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.

48 minutes ago, johnzo said:

"Quick Six horse is bored" needs to be in a haiku, thank you.

Bo - hospital ward

Maier adored. But ‘til points scored

Quick Six horse is bored

or

Bo’s return is due

Maier’s aim true, but 1 win?

Quick Six will be glue

Edited September 10, 20214 yr by TrueBlue4ever

12 hours ago, johnzo said:

I go the other way.  Have never seen a QB singlehandedly win a game like Reilly did against us in 2014.  Dude has a gift for being able to carry a team.

plus, Reilly is so dangerous running, and BLM doesn't really have that tool, he can do okay but he's not someone you have to game plan around.  At his height Reilly would destroy teams that didn't spy him and I think that's a pain in the ass for defences to always have to sacrifice a linebacker just to watch what the QB does  .. especially against a team with a great passing game.

No rust on BLM, I think he's a great athlete and he belongs in the Hall of Fame based on his won-loss record alone -- you can say what you want about how good the Calgary program is, but it all starts with him and during his glory years I think he was full value for that win-loss record.  But if I get to draft first overall in the twenty-teens I'm taking Reilly.

That's fair. I just always lean more towards the ball control QB. 

And no, BLMs more effective ball control is not just because of the system Calgary uses.

Reilly is just less of a ball control QB - that's just who he is and how he plays.

12 hours ago, MOBomberFan said:

I am in the Reilly camp. If I had to win just one game, I'm rolling with Reilly 100%, especially in his prime running days. He could lose a leg and still be fighting for yards. The guy is an absolute trooper

Some people would say they don't want their QB playing that way, due to injury risk.

But then, the guy who has played more cautiously and always had a good OL - is currently the one on the shelf

It's just interesting how these things unfold. 

Reilly is the best long ball passer I've ever seen play in the CFL but he had some GREAT receivers in Edmonton for him to do that like Zylstra, Walker & Ellingson. He doesn't have the same level of receivers in BC although they're good. Mitchell spreads the ball around to his receivers. That's his style. He used to be an extremely accurate passer. He doesn't throw the long ball as well as Reilly but he can push it deep & he does. He too, benefitted from (perhaps) the best receiving corps in the CFL, as well. I really can't say which qb I'd take in their primes as they both were very good.  

15 hours ago, johnzo said:

what play do you call on O there?  the other team likely has their heavies in as well, so it's not a giant mismatch unless you're passing, unless I'm missing something.

For me Id call an RPO (run pass option). Inside or outside zone run with an audible to switch from one to the other. One wr in isolation (lawler) on one side and trips to the other side. He can run an option route where he either finds the soft spot in the zone, or runs a deep double move in single coverage. Thing about zone cover is if you run deep enough it becomes man or youre wide open. The isolation also helps to expose the Ds cover scheme  to an extent (Instead of just with motion), or play a hybrid man and zone.

On the trips side if the defense stacks the box you can flex the TE (eli) out to wr and throw a screen pass with darvin, woli, and eli blocking. If they show Double or even S shade to lawler or play cover 3 you run the ball. You can even motion woli in for extra blocking or have him run to block a Lber. You can run portions or all of the snag concept in the RPO to create a quick high percentage throw on the 3 wide side. If the dbs stack up front you go over the top of them. If the HB/hbs stay deep you have a big screen play advantage.

If the D cheats to any thing with its alignment you audible to attack the opening. With a heavy line, and an un balanced split spread formation they have to give up some thing. Man to man on the iso, limited over the top on the trips, not enough bodies at the line for the screen, or bodies in the middle to fill gaps. 

Normally Ds might have a complex scheme like rotating coverage, but in a hurry up that isnt likely, and if it happens it isnt as likely to be effective. Its hard to call that in at the line. Usually you see base defenses vs hurry up. Either blitzing or dropping. 

The goal is to get an extra OL on the field that creates a miss match. But even running the hurry up with coverage line up dictating play call / audible can leave a D reeling. And with a guy like Eli who is a 2nd level monster with great mobility you have a considerable miss match vs the 5th DL in virtually any team.

You can also do that with out the OL and use woli as a regular flex TE. Sam is the hardest position on the field to play. Even the better sam lbers in the league arent guys you want in the box getting hit by a level jumping OL. 

15 hours ago, johnzo said:

I go the other way.  Have never seen a QB singlehandedly win a game like Reilly did against us in 2014.  Dude has a gift for being able to carry a team.

plus, Reilly is so dangerous running, and BLM doesn't really have that tool, he can do okay but he's not someone you have to game plan around.  At his height Reilly would destroy teams that didn't spy him and I think that's a pain in the ass for defences to always have to sacrifice a linebacker just to watch what the QB does  .. especially against a team with a great passing game.

