I have no problem with Matthew Scianeti's crowning the 1981 Eskimo team as the All Time Greatest Grey Cup Team. That dynasty of 5 straight Grey Cups has never been matched. Although naming the 81 team The All Time Best is a bit of a head scratcher considering Edmonton found itself down 20-1 at halftime to an 8-10 Ottawa Rough Riders team that had no business even being there. The 82 Edmonton team may have been the better choice but what the hell? They won 5 straight. Just a strange choice for Best Ever.
My issue with the list of the 8 Grey Cup Championship teams Scianeti gave us are some of the choices he made. Now that list isn't on the TSN website for some reason but I'll do my best to name the teams by memory... Calgary Stampeders 1948, Edmonton Eskimos 1981, BC Lions 2011, Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1958, Hamilton Tiger Cats 1972, Baltimore Stallions 1995, Toronto Argonauts 1997 & Montreal Alouettes 2009.
First, why Calgary 1948? They couldn't play today's game & would lose by 70 points so then why are they even on that list? Because they were undefeated? C'mon Matt. That isn't a valid reason to include the 1948 Stamps. There are other Stamps teams that were much better & deserve to be there like the 1971 or 2014 teams. Picking a team from an era where a forward pass completion was more of an accident than a planned outcome as one of the Grey Cups Top 8 teams is another strange choice indeed. In their era yes, they were dominant but they couldn't have beaten any of the other 7 teams on the list.
Two, no mention of the first Edmonton Dynasty team that won 3 consecutive Grey Cups from 1954-56 & had the CFL Player of the first half century in Jackie Parker as a player. Yet somehow the 1948 Stampeders were rated higher than the Eskimo Dynasty of the 50's by Scianeti. Go figure.
Three, the Baltimore Stallions didn't have to worry about the ratio so they had a huge advantage which should have disqualified them from the list. Good on Matt Dunigan for pointing that out. Playing with a complete team of American players is a HUGE advantage. As we all know, injuries can change the ratio making a healthy superior American player sit out while being replaced by an inferior Canadian. We see that on both sides of the lines, at receiver or in the secondary all the time.
Four, how could Scianeti have overlooked the 1967 Hamilton Tiger Cats? To me that is the biggest oversight & insult of any team on the list. They were a team playing in it's 8th Grey Cup game in 10 seasons having won 4. They had one of the most dominating defenses of all time. They never allowed a touchdown in their final 6 regular season games & crushed the 1966 Grey Cup Champs Saskatchewan Roughriders 24-1. They were a much better team than the 1972 Tiger Cats who made the list.
Five, I never felt the 2011 BC Lions were that special. They started off 1-6 & then went on a huge hot run for Wally going 12-1 the rest of the way to a Grey Cup win. Everything that worked, worked well for them that year but Top 8??? Not a chance. The 1964 Lions would have been a much better choice. Or the 1984 Bombers or 1998 Stampeders.
Six, there was the Bombers Grey Cup Champs in 1958, 59, 61 & 62. Scianitti picked the 58 team as one of the Grey Cup 8 best & maybe they were the best of that group as they only allowed 181 points in 16 games. However games were low scoring in that era & scoring was beginning to go up a couple of seasons later as offenses were starting to open up. Myself, I'd have picked the 1961 Blue Bomber team over the 58 team even though that gave up 251 points that season just because that team was more mature & experienced. That's just me.
Seven, not one Rider Grey Cup team made the list which I think most Bomber fans will find funny. That 1966 Grey Cup team deserved to be on that list. But it's not so Ha ha. I'm sure Rider fans are outraged & rightly so.
Eight, I also can see Milt's point about the 1997 Argos. He felt that they were the All Time Greatest Grey Cup Team. He may not be wrong.
I have no problem with Matthew Scianeti's crowning the 1981 Eskimo team as the All Time Greatest Grey Cup Team. That dynasty of 5 straight Grey Cups has never been matched. Although naming the 81 team The All Time Best is a bit of a head scratcher considering Edmonton found itself down 20-1 at halftime to an 8-10 Ottawa Rough Riders team that had no business even being there. The 82 Edmonton team may have been the better choice but what the hell? They won 5 straight. Just a strange choice for Best Ever.
My issue with the list of the 8 Grey Cup Championship teams Scianeti gave us are some of the choices he made. Now that list isn't on the TSN website for some reason but I'll do my best to name the teams by memory... Calgary Stampeders 1948, Edmonton Eskimos 1981, BC Lions 2011, Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1958, Hamilton Tiger Cats 1972, Baltimore Stallions 1995, Toronto Argonauts 1997 & Montreal Alouettes 2009.
First, why Calgary 1948? They couldn't play today's game & would lose by 70 points so then why are they even on that list? Because they were undefeated? C'mon Matt. That isn't a valid reason to include the 1948 Stamps. There are other Stamps teams that were much better & deserve to be there like the 1971 or 2014 teams. Picking a team from an era where a forward pass completion was more of an accident than a planned outcome as one of the Grey Cups Top 8 teams is another strange choice indeed. In their era yes, they were dominant but they couldn't have beaten any of the other 7 teams on the list.
Two, no mention of the first Edmonton Dynasty team that won 3 consecutive Grey Cups from 1954-56 & had the CFL Player of the first half century in Jackie Parker as a player. Yet somehow the 1948 Stampeders were rated higher than the Eskimo Dynasty of the 50's by Scianeti. Go figure.
Three, the Baltimore Stallions didn't have to worry about the ratio so they had a huge advantage which should have disqualified them from the list. Good on Matt Dunigan for pointing that out. Playing with a complete team of American players is a HUGE advantage. As we all know, injuries can change the ratio making a healthy superior American player sit out while being replaced by an inferior Canadian. We see that on both sides of the lines, at receiver or in the secondary all the time.
Four, how could Scianeti have overlooked the 1967 Hamilton Tiger Cats? To me that is the biggest oversight & insult of any team on the list. They were a team playing in it's 8th Grey Cup game in 10 seasons having won 4. They had one of the most dominating defenses of all time. They never allowed a touchdown in their final 6 regular season games & crushed the 1966 Grey Cup Champs Saskatchewan Roughriders 24-1. They were a much better team than the 1972 Tiger Cats who made the list.
Five, I never felt the 2011 BC Lions were that special. They started off 1-6 & then went on a huge hot run for Wally going 12-1 the rest of the way to a Grey Cup win. Everything that worked, worked well for them that year but Top 8??? Not a chance. The 1964 Lions would have been a much better choice. Or the 1984 Bombers or 1998 Stampeders.
Six, there was the Bombers Grey Cup Champs in 1958, 59, 61 & 62. Scianitti picked the 58 team as one of the Grey Cup 8 best & maybe they were the best of that group as they only allowed 181 points in 16 games. However games were low scoring in that era & scoring was beginning to go up a couple of seasons later as offenses were starting to open up. Myself, I'd have picked the 1961 Blue Bomber team over the 58 team even though that gave up 251 points that season just because that team was more mature & experienced. That's just me.
Seven, not one Rider Grey Cup team made the list which I think most Bomber fans will find funny. That 1966 Grey Cup team deserved to be on that list. But it's not so Ha ha. I'm sure Rider fans are outraged & rightly so.
Eight, I also can see Milt's point about the 1997 Argos. He felt that they were the All Time Greatest Grey Cup Team. He may not be wrong.
Edited by SpeedFlex27