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.

5 hours ago, Mark H. said:

I am not convinced that things would not have evolved more in 2021. Don't get me wrong, I think Buck has done a great job, but I think we all know the primary reason for the transformation on O. 

Is Vince Lombardi a legend without Bart Starr? Does Bill Belichek win 6 Super Bowls without Tom Brady? Is Bill Walsh the legend he is without Joe Montana? Does Bud Grant win 4 Grey Cups without Kenny Ploen? Is Frank Clair a 3 time Grey Cup winner in Ottawa without Russ Jackson? Is Hugh Campbell a 5 time Grey Cup winner without Wilkinson & then Moon? Great coaches need great qbs. It's not Buck's fault LaPo took the HC job with the RedBlacks. Buck was dealt a great hand having Zach Collaros as his guy & he took advantage of it. Just like all the great coaches mentioned. That's my take, anyway. Just sayin'. Not trying to lecture.

^^ No problem Speed - enjoyed reading your take. 

9 hours ago, Mark H. said:

I am not convinced that things would not have evolved more in 2021. Don't get me wrong, I think Buck has done a great job, but I think we all know the primary reason for the transformation on O. 

However we can just look at Collaros in Saskatchewan and see that it's not just having the qb. You gotta put the guy in a situation to succeed and I feel that Pierce has done that very well for Collaros. He still has some growing to do as an offensive coordinator but as far as year one goes I would call it a big success. 

6 hours ago, 17to85 said:

However we can just look at Collaros in Saskatchewan and see that it's not just having the qb. You gotta put the guy in a situation to succeed and I feel that Pierce has done that very well for Collaros. He still has some growing to do as an offensive coordinator but as far as year one goes I would call it a big success. 

Just to note Buck has had to integrate zero new starters into his offence after inheriting a lineup that just won the G.C..  I can't think of another first year O.C. that's ever been dealt such a fortunate hand.

I think buck has proven to be a better oc than lapolice

Edited December 7, 20214 yr by White Out

2 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Just to note Buck has had to integrate zero new starters into his offence after inheriting a lineup that just won the G.C..  I can't think of another first year O.C. that's ever been dealt such a fortunate hand.

Starting with OL. The have to be considered one of the all - time best OLs in the CFL. 

2 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Just to note Buck has had to integrate zero new starters into his offence after inheriting a lineup that just won the G.C..  I can't think of another first year O.C. that's ever been dealt such a fortunate hand.

He did get dealt a pretty good hand, but he has been without our #1 weapon for most of the year. Even when Harris has been in the lineup, he has been used in different ways. We rarely see the short passes to Harris this year.

It would be nice to reevaluate with a broader body of work and what he can do without an established offense, but he's surpassed my expectations this year. I felt there was likely a bit of a learning curve early in the season, but offense has rarely been a concern this year. Either has defense though.

I have a feeling we were one of the most prepared squads coming into the season. Not only having a lot of the championship-winning team back, but the organization holds itself to high expectations from top to bottom. I'm betting we used 2020 and the extended unofficial 2021 preseason better than any other team. Well organized virtual meetings, players frequently in contact with each other, etc.

On 2021-12-04 at 6:44 AM, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Just to note Buck has had to integrate zero new starters into his offence after inheriting a lineup that just won the G.C..  I can't think of another first year O.C. that's ever been dealt such a fortunate hand.

How Many games has Andrew harris missed? He's had to integrate 2 different rbs and a bunch of wrs for demski and adams. He's had to start a back up qb with no experience and a game with 3rd string ol. 

 The offense of 2019 was also not based around collaros and his skill set. The offense this year is heavily adjusted to collaros. 

The 2019 offense struggled a lot it relied on the best kicker ever and a great d to win. He's taken an offense that for years was the worst at going 2 and out overly reliant on pounding Harris into the ground and none stop check downs. 

Buck took that and had the leagues leading passer the highest scoring offense with the most explosion plays. Bill bellicheck says that luck is the residue of hard work. 

Edited December 5, 20214 yr by wbbfan

The 2019 offense not being based around the skill set of Collaros...is self explanatory.

The problem I had with the 2019 offense was the overuse of Harris - I think he would have been more effective if the ball had been spread around more

ZC was not here for most of the time that the O was going to and out and Harris was being pounded into the ground - it's comparing apples and oranges. 

 

What I like about Buck, is he tries to make the system fit for the players he has and does less of trying to fit players into his system. I think the reverse is true for Lapo. Lapo has a great system but it needs certain type of key cogs to make it work.