No rust on BLM, I think he's a great athlete and he belongs in the Hall of Fame based on his won-loss record alone -- you can say what you want about how good the Calgary program is, but it all starts with him and during his glory years I think he was full value for that win-loss record.  But if I get to draft first overall in the twenty-teens I'm taking Reilly.

Blms production is a considerable product of his system. Reilly is a system changer. Hes a throw back qb. Id take him hurt over healthy BLM. Reilly doesnt rattle. He doesnt whine or cry or moan or blame his team mates first chance he gets. Hes a better arm talent and a tough SoB to bring down.  

Edited September 10, 20214 yr by wbbfan

12 hours ago, wbbfan said:

For me Id call an RPO (run pass option). Inside or outside zone run with an audible to switch from one to the other. One wr in isolation (lawler) on one side and trips to the other side.

So this is a play you run with an 21 formation, right?  6OL + 1TE + 3WR + 1HB + QB, and the TE is to the trips side, with four options on the play: 2 run options that the QB calls at the line, QB choose R/P after the snap, then reads the pass play if necessary.  Does the pass play have a set reading order, like always read Lawler first and then the trips side? Or is the QB going to decide who to read first based on what he sees at the line?

Is this a typical level of complexity for a CFL play?  The QB has so many decisions to make, when you break it down it's astonishing that a QB can start and win for a team on just a few days' practice, like Bishop and Collaros and Clements did for us.

Are you always going to run the trips to the field side?  Or would you run the trips on the boundary ever?

What does the HB do on the pass option?  Harris is going to influence the D heavily during the entire play, so do you have him flare out to the boundary to draw guys away from the trips side?  Or maybe you screen it to him behind all the trips blockers?  Seems like that could bring too much heat to the trips side though. Or do you need him as an extra blocker in case there's a bust up front or an extra rusher?

Also, can you call those audibles in a fired up mosaic stadium?

So many questions!

Edited September 11, 20214 yr by johnzo

2 hours ago, johnzo said:

So this is a play you run with an 21 formation, right?  6OL + 1TE + 3WR + 1HB + QB, and the TE is to the trips side, with four options on the play: 2 run options that the QB calls at the line, QB choose R/P after the snap, then reads the pass play if necessary.  Does the pass play have a set reading order, like always read Lawler first and then the trips side? Or is the QB going to decide who to read first based on what he sees at the line?

Is this a typical level of complexity for a CFL play?  The QB has so many decisions to make, when you break it down it's astonishing that a QB can start and win for a team on just a few days' practice, like Bishop and Collaros did for us.

Are you always going to run the trips to the field side?  Or would you run the trips on the boundary ever?

What does the HB do on the pass option?  Harris is going to influence the D heavily during the entire play, so do you have him flare out to the boundary to draw guys away from the trips side?  Or maybe you screen it to him behind all the trips blockers?  Seems like that could bring too much heat to the trips side though. Or do you need him as an extra blocker in case there's a bust up front or an extra rusher?

Also, can you call those audibles in a fired up mosaic stadium?

So many questions!

It's 11 with either woli as a te or Eli or even Miller. That would be 12 formation with 1 back and 2 ends. 

It'd be mainly a 2 option with 2 sets of audible. Normally in rpo you have some wrs blocking and 1 or 2 running routes. It's minimal decision making. 

So normally you read an end but you can read an lber or db too. If the db plays tight to the line if he jumps the run you pull it and throw it to the wr he left. In a basic running read option you let the end go free. If he takes the qb angle he gives it to the rb. If he takes the angle on the rb he keeps it. Rpo is more frequently rb run or qb pass with a last option to qb run. 

Depends on the offense. Usually you have 1 or 2 wr option routes. Though in some spread stuff it's 4 guys with 3 or more route options. That isn't normal though. Normally your pre snap read would dictate the post snap check down. If d has Lawler shaded for double cover and shows cover 1 then a wr on the other side might have a deep route option. 

Nah it should be flipable you should be able to motion and flex and run similar plays from different sets. Other wise the d catches on fast. 

The HB sells the run then blocks and releases at his judgement. Some times you call  a screen or max protection if the d is soft or blitzing. Different teams would have different installs to counter their defense specifically. 

Your audible signal in that case would be visual. Usually you have a vocal and a back up visual signal. Lift leg and step to motion flex player point at the wr etc. Audible command might be check which runs an alternate version. So base play might be inside zone read with Yankee and the check might be out side with mesh concept and corner route. 

Good rpo looks more complex then it is. But it does require higher football Iq wrs. 

