CFL 2021 season?

[thurmas]

Bombers from 72 to 82 had bad bad luck as they had Jonas and then Dieter Brock but ran into the dominant Edmonton teams or they would lose unexpectedly to the riders or lions in the playoffs in 72, 76 and 81

[elly63]

Originally Posted by thurmas

They wrote a book in Winnipeg recently on the early 70s Don Jonas era for the Bombers on how he saved the team after the Bud Grant era ended and the team was in the league basement close to bankruptcy.

Speaking of Winnipeg and Don Jonas, a big name that seems to get lost from later that era was Ralph "Dieter" Brock. He set the CFL on fire in his career and then as a 34 year old rookie in the NFL took the Rams to the NFC Championship Game.

Brock left the CFL after ten seasons and joined the National Football League for the 1985 season. In what would be his only season playing in the NFL, Brock signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a 34-year-old rookie, setting the NFL record for oldest rookie quarterback in history.

Despite the team's star running back Eric Dickerson holding out the first two games over a contract dispute, Brock led the team to a 7-0 start, a feat no other quarterback would accomplish in their first season with a team again until Ben Roethlisberger started 13-0 with the Steelers in 2004.

Brock led the team to a division title, the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs, and set team rookie records for passing yards (2,658), touchdown passes (16), and passer rating (81.8) (most of his rookie passing records have since been broken).

Brock's final game was the 1985 NFC Championship Game against the Chicago Bears, where he only managed 66 yards passing and lost a fumble that Wilber Marshall returned for a touchdown to close out the scoring in a 24-0 game.

He was injured and then released the next year.

[thurmas]

Brock arguably had the strongest arm in CFL history he threw 95 yards from his knees against Calgary in 1981 his arm was insane.

[esquire]

There are some Bomber alumni who are still kind of prominent like Ken Ploen, Joe Poplawski, Milt Stegall, Troy Westwood, Doug Brown, etc. but yeah, Dieter Brock is not really one of them. He was a bit before my time but I understand that he left town on a bit of a sour note, so maybe that was a factor.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Brock arguably had the strongest arm in CFL history he threw 95 yards from his knees against Calgary in 1981 his arm was insane.

That's how he made the NFL, they marvelled at his arm strength to the sidelines. No one in the NFL could do what he could do. He was a legend.

[ScreamingViking]

I don't recall the issue with Brock and the Bombers, but Ballard had some kind of beef about Tom Clements and wanted him gone.

Stupid, stupid trade. Who knows how Clements would have fared on the mid-80s Hamilton teams that generally did not have a good depth of offensive talent, but he did have a couple of great seasons for the Cats and followed that up with more in Winnipeg.

[thurmas]

Brock said a few years ago he regrets every day asking for a trade from the Bombers in 83 and leaving for the NFL as he knew Cal Murphy was building a powerhouse that won multiple Grey Cups and was a contender for the next 10 years and he missed out being a part of that.

[elly63]

I don't know if he regretted it that much

Ram Salaries Revealed in a Survey : Brock Has a $1.94-Million Deal, but Ellard Is a Bargain
GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI TIMES STAFF WRITER MARCH 13, 1986

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Dieter Brock may have had a so-so year as quarterback of the Rams, but his contract was strictly all-pro.

According to a salary survey of the National Football League Players Assn., Brock earned a base salary of $250,000 for the 1985 season but also agreed to a $310,000 signing bonus and a $300,000 loan.

The loan terms are particularly interesting. If Brock, 35, is still on the roster in 1987 and 1988, the loan will be forgiven by the Rams. If not, it becomes Brock’s responsibility. Brock also has arranged for his signing bonus to be deferred until 1989-93.

According to the terms of the loan, it would seem that the Rams have an incentive to cut Brock before the 1987 season, or earlier.

Brock would not comment on that, but his agent, Gil Scott, said there was no problem. Scott questioned the amount of the loan, however, saying that he wasn’t sure the figure was correct.

“Whatever the deal was, we were satisfied with it,” Scott said. “Most quarterbacks at that age are broken down or not in good health. Dieter has never blown a knee or anything like that, knock on wood. He’s never had a serious injury. There’s no reason to think he couldn’t finish four years. He made it through one, didn’t he?”

In all, Brock’s four-year package is worth $1.94 million. For this, the Rams received a veteran starting quarterback and a season that included a 59.7% completion rate, 16 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and 2,658 yards gained passing.

The NFLPA survey details the earnings of 55 Ram players. It does not, however, include incentive or performance clauses--for example, Pro Bowl selection, touchdown production, starts--that often are included in contracts. And historically, the NFLPA survey also fails to list all players who are entering an option year.

