2014 CFL Season
- Thread starter Mowich
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The positive sign for BC is they not only had a functioning offensive line it made some pretty big holes for Harris. Harris will always be good if he has some blocking. Montreal will likely watch the tape and exploit what Sask didn't do.
Winnipeg is off to a good start. The match-up with Edmonton will be a good one.
Is anyone else doing the TSN fantasy picks? TSN Fantasy Football CFL Edition - Login
Winnipeg is off to a good start. The match-up with Edmonton will be a good one.
Is anyone else doing the TSN fantasy picks? TSN Fantasy Football CFL Edition - Login
Though I agree that the new rules regarding challenges do prolong the game, I am quite happy to see them come into effect being that a coach can now challenge a pass interference non-call and as I have seen so far that can make the difference between a TD and various other permutations such as 3rd and goal or loss of the ball to the other team.
We sucked big time, talloola. Except for a couple of decent drives in the second half, I would say we have a lot of work to do. Those stupid penalties we took just killed us when we really needed to play clean ball. Glad we have a bye this week and hopefully Corey Chamberlain can shape the guys up. Harris was simply outstanding for BC - he rocks!
I have been cheering my lungs out for Winnipeg this season. So glad to see Drew doing so well with the Bombers and so very happy for their fans.
I am going to try out the Fantasy Football thing.
In lieu of the previous discussion concerning penalties, I thought I would post this article on that very subject.
Suitor: Digging deeper into last week's CFL penalties
Glen Suitor
7/16/2014 1:59:28 PM
Last week in the CFL the penalty flags were flying. In total between the four games played there were 110 penalties for 958 yards, which is the third-highest total in the last 20 years. Obviously, that is way too many penalties. It disrupts the flow of the game, extends the length of the game, and is flat out hard to watch.
However, it is one thing to simply complain about the flag-filled week. It's another to examine the calls, look at the reasons why they were made, and work towards finding solutions so it doesn't happen again. In conjunction with the league's head coaches, that is exactly what Glen Johnson, the league's Vice-President of Officiating, is currently working on. It is a process that will take some time for a couple reasons, the most important being that we are all learning a new culture in football where player safety is the focus. However, all the league stake holders are all in to work towards limiting the amount of penalties called, and the time it takes to call them.
Johnson has accumulated the numbers from last week and some from the first three weeks of the season, and they may surprise football fans. First, all of the penalties from last week have been reviewed and, of the 110 called, 93 of them were the correct call while only seven of them were debatable or questionable calls. Essentially, 94 per cent of the calls made last week were correct which according to Johnson is, "very close to the overall standards from the last few years."
These numbers are significant, because it is important to understand that fixing the problem of too many penalties does not just fall on the shoulders of the officials. The players and coaches are ultimately responsible, and are working with Johnson on a weekly basis to improve the situation. Johnson explained by pointing out that there are currently teams that have asked the league to make officials available for practices. "I talk to the coaches and we are working together to improve the situation on a weekly basis, in fact some teams have asked that we supply them refs at practice, which I think is an excellent idea, and can help the teams and our officials."
After three weeks this season penalties are up by 31 per cent overall, which is a huge jump. However, when you dig a little deeper into the numbers, we shouldn't be surprised. Of the 31 per cent increase this year, "player safety fouls," are leading the way. Penalties like unnecessary roughness, roughing the passer, face masking, and sportsmanship-related fouls like taunting are driving the increase. When you consider what is happening in North America when it comes to player safety in contact sports, we shouldn't be surprised that calls that are designed to protect the players, sometimes from themselves, are up dramatically. It is going to take time for players to understand what is a legal hit, and what is not, when they have trained their whole lives to hit a certain way, especially when we are talking about the hits on the quarterbacks.
So before we start chanting, "ref you suck," from the stands, remember that the Players' Association have negotiated player safety items into their new collective bargaining agreements and have made it a priority. It is the players who must change their behaviour, and better understand what is - and isn't - a legal hit, and play with more discipline. They voted it into their own agreements. For now, if the officials err, they will err on the side of protecting the players because that has been mandated by the league and the CFLPA.
Penalty-filled games make for long football games, and fans should know that the league is very aware of games extending too long and are working on improving that area as well. One concern is with regards to video review, and whether or not it is taking too long. No, this has nothing to do with the new rule to make pass interference a reviewable penalty - more on that in a minute. This is about being more efficient with the review process. Glen Johnson is even looking at possibly changing the mechanics to speed things up. "One thing that I am looking at is to possibly drop the part of the process where the official explains to the Referee what he saw which then gets relayed to the replay official." He went on to say, "that information is rarely helpful as the play is getting reviewed, we could save about 20 seconds per review." Twenty seconds would be significant when you consider that currently the average review is taking two minutes and 15 seconds. This however, according to Johnson, is skewed because of a few really long reviews this year that took five minutes. He said that reviews generally take about one minute and 30 seconds, which is close to the target. "The objective is to get them under two minutes and five minutes is not acceptable!"
