CFL 2024

[Kyle McMahon]

The Jason Maas game? Was that the game where he forgot what the score was and was basing his strategy on that?

Yup, though Maas never did admit that he forgot the score. We'll never know if the league MVP could have punched the ball in from the 5 yard line for a likely victory...

 

[bone]

Interesting fact: The Elks won more games after the month of June than the Lions did this year.

Had they pulled off winning that game in BC Week 4 that was lost on a walkoff field goal, Edmonton would have been in the playoffs (well, maybe not as Jones probably doesn't get fired if that was the case)

 

[bone]

Reminds me of when the Esks started 7-0 in 2017 only to finish 12-6 and choke in the Western Final.

To me that was a completely different scenario than BC and still remains the wierdest I've experienced as a fan, a 7 game winning streak, another 6 game winning streak (including playoffs) with a 6 game losing streak wedged in between.

 

[bone]

The Jason Maas game? Was that the game where he forgot what the score was and was basing his strategy on that?

Interesting though is that this highly criticised strategy has now become standard operating procedure if a team it trailing by 10 late in a game (granted he was only down 7, but there was plenty of time to get the ball back). I still think his biggest mistake there was trusting his defense enough to get the ball back as they weren't very reliable that way.

With Jones' 2015 defense, that same decision likely works.

 

[K1984]

Yup, though Maas never did admit that he forgot the score. We'll never know if the league MVP could have punched the ball in from the 5 yard line for a likely victory...

I remember driving home from a friend's house after that one and listening to Dave Campbell openly laugh at the mere suggestion that Jason Maas should be fired for that, as if Maas was Vince Lombardi and deserving of a lot of rope.

A lot of make fun of Stauffer for being the Oilers propaganda minister, but Dave Campbell was/is miles ahead of that with the Eskimos/Elks.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Had they pulled off winning that game in BC Week 4 that was lost on a walkoff field goal, Edmonton would have been in the playoffs (well, maybe not as Jones probably doesn't get fired if that was the case)

Yeah it's hard to assume the whole chain of events unfolds the same way going that far back. As we've said all along, merely replacing the 0-7 start with a 2-5 or even 1-6 start (if it's the BC loss that flips) changes everything on paper. Does Jones get fired at 1-6? Maybe...but at 2-5 almost certainly not. It'll forever be in the realm of thought experiment.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I remember driving home from a friend's house after that one and listening to Dave Campbell openly laugh at the mere suggestion that Jason Maas should be fired for that, as if Maas was Vince Lombardi and deserving of a lot of rope.

A lot of make fun of Stauffer for being the Oilers propaganda minister, but Dave Campbell was/is miles ahead of that with the Eskimos/Elks.

Still remains the biggest WTF moment I can ever recall watching a football game. Even if he erroneously thought the deficit was 6 points instead of 7, kicking a FG is still a really poor decision with so little time left. I said at the time and still believe it to be true that a even a FAILED gamble would have been a better outcome than a made FG.

 

[bone]

Yeah it's hard to assume the whole chain of events unfolds the same way going that far back. As we've said all along, merely replacing the 0-7 start with a 2-5 or even 1-6 start (if it's the BC loss that flips) changes everything on paper. Does Jones get fired at 1-6? Maybe...but at 2-5 almost certainly not. It'll forever be in the realm of thought experiment.

Keep in mind he was actually fired at 0-5. 1-4 with a win vs. a Grey Cup favorite would have likely given him a couple more weeks. Though assuming the results that occured in the rematch in Ottawa and then the throttling vs Hamilton still occur, maybe he'd still have been removed at 1-6, but then does JJ get enough figured out on a short week to repeat that throttling in Saskatchewan to start the winning streak.

 

[bellagiobob]

Still remains the biggest WTF moment I can ever recall watching a football game. Even if he erroneously thought the deficit was 6 points instead of 7, kicking a FG is still a really poor decision with so little time left. I said at the time and still believe it to be true that a even a FAILED gamble would have been a better outcome than a made FG.

Hands up who thought that all these years later that Jason and Danny would be considered an elite coach and GM. Classic CFL.

 

[bellagiobob]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1853482344503488702

 

[K1984]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1853482344503488702

Don't know a lot about a bunch of names on that list, but just no to Taman. May as well call Chris Jones back here.

 

[brentashton]

Don't know a lot about a bunch of names on that list, but just no to Taman. May as well call Chris Jones back here.

Say what you want about Brendan T, but he has a positive reputation as a talent evaluator. He’s probably best suited in a similar type role he currently has in Ottawa though.

 

[bone]

Hands up who thought that all these years later that Jason and Danny would be considered an elite coach and GM. Classic CFL.

