Elks: Edmonton Eskimos 2018 v2

Valhallis

Registered User
Aug 2, 2005
750
685
Not sure why they dropped Owens. I mean why out him on your list in the first place if you are dropping him this quick
FOMO? It seems to me like maybe they saw the video of him running the 40, scrambled to be the first to have his rights so they could potentially trade him for an asset, then found out there wasn't any takers. No big loss.
 

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
78,959
64,167
Not sure why they dropped Owens. I mean why out him on your list in the first place if you are dropping him this quick

Possible they tried to negotiate a contract with him, realized he was asking for way too much money for the CFL, and cut ties knowing no other team could sign him at that salary level.
 

DrDrai

The OG
Jan 28, 2007
5,132
5,583
Edmonton
I’d imagine he wasn’t excited about the amount of money a 44 year old receiver makes in the CFL and that was the end of it.

200w.gif
 

t0nedeff

Registered User
Jun 29, 2010
9,985
4,198
lmao TO has fallen so far he was on a reality competition called the Challenge not too long ago and got called out for only doing it cause he pissed away all of his money.
 

shoop

Registered User
Jul 6, 2008
8,333
1,911
Edmonton
I’d imagine he wasn’t excited about the amount of money a 44 year old receiver makes in the CFL and that was the end of it.

He would have known that before hand. Signing in the CFL was just a half-season training camp for him to try and prove he could cut it in the NFL next year. Maybe someone in the NFL gives him a free agent tryout now. Doubtful though, that would be a huge media circus.
 

rboomercat90

Registered User
Mar 24, 2013
14,598
8,770
Edmonton
He would have known that before hand. Signing in the CFL was just a half-season training camp for him to try and prove he could cut it in the NFL next year. Maybe someone in the NFL gives him a free agent tryout now. Doubtful though, that would be a huge media circus.
Who knows what he knew or what he thought wide receivers could make up here. I’ve got no idea what he has for representation these days. Maybe he thought his name alone could make him more. Maybe he looked at what some of the marquis guys like Reilly or Mitchell or Ray were making and figured he could get that because he’s Terrell Owens, who knows?

I find it amusing how little some of those players and I guess American football people in general know of the CFL. It’s not the low level talent league many Americans think it is. You’ve got to be fully committed to it just to have a chance at succeeding up here, it doesn’t matter what your name is. There are so many young and hungry players out there. Guys who are so close to being able to play in the NFL.
 

shoop

Registered User
Jul 6, 2008
8,333
1,911
Edmonton
I find it amusing how little some of those players and I guess American football people in general know of the CFL. It’s not the low level talent league many Americans think it is. You’ve got to be fully committed to it just to have a chance at succeeding up here, it doesn’t matter what your name is. There are so many young and hungry players out there. Guys who are so close to being able to play in the NFL.

So close, but yet so far.

Football players want to play. Some players in the CFL might make NFL rosters. But it's only the starters in the CFL, and most likely the all-stars who could make it as backups in the NFL. It's not all about talent, but the whole package. Let's look at some Eskimos from different generations.

Adarius Bowman had the talent, but the multiple failed pot tests in college and less stringent testing in the CFL is a reason why a multiple all-star here couldn't make it in the NFL. He likes the ganja.

Ricky Ray is a multiple Grey Cup champion and has a decent chance at the CFL Hall of Fame. After he established himself a little in the CFL he couldn't crack the Jets lineup in 2004 behind a pretty week top three quarterbacks in Chad Pennington, Brooks Bollinger and Quincy Carter. Maybe if Ray stuck around on the practice squad he might have been able to make another roster as the third quarterback the following year.

Damon Allen is a deserved CFL Hall of Famer. 72,000 yards thrown. He could well have fashioned a career as a backup or third stringer in the NFL. Never would have been a starter for any team there long-term.
 
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MoontoScott

Registered User
Jun 2, 2012
7,726
8,348
So close, but yet so far.

Football players want to play. Some players in the CFL might make NFL rosters. But it's only the starters CFL, and most likely the all-stars who could make it as backups in the NFL. It's not all about talent, but the whole package. Let's look at some Eskimos from different generations.

Adarius Bowman had the talent, but the multiple failed pot tests in college and less stringent testing in the CFL is a reason why a multiple all-star here couldn't make it in the NFL. He likes the ganja.

Ricky Ray is a multiple Grey Cup champion and has a decent chance at the CFL Hall of Fame. After he established himself a little in the CFL he couldn't crack the Jets lineup in 2004 behind a pretty week top three quarterbacks in Chad Pennington, Brooks Bollinger and Quincy Carter. Maybe if Ray stuck around on the practice squad he might have been able to make another roster as the third quarterback the following year.

Damon Allen is a deserved CFL Hall of Famer. 72,000 yards thrown. He could well have fashioned a career as a backup or third stringer in the NFL. Never would have been a starter for any team there long-term.

