CFL 2015 Off-Season Thread

[The Familia]

Good God what a facility! This just makes me even more jealous. Ken King take note, this is how you design a facility and get people not only on board, but down right excited. CalgaryNEXT is absolute trash compared to this. The faster that embarrassment of a project dies the better. Can't believe Calgary will be upstaged by every single city in the country when it comes to sports facilities.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by The Familia

Good God what a facility! This just makes me even more jealous. Ken King take note, this is how you design a facility and get people not only on board, but down right excited. CalgaryNEXT is absolute trash compared to this. The faster that embarrassment of a project dies the better. Can't believe Calgary will be upstaged by every single city in the country when it comes to sports facilities.

How exactly can you take those vague renders of CalgaryNEXT and conclude anything about how it would stack up next to any other facility?

[The Familia]

Because they chose to put up vague renderings that look like a grade 12 student put it together. I'm concluding based on the renderings shown for both facilities. Both are renderings, yet one looks professional and the other looks amateur. Based on this, and what King describes CalgaryNEXT to be, Regina's stadium will blow this proposal out of the water. Not to mention how every other rendering for every other stadium/arena in this country has looked better than CalgaryNEXT. My opinion anyways.

[Drake]

@scratchingpost:

#Ticats#have promoted Eric Tillman to general manager. Kent Austin remains in charge of football operations.##CFL##Riders#Esks

[Drake]

@CFL_News:

#CalStampeders sign former Michigan QB/WR Devin Gardner, per sources: https://t.co/L6F3tNMhAn #CFL via @ScottMitchellPM

[Drake]

Thought this was interesting, talks about some of the prospects at the draft combine and who wil be interviewing them.

When the top Canadian Football League prospects descend on Toronto each year for the CFL Combine it provides a chance for team personnel men to get up close and personal with the players.

That means the interview process with potential employers becomes important because in a lot of cases it might be the only face-to-face contact athletes have with coaches and evaluators.

It’s always difficult to predict what will happen on draft day, but there is information to be gleaned from which teams prospects interview with and how many they partake in. Often players interviewing with every team or even seven or eight means they’re elite and are likely be picked near the top of the draft.

Highly rated offensive lineman Josiah St. John, Charles Vaillancourt, Philippe Gagnon and Dillon Guy will interview with every team in the league. Jason Lauzon-Seguin checks in with eight and the only team he won’t sit in a room with is Saskatchewan.

Mercer Timmis, who some scouts view as the next dynamic Canadian running back, is set for visits with seven teams, Calgary and B.C. not among them. He will catch up with Stampeders’ brass back in Cowtown. As for not have a Lions meeting, it could be a sign that after Andrew Harris left the team is staying away from feature Canuck backs for the foreseeable future.

Lightning fast receiver Mike Jones has meetings with eight teams, Saskatchewan being the only outlier. It’s clear to see that Jones has attracted a lot of interest since being added to the draft class in January. Fellow pass catcher Llevi Noel has visits with eight teams on the docket, B.C. the only one not among them.

On the defensive side of the ball, Western Oregon linebacker Doug Parrish is scheduled to sit in with Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Ottawa.

Meanwhile three talented defensive backs piled up interviews, Southern Illinois product Anthony Thompson has nine, UBC’s Taylor Loffler eight with Edmonton being the one exception and Calgary stud Elie Bouka eight, a meeting with the Stampeders will happen after the combine for him.

Easily the best kicker/punter in the draft is UBC’s Quinn van Gylswyk. Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto and Saskatchewan are on his interview list. That’s intriguing because the Redblacks, Argos and Riders appear to be going Canadian at the kicking and punting positions and the Ticats don’t have a player currently signed at that spot yet.

http://3downnation.com/2016/03/12/pl...s-cfl-combine/

[OzSome]

I am very intrigue with Mercer Timmis. I am hoping Stampeders drafts him.

[Pizza]

Originally Posted by The Familia

Because they chose to put up vague renderings that look like a grade 12 student put it together. I'm concluding based on the renderings shown for both facilities. Both are renderings, yet one looks professional and the other looks amateur. Based on this, and what King describes CalgaryNEXT to be, Regina's stadium will blow this proposal out of the water. Not to mention how every other rendering for every other stadium/arena in this country has looked better than CalgaryNEXT. My opinion anyways.

