CFL 2014 Ratings/Playoff Positions at 2014 11 08

[sj-roc]

Even with just four regular season games to go, so far only WSF & WF hosts are confirmed. The rest of the playoff picture is still a bit complicated but can be summarised as follows.

In the West:

If we win and/or Ssk loses, then we play the WSF @Edm and Ssk travels east for the crossover, otherwise vice versa: Ssk plays the WSF @Edm and we cross over.

In the East:

If Ham wins over Mtl on Nov 8 then
• Tor is out no matter the outcome of their Nov 7 game versus Ott, and
• the 1-2 seeding of Mtl & Ham depends on Ham's victory margin in their game, with Ham claiming 1st only if they win by at least 8, and Mtl taking 1st otherwise.

If Mtl wins then they get 1st, and 2nd goes to:
• Tor unless they lose, in which case 2nd goes to Ham.

Put it all together and here are all the possibilities:

[Lions4ever]

Now i'm definitely pulling for the Lions to wind up 3rd so we can get this mess over with toot sweet.

[notahomer]

Well I'm not sure I like the Ticats chances unless they WIN first place. They really seem to do well at Hortons Field but I guess we'll see. If this final game was in Montreal, my bet would be the Argos squeaking in by the Ticats.

Have the Redblacks improved? They seemed to have the Ticats staggering before the usual meltdown in the 2nd half. I think winning their first road game and knocking out the Argos would be a nice way to cap off their first season....

[sj-roc]

Now i'm definitely pulling for the Lions to wind up 3rd so we can get this mess over with toot sweet.

...which is pretty much what I thought the whole time I was crapping on all this crossover talk. Going crossover means we must have stunk down the stretch so do we really even deserve a playoff spot in the first (fourth?) place?

[WestCoastJoe]

One game left, and then the playoffs ... Such excitement! LOL

1 Calgary. No doubt in my mind. Grey Cup winner? Many huge obstacles in the way of that.

2 Edmonton. Serious challenger to Calgary, despite the brief time Chris Jones has been the HC in Edmonton. It should be obvious that Jones has made players better. He has given them confidence. That is coaching.

3 Montreal. Hugh Campbell once saw something in Tom Higgins. Could be he was right. Popp brings in the talent.

4 Is there a #4? OK, B.C. We are in the playoffs. Hooray.

5 Saskatchewan. In the playoffs. I am surprised at their showing this year. Grey Cup hangover? Missing Durant that much?

6 Hamilton. Could be very dangerous in the playoffs, assuming they get there.

7 Toronto. See above comment re Hamilton.

8 Winnipeg. Next year.

9 Ottawa. Next year? Hmmmm ... Might take longer than that.

[Lions4ever]

Now i'm definitely pulling for the Lions to wind up 3rd so we can get this mess over with toot sweet.

...which is pretty much what I thought the whole time I was crapping on all this crossover talk. Going crossover means we must have stunk down the stretch so do we really even deserve a playoff spot in the first (fourth?) place?

Well, I was merely considering "strategy". Now I want the strategy to be getting this bedcrapping regime out of town, And, as has been chewed over previously, I think it's past time the CFL dumped the current format. I don't care about the east west thing. Give the Div champs a bye and have 3 play 6 and 4 play 5 regardless of division. Then all this crossover talk (crosstalk?) ends.

[Robbie]

Now i'm definitely pulling for the Lions to wind up 3rd so we can get this mess over with toot sweet.

...which is pretty much what I thought the whole time I was crapping on all this crossover talk. Going crossover means we must have stunk down the stretch so do we really even deserve a playoff spot in the first (fourth?) place?

Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong or even shameful about qualifying as the crossover team - the important thing is that the team qualified for the playoffs where anything can happen. If I may make an analogy with another sport/league, in the recent World Series both the World Series winner San Francisco Giants and the runner-up Kansas City Royals qualified as the fifth place - wild card team and in the past when MLB changed the playoff structure to allow wild card teams to qualify, such teams have went on all the way before such as the Miami/Florida Marlins. And in the NFL, they have the wild card qualifying teams that won the Super Bowl such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Super Bowl XL over the Seahawks. In the end, it's the end result that counts and it doesn't really matter how the team qualified for the playoffs.