It should also be noted that according to data from south of the border, NFL reviews on average take about three minutes, so shaving over a minute off that time will add up quickly. Johnson has reminded his refs that when replay was first introduced to the game there was a 90-second limit placed on the referee, and that decision didn't come from a replay office - it was made from under the hood at the park.
Now on the new rule involving the review of pass interference. After three weeks there have been five challenges of pass interference, and all five were on plays where there was no flag thrown. In other words coaches challenged that the call was missed. On two of those challenges the play was reviewed and it was determined by the command center that there was PI on the play and the no call on the field was overturned. It is a small sample size but Johnson, and the majority of the coaches in the league, feel the new rule change is, "going well," so far.
As for the timing of this particular challenge on average it takes about 20 seconds longer than other challengeable plays. So if it takes about one minute and 30 seconds for most challenges, then a PI call would take one minute and 50 seconds which is still under the target of two minutes. By the way both overturned PI challenges occurred in the end zone which is the area on the field that changes the outcome of games, and the calls ended up being correct. The purpose of this change was not to make PI more difficult, but to assist the officials who may have missed something blatant during live action, and in that regard the league and the coaches believe it is working so far.
When you break it all down, there is a fairly simple explanation as to why player safety type penalties are up, and that should correct itself over time. It is also important to understand that 94 per cent of the penalties called in the game are the correct call, so it is the coaches and players' responsibility to make the necessary corrections. And finally, all the stakeholders in the game are very aware that last week there were way too many penalties and are working together to make changes to make sure 110 flags in four games doesn't happen again.
Now let's get back to talking about football.
Suitor: Digging deeper into last week's CFL penalties
The TSN website also has two other articles on penalties - one from Paul LaPolice - LaPolice: Penalty calls on the rise in CFL Week 3 - and a more personal opinion from Duane Forde - Forde: On rules, flags, and the CFL game I now miss
Suitor: Digging deeper into last week's CFL penalties
Glen Suitor
7/16/2014 1:59:28 PM
Last week in the CFL the penalty flags were flying. In total between the four games played there were 110 penalties for 958 yards, which is the third-highest total in the last 20 years. Obviously, that is way too many penalties. It disrupts the flow of the game, extends the length of the game, and is flat out hard to watch.
However, it is one thing to simply complain about the flag-filled week. It's another to examine the calls, look at the reasons why they were made, and work towards finding solutions so it doesn't happen again. In conjunction with the league's head coaches, that is exactly what Glen Johnson, the league's Vice-President of Officiating, is currently working on. It is a process that will take some time for a couple reasons, the most important being that we are all learning a new culture in football where player safety is the focus. However, all the league stake holders are all in to work towards limiting the amount of penalties called, and the time it takes to call them.
Johnson has accumulated the numbers from last week and some from the first three weeks of the season, and they may surprise football fans. First, all of the penalties from last week have been reviewed and, of the 110 called, 93 of them were the correct call while only seven of them were debatable or questionable calls. Essentially, 94 per cent of the calls made last week were correct which according to Johnson is, "very close to the overall standards from the last few years."
These numbers are significant, because it is important to understand that fixing the problem of too many penalties does not just fall on the shoulders of the officials. The players and coaches are ultimately responsible, and are working with Johnson on a weekly basis to improve the situation. Johnson explained by pointing out that there are currently teams that have asked the league to make officials available for practices. "I talk to the coaches and we are working together to improve the situation on a weekly basis, in fact some teams have asked that we supply them refs at practice, which I think is an excellent idea, and can help the teams and our officials."
After three weeks this season penalties are up by 31 per cent overall, which is a huge jump. However, when you dig a little deeper into the numbers, we shouldn't be surprised. Of the 31 per cent increase this year, "player safety fouls," are leading the way. Penalties like unnecessary roughness, roughing the passer, face masking, and sportsmanship-related fouls like taunting are driving the increase. When you consider what is happening in North America when it comes to player safety in contact sports, we shouldn't be surprised that calls that are designed to protect the players, sometimes from themselves, are up dramatically. It is going to take time for players to understand what is a legal hit, and what is not, when they have trained their whole lives to hit a certain way, especially when we are talking about the hits on the quarterbacks.
