CFL: The CFL Thread: Part V

[Baxterman]

Saskatchewan has been fortunate on close calls, but the officials aren't trying to help them win, I think that if any team the league wanted to help win would be Montreal because the league owns them, but even that is not right to think that. I wouldn't worry, Calgary is going to win the West.

The first Calgary-Montreal game was clearly a case of them wanting Montreal to win. The only reason the Als won was because of 5-6 phantom calls that directly led to them winning the game.

There were 3 total BS, not even debatable, made up roughing the passer calls to keep Als drives alive in the 4th quarter and OT. There is no way the officials can be so terrible to get each one of those calls wrong separately and all in the Als favor. That was definitely a fixed game.

I am not sure about their other games but the Als are a bad team with terrible coaching so I wouldn't be surprised if they had other games fixed for them as well.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

The first Calgary-Montreal game was clearly a case of them wanting Montreal to win. The only reason the Als won was because of 5-6 phantom calls that directly led to them winning the game.

There were 3 total BS, not even debatable, made up roughing the passer calls to keep Als drives alive in the 4th quarter and OT. There is no way the officials can be so terrible to get each one of those calls wrong separately and all in the Als favor. That was definitely a fixed game.

I am not sure about their other games but the Als are a bad team with terrible coaching so I wouldn't be surprised if they had other games fixed for them as well.

The league literally cancelled a game when Montreal was trailing by 7 in the 3rd quarter and handed them an automatic loss, but let's not let facts spoil the narrative.

I was actually pretty worried that the league was indeed going to be rigging games for the Als, or at least tilt things to keep them competitive, but turns out they didn't need to. Khari has been excellent, he'll be a coach in this league for a long time.

 

[Baxterman]

The league literally cancelled a game when Montreal was trailing by 7 in the 3rd quarter and handed them an automatic loss, but let's not let facts spoil the narrative.

I was actually pretty worried that the league was indeed going to be rigging games for the Als, or at least tilt things to keep them competitive, but turns out they didn't need to. Khari has been excellent, he'll be a coach in this league for a long time.

Maybe he is a good coach in other games but in the two Stamps games he was god awful. They one the first on 100% because of the refs, that was a fixed game that you were worried about. In the second game they needed so many Stamps turnovers and still needed refs help to win that game. In both games he jumps around like an idiot, acts like a fan and makes terrible calls offensively that rely on luck/reffing.

Like I said maybe in the other games he is doing something different but against the Stamps he has been awful.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Maybe he is a good coach in other games but in the two Stamps games he was god awful. They one the first on 100% because of the refs, that was a fixed game that you were worried about. In the second game they needed so many Stamps turnovers and still needed refs help to win that game. In both games he jumps around like an idiot, acts like a fan and makes terrible calls offensively that rely on luck/reffing.

Like I said maybe in the other games he is doing something different but against the Stamps he has been awful.

LMAO, Calgary made two plays that entire game. A pair of 60 yard TD passes right at the start of the 4th quarter on back to back plays. Other than that, they did jack shit all night. You've gotta make more than two plays if you're going to pin the loss on the refs.

I've been impressed by Khari's willingness to stick to his game plan and keep the run involved even if he's down a couple scores. Most other idiot coaches in this league needlessly abandon the run if they're down 10 points in the second quarter. Or better yet, abandon it while leading (Winnipeg). Nobody's perfect, but I would rather Khari coaching my team than Maas, O'Shea, or Chamblin. Not that the standard of coaching in the CFL is much to talk about, but that's 3 out of the 5 head coaches that had previous experience coming into this season. The guy was made head coach at the 11th hour and given Pipkin as his starting QB with a bad offensive line. Hard to think of a worse situation, but he figured out quickly that Adams was the guy and has coached him to a breakout year.

 

[hoglund]

The league literally cancelled a game when Montreal was trailing by 7 in the 3rd quarter and handed them an automatic loss, but let's not let facts spoil the narrative.

I was actually pretty worried that the league was indeed going to be rigging games for the Als, or at least tilt things to keep them competitive, but turns out they didn't need to. Khari has been excellent, he'll be a coach in this league for a long time.

