We all understand that people have different opinions and we at CFL Daily Dose are no different, which is why we started CFL Point/Counterpoint. For each CFL Point/Counterpoint, two authors will present their cases and you decide who’s right.

Every time preseason rolls around in the CFL, people always seem to question whether the length is appropriate. With that being said, we decided to tackle the question: is two preseason games enough?

Two is enough

by Chris Powell

CFL fans don't care about the preseason. In Toronto, there were only 12,514 fans on hand to witness the team's 13-10 victory over Hamilton during the first week preseason play.

Every year, in both the NFL and CFL, coaches, players and pundits rant about the preseason being too long, while in the CFL people go on and on about it being too short.

The NFL plays four preseason games and the CFL plays two, so does that mean that they should both play three preseason games? To be honest, I don’t care what they do in the NFL, but the CFL’s preseason is perfect at two games.

Extending the preseason would become very risky to the player’s health. The reason players, and coaches/owners in the NFL want a shorter preseason is to protect the players. With an 18 game schedule in the CFL, adding any games to the preseason increases the risk that a team’s season could end before it even begins. There are risks of injury with only two games, of course, but they are minimized by the fact that coaches rarely play their starters, opting to use the games to evaluate their newer talent in real game situations.

Adding more games does nothing for the league. It does nothing for the players. It does nothing for the fans. Why extend something that is meaningless to the outcome of the season?

It also doesn’t make much sense for the league to put on any more preseason games. With only four games per week, none of those selling out, the league’s income from the preseason doesn’t make it viable to extend the preseason.

The icing on the cake is that fans just don’t care about the preseason games, with only a few fans even showing up. The games count for nothing, so what’s the point to delay the inevitable. Just bring on the games that count.

Three preseason games would help teams shed the off-season rust

by Jonathan Hamelin

Teams in the CFL are often rusty when the regular season starts. Adding an extra preseason game could help them prepare better.

Adding one extra game onto the CFL preseason schedule would help teams be better prepared for the start of the regular season.

During Week 1 of the CFL regular season, we often see teams play very rusty. This is because the starting unit does not see much live action time during the preseason. If anything, the opening week of the season can seem like a preseason game at times.

The solution to this problem? Add one more preseason game for a grand total of three.

With only two preseason games, coaches have to try to get their recruits some playing time, while also making sure their starters get some time to shake off the rust. This is not always an easy task. It often means that a) rookies don’t get enough time to prove themselves and b) the starting unit doesn’t get enough time.

With three preseason games, the first one could almost serve as a rookie game. There might be a few starters thrown in, but for the most part, it would be the young players and new recruits that would see the most playing time. The players that stood out to the coaching staff could move onto the next preseason game, which would have a mix of starters and rookie playing in it.

Then, the final preseason game could basically be the entire starting unit playing for the whole game. The game might not count for anything, but it would give the starters a chance to work together for a whole game and they would be better prepared for the regular season.

Of course, a counter argument would be that preseason games are boring and just delay the start of the regular season.

This may be true, but the preseason games could always start a week earlier if a third was added. In accordance, training camp could also open a week earlier. This way, the games would not push the start of the regular season back any further.

With three preseason games, it would also mean that some teams would play more away games then home games.

To solve this problem, teams could switch off each year or the third game could be hosted at a neutral location. This would help the CFL expand their market and give cities that don’t have a CFL franchise the chance to see a game, even if it is preseason.

Adding another preseason game would not significantly increase the risk of injury. The veterans might not even play much in the added preseason game. Besides, it is just as likely that a player will get injured during the regular season as in the preseason.

Love them or hate them, preseason games are important for coaches because it helps them evaluate their roster. Adding an extra game would ensure that they have a proper chance to do so.

And, hopefully, it would lead to less rusty play in the regular season.

CFL Daily Dose can be followed on Facebook and Twitter. If you are a fan of the CFL, and would be interested in writing about the Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, B.C. Lions, or the CFL in general, contact Chris.

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