major announcement - big changes to cfl playoff and season start

[Blueforlife]

I'll reserve my judgment once I see it played out.  Moving up the season is good for me as I travel in Nov often.  May will be a crap shoot, weather can be all four seasons that time of year lol.

[Waffler]

Initial thoughts: 

Have training camp in Texas. Below zero too many mornings in April here. 

Don't start Collaros until Oct. That is when the meaningful games start. Silly to risk injury in the exhibition portion of the season.

[Waffler]

Chris Jones would excel in the new format. Always took him months to pick his team and then they would actually be good by late fall.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

At this point, they should just change the name of the CFL, to the TFL (Toronto Football League), since all the decisions involving the CFL are made with executives in a boardroom in Toronto, all the rabid fans in CFL strongholds like Winnipeg and Regina be damned.

Good point, I wonder if they ran any of these changes past the GM's?  At least it mentions they consulted with the CFLPA.

[dd]

I don't see how letting another bottom feeding team into the playoffs makes the games more exciting, meaningful or competitive. Teams are going to be doing more injury prevention management than anything down the stretch once they can't get #1 or #2 spots in the division, then rest player until the playoffs. Good luck trying to get fans to the last games of the season when games are meaningless.

I really don't like anything i've heard since Stu came in as Commissioner.

[Tecno]

Pretty much hate it.  We've had so many "let's revamp the playoffs" discussions here over the last decade.  Yet not one person ever suggested anything as nutso as these '27 ideas.  Not sure this helps anything or solves anything that was actually deemed a "problem".

Seems like more of Johnston's "change for change's sake".  If I didn't know better, I'd suspect he's a manchurian candidate installed to destroy the league.

I'll analyze more after I'm done watching the draft show (just started!), or at least the 1st 2 rounds.

[Tecno]

Oh ya, why announce this on draft day?  Why split the spotlight?  He kinda did this with the clock/post/110 changes last year... announce controversial stuff when everyone is busy with other stuff.  Pretty sure this isn't by accident.  Might help deflect the blowback.

[Jesse]

Oh ya, why announce this on draft day?  Why split the spotlight?  He kinda did this with the clock/post/110 changes last year... announce controversial stuff when everyone is busy with other stuff.  Pretty sure this isn't by accident.  Might help deflect the blowback.

Definitely not an accident.

Best case: get eyes back on the league on the day of the draft.

Conspiracy case: hiding the news to be quickly buried under the optimism of drat day.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Pretty much hate it.  We've had so many "let's revamp the playoffs" discussions here over the last decade.  Yet not one person ever suggested anything as nutso as these '27 ideas.  Not sure this helps anything or solves anything that was actually deemed a "problem".

Seems like more of Johnston's "change for change's sake".  If I didn't know better, I'd suspect he's a manchurian candidate installed to destroy the league.

I'll analyze more after I'm done watching the draft show (just started!), or at least the 1st 2 rounds.

Well if nothing else it keeps every team in the playoff race which could help attendance for bottom dwellers.  Thinking about the Elks who started so poorly last season and were out of the playoffs early, not much reason for fans to attend games.

[The Zipp]

more playoff money for players..pro for them

more wear and tear on bodies

sell more winter wear with games in May

if the raptors or leafs make noise in their playoffs - good luck selling tickets in toronto. 

[Jesse]

Well if nothing else it keeps every team in the playoff race which could help attendance for bottom dwellers.  Thinking about the Elks who started so poorly last season and were out of the playoffs early, not much reason for fans to attend games.

And not just at the bottom, teams in the middle will be chasing the top 2 spots all season long. I think every team is going to have something to play for for the entire season in most cases.

[TBURGESS]

The good:
Moving the season up.
The bad & the ugly:
Everything else.

[Tecno]

And not just at the bottom, teams in the middle will be chasing the top 2 spots all season long.

Doubt it.  Usually 1 or 2 teams pull way ahead in divisional rankings by Sept.  Once it's clear you're not 1 or 2, I think teams will totally put the brakes on and just try to not be #9.  I'm talking resting starters, easing wear & tear on everyone, reps for rookies/backups, getting as fresh as possible for the "play-ins".

This will be doubly so if there's a clear crap team, like OTT last year or EDM the year before.  If the 9th can be identified early it takes all the pressure off the middle 4 teams.

I see this making teams try LESS, and having more "garbage season" games -- maybe an entire month (or 2!) of them!  The only way it would work is if almost every team was pretty equal, which basically never happens.

[Tecno]

some really bad teams will be making the playoffs. some will say that is happening now though.

Ya, so to put it in perspective that would mean that in '25 EDM and TOR would have made the playoffs.  You could literally suck as bad as TOR did all season and get a shot at the cup.  Maybe TOR finally gets Kelly back for the 1st play-in game -- then what...

can always tweak things if they become a disaster

That would be admitting mistakes and failure, and I see no indication Johnston is even capable of that.  Pretty sure the only way we'll ever get any of the New Insanity backtracked is if they fire Johnston.

[Tecno]

My initial reactions are mostly positive. I can accept the compromise between keeping the divisional structure

How are we "keeping the divisional structure".  Now it's only team 1 & 2 in each division that get in and 3rd place teams (who used to stay in-division -- mostly) go to any random division?  That's how I read it.

They might want to slow their roll on some things. Such massive changes are probably going to require trouble-shooting as new issues arise and they're not going to have the capacity to handle so many different things at once.

Totally agree.  That's the worst aspect.  They are steamrolling everyone all the time, and it's questionable the way they time & group "CFL happenings" to split our attention spans.