A heads-up for the CFL

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/08/2009 (6227 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five storylines that jumped out while observing the past week of Canadian Football League action:

1 Reading and listening to comments throughout the league about post-concussion syndrome of late leaves us with the distinct feeling the CFL is lagging in this area and needs to make a leap forward and fast. From Mike Kelly’s neanderthal take on sending Michael Bishop back into a game after he was knocked out; “It’s a man’s game played by men,” to the concerns for Lions QB Buck Pierce, it’s clear the CFL needs to be more pro-active in protecting its players. Pierce wore a helmet referred to as “old school” by his teammates and has had three concussions in the last nine months and two this season.

“He’s not in a life-threatening situation right now, but I do think he has some issues football-wise,” former Lions QB and Calgary Stampeders quarterbacks coach Dave Dickenson told the Globe and Mail last week. “But that’s fine so long as he takes a little more time than he probably wants to… There will be another one eventually. The way he plays the game, and the way I played it, you can’t avoid them.”

We say a couple of decisions should be removed from the players’ hands. First of all, if there’s better equipment available, make the players wear it. We’re not talking about an NHL veteran hanging onto an old pair of shoulder pads. There have been advancements in helmets and all players should be mandated to wear the best helmet on the market.

Finally, there has to be a limit for players who have head injuries. Dickenson says he suffered more than 10 concussions during his career and that’s too many. At some point the league needs to shut a player down for a season or a career. What is too many in one season? Two or three? What’s considered acceptable brain damage? A little nausea now and again from bright lights or some memory loss? Players won’t stop themselves, the league and CFLPA must play a role.

2 Got to thinking about the situation in Toronto and the Argos’ lack of success this season and what it means to the rest of the CFL. We won’t get into the whole “There’s no league without a franchise in Toronto” argument, but it does stand to reason that stability in the Big Smoke is good for everyone else. And that’s where we stumbled on the one ray of hope in Argoland. Sure, they’re 2-5 with owners that have borrowed money from another league owner in at least one instance, but at the top of the heap in Toronto right now is team president Bob Nicholson and that should result in better days ahead for the Boatmen.

Nicholson grew up in the Toronto Blue Jays organization under Paul Beeston and was with the club during their finest hours in the early ’90s. Nicholson ran the Argos in the mid-’90s when they won back-to-back Grey Cups with coach Don Matthews and quarterback Doug Flutie. After over a decade away from the team, he’s returned and our bet is so will stability off the field and success on the field. Nicholson isn’t a miracle worker but he’s an honest and capable businessman with an understanding of what works in the Toronto market.

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4Here’s our list of five, fresh exciting players stepping into the spotlight this season.

“ö Fred Reid — The Bombers running back took over the top gig last season but is really making some noise right now. Reid leads the league in rushing and says he has his eye on a 2,000-yard season.

“ö De’Andra Cobb — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats running back is fourth in the league in rushing and has been integral in the Tabbies resurgence.

“ö Weston Dressler — This Roughriders receiver has 35 catches for 594 yards and is second in the league in receiving.

“ö Justin Medlock — The Argos place kicker took over the job in Week 1 and has been near perfect, going 18 of 19 kicking field goals.

“ö Larry Taylor — The Alouettes return man is second in the league in combined yards, first in punt return yards and second in kick return yards. Taylor is a threat to break free at any time and exudes excitement.

5 The B.C. Lions do a lot of things right on and off the field but one area they fall down is in-game production. Odd, because the Lions marketing department has done an excellent job with their TV ads, that some of this doesn’t translate into a better game experience. B.C. Place is grey and dank, but what stadium in this league isn’t in need of a refurb? They’re putting some paint on the Vancouver dome for the Olympics and that’s great. Throw in a new video screen, scoreclock and updated script for the P.A. announcer and you might have something. The Lions had a good crowd, more than 27,000 last Friday night. Giving fans something to chew on other than, “Get ready to cheer on your defence, Lions fans,” in a Monster Truck type parody won’t get it done. Frankly, we were a little surprised and a whole lot disappointed.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca