So I had a whole slew of different people message me following the CFL’s press conference on Monday afternoon earlier this week, in which they announced a gigantic litany of rule changes that will be gradually phased in over the next few seasons. Specifically, they wanted to know if I was upset with them. I am, but it’s for deeper reasons than you think. But first, we should probably talk about what these rule changes specifically entail…

In a televised conference led by new CFL Commissioner, Stewart Johnston, on Monday, the Canadian Football League announced they will be introducing the following rule changes for the 2026 regular season:

• Team benches will now be placed on opposite sides of the field in every stadium.
• The rouge will no longer be awarded for missed field goals or for kicks that travel out of the back of the end zone; it will only be awarded when a returner in possession of the ball in the end zone is not able to get the ball out of the zone on the play.
• The play clock will move to an automatic 35-second sequence on every single play, rather than the current system of using a 20-second clock, but which is blown live at the officials’ discretion and often features some running time in between plays where the play clock is not actually running.

That’s not all, however – the league didn’t stop there. Beginning in 2027, due to the time needed to adapt all current CFL venues to accommodate for physical changes, the league will also introduce the following new rules:

• The goal posts will be moved out of the middle of the end zone, and will now be in behind in the end zone, just as in NFL rules.
• The field, which currently is 110 yards long and features 20-yard end zones, will be changed to be 100 yards long and 15-yard end zones. The field width will not be changed.

While the rationale for these rule changes – specifically, the need to generate more offence, and therefore, more excitement in each game – makes sense on the surface, I find myself incredibly worried for what is to come for the future of the Canadian game.

Some of these do make sense on the surface. The bench placement is really not a significant factor, and the adjustment to an automatic playclock probably makes a lot of sense; I do like the quirkiness of the rouge rule as it currently stands, but the change to not automatically award points on missed kicks is probably rational as well. Where my biggest concern lies is how the structure and flow of a game is going to change thanks to these huge physical changes to field design. While goalpost placement in the end zone could definitely be argued to have some safety issues present – there have been a few rare occasions where receivers have smacked themselves hard on the centre post while running routes – they are relatively few and far between. It will absolutely mean an end to the dynamic return game that the CFL has become known for when kicks will be pretty well impossible to return (unless they come up short, which is rare). The other issue with the shorter field is that in trying to prioritize the touchdown play by shortening the amount of distance needed to reach the red zone (when factoring in greater distance needed to travel in order to consistently kick field goals), you’re also shooting yourself in the foot by shrinking the end zone as well.

While the league has decided not to touch some of the most quintessentially Canadian rules of the game – specifically, the 12th man on the field, the motion allowed before the snap, and most importantly, the use of 3 downs rather than 4 – I, and many others, have this sinking feeling in my stomach that the league is going to try to fully Americanize the rules within the next few years. If that’s indeed the case, I think it’s really important to ask the question of what the league intends to do with these rule changes if they indeed want to attract new fans and new revenue sources to the league.

I don’t disagree that the league needs to do something to reverse the attendance issues they’ve experienced over the last while; additionally, when 7 of 9 franchises appear, on the surface level, to not be making money, I again understand the desire to try and shake things up. But in this drive for new fans, I think it’s incredibly important that the league considers where they’re coming from. The last time the league looked south, in the early 1990s, their American expansion plans proved an extremely expensive disaster. While I don’t think there’s any appetite at all to formally expand to the United States once more, there’s an argument to be considered that following American rules for the game would be more appealing to American eyes on TV – and subsequently to networks and to advertisers. But again, we’ve had multiple variants of minor league football over the last several years, with the XFL, USFL, and Spring League coming and going, and the UFL somehow, against all odds, still hanging around to some extent. Maybe the CFL gets some more American eyes if there’s a full-on development partnership with the NFL, but again, that’s pigeonholing yourself into becoming just a farm system for the NFL, which would further delegitimize the status of these pros playing here in Canada. One particularly outspoken candidate against rule changes is BC Lions QB Nathan Rourke, who’s notorious for typically being a man of few words when found in front of the camera. Instead, we saw him pretty furious, calling the rule changes garbage and devolving into actual ad hominem attacks against the commissioner, claiming that he “must not like football” based on the changes made. As a Canadian star QB, making him an absolute unicorn in the entire history of the CFL, where not many Canadians have historically played the position, I was surprised to see that opinion come through so strongly, when players have been decidedly more mixed in their feelings towards the rule changes as a general average.