I agree, as a Ticats fan I'm worried about the East finals, Hamilton may be favoured, but I think Montreal is the 2nd or 3rd best team in the league, it's so close between Calgary, Montreal and Saskatchewan. I have no idea who's going to win the cup.

 

[Baxterman]

I agree, as a Ticats fan I'm worried about the East finals, Hamilton may be favoured, but I think Montreal is the 2nd or 3rd best team in the league, it's so close between Calgary, Montreal and Saskatchewan. I have no idea who's going to win the cup.

Montreal is garbage I wouldn't worry about them too much.

They are like the old DD Saskatchewan teams where Adams throws up 50/50 balls all day long and they hope that the crappy refs will bail them out with weak calls on the defense, while their receivers push off without being called.

Hamilton will play good enough defense that Adams won't be able to sustain drives so the refs will be their only hope. Now obviously in the CFL we have seen relying on the refs being a successful strategy but Hamilton (and Calgary) are much better teams than Montreal.

 

[hoglund]

Montreal is garbage I wouldn't worry about them too much.

They are like the old DD Saskatchewan teams where Adams throws up 50/50 balls all day long and they hope that the crappy refs will bail them out with weak calls on the defense, while their receivers push off without being called.

Hamilton will play good enough defense that Adams won't be able to sustain drives so the refs will be their only hope. Now obviously in the CFL we have seen relying on the refs being a successful strategy but Hamilton (and Calgary) are much better teams than Montreal.

Well if you've seen any Ticats games, you'd know that the refs are not on their side, the league has had to apologize on more than one occasion that they made a mistake, I hope that this doesn't happen in the Eastern finals.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Collaros returns after 19 weeks. Gets hit the exact same way Lawrence got suspended for. No call.

 

[Baxterman]

My god the CFL is a joke this season.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Paredes is the most overrated kicker in the league.

 

[hoglund]

Collaros returns after 19 weeks. Gets hit the exact same way Lawrence got suspended for. No call.

He seemed ok after the hit and played well, there was no penalty because it wasn't against the Ticats. I'm glad he and Winnipeg won.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Didn't deserve a penalty. It was shoulder to shoulder, and Collaros was (awkwardly) shuffling his feet trying to make a move which caused him to stumble.

Collaros probably needed a play like that to test himself. He passed with flying colours.

 

[tacogeoff]

Sask is just rolling along! great to see them pick up the big W. Hopefully they can take top spot next week. I knew they would be decent this year but this is an outstanding result.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Key result in Winnipeg on Friday night. If Calgary had won that game, I think you could have almost gone ahead and penciled them into the Grey Cup. I don't think anybody was going into Calgary and winning a Western Final against the Stamps coming off a bye week with two weeks for Dickinson and BLM to plot their opponent's destruction.

But so long as the Eskimos don't go and try to be heroes in a meaningless final game, the Riders will win and push the Stamps down the second. They could even fall to third if BC somehow pulls off an upset.

I think there's a decent chance Winnipeg could go into Calgary and win a semi-final, especially if the weather is bad. And a Western Final in Regina would probably be a toss-up between any of the three teams. Really does feel like any of the three have a fair shot at being in the Grey Cup. From a neutral standpoint, Hamilton-Winnipeg would be nice.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

This Ottawa team might just be the worst I've seen in this league. Marcel Desjardins should be totally ashamed of himself. If Devonte Dedmon doesn't house those two kicks in Week 8, they'd have ended the year on a 16 game skid.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

This Ottawa team might just be the worst I've seen in this league. Marcel Desjardins should be totally ashamed of himself. If Devonte Dedmon doesn't house those two kicks in Week 8, they'd have ended the year on a 16 game skid.

Remember when Dominique Davis was the next star because he beat Calgary Week 1 with 4 INTs thrown?

I honestly dont think OTT has a QB on the roster that is among the best 20 QB's in the CFL.

And the problems in OTT dont even end there.

The gap between the good and bad teams this year was insane. OTT, TOR, BC were so far behind. TOR and BC got better as they year went on but still.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

This Ottawa team might just be the worst I've seen in this league. Marcel Desjardins should be totally ashamed of himself. If Devonte Dedmon doesn't house those two kicks in Week 8, they'd have ended the year on a 16 game skid.

