I'm so glad the playoff format is changing next season!

[u/Mogilny89Leafs]

The 8-8 Riders will be able to rest starters at this point next year! Woo!

Who needs playoff spots coming down to the wire when you can just play for seeding. These last two weeks are going to be so boring.

Thanks, Stu. You've saved the CFL.

[u/Lone_Wolf_71]

So play the the whole season to eliminate one team? Absolutely ridiculous!

[u/SteveMcQwark → u/Lone_Wolf_71]

The top bracket vs. bottom bracket difference is pretty big, and there's some incentive to finish higher within a bracket to get more playoff games at home. It's not nothing. I can see it being a bit less climactic during the season though, so there's that.

[u/SteveMcQwark → u/[deleted]]

Everybody plays week 1. Winner in the top bracket gets the bye and hosts the semifinal in week 3, loser gets a mulligan at home in week 2 against the lower bracket winner. 

[u/Awkward_Silence- → u/Lone_Wolf_71]

Two teams soon enough they believe.

[u/TheAmazingJared97 → u/Awkward_Silence-]

As long as Ottawa sticks around long enough for that to happen

[u/BuffytheBison → u/Lone_Wolf_71]

This is actually one of the few rule changes I'm on board with (along with teams on different sidelines). The season doesn't really famously begin "until Labour Day" anyway so what you're doing is incentivizing must watch football down the stretch as well as ensuring teams have to win at least two post-season games to make it to the Grey Cup as well as expanding the playoffs (i.e. must watch, high stakes football) by two games lol Ideally this is also to accomodate an eventual tenth team so you can go back to two teams missing playoffs. Only change I'd make is getting rid of divisions to eliminate a re-occuring first round matchup in the division final.

[u/ConqueringCanada → u/BuffytheBison]

I know. No one is paying attention to the games right now, with 3 teams fighting for 2 playoff spots. It will be much better next year when October doesn't mean a thing. Hooray.

[u/Grizz807]

So a team could have made the playoffs this year with one win?

[u/DandyDanWpg → u/Grizz807]

It would have to be two, since everyone played Ottawa twice.

[u/FloppyDriver → u/DandyDanWpg]

No, Ottawa and another team could split and the point differential would allow a team with one win to make the playoffs.

[u/DandyDanWpg → u/FloppyDriver]

Yep, good point.

[u/Timely-Profile1865]

All of these changes are idiotic and stupid and i hate them, all of them.

Make the CFL worse? Challenge accepted!

[u/fancycatpics]

Instead of the last 2 weeks being boring, tge whole damn season will be boring

[u/drpgq]

Yeah the Cats are shit. I’ve accepted it. We don’t need to make the playoffs.

[u/CommunicationSad8938]

Rescind the rule changes. Rescind the playoff changes. Fire Stewart Johnston.

[u/OskeeTurtle → u/CommunicationSad8938]

I've honestly liked the changes for this season. They've been fine. I was against some. But turns out we still get a lot of rouges. I thought they'd be nearly never gotten anymore. Maybe it'll be worse next season? Idk every change seems completely useless with 8/9 teams making the playoffs. I just have no understanding for that. 6/9 is fine. 6/10 would be perfect.

[u/CommunicationSad8938 → u/OskeeTurtle]

The big changes to really Americanize the game are next year - the loss of the 55, the moving of the goal posts, the shortening of the endzones. It sucks and it's completely unnecessary. I'll never spend another cent on the CFL or TSN with this "garbage".

[u/Silentslayer99 → u/OskeeTurtle]

I think its to make sure there are enough playoff games to satisfy TSN and DAZN. TV money... regardless of the impact on the quality of the game of course.

[u/Thin_Homework4758]

Every gets to make the playoffs next year!

Well except us that is

[u/Awkward_Function_347]

Make sure you give the RedBlacks the UNO-Reverse card so they can be top o’ the league! 😃

[u/mlakustiak]

FWIW, I don’t think they’d be resting. Still playing for a home playoff game

[u/Awkward_Silence- → u/mlakustiak]

Yeah they'd still have a chance to hop the Bombers and Argos for better seeding.

The bottom teams being seeded regardless of division is at least interesting quirk of the new format. Might keep teams trying a bit longer than people expect

[u/mlakustiak → u/Awkward_Silence-]

Impossible to hop the Argos. They’re locked into a top 4 seed

[u/Awkward_Silence- → u/mlakustiak]

Fair enough. Locked into a home game as the 5-6th seed? That's the only scenario where they'd rest starters

If there's a chance they could fall to 7 then they'd play their guys. Just not sure of the tiebreakers between all these 8 win teams.

