is putting planning for their season on hold its clear that we are potentially looking at XFL and CFL teams playing their seasons at the same time and potentially playing against each other. I can see what the CFL is thinking here. We don't know when things will really return to normal. Will we ever see fans come back at the levels we had seen before? And even if that happens they need more fans in certain markets to be viable. This is about making the CFL less dependent on ticket sales. I think it has to do with the global initiative to bring in increased revenues from foreign markets. My vision for this is something like this. One day they could basically form a new league called something like "The International Football League" with two divisions. The XFL and the CFL. If you think that having two leagues competing in the same league is weird take a look at Major League Baseball. Its not that strange. This would allow the league to be marketed as the CFL in Canada and the XFL in the United States. I think you'd see some loosening on what counts as a global athlete to anyone not born in the united states as there would have to be a ratio of non-American players across both the xfl and the cfl to keep things fair. I think the XFL would accept the larger field and the 3 downs no problem but perhaps the rouge would be lost because americans will never understand it. But hopefully that would stay as well. The goal would be to market this form of football around the world and get every league outside of the NFL playing by these rules and have many jobs available to non-american athletes so there would be players from many of the other countries playing in this league to improve tv revenues in each of the other countries who are contributing talent. Of coarse the opportunity for a significant tv deal would exist in the united states as a result of having american teams competing. Not sure that it would go to this in 2022 as it might start a lot smaller than that. But i would imagine that this is the long term vision.

Not wrong. I mean we won a Grey Cup with what he had last year so that can't be overlooked. Im just dreaming of a vastly improved passing attack with Zach Collaros at the helm this season.

Speed certainly helps if you want to be a top end slotback. Every metric you can come up with matters. Smarts is also a big one because you can get on the same page with the QB and read the zones like Milt did. Im not for one minute suggesting the DW can't or shouldn't be an option at slockback. I'm just looking at the makeup of our receiving core and suggesting that Id rather be focused on picking up a potentially dynamic slotback like Bryant Mitchell then picking up a WR and moving DW to slot. I can point to guys like Bralon Addison and Brandon Banks as successful slotbacks who are defined more by their speed then toughness. You can point to a guy like Nik Lewis who was more of a smarts and toughness guy. I want us to again have a slotback who literally has the whole package and I think there's a chance that Bryant Mitchell can bring that to the table. DW can certainly play slotback but I'm sure you're not suggesting he could be a gamebreaker.

The problem with playing DW at slot with Nichols is that you need to put speed at slot. Guys who get open quickly. He liked to get rid of the ball quickly and he was also hesitant to throw the ball to receivers who looked like they were covered. DW is the kind of guy who rarely has a step or two on a defensive back but is always an option if you have a QB with the confidence and accuracy to put the ball in the right spot. A qb like Khari Jones would have been able to utilize DW in the slot like he did Jamie Stoddard. Khari before he got shell shocked was fearless and didn't melt down when he threw a couple of picks. He would just keep slinging and put up 5 tds.

The only guy on this list that I think would potentially be a fit for fieldside would be Kenny Lawler. It really comes down to who is the pound for pound better receiver DW or KL. I have a lot of respect for DW but I think KL is a better overall receiver.

With Zach Collaros im expecting Wolitarsky to put up much better numbers. I don't think that Nichols had the accuracy to really take advantage of the mismatches that Drew presents out on the boundary.

He would make a pretty good slotback.. I want us to have a gamebreaking slotback again.

Bryant Mitchell is only 28. He did have a torn achilles but he performed well in training camp and was almost brought back later in the season until Antonio Brown was signed. But the key factor here is that Mitchell is a slotback. We have tried and failed to convert Darvin Adams to slotback. There's little value to sign a guy like Collins compared to taking a shot at a proven CFL slotback like Mitchell who is healthy and coming off a strong NFL training camp. When's the last time Collins played football? Im very surprised that there wasn't serious interest in Collins from a handful of other CFL teams though but i'm not surprised at all that Winnipeg didn't go hard after him.

I don't think Winnipeg had room for him. They've needed for years a legit slotback and they got that in Mitchell. The other two American starters are Adams and Lawlyer with Bailey and Grant battling for playing time as well.

With a health Collaros i see Kenny as a 1000 yard guy this season.

Is he still classified as a rookie if he was under contract last season? The league needs to make an exception for players who are not eligable for rookie of the year in the CFL. I mean they can't compete for rookie of the year bonus money but they have to earn rookie money.

Scary... I was born at Saint B.

So you're saying there was a chance?

Yeah well I just turned 39 today.

Toronto has got a little bit better but they still have a battle ahead of them. They now have the 4th best QB in their division (hamilton has two of the top 3) and they have a head coach who is pretty green. They still have an uphill battle to make the playoffs. I wouldn't sleep on Ottawa being better then them this season. Lapo can run the same offence he had in Winnipeg. Make very few mistakes and pound the rock. They will be difficult to beat if their defense holds up.