Blast from the past: Moe Elewonibi

[MTK]

He's still playing ball up in Canada

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/news_story.asp?ID=126571

[Daseal]

Matty, you often post CFL stuff