So before we start chanting, "ref you suck," from the stands, remember that the Players' Association have negotiated player safety items into their new collective bargaining agreements and have made it a priority. It is the players who must change their behaviour, and better understand what is - and isn't - a legal hit, and play with more discipline. They voted it into their own agreements. For now, if the officials err, they will err on the side of protecting the players because that has been mandated by the league and the CFLPA.
Penalty-filled games make for long football games, and fans should know that the league is very aware of games extending too long and are working on improving that area as well. One concern is with regards to video review, and whether or not it is taking too long. No, this has nothing to do with the new rule to make pass interference a reviewable penalty - more on that in a minute. This is about being more efficient with the review process. Glen Johnson is even looking at possibly changing the mechanics to speed things up. "One thing that I am looking at is to possibly drop the part of the process where the official explains to the Referee what he saw which then gets relayed to the replay official." He went on to say, "that information is rarely helpful as the play is getting reviewed, we could save about 20 seconds per review." Twenty seconds would be significant when you consider that currently the average review is taking two minutes and 15 seconds. This however, according to Johnson, is skewed because of a few really long reviews this year that took five minutes. He said that reviews generally take about one minute and 30 seconds, which is close to the target. "The objective is to get them under two minutes and five minutes is not acceptable!"
It should also be noted that according to data from south of the border, NFL reviews on average take about three minutes, so shaving over a minute off that time will add up quickly. Johnson has reminded his refs that when replay was first introduced to the game there was a 90-second limit placed on the referee, and that decision didn't come from a replay office - it was made from under the hood at the park.
Now on the new rule involving the review of pass interference. After three weeks there have been five challenges of pass interference, and all five were on plays where there was no flag thrown. In other words coaches challenged that the call was missed. On two of those challenges the play was reviewed and it was determined by the command center that there was PI on the play and the no call on the field was overturned. It is a small sample size but Johnson, and the majority of the coaches in the league, feel the new rule change is, "going well," so far.
As for the timing of this particular challenge on average it takes about 20 seconds longer than other challengeable plays. So if it takes about one minute and 30 seconds for most challenges, then a PI call would take one minute and 50 seconds which is still under the target of two minutes. By the way both overturned PI challenges occurred in the end zone which is the area on the field that changes the outcome of games, and the calls ended up being correct. The purpose of this change was not to make PI more difficult, but to assist the officials who may have missed something blatant during live action, and in that regard the league and the coaches believe it is working so far.
When you break it all down, there is a fairly simple explanation as to why player safety type penalties are up, and that should correct itself over time. It is also important to understand that 94 per cent of the penalties called in the game are the correct call, so it is the coaches and players' responsibility to make the necessary corrections. And finally, all the stakeholders in the game are very aware that last week there were way too many penalties and are working together to make changes to make sure 110 flags in four games doesn't happen again.
Now let's get back to talking about football.
Suitor: Digging deeper into last week's CFL penalties
The TSN website also has two other articles on penalties - one from Paul LaPolice - LaPolice: Penalty calls on the rise in CFL Week 3 - and a more personal opinion from Duane Forde - Forde: On rules, flags, and the CFL game I now miss
Rough start for the Riders. They will overcome. Now that World Cup is over, I'll be watching.
Go Riders!
By the way, Mowich, I freakin' LOVE Durant! I've been saying down here some of the NFL teams should give him a hard look. Not that I'd ever want him to leave the Riders, but still. . .
Go Riders!
By the way, Mowich, I freakin' LOVE Durant! I've been saying down here some of the NFL teams should give him a hard look. Not that I'd ever want him to leave the Riders, but still. . .
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Same old, same old for us Rider fans, Tec. This is the team we know so well. That Grey Cup Championship team of 2013 - complete aberration. :lol:
I have no doubt they will improve and win some more games once they get the kinks out and everyone operating on the same page. I really like the new guys Allen and Swain and with time I think they will be able to fill the holes left by Kory and Weston.
I like DD too, Tec..........he really is a very humble guy and takes things to heart. When I saw him break into tears in the arms of Geroy Simon after the Riders had won the Cup, I joined him. It was such a relief for all of us DD fans to know he finally got the "monkey off " his back, as Darian put it. He plays with so much more confidence now that he has a GC win under his belt. It is funny that DD is looked upon as a premier QB in our league by teams, coaches and the media but has had to fight for every accolade in Saskatchewan while taking the majority of the heat when things are not going well for the team.
Some of my favorite plays are those where Darian takes off with the ball and gains downs with his legs. It always seems to spark both him and the team - would definitely like to more of that in the future.