Historically, there were times when the Lions finished fourth and out of the playoffs in the west but if the CFL implemented the crossover the Lions would have qualified, such as in 1982, 1980, and 1978.

So far, no crossover team has made it to the Grey Cup but there's a possibility that the chances were greater with the crossover position. Analyzing the times when the Lions got the crossover position vs. when they finished 3rd and the 4th place team qualified as the crossover when the rule was implemented in 1997:

1997: Lions finished 4th and went to Montreal and lost 45-35. Had they won they likely would have lost to Doug Flutie and the Argonauts. Third place Saskatchewan with the same 8-10 record upset the Alberta teams on the way for an appearance. In this case, 3rd would have been better.

2002: Lions finished 3rd and were demolished 30-3 in Winnipeg in the WDSF in Damon Allen's last game as a Lion. Fourth place Roughriders qualified as the crossover team and lost in the EDSF in Toronto. Lions had won previously in Toronto and things can't be any worse than a 30-3 loss, so chances would have been better in Toronto had they won that, they had a 1-1 record against Montreal that season.

2003: A win in the regular season finale would have given the Lions second place for the third time in franchise history and hosted Winnipeg. Instead, the loss dropped them to 4th and to add insult to injury, Dickenson chose to get injured in his best season as a Lion where he was the MOP runner-up and the Lions lost 28-7 in the EDSF. Most definitely hosting the WDSF against Winnipeg would have been better where they had a 2-1 record against them.

2008: Lions finished third and upset second place Saskatchewan 33-12 in the WDSF and narrowly lost 22-18 to Calgary which won all 3 regular season games against the Lions. Edmonton finished 4th and lost in the EDSF to Winnipeg. BC had a 2-0 record against Winnipeg and were 1-1 against Montreal, so maybe the Lions would have had a better time in the crossover route.

2009: Lions qualified as the crossover and defeated Hamilton 34-27 in the EDSF before losing 56-17 in the EDF. That season the Lions lost the last three games against the three west division rivals and had a 1-1 record against Montreal so at least the Lions made it to a division final which would have been more unlikely had the Lions played in the west division playoffs.

So considering that things would not have been any worse and may have been better in three out of the five cases had they crossovered, then maybe qualifying as the crossover team is not really all that bad.

------------------------------

And as a twist to the 2014 Grey Cup game, how about an all-west final for the first time ever (notwithstanding 1988 and 2011 if Winnipeg is considered west) in a Grey Cup? The west division teams have certainly produced entertaining playoff games, so that would be a nice twist for west division teams compete not for the west division title but for the Grey Cup itself.

[sj-roc]

Now i'm definitely pulling for the Lions to wind up 3rd so we can get this mess over with toot sweet.

...which is pretty much what I thought the whole time I was crapping on all this crossover talk. Going crossover means we must have stunk down the stretch so do we really even deserve a playoff spot in the first (fourth?) place?

Well, I was merely considering "strategy". Now I want the strategy to be getting this bedcrapping regime out of town, And, as has been chewed over previously, I think it's past time the CFL dumped the current format. I don't care about the east west thing. Give the Div champs a bye and have 3 play 6 and 4 play 5 regardless of division. Then all this crossover talk (crosstalk?) ends.

I'd go even farther than that. Just scrap the divisions, top six overall get on the dance card. Playoff format same as each NFL conference: top two get byes, 6@3 & 5@4, #1 hosts the worse survivor, #2 hosts the other, winners square off for GC.

The regular season isn't division-based: whether you're in the east or west, you play 8 games against the east, 10 against the west. So why should the playoffs be division-based? The season isn't long enough for an unbalanced schedule; you'd get too many home games against too few teams. So change the playoffs instead. East teams would have to step their game up and this chronic E/W competitive divide would start to close.

