A Ahead of His Time. Jeff Johnson?

Been drinking again tonight?

Is this thread about Braley? Who btw saved the Ticats in the late 80's as well as the Lions and Argo's later, and I believe was a factor in Bob Young becoming owner of the Ticats in 2003, so where would the CFL be without this great Canadian philanthropist?

As for JJ, he was better than Ricky Williams, and clearly the NFL (and American CFL coaches)did not want him showing up their stars, this is how it has been for 40 years!

Jesus I’ve said this for years. Canadians don’t get a decent shot in their own league. American GMs and coaches will rarely give a Canadian a chance at skill positions no matter how talented they are. Hopefully now that there are three Canadian HCs we will see some homegrown talent given a shot instead of the cold shoulder.

GernB, there are more than a few us who have known this for many years. I remembered that you are one…A lot of good talent has been wasted and still is being wasted today. Canadian coaches can utilize American players better than American coaches utilize Canadian players.

and this is one of the reasons why I ponder at times whether the league should go with NI’s for both coaching staffs and players alike, until you realize the sheer lack of numbers available in Canada from CIS and Amateur Athletics football programs as compared to the U.S.

The loss of this vast reservoir is immense but an all-Canadian talent league does have some merit though.

Probably why JJ lasted so long in the league, less pounding on that ripped body !

I don't know or care about steroids. I just know that JJ was NEVER given the chance. I can't even remember all the buffoon RBs the Argos played while JJ sat.

If I become a billionaire tomorrow by a miracle from on high, I'll be the owner of a CFL team and win the Grey Cup with it 100 percent Canadians. :wink:

I admire your sentiment but it just isn’t feasible to have 100% Canadian rosters. Only 28 Canadian schools with football programs vs. hundreds in the NCAA. But I surely do believe that there should be fewer imports. Would be nice to go back to the late 80s/early 90s standard of a minimum of ten Canadian starters. Would love to see more Canadian GMs and HCs as well. That’s the key.

Really? Who will your Canadian QB be…Kyle Quinlan?..Dan Brannigan?..Tommy Drunkennison? Lots of luck with that.

This is why your name is Earl.

This is why we need a quota on coaches as well... It could be phased in gradually over 5 years. If the Head coach or the GM on your team is Canadain then you would be allowed more American assistant coaches.
A 50/50 split would be good and if you employ a Canadian HC or GM then you get a 60/40 split.

I have have held off on commenting on your posts in the hope that you would burn yourself out, but obviously that’s not going to happen. What the hell is wrong with you? All you do is slam the league and its fans. If you’re so dissatisfied just go elsewhere and leave the real fans of the CFL alone. Stop your ranting and raving. It’s tiresome and only shows your ignorance.

As much as I think that Canadian players are shortchanged in the CFL, I can’t agree with this. Because of our limited football culture (compared to the US) we don’t have enough qualified coaches at so many levels. There really isn’y any emphasis (so far as I am aware) on football anywhere in Canada. Everything in this country is just hockey, hockey, hockey.

That’s an issue for sure Gern. We don’t have the grassroots football culture here as in hockey, unfortunately.

And it’s a damned shame. I remember as a kid (I’m 55 now) wanting, hoping, wishing to play football but it wasn’t available until grade 9. In the city of Lethbridge (we lived in the county) they had what they then called minor football (started at age 12 IIRC) but you had to have city residency so my neighbor and I were out of luck. Now if I think there are football programs available to kids as young as 9 or so (Bantam/Peewee - I should know this as my nephew is involved - ashamed to admit I don’t. I understand that it begins even earlier in the Edmonton area - Atom maybe? don’t know the age limits) but it’s still not a big part of the sports culture. Certainly nowhere near what hockey is, though it’s available in some of the small towns near Lethbridge. Even soccer (yawn) is bigger in terms of participation but that’s likely a cost issue.

Sorry for the ramblings.

And this is all the more reason that when we do come across a homegrown talent, he shouldn’t be hidden by a coach who won’t play him due to his passport !

I’d suggest you go back and read my initial comments in this thread. While others were insinuating that Johnson was a steroid user who was the first person to dispute those allegations? Me, that’s who.

I will always give credit where due - - just as I did in this thread in acknowledging Johnson’s excellent 14yr career and two championship rings. But at the same time I have no qualms about ripping nonsensical and illogical gibberish - - as I did in questioning the ridiculous idea that there’s a Canadian QB ready to play big boy football.

If that hurts the feelings of you or any of the “fair-shot-for-the-Canadian-QB” apologists, that’s not my problem. It’s the cold hard reality, my friend.

If you stick around long enough, you’ll also discover that I’m not afraid to call out the CFL deities that many like yourself would consider to be off limits to any type of questioning. Right now the CFL is where the NHL was in the late 70s/early '80s. Controlled with an iron fist by a select few at the top pulling the puppet strings at the expense of the players. Once the deadwood gets removed the league as a whole will prosper and especially so the players. Unfortunately, changing the status quo can and will be quite painful for those who are most against any type of change.