Elks: Edmonton Eskimos 2020

Status
Not open for further replies.

MoontoScott

Registered User
Jun 2, 2012
7,726
8,348
Esks pick at number 4 today.

They seem to do well when they pick an O-lineman so we'll see which way they go.
 

Cerebral

Registered User
Aug 4, 2003
23,262
565
Calgary, Alberta
Esks pick at number 4 today.

They seem to do well when they pick an O-lineman so we'll see which way they go.
I actually think that given the Canadian depth the Eskimos have, it might make sense to gamble on an NFL signing again this year and pick a guy like Carter O'Donnell. We might never see him but we had luck with Betts last year and we can afford to roll the dice a little given how many ratio breakers we have on the roster. If we don't make a move like that, it would make sense to take a guy like Mason Bennett and offer ourselves a lot of ratio flexibility on the defensive line.
 

MoontoScott

Registered User
Jun 2, 2012
7,726
8,348
Looks like another decent draft for the Esks, our 1st round pick Mr. Jack might immediately challenge for a starting position at offensive guard.

With Jack, Ruby, (not that Jack Ruby, note the comma) plus O'Donnell, Beard and Saxelid we may have the best group of Canadians on the O-line that we have had in some time. Ditto for the defensive line with our 2nd round 2020 pick --Pae, added to Charles, Betts and Boateng.

You can never have too many quality Canadians challenging for starter positions.

Its the receiver and defensive back spots that still don't have the clear cut Canadian starters.
 

Stoneman89

Registered User
Feb 8, 2008
27,205
21,405
Looks like another decent draft for the Esks, our 1st round pick Mr. Jack might immediately challenge for a starting position at offensive guard.

With Jack, Ruby, (not that Jack Ruby, note the comma) plus O'Donnell, Beard and Saxelid we may have the best group of Canadians on the O-line that we have had in some time. Ditto for the defensive line with our 2nd round 2020 pick --Pae, added to Charles, Betts and Boateng.

You can never have too many quality Canadians challenging for starter positions.

Its the receiver and defensive back spots that still don't have the clear cut Canadian starters.
We need to nail down a good safety and a slotback one of these drafts.
 

Jeffrey Pedler

Registered User
Mar 21, 2018
1,023
537
Looks like another decent draft for the Esks, our 1st round pick Mr. Jack might immediately challenge for a starting position at offensive guard.

With Jack, Ruby, (not that Jack Ruby, note the comma) plus O'Donnell, Beard and Saxelid we may have the best group of Canadians on the O-line that we have had in some time. Ditto for the defensive line with our 2nd round 2020 pick --Pae, added to Charles, Betts and Boateng.

You can never have too many quality Canadians challenging for starter positions.

Its the receiver and defensive back spots that still don't have the clear cut Canadian starters.

I think Onyeka starts at field Cornerback and they go with an American at Safety. Hoover just wasn't that good, last year.
 

MoontoScott

Registered User
Jun 2, 2012
7,726
8,348
A very tough blow for the league and the bigger question is: will it ever return? I know its been said on this website many times before but the last few months appear to have altered life as we know it-- makes me cherish those days as a kid when Commonwealth was sold out.

I hope that extended benefits will be offered to the players because most of these guys were making 35K after tax. Not much money for a family man.
 
Last edited:

joestevens29

Registered User
Apr 30, 2009
52,498
15,066
A very tough blow for the league and the bigger question is: will it ever return? I know its been said on this website many times before but the last few months appear to have altered life as we know it-- makes me cherish those days as a kid when Commonwealth was sold out.

I hope that extended benefits will be offered to the players because most of these guys were making 35K after tax. Not much money for a family man.
They should be entitled to whatever everyone else is entitled to
 
  • Like
Reactions: bone

Drivesaitl

Time to Drive
Oct 8, 2017
45,304
54,864
Duck hunting
maybe its a plea for government to step in and aid the league

I'm a CFL fan and imo this can't happen. Much greater financial calamity exists and bailing out sports leagues doesn't rank up there in terms of what Govts should be spending. The bailouts should come from those entities that prosper from the CFL. Like TSN. Maybe even the NFL kicking some back for the CFL being a feeder league.

What I suspect happens is somebody steps in to help the league survive the time period, they get kick backs from TSN to show classic games and such, and they come back in a year in a reduced team cost format. Maybe more international players, watered down content. I think we've seen the end for awhile of any marquee players and any QB;s you probably won't recognize. So strange that Winnipeg got their first Grey Cup win in 30yrs and now this.

The CFL, the only league where Canadian teams win... (usually)
 

bellagiobob

Registered User
Jul 27, 2006
21,844
50,415
I'm a CFL fan and imo this can't happen. Much greater financial calamity exists and bailing out sports leagues doesn't rank up there in terms of what Govts should be spending. The bailouts should come from those entities that prosper from the CFL. Like TSN. Maybe even the NFL kicking some back for the CFL being a feeder league.

What I suspect happens is somebody steps in to help the league survive the time period, they get kick backs from TSN to show classic games and such, and they come back in a year in a reduced team cost format. Maybe more international players, watered down content. I think we've seen the end for awhile of any marquee players and any QB;s you probably won't recognize. So strange that Winnipeg got their first Grey Cup win in 30yrs and now this.