QUARTERBACKS CY BS BSD SB ReB RoB L Dieter Brock 1985 *$250 *$0 *$310 *$0 *$0 *$300 1986 250 0 0 0 10 0 1987 400 0 0 0 10 0 1988 400 0 0 0 10 0 Jeff Kemp 1985 150 0 0 5 0 0 Steve Dils 1985 195 0 0 0 0 0 1986 195 0 0 0 0 0

Comments: Brock’s signing bonus deferred until 1989-93; Loan forgiven if on club in 1987-88.

[esquire]

If Brock had stayed with Winnipeg for at least 4 or 5 years and managed to remain healthy (big if, I know, but the Bombers had a spectacular offensive line during the Chris Walby years of the mid 80s to the mid 90s), he would have come out ahead slightly ahead in terms of earnings. Top QBs in the mid 80s were earning around $200K, and by the early 90s it had jumped to the mid six figures. So it's not as though he made a king's ransom in the NFL he could have never hoped to get in Canada.

Bit of a different story today, obviously.

[thurmas]

I read Brock was on a 1.2 million 5 year deal with the Bombers when he asked to be traded in 83 which is probably equivalent to 750 k a year in today's money.

[elly63]

I'd like to see some proof of what he was getting in the CFL. Two things, he was 34 when he left for the NFL so there weren't a lot of big CFL paydays left for a guy who would stay in the pocket.

Second, his agent was Gil Scott one of the best in the business. I don't think he was the type to get blinded by the NFL, he would have went for the best deal, Brock's future considered.

[esquire]

^ Sure, but the point is that the CFL/NFL pay differential was not that vast in the 80s. Making $200,000 as a CFL QB in 1987 doesn't sound like much until you consider that Wayne Gretzky as the highest paid hockey player was earning C$950,000 at that time. The median NFL salary in 1987 was $170,000 USD.

Even as late as the mid 90s there were some guys like David Archer and Billy Joe Tolliver, and quite likely others, who made more as CFL starters than as NFL backups.

[thurmas]

I know in the 90s flutie was making 1 million per year in 90s money with the stamps and Argos and Dunnigan was making 500 k per year as the Bombers starting QB.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by thurmas

I know in the 90s flutie was making 1 million per year in 90s money with the stamps and Argos and Dunnigan was making 500 k per year as the Bombers starting QB.

And on the day the Argos are commemorating the 1991 Grey Cup team, let us not forget the time that Rocket Ismail was the highest paid football player in the world earning $6.5 million in Toronto.

In hindsight it seems crazy to make a rookie receiver your highest paid player. I can't imagine the feeling for a kid just out of school like him who hadn't proven a thing in the pros to be already earning more than Montana, Marino, Rice, etc.

[HomeInMyShoes]

All this talk of quarterbacks made me go look for this game, that I remember watching highlights from another game that was on that night.

• Video Link

Worth watching for the players talking about the game. I like that they had to convert from VHS from the CFL archives.

[thurmas]

That 94 game was nuts Cal Murphy said Dunnigan was just off on a couple throws where he could have had 1000 yards passing in the game against Edmonton but the wind made them get off too far

[thurmas]

Argos attendance 6788 last night against Ottawa

[thebasketballgeek]

Originally Posted by thurmas

Argos attendance 6788 last night against Ottawa

A city with 3 million people and the GTA probably has 7 million people and they can’t even get 7,000 people?

This is embarrassing. I’m sure this has been asked before but what can the league or Argos actually do to fix a mess this catastrophic? It’s not even like the Argos are bad I’d say they’re the third best team in the league atm.

I’ve been reading on Reddit that the solution is too get another team out in the suburbs. Not sure it would do much but the CFL has to make fixing the Argos (and to a lower extent Lions and Als) attendance a top priority.

Even though it’s a risky venture because of Covid it might be time for the CFL to really take a look at rapid Canadian expansion. Something radical like 3 new teams in the next decade.

[thurmas]

I am not sure how much longer MLSE wants to lose 10 to 15 million dollars a year on the Argos and put zero effort into fan engagement and marketing something Hamilton and Ottawa do very well. Argos might need to relocate to London or Moncton as this is way too embarrassing for the league . I am worried Argos will host the east final this year and might only get 7000 fans to the game its atrocious.

[esquire]

Bombers and Elks tonight... not to count the chickens before they hatch but Edmonton is not trending in a positive direction at all right now. I'm not sure that getting Trevor Harris back is going to make any difference for them.

I don't even know what the spread is but I'll take the Bombers to cover!!