Stamps I think would be most likely to finish 7, but I don't think it's locked yet

[u/mlakustiak → u/Awkward_Silence-]

If you clinch a playoff spot in this years playoffs, you get a home game in the 8 team format

Sask / Winnipeg / Calgary would not be resting because they still have the opportunity at getting a top 6 seed

[u/Slow-Raspberry-5133 → u/mlakustiak]

I couldn’t imagine Corey Mace resting starters now. Craig Dickenson, welllllll ….

[u/chi_sweetness25 → u/mlakustiak]

Riders hopping the Argos wouldn't make a difference for the first round, but it could potentially mean playing the Elks/Lions winner instead of the Alouettes in the semi-finals later on

[u/Able_Strain7340]

Alternatively, we could let them try it and see if it works or not?

[u/Awkward_Silence- → u/Able_Strain7340]

It does increase the odds of the two best teams actually playing eachother in the championship afterall.

Instead of that matchup being forced to the East or West finals some years

[u/OskeeTurtle → u/Awkward_Silence-]

Tbf that's a thing in all sports all the time. Like in the NFL last season people were saying the NFC Championship Game was the real Super Bowl instead because those were two amazing teams. That's just football, but it happens in all of the mainstream sports in North America that I can think of. Like NHL too. All tournaments

[u/caughtinwriting]

15 yard endzone with posts at the back will nearly eliminate field goals outside the 40 yard line

[u/Awkward_Silence- → u/caughtinwriting]

At least until they introduce the juiced K ball. That'll bump the range a bit.

Basically how the NFL FG range jumped from the mid 50s to low 60s overnight a couple years ago. Even for guys that had been in the league for years were now suddenly having extra leg

[u/DannyDOH → u/Awkward_Silence-]

The CFL has kicking balls too.

[u/Silentslayer99 → u/DannyDOH]

CFL kicking balls are new, unmarked, and unaltered as per the rules. Hardly the same....

[u/PauloVersa]

Please DO NOT remind me of the playoff change

[u/LaInDiVi]

With the news about team in Quebec City... I guess that was investment in the future.
And I'm actually curious to see what will happen.
I don't think that things would be much worse.

[u/Spiritual-Animal9298]

Oh yes, instead of having playoff atmosphere in the regular season let’s have no one come out to BC-Stampeders because next year that game means absolutely…nothing. Not like this season where it means everything.

[u/chi_sweetness25 → u/Spiritual-Animal9298]

Do playoff implications really dictate whether people attend games? I thought they just went to see live football. I'm going to the Argos-Alouettes game next week even though it means nothing in the standings (and incidentally, could have minor stakes with next year's format)

[u/Spiritual-Animal9298 → u/chi_sweetness25]

For the diehard fan (which is most of us) no it doesn’t matter. To the casual yes it does.

[u/FloppyDriver]

This Western Playoff stretch for Wpg/Cgy/Sask is unprecedented. I believe the new playoff format would allow more excitement down the stretch regarding seeding, as well as fighting for the last spot. (There won't be a 0 win team every year). I think the fact that Wpg, Sask and Calgary would all be fighting for a home playoff game is pretty huge. Fighting to make it into the top 2 down the stretch for the rights to host the Finals is huge. Right now Montreal has locked up 1st a long time ago, which is pretty boring. Technically right now Wpg can still get second (very unlikely). So Wpg who was in 5th place last week still has a chance to host the Western final would be crazy.

[u/Salticracker]

The 5-12 Ticats would be resting starters for a couple of weeks now lmao

This is Stu's CFL! Teams with .300 win percentages resting starters in the last two weeks. What a time to be a fan.

[u/FOX-WARREN]

Each new cfl rules brings it closer to its demise sadly

[u/moose4511]

https://giphy.com/gifs/y2i2oqWgzh5ioRp4Qa

[u/Transconan]

Said no one

[u/thrubeniuk]

Yeah that makes sense. Rest guys and lock in playing every playoff game on the road when instead you can earn a better seed and a home playoff game.

Seeding is going to mean substantially more going forward. I know the Riders don’t often win the Grey Cup, but “making the playoffs” isn’t exactly a barometer for success.

[u/gb1993]

I mean its an extra game on tv which im assuming equals to money? I dont think people realize how bad Canada economy is going to get next year. Think theyre trying to milk every dollar before the ai recession fully takes over.

[u/Narrow-Map5805]

The playoff format change will entice new franchises to join the league. It already has.

[u/Made_byLakesideToys]

But under this system Hamilton and Ottawa both essentially bring out so early not good either. And arguably the Western team that misses the playoffs will be just as good as the Toronto Argonauts.

I didn’t like it at first but I can see where it does make some sense.