Why are you so excited for this? You realize these are all renderings of the player's area, where most of the public don't get to view and use its facilities.

it's much harder to render something larger in scale like the entire stadium, its interior field and crowds to go with it than individual interior rooms

[Drake]

@CFL_News:
.@sbergman67 staying with #CalStampeders through 2018 https://t.co/L9sAFWgccm #CFL via @calstampeders

OL @spencerwilson50 signs contract extension with #CalStampeders https://t.co/7MVe6qbmuU #CFL via @calstampeders

[Drake]

@MaioccoCSN:
Jared Goff chatting with rep from Calgary Stampeders at Cal's pro day. If he slips through cracks in NFL draft, expect CFL teams to pounce.

[corporatejay]

Jared Goff will be drafted.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Jared Goff will be drafted.

Probably be drafted in the top 10.

[chummer]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Probably be drafted in the top 10.

Easily, I could see either the Browns or Niners taking him.

[Drake]

The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced national running back Matt Walter has signed with the team. As per club policy, details of the contract were not released.#

“Matt has proven to be a versatile running back through his first four seasons in the CFL,” commented Riders General Manager and Head Coach, Chris Jones. “He is a powerful young guy and proven winner that will help our national depth and give us options in the backfield and value on special teams.”

http://www.riderville.com/2016/03/23/64537/

[JiriHrdina]

Everything Chris Jones says and does irritates me.

[Drake]

This is not good.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats safety Craig Butler might not step on the field in 2016 due to a significant injury, according to CFL sources.

Butler is dealing with a knee issue that’s put him in danger of missing the entire 2016 campaign. The 27-year-old was due a sizeable bonus in early March but re-negotiated his contract. Although he did not receive that off-season payment, Butler will be paid while he recovers. The re-worked deal displays the Ticats’ commitment to Butler by keeping him on through the uncertainty#of the setback when they could’ve cut him and walked away.

http://3downnation.com/2016/03/23/15687/

[Drake]

Feature done on Eric Rogers by the MMQB.

“Chip gave me a call on the way to the airport,” Rogers remembers. “He said I was the first person he called.”

"He loves the game,” says 49ers G.M. Trent Baalke. “That really stood out to us. I think he really enjoys playing it. He's competitive, passionate, he works hard at it, and he's a fun guy to be around."

“They’ve asked me,#how did you get this guy?” says McEnroe, “In our program, we can’t look at kids and say what can he contribute immediately. We have to look at what kind of player he can grow into. He wasn’t even the best player on his high school team, but you can’t coach 6-3.”

Says McEnroe: “At one point he’s the best player in Division III football, and he’s asking me which cleaner to use to get heavy grass stains out.”

“That was the lowpoint,” he says. “Seven a.m. every day. I didn’t mind the work; I just knew I could play somewhere.”

“He didn’t tell us about that for months,” Murphy says. “We would’ve let him go see the birth, of course. Later on, he told us he was just scared to death to lose the opportunity.”

Says Rogers: “If I had to do it over I would’ve waited a few weeks before going up to Canada.” Instead, he played special teams for three months, fought for offensive practice reps and kept his mouth shut.

“He’s probably sitting there wondering why he left the arena league. Normally I’m getting calls from the agents or I’ve got the player asking when is he going to play,” Murphy says. “Not with these guys. He just kept working.”

“You could see the work he was putting in behind the scenes come alive,” Murphy says. “Time after time the stage wasn’t too big for him. We had to make some difficult choices that offseason.”

“I wrote that down in my notes,” Rogers says. “I was very appreciative of that.”

“There were always deficiencies in my game, and there still are,” Rogers says. “There are always ways to get better. But a lot of success depends on opportunity. I feel like I’m really getting an honest shot here.”

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/03/22/e...nfl-chip-kelly

[The Familia]

Good article. Will suck to lose him this year. If the CFL can keep pumping out high quality players, like they always have, that make it big in the NFL, it will only help the leagues reputation.

[GC91]

Any good message board sites out there that are active for the cfl or stamps?

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by GC91

Any good message board sites out there that are active for the cfl or stamps?

http://forums.cflhorsemen.ca/