*********************
Seems that former WR for the BC Lions, Arland Bruce is in the news again. Bruce has filed suit against Lions, every other team in the CFL, commish Mark Cohon and the CFL Alumni Association...............and the Ottawa Redblacks in spite of the fact that they never played a game in either 2012 or 2013.
The reason he is suing has to do with a concussion he received while playing the Riders in September of 2012. The suit alleges that he was still suffering the effects of that concussion when he was allowed to play against the Calgary Stampeders in November 2012 where he allegedly "sustained multiple sub-concussion and concussive hits". He was subsequently traded to Montreal where he played in the 2013 season.
I am in agreement with this comment from the TSN website.
"otterknow
If he were injured and knocked out he should have had to have medical clearance before being released, right? He was then free to seek employment elsewhere, which he did. He would have had to have a physical before playing for Montreal, right? In any of these physical exams did he ever mention lingering symptoms of concussion? "
What do you think? Sour grapes or a a valid suit?
That bonk to the noggin didn't do him any favours.
Who wins tonight Edomonton Eskimos or Winnipeg Hoovers?
Who wins tonight Edomonton Eskimos or Winnipeg Hoovers?
Any chance of seeing a great offensive battle last night was pretty quickly dashed as both teams got bogged down by the opposing defense on a night that saw only two TDs scored in the entire game - and one of them off a beautiful pass interception and 15-yard romp to the end zone by Eskimo DB Odell Willis.
Mike Reilly was in Warrior mode as he rushed for close to 100 yards on the night and several 1rst downs on the way. Drew Willy had a spectacularly poor night as he was harried, rushed or sacked for most of the game completing only a handful of passes.
Punt kicker Mike Renaud suffered an injury in pre-game practice leaving FG kicker Hajrullahu with all the kicking duties which had a noticeable effect on field position as the Bombers spent much of the night just trying to get out of their own end of the field.
The Eskimos won the game 26 to 3 and improved their standing to 4 and 0 now sitting atop the Western Division. The Bombers dropped to 3 and 1 - good enough for second place in the West.
In the double -header tonight, Ottawa will play host to the Argos and Hamilton will be in Calgary to take on the Stampeders. The first game starts at 4 PM PST/ 7 PM EST on TSN.
Mike Reilly was in Warrior mode as he rushed for close to 100 yards on the night and several 1rst downs on the way. Drew Willy had a spectacularly poor night as he was harried, rushed or sacked for most of the game completing only a handful of passes.
Punt kicker Mike Renaud suffered an injury in pre-game practice leaving FG kicker Hajrullahu with all the kicking duties which had a noticeable effect on field position as the Bombers spent much of the night just trying to get out of their own end of the field.
The Eskimos won the game 26 to 3 and improved their standing to 4 and 0 now sitting atop the Western Division. The Bombers dropped to 3 and 1 - good enough for second place in the West.
In the double -header tonight, Ottawa will play host to the Argos and Hamilton will be in Calgary to take on the Stampeders. The first game starts at 4 PM PST/ 7 PM EST on TSN.
Huff is probably counting his lucky stars tonight as the 20 points his team got off TOs tonight helped along by four Paredes FGs, sealed the deal for a Stamps win over the Esks who were playing at home............unfortunately.
It was a close score for most of the first two quarters of the game but Calgary had the lead going into halftime after a high-risk but potentially high-reward third down call late in the first half that went spectacularly wrong as the Esk's Grymes took a a punt deep in the end zone and ran it out towards the first down marker only to be stopped within a yard of his goal. On the subsequent TO on downs, Bo Levi found Fuller and the Stamps put another 7 on the board.
Saskatchewan rookie and special teams player, Keenan MacDougall had a good night scoring the Stamps first TD of the night after he managed to block a punt, grab the ball and run it into the end zone. He also was responsible for some very important stops on the night including the one on Grymes in the final minutes of the second quarter.
Calgary can now claim first place in the West while the Esks fall to 4 and 1 for second spot in the division.
Tomorrow the Bombers will try to regain some of their former winning ways as they meet the Lions in BC Place. Game time 7PM PST/ 10 PM EST.
It was a close score for most of the first two quarters of the game but Calgary had the lead going into halftime after a high-risk but potentially high-reward third down call late in the first half that went spectacularly wrong as the Esk's Grymes took a a punt deep in the end zone and ran it out towards the first down marker only to be stopped within a yard of his goal. On the subsequent TO on downs, Bo Levi found Fuller and the Stamps put another 7 on the board.
Saskatchewan rookie and special teams player, Keenan MacDougall had a good night scoring the Stamps first TD of the night after he managed to block a punt, grab the ball and run it into the end zone. He also was responsible for some very important stops on the night including the one on Grymes in the final minutes of the second quarter.