I think Buck has done a great job balancing the offense. He could have just relied on Harris like Lapo did in 2019 but Buck made the decision to develop a passing game. 

I'm not an X's and O's guy but it seems that a lot of our passing plays are built on the fact that we have a really good o line. Less slants. More pushing the ball down the field. Fits Collaros really well too. And somehow (partly Collaros, partly the scheme) the risk of interceptions seems low too.

2 hours ago, White Out said:

I think but has proven to be a better oc than lapolice

I would not agree with a statement that sweeping just yet. Early results are very encouraging though. 

11 hours ago, Mark H. said:

The 2019 offense not being based around the skill set of Collaros...is self explanatory.

The problem I had with the 2019 offense was the overuse of Harris - I think he would have been more effective if the ball had been spread around more

ZC was not here for most of the time that the O was going to and out and Harris was being pounded into the ground - it's comparing apples and oranges. 

 

Can't spread the ball around when the QB has troubles throwing more then 10 yards and being completely unable to move a pocket. 

On 2021-12-03 at 8:31 PM, SpeedFlex27 said:

Is Vince Lombardi a legend without Bart Starr? Does Bill Belichek win 6 Super Bowls without Tom Brady? Is Bill Walsh the legend he is without Joe Montana? Does Bud Grant win 4 Grey Cups without Kenny Ploen? Is Frank Clair a 3 time Grey Cup winner in Ottawa without Russ Jackson? Is Hugh Campbell a 5 time Grey Cup winner without Wilkinson & then Moon? Great coaches need great qbs. It's not Buck's fault LaPo took the HC job with the RedBlacks. Buck was dealt a great hand having Zach Collaros as his guy & he took advantage of it. Just like all the great coaches mentioned. That's my take, anyway. Just sayin'. Not trying to lecture.

I get and agree with your point as a whole, both Bill and Tom seem to be doing just fine.

Can’t use either of those guys to prove points about mere mortals.

13 hours ago, Jesse said:

I get and agree with your point as a whole, both Bill and Tom seem to be doing just fine.

Can’t use either of those guys to prove points about mere mortals.

You need great qbs to win, bottom line. You can have all the pieces in place but if you have a shitty qb you lose. 

https://leaderpost.com/sports/football/cfl/saskatchewan-roughriders/rob-vanstone-saskatchewan-roughriders-must-build-around-cody-fajardo

🤣 🤣

11 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

https://leaderpost.com/sports/football/cfl/saskatchewan-roughriders/rob-vanstone-saskatchewan-roughriders-must-build-around-cody-fajardo

🤣 🤣

Haha poor saps don't realize that the lack of explosiveness is because they have a qb who can't throw past 10 yards. I am telling you,  he us a modern day Nealon Greene.

18 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

https://leaderpost.com/sports/football/cfl/saskatchewan-roughriders/rob-vanstone-saskatchewan-roughriders-must-build-around-cody-fajardo

🤣 🤣

Double down, double down. 

Yes, Riders. Great plan. Do exactly that!

Build around Fajardo?

The Riders were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

Edited December 7, 20214 yr by Super Duper Negatron

Imagine going all in on Cody Fajardo.... 

7 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Imagine going all in on Cody Fajardo.... 

if CF takes a pay cut and they build around him with a solid Oline and 1-2 more deep threat receivers who can make a play on his over thrown ball then that’s a good idea. If he demands $550k+ and they sign Duke for a large contract they will be in the same position that are this year (possibly worse). 

7 minutes ago, Bomber_fanaddict said:

if CF takes a pay cut and they build around him with a solid Oline and 1-2 more deep threat receivers who can make a play on his over thrown ball then that’s a good idea. If he demands $550k+ and they sign Duke for a large contract they will be in the same position that are this year (possibly worse). 

Under contract for $512,000 next season.

7 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Under contract for $512,000 next season.

Can/will he take a cut to improve the line in front of him is the question. If not then I don’t see a lot of improvement. Look what Bighill did this year just to stay with the Bombers. Took a large cut so they could spend elsewhere and keep the team together. 

I don't care what kind of team you put around him, the guy is a career 3rd stringer and nothing more. 

23 minutes ago, Bomber_fanaddict said:

Can/will he take a cut to improve the line in front of him is the question. If not then I don’t see a lot of improvement. Look what Bighill did this year just to stay with the Bombers. Took a large cut so they could spend elsewhere and keep the team together. 

So let's say you get him to cut it by $150,000, that's basically one good offensive lineman. Does that do enough? Does he strike you as the type of guy to take a cut? He doesn't to me.