And if the command centre doesn't hand Edmonton a free touchdown, they get another win in there. Easy to play that game...

Marcel had a terrible offseason, but a lot went wrong, too. The OC quitting right before the season was a massive blow as the team spent the entire season without one. The QB situation was rough.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

And if the command centre doesn't hand Edmonton a free touchdown, they get another win in there. Easy to play that game...

Marcel had a terrible offseason, but a lot went wrong, too. The OC quitting right before the season was a massive blow as the team spent the entire season without one. The QB situation was rough.

I don't Ottawa is screwed long term. They've invested alot of draft capital into OL and I think they have a decent line going forward. That alone is a huge thing in CFL.

I don't know if it was Desjardins or Ownership but they wouldn't pay anyone and bled out like crazy thanks to that. If they won't spend money this is Renegades part 2 with better management that had a few good years.

I honestly think they just massively misjudged their QB position. That was a big problem for them. And honestly a fireable offense for HC and GM. They, for some reason, thought Dominique Davis could be a starting QB. Literally anybody in the city of Winnipeg could have told them that was a beyond dumb idea. As I said above I don't think they had even one top 20 CFL QB on their roster. That will end your season before it starts. The problems unfortunately don't end there. The defense provided zero pressure all year, with limited abilites in the DB corps. D is easiest to fix in CFL though so a strong recruitment class from down south can easily turn that around. Ottawa still has an elite national in Sinopoli, pieces to be built on OL as nationals, and one or two D nationals worthy. Rebuilding the D can be done, the key positions they have potential. QB is the key. But realisically they might be looking at Nichols as a UFA, so it's gonna take a year or two to find the QB. Masoli is not signing into that mess when he can join a ready made GC contender in Winnipeg.

I think it'd be fun to do this, so based on what I've seen this season I rate CFL QB's...

1. Bo Levi Mitchell (CGY) - Up and down, but the man knows how to win.
2. Trevor Harris (EDM) - Dragging a horrible offense to respectability.
3. Mike Reilly (BC) - Looked still great when the OL wasn't the biggest joke of the league.
4. Jeremiah Masoli (HAM) - Hamilton offense was much more dynamic with him leading than Evans.
5 - Cody Fajardo (SSK) - I hate SASK guts but he has been solid out there. Longterm we'll see, but he's been a revelation in SSK saving their season.
6- Vernon Adams Jr (MTL) - I was seriously arguing last two years for Bombers to pick this guy up yet they wouldn't. Was at the point of retirement until Khari was named HC but he moves in the pocket and makes such great desperation plays. Love him as the building block in MTL.
7 - McLeod Bethol-Thompson (TOR) - Racks up the yards but no wins. Part of that is the terrible TOR team. 33yo, not sure where future is for him.
8- Matt Nichols (WPG) - Great at not making mistakes, nobody wins because of him.
9- Dane Evans (HAM) - Out of nowhere he's been great. How much is the system and great defense though. Overall I find him pretty mediocre depending on the amazing D.
10- Nick Arbuckle (CGY) - Completes alot of passes but never gets actual yards. Potential poor man's Ricky Ray like starter no doubt, but can't make the deep throws and needs some work. Biggest potential starter right now though no doubt.
11 - Chris Streveler (WPG) - Sure his passing is limited, but damn does he screw with defenses because of his legs. Spiritual successor to Kerry Joseph he will be a starter at some point with his unique skill set.
12 - James Franklin (TOR) - The guy has looked amazing in solid offenses and horrible in horrible offenses. He could certainly be a Nichols type QB where he doesn't have to be great but just need to manage the offense.
13 - Zack Collaros (SSK/TOR/WPG) - He was horrible last year in SSK, and spent this year injured but he looked real solid in WPG season finale and has the history to be a solid QB.
14 - Anthony Pipkin (MTL) - Lost his starting job based on injury not performance. He still looks to have decent potential was real solid in 2018.
15 - Matthew Shiltz (MTL) - He's shown flashes of being a capable backup.
16- Dominique Davis (OTT) - He's clearly not a starting QB. Likely out of the league this year.
17- Jonthan Jennings (OTT) - Last chance failed.
18 - Will Arndt (OTT) - May have potential far too early to tell.
19- Michael O'Connor (TOR) - The great Canadian hope looked ok in his only appearance.
20 - Dakota Prukop (TOR) - Looked ok I guess?
21- Logan Kilgore (EDM) - How the hell did he get another contract?
22 - Danny O'Brien (BC) - Serious who keeps signing these kind of terrible players?