Warren Moon and Jeff Garcia did o.k.
 

shoop

Registered User
Jul 6, 2008
8,333
1,911
Edmonton
Warren Moon and Jeff Garcia did o.k.

Yup. Moon faced real actual racism back in the 70s as no NFL team picked him as there was an issue with black quarterbacks at the time. Hall of Famer who would never play a game in the CFL in this day and age.

Garcia had a good solid four year run with the 49ers.

It's not impossible for CFLers to make the jump, but it is very rare. Other than Doug Flutie what other quarterback made the jump from CFL to legit NFL starter in the last 20 or 30 years?

Just goes to show that CFL guys being "so close to playing in the NFL" doesn't mean very much.
 

joestevens29

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
52,498
15,066
Yup. Moon faced real actual racism back in the 70s as no NFL team picked him as there was an issue with black quarterbacks at the time. Hall of Famer who would never play a game in the CFL in this day and age.

Garcia had a good solid four year run with the 49ers.

It's not impossible for CFLers to make the jump, but it is very rare. Other than Doug Flutie what other quarterback made the jump from CFL to legit NFL starter in the last 20 or 30 years?

Just goes to show that CFL guys being "so close to playing in the NFL" doesn't mean very much.
Just look at guys that were starters and then after a couple years are now fighting to find spots.

I don't think people realize how much competition is really out there. The amount of superstars year after year from college that don't even come close to making a team is just unreal
 

MoontoScott

Registered User
Jun 2, 2012
7,726
8,348
Yup. Moon faced real actual racism back in the 70s as no NFL team picked him as there was an issue with black quarterbacks at the time. Hall of Famer who would never play a game in the CFL in this day and age.

Garcia had a good solid four year run with the 49ers.

It's not impossible for CFLers to make the jump, but it is very rare. Other than Doug Flutie what other quarterback made the jump from CFL to legit NFL starter in the last 20 or 30 years?

Just goes to show that CFL guys being "so close to playing in the NFL" doesn't mean very much.

It's true that few CFL'ers go down to the NFL and establish themselves as starters for any length of time but the same holds true for many great U.S. college players who come from top rated football schools.

The average length of an NFL career is now just under 3 years. Today's starter is tomorrow's has-been looking for a job. That's why the NFL players joke that NFL stands for "Not-For-Long."

For thousands of guys who have actually been drafted into the NFL, many of them have been just as far away as the CFL guys.

For every guy like Brady or Manning there are 100 players who come out of college as hot-shots but never really get a shot at anything or have 1-2 decent seasons and are long gone.
 

shoop

Registered User
Jul 6, 2008
8,333
1,911
Edmonton
It's true that few CFL'ers go down to the NFL and establish themselves as starters for any length of time but the same holds true for many great U.S. college players who come from top rated football schools.

I get that.

The original point was @rboomercat90 saying that CFL guys are 'so close to playing in the NFL'. They really aren't that close. The NFL is an insanely competitive league. The vast majority of CFL guys aren't close in any real sense to playing in the NFL.
 

rboomercat90

Registered User
Mar 24, 2013
14,598
8,770
Edmonton
So close, but yet so far.

Football players want to play. Some players in the CFL might make NFL rosters. But it's only the starters CFL, and most likely the all-stars who could make it as backups in the NFL. It's not all about talent, but the whole package. Let's look at some Eskimos from different generations.

Adarius Bowman had the talent, but the multiple failed pot tests in college and less stringent testing in the CFL is a reason why a multiple all-star here couldn't make it in the NFL. He likes the ganja.

Ricky Ray is a multiple Grey Cup champion and has a decent chance at the CFL Hall of Fame. After he established himself a little in the CFL he couldn't crack the Jets lineup in 2004 behind a pretty week top three quarterbacks in Chad Pennington, Brooks Bollinger and Quincy Carter. Maybe if Ray stuck around on the practice squad he might have been able to make another roster as the third quarterback the following year.

Damon Allen is a deserved CFL Hall of Famer. 72,000 yards thrown. He could well have fashioned a career as a backup or third stringer in the NFL. Never would have been a starter for any team there long-term.
My point was that the CFL has a lot of talent. Lots of players with huge skills that maybe didn’t get a shot because they weren’t prototypical NFL players, just undersized for certain positions. It’s not a league filled with beer leaguers, which I think the perception for many is. It’s filled with guys who compete just as hard as NFLers. A lot of NFL people assume that just because a guy played there he can go to the CFL and dominate. Just showing up doesn’t guarantee a player anything. You need to compete and have certain skill sets.

According to the NFL panelists, Ricky Williams was going to rush for 3000 yards the year he played for the Argos. He played well, worked hard and only managed 526 yards in a shortened season due to injury. He only averaged 4.8 yards a carry which wasn’t much more than what he was averaging in the NFL. Longest carry was only 35 yards. He didn’t run over the league like the NFL guys thought he would. Same type of people thought Tim Tebow could dominate up here after he flamed out in the NFL even though he can’t throw a ball. A skill he’d need in a passing league. I suspect T.O. had a similar opinion of the CFL and figured somebody would give him something to make it worth his while.
 

shoop

Registered User
Jul 6, 2008
8,333
1,911
Edmonton
My point was that the CFL has a lot of talent. Lots of players with huge skills that maybe didn’t get a shot because they weren’t prototypical NFL players, just undersized for certain positions. It’s not a league filled with beer leaguers, which I think the perception for many is.

