CFL 2021/2022 Off-season

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I'm not sure why purists are so gung-ho about CFL rules. Interest in the NFL is soaring and the fan bases in the CFL are sagging.

Doesn't it at least warrant a good-faith discussion about rule changes to align itself more with the NFL if it gets butts in the seats?

I do think part of it is the thought that having the different rules is what keeps the CFL unique.

To me the bigger issue is the calendar.

I still think the CFL would be much better off with their season running Mid April - late September than Mid June - late November.

-Avoid your playoffs and championship overlapping with NHL and NBA season starting.

-Less overlap with the NFL season (NFL generally starts in Sept) and you'd only have about 4 week overlap

-Weather is generally better in Canada in April/May than it is in October/November (IMO). Personally I feel like I'm more likely to go sit outside and watch a game in April/May than I am in October/November.

[Erick Estrada]

The problem is that the CFL would be going head to head with the entirety of the NHL playoffs which is the worst possible scenario in Canada.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The problem is that the CFL would be going head to head with the entirety of the NHL playoffs which is the worst possible scenario in Canada.

Maybe.

I feel like after round 1 the calendar really opens up and you could potentially take advantage of it with smart scheduling.

More weekend afternoon games to start the season and you pretty much overcome that.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

-Weather is generally better in Canada in April/May than it is in October/November (IMO). Personally I feel like I'm more likely to go sit outside and watch a game in April/May than I am in October/November.

I'm not sure about other cities/provinces but Football in the cold > Football in the rain IMO.

I also think the issue has less to do with the CFL rules but how the CFL game is marketed and presented as entertainment. Interestingly, I'd argue that the NFL has made more changes to its rulebook (roughing the passer and pass interference penalties to protect QB's and to encourage passing) to make the game closer to the CFL in terms of emphasizing passing and offence. I'd consider those types of changes before other things that are more uniquely "Canadian".

[dash_pinched]

Stamps have inked American QB Chase Fourcade...

The Calgary Stampeders have signed American quarterback Chase Fourcade ahead of the 2022 season.

The six-foot, 200-pound pivot was a four-year starter at Nicholls State and left the school as the Colonels’ all-time leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage and rushing touchdowns. Fourcade was the Southland Conference’s player of the year as a junior and the conference’s offensive player of the year as a senior. In 50 career games, he completed 804 of 1,350 passes for 10,707 yards and 70 touchdowns. Fourcade also had 703 carries for 1,701 yards and 35 scores.

https://3downnation.com/2022/04/14/g...hase-fourcade/

[dash_pinched]

Allen Pitts' name doesn't get mentioned enough when discussing greatest CFL receivers, in my opinion...Click on the tweet below to show the animation.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1515068052982820866

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

I'm not sure about other cities/provinces but Football in the cold > Football in the rain IMO.

Huff agrees with this strongly, as he and his staff needs a dry training camp so they can make a proper evaluation of players. A rainy TC makes the task extremely hard.

[dash_pinched]

No surprise here, it's just facing reality...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1517254374229110784

[Erick Estrada]

Not exactly what you want to hear going into a season but at least he seems to feel a lot better about where he's at compared to last season.

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Huff agrees with this strongly, as he and his staff needs a dry training camp so they can make a proper evaluation of players. A rainy TC makes the task extremely hard.

I am not sure this is true. He did mention once to me that if they moved the season up substantially, they would consider holding training camp in a different location - like Florida or somewhere else south. That could be an option to get the season started earlier.

I agree from my coaching days, it is tough to teach football in the rain.

I think the likelihood of good weather at the beginning of June is far better than the likelihood of good weather at the end of November. I find it is terrible the most important games are played in completely different conditions than the rest of the season.

12-15 degrees with a bit of rain isn't bad. -20 is bad. I've been to too many -20 games. As I get older, I am less excited about them.

[MissTeeks]

New rules for this season:

https://www.cfl.ca/2022/04/27/rule-c...-the-cfl-game/

Change: Hash Marks on CFL fields will be moved closer to centre field. Each one will be 28 yards from the nearest sideline, instead of 24 yards. As a result, they will be nine yards apart instead of 17 yards apart.

