Lions 24 - Eskimos 16 Post Game Stats and Comments

[MexicoLionFan]

Rouge...its a rouge...and as you know, its a great rule.

[BCfanInDIXIE]

I wish there was no NI rules. Let the best man win the job, wherever he may be from. It's like affirmative action.

[Yank In BC]

Rouge...its a rouge...and as you know, its a great rule.

Oh I agree. It's Rammer's favorite rule too.

[DanoT]

I wish there was no NI rules. Let the best man win the job, wherever he may be from. It's like affirmative action.

I guess the NI rule is like affirmative action because it gives an employment edge to NI who have not had the benefit of the extra coaching and playing time that a USA youth gets. The rule recognizes the fact that most NI need some time and oppourtunity to catch up to the USA trained players.

[cromartie]

I wish there was no NI rules. Let the best man win the job, wherever he may be from. It's like affirmative action.

Shocking that a southerner would bring up the affirmative action comparison.

The C stands for Canadian. A Canadian Football League overwhelmed by American talent isn't really Canadian, now, is it?

There is nothing, I repeat nothing unreasonable about Canadian institutions, public or private, insisting on some degree of Canadian content in the interests of not being overwhelmed by American identity. Just as there's nothing wrong with the India Premiere League limiting the number of foreign starters on a cricket club's starting 11 (which, strangely, isn't even debated in India).

You people crack me up.

[Toppy Vann]

I too am a fan of the Canadian game - all of it - including the rouge and Canadians. What I did like that they say can't be done now for human rights issues is to allow I's to become NI's after 5 years. That worked fine in my view as it rewarded teams for keeping players longer and is better for fans.

Darren Flutie and other US players understood that if you open the floodgates to I's with no restrictions that the salaries would plummet as there is always a US player willing to play for (then) CAD$25,000 a year. The smart player reps realized it was Canadian salaries that was helping the Import salaries.

If you want to see how you lose in a nation when you open the doors too widely to foreign players look at the English Premier League and the drop off in opportunities for English born players. They are part of Europe and movement is not as restricted but it shows up in their national team as they recycle the same old players who always manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The challenge this season is the abundance of talent with the Lions which we can only hope is the case if Ottawa comes back in.

I see the Bombers cut LB Clint Kent with others players like Ian Logan tweeting WTF.

As to who will dead last in the West, I am not sure it won't be a battle with the Riders as Durant sounds and looks like Jyles - their mouths better than their play. Of course we will start knowing for sure next week.

[TheLionKing]

What I did like that they say can't be done now for human rights issues is to allow I's to become NI's after 5 years. That worked fine in my view as it rewarded teams for keeping players longer and is better for fans.

It used to be that if an American stay in Canada and obtain their citizenship they became non-imports.

[DanoT]

What I did like that they say can't be done now for human rights issues is to allow I's to become NI's after 5 years. That worked fine in my view as it rewarded teams for keeping players longer and is better for fans.

It used to be that if an American stay in Canada and obtain their citizenship they became non-imports.

You would not have liked the 'changing citizenship to become a NI' if you were not a Ticat fan in the 1960s. They had John Barrow and several other Cats take advantage of this loop hole in the CFL rules of the time and it gave the Cats an unfair advantage and may have been a partial reason for GC appearances in 62,63,64,65,67. It had and still has nothing to do with human rights just a football league's rules.

[ziggy]

I don't know if the "passport" part is unfortunate? Wouldn't be the CFL if Canadians weren't playing in it.

55yard line / rogue / 3 downs etc. I guess we can agree to disagree on what the CFL is.

I'd rather see the best players.....period.

Should the NHL start restricting the number of euros?

If I am going to spend my entertainment dollar then I could care less if the OT tackle is from Texas, Sask or frickin Timbuktu. And to be honest I haven't spent a dime on this team in a few years after being a season ticket holder and way too much time on this site.

It's not the quality NI starter I have an issue with, it's the horse *poop* back up that has that spot based on citizenship, not ability.

If your sole concern is the best players, no restrictions, then isn't the NFL exactly what you want? Why have an NFL1 and NFL2? Heck I like the added challenge of different rules and Canadian content, it makes the game different. I don't spend a dime anymore on the NFL and sure wouldn't on a league of mini me NFLers.

[Belize City Lion]

In the spirit of Canadian inclusion, a player who becomes a naturalized citizen should be an NI. But at the same time, that does defeat the purpose of the NI rule which is to encourage the development of Canadian players. You can become a citizen in only 3 years, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a team could use naturalization to skirt the NI ratio if a player could change his status.

Ben Cahoon is a good example, I believe he was born in the US to Canadian parents but spent a few years of his early childhood in Canada so he was a NI even though he likely never played a down of amateur football in Canada. So Cahoon is an NI, but if Geroy Simon was to become a Canadian citizen he would still be an import for the rest of his career.

Anyway you cut it, it gets complicated. How about a kid born outside Canada to Canadian parents, holds a Canadian passport but has never lived or played football in Canada? Should he be a NI?

Or what about a foreign national who is moves to Canada for school (or his parents come to work), he plays junior or CIS football, and decides to become a citizen because it will increase his potential to get drafted or signed to a CFL team?

[Rammer]

Interesting proposition. The CFL did have the American Division that went without any Canadians, which did allow me to celebrate a tiny bit more when the Lions took the 94 GC over Baltimore. Still, as devote a Nationalist as I am, I think that the numbers involved for NI positions, hurts the CFL game vs help it. Now that is being said even in consideration of the wealth of Canadian receivers in the league. Other than a couple of OL and RB's who seem to be on par with their American rivals, not many NI's seem to be at the level of their US counterparts. And the part that kills, is when a starting NI goes down and you have to move the lineup around to compensate for one injury.

We may see this differently, Rammer.

If we lost Canadian content they would lose me as a fan instantly. I don't care if there are better import players who could replace some NI players. To me the CFL is a little cottage league, and not that little, and with an amazing heritage, and with a fantastic on the field game, and with a fantastic fan experience. So the ratio is just fine with me.

It is obvious that there are plenty of NI receivers who should be playing. To me it is obvious that there are plenty of NI O Linemen who should be playing. Running backs. A few D Linemen and more coming. DBs tend to go to the amazing athletes the US produces, and no Jimmy the Greek comments about ethnicity. The NI linebackers that play are plenty good enough, even athletically, but it is a position dominated by imports, just as the DBs are.

QBs? It is what it is. The US is a quarterback factory and incubator. But even there, the handful of NI QBs with tryouts this year is very impressive.

WCJ = Happy with the Ratio

I am not about abolishing the NI rule, far from that, just not happy with the 7 starting NI's as the mandatory number. Plus, the roster has to have 20 NI's on it, far too many when you look at it. Having to decide which LB or DL to add to your roster in order to make the ratio is crazy. I know that you enjoy the 6 man rotation on the DL, that would be much easier accomplished by reducing the current amount of NI's on the game day roster. Besides the number of starting NI's has been adjusted throughout the league history, even grandfathering of imports to help out on the ratio in the past. That rule could be brought back to insure player stability for the fans and make my NI adjustment easy to accomplish.

Remember that there is going to be a new franchise plucking at our current NI depth, which will also reduce the Lions level of play when that is factored in. It is also hard to listen to the line of 'you win the GC with NI talent and depth'. It almost awards the GC to the team that has the least amount of injuries to their NI starters.

[WestCoastJoe]

Interesting proposition. The CFL did have the American Division that went without any Canadians, which did allow me to celebrate a tiny bit more when the Lions took the 94 GC over Baltimore. Still, as devote a Nationalist as I am, I think that the numbers involved for NI positions, hurts the CFL game vs help it. Now that is being said even in consideration of the wealth of Canadian receivers in the league. Other than a couple of OL and RB's who seem to be on par with their American rivals, not many NI's seem to be at the level of their US counterparts. And the part that kills, is when a starting NI goes down and you have to move the lineup around to compensate for one injury.

We may see this differently, Rammer.

If we lost Canadian content they would lose me as a fan instantly. I don't care if there are better import players who could replace some NI players. To me the CFL is a little cottage league, and not that little, and with an amazing heritage, and with a fantastic on the field game, and with a fantastic fan experience. So the ratio is just fine with me.

It is obvious that there are plenty of NI receivers who should be playing. To me it is obvious that there are plenty of NI O Linemen who should be playing. Running backs. A few D Linemen and more coming. DBs tend to go to the amazing athletes the US produces, and no Jimmy the Greek comments about ethnicity. The NI linebackers that play are plenty good enough, even athletically, but it is a position dominated by imports, just as the DBs are.

QBs? It is what it is. The US is a quarterback factory and incubator. But even there, the handful of NI QBs with tryouts this year is very impressive.

WCJ = Happy with the Ratio

I am not about abolishing the NI rule, far from that, just not happy with the 7 starting NI's as the mandatory number. Plus, the roster has to have 20 NI's on it, far too many when you look at it. Having to decide which LB or DL to add to your roster in order to make the ratio is crazy. I know that you enjoy the 6 man rotation on the DL, that would be much easier accomplished by reducing the current amount of NI's on the game day roster. Besides the number of starting NI's has been adjusted throughout the league history, even grandfathering of imports to help out on the ratio in the past. That rule could be brought back to insure player stability for the fans and make my NI adjustment easy to accomplish.

Remember that there is going to be a new franchise plucking at our current NI depth, which will also reduce the Lions level of play when that is factored in. It is also hard to listen to the line of 'you win the GC with NI talent and depth'. It almost awards the GC to the team that has the least amount of injuries to their NI starters.

