CFL Bans Full Contact Practices, Creates 21 Week Schedule to Reduce Injuries

Its good to see the league and CFL Players Association taking action to hopefully reduce injuries and long term brain damage.

Quote:

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Eliminating full contact padded practices during the season and moving to a longer, 21-week schedule are major advances that will reduce the risk of injury by delivering more rest and less physical wear and tear for players, says the Canadian Football League and the Canadian Football Players Association.
“Today, we stand shoulder to shoulder on the important issue of player health and safety,” said Randy Ambrosie, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League.
“We have developed and agreed upon these changes in the spirit of partnership and in pursuit of a shared goal: making the game we all love safer for the elite athletes who thrill our fans with their skill and talent”
Brian Ramsay, Executive-Director of the Canadian Football League Players Association, said: “After increasing public awareness about our members’ safety over the past 12 months, we are excited that new CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie and the League worked closely with the CFLPA to make these important changes. Reducing full contact in practices while adding an additional week of rest to the schedule will be an immediate benefit to our members’ welfare. And the game of football.”
The league and the players’ union have agreed to the following two changes:

• Effective immediately and for the 2018 season, the number of full contact padded practices allowed per team once training camps have been completed will be reduced from 17 to zero.
• Starting in 2018, the CFL schedule will expand from 20 to 21 weeks, to allow athletes more time to rest and recuperate between games. The schedule will still consist of 18 games.
This means each CFL team will have three bye weeks each season instead of two.

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https://www.cfl.ca/2017/09/13/cfl-cf...player-safety/

I already started a thread on this in the CFL room.

IMO there is some pros and cons here. Good for the veteran players who don't need the contact as much and now doesn't allow some old school Coach of making them hit in practice for punishment etc.
But what about the young rookies who need the experience of some kind of live action on blocking and tackling. Hopefully they can still put the pads on and at least block and tackle some dummies.
IMO there should be more attention paid too how the players are allowed to tackle, especially leading with the helmet. There is no place in the game anymore for those hits like Mike Riley took last week. Too much at stake. Change the rules to allow for game ejections for leading with the helmet which looks like an intent to injure. To me it seems silly that officials seem to be instructed to watch for every little illegal tug and push on kick returns while a helmet to chin hit on Mike Riley isn't even called. Talk about a fan turn off. Mean while the eye in the sky apparently flips a coin to see what to call on a review. The new dreaded words "The Play Will Be Reviewed".