The CFL wants to improve its product | Three attempts… for this year

There is no smoke without fire. And when this smoke has been coming out for more than a year, we’re not talking about a little campfire.

Miguel Bujold
The Press

For the second year in a row, rumors have swirled about the future of the Canadian Football League (CFL), specifically its three-down play. It’s even more than speculation since the CFL would have seriously considered the possibility of going to four tries in the last few days.

Currently in Toronto for the national evaluation camp and in order to take part in league meetings, Danny Maciocia and Khari Jones have however confirmed that Canadian professional football will continue to be played at three tries… in 2022.

“I can tell you that we will find ways to keep what is in place. We will possibly change some things, but we will play three tries,” said Maciocia.

“It’s a decision that we really like. I think we share this opinion and this vision. »

Without wanting to go into details, the Alouettes general manager specified that the CFL was exploring several avenues to improve its performance and to score more points than last season.

To be honest, it would have been impossible, or at least absurd, to go to four tries when the nine clubs have already built their line-up to play three tries… We’re not looking for the same kind of three-and-four line-up trials. It would be like building a badminton team to go play tennis. The comparison is lame, but not that far from the truth.

In that sense, it’s no surprise that the CFL has chosen to play at least another season with three tries. In the medium term, it is much less clear.

The USFL and the XFL

In my humble opinion, it’s not so much to score more runs that the CFL is seriously considering playing four downs. The proof is that the rumors were already circulating before last season…

Moreover, playing four tries with the current dimensions of the CFL courts, the games would end 85 to 69 and 77 to 58. It’s not basketball that we want.

The real reason is rather what is looming south of the border with the USFL, which will play its first game in mid-April, and the XFL, which is due to resume its activities next year. The USFL is owned by the FOX network, while the XFL is run by the “Rock”. In other words, these leagues will have a large audience and a lot of publicity.

If these leagues play their cards right, their ratings should go from respectable to very good over the next five years, if only because of the legalization of sports betting. Americans will increasingly want more football to watch and bet on. They have nothing to eat between the NFL kickoff in September and the Super Bowl in February.

Conversely, the CFL market seems to be capped. The best. Audiences are aging and the three largest markets (Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver) have been struggling for a long time. The NFL’s growth certainly won’t slow down, and the USFL and XFL will now fill the void between March and August.

Meanwhile, the CFL will continue to see its second half of the season pass completely in a vacuum, hidden away by the NFL and the NHL. At the risk of displeasing the puritans, it makes absolutely no sense for the CFL to be in direct competition with the NFL for three months (from September to November). It’s almost suicidal.

A western league

These same puritans would like the status quo forever for the CFL. The same cities, the same rules and the same calendar. The problem is that it would also be the same financial results in this case.

And the fiscal status quo is definitely not an option for Toronto or Montreal. Perhaps the same can be said for Ottawa and Vancouver.

More than ever, the CFL is a Western league, with Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary enjoying some success, while other cities seek solutions to stay afloat. In survival mode, constantly.

The best solution would be a 20-25 team league that would combine the CFL, USFL and XFL. A circuit that would be comparable to MLS and that would play from March to August. Such a merger would strengthen all parties involved, especially if the NFL decides to provide some assistance, as it will by advising the USFL this season.

But go tell that to the players and people who have made a career in the CFL. The position of Maciocia and Jones was also quite well established on Thursday…

There are obviously fans who prefer the Canadian game or who simply shun the NFL (and their fun) with a form of misplaced patriotism. Those will hold at all costs that the CFL remains as we know it.

On the other hand, there are very likely as many supporters of the four-down game in several cities in Canada, including the two largest ones. We won’t even talk about the US market…

According to Maciocia, however, no one in the CFL pushed for the four-down game to be adopted or for there to be major changes. “I never felt that people were forcing us to consider the four tries strongly. I think we had a good conversation (in Toronto) and that there were good exchanges between the team presidents, the general managers and the head coaches. »

“I can’t say what the future holds, but I like the three-down game. I’ve coached football three times, both college and CFL. I grew up with the three-down game and that’s what I know, but it’s only crazy people who don’t change their minds. »

The advantages of face-to-face

Several other meetings between the league and the nine teams were scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Attention will then turn to the prospects who will attend the evaluation camp over the weekend.

After a two-year absence due to the pandemic, this annual meeting is even more appreciated by Maciocia and Jones.

“There’s nothing like seeing the players up close. To be able to observe the way they move, walk and talk, I think is very important,” Jones said.

“You can see their body language, the way they react when they receive instructions or the way they behave with those around them. These are all things that are difficult to assess on Zoom! So I’m very happy to be here,” said Maciocia.