Greed, Stupidity and the CFL Ratio Battle

Apparently both sides want the reduction in Canadian starters, with the excuse being it is hard to find enough qualified Canadians and if the Atlantic Schooners ever set sail as the 10^th CFL franchise, then the pool of Canadian talent gets even thinner.

The horse crap being peddled gets even tougher to take when you consider the cap on football operations budget and personnel which reduces the ability of teams to identifies players and will force teams to rely on respective rolodexes to identify players. This means teams that spent money to identify players, like the Saskatchewan Roughriders were once able to, are now handcuffed.

So if the CFL decided to gut the football operations departments of various franchises to reduce spending in scouting and force teams to rely on submissions by players/agents to show the players they were interested in reducing costs, then the proposed reduction in Canadians removes the initiative from teams to identify Canadians who might be ready to play in the CFL.

Then again the CFL may be looking at adding two spots for what are identified as “global players” which begs the question – do those spots come from the current ratio for Canadian players or for American players? The question of a ratio also brings up the whole question of what quantifies the Canadian Football League – the Canadian rules or the Canadian players.

If the intention of the release of the information was to divide the union, then consider it a job well done. It has been entertaining watching the Canadian players debate their American teammates on Twitter but it’s a conversation that asks some deep and dark questions about the CFL and its’ future.

The Canadian ratio has been cited for helping some players like Chris Getzlaf get the opportunity to start and play. The problem is if you have a good Canadian starter, you also need a Canadian back-up to not lose the Canadian starter in case of injury.

The ratio has also provided the opportunity for Canadian players to try to further their playing careers after university ball, but while football in Canada might do well on the professional level, there is less interest on the amateur level. Part of that might be due to the changing demographics of the country with new Canadians not feeling any connection to football, especially as the issue of concussions and the lack of opportunity for Canadian quarterbacks comes to mind.

The CFL has been trying to broaden its interest and appeal by being more active on the off-season front. Everything from free agency, to events like the CFL Combine and the Draft help to keep interest alive, but limiting Canadian opportunities to play professionally is short-sighted.

Consider the average Canadian university football schedule is roughly eight games versus 13 in the United States. The number of university football programs in the United States and the number of players they produce dwarf the number of Canadians playing in university and junior football. The easiest path would be to go through the number of American players, who get more playing time in College and with the nature of US college football, get to concentrate on football more often than their Canadian counterparts.

Throw in the number of American general managers and coaches, and there is an automatic bias in terms of preferring American players to Canadians. So if you began to shut off opportunities for Canadians to play professionally, except for maybe the 15 or so Canadians in the NFL and the number of beer leagues in European countries, then this has a dampening effect on involvement in grassroots leagues because why would you want to play if you could not have a shot at playing professionally?

The CFL seems bound and determined to go with the cheapest alternative, which is a multitude of American players along with a few “internationals”. Developing Canadian players would require an investment of roughly three years with no guarantee the players would be able to start afterwards.

The issue it could be argued is that there is a lack of Canadian players, but a lack of Canadian depth. Commissionaire Randy Ambrosie feels the CFL 2.0 model with agreements overseas will provide Canadian players with the opportunity to play they might be losing in Canada.

Well maybe. Another option for the CFL might be to consider establishing an arena league which could act as a developmental league for Canadian players and to showcase the game in the offseason in areas which currently do not have a league. Smaller rosters would provide for more effective coaching and if you have teams in say, Saskatoon, Halifax, London, Kelowna, among other places, then you could grow the game even more.

That was just the first exchange between the league and the players and it also reflects the growing influence of American players in the CFL. While the CFL Players Association has mostly been led by Canadian offensive linemen (who are among the highest paid), more American players have been asking for things like increasing the minimum salary, to compensate for losing money in the exchange rate between the two countries, better health care and benefits and guaranteed contracts.

The CFLPA is not likely to get everything, especially an increase in the salary cap, but an increase in the minimum salary seems likely, allowing a Canadian quarterback to count against the ratio seems to be in the cards. It’s going to be interesting as the CFL and the CFLPA move towards nailing down a collective agreement that works for both sides.

The uncertainty over the Collective Agreement resulted in the cancellation of the CFL week which the last two times has been timed to run the same time as the Combine and give fans in various CFL cities an opportunity to meet current and future stars in the CFL. The combine will still go ahead, and while TSN airs March Madness NCAA Basketball as part of its commitment to its ESPN connections, apparently the combine will air on TSN online.

What you do see at the combine is a part of, but not entirely, the whole story. Some of the physical measurements is interesting, but you must really be bored to watch how many times guys can lift weights to get an idea if they are a player. Sunday will be the more interesting day because then you get one-on-one competition and that is a good idea of how players respond when they are up against players who are either the same or better at this time of their development.

Other factors that will enter into the picture, but not be televised will be the interviews. Teams like to throw all kinds of questions at players to determine their ability to respond to various situations, which at least provides an opportunity to see how they respond under pressure. The interview sessions also provide teams an opportunity to sense whether the player would be a good fit in the locker room or not.

The interview sessions and the background work done by teams are as important as anything seen on the field. Teams can learn about the character of players and some players who have done well physically on the field for the combine have not been picked up because of concerns about maturity.

The other factor to keep in mind this weekend is the appearance of 18 international players who will join the 43 on site. 12 players will not be taking part, due to injury, suspension or preparing for their university pro day when scouts come to check them out.

While the desire of Canadian college players to try their hands at the more lucrative NFL market is understandable, it makes evaluating players a bit of a crap shoot. Some players who go to the NFL may never come back to Canada like defensive lineman Daniel Onyemata of the New Orleans Saints.

Others do come back like Dakoda Shepley, who the Riders drafted fifth overall and who signed this week with the Riders for two years plus an option. The Riders landing of Shepley makes whatever negotiations with former Number one draft pick Josiah St. John interesting as St. John took three years to move into a regular rotation on the offensive line and that was only after injury.

St. John is a free agent with an agent who likes to play hardball, but whose case is undercut by the amount of time St. John spent injured and learning how to play to warrant a major contract. The Riders signing of Shepley gives them options on the offensive line, no matter what the ratio may be coming in the new CBA.

Other factors in the backdrop of the combine is the continued fallout of Johnny Manziel not having his contract renewed for the CFL, Manziel leaving for the Alliance of American Football and being picked up by the Memphis team. Whether Manziel engineered his own departure from the Montreal Alouettes or just is the victim of his own misguided belief that a sandlot quarterback like he is can prosper without putting in the work, his departure from Montreal, which gutted its draft by trading first round picks for the next three years.

This may have helped fuel stories the Montreal franchise is up for sale as Robert Wetenhall may have come to realize his son Andrew has no football sense whatsoever tying the franchise future to Kavis Reed. Montreal is closing down sections of Molson Stadium to meet the reduced demand for tickets but the appearance of Eric Lapointe is an indication there is a desire to turn the fortunes of the franchise around.

There may even be an out for Montreal in getting rid of Reed if he decides to take over in Edmonton as team president from former President Len Rhodes who resigned last month. Reed, who must give the most amazing interviews in football, fits to a T the Eskimo Way, even after an unsuccessful coaching stint marked by his classic “Consequences” speech.

So while the Alouettes had no initial reaction to reports the team was for sale and Lapointe has apparently not heard anything further. The inability of management to find a successor to Anthony Calvillo at quarterback and the circus that was the Manziel show last season can only help to turn off fans who want some sort of direction from the club.

Direction is something that may be coming in the Maritimes as the word seems to be the ownership group behind the Atlantic Schooners will be looking at federal infrastructure help to help build a new stadium for Halifax, something that might dovetail with the federal government rolling out an infrastructure plan but having nothing to show for it.

Of course the question should be asked what kind of infrastructure need does a stadium serve and the plan seems to be to leverage the stadium into a catalyst for a community growing project much like the former Lansdowne Park was developed in Ottawa including new condo development, restaurants and the like.

If the franchise is formally awarded to the Schooners, they would likely start play in Moncton New Brunswick which has perhaps the most-ready suitable stadium available in the area until the Halifax stadium is built in 2020. Apparently there will be further word next week, but until there is a commitment to a stadium and shovels in the ground, don’t order those Schooner jerseys just yet.

And speaking of sales…the legal problems of David Sidoo, the former Rider safety who went into business on the west coast and helped mastermind the growth of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in U Sport Football, may be a bit of a curveball in efforts to sell the BC Lions.

Sidoo has business connections helping with the growth of UBC Football and if David Braley sold the Lions to say, the Aquilini family, Sidoo might be brought in as the business liaison who could help rebuilt the Lions interest in the community. However, since Sidoo is charged in the Varsity Blues prosecution in the US over college admissions, that potential scenario may need to be revisited.

Speaking of revisiting, the CFL is looking at tweaking some of the proposed rule changes for this season, including giving coaches a second challenge in case their first one is successful. A second challenge would come in handy, especially if you consider last season where the Riders lost Zach Collaros to a head shot, or Brandon Bridge to another head shot in the western semi-final.

The CFL will also look at upgrading the 15 yard roughing the passer penalty to 25 yards for a direct blow to the head or neck of a quarterback. The defender must have a clear view of the quarterback and there should be no mitigating circumstances like the quarterback ducking.

The command centre may be getting a call to act on those situations where a call was missed because an official had his view blocked of a play. Another potential rule change is ruling a quarterback down if he slides head first instead of feet first.

The command centre will be able to upgrade a spearing penalty from a 15 yard to a 25-yard penalty if the defender hits with the crown of his helmet and has a clear view of the opponent with no mitigating factors like a player ducking.

A player getting two 25 yard penalties will be disqualified from the game. If a ball touches the flag on top of the goalpost on either a pass or a kick, the ball will be considered to be live. Other changes to be considered include;

– The command centre being able to assist on-field officials in calling penalties when the injury spotter has intervened in a player-safety situation.

– The command centre be allowed to assist on-field officials with called and non-called roughing-the-kicker penalties.

– Removing the stipulation that a defender be allowed to contact a kicker’s plant leg without penalty if the defender has touched the ball before contact.

– Clarifying the definition of spearing to be when a player uses the top of his helmet as the primary contact point to deliver a blow.

– Making the use of three or more wedge blockers on kicking plays illegal.

– A defensive player not being allowed to deliver a forcible blow to the long snapper while the snapper’s head is down and he’s in a vulnerable position.

If the recommendations are accepted, it will mean the command centre being utilized more during games.

So while the CFL debates what is the laziest and most cost effective way of finding players, the Riders continue their surge of free agent camps. Going off of social media tweets is a risky business, but the Riders may have a nice story in Malik Boynton, a defensive back with an incredible back story of sleeping homeless in a van in Detroit while growing up.

The Riders with the sixth and 16^th picks in the draft, widely felt to be a receiver deep draft, may look at a defensive lineman or a receiver to fill out their ranks at those two positions. The combination of physical looks and interviews this weekend should help narrow the decision for the Rider brain trust and what direction GM Jeremy O’ Day and head coach Craig Dickenson want to take the team.

by Greg Urbanoski

Greed, Stupidity and the CFL Ratio Battle

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