2015 CFL Season
 

I think the 2015 Season is very critical for the long term health of the league
Lots of questions

- New Commish? Cohon will be difficult to replace
- Argos - ownership and a new Home (BMO?)
- 10th franchise - Halifax, Moncton, Quebec City all have been talked about
- BC, Winnipeg and Montreal need to bounce back as far as performance and getting fans back in seats. All dropped in attendance last year.
- Legacy of new QB's in the league - need some new stars to develop like Bo Levi Mitchell did this year.
- Will Saskatchewan buck the trend and stay on schedule with the new stadium
- Grey Cup hosts. I think the league needs to award at least the 2016 and 2017 GC this year. Hosts used to be at least 2 years out and now it seems only a year out
- Do they start the season earlier? Lots of pros and cons here

Anything anyone else can think of?

The actual game of football, maybe?! Just like last season, the original post raises almost nothing but board of governors type issues. I don't necessarily mind that stuff, but I do get a bit prickly given that the media tends to fixate on it to the exclusion of the actual game itself. I don't know of any other league where the boring stuff like attendance figures get routinely discussed and dissected as they do with the CFL.

How about stuff like:

-What kind of Lions team can we expect under new coach Jeff Tedford?
-What kinds of personnel changes will the RedBlacks make heading into their second season? Is Burris disgruntled?
-Are the Bombers going to move to the next phase of their rebuild or are they just spinning their wheels? Does the Bomber braintrust still have faith in Drew Willy as the undisputed starting QB?
-Is Ben Heenan going to the NFL? If so, how are the Riders going to fill that considerable hole?
-Can Jon Cornish bounce back from his injury-hobbled 2014 season?
-Can the Argos bounce back from their injury-hobbled 2014 season?
-Have the Als hit their stride as a team on the upswing? Is Duron Carter going to the NFL, and if so, what kind of impact will it have on Jonathan Crompton's passing game?

Cohon is the biggest concern.

Start the season earlier. I can't even believe that is a question. Sure it starts to coincide with NHL playoffs, but seriously, those playoffs go to June. Not many people are showing up to the preseason games anyway and the season started on June 26th (June 28th was Saturday). Move it up three weeks. Sure, there will be some practice in potentially ugly weather, but my son's outdoor soccer season starts April 28th!!! The first three weeks were totally wiped out. We could start training camp the end of April. If five-year olds can do it, the CFL can do it. No more Grey Cup in November. Just say NO!

Agreed on setting the host city two years in advance. The league might be sitting on their hands to see what goes on with the Riders stadium to see if they could host it the first year open, but I would schedule earlier and give Regina the Grey Cup the year after the opening season as a schedule buffer. Give cities a chance to do things really well.

Just found this article too

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cf...ons&soc_trk=tw

On the field, I think the overall decline in offense was a big story in 2014. Will 2015 see a bounce-back in offensive production? Is there an epidemic shortage of quality QBs in pro football (NFL seems to be struggling with that too)?

Should be interesting to see if the Ti-Cats can carry the momentum from the last 2 years in their new and actually completed stadium. I'm thinking it will be another good run.

Amazing how different the Cats and Als looked in the second half of the season... well, the Bombers too, but for the wrong reasons :(

I don't have much hope for the Argos unfortunately. They're basically Ricky Ray, Chad Owens, Swayze Waters, Andre Durie and.........................................

I'm hoping Braley finally just gives in and sells them to an owner who won't neglect them.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl...#storylink=cpy

I hope he signs with the Chiefs so I can continue to cheer for him (KC is my NFL team).:)

^ That is a crazy stat, no WR touchdowns for the Chiefs all season. I bet Dressler would have pulled it off!

Well in player news the Riders released Dominic Picard and he quickly signed with the BBs. I always thought he was solid and as a Canadian he should be an asset on any team's o-line. But as with all players the $$ needs to make sense.

I look forward to this season being tight in the standings. Obviously there is a lot of off-season to go, but I just get the feeling that from top to bottom things will be competitive. Not that i expect Calgary to regress, I just think the rest of the league is primed to take a step forward. Here's hoping anyways.

Off the field, I really hope Toronto can sort itself out or at least start trending in that direction this year. I would also really like to have some positive news on a 10th team if that is at all possible. I love the thought of a balanced schedule and maybe a little sooner than way later.

I am also pretty pumped for the Grey Cup to be played in Winnipeg. You don't have to be a fan of the Bombers (and I am certainly not!) to know the city appreciates their football. I am betting they put on a fantastic show!

Picard is a huge pickup for the Bombers, but they are desperate when it comes to the OL. It's such a liability that they badly need to throw money at the problem.

People are pretty pumped but the ticket prices are a turnoff for some... some of my buddies who have STs are not buying their seat for the GC because the tickets are exorbitantly priced... there is a complex scheme of discounts depending on season ticket commitment, but generally speaking anyone with decent seats will have to pay around $400 a ticket for the GC. A lot of people just won't pay. I've been to all 3 cups in Winnipeg and even I'm on the fence about this one... the temptation to watch from the warmth of home with an extra 4 bills in my wallet (5 once you factor in parking/beer/food/etc.) is strong.

^Which prompts me to say that the CFL needs to get its playoff schedule out of November. As fun as a bit of snow and a reasonably mild mid-autumn day is in Canada, you just have to look at Regina this year. Sure, they lucked out with the Grey Cup here on a relatively warm day in 2013, but then look at this year with a high of -21.3 and a low of -30.7. Why put your fans at risk off frost bite when you don't have to? Why?

Yeah, that is certainly a steep price to pay for some GC tickets and I'm sure if a Heritage Classic is scheduled next season, it could be a similar price point for that too. It would sure be nice if leagues (and hockey federations) could give the consumer a break (ideally without scalpers taking advantage), but some how I just don't think that'll happen anytime soon.

I'm okay with games in November but ideally everything could be wrapped up by Remembrance Day. I think that could certainly be attainable. Starting the season as the Stanley Cup is on really shouldn't be a problem and could maybe be offset by having a couple less games compete with the NFL at the other end of the calendar.

I think the only real stumbling point is the College draft and I think I will leave the solution to that for someone who is smarter than I.

I'm not sure why the draft would be a stumbling block. The CFL draft is for Canadian university players and Canadians playing in the NCAA. There's not much overlap with the NFL draft which happens after the CFL season has started anyway. Moving it up should --I'm not saying it is -- be a relatively easy task.

The Stanley Cup is much stiffer competition for viewers than the NFL. Generally, the only time the NFL gets higher numbers than the CFL is the Super Bowl. The NHL, on the other hand, is the top sports property for viewership in Canada.

Pretty easy to deal with the NHL "problem". Just schedule the games to avoid the hockey. By the time June rolls around we are into the final two NHL teams.

The CFL schedule comes out in Feb or so... The NHL playoffs are a little more ad hoc. Plus... Canadian Media attention, which the CFL already struggles getting, will be focussed on hockey. Maybe that will change with TSN/Bell being shut out of hockey now... but I doubt it.

True. But the CFL can look at historical trends in the NHL and make pretty good predictions to de conflict with NHL games.