I don't want to water down the NI content. It does not bother me that we have 7 NI starters and 20 NIs suited up each game. That is what I like. Having to balance the ratio, find and train NIs for your team, plan the NI starters, plan the 20 NIs to suit up, this all makes a challenge that the better GMs and coaches excel at.

And yes the 6 man D Line rotation would be easier without the ratio, but I would not like it if we had no NIs to play there.

And yes the ratio has been adjusted throughout the years. I would not like to see the NI content watered down any further. Weaker backups? Sure, but they would be weaker if they were all imports also.

Having the ratio has encouraged Canadians to play the game. The talent level has risen as a result. Do the GMs and coaches have to be agile and quick to adapt? Yes, and that is to the good. The better GMs and coaches always prosper and take best advantage of the situation. It is well known that to compete for the Grey Cup year after year you need outstanding NI talent.

It's a Canadian game for Canadian fans. I would find it unwatchable if it was all Americans playing. Right now 17 Americans start along with 7 Canadians (Non Imports). That ratio is OK with me. I have nothing against the American players. They come from a huge talent pool, with amazing training and football culture. They raise the bar. But I want significant Canadian content. And we have that now. Less content would not suit my interests.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions' non-import depth was an issue last year, when they had to bring Neil McKinlay and Ryan Thelwell out of retirement due to injuries. This year the team seems to have an abundance of NIs, with 26 on the roster as of Saturday, only 20 of whom can get on the game-day roster. At least a couple of these will go on the injured list but all 26 have the ability to play in the league, IMO.

66 Baboulas, Adam G Non-Import 6.04 300 1987-04-05 Saint Mary's
67 Hameister-Ries, Jon G Non-Import 6.06 285 1984-01-26 Tulsa
46 Lumbala, Rolly FB Non-Import 6.02 238 1986-01-30 Idaho
99 Westerman, Jabar DE Non-Import 6.02 285 1989-05-13 Eastern Michigan
53 Newman, Jesse G Non-Import 6.04 305 1982-09-23 Louisiana-Lafayette
19 Jackson, Paris WR Non-Import 6.03 215 1980-07-24 Utah
54 Valli, Dean G Non-Import 6.05 300 1983-10-05 Simon Fraser
87 Iannuzzi, Marco WR Non-Import 6.01 195 1987-05-21 Harvard
43 Verdone, Jordan LB Non-Import 5.11 235 1989-04-07 Calgary
33 Harris, Andrew RB Non-Import 5.11 200 1987-04-24 V.I. Raiders
51 Gesse, Joash LB Non-Import 5.11 221 1986-04-09 Montreal
68 Kabongo, Patrick G Non-Import 6.06 360 1979-06-27 Nebraska
18 O'Neill, Hugh K Non-Import 6.02 185 1990-01-20 Alberta
27 LaRose, J.R. S Non-Import 6.00 210 1984-02-27 Edmonton Huskies Jr.
59 Norman, Matthew G Non-Import 6.03 317 1988-06-20 Western
47 Yurichuk, James LB Non-Import 6.03 222 1986-11-01 Bishop's
4 McCallum, Paul K Non-Import 5.11 185 1970-01-07 Surrey Rams Jr.
3 Muamba, Cauchy S Non-Import 5.11 196 1987-05-08 St. Francis Xavier
55 Ortiz, Sean DE Non-Import 6.02 240 1985-04-05 UBC
45 Arakgi, Jason S Non-Import 6.02 205 1985-05-12 McMaster
85 Gore, Shawn SB Non-Import 6.00 198 1987-04-12 Bishop's
83 Godding, Keith WR Non-Import 6-00 190 1984-01-28 Bishop's
40 Cronk, Tim FB Non-Import 6.00 245 1987-06-22 Bishop's
88 Foster, Akeem WR Non-Import 6.04 212 1987-03-20 St. Francis Xavier
25 Foord, Stuart RB Non-Import 5.11 195 1985-09-23 Regina Thunder Jr.
64 Reid, Angus C Non-Import 6.01 305 1976-09-23 Simon Fraser

[Blitz]

Makes one wonder who we might have to let go out of our NI talent B.C, Fan

Norman will retire and go back to university.

We have two many fullbacks with Lumbala, Kronk, and Verdone and Foord can also play there if we need him. Makes sense to let one go. Verdone is a backup long snapper so I could see us releasing Kronk, who we rarely use except for special teams.

We have to hide O'Neil, who is the future, when McCallum retires. Godding may be released...hard to say..he had a good camp. The Iannazzi project continues and he has been given more opportunities than what appears to be deserved, including his elevation over Paris Jackson last year without any corresponding performance to justify the decision.

Aracki had a good camp and it will be interesting to where he is on the depth chart in comparison to Gesse.