Where was EITS?

[TecnoGenius]

I have no clue what EITS or RTP means keep them for personal messages !

Yet right at the bottom of your quote of me is the asterisk and the spelled out meaning of EITS.  I anticipated you! 

And RTP can easily be inferred by the context.

Yes, acronyms are pretty common here, especially the standard ones you see in football stats.  Yes, I am probably the worst acronym offender.  I'm horribly lazy and like to save time.

[TecnoGenius]

But come on. Neufeld, Stanley Bryant and Kolonkowski have played together for almost five seasons. Kolonkowski first played games in Winnipeg in 2021.

I bet thinking about individual OL is not the best approach.  How about thinking about it in terms of gap-pairs.  So there's the Stan-Vant gap, the Vant-Ko gap, etc.  Why?  Because the player is rarely on his own, it's usually a shared-gap thing (yes, I know, OT's can be speed/wide rushed out onto an island...).

So even though 3 of 5 have played together a long time, there's 3 of 4 gaps that are "new" (lacking gel).  Now, if the 3 vet guys were all on, say, the left side, then we'd only have 2 new-guy gaps.  If Neuf was always a LG instead of a RG, and the left-3 were fully gelled over many seasons, would we be better?  I bet the answer is yes.  At least the left side!

I don't pay attention to other teams... do they try to keep entire "sides" together instead of letting non-gel gaps develop every FA?

[TecnoGenius]

So, Reavis fined for the Zach hit:

https://3downnation.com/2025/09/11/this-some-bullsht-saskatchewan-roughriders-db-c-j-reavis-fined-for-high-hit-on-bombers-qb-zach-collaros/

That makes this thread even more relevant.  Not only was it deemed an illegal hit, it was deemed a fineable hit.

Explain again why MOS had to challenge it?  RTP gets EITS-flagged all the time.  They didn't have to wait for MOS.

Rule 10 Replay - Section 2 - Article 3 Automatic review game administration triggers (game not paused)
...
Penalty applications

Also:
Article 2 - Automatic review game administration triggers (Potential for game to be paused)
When the game is paused... the list of standard reviewable aspects will be reviewed.

Also:
Article 6 Officials Assistance
Officials are permitted to ask for assistance when a ruling is in question...
Examples are:...
Whether or not a roughing the passer ... has occurrred.

So not a single ref thought "hey maybe it might have been RTP, Zach's bell is rung, let's ask command"?  Pretty sad.

As for the auto-review, the game was already "paused" because of the long Zach turf rest.  The rule book talks about unpaused reviews, and reviews where they paused the game on purpose just to review... but it doesn't really talk about situations where an external pause (like an injury) occurs.  I would think that they would treat it like an already-paused situation? (i.e. more thorough review of more things)

I clearly recall in the past QBs getting killed and then a flag coming down like 2 mins after he was on the turf and commercials came and went.  Those didn't require challenges.  EITS flagged it autonomously.  Why not for Zach?

P.S. I'm a bit surprised Reavis got fined.  Riderforum must be going insane.  "League exists just to protect Zach! blah blah"

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Not sure what some posters were watching when they say there was no penalty- replay CLEARLY shows helmet to helmet contact. Should have been called without having to challenge it.

The question was asked what the tackler could have done to avoid any possible head contact - easy he could have lowered his impact point. Collaros didn't see him coming so made no move to lower his head down to make contact with the head unavoidable.

Imo - it was a dirty hit and I wish we would have done the same to Harris. Sask is a dirty team period end of story- tell me one other team that has injured as many QBs as Sask.

Watch his helmet as he rounds the corner and approaches Zach, Reavis doesn't think to drop it a single inch. It was a full height collision body to body, he may not have contacted the helmet intentionally, but he also did nothing to avoid it.  A good form tackle would have been aimed below the shoulders and above the waist, fair chance it would have knocked Zach out of the game regardless.

[TecnoGenius]

fair chance it would have knocked Zach out of the game regardless.

Yup, at that speed and with Zach's head hitting the turf in any event, Zach was going to be out.  The incidental helmet contact wasn't even necessary.

[TecnoGenius]

So EITS flags Demski for OSK interference in the HAM game?  They won't flag the fineable hit on Zach in the BB, but they choose this weak sauce to get flag happy?    Without any challenge?

Everyone was happy with the play.  The refs were happy.  HAM was happy.  WPG was happy.  Everyone satisfied it was all ok, then Command steps in and says "nope, we got some weak sauce for you, EAT THAT".

Watching the play again in real-time, it's bang-bang and Demski was clearly going for the ball.  This is what happens on every single OSK where the kick-team REC makes it to the target on time.  Everyone jumps up and someone gets it or bats it.

Keep in mind the last CFL memo we were privy to said that everything has to be "clear and obvious", supposedly in real time (no bang-bang overturns), and that "if you have to go to frame level" they won't overturn.

In the slow-mo replay after Proulx announces the penalty, ya sure Demski is a hair early (way under half a second) but he's playing the ball, not pulling Kenny's arms down.  Sure, he appears to "go through" Kenny.  But I don't think the normal "DPI" rules apply on an OSK, and if they do, no one ever applies them.

Can anyone find another instance of command calling down an OSK interference before?  And if so, calling it on the kick team player who is playing the ball?  Sometimes refs will flag someone illegally blocking someone from getting to it, but it's never the guy at the ball, it's somewhere else amongst the blockers.  Even then they let almost everything slide in OSKs.  It's the nature of the play.

What if Demski was taller and outjumps Kenny and comes down with it... would they still overturn?  If he is higher and gets the ball first, hard to argue he wasn't entitled to play the ball.

