CFL announces changes to the game - merged topics

[theaardvark]

Wow!  Did Johnston steal Aard's login credentials?

Aards, think for yourself man!  You basically just regurgitated the exact same wording as Johnston gave in the KJME interview I posted!

Everyone's already rebutted every point, but you just toe the party line!  At least pro-NFL SB&G is putting thought into his rah-rah posts, understands what we are saying, and isn't parroting the weak talking points.

Did you really think the 55 yard line was "silly" last season?  10 seasons ago?  20?  Or do you just think you think that now because the concept has been implanted in your brain as truth by external parties?

Inserting the thing no one opposes to justify the changes many oppose.  Fallacious.

Phew, I thought the aliens had completely taken over your brain.  At least you had one nonconformist thought in this post.  Now go tell Johnston, because as it stands right now, you're getting the 35s clock in the final 3.  And agreeing with all his other points only strengthens his ability to do it.

Using my own mind to confirm the thinking behind the changes could be regarded as "Parroting talking points".  I have thought about and agreed with thier thoughts.

55 yard line was unique and a fun difference, for sure.  The recent marketing where they made the 55  different font in many places for the ESPN coverage was kinda cool.  But losing it and 10 yards is not a hill I'd choose to die on.  3 downs, ratio, waggle... sure.  But the 55?  Nope.  And the CFL field was 100 yards in the past.

And I am saying things out loud that the board of governors obviously discussed but refuse to say.  These cosmetic changes ARE a marketing ploy to the NFL.  These make preseason games in Canada a thing, or even in season games like in Buffalo/Toronto.  Being able to make minimal changes to the markings to make the field NFL compatible opens up millions in new revenue streams that most CFL teams desperately need.  The present layout eliminates these possibilities, as seen with the IGF hosting fiasco.

The Commish was tasked with moving forward.  We have no idea if any of these were his ideas, or were they ideas already in the office or being discussed by the BOG, and he's just the spokesperson for them, or how much of each there was.  What we do know is that the owners and managers who's money is on the line here decided unanimously to make these changes.

It's their money, their franchises, they can run them as they want.  I think the changes were well thought out, and minimize any change to that which makes the CFL unique.

As to other points about not consulting players and coaches, seriously?  The fact that you have them coming out on both sides shows that would have been futile.  And while business owners will ask employees about operational modalities, the final decisions on which direction they take the company is 100% their decision.

Letting the employees decide does not always take into account the big picture. 

Were I making these changes and announcements, I would have added a biscuit for the players and coaches.  I would have added 1 DI to the roster, expanding it by 1, and I would have added a significant amount to the Front Office $SMS and added a 6 game IR type forgiveness for firing a coach. 

[The Zipp]

No, I think he's a figurehead, but a complicit one.  And I don't even think his ultimate masters are the BOG, but that's tinfoil and not entirely relevant right now.

However, from how I understand it based on Johsnton statements and all I've read, Johnston started basically immediately ("many months ago" he said) working on the changes with a small group of people, including a subset of the BOG -- with everyone under a secrecy oath (his words, paraphrased).  Only then did they take the work to the entire BOG.

So I don't think it's valid to say this is the handiwork of the entire BOG, or that even many/most of them knew what was coming down the pipe.

In any event, the optics are that this is all driven by the Commish.  Certainly Ambrosie would not have put us all in this situation.  In fact, now we see why he was ousted, and looked like he was going to cry all the time the last few months.  He knew what "they" wanted, and he likely hated it.  Because Ambrosie WAS one of us, and one of the players, and, and... Johnston is nothing.  Is he even a "lifelong fan"?

Boom there it is

If that's the/a goal, he should come out and say it.  Share the vision, outline the path.  Let the fans decide whether they want to get him ousted or not for it before he destroys everything.  He's insulting us right now.

of course the entire BOG knew and it is typical to put together a small subset of people to work on the approved mandate and the details...it only fits your narrative to skew the truth to make the optics look like its one person so that you have a single named entity to blame.  It is clearly the BOG wanted to do this not just the commish.  Take your angst out on them - this will include Wade Miller - if he was against it he could say so or resign from his position if it is that important to him.

[blue_gold_84]

Letting the employees decide does not always take into account the big picture.

Undermining employees - the players and coaches who make this league great - to force through a bunch of changes doesn't take into account the big picture, either. On the contrary, it's created a wedge at a time when this league needs more unity than ever. Johnston and the BOG should be ashamed of themselves for how this came about.

Also: consider the slippery slope here. Just because the waggle and three downs haven't been changed doesn't mean they're set in stone, especially when you consider the commish's non-answer when asked about the latter the other day.

Capitulating to the NFL also ain't it.

