Continuing the discussion from POSSIBILITY OF AN EASTERN CROSSOVER!?! topic in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats category…
what do you think folks? still lots of games to be played…
Elks are basically out of it already and Stamps aren’t far behind.
current standings, including overall:
i’ll post full single division standings when i’m back at my desk (on mobile atm).
Stamps are in tough the next 4 games with Tor twice, BC and Win. Saskatchewan would be in big trouble if they lose their next 2 games against Ott and Mtl.
If Sask can win both then they will make it much less likely for the East to crossover
It’s still early but there’s never been a better opportunity than this season.
Even with 100% parity it’s difficult since the west has more teams. 4th in the east has to have a better record than the 3rd in the west.
Ottawa and Sask are the 2 respective teams with the same record. Ottawa has a better point differential (-6 vs. -40) but it’s not enough to cross over
i’m a bit surprised at how poor the Stamps are this year.
Saskatchewan is already down to their 2nd stringer and Calgary with Maier as their QB might as well be down to their 2nd stringer the way that Maier has been playing this season . The guy is truly awful . I can honestly see Calgary’s 17 year playoff run finally coming to an end this season . As for Saskatchewan , well all I can say is that their HC leaves a lot to be desired and their O-Line is just as bad or even worse than last years team . You throw in an inexperienced starting 2nd string QB behind it and it’s a recipe for disaster .
So with all that being said I say yes there is a real possibility of this being the first time ever that the crossover could very well be heading west instead of east this year .
quarterback play and depth are generally weak overall this year. for some teams more than others, but it’s noticeable across the league.
I think this is Dickenson’s act finally getting stale in Calgary. They were the class of the league for so long, but in recent years that distinction has gone to Winnipeg, and now Toronto. No one can be on top forever.
An east crossover is in play. The only thing this proves is lack of quality on the feild for 6 of the teams in the CFL…in a 9 team CFL this says nothing but bad things about the state of the CFL sticking around long term.
Quality of play and having multiple QBs going down is nothing new. With the possibility of an Eastern team crossing over proves it was always possible for the East to become more competitive.
All 9 teams have the same players cap, same ops cap and same ratio to work with. This was bound to happen.
I mentioned this in another thread, that if Tor & Montreal both won their games (they did) then a crossover becomes a real possibility.
I just don’t know if the 4th place team in the East could keep pace with the 3rd place team in the West by Fall.
I would normally say they could, by virtue of the division-heavy schedule and the west usually having to play more stronger teams.
But this year, I believe the east teams are the stronger opponents overall. So it might be tougher for them to keep pace.
If ever there was a case for a balanced schedule and single division… let 'em all play each other and the records sort it out. No need for crossovers then.
But the way things are now… I see the east crossover as a possibility, but it will be a tough road.
I fully expect Cowtown to get better before seeing the riders get better…Elk are out of the equation… But that being said strange things have happened in the past such as BC losing their first 8 then winning the grey cup that season… But lightning like that will not strike twice in one century
I have no problem with all 4 eastern teams in the playoffs
I have no problem with all 5 western teams in the playoffs
Why do we have divisions? The CFL don’t by horse and wagon anymore.
Why can’t we a balanced schedule and have a single division?
I have no problem with all 4 eastern teams in the top 4
I have no problem with all 5 western teams in the top 5
It is almost impossible for Eastern division to cross over for one following reason: schedule matrix. The eastern division play all 10 gasmen against each other with one of team being a 4 game season series. Those games will be one that pull each other down, leaving fewer opportunities against western team with just 8 games that is spread all over and will only two teams once in a head to head match-up. Not easy to pull Western teams down. That is why you never seen any of Eastern teams getting any cross-over due to this very reason.
I would advocate for a balanced 2 games each throughout the season with just 16 games and CFL doesn’t really need 18 games a year unless they finally get its 10 teams then increase from 16 to 18 games and no divisions would be needed in this case.
There are no way for Eastern teams to pull Calgary and Edmonton down if two of the Eastern division teams are playing them once this year and a loss to only match-up will seal their fate of hoping for a crossover due to 3rd place teams having a better record against two worst CFL teams in the same division this season with three opportunities each match-up. Saskatchewan is not going to lose all of their match-up against Eastern teams for this cross-over possibilities.
Another reason is math and probability. With 5 teams in the West and only 4 in the East it makes an East crossover very unlikely. Mathematically if all teams were equal there should be a crossover about 40% of the time. The West should crossover about 1/3 of the time and the East only about 7% of the time.
It’s my understanding that Eastern teams were unhappy playing more games against Western teams than their Eastern opponents, and that was why the current system was introduced after 2019. In other words, the Eastern teams wanted a more unbalanced schedule, so they created a greater disadvantage for themselves.
A more important issue with cutting back to 16 games per season per team is economics. Unless you can guarantee that attendance per game will increase by a minimum of 12,5% the league would be reducing their gate receipts. I don’t imagine broadcasters would want to pay the same amount for 72 regular season games as they agreed to for 81 regular season games.
Why would a cash-strapped league voluntarily reduce its income?
Agreed. I am hoping IF there is an expansion to a 10th team the league will change it to one division and everyone plays everyone home and away (9 other teams twice is 18 games a season). The best two teams get the bye and 3-6 make the playoffs. Worst 4 teams are out, no matter where they are in the country. Perfect balance.