https://www.tsn.ca/naylor-many-questions-but-few-answers-on-a-2021-cfl-season-1.1543725

The Canadian Football League has been outrageously quiet since it pulled the plug on its season more than two months ago, leaving behind a wake of speculation about where things are headed next.

With the reality setting in that COVID-19 is likely to still be around in some form next summer, there is real concern about what the 2021 season might look like or if it will occur at all.

There are teams that believe it is vitally important to play in 2021 and that without a season the CFL is in danger of being mothballed. Whether every team believes that is another question. And there is a lot to sort out before anyone can accurately predict what a season might look like and how much pain the teams are collectively willing to stomach to make it happen.

The league and its franchises are currently running through various scenarios for next season, trying to get a handle on true costs of each and working at ways to trim budgets and save money. That’s likely to continue until the league can truly choose a course of action, which feels like next April at the earliest.

Why? Well, there’s not much point in fully committing to a scenario that’s seven months away if that scenario might be totally unrealistic by the time you get there.

There has been no 2021 business plan presented yet, only regular updates to the presidents and governors about what the league is doing to prepare for the unknown.

It should be noted that teams will need to make decisions about retaining assistant coaches with expiring contracts by December, which will be the first real economic commitments to a 2021 season. Restrictions on signing players will need to be lifted well before the opening of February free agency, where players are likely to meet a cautious market – one in which signing bonuses will probably be absent.

There’s a collective bargaining agreement to amend, if not renegotiate, with the players, which will require some kind of pressure point because it always does. But the league can’t sit down with the players until it gets a true handle on revenues and it can’t do that until it chooses a course of action.

Will CFL teams be allowed to have full stadiums next summer? It doesn't seem likely. But just what percentage of capacity will be allowed – if any at all – is impossible to guess. It seems as if the league is counting on the restrictions that currently prevent fans from being in stadiums being lifted. But to what degree?

When will we see a schedule? Good question. Or could we see multiple schedules for different scenarios? Never say never.

Could it be a 21-week, 18-game season played in home stadiums? Unlikely, given the losses teams are expected to take with reduced numbers of fans in the stands. Could we see a return to the 10-week bubble? Maybe. A nine-game schedule played in home stadiums before fans? Perhaps.

The point is no one knows, so demanding answers to questions that can’t possibly be answered right now is a waste of time.

All we know is that there’s going to be a lot less revenue for teams to operate with under any scenario, not just because of crowd restrictions but also due to older fans choosing to stay home for their safety. The CFL’s fan demographics do it no favours in this regard.

Getting consensus on a best course of action won’t be easy for the CFL’s nine teams. Back in the summer, there were teams that were willing to play without government support and teams that weren’t. And just like then, the biggest challenge commissioner Randy Ambrosie faces now is finding a scenario they can all live with.

Adopting a revenue-sharing model so that each team absorbs the same amount of red ink would certainly make consensus-building easier, which many believe should be the direction for the future, COVID-19 or not.

The other elephant in the room is federal government, which many in the CFL believe left it high and dry last summer after months of back-and-forth talks where the league believed it was making progress.

Is the CFL prepared to go down that road again, knowing it doesn’t control the timeline and larger forces can change things in an instant? Perhaps, although it’s not as though the feds don’t have a long list of people coming at them with their hands out.

There will be voices demanding the owners suck up the losses of playing a season under any circumstance, as owners have done in other sports. But the business calculation in sports such as MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA is different because of the percentage of revenues those leagues derive from television.

Losses sustained by playing in those leagues can also be viewed as investments towards protecting massive franchise values. That’s not the case in the CFL, where teams can’t just float money on the backs of their franchise values, and where one third of the teams are publicly owned.

It would be beneficial for the league to soon announce its formal commitment to play some kind of season in 2021.

But beyond that, get ready for months more of waiting with lots of questions and speculation but very few answers.

1 minute ago, Booch said:

I'd like to see us trade for Nevis then..is he on IR in T.O or P.R?

6 game IR. its listed as a hip injury. 