There’s a marketing issue present with the CFL within Canada, and it’s persisted for decades. In particular, it’s developed especially since the early 1990s when pundits were readily comparing the differences between the Canadian and American games when the Toronto Argos, then owned by John Candy, Wayne Gretzky, and Bruce McNall, made a splash by signing Rocket Ismail to come play for them and paying him more than any NFL squad could manage at that point in time. Anyone who thought the CFL was ever going to compete for the same talent as the NFL on a financial level has always been kidding themselves – it’s never been about the money, but it has been about the appreciation of talent and the celebrating of those successes along the way. The point of the CFL, to me, is not that it needs to be made palatable to the average fan (including to American audiences); it needs to be that it celebrates the teams and players as the absolute best in the world at this unique sport. In the same way that no serious sports fan compares Aussie rules football to rugby union or league, the CFL needs to get out of the NFL’s shadow and promote itself as something different and unique, and to celebrate the history and heritage of the game. They also need to develop better partnerships with new media – better presences on the internet, better TV coverage through a dedicated league network, and through things like video games à la EA’s Madden NFL franchise; the grassroots support for the sport could also be far better promoted through government funding or through national organizations like Football Canada, in the manner that hockey, soccer, and basketball have been developing for decades.

The league is at a crossroads now between long-term stability and taking a significant risk in the hopes of growing success. I’m just worried that team owners are not being realistic about this at all. The kinds of people who claim they’re not interested in watching the CFL because it’s an “inferior product” when compared to the NFL are not going to start watching it all of a sudden if the league plays copycat and follows American rules. Rather, this demographic needs to be trained to start considering the game of Canadian football as its own separate institution outright and stop always looking to the American game for comparison.

A lot of people have felt completely blindsided by these rule changes – not just fans and media, but players, coaches, and even minor league football leagues in Canada. Word has it the CFLPA and coaching staffs were also not really consulted at all in the rule changes made this week. Additionally, it’s not a guarantee that USports and Canadian minor league football would even be able to follow suit with these rule changes, from a practicality and from a financial perspective of having to retrofit so many fields and venues. I’m not really sure a unilateral decision made through the league’s Board of Governors is done with the long-term health and success of the sport in mind.

Finally, in an era where everything, whether we like it or not, is politics to people, a lot of Canadians should probably better understand the financial and ethical considerations of trying to hitch your business’ ultimate success to the whims of a potential market opportunity in another country. I think a lot of the current marketing platitudes of “elbows up!” and “Buy Canadian!” that we’re subjected to on a seemingly hourly basis here in Canada may have started as ultimately reasonable arguments to present in these tumultuous times, but have since begun to ring a little bit hollow here in the advent of price-gouging and navel-gazing jingoism that a lot of businesses tend to retreat to when trying to find the median consumer. Regardless of your own personal views of the logic, or even the morality, of this business strategy, the potential of the CFL trying to make itself more palatable to an audience in the United States seems to me to be completely anathema to current national consumer trends right now. When we also consider the looming political, economic, and social instability of our gigantic neighbour to the south, I find it similarly hard to believe that this is something that would prove to be a useful long-term strategic partnership. But money talks, I suppose.

Onto the games!

WEEK 16 RECAPS

Montreal 21 vs. Toronto 19: This was not a good football game in any way, shape or form. McLeod Bethel-Thompson had three picks in the first half for the Alouettes, but as the best available QB option the team has right now, he stayed in for the second half and threw two TDs for the visitors. The Argos, meanwhile, had seven two-and-outs on the night, with the Als playing a shutdown defensive game. Not exactly riveting stuff, I will admit. Toronto did have a promising drive on their final possession of the game, but DB Wes Sutton shut down any hope of an Argos comeback thanks to his late interception of Jarret Doege that stuck a dagger in the Toronto comeback.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

BC 52 vs. Calgary 23: I think a lot of people expected the Stamps to take this game, which would’ve added some further fire to the ever-present debate of whether or not the Lions kept the right QB in choosing to trade Vernon Adams, Jr. to the Stamps while keeping the younger Nathan Rourke. Instead, Calgary got absolutely whacked in this one, and at home, to boot. Rourke popped off for one of the best games of his career, throwing for 331 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 43 yards and three scores on the ground. He finished 20-24 for an 83% completion rate, to boot. The Stamps’ D, which has been one of the absolute best units in the league to date, had absolutely nothing going on and looked powerless to stop him. This is why the Lions remain such a fascinating team. The way their D was playing to start the year, it gave the offence absolutely zero support whatsoever. Now that they appear to be turning a corner… the Leos might actually be poised for a fairly deep run this season.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: BC

Winnipeg 26 vs. Ottawa 18: The sun was shining, the weather was perfect… and it was truly the worst loss in REDBLACKS franchise history. This is why: the defence played their asses off, limiting Winnipeg’s Chris Streveler to just 3 completions on 8 passes for 54 yards and an interception. The REDBLACKS’ Dru Brown had 405 pass yards and two TDs, but also had two absolutely back-breaking interceptions… not to mention that the pass TDs were on the first and last drives of the game for Ottawa and otherwise had absolutely nothing going on. More devastating was the fact that kicker Lewis Ward missed two field goals, one of which was returned 127 yards by Trey Vaval for a Winnipeg TD that tied the game at 7 rather than putting the REDBLACKS up 10-0 in the first quarter. When the D plays that well, there’s absolutely no way your team should lose. But they did, and they lost bigly. That final score truly doesn’t do it justice just to how frustrating it was to see Ottawa blow this game, and most certainly their playoff hopes, once and for all.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: Winnipeg

