Offensive strategy and play-calling - East Final

[OV Argo]

Stats:

Argos - 39 pass attempts / 15 run plays to RBs

Ticats - 22 pass plays (including a 25 yard gainer to H-back Kalinic) and Evans was perfect pass completion % / 17 run plays

Diversity and balance on offence ?

[Argo57]

Argos play calling when in scoring position was a head scratcher for most of the season, load up the box and run up the middle for the most part.
Solid strategy if you have an elite OL and a punishing RB neither applies to the Argos, add to the fact they brought in some pretty nice receiving talent and have a 20 yard end zone to work with it didn’t make sense.

[paulwoods13]

Argos - 39 pass attempts / 15 run plays to RBs

Ticats - 22 pass plays (including a 25 yard gainer to H-back Kalinic) and Evans was perfect pass completion % / 17 run plays

Not to derail this thread, but a total of 93 offensive snaps in the game, or barely one and a half per minute. In 1990, the Argos on their own ran 92 offensive plays in a pre-season game, and a few years ago the New England Patriots ran 91 in an NFL game. I don't have precise stats but I would be willing to bet the average number of offensive snaps in the CFL was about 120 in the 1980s and '90s. This trend to fewer plays has really reduced the excitement factor (not to mention scoring).

[cfl-cis fan]

Stats:

Argos - 39 pass attempts / 15 run plays to RBs

Ticats - 22 pass plays (including a 25 yard gainer to H-back Kalinic) and Evans was perfect pass completion % / 17 run plays

Diversity and balance on offence ?

2017 team had the same issue, but kept trying different creative plays

[argolio]

Not buying the premise. 15 rushes that produce enough decent first yard runs to keep you out of second and long all game and convert short yardage can definitely help win you games. The problem was our rushes only produced a three yard average while theirs was double. By the 4th quarter, even the threat of the run was gone. Didn't help that two starting o-linemen were out.

Bigger issue by far in this game was not hitting anything long. MBT threw good balls on most of them but none of our receivers made a play. Even one could have changed the game.

[paulwoods13]

Bigger issue by far in this game was not hitting anything long. MBT threw good balls on most of them but none of our receivers made a play. Even one could have changed the game.

One deep pass to Brescacin was thrown to the wrong shoulder, but there were at least three or four other deep shots that our guys got their hands on but did not squeeze. Credit to the defenders, but by definition you should win roughly half of all 50/50 balls. We won none.

[OV Argo]

West Final offensive stats:

Riders - 27 pass attempts / 11 runs by the one RB (Fajardo had some designed runs i think but I am not including QB runs in these totals, since often they are off of pass play calls)

Bombers - 21 pass attempts / 27 runs (to 3 different ball carriers - Harris got the bulk but Demski was used and also a receiver run by Bailey) - generated 229 passing yards & 160+ rushing yards

[argotom]

In the big picture, the problem here is the league no doubt together with TSN has changed the game clock.
This in turn has shortened the game substantially with less plays and frankly low scoring, as seen in record this year, also more boring low scoring games.

[paulwoods13]

West Final offensive stats:

Riders - 27 pass attempts / 11 runs by the one RB (Fajardo had some designed runs i think but I am not including QB runs in these totals, since often they are off of pass play calls)

Bombers - 21 pass attempts / 27 runs (to 3 different ball carriers - Harris got the bulk but Demski was used and also a receiver run by Bailey) - generated 229 passing yards & 160+ rushing yards

Again, not meaning to derail this thread, but absolute totals were Sask: 27 passes+17 runs=44 plays; Wpg 21+34=55. Ninety-nine plays in total. I can't believe so few people around the CFL seem to realize that cutting the average number of plays per game by roughly 20-25% from the "good old days," and to fewer than in the once-boring NFL, is a severe impediment to people being entertained.

[OV Argo]

Again, not meaning to derail this thread, but absolute totals were Sask: 27 passes+17 runs=44 plays; Wpg 21+34=55. Ninety-nine plays in total. I can't believe so few people around the CFL seem to realize that cutting the average number of plays per game by roughly 20-25% from the "good old days," and to fewer than in the once-boring NFL, is a severe impediment to people being entertained.

I agree for sure with your beef about the pace of the game and number of plays now in the CFL.

Back to offensive football "thinking" on display in the CFL though: are there any lessons to be learned for most CFL GOB offensive coaches ? Would Jarious Jackson or Jason Maas get re-hired/ recycled in a heart beat ? LOL

[AngeloV]

I agree for sure with your beef about the pace of the game and number of plays now in the CFL.

Back to offensive football "thinking" on display in the CFL though: are there any lessons to be learned for most CFL GOB offensive coaches ? Would Jarious Jackson or Jason Maas get re-hired/ recycled in a heart beat ? LOL

Has nothing to do with the coordinators. It's the time the officials allow for substitutions before blowing in the play clock that is the result of the plays lost. The game clock is moving while they wait to blow in the play clock, unless there was an out of bounds or an incomplete pass, This results in about 35 seconds of game clock actually running between plays. That was never the case in the old days. Also game clock moving during converts except after the 3 minute warning is ridiculous. Converts should always be an untimed play. There are many aspects of the NFL clock which are better than the CFL clock, with the exception of the last 2 minutes, where if you are out of timeouts, and you are trailing, you're out of luck. The only aspect of the CFL clock better today, is after the warning.