On 2021-09-10 at 5:45 AM, wbbfan said:

. Reilly is a system changer. Hes a throw back qb. Id take him hurt over healthy BLM. Reilly doesnt rattle. He doesnt whine or cry or moan or blame his team mates first chance he gets. Hes a better arm talent and a tough SoB to bring down.  

He reminds me of how Jim Barker describes Willie Jefferson: at his height he was a game wrecker.

Somehow he's still effective despite all the punishment he's taken.  Like a Matt Dunigan but made of Wolverine bones.

Edited September 11, 20214 yr by johnzo

Reilly Jefferson and Bighill are all legit NFL talents but more suited for the CFL 

I'd take prime Reilly over BLM. At this point I might say he's the best CFL qb I've ever seen play in my life time 

Edited September 11, 20214 yr by Goalie

Looks like Dane Evans suffered some kind of foot or ankle injury vs the Argos. He's out & Watford is in. Evans looks to be in a lot of pain on the sidelines. 

Edited September 11, 20214 yr by SpeedFlex27

Just now, SpeedFlex27 said:

Looks like Dane Evans suffered some kind of foot or ankle injury vs Ti Cats. He's out & Watford is in. Evans looks to be in a lot of pain on the sidelines. 

I thought it was his hip?

6 minutes ago, Goalie said:

I'd take prime Reilly over BLM. At this point I might say he's the best CFL qb I've ever seen play in my life time 

You never watched Doug Flutie? 

Masoli to Ottawa coming soon 

1 minute ago, JCon said:

I thought it was his hip?

I saw him grab his left foot area. Probably a high ankle sprain. He hasn't left the bench so I don't believe the medical staff think there is a break. 

Just now, Mark H. said:

You never watched Doug Flutie? 

U know what... i was very young liked hockey way more... but yes... I like Mike cuz quite frankly he's bigger 

1 minute ago, Mark H. said:

You never watched Doug Flutie? 

No kidding. Then there was Warren Moon. 

Moon is way beyond my time 

Flutie was a star but honestly he's more known for his miracle td and Buffalo Bill's NFL time. Personally wasn't in to football as much then 

2 minutes ago, Goalie said:

U know what... i was very young liked hockey way more... but yes... I like Mike cuz quite frankly he's bigger 

Fair enough - was just curious. 

What shitty tackling by the Argos.

I remember Flutie torching the Bombers in the Reinbolde era - with something like an 85% completion percentage. Knuckles gave up and just started gushing about Flutie. 

1 minute ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

What shitty tackling by the Argos.

A terrible defensive call on the 3rd and 10, Argos left the box wide open, too much space for just Muamba to cover.

I'll take Dunnigan, Moon, and Flutie long beforeni take Reilly. 

Reilly had been interested in getting paid far ore than winning. I don't have a problem with that but I think it speaks to his character and why he has so few rings. 

C'mon Hammy - get me a pick 'em point...

1 minute ago, Mark H. said:

I remember Flutie torching the Bombers in the Reinbolde era - with something like an 85% completion percentage. Knuckles gave up and just started gushing about Flutie. 

only time I've ever left a football game early in my life was when Flutie and the Argos were up 50 on the Rough Riders in the 3Q. 

Just now, Mark H. said:

C'mon Hammy - get me a pick 'em point...

No! I took the Argos. Go *insert Argo here*, go!

49 minutes ago, Goalie said:

Moon is way beyond my time 

Flutie was a star but honestly he's more known for his miracle td and Buffalo Bill's NFL time. Personally wasn't in to football as much then 

No, Flutie just played 8 "unimportant & forgettable" CFL seasons. Here are all of his CFL stats. He attempted 4854 passes & completed 2,975 for 41,355 yards. He threw 270 TD passes & had 155 interceptions with a QB Rating of 82.6. He had 2 seasons where he threw for over 6,000 yards & 4 seasons of over 5,000 yards. He had 3 seasons where he threw 44, 47 & 48 TD passes as well as 2 seasons with 32 & 38 TD passes. He rushed the ball 704 times for 8,816 yards & scored 88 touchdowns with an average gain of 6.6 yards. Had he stayed in the CFL & not returned to the NFL, he probaly would have become the CFL's All Time leading passer at the time. 

As far as CFL awards go, he was the CFL's MOP in 1991, 92, 93, 94, 96 & 97. He was the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player in 1992, 96 & 97. He was a CFL West Division All Star in 1991, 92, 93, 94 & a CFL East Division All Star in 1996 & 97.  He was All CFL in 1991, 92, 93, 94, 96 & 97. He was named a CFLPA All Star in 1997.

You're young so I'll cut you some slack but our league had some some great players before 2010. 

 

Edited September 11, 20214 yr by SpeedFlex27