Calgary can now claim first place in the West while the Esks fall to 4 and 1 for second spot in the division.
Tomorrow the Bombers will try to regain some of their former winning ways as they meet the Lions in BC Place. Game time 7PM PST/ 10 PM EST.
Really enjoyed the Bomber vs BC game especially as the former won against the latter in the Den.........rock on Bombers...........long time since they beat the Lions at home. Drew looked much more in control this game.
Also enjoyed the Ti-Cats win over the Redblacks today much more of an aerial duel compared to the kicking competition in BC Place last night.
Also enjoyed the Ti-Cats win over the Redblacks today much more of an aerial duel compared to the kicking competition in BC Place last night.
Great to see the Bombers ( aka Hoovers because they suck) come back to life withe help of Willy.
TiCats did well today on home turf. That was a great game.
Lefevour? their young QB acquitted himself well today. When he wasn't racking up yards on the ground, he was finding his receivers with some ease. He is fun to watch though he looks so darn young .......makes Smilin' Hank look like an old fellow. :smile: Also good to see Andy get some touches.
I never felt the animosity towards the Bombers that I did towards Calgary..........and these last few years have been such downers for the team and fans that they gained some sympathy from me. I am happy to see that Drew is settling in so well.
Loved watching Geroy being honored in BC Place last night.
He's a fantastic rusher.
I have oodles of kin in MB esp. WPG so we razz each other and do wagers. They call the Riders Dysons. All in good fun. I might bugger off to see the Hoovers and Dysons play on Thursday if my cousin can find reasonable priced tix.
I have oodles of kin in MB esp. WPG so we razz each other and do wagers. They call the Riders Dysons. All in good fun. I might bugger off to see the Hoovers and Dysons play on Thursday if my cousin can find reasonable priced tix.
First time. It's supposed to be nice.
They started our new stadium. I'm pissed it's not covered. I'd like to go see a tractor ballet in January.
Winnipeg is in Hamilton tonight to play the Ti-Cats. I'm looking forward to seeing if Dan LeFevour continues to show his strength both running and throwing the ball. He ran for 109 yards against Ottawa last week while also racking up 361 yards in the air and had a TD to his credit. QB's who run with the ball make the game so much more exciting to watch, IMHO.
It will also be interesting to see how Drew Willy and the Blue and Gold do against the Cats tonight. Winnipeg currently sits third in the West and have lost only one game this season - my how things have changed for the team since last year.
Game time 4PM PST/7PM EST
It will also be interesting to see how Drew Willy and the Blue and Gold do against the Cats tonight. Winnipeg currently sits third in the West and have lost only one game this season - my how things have changed for the team since last year.
Game time 4PM PST/7PM EST
So far, at the start of the 3rd quarter, the Stamps and Lions are providing a much more entertaining game than was TO vs Montreal. In a moment of lucidity, Roddie Black stated, " the score in no way reflects the play we have seen in this game" summing up my sentiments almost exactly. TO prevailed but it was less due to skill then luck. RR did not have a good night and Montreal wavered between putting Troy Smith on the field for part of the game then Alex Brink for the other - neither had a stellar night.
And so the Al's are learning the lesson of putting all their eggs in one basket by not bringing another QB along while Anthony was ruling the field and the harm done by poor management in the hiring of a head coach totally unsuited to our league. The hiring of Tom Hawkins has yet to prove a good move but it is still early as the talking heads keep telling us but with yet another loss to their discredit, Montreal needs to pick a QB and stick with him or face a truly dismal season.
Calgary leads by 11 about 11 minutes into the 3rd much to the delight of the many cheering Stamp fans. I want a good game but am enjoying myself cheering for young Keenan MacDougall a Saskatchewan native who had himself an outstanding game last week and continues to impress fans and coaches alike this week. I am also cheering for Andrew Harris because he is having an outstanding season and is another Canadian boy.
And so the Al's are learning the lesson of putting all their eggs in one basket by not bringing another QB along while Anthony was ruling the field and the harm done by poor management in the hiring of a head coach totally unsuited to our league. The hiring of Tom Hawkins has yet to prove a good move but it is still early as the talking heads keep telling us but with yet another loss to their discredit, Montreal needs to pick a QB and stick with him or face a truly dismal season.
Calgary leads by 11 about 11 minutes into the 3rd much to the delight of the many cheering Stamp fans. I want a good game but am enjoying myself cheering for young Keenan MacDougall a Saskatchewan native who had himself an outstanding game last week and continues to impress fans and coaches alike this week. I am also cheering for Andrew Harris because he is having an outstanding season and is another Canadian boy.