Edited September 6, 20214 yr by wbbfan

https://3downnation.com/2021/09/06/edmonton-elks-sign-former-riders-and-nfl-linebacker-derrick-moncrief/

Good pick up for the elk. 

20 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

https://3downnation.com/2021/09/06/edmonton-elks-sign-former-riders-and-nfl-linebacker-derrick-moncrief/

Good pick up for the elk. 

Haha..and he shuns the Riders...classic

15 minutes ago, Booch said:

Haha..and he shuns the Riders...classic

Interesting how they never seem able to keep their fas or get them back over other teams when they return from the NFL 

Yup...happens alot

Kind of OT, but the recent Bishop sycamore scandal has a canadian twist. The team was actively trying to recruit canadian and euro talent to their "High school" program. Two canadian brothers Mark and Matt armah who had talks with bishop sycamore about joining were listed on their game day roster for the bungled game vs IMG academy.  Reading about the living conditions the kids, and people playing for that team went through is atrocious. Im glad the canadian kids didnt get roped into it.

Adding this for any one who hasnt heard of the bishop sycamore thing.

 

Edited September 7, 20214 yr by wbbfan

 

1 hour ago, WinnipegGordo said:

 

Did they give nichols an apple and a road map?

2 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

 

Next stop - Glue factory

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

Did they give nichols an apple and a road map?

It's getting to that point.

 

48 minutes ago, WinnipegGordo said:

It's getting to that point.

 

Ouch

1 hour ago, WinnipegGordo said:

It's getting to that point.

 

Wow - that's about as harsh as it gets with Lapo. 

True but it seems the RedBlacks players have lost confidence in Nichols. I don't think they believe they can win with him anymore. They won't win with Dominique Davis. Both LaPo & Desjardins have really screwed up the QB position. One or both will pay at seasons end if nothing changes (trade for Masoli). 

I think BLM is a redblack before the end of the calendar year in a Taman style deal, with a couple Ottawa first rounders going the other way.  Dude is making over $500k and is signed thru 2022, and he hasn't been himself for awhile. The stamps reload and get cheaper while Ottawa can sell tickets and hope with a guy who is (or was) legit MOP material.

mind you, I was also certain that Hufnagel would do a Wally Buono and move on from BLM after Arbuckle showed well in 2019, so I am terrible at predictions.

Edited September 8, 20214 yr by johnzo

4 hours ago, Mark H. said:

Wow - that's about as harsh as it gets with Lapo. 

wasn't there an anonymous insider take from Ottawa that said that Nichols was physically healthy but that his throwing mechanics had gone to ****?  that sound like the harshest possible thing you could say about a pro QB...

Just now, johnzo said:

I think BLM is a redblack before the end of this year, with a couple sweet redblack first rounders going the other way.

mind you, I was certain that Hufnagel would pull a Wally Buono and move on from BLM after Arbuckle showed well in 2019, so I am terrible at predictions.

Jake Maier looks to be better than Arbuckle ever was. There definitely is an aura about the kid that even a lot of veteran qbs don't have. If Hufnagel keeps Mitchell over him then he is nuts. They have a young team so why play the hugely expensive old veteran with a banged up body & lose when they can lose but develop with a cheaper & talented young qb? It makes no financial sense to keep Mitchell next season. 

2 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Jake Maier looks to be better than Arbuckle ever was. There definitely is an aura about the kid that even a lot of veteran qbs don't have. If Hufnagel keeps Mitchell over him then he is nuts. They have a young team so why play the hugely expensive old veteran with a banged up body & lose when they can lose but develop with a cheaper & talented young qb? It makes no financial sense to keep Mitchell next season. 

totally agree -- he threw a wide side out against us that really caught my eye  Usually when a young QB throws to the field like that I'm expecting six the other way, but he threw an absolute laser safely away from the DB and right between the numbers of his receiver, just past the first down stick.  He had some heat on him when he threw it too, and it didn't look like the out was his first read.  Real pretty play.  Not a Stamps fan but as a fan of the game I cheered that play a bit. 

 

Maier is likely a free agent after the season as he signed with Calgary in 2020.  