It seems so petty for them to rob us of this.  As even though we'd still probably lose, it could increase our confidence and momentum going into next week.

[TecnoGenius]

EDM@HAM game

4Q0:35 BLM takes a H2H from a D guy.  No ref flag.  But 1m10s later EITS steps in and calls down a flag.

So WHERE WAS THIS EITS WHEN ZACH GOT HIT?  Where was this EITS when VAJ got hit?  They can't just pick and choose what to flag and what to wait for the HC to challenge.  The rules afford them the ability to flag ALL of these if they don't need to "pause the game" just to look (which none did).

Keep in mind the Zach hit was deemed RTP/UR in-game post-challenge (plus a fine midweek).  The VAJ hit will certainly be a fine.

But only this hit is deemed worthy of EITS to step in.

[dd]

The league has struggled for years with consistency on the field, and now we have it off the field, which to me, should be alot easier to control, and it does take away from the credibility of the EITS process

[Stats Junkie]

The only ref I'd say is worse is that #22 bleepity bleep that made all those ridiculous and insane and rigged calls on us in '24.  You know, the ref who was benched for botching and rigging way too much.  Haven't seen him since.  Good riddance.

For someone who claims to notice a lot of the finer details, you fail to notice a lot.

Murray Clarke was not benched at any point. Every fan base claims that the officials botch calls against their team; sometimes both fan bases in the same game. Yes, on field officials do make mistakes but they get a lot more correct than they do wrong. To claim that officials rig games is irresponsible.

Murray Clarke is in his 33rd CFL season making him one of the longest serving officials in CFL history. Recently, he worked his 600th career game in the Banjo Bowl. Heck, you probably even clapped for him when the Blue Bombers honoured him.  Perhaps the reason you haven't noticed him since you blackballed him is because he actually does a good job.

[TecnoGenius]

For someone who claims to notice a lot of the finer details, you fail to notice a lot.

Murray Clarke was not benched at any point.

Your vaunted Murray Clarke #22 I did not see in a role on the team B side of the LoS any more that whole season a few games after the horrific botch job he did against us.  I looked for him EVERY game after that, not just WPG games.  Yes, because of TSN angle limitations I was not able to know for sure he didn't still ref in that position.  But I do know he wasn't making any bad calls against us (or anyone else) after that: I was looking for him intently in all the video I had at my disposal.

You watch those 3 calls he royally botched in '24 and then get back to me.  WPG fans remember what I'm talking about.  Of the 2 calls in the SSK games one arguably directly lost us the game.  And the TOR game one also lost us the game.  I can easily forgive one bad call.  Refs make mistakes.  But 3 critical bad calls in critical games within a few weeks all against us?  Unforgivable, and hard to explain away as mere "mistakes": because I've never seen a single ref do such damage to us so fast before or since.

Let's take a peek at this supposed top vet CFL ref #22, did he get to ref the 2024 GC?  Usually top-graded refs get the cup.  That's their reward for good work.  So #22 in that list, right?  Surely.  Oh wait, he's not.  Oh look at that.  Something affected his ref grading so this top vet super great ref was benched for the cup.  Funny, that!  Someone must have made a mistake.

And that infamous other No End Debacle ref WAS benched.  So it does happen.  CFL said they took action in an official memo and I'm pretty sure he was booted.  For someone who claims to notice a lot of the finer details, you fail to mention the other example I'm always citing that directly refutes your "refs aren't benched" theory.

I remember these refs because they directly lost WPG multiple, critical games.  And I will never forget them.  And I will never let them off the hook.

Every fan base claims that the officials botch calls against their team; sometimes both fan bases in the same game. Yes, on field officials do make mistakes but they get a lot more correct than they do wrong. To claim that officials rig games is irresponsible.

But the No End ref did "rig games" and that is why he was canned.  So you can't say it doesn't happen.  And I've seen enough Superbowls to know that down south they rig a shed load of games.  They aren't all immune to homerism or $$.

Murray Clarke is in his 33rd CFL season making him one of the longest serving officials in CFL history. Recently, he worked his 600th career game in the Banjo Bowl. Heck, you probably even clapped for him when the Blue Bombers honoured him.  Perhaps the reason you haven't noticed him since you blackballed him is because he actually does a good job.

Or the CFL reprimanded him and/or corrected his errors and/or told him to cut it out, and he finally got the message.  Not like people can't change when faced with heat or a pink slip.  Or maybe he found Jesus (or some good bifocals).  Who knows.

I still casually scan the sidelines and field for him each PAS game.  But thanks for telling me he might still be out there in @PAS games, I'll be sure to try extra hard to spot him and watch him like a hawk.  I'll know who to suspect when we get a garbage game-changing call.

P.S. Go back and read the threads on here and Riderfans: fans on both sides thought one or both of the DPI calls were completely bogus.  And if you have ALL green and blue fans agreeing on a call in a green and blue game then you have a ref botching it.  Sorry.

P.P.S. Just because 1 or 2 refs suck or rig games, does not mean all refs suck and rig games.  It just means 1 or 2 are incompetent, blind, homers, or being paid off.  But to say all refs are never even one of those things smacks of fairy dust and unicorns -- it's simply not reality.

[TecnoGenius]

And you completely dodged the point of the thread.  As a CFL employee and apologist for refs, how do you explain the completely lack of ref/command/EITS calls on the Zach and VAJ hits?  IMHO all the officials (on and off field) are really letting us down in QB (and other player) safety this season.

#22 is completely peripheral to the issue at hand.  Well, I'm assuming he wasn't the guy tasked with staring at those hits and making the on-field determination!  But now I'm going to go back in the coverage to see if he was...