BigBlue

The annual CFL meetings will be upon us in a few weeks. Every year they tinker, trying to improve our game. Change is for the better, right? A rule change here, a regulation there, an administrative move here and another there. What would you suggest to our CFL brass? Rule changes, things to avoid or shut down.... What would genuinely make our game more satisfying & exciting?

There is a big difference between the internet and news

where do you come up with all of this ? from thin air or are you a closet Hillary democratic worshipper?

What kind of a league has a QB win MVP, is asked to take a pay cut and takes it?

So who can afford 400k for Burris? Toronto at the cost of cutting both Willy & Ray? Regina as an interim stop gap instead of Durant? Montreal so they can scrap their current development program? Or someone wanting to take a run at the cup this year: Buono would choke on his cookies but maybe we wouldn't but I bet Ottawa desperately wants to find a way to repeat

took ten minutes to first look up the free agent QBs and then skim 9 rosters .... another 2-3 minutes to guess the chances of any QB moving sometime in 2017

Making Odds at the QB Raffle Darian Durant, Kevin Glenn, that Franklin guy under contract in Edmonton, the geriatric MVP in Ottawa, the wheel of fortune in Montréal, other strays, and of course, our very own Matt Nichols: What are the odds that each of these quarterbacks change teams for the upcoming season? Be an oddsmaker. Here is my guess: 20% Matt Nichols 70% Kevin Glenn 50% Darian Durant 20% James Franklin 30% Henry Burris Danny O'Brien 60% Ricky Ray 10% Travis Lulay 20% Drew Tate 40% Dan LeFevour Vernon Adams Shane Carden 30% Rakeem Cato 40% Jonathan Crompton 30% Jeremiah Masoli Greg McGhee Jacory Harris Jeff Matthews 30% Mitchell Gale Keith Price 40% Thomas DeMarco Jordan Lynch 20% Brandon Bridge Jake Waters Cody Fajardo Brock Jensen 20% Logan Kilgore Nick Arbuckle Brady Bolles Andrew Buckley BJ Coleman Everett Golson GJ Kinne Vad Lee Bryant Moniz Kyle Quinlan Philip Sims 60% Adrian McPherson 30% Drew Willy http://www.cfl.ca/players/

We don't have to sign Glenn as a backup ... if Nichols goes down we can always trade for him again

Are the Blue Bombers the Rodney Dangerfield of the CFL? I have seen two dominant times for our beloved Bombers ... The Bud Grant era and the 1980s ending with Mike Riley. The rest of our history in my lifetime has seemed spotty with an occasional Grey Cup trip here and there. We can't exactly say we have burned up the league in this last decade but still I don't think we get the slightest amount of respect from around the league in terms of either fans or media. I just read the who will dominate the league piece (http://www.cfl.ca/2016/12/27/forward-thinking-whos-in-position-to-dominate-2017/) and wanted to barf. It's the same kind of drivel I expect from Eastern reporters and TSN. It seems to me at halftime if the bombers are leading a televised game TSN doesn't even get around to doing an analysis of the first half... they will do an anticipation item hiliting the game coming up in the second part of a doubleheader or pursue some other flight of fancy about a unique individual in the game who wasn't even playing that day. Not always, but no kidding either: there is no need to sing Bomber praises. When I talk to strangers and acquaintances as I travel around our great country, I don't hear any sense of respect about our football club either. "I hear the Bombers bombed again" as the most usual comment. The basement dwelling NY Mets carry more interest to them than our Blue and how come I don'y know the stats on the Regina Pats. While I'm in the bellyaching mode there is one more thing that really bothers me. It didn't use to as much but now it just feels real. That's some of the officiating crews who come here to referee. Do they think they are in Backdoorsville in Podunk Canada with nothing to do but visit our zoo? (I hear we have upgraded that place but now it costs $25 just to get in.) I don't think for one minute that the CFL powers that be would actually tell a crew to favour one team over another although there are days when I wonder. Rather it seems to me that some of the refs just look down their nose at us and as a result call the game with undue bias. I used to think I was nuts to think the refereeing was anything but fair. Now I feel like a crodgity old koot howling at the moon #$#!@#$%^ How wrong am I? And can MOS get us to a first place finish? Finally?

Well this is the slowest I have seen our site in a cuple of years ... hope that is a good sign

To me the Nichols acquisition is not unlike when we acquired Tom Burgess from the Riders ... in both cases we had a desperate QB situation and we ended up with a good not great QB

Should .... shouldn't.... spoken like a true socialist

I am only referring to compensation for a draft pick National of 3 or 4 years or less playing in the league

what is "best player available" any way? unless there is a superstar in waiting who is not NFL bound the whole concept seems nebulous and murky

the three year number is skewed by the giant number of players that only play one or perhaps two years ... that would put the core veterans at four five or six years. Taking a "median" number would not show that any better than an "average" number. A better picture would be to see what the average career length of a player who has made it past year two. The numbers above simply reflect a high turnover rate of lower paid players.

