We’ve made it through 3 weeks of the CFL calendar, with 10 inter-division games and just 2 intra-division matches played. Fans have had numerous chances to see either past Grey Cup matchups or possible future Grey Cup games being played, as the Big Game features one team from the East and West.
So far, the East is 2-8 against the West, with Montreal beating B.C. 24-9 in week 2 and Toronto winning over Saskatchewan the same week 48-15.
Like the NBA, MLS and NHL, the other North American pro sports leagues that use geographical conference/division separation, the Western conference is always stronger. In the NBA, half of the Eastern Conference’s playoff participants in 2014 finished below .500 while the Western Conference’s 9th place team, the Phoenix Suns, had the same record as the Eastern 3rd place team, the Toronto Raptors.
In the NHL it was a similar case as six teams in the West finished with more than 100 points, compared to four in the East. Minnesota, who finished with 98 points, placed 7th in the West, which would have been good enough for 4th in the East (giving them home-ice advantage).
In the MLS, the second to last place team in the West, Portland Timbers, would be two points shy of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, as it stands right now.
And the CFL doesn’t buck this trend. But with only nine teams and a geographical range of 3698 km, which is just over five hours in flight time between Vancouver, British Columbia and Montreal, Quebec, it is easier for the CFL to have a fair championship game between the truly best teams in the league.
The top team from each division automatically qualifies for the division finals, one week before the Grey Cup. Then teams ranked number two and three play each other in a division semi-final, to determine who will play the division champ. However, if the 4th place team from one division has more points (not tied, has to have greater number of points) than the 3rd place team in the other, the 4th placed team will cross over and play the playoffs in the Eastern division. Since 1996, when the CFL re-branded into solely Canadian teams, a Western team has crossed over six times, with the last time being the Roughriders in 2012. No Eastern team has ever crossed over.
So how can the CFL make a truly fair Grey Cup game, with possibly two Western teams playing? Let’s explore some ideas.
1) If the top team in the West is better than the top team in the east AND the worst team in the West is better than the second to worst team in the East, the Western top team switches over to have four teams left in the West and five teams left in the East. For example: This year the Bombers finish with more points than the Argos and the Lions finish with more points than the Redblacks, the Bombers play the playoffs in the East to have even divisions, maintaining the 3 teams per division system.
2) The playoffs become league-wide. The second and third place teams from each division get re-ranked 1-4, with the top team playing the fourth-ranked team and second place playing third place regardless of division. Then out of the two winners, the one with a better record plays the division winner with a weaker record and vice-versa. Winners then play in the Grey Cup. Eg. Edmonton and Calgary finish 2-3 in the West with 24 and 20 points respectively and in the East, Toronto and Hamilton finish with 21 and 18 points. Hamilton would play in Edmonton and Calgary in Toronto. Then out of the division winners, Winnipeg had 32 points and Montreal just 26, the stronger winner of the quarter-finals would play Montreal and the weaker, against Winnipeg, for the semi-finals. Obviously this would be a little bit more complicated if the Eastern winner had fewer points than the Western second or third place team.
3) Every team makes it except the league’s weakest team. With eight teams left, the whole league is ranked as one with best vs worst being applied; after the quarter-finals, the teams are again re-ranked and again arranged best vs worst. Pretty straightforward, no need for an example.
These three approaches would make the playoffs fairer for strong teams in the West and would present a challenge for weaker teams in the East, with only the best two teams left to battle it out in the Grey Cup. Approach #2 is probably ideal, with the weakest teams out of the picture and the playoffs being for the whole league at once. We’ll see if commissioner Mark Cohon makes any changes to the playoff system; in the meantime, enjoy the CFL season, playoffs and Grey Cup!
Do you have more ideas for a new playoff format? Leave them in the comments section below or tweet them to me! Would love to hear more ideas, thank you!
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