After dealing with stories of Justin Bieber speeding around in his LA gated community or showing up to Miami Heat playoff games clad in sunglasses, a leather tee shirt and more jewelry than Mr. T, I couldn't help but feel apologetic to our American neighbours. We kind of unleashed 'it' south of the border. Just didn’t seem fair.
As a peace offering, I’d like to offer our American friends the chance to get to know our league, and all the great things that make it what it is.
Please have a seat…try our ketchup chips and Smarties.
Now while you are snacking on our fine junk food, please allow me to give you a quick primer on some of the teams, names and other key fundamentals of the CFL.
Three down football: Now I know this basic rule difference may have scared you off in the past; but considering the complete offensive shift to passing game in the NFL, you really won't find our game that disorientating. 4,000 yard passers have become the norm in your league; in the CFL at least 50 per cent of our signal callers reach that mark every season.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders: The easy answer is they are the Green Bay Packers of the CFL. The most passionate fan base, you will find Roughriders jerseys in every stadium for every game and the team means more to the city than any other sporting entity. You could also go with the Minnesota Vikings in terms of playoff tragedies but at least Saskatchewan won the Grey Cup in 2007 and I really don't feel like rehashing the "13th Man" debacle of 2009.
Fred Stamps: What Larry Fitzgerald is to the Arizona Cardinals, Stamps is to the Edmonton Eskimos. You can easily make the argument that both are the best receivers in the game and that both have been dealing with, I'm in a good mood, let's say that both gentleman have put up impressive numbers despite "inconsistent" play at quarterback.
Anthony Calvillo: He's our old man quarterback who just continues to churn out productive seasons. In terms of his play on the field think of him as Brett Favre with the Vikings in 2009 when he was just a couple plays away from the Super Bowl. Off the field if you take away Favre's constant flip flopping over his career and his goofy wrangler jeans they are the exact same person. Oh and minus about 500 career interceptions.
Kenny Mainor: I can't go all offence now can I? Mainor is an intriguing prospect, racking up 15 sacks over the past two years despite only starting six games over that time span. The reasons for his lack of playing time centres around issues of a lack of consistency both on the field and during practice.
He reminds me of the Lions Ndamukong Suh, both players have a ton of talent but have yet to reach their full potential. Thankfully for all CFL quarterbacks, Mainor does not seem to have Suh's rage issues. By the way, with Jason Vega signing with the Patriots, Mainor has a chance to put up massive numbers.
Travis Lulay: Still the reigning "best quarterback" in the league. No player in the CFL can beat you in so many different ways. He'll go short, medium and deep on ya plus he'll keep drives alive with his feet. Present day example is Aaron Rodgers but my favourite comparison is with mid-1990's Steve Young when he switched from a "scrambling quarterback" to a "complete" one.
Chad Owens: The CFL's Most Outstanding Player award winner, Chad went from dangerous return man to just plain dangerous, leading the league in receiving yardage. He's a cross between Devin Hester in his prime and Wes Welker. You'll really enjoy watching him play, as long as he doesn't hurt himself in the Octagon.
Nik Lewis: There is no player in the NFL like him. Trust me you have to watch him up close. If you were twisting my arm I guess I'd say Anquan Boldin, big dude, tough as nails, makes big plays at critical moments and just like Nik, is pretty slow. Alright, that's mean, let's go with they're both "deceptively fast".
Brandon Whitaker: Remember when the St. Louis Rams were setting all those offensive records? The straw that stirred the drink of the "Greatest Show on Turf" was Marshall Faulk. Faulk in his prime is Brandon Whitaker. In 2011 Whitaker had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage, last year injuries derailed his season, and this year could see him back as the league's premier running back. By the way this assessment is not meant to be a slight against ...
Jon Cornish: A punishing rusher whose career averages per rush is pure Sega Genesis if you have it set on "beginner". Cornish is our Adrian Peterson. Both men are big, both men enjoy hitting defensive backs and both led their respective leagues in rushing.
Chevon Walker: Think Reggie Bush at his prime. Both a threat to score every time they touch the ball, both make you wonder why the coaching staff doesn't give them the ball about 75 times a game.
The Toronto Argonauts: Last but not least here are our reigning Grey Cup Champions. What's the Grey Cup? It's like your Lombardi Trophy except it's much cooler and you can drink our superior beer out of it.
Moving on. No team benefitted more from a single trade than Toronto when they acquired Ricky Ray from Edmonton. Think of them as our New York Yankees. I understand that isn’t an NFL team but the Yankees work best.
Well I hope that helps you on your way to enjoying the CFL and on behalf of Canada, sorry about Bieber, he’s young, he’ll learn.
http://www.cfl.ca/article/cauz-an-am...ide-to-the-cfl
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Originally Posted by ticatfan