Edmonton 27 vs. Hamilton 29: This was an incredibly close game, with back-and-forth action all evening long, including ten lead changes overall. Bo Levi Mitchell and Cody Fajardo had two TD passes each, while both teams also had the run game going as well, with rushers Justin Rankin and Greg Bell similarly getting a ton of touches on the night. The second half, in particular, was intriguing; only one TD scored (by Edmonton, which was a 12-yard pass from Fajardo to Canadian receiver Kurleigh Gittens, Jr.), but there were a bevy of field goals kicked, mostly by Hamilton. Indeed, Marc Liegghio proved to be the deciding factor for the home side; as the Elks failed to score on their possession inside the three-minute warning, the Tabbies had just enough time to make it down the field for Liegghio to kick a 41-yarder to walk off with the win and come closer to clinching a playoff spot.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

BYE: Saskatchewan (10-3)

WEEK 17 PREVIEWS

Calgary (8-5) vs. Montreal (7-7), Friday, September 26th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Als appear to have Davis Alexander back for this game. If so, that’s a huge, huge boost at the best possible time for this team. The quarterback depth behind him has proven to be absolutely abysmal this year, and so if they’re going to ride that excellent defence to a Grey Cup appearance this year, it’s going to be through his accurate arm. Calgary has hopefully burned the tape from last week’s thrashing by the Lions and can come into this one with that poor showing completely behind them. Good teams can have bad games, yes, but the Stamps do have both the Lions and Bombers breathing down their necks for that second spot in the West, so they can ill afford to give up further ground right now.

PICK: Montreal

Toronto (5-9) vs. BC (7-7), Friday, September 26th, 10:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): There’s a chance the Argos may have Nick Arbuckle back to start this week for them, which is just as well, because Jarret Doege was awful last week. Toronto is facing a tough uphill climb into the playoff picture, particularly with BC and Winnipeg a full four points up on them, which matters in part as one of them would get a crossover playoff berth to the East and knock the Argos out of the third and final slot were the season to end today. With Nathan Rourke heating up majorly, and with the D appearing to be figuring things out now, the Argos are probably going to need to run and gun this one if they want to stay alive. But that’s a tough task, particularly if Arbuckle plays but isn’t fully healthy.

PICK: BC

Hamilton (9-5) vs. Winnipeg (7-7), Saturday, September 26th, 3:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CFL+): Against all odds, the Bombers remain right in the thick of the playoff race. There is truly no way they should have won last week’s game against Ottawa. Fortunately for them, it appears that Zach Collaros will be back in action for this week. It’s true that Collaros has declined from his peak a few years back, but considering Chris Streveler’s brutal showing last game, an aging Zach Collaros still remains an immensely better passer than whatever we saw going on last week. The Ti-Cats are so close to clinching a playoff spot in the East; I believe if they win this week, they are absolutely in. As we wind down over the last few weeks, one must start to believe the Tiger-Cats can probably clinch the division if they can start by locking down the win this week with an overall healthy side.

PICK: Hamilton

Saskatchewan (10-3) vs. Edmonton (5-9), Saturday, September 28th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Riders are coming off a bye week and are taking on an Elks team that continues to disappoint. In particular, I think the front office has probably come to the conclusion that their defensive free agent signings really did not pan out at all. There’s enough on offence here that I think moving forward the team will have some effectiveness, but with the defensive miscues, and not to mention the tight, tight race between Calgary, BC, and Winnipeg, the Elks are most likely going to end up once again on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. A couple of late-season wins combined with a little luck could still maybe happen – but I am not holding my breath any time soon about it.

PICK: Saskatchewan

BYE: Ottawa (4-10)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

x – clinched playoff spot
y – clinched division
e – eliminated from playoff contention

Passing Yards

1. Mitchell, HAM – 4194
2. Arbuckle, TOR – 4089
3. Rourke, BC – 3935

Passing TDs

1. Mitchell, HAM – 28
2. Arbuckle, TOR – 25
3. Rourke, BC – 22

Rushing Yards

1. Butler, BC – 989
2. Mills, CGY – 954
3. Ouellette, SSK – 942

Receiving Yards

1. Hatcher, BC – 1317
2. Lawler, HAM – 1190
3. McInnis, BC – 976

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, BC – 100
2. Jones, WPG – 87
3. Pickett, OTT – 80

Sacks

1. Betts, BC – 10
2. Adeyemi-Berglund, MTL  – 9
3. Carney, SSK – 7

Interceptions

1. Campbell, SSK  – 6
2. McFadden, TOR – 5
3. Peters, HAM – 5

Field Goals

1. Maltos, MTL – 43
2. Hajrullahu, TOR – 41
3. Liegghio, HAM – 39

PICK POOL

GTD with the lone perfect week in the pool from last week – big congrats to you, sir.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=243178

Enjoy the games, everyone.