By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

On 420 where there is smoke in the CFL, is there also a fire?

Apr 21, 2022 | 9:52 AM

The CFL seems to have fallen off a cliff the last couple of weeks, as the league gets ready for the NFL draft, CFL draft and would you believe we are about a month away from training camp?

However, there are things bubbling under the surface, with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the League and players which will likely see Americans who have been a CFL team for three or five years be considered Canadian.

It’s not totally unknown since Ron Lancaster played as a Canadian once he had gotten his Canadian citizenship. Quarterbacks for some strange reason do not count as Canadians for the ratio.

The reason for this is likely two or three-fold. The first is that this answers somewhat the fan’s desire for player continuity. The Riders have made a killing with some of the highest priced jerseys in the CFL, but they have been cutting prices because fans are not willing now to shell out money for a new jersey whenever a new player gets a high light film spot.

So with some longer tenured Americans maybe sticking around, the team is hoping to build the fan engagement it has lost over the last few years.

Court

Cries of racism fill courtroom as judge stays impaired driving charge in Saskatoon

5m ago

Community support

The Hunger Games return to Prince Albert

2h ago

Raiders win 5-3

Defensive scoring leads Raiders over Wheat Kings

10h ago

The other reason for this come out repeatedly from CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie. He has said the numbers involved in university football has been decreasing along with grassroots football – high school and flag football – and the pool of capable Canadian football players is shrinking.

The problem with Ambrosia’s approach is that it avoids a few simple facts. The first is the average American NCAA player has a regular season of 12-14 games while the U Sports football player has a regular season of uh, 8 games.

So over a three-year career, an NCAA player will have between 36-42 regular season games while the Canadians will play uh, 24. Add to that abbreviated high school and perhaps junior football seasons and what Canadian players need is more opportunities to play.

So one way the CFL can cover off providing more opportunities for Canadian players is giving them more opportunities to play in a way that could work to provide football fans with a lower cost form of entertainment.

CFL teams should explore the idea of an indoor football league to provide Canadian players and perhaps some NFL signings with an opportunity to get repetitions and experience. The rosters would be smaller than a regular football team due to the size of the playing surface.

With smaller rosters and with games being played in climate controlled arenas, the CFL could use the league as a way to develop fan engagement in potential new markets.

So you could have teams in say, Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg, Windsor, London, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton and Halifax.

So you could have fans in places that have not experienced CFL football following Canadian players are they hopefully progress to the pro ranks. This would be a feeder system for the CFL with family friendly pricing for seats and concessions.

I watched a game of the Indoor Football League between Green Bay and Bismarck and the arena was filled with families with kids under 12 getting in for free and lots of promotions to keep fans interested. I contrasted this with the aging CFL audience and this proposal will help sustain CFL interest throughout the year and provide Canadian players with more playing time to develop into professional athletes.

A proposal like this would cost money and with how the CFL made a joke of itself by asking the federal government for a donation in 2020 to play in a bubble indicates the CFL likes to talk about promoting its game but when the rubber hits the road, the CFL is waiting at the side, thumbs out, looking to hitch a ride with whoever wants to pick it up.

In the meantime, the Riders announced a new three – year agreement with the University of Saskatchewan to host the Riders training camp. The camp will run from May 15 to June 3 with practices at Griffiths Stadium at the U of S campus.

The Riders were last in Saskatoon in 2019 and since then the U of S completed a $3.13 million turf project improving and expanding the playing surface.

The Rider rookie camp will run May 11-13 and the team will host its Green and White game with the offense going up against the defense on May 28. The Riders will also be taking part in the Annual Dog’s Breakfast and other events around the community.

The Riders have also made a few signings including TJ Morrison who was an undrafted free agent signed by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021.

The Riders also signed James Smith of the University of Cincinnati who is their all time leading punter. Smith comes here through the auspices of the CFL Global player program and is apparently a cheaper alternative to former Rider punter Jon Ryan.

While it may seem a wise move from an analytic approach to release a relatively high cost asset like Ryan, releasing a player like Ryan is kind of a kick to Canadian players who perform at a high level. Ryan did have a problem with just out-kicking his coverage and allowing runbacks but seemed to have been working on it last year.

The CFL salary cap and the fact the Riders needed to make a decent offer to Duke Williams meant the money had to come from somewhere and a 40-year-old punter may not be the wisest investment regardless of how far he kicks.

The Riders brought in American receiver Jakob Prall who spent four years at Brown University, an apparently Ivy League school, who led his school in receiving yards in his sophomore and senior seasons. Prall is a speedster but whether or not he was Dwight Edward hands is a question waiting for training camp to answer.

The Riders added running back Shaq Cooper who spent 2021 with the Bombers and Lions. With the Lions he was used as a running back and with the Lions he was used as returner. Cooper has an injury history so don’t expect too much from him.

The Riders signed defensive back C.J. Reavis who played at Marshall University. He made his NFL debut in 2018 with the Jacksonville Jaguars and in 2019 went to the Atlanta Falcons.

The CFL draft is set for May 3 and the first two rounds will broadcast, I would assume live, on TSN starting at 6 p.m. local time. The draft is being described as a shallow draft which is compounded by a number of Canadian players opting to try out for the NFL draft.

There is some conjecture about where the Riders may go and the answer seems to be gathering around improving the depth of the offensive line. Marshall Ferguson on the CFL.Ca site had the Riders taking offensive lineman Rodeem Brown with their first pick (Number 7 overall). Brown is returning to the University of Alberta in 2022 and Ferguson things the Riders should groom him for 2023 and then add him as their centre.

Ferguson predicts the Riders will add receiver Keaton Bruggeling of Carleton who has some size to presumably move into the spot once occupied by Brayden Lenius in the second round.

In the third round the Riders will go for linebacker Ryder Varga who like Brown is also looking to go back to the University of Regina for his last year. In the fourth round the Riders are expected to pick receiver Riley Boersma of the U of R Rams.

In round five the Riders are expected to pick running back Adam Machart of the University of Saskatchewan. Malchart is a runner with a low centre of gravity who may evolve into an intriguing player.

In the 6^th round the Riders are predicted to choose Jonathan Eduord, a DB from Carleton University. In the7th round the Riders are said to be looking at Maksim Duric of the University of Toronto. The Riders are expected to take defensive back Daniel Amoako of York University with their final pick of the eighth round.

John Hodges of 3DownNation has the Riders taking offensive lineman Noah Zerr of the University of Saskatchewan at 6’7” and 33o pounds with their first pick. Hodges sees the Riders taking defensive lineman Nathan Cherry of the U of S with its second pick which fits in with planes to rotate defensive linemen.

Hodges sees the Riders taking Rodeem Brown of the University of Alberta with its third pick, which seems to make sense. Hodges did not go further than three rounds, but a theme is developing of the Riders getting depth for its offensive line, defensive backs and defensive line.