NCAA Football '11-'12

[Barrister]

Yeah I am puzzled by BB's claim the CFL is not a minor league.

The four major leagues are MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL.  Surely he does not believe the CFL belongs with them?

No, it doesn't belong with them.  The salaries are lower, as are the production values.  And yes, the NFL all in all has more talented players.

But the reason I resist the term minor league is because a minor league means a developmental league.

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Minor_league

That's not really the case with the CFL.  Players can't be called up from the CFL to the NFL.  There's no developmental deal.  And at some points in history the CFL actually competed with the NFL for talent (see Warren Moon or Rocket Ishmail).

Finally, the CFL is the premiere, is the number 1, football league in Canada.  There is no other league in Canada for it to be inferior to.

It would be like calling MLS "minor league".  While obviously MLS isn't a big money sport in north america the way the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL are, I don't think the term fits.

[Valmy]

It would be like calling MLS "minor league".  While obviously MLS isn't a big money sport in north america the way the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL are, I don't think the term fits.

Well I do consider MLS a minor league.  But I guess if you consider "minor league" means "developement league" then alright that certainly doesn't fit the MLS and CFL.

[HVC]

Lets compromise and call them a magor minor league

[MadImmortalMan]

Rather, it's heavily pro-passing league.  With a significantly wider field it's even more improtant than in the US to have a strong arm.

You live in the land of perfect football weather, and you completely waste the opportunity by relying heavily on the pass? I am dissappoint.

[Barrister]

Rather, it's heavily pro-passing league.  With a significantly wider field it's even more improtant than in the US to have a strong arm.

You live in the land of perfect football weather, and you completely waste the opportunity by relying heavily on the pass? I am dissappoint.

It's a summer league.  Pre-season games start next week.

[Valmy]

It's a summer league.  Pre-season games start next week.

I would love to see Edmonton playing in January.

[Berkut]

Rather, it's heavily pro-passing league.  With a significantly wider field it's even more improtant than in the US to have a strong arm.

You live in the land of perfect football weather, and you completely waste the opportunity by relying heavily on the pass? I am dissappoint.

It's a summer league.  Pre-season games start next week.

Yeah, they like to play in the summer, so as to not interfere with major league football.

[grumbler]

For starters, the CFL is still a highly skilled league, with only 8 teams (and thus 8 starting QB jobs).  Thus every year we get former hot shot college QBs coming up here who get cut, or who stick around a few years as the third string QB.  It's still pretty hard to be 'one of the most talented and skilled players in his league'.

It is highly skilled compared to an non-pro or semi-pro league, for sure.  Pryor would be one of the most talented and skilled players in it, though.  He is a phenom.

Plus, size and 'athleticism' tend to be far less important in the CFL.  This isn't a league with a lot of option plays.  Rather, it's heavily pro-passing league.  With a significantly wider field it's even more improtant than in the US to have a strong arm.  I don't think that's exactly Terrelle Pryor's game (but I don't know if I ever watched an Ohio State game he played in).

I am not sure what your point is, here.  You cannot possibly say that Pryor wouldn't fit in given that you admit that you haven't even seen him play.  From what i have seen of the CFL, he would fit in quite well.  Hios numbers look very much like those of Henry Burris, last year's CFL player of the year (and another former, though not nearly as good, tall or fast) US collegian.

And I'm going to ignroe you calling the CFL a "minor league" as a fairly obvious troll.   

I am sure you want to ignore the fact that going from the CFL to NFL is universally considered a promotion, while going in the reverse is universally considered a demotion.  That spells minor league to me.  YMMV.

[Barrister]

Grumgler, every single QB in the CFL is a former US collegian.  It's a very old story that gets trotted out by the sports media perhaps once a year "how come there are no Canadian QBs".  So on that basis Pryor may well be a good, great or even legendary QB in this league if that's where he winds up going.

My point was merely that since the CFL gets second pick of US college players, and since there are what, 120 Div IA teams graduating students every year (not to mention other divisions), that positions in the CFL are pretty competitive, and that due to differences in the game different kinds of players are sometimes more successful here.

Comparing numbers between an 18 game CFL season and an 12 game college season, with significantly different rules between the two, is not likely to be very helpful.

I thought (but am free to be corrected) that Pryor was in that Michael Vick/Vince Young "run first" college QB model.  That isn't typically what works in the CFL.  Ironic that you mention Hank Burris though, because he's the exception to that rule.

And comparisons to amateur or semi-pro leagues are right out, by the way.  The CFL is a fuly professional league.  Players even at the bottom of the roster make a minimum of about $40,000.  It's not a lot of money, but players do not have to work a second job if they don't want to (some do however).

The CFL is the second most talented football league in the world.  It's not at all close between #2 and #1, but there's no league that's close to #2 either.

[MadImmortalMan]

FWIW, I would think a wider field would be a great benefit to the option game.

[Barrister]

FWIW, I would think a wider field would be a great benefit to the option game.

And you know what, maybe we need some bright mind to come up here and revolutionize the way we play football in CFL.  One criticism I have of the league is that while all the players come from the US, very few coaches do.  We keep recycling the same head coaches, and hiring from within Canada.

I've often thought that a team should reach out and hire some hotshot young US college co-ordinator and see what they can do.  Now the salaries are such you're certainly not hiring anyone out of, say, Ohio State, but there are talented people working at smaller colleges that would be willing to work for a CFL head coach salary.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Why would a promising young coordinator want to go to the CFL?

[grumbler]

Sorry I noted that Pryor was like the CFL's MVP last year, BB.  When it comes to CFL footballl, maybe it is inappropriate to examine the MVP to determine what makes a player valuable.  I just don't know enough about Canadian Football to know that the Most valuable Player doesn't possess the kinds of skills and talents that makes a player at his position valuable.

I do pretty clearly know more about CFL than you do about Pryor, though, if you think Pryor is a "run first" QB.

I think Pryor might do well to go to the CFL to sharpen his skills, is my point.  He didn't finish his senior year in college, and I think he isn't ready to play QB in the NFL.  Certainly the CFL would expose him to the best defensive players he could find outside the NFL.

[Ed Anger]

I thought (but am free to be corrected) that Pryor was in that Michael Vick/Vince Young "run first" college QB model.  That isn't typically what works in the CFL.  Ironic that you mention Hank Burris though, because he's the exception to that rule.

Early Pryor was. At the Rose Bowl against Oregon, he started to switch over to 'look to pass, then run'. His senior year was supposed to be him coming into his own as a throwing QB. 

[grumbler]

Why would a promising young coordinator want to go to the CFL?

You could certainly make the same kind of money as at a small school (Div IAA or DII) in the US, or better, but I don't know how much freedom and job security you would have.  I know nothing about the reps of CFL owners/GMs.