I don't think it's such a biased perception of the CFL. Closest analogy is probably something equivalent to comparing Japanese baseball (NPB) to the Majors.

People get that it's a decent quality league. Not really the same quality as THE number one league in the world.

Athletes get what it takes to make the best league in the world for any sport. Once you have dominated in the best league you can't really accept anything else. Seeing the CFL as a good step to getting back to the NFL tells me that T.O. gets that it is a good league up here.
 

Kyle McMahon

Registered User
May 10, 2006
13,301
4,352
71k 50/50 to be carried over for the riders game

What a coincidence, it's being carried over into a Thursday night game. Again. Pretty sure the Eskimos are rigging it at this point, there's no way this many 50/50s could be going unclaimed, there's one every year now. Very shady.
 

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
78,959
64,167
It's astonishing how many of the QBs in the league have gone through Edmonton at some point. Truly a QB factory.
 

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
78,959
64,167
Franklin did not look good today, but he didn't get much help either.
 

MoneyGuy

Wandering
Oct 19, 2009
6,975
1,366
What a coincidence, it's being carried over into a Thursday night game. Again. Pretty sure the Eskimos are rigging it at this point, there's no way this many 50/50s could be going unclaimed, there's one every year now. Very shady.
You’re suggesting the Esks have perpetrated lottery fraud. NOT A CHANCE!
 

Kyle McMahon

Registered User
May 10, 2006
13,301
4,352
You’re suggesting the Esks have perpetrated lottery fraud. NOT A CHANCE!

I'm legitimately curious as to who oversees the process. It's just rather funny that ever since that one carry over a few years ago, which brought in an extra several thousand fans just to buy 50/50 tickets, that this now happens so often.

A real stinker at home before an announced crowd of <11,000.

Ouch.

I think you added an extra zero in there. There was maybe 1000 fans in the side of the stands facing the camera. The city of Toronto continues to embarrass the CFL.
 

MoontoScott

Registered User
Jun 2, 2012
7,726
8,348
I was hoping that when Maple Leaf Sports took over the team they would have the marketing and development resources to turn things around but so far its worse than ever. I don't really know what can be done :huh: Where could the team move to in Southern Ontario to get a new start?
 

Cloned

Begging for Bega
Aug 25, 2003
78,959
64,167
I was hoping that when Maple Leaf Sports took over the team they would have the marketing and development resources to turn things around but so far its worse than ever. I don't really know what can be done :huh: Where could the team move to in Southern Ontario to get a new start?

The CFL is dead in Toronto. The team could win a dozen straight GCs and they wouldn’t draw over 15000. There are simply too many other entertainment options in that city. Leafs, Raps, TFC, Jays are all bigger draws, and that’s just talking sports. There are dozens of other more popular non-sports entertainment options as well.

It’s gotten to the point that the Rock (lacrosse team) outdraw them.
 

joestevens29

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
52,498
15,066
My point was that the CFL has a lot of talent. Lots of players with huge skills that maybe didn’t get a shot because they weren’t prototypical NFL players, just undersized for certain positions. It’s not a league filled with beer leaguers, which I think the perception for many is. It’s filled with guys who compete just as hard as NFLers. A lot of NFL people assume that just because a guy played there he can go to the CFL and dominate. Just showing up doesn’t guarantee a player anything. You need to compete and have certain skill sets.

According to the NFL panelists, Ricky Williams was going to rush for 3000 yards the year he played for the Argos. He played well, worked hard and only managed 526 yards in a shortened season due to injury. He only averaged 4.8 yards a carry which wasn’t much more than what he was averaging in the NFL. Longest carry was only 35 yards. He didn’t run over the league like the NFL guys thought he would. Same type of people thought Tim Tebow could dominate up here after he flamed out in the NFL even though he can’t throw a ball. A skill he’d need in a passing league. I suspect T.O. had a similar opinion of the CFL and figured somebody would give him something to make it worth his while.
Ricky also was high as duck and didn’t care about football. Trust me Ricky would’ve killed the cfl if he gave a f***
 

MoontoScott

Registered User
Jun 2, 2012
7,726
8,348
The CFL is dead in Toronto. The team could win a dozen straight GCs and they wouldn’t draw over 15000. There are simply too many other entertainment options in that city. Leafs, Raps, TFC, Jays are all bigger draws, and that’s just talking sports. There are dozens of other more popular non-sports entertainment options as well.

It’s gotten to the point that the Rock (lacrosse team) outdraw them.

Sadly, I agree with you. The question now is can the league survive without a team in its largest and most influential city?
 

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