Never thought Maciocia would be anything significant, but always suspected Maas would eventually figure it out. Still remains to be seen if DM is just reaping the benefits of a good coach hire though, as that team pre-Maas team was still pretty mediocre and likely elevated a bit by being in the East.

 

[K1984]

Never thought Maciocia would be anything significant, but always suspected Maas would eventually figure it out. Still remains to be seen if DM is just reaping the benefits of a good coach hire though, as that team pre-Maas team was still pretty mediocre and likely elevated a bit by being in the East.

I feel like Montreal are the slightly least mediocre team among a bunch of mediocre at best teams. I think Maas has done a good job there, but I think their results are more a product of their competition than any sort of GM mastery from Maciocia.

Only team in the league that I would describe as "really good" is Winnipeg. Everyone else that is anywhere near a playoff threat are 5/10 teams at best IMO.

 

[bone]

I feel like Montreal are the slightly least mediocre team among a bunch of mediocre at best teams. I think Maas has done a good job there, but I think their results are more a product of their competition than any sort of GM mastery from Maciocia.

Only team in the league that I would describe as "really good" is Winnipeg. Everyone else that is anywhere near a playoff threat are 5/10 teams at best IMO.

I generally agree with this, that they are a mediocre team, but Maas has shown an ability even dating back to his last season in Edmonton where his team shows up and gets the win almost every single time that they are even or favored.

Until this year, he hadn't lost a game since 2018 where the opponent finished behind his team in the standings, and it only really stopped this year because his team was first place all year but even then he only lost games to playoff teams, and most of the losses came once they already had a playoff spot virtually clinched.

Basically to this point, I feel pretty confident saying that as long as you have a GM capable of assembling talent that's at least close to average, Maas will get you to a Divisional Final. Also of note, he has also never lost a semi-final game as a coach.

 

[Stoneman89]

I remember driving home from a friend's house after that one and listening to Dave Campbell openly laugh at the mere suggestion that Jason Maas should be fired for that, as if Maas was Vince Lombardi and deserving of a lot of rope.

A lot of make fun of Stauffer for being the Oilers propaganda minister, but Dave Campbell was/is miles ahead of that with the Eskimos/Elks.

I've always found Dave Campbell to be an arrogant ass.

 

[Heavy Dee]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1853482344503488702

It's gonna be Hervey or Simon. And I think Simon blew his chance not endorsing Tre Ford thru the season.

 

[brentashton]

It's gonna be Hervey or Simon. And I think Simon blew his chance not endorsing Tre Ford thru the season.

Your not going out on a limb suggesting it’s the current incumbent or the guy he has a tight relationship with and probably has already asked for permission to speak with.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Hands up who thought that all these years later that Jason and Danny would be considered an elite coach and GM. Classic CFL.

Pretty galling to see those two win a Grey Cup together, but CFL is gonna CFL.

Danny's biggest revelation between Edmonton and Montreal was that the draft and Canadian talent are actually important. It appears that he built up his connections in the Quebec university scene during his time there and now has a very strong pipeline of those guys straight to the Alouettes.

Have to disagree with people's sentiment that the Als are a mediocre team feasting on weak teams. They're defending champs on a 20-5-1 run going back to last fall, and three of those losses were recently with nothing at stake. I don't see any reason they shouldn't be considered the best team in the league right now, or at minimum a toss-up with Winnipeg. Of course since it's CFL tradition, I fully expect the 10-8 Argos to go in there and win on Sunday, returning the favour from last year.

 

[Dust]

Only team in the league that I would describe as "really good" is Winnipeg. Everyone else that is anywhere near a playoff threat are 5/10 teams at best IMO.

Winnipeg has a "really good" defense. Middle of the pack at best offensively though. Collaros has had a terrible year, 17 TDs 15 Ints when he's been able to play in all 18 games is bad.

 

[K1984]

Pretty galling to see those two win a Grey Cup together, but CFL is gonna CFL.

Danny's biggest revelation between Edmonton and Montreal was that the draft and Canadian talent are actually important. It appears that he built up his connections in the Quebec university scene during his time there and now has a very strong pipeline of those guys straight to the Alouettes.

Have to disagree with people's sentiment that the Als are a mediocre team feasting on weak teams. They're defending champs on a 20-5-1 run going back to last fall, and three of those losses were recently with nothing at stake. I don't see any reason they shouldn't be considered the best team in the league right now, or at minimum a toss-up with Winnipeg. Of course since it's CFL tradition, I fully expect the 10-8 Argos to go in there and win on Sunday, returning the favour from last year.

They definitely have the results, but I think that’s a product of the league being at a possible low point in terms of general quality of teams and competitiveness.

Drop this team in a Time Machine back to say 2005 and I think they’re a ~500 club.