Ok Ottawa might have top 20 QB when I sit down and look at it. But that's not xactly a bar to be set when considering your trying to win games. Honestly guys like Sean McGuire (WPG), Isaac Harkin (SSK), Grant Kraemer (BC), Montrell Cozart (CGY), Hayden Moore (HAM), Jeremiah Briscoe (EDM) could likely have ranked in 15-18 range if they'd taken more than 5 snaps this year. Which is why I say I'm not sure if Davis/Jennings/Arndt are in the top 20 of the CFL, many 3rd stringers could probably have played better than those guys.

 

[tacogeoff]

1. Bo Levi Mitchell (CGY) - Up and down, but the man knows how to win.
2. Trevor Harris (EDM) - Dragging a horrible offense to respectability.
3. Mike Reilly (BC) - Looked still great when the OL wasn't the biggest joke of the league.
4. Jeremiah Masoli (HAM) - Hamilton offense was much more dynamic with him leading than Evans.
5 - Cody Fajardo (SSK) - I hate SASK guts but he has been solid out there. Longterm we'll see, but he's been a revelation in SSK saving their season.
6- Vernon Adams Jr (MTL) - I was seriously arguing last two years for Bombers to pick this guy up yet they wouldn't. Was at the point of retirement until Khari was named HC but he moves in the pocket and makes such great desperation plays. Love him as the building block in MTL.
7 - McLeod Bethol-Thompson (TOR) - Racks up the yards but no wins. Part of that is the terrible TOR team. 33yo, not sure where future is for him.
8- Matt Nichols (WPG) - Great at not making mistakes, nobody wins because of him.
9- Dane Evans (HAM) - Out of nowhere he's been great. How much is the system and great defense though. Overall I find him pretty mediocre depending on the amazing D.
10- Nick Arbuckle (CGY) - Completes alot of passes but never gets actual yards. Potential poor man's Ricky Ray like starter no doubt, but can't make the deep throws and needs some work. Biggest potential starter right now though no doubt.
11 - Chris Streveler (WPG) - Sure his passing is limited, but damn does he screw with defenses because of his legs. Spiritual successor to Kerry Joseph he will be a starter at some point with his unique skill set.
12 - James Franklin (TOR) - The guy has looked amazing in solid offenses and horrible in horrible offenses. He could certainly be a Nichols type QB where he doesn't have to be great but just need to manage the offense.
13 - Zack Collaros (SSK/TOR/WPG) - He was horrible last year in SSK, and spent this year injured but he looked real solid in WPG season finale and has the history to be a solid QB.
14 - Anthony Pipkin (MTL) - Lost his starting job based on injury not performance. He still looks to have decent potential was real solid in 2018.
15 - Matthew Shiltz (MTL) - He's shown flashes of being a capable backup.
16- Dominique Davis (OTT) - He's clearly not a starting QB. Likely out of the league this year.
17- Jonthan Jennings (OTT) - Last chance failed.
18 - Will Arndt (OTT) - May have potential far too early to tell.
19- Michael O'Connor (TOR) - The great Canadian hope looked ok in his only appearance.
20 - Dakota Prukop (TOR) - Looked ok I guess?
21- Logan Kilgore (EDM) - How the hell did he get another contract?
22 - Danny O'Brien (BC) - Serious who keeps signing these kind of terrible players?

I will just do a top 5 from the collection of games I have watched with guys that have played more than 10 games.

1. Cody Fajardo should hopefully win the outstanding player award as he has been phenomenal and has led some great last drives.
2. Harris
3. Bethel-Thompson
4. Adams Jr
5. Reilly

 

[Baxterman]

I will just do a top 5 from the collection of games I have watched with guys that have played more than 10 games.