Change: Offences will get more of a head start. After a made field goal or single point, drives will start from the 40-yard line, instead of the 35-yard line. Teams kicking off for any reason will do so from their 30-yard line instead of the 35-yard line. The only exception is kickoffs following a safety: they will now occur from the 20-yard line instead of the 25-yard line.

Change: Strategies to limit opportunities for kick returns will be discouraged more severely. All no yards penalties – which are assigned when the cover team invades a five-yard halo around the returner as he fields a punt – will be 15 yards. Previously, a no yards penalty was 15 yards only if the ball had been fielded in the air – and only five yards if the punt had bounced. Also, any punt that sails out of bounds before it reaches an opponent’s 15-yard line will be assigned a penalty – instead of only punts that sail out of bounds before they reach the 20-yard line.

Change: Two quarterbacks will be allowed on the field at the same time, provided all other ratio rules are satisfied, which will allow for some additional imaginative play calling.

Change: A “communications co-ordinator” from the officiating department, connected to the on-field officials via headset communication, will be imbedded on each team’s bench. This will allow information to be shared with coaches without requiring the referee to approach the sidelines, improving game flow. This will also make it easier for coaches to alert the officiating crew that they are initiating a timeout or a challenge.

Change: To also keep a game moving, a penalty that occurs at the end of the first or third quarter will be assigned at the start of the next quarter, rather than triggering an extension of the quarter. The non-offending team could still insist the penalty be imposed within the quarter if there is a clear advantage, such as wanting to keep the wind behind it for a crucial kick.

Change: The circumstances under which the Command Centre is allowed to help on-field officials – without a coach’s challenge or an officials’ huddle – will be expanded to include possession rulings, boundary rulings and administrative rules such as a formation without an end or ineligible receivers downfield. This is designed to allow the Command Centre to get in front of a coach’s challenge where an obvious outcome is known, improving the flow of the game. It is to occur via headset communication and without stopping the game.

Change: Introduction of a new objectionable conduct penalty for quarterbacks who “fake” giving themselves up by pretending to initiate a slide while carrying the football. The ball would also be spotted where the fake occurred. The safety of all quarterbacks is jeopardized when measures to protect them are instead used to gain an advantage.

Change: Automatic ejection of any player guilty of two unnecessary roughness penalties or two objectionable conduct penalties (or a combination of two UR and OC penalties) for infractions that occur following a play. This will discourage the type of conduct that can threaten player safety and disrupt game flow.

[Drake]

All no yards penalties being 15 yards will certainly improve starting field position.That's the only one I really don't like.

[Erick Estrada]

I absolutely hate the new no yards penalty. I've never been a big fan of the no yards penalty but now it's really going to lead to cheap starting field position for teams when a punt hits the ground and starts bouncing around. Seems like the league may be over correcting a little to what was a discombobulated COVID shortened season where offenses never really got good footing due to short training camps and condensed schedule.

[Lubicon]

The new no yards penalty is a big thumbs down from me, if anything I would have preferred the opposite where there is no penalty at all if the ball bounces (can keep it the way it is for catching without a bounce).

Also do not like the starting position on the 40 rather than the 35. A team barely needs to move the ball to get into field goal range now.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Starting at the 40 is stupid. Brutal change.

They should have just changed no yards to 10 yards off a bounce and kept it at 15 on a catch.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Have they scrapped the coaches salary cap yet? You want better football? Bring in better and more coaches

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by M*A*S*H 4077

Have they scrapped the coaches salary cap yet? You want better football? Bring in better and more coaches

Only the CFL could implement such a poorly thought out rule. The better the coaching, the better the product and now that the product last season was terrible they have made all these knee jerk rule chances so teams will only need a couple of 1st downs to get into FG territory. It's going to make for such exciting football watching FG kickers step onto the field over and over.

[Erick Estrada]

Randy Ambrosie is going to run this league into the ground. Worst commissioner ever.

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Randy Ambrosie is going to run this league into the ground. Worst commissioner ever.

It's pretty close between him and the guy he followed in Jeffrey Orridge. Can we get Mark Cohon back?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by dash_pinched

It's pretty close between him and the guy he followed in Jeffrey Orridge. Can we get Mark Cohon back?

Orridge was a bum but he wasn't around long enough to damage the league unless you really hated that new logo.