Should be an another interesting off-season for quarterback movement. 

3 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

Maier is likely a free agent after the season as he signed with Calgary in 2020.  

Should be an another interesting off-season for quarterback movement. 

In that case, they will extend him during the season. 

5 hours ago, johnzo said:

totally agree -- he threw a wide side out against us that really caught my eye  Usually when a young QB throws to the field like that I'm expecting six the other way, but he threw an absolute laser safely away from the DB and right between the numbers of his receiver, just past the first down stick.  He had some heat on him when he threw it too, and it didn't look like the out was his first read.  Real pretty play.  Not a Stamps fan but as a fan of the game I cheered that play a bit. 

 

I am happy we played him 2 weeks ago. With a few more games under his belt - he would have beaten the Bombers. 

3 hours ago, WinnipegGordo said:

Maier is likely a free agent after the season as he signed with Calgary in 2020.  

Should be an another interesting off-season for quarterback movement. 

It should be a good one indeed. The league has a few back ups that are gonna be ready to do more next year too. 

6 hours ago, johnzo said:

wasn't there an anonymous insider take from Ottawa that said that Nichols was physically healthy but that his throwing mechanics had gone to ****?  that sound like the harshest possible thing you could say about a pro QB...

Yeah - but that's not something Lapo would say or post publiclly. 

Would Ottawa give up anything of value for BLM knowing that Massoli is a free agent to be?

I agree that it would be wise for Calgary to move on from BO and his 700,000 price tag and roll with Maier.

Just now, rebusrankin said:

Would Ottawa give up anything of value for BLM knowing that Massoli is a free agent to be?

I agree that it would be wise for Calgary to move on from BO and his 700,000 price tag and roll with Maier.

I doubt it. Their cupboards are pretty bare as it is. Even if they gave up no value BLM would be furious and toxic af on that team.

I think Toronto might be a prime candidate.  They have ample depth at rb, wr, dl and lber to offer immediate value. They can also include about as good a back up qb as it gets in the cfl right now. They pulled mbt then they pulled arbuckle. And of course DW worked with BLM for a good while.

They could trade shane ray, dexter mccoil, 1 of rogers, braverman, or daniels plus calgarys pick of mbt and arbuckle for BLM and some draft pick / roster filler. Maybe cal wouldnt want mccoil but im not soo keen on sankey for them. But tor has depth at a bunch of positions to deal from. 

 I think if we see a flurry of trades its going to be Tor involved alot because of that depth. 

The only position I could see us being sellers in is NI ol. Gray makes a lot of money, has as much upside as any ni ol and seems to have been passed by eli. We are deep at DL but I dont see teams wanting our young DTs, or our team parting with any of the DEs. Kongbo might be the closest guy to move, but he rotates in a lot. 

4 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

I doubt it. Their cupboards are pretty bare as it is. Even if they gave up no value BLM would be furious and toxic af on that team.

I think Toronto might be a prime candidate.  They have ample depth at rb, wr, dl and lber to offer immediate value. They can also include about as good a back up qb as it gets in the cfl right now. They pulled mbt then they pulled arbuckle. And of course DW worked with BLM for a good while.

They could trade shane ray, dexter mccoil, 1 of rogers, braverman, or daniels plus calgarys pick of mbt and arbuckle for BLM and some draft pick / roster filler. Maybe cal wouldnt want mccoil but im not soo keen on sankey for them. But tor has depth at a bunch of positions to deal from. 

 I think if we see a flurry of trades its going to be Tor involved alot because of that depth. 

The only position I could see us being sellers in is NI ol. Gray makes a lot of money, has as much upside as any ni ol and seems to have been passed by eli. We are deep at DL but I dont see teams wanting our young DTs, or our team parting with any of the DEs. Kongbo might be the closest guy to move, but he rotates in a lot. 

There’s no way the Bombers trade Kongbo

1 hour ago, Mark H. said:

am happy we played him 2 weeks ago. With a few more games under his belt - he would have beaten the Bombers

What could he have done better? Dude didn't miss anything that game and handled the pressure incredibly well.