1. Cody Fajardo should hopefully win the outstanding player award as he has been phenomenal and has led some great last drives.
2. Harris
3. Bethel-Thompson
4. Adams Jr
5. Reilly

Anyone who votes for Fajardo for MOP should immediately lose their vote. Not a chance he is close to a top 5 QB in this league.

BLM is the no doubt best QB. After that I likely give Reilly the benefit of the doubt and Harris for all his flaws gets 3rd.

1. BLM
2. Reilly
3. Harris
4. Masoli
5. Nichols
6. Arbuckle
7. Evans
8. Adams, jr
9. Fajardo
10. Strevler

 

[tacogeoff]

Anyone who votes for Fajardo for MOP should immediately lose their vote. Not a chance he is close to a top 5 QB in this league.

BLM is the no doubt best QB. After that I likely give Reilly the benefit of the doubt and Harris for all his flaws gets 3rd.

1. BLM
2. Reilly
3. Harris
4. Masoli
5. Nichols
6. Arbuckle
7. Evans
8. Adams, jr
9. Fajardo
10. Strevler

well he said this season. overall this season he easily is in the top 5 and probably 1st. tag on the 10 rushing tds he has this season and he has helped turned what everyone thought was going to be a bottom feeder team to (almost) first in the West.

I understand the Sask hate though.

 

[Baxterman]

well he said this season. overall this season he easily is in the top 5 and probably 1st. tag on the 10 rushing tds he has this season and he has helped turned what everyone thought was going to be a bottom feeder team to (almost) first in the West.

I understand the Sask hate though.

Even for this season the only thing Fajardo has done well is stay healthy. The Riders record is 100% due to them consistently facing back-ups. In the games against good defenses Fajardo has looked bad, for example the two Calgary games.

Even based on this year BLM is clearly the best QB in the league. If he had been healthy he would have run away with the MOP and even though he only played half the season he could have easily been the Stamps nominee for the award.

 

[hoglund]

My god the CFL is a joke this season.

What do you mean?

 

[Baxterman]

What do you mean?

That comment was in regards to how terrible the overall play has been this year. It was directly in regards to how Calgary, likely still the best or 2nd best team in the league, just threw away a game having peewee level special teams. They have been horrific in some many areas this year and yet still are one of the top teams because of how bad everyone is this year.

Maybe it is due to injuries but the Riders team that is in "1st" is a as mediocre as possible. Doubtful they even host a play-off game in most years. But thanks to how their schedule has broken they will get the WC based solely on injuries on other teams.

BC, Toronto, Ottawa are all 3 all time bad teams. Them being that bad has basically meant that the season has largely been a holding pattern waiting for the other teams all knowing they are in the play-0ffs with ease.

The MOP this year will almost certainly be as bad a choice as there has been in recent memory and likely never get close to winning another ever again. It really seems like whoever it is gets it by there being nobody else to choose rather than them having a great year.

There is also the usual dog crap reffing that ruins game and the canceling a game in the 3rd quarter which is classic CFL.

 

[hoglund]

That comment was in regards to how terrible the overall play has been this year. It was directly in regards to how Calgary, likely still the best or 2nd best team in the league, just threw away a game having peewee level special teams. They have been horrific in some many areas this year and yet still are one of the top teams because of how bad everyone is this year.

Maybe it is due to injuries but the Riders team that is in "1st" is a as mediocre as possible. Doubtful they even host a play-off game in most years. But thanks to how their schedule has broken they will get the WC based solely on injuries on other teams.

BC, Toronto, Ottawa are all 3 all time bad teams. Them being that bad has basically meant that the season has largely been a holding pattern waiting for the other teams all knowing they are in the play-0ffs with ease.

The MOP this year will almost certainly be as bad a choice as there has been in recent memory and likely never get close to winning another ever again. It really seems like whoever it is gets it by there being nobody else to choose rather than them having a great year.

There is also the usual dog crap reffing that ruins game and the canceling a game in the 3rd quarter which is classic CFL.

It sounds like you hate Saskatchewan, I doubt that Fajardo will win MOP, Banks from Hamilton is by far the most outstanding player, Fajardo may be the best quarterback, but not the best player.