[Trent Richardson runs wild in the CFL]

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Okay, so my question is WHY is it a different game up there? It's like they're going out of their way to be different. Just make it the same downs, same rules, same everything. Soccer doesn't change the rules throughout the world, so why is Canada changing the rules on football?

 

The CFL didn't change the rules as much as the NFL did. Both games grew out of Rugby. British Army officers introduced Rugby to Canada in the 1850s. Canadians adopted the game and introduced it to the U.S. when a McGill University team traveled to Harvard in 1874 and taught them the game. Both countries modified Rugby rules into what we see today. The CFL is closer to its Rugby roots than the NFL, which is why plays like the ability to punt the ball at anytime from anywhere on the field, still exist in CFL rules. These rules exist, not because the CFL is weird, rather because it has not strayed as far from Rugby as has the NFL.

The oldest professional football team still playing under its original name? The Toronto Argonauts formed in 1873. The Hamilton Tigers were formed in 1869 and were the first professional football team in North America. They're now the Tiger-Cats after their merger with the Hamilton Wildcats. So your question should be asked the other way around.

As far as Trent goes, he looked OK when playing the worst team in the CFL, but not so much against better teams. He'll probably go the same way as Ricky Williams, a few good games here and there, with a bunch of nothing games strung in between. 

 

The better CFL running backs tend to either be home grown or they're Americans who joined the CFL having little to no NFL experience and so learned the CFL game from the ground up. NFL running backs coming to the CFL often have difficulty adapting to all of the different responsibilities the CFL position requires, learning to use the width of the field, and adapting to the complexities the rules and the extra man introduce. So far I haven't seen anything to suggest that Trent is going to buck this trend. 

[Where Are They Now-CFL Edition]

18 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

 

I thought he got way too much stock because of his last name. Seemed no better than your average 6th round receiver on tape.

 

 

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The problem with players like Carter is they frequently don't play up to their capabilities. They coast along on their physical gifts, then all of a sudden they wake up and we see what they really could have been. Then they goes back to sleep for the rest of the game, or the next few games - or the rest of their short careers. 

Despite having had some great games for Montreal, they cut him because of his inconsistencies and his attitude. Jones in Saskatchewan signed him, just like he picked up Vince Young, hoping he could get something out of him. Young ended up going the same route as every other ex-NFL QB not named Flutie. Unless Carter can start producing like this game, on a reasonably regular basis, I'm sure Carter will be joining Young in the "out-of-football" crowd by season's end.

[Where Are They Now-CFL Edition]

2 minutes ago, PrincetonTiger said:

The last part is why he is in the CFL not NFL today

Exactly and why I included it. Up until this game he has been practically non-existant, sitting a fourth in stats amongst the receivers just on the Riders roster. League wide, he had fallen off the bottom of the board. He has a pretty big salary for the CFL and had done nothing to earn it so far this season. You could see the resentment in the body language of his teammates. 

Then he has a game like this. If he could have kept his head in the game and his butt out of trouble, he has the physical assets to be a no. 1 or 2 receiver on any NFL team. Instead he shows up for three of four games a year in the CFL.

[Where Are They Now-CFL Edition]

Older thread I realize, but I think that some of you guys might enjoy this: Duron Carter with a great catch yesterday, 

 

He made a few other great catches, but before this one, he made an incredibly boneheaded catch. Running a pattern out to the sideline, he caught the ball in the air, but well in bounds. Only one foot in bounds is required in the CFL. Easy-peasy, any CFL receiver in the league could drag a foot on that play, but not Carter. He stretches out a leg and lands out of bounds for no catch. Brain switched off. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Colts have agreed to terms with CFL wide receiver Duron Carter (confirmed)]

Here's a bit of footage on the kid:

 

[Colts sign ex. CFL OG Ben Heenan]

He's still young, so that's good news!  Also I'm sure the NFL OL coaches push their players harder than the CFL does.  Apart of the DL lining up 1 yard off the ball, is probably why they care more about technique than strength.  I may be wrong, but I think if he puts on 15-20 pounds of muscle, he will be better than Thornton in another year.  If I'm not mistaken, your a Thornton guy right?

 

CFL lineman have higher cardio requirements so they tend to be lighter and less explosive.  There's a trade-off between muscles that are good for aerobic work (endurance) vs. anaerobic work (explosive power) and in the CFL, they trend more to aerobic.  So not only will he have to add a few pounds, but his off season training will have to concentrate on developing anaerobic capable muscle.  If he doesn't he will look slow and will get pushed around.

[Colts sign ex. CFL OG Ben Heenan]

Comparing NFL WR's to CFL WR's do you think Duron Carter will be able to step in and make an impact immediately, or will it take him some time...  He scored a really high football IQ on the Wonderlic Test

 

He should fit in pretty quick as he has all of the necessary NFL tools.  He wasn't in the NFL before now simply because he screwed up his NCAA academic requirements.

 

A lot of the best CFL receivers need that running start to get separation and without it, they aren't as effective.  Carter didn't need it.  The trick for NFL GMs is to determine which CFL star receiver can live without it.  I think Grigson already has that figured out.

[Colts sign ex. CFL OG Ben Heenan]

CFL guy here just following the Heenan story.

 

Hope the guy does well, but he's going to need a lot of coaching in camp.  He's played his entire football life with the D-line a yard off the ball so it will be a major adjustment for him to have less space and time to react. After Cam Wake joined Miami, during an interview he was asked to contrast playing D-line in the CFL vs. NFL.  He said that the yard off the ball makes playing the D-line in the CFL more difficult. The angles are subtely different, plus some techniques will be more or less effective. Heenan has spent his entire career with that advantage over the D-line.  I wouldn't think he's a shoe-in unless the staff thinks he has the potential to keep around on the PS while he adapts his game.

 

Devlin Breaux was the guy Grigson should've chased.  Awesome corner.  Anybody who can play CB in the CFL at a high level can easily make an NFL roster.  With that wide field, six receiver spreads and multiple receivers running straight at you before the snap, it's not a position for the faint of heart.

 

Somebody asked about CFL QBs and the simple answer is that most are either too short or have taken so long to develop into a quality QB that most NFL team would consider them too old.  It takes three to five years to turn a typical, too short for the NFL, NCAA star into a first class CFL QB, thanks to the complexity of five DB coverages and having so little time to make the reads.  By the time the average good CFL QB is putting up big numbers, he's usually pushing 30.  We do have some really good young QBs like Bo Levi Mitchell and Zach Collaros, but at 6'2" and 6'0" respectively I doubt the NFL will show much interest.