[OV Argo]

Has nothing to do with the coordinators. It's the time the officials allow for substitutions before blowing in the play clock that is the result of the plays lost. The game clock is moving while they wait to blow in the play clock, unless there was an out of bounds or an incomplete pass, This results in about 35 seconds of game clock actually running between plays. That was never the case in the old days. Also game clock moving during converts except after the 3 minute warning is ridiculous. Converts should always be an untimed play. There are many aspects of the NFL clock which are better than the CFL clock, with the exception of the last 2 minutes, where if you are out of timeouts, and you are trailing, you're out of luck. The only aspect of the CFL clock better today, is after the warning.

Yeah; and that's a totally separate topic that you are talking about vs. what I'm on about; I already said I agree with Paul's complaint about CFL game clock now.

[argolio]

Again, not meaning to derail this thread, but absolute totals were Sask: 27 passes+17 runs=44 plays; Wpg 21+34=55. Ninety-nine plays in total. I can't believe so few people around the CFL seem to realize that cutting the average number of plays per game by roughly 20-25% from the "good old days," and to fewer than in the once-boring NFL, is a severe impediment to people being entertained.

Maybe player safety has something to do with it? Would be nice to ask someone in game operations/rules committee.

Angelo mentioned some reasons CFL plays have decreased. NFL plays increased after they adopted a few CFL-type clock rules. Some NCAA games can see teams combine for over 150 plays.

I think we'd all rather see more plays.

[paulwoods13]

Maybe player safety has something to do with it? Would be nice to ask someone in game operations/rules committee.

Angelo mentioned some reasons CFL plays have decreased. NFL plays increased after they adopted a few CFL-type clock rules. Some NCAA games can see teams combine for over 150 plays.

I think we'd all rather see more plays.

Player safety has to do with it in the sense that rosters have grown steadily since the mid-1990s, and with expanding rosters come coaches eager to sub guys in and out all the time. To allow all that subbing, refs were told not to start the play clock until everyone is on the field. Meanwhile the game clock keeps running.

[AngeloV]

Player safety has to do with it in the sense that rosters have grown steadily since the mid-1990s, and with expanding rosters come coaches eager to sub guys in and out all the time. To allow all that subbing, refs were told not to start the play clock until everyone is on the field. Meanwhile the game clock keeps running.

We are both in agreement that they should use a modified NFL style play clock during the first 27 minutes of each half. I suggested 30 seconds on plays that end with the clock still running, and keep the 20 second clock when a play ends that stops the clock (incomplete, out of bounds, injury or penalty). I think your suggestion was for 25 seconds if the clock is still running, but I don't think that would fly. I think teams want more than 5 additional seconds to make their substitutions. I really think you would still get 15 more plays with 30 seconds from the whistle after a play ends. Right now it's closer to 35 or 40 seconds anyway. Also, stop the clock at 3:00 if it's ticking down and do an official time out and don't start it until the snap of the ball after the warning. Nothing infuriates me more than the 3 minute warning coming up at the 2:41 mark becasus the play was whistled in at 3:03 and first snap after coming at the 2:22 mark. How is that a 3 minute warning?

[paulwoods13]

Also, stop the clock at 3:00 if it's ticking down and do an official time out and don't start it until the snap of the ball after the warning. Nothing infuriates me more than the 3 minute warning coming up at the 2:41 mark becasus the play was whistled in at 3:03 and first snap after coming at the 2:22 mark. How is that a 3 minute warning?

I agree 100%. The last three minutes need to be three full minutes where those timing rules apply.

[argotom]

I agree 100%. The last three minutes need to be three full minutes where those timing rules apply.

Also, unlike now the clock must not start until the ball is hiked.

[paulwoods13]

Also, unlike now the clock must not start until the ball is hiked.

That would be a completely new rule. The clock has always started before the snap, even in the last three minutes, after the previous play ended in-bounds.

[AngeloV]

Also, unlike now the clock must not start until the ball is hiked.

You would be looking at 4+ hour games if you did this.

[AngeloV]

With all the talk about scoring being down and offences not what they used to be, I think there is one thing that we need to consider. Looking at QB stats from the 80's and 90's, the QB's threw a lot more INT's back then. Turnovers also result in more scoring. The game has changed so much since then with ball control style passing being the norm. Pretty well every starting QB threw 20+ INT's back then. As I have mentioned before, Tom Clements threw 30 in 1987 and was voted leagues MOP. IMO, this is mostly the result of less aggressive bend but don't break style of defence we now see. Don't allow the big play, and QB's only go deep now if they see cover 1 or cover 0 which are both rare in today's game. Teams just don't want to take risks on O anymore.