Yes it would help to have some form of compensation such as an equal or better draft pick than the leaving player's own draft level. What might help even better is a draft pick based on the salary level of the leaving player, for example: 125+ k$ .... 1st round pick next draft 100-124k $ ... 2nd round 90-100 k ... 3rd round < 90 k ... 4th round

I am hoping its not true but I don't have evidence contrawise ... else we would not have let a developing prospect like Bennett go ... either that or our QB recruiting skills has been/still is a massive failure to date

Ranting and raving without the thought process engaged ... the reason has been clearly outlined .... and a reward of only two points for 40 or 50 yards of field position is not enough of a reward for all that good work ... earn your way out of a hole

The revolving door of US players is what I would like to see end .... look at most rosters compared to 3 or 4 years ago: very few teams look a lot like they used to be ... TRUE that career ending injuries take their toll ... but the facts of life seem to be that the Intl rookies put a lot of pressure on the other average players - - economics you know Keeping the same players on the same club has fan appeal for me and builds player identity for some few of us ... the opposite is the gong show Jones is attempting to run in Regina

I hope one of our first rounders is a receiver .... I don't care whether our first overall is an offensive or defensive lineman ... as long as we pick the opposite side of the ball with our second round pick

day at 08:16 PM · "Why remove a strategic coaching decision from the game?" When you are kicking out of your own endzone into a breeze there is not much strategy to taking a safety, just sanity in giving up just two points to put the other team on their 40 instead of our 40 yard line. Let good defense and special teams play have its reward and not be bought off...

My guess is that we need to use the full court press in signing Nichols ... if the best deal possible doesn't get him signed shortly, then we will know what to do... we will know which other QBs to go after and with how much .... I am happy enough with Nichols-Glenn .... when we let Brian Bennett get away I realized we are in short term thinking mode (no incubating a Reilly, Jennings or Levi-Mitchell type) ... we will always have average QBs if we have to acquire our starter from another club UNLESS we are prepared to make a Matt Dunigan splurge again and that hasn't happened in two decades .... it would not surprise me to see Bennett the Roughies' ordained starter before the season is over ... I fear our QB plan has a major fault

Its seems all the concessions in negotiations have gone the players way ... I don't remember seeing much that went the leagues way .... maybe its time for a bit of a shift and to me protecting draftees is one key the clubs need

The Canadian draft process is critical to building long term club success ... yet the trend is to sign for 2 or 3 years and then test the market ... the draft investment can vanish all too quickly ... I would like to see a restricted free agent clause implemented similar to hockey's ... of course that means a change in the collective bargaining agreement for the players' association ... But what real power does the association have over the league? If the players knew the clubs would go with all American replacement players in the case negotiations could not be concluded by season's start, then their power might weaken mightily. Nobody wants to test those waters but the only way to negotiate anything is to have at least one viable alternative ... having two or three alternatives is even better. I am now reading that some players contracts have an NFL tryout clause. I actually think that is an ok idea that may increase the quality of our overall International talent pool. Give the players a 3 month window every year to tryout and sign with a NFL club ... say they have from January to March to sign a NFL contract, and if they do, but subsequently fail to make "the Bigs", then they by default return to their CFL contract ... of course they can still go the free agency route as now ... BUT both sides might prefer to have the comfort of a good contract for the long term without the anxiety, time and pain staking negotiating process of reaching a new uncertain contract, be it better, worse or similar. A CFL agreement could even be reached with NFL if that helps, but it does not seem to be required. IF NFL tryouts become part of a standard clause in the general CFL contract, players could play their hearts out for their CFL club at all times during our season, test the NFL waters each winter if they wish, and failing real success, have the predictability to easily and seamlessly return to their original CFL club, and play in the latter and most critical part of the CFL season. Sounds kind of win-win, GM's can plan better and get players to sign longer term and with it more lucrative contracts. At the same time the GM knows he is doing their very best for each of their players and in no wise is holding them back. Fear and hidden agendas disappear and good faith and cooperation can blossom. Its professional and "feel good" for all involved... And it brings stability and allows long term planning instead of everything short term and stop-gap-ish. Perhaps in negotiations with the players association, the restricted free agent clause can be traded for a standard NFL tryout clause. I think it would help all concerned.