I see Edm will be starting Nichols in Ssk this Sat, which prob helps the hosts.

[WestCoastJoe]

I would rather we face Edmonton. Not wishful revenge. Not redemption. But reality. Face the music.

Benny the Pet, Teacher's Pet, did not make it easier wirh his Clowns comment re the Eskimos team. But our players will show up and play hard. I think.

How can a "professional" Head Coach call a team clowns when they have just thrashed us? With a number of ex-Lions on the team or coaching? Is Benny talking tough to posture in front of his team?

Come what may ...

[notahomer]

I would rather we face Edmonton. Not wishful revenge. Not redemption. But reality. Face the music.

Benny the Pet, Teacher's Pet, did not make it easier wirh his Clowns comment re the Eskimos team. But our players will show up and play hard. I think.

How can a "professional" Head Coach call a team clowns when they have just thrashed us? With a number of ex-Lions on the team or coaching? Is Benny talking tough to posture in front of his team?

Come what may ...

the CLOWN comment just baffles me......

[notahomer]

http://cfl.ca/article/breakdown-week-20 ... -scenarios

BC Win OR Saskatchewan Loss = BC Clinches Third Place in the West Division

BC Tie + Saskatchewan Tie or Loss = BC Clinches Third Place in the West Division

Saskatchewan Win or Tie + BC Loss = Saskatchewan Clinches Third Place in the West Division

Pretty simple......

Sounds like Rielly will rest versus the Riders.......

[sj-roc]

Sounds like Rielly will rest versus the Riders.......

Yup, Jones has already said Nichols will start. But hey, maybe he was just "clowning around".

http://cfl.ca/article/not-worth-the-ris ... son-finale

[Rammer]

I would rather we face Edmonton. Not wishful revenge. Not redemption. But reality. Face the music.

Benny the Pet, Teacher's Pet, did not make it easier wirh his Clowns comment re the Eskimos team. But our players will show up and play hard. I think.

How can a "professional" Head Coach call a team clowns when they have just thrashed us? With a number of ex-Lions on the team or coaching? Is Benny talking tough to posture in front of his team?

Come what may ...

I would rather face the Esks for a measuring stick. Lets see if Benevides will fall on the sword, or get the reward.

[WestCoastJoe]

I would rather we face Edmonton. Not wishful revenge. Not redemption. But reality. Face the music.

Benny the Pet, Teacher's Pet, did not make it easier wirh his Clowns comment re the Eskimos team. But our players will show up and play hard. I think.

How can a "professional" Head Coach call a team clowns when they have just thrashed us? With a number of ex-Lions on the team or coaching? Is Benny talking tough to posture in front of his team?

Come what may ...

I would rather face the Esks for a measuring stick. Lets see if Benevides will fall on the sword, or get the reward.

Rhymin' Rammer. Ha ha

Coup de grace from Wally? Nah ... Public criticism, yes.

Yes, I would prefer to face Edmonton. Benny can challenge Jones to an alley fight. LOL ... Jones is smaller, but he might just prevail. Benny is not exactly in good fighting condition.

[WestCoastJoe]

I would rather we face Edmonton. Not wishful revenge. Not redemption. But reality. Face the music.

Benny the Pet, Teacher's Pet, did not make it easier wirh his Clowns comment re the Eskimos team. But our players will show up and play hard. I think.

How can a "professional" Head Coach call a team clowns when they have just thrashed us? With a number of ex-Lions on the team or coaching? Is Benny talking tough to posture in front of his team?

Come what may ...

the CLOWN comment just baffles me......

A head shaker, for sure.

Benny might be offended if Jones did not shake hands after. I have heard that Jones does not do that. But then neither did Bud Grant. Chat before, sure, but after the game, No. Not all that meaningful for some coaches to shake after.

Benny was embarrassed, humiliated and trounced. His reaction? Insult the well prepared team across the field. More likely directed at the Head Coach of the other team, but that is not the way it came out. Chris Jones kicked Benny's ass. Sure that made Benny mad. What else can he do? At this time, not much.