Long lay-off, good or bad.

Not meaning to count chickens before they are hatched as there is a lot of football left to be played but if Edmonton does happen to finish in first they will have two full weeks off before the Western final as they have the bye in the last week.

This is a problem all 9 CFL teams would love to have but will the lay-off hurt the Eskimos? On the plus side, this gives the team a nice long holiday to heal their wounds and do their prep work. No the negative side does a lay-off such as this result in a bit of "ring rust".

Again, every team would love to be in this position going into the play-offs but I have seen many times where teams lose momentum due to a layoff.

I find this is the kind of thing that is hindsighted. If they come out looking flat, the layoff will have robbed them of their momentum, if they look fantastic, it will have rested them and healed up some nagging physical problems.

Probably a little of both is true and it meets somewhere in the middle. I personally don't think it's a huge deal.

3 weeks ?

To long. IMO

I guess it comes down to whether or not a team wants to risk getting beaten up in the semi-final game and end up limping into the Western Final cfleskfan.

Edmonton [or Calgary] could end up in 2nd spot, play a brutally physical game against the 3rd place team and win but in the process lose some key starters. That’s what I mean about limping into the Western Final.

I have wondered the same thing as you and wondered if it is a disadvantage having a two week layoff. It certain has its advantages but as you suggest momentum could be compromised.

If someone has the time to go through the archives and see since this one semi-final/one final format began, how many 1st place finishers got knocked off by the semi-finalist winner I would find it most interesting.

What would be more interesting to me is whether there has ever been a situation where the team that has the bye in the final week hosted the Final.

Teams want to go into the playoffs on a positive. Edmonton winning and taking first is a positive. I believe that it's not the long layoff that hurts you it's how you use the layoff. Teams are only allowed so much practice time, but that doesn't, and shouldn't, stop the team leaders from getting the team out for "unofficial" practices. The best teams to come out of NFL strikes have always been the ones that worked out unofficially during the strikes.

If Edmonton takes first and falls flat in the western final the fault will be with the team and players not the lay off.

"What would be more interesting to me is whether there has ever been a situation where the team that has the bye in the final week hosted the Final."…. cfleskfan

A three week layoff? Hmmm… that might not be so good. I guess the Esks could end up in that very spot.

I do believe Chris Jones has his team practice aggressive against one another on each side of the ball. There will be lots of films and other positive stuff the team can work on, and with that I feel the Eskimos will be ready on game day.

Historically, second place team tends to do well in western playoffs. However east division still favors first place team. Every team loves to have the problem of finishing first. Unlike basketball, injuries are overrated in football because of large rosters allowing adequate substitutes except for few players that are hard to replace.

But it’s not really a disadvantage for Hamilton to finish second to Toronto. Up to 20k Ticat fans will travel to the RC for a playoff game and out number the Argo fans.

Ask and you shall receive … http://3downnation.com/2015/11/18/cfl-d … e-numbers/

Thanks to @LB74 for bringing this question to my attention!

3 weeks is too long but on the other side of the coin having a decimated Oline is not so great either .

Meh best indicator might be looking at Ottawa's and Edmonton's records coming off the bye week this year and last year. Really depends on the team and how coaches approach it. Some guys it doesn't phase, some guys it does. I think at this time of year personally it is always good to get an extra week of rest and know you are just one win away from the big dance. Guess the con is teams could over think and outsmart themselves with that much time to think before a massive game.

I think it really depends no definitive answer.

i dont think it makes a difference, unless my team loses lol

all I know is Burris will wish he took this sunday off :rockin:

Sure helps players with all the aches and pains heal. Give them a week away, come back to practice and prepare, doesn't take long for athletes to get back into it. The only thing missing is the full contact and that usually only takes a few game plays to get back up to speed. I think it may be more of a mental issue getting back at it. I've talked to players on game day and they are physically ready to play but mentally if they are waiting too long, they start to get anxious. I can only imagine having to wait a couple of weeks or more would play out the same way.

Henry Burris is a great QB in the CFL no doubt about it but will the two week layoff effect him or not, probably not, it will probably have more of effect on the other Redblack players.

However with Hamilton having played a tough close game against Toronto the fight is still in the Tiger-Cats, the engines are still running, Ottawa needs to re-start theirs.

In the East Final, you take Henry out of his game, out of his rhythm or force turnovers and you take the Redblacks out, if Burris goes so do the Redblacks, if he's hot and on the money look out if he's not or off his game so will the Redblacks be the same, even the Redblacks lead the league in QB sacks on defence if Henry is off or not scoring on offence, it has a ripple effect on the rest of the team.

In Hamilton, Masoli is still the unknown guy, although he brought the Cats back to beat the Argos and give Medlock the opportunity to boot the winner his ability to move the ball, scramble, rush could make all the difference in the world and with C.J. Gable healthy again it just adds that extra dimension.

Once again Special Teams and Defence will be keys for Hamilton especially with the weather report for Sunday in Ottawa of cold temps, potential snow or rain and wind, it may come down to the kickers and Medlock is Money!

In the West Final, I see more of a shoot out between two high calibre teams with Reilly against Mitchell, I would expect to see a high score in this one and defence and special teams play, could make the difference of who wins and who doesn't.

If by “Shoot out” you mean a high scoring game, I disagree. With Rich Stubler going up against Chris Jones, I see a tight defensive battle between two of the greatest defensive minds in the CFL.

I see both Finals East/West both being low scoring affairs with the weather possibly being a factor in both games. I can easily see both of these games being decided by a fg or less and both I feel will be your typical Smash mouth defensive style of game as opposed to being high scoring shoot outs. The last game played between the Stamps and the Eskimos was a 15-11 final and the first game played between the REDBLACKS and Cats was a 12-6 final. I think that we will be seeing final scores similar to this in both games this week.

Or, Hamilton had to give it their all and might be emotionally spent while Ottawa is calm, rested and already know that they’re playing with casino money because there were no expectations on them.

Some players probably benefit from a bye, while it’s detrimental to others. There’s no definitive answer. It’s all speculation and hindsight stuff.

Now that Edmonton has played, anyone feel differently about long layoffs?