CFL Offseason Check Down

CFL Offseason Check Down

Published: Monday, Dec 11th 2017, 3:12am

by Greg McCulloch (@GregOnSports)

The CFL may be neck deep in the offseason but that doesn’t mean there is nothing is happening. The past week has been a flurry of activity, which is awesome because we can never get enough CFL here.

Let’s break down a few of the major stories that came out this week.

The “National” Debate

If you follow anyone on CFL twitter at some point this weekend you would have been drawn into the debate about the ratio of National players and the CFL.

It started when living CFL legend, Nik Lewis, mused on Twitter about National QBs, like Brandon Bridge and Andrew Buckley, counting towards the ratio and how it would affect the roster balance.

While the subject is in the forefront with Bridge having a meeting with Commissioner Randy Ambrosie this month. The debate spiralled out of control and went from the specific subject, to how the ratio should be, to Canadian kids not wanting to play in the CFL (Thanks, Dave Naylor), to a revisionist history of Grey Cup 105 (Thanks, Ricky Foley).

In my opinion, if your passport says Canadian you should count towards the ratio.  How that affects everything else is above my pay grade.

Enjoy 2018 as 2019 may be delayed

The CFLPA issued a statement this week that teams have been told to withhold payment of bonuses in the 2019 calendar year as a way to bring the players to the negotiating table.

We aren’t even in 2018 yet and the league and PA are preparing for an ugly battle over a year away. Which as a fan is kind of a good thing, as the last CBA was a rushed affair after the PA changed leadership as the negotiations were ongoing.

The fact that both the league and PA are already preparing for battle this early hopefully means most of the legwork will get done this season as opposed to the early months of 2019.

No one wants to play with Kavis Reed

Poor Kavis Reed.

Seemed like he had the world at his feet last offseason, miraculously was promoted to General Manager from Special Teams Coordinator. Got to go out and trade for the Quarterback he wanted in Darian Durant, and mould the rest of the roster in his image. Many pundits had Montreal challenging in the East.

But after squeaking out a victory against the Riders in the season opener the ageing roster caught up to the Alouettes. Which made scapegoats out of Head Coach Jacques Chapdelaine and Defensive Coordinator Noel Thorpe and brought Kavis back to the sidelines as Head Coach.

Which reminds me of my favourite CFL joke: What’s the quickest way to become a head coach in Montreal?

Be the general manager first.

Unfortunately, everyone seems to know the joke because no one wants to be the Head Coach in Montreal. Since the end of the season, Paul LaPolice re-upped with Winnipeg before Montreal could even get a chance to offer him the job. Plus, Reed’s reported top choices, Argos DC Corey Chamblin and Stamps DC DeVone Claybrooks, have both pulled themselves from consideration.

The struggle to find a Head Coach soon may affect the 2018 season and Reed’s job as a Gm…  What is the word I’m looking for here… oh ya…

Consequences.