The CFL, the only league where Canadian teams win... (usually)

We are throwing away money left right and centre. Some of it is obviously needed by Canadian residents and businesses. But I can argue that the money needed to help out the CFL thru this troubled time is more justifiable than many other handouts to other countries and causes. And likely at a fraction of the cost.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kyle McMahon

Marty McSurly

Registered User
May 9, 2018
2,055
4,058
If the CFL loses $10 to $20 million collectively in a "good year" then it's probably time to just kill the league, not bail it out with government money.

It's an unsustainable business model if what their commissioner says about their losses is true.
 

Drivesaitl

Time to Drive
Oct 8, 2017
45,304
54,864
Duck hunting
We are throwing away money left right and centre. Some of it is obviously needed by Canadian residents and businesses. But I can argue that the money needed to help out the CFL thru this troubled time is more justifiable than many other handouts to other countries and causes. And likely at a fraction of the cost.

The Pandemic is a game changer. sorry, pun. The entertainment industry, the sporting industry has been altered irrevocably. When the Spanish Flu was around pro sports leagues didn't really exist so we don't know the impacts. But peoples behavior will have changed since Covid-19. Although I expect outdoor sports to be better attended than indoor ones in the future I could see all audiences declining. Behaviors changing. RV sales exploding, people going different modes. I think Cocooning will return bigtime as a phemomenon and people won't openly accept attending crowded events as much as they used to. I think indoor leagues will suffer enormously. In a pandemic era you couldn't pay me to go to games in a packed arena.

That said I'm not the target audience anymore. I've attended Stanley Cup wins and GC wins. Been there, done it all. Attended Pink Floyd, Stones, U2, Genesis, Bowie etc as well. Canada vs Brazil at Commonwealth too. None of those moments will be replicated. Doesn't get better than that.

The world was already shifted into a Netflix endless streaming universe. The world watching on 4k. As HD pictures increase in quality being in living room is the best viewing auditory possibility today for any event. Increasingly going to events is an ode to the past.
 

bellagiobob

Registered User
Jul 27, 2006
21,844
50,415
The Pandemic is a game changer. sorry, pun. The entertainment industry, the sporting industry has been altered irrevocably. When the Spanish Flu was around pro sports leagues didn't really exist so we don't know the impacts. But peoples behavior will have changed since Covid-19. Although I expect outdoor sports to be better attended than indoor ones in the future I could see all audiences declining. Behaviors changing. RV sales exploding, people going different modes. I think Cocooning will return bigtime as a phemomenon and people won't openly accept attending crowded events as much as they used to. I think indoor leagues will suffer enormously. In a pandemic era you couldn't pay me to go to games in a packed arena.

That said I'm not the target audience anymore. I've attended Stanley Cup wins and GC wins. Been there, done it all. Attended Pink Floyd, Stones, U2, Genesis, Bowie etc as well. Canada vs Brazil at Commonwealth too. None of those moments will be replicated. Doesn't get better than that.

The world was already shifted into a Netflix endless streaming universe. The world watching on 4k. As HD pictures increase in quality being in living room is the best viewing auditory possibility today for any event. Increasingly going to events is an ode to the past.

My point was I see so much government wasteful spending, that a drop in the bucket amount to the CFL, which gives millions of Canadians a chance to forget about real world problems for a few hours via entertainment , is fine by me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kyle McMahon

Drivesaitl

Time to Drive
Oct 8, 2017
45,304
54,864
Duck hunting
My point was I see so much government wasteful spending, that a drop in the bucket amount to the CFL, which gives millions of Canadians a chance to forget about real world problems for a few hours via entertainment , is fine by me.

But we're both similar age, a more typical CFL type demographic. I don't know any young people that give a toss about the CFL. The league has done a poor job of marketing to younger markets and half time programming hasn't changed that, its arguably exhibited how desperate the dying league is.

We had all time low attendances at Commonwealth BEFORE the pandemic. We had increased bad weather events, games discontinued/delayed due to storms. Increased people just staying home. We had a bad couple Eskimos seasons and with with no improvement in sight. We're post Mike Reilly and a franchise that infamously missed the playoffs in a GC hosting year. Really I can't remember the last time the Eskimos, or the league even lifted me out of my seat. I have to go way back to Reilly bringing the club to a GC win.

Mostly when I turn the games on I see a substandard league which drastically declined in level of play when they decreased the amount of contact scrimmages and training. I see teams facing each other as if they haven't even remotely prepared for each other. I see constant prevent D's that don't prevent jack squat. tbh most of the time in recent years that I watch I think half the QB's are terrible, the officiating is abysmal, the play calling is dumb and dumber, and the whole product is an increasing joke.

I can't honestly remember the last well played CFL game I've seen. Increasingly it looks like a farm league.
 

PositiveCashFlow

Snowmen fall to earth unassembled
Jul 10, 2007
5,705
2,478
NHL Hockey conceivably throughout the summer and into fall and winter makes this easier to stomach, but it's still sad.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->