[theaardvark]

Undermining employees - the players and coaches who make this league great - to force through a bunch of changes doesn't take into account the big picture, either. On the contrary, it's created a wedge at a time when this league needs more unity than ever. Johnston and the BOG should be ashamed of themselves for how this came about.

Also: consider the slippery slope here. Just because the waggle and three downs haven't been changed doesn't mean they're set in stone, especially when you consider the commish's non-answer when asked about the latter the other day.

Capitulating to the NFL also ain't it.

Capitulating to the NFL?  I will take odds on the fact that no one in the NFL placed any requests or suggestions here.

But I think any business person who can identify a potential partnership opportunity, and makes no effort to create the option is pretty dumb.

[blue_gold_84]

Capitulating to the NFL?  I will take odds on the fact that no one in the NFL placed any requests or suggestions here.

But I think any business person who can identify a potential partnership opportunity, and makes no effort to create the option is pretty dumb.

You gotta learn to read between the lines, man. It seemed like you did:

These cosmetic changes ARE a marketing ploy to the NFL.

Capitulation to the NFL money machine doesn't magically mean some windfall of riches for the CFL just because changes were made to field size or goalpost location. On the contrary, the NFL only cares about further enriching itself, so I'd be leery about the CFL attempting to align itself any closer to it.

It's also so hilarious when you ignore the rest of a reply. Never change. LOL

[wpg#1]

55 yard line was unique and a fun difference, for sure.  The recent marketing where they made the 55  different font in many places for the ESPN coverage was kinda cool.  But losing it and 10 yards is not a hill I'd choose to die on.  3 downs, ratio, waggle... sure.  But the 55?  Nope.  And the CFL field was 100 yards in the past.

When ? When as the CFL field 100 yards ? Not in my lifetime .. and I've been around for many many years.
Of course, I don't expect an answer. 

[blue_gold_84]

When ? When as the CFL field 100 yards ? Not in my lifetime .. and I've been around for many many years.
Of course, I don't expect an answer. 

Because he's lying. The CFL field has always been 110 yards in length.

How shameless.

[wpg#1]

Because he's lying. The CFL field has always been 110 yards in length.

How shameless.

Even when I was a kid, and had my Coleco CFL electric football ( not the handheld one ) it had 110 yards. 

[1chad]

I agree with the endzone changes, just so every stadium is the same. 
Teams on opposite sides?  Should have been enforced from the get go.

Shorten the field? Hard no. Makes it harder for offences. Less space favours a defence. Once it is done, the next thing will be "too congested in the smaller space, we are going to 11 men a side"

Move the goal posts? We had a precision throw from Strevvie in the 2019 GC to Andrew Harris over the upright! Of course, we wouldn't have been in the GC if Cody hadn't doinked it off the cross bar in the WF.

Also, as mentioned by many, kiss the electrifying missed field goal return goodbye.

Will I still watch? Of course.  will the games be as interesting or more so?  Doubt it.

I certainly think the Commish's projection of 60 more TDs is crap.

[Waffler]

I had this one. Fun as a kid. You spin for what play you want to call.

55 yard line was there.

[blue_gold_84]

I certainly think the Commish's projection of 60 more TDs is crap.

He presented no actual data to back up his feeble claim. Johnston's full of it, just like @theaardvark when he claimed the CFL had 100-yard fields in the past.

Liars are the worst.

[wpg#1]

He presented no actual data to back up his feeble claim. Johnston's full of it, just like @theaardvark when he claimed the CFL had 100-yard fields in the past.

Liars are the worst.

I've asked AARDS a few times to back up his claims with questions .. and he just avoids them.

[wpg#1]

I had this one. Fun as a kid. You spin for what play you want to call.

55 yard line was there.

That is cool. I had a board game also, but it was cards you flipped over. It also had a 55 yard line.

[Tecno]

He presented no actual data to back up his feeble claim. Johnston's full of it, just like @theaardvark when he claimed the CFL had 100-yard fields in the past.

The big thing on Riderforum by the pro-change few is "the CFL had 25Y EZs in the past".  I don't know if that's true (and not from the Rugby era...), but it's another fallacious talking point because if the Commish had just said 2 days ago he was moving benches and shortening the EZ to 17 or 15 so all fields are the same AND THAT'S IT, no one would have said boo or been upset or had any issue with anything.

I think they slipped the couple of "well, duh" changes in with the "people gonna hate it" ones just to muddy the waters.  And allow people to go "der derp muh 25Y EZs in 1946".

The Commish & co (and marketing/propaganda dept) are nothing if not slick & smooth.  I couldn't have structured this whole thing any better, and I know all the techniques.

[blue_gold_84]

I've asked AARDS a few times to back up his claims with questions .. and he just avoids them.

It's what he does.

The yanks reduced the field length to 100 yards. It was also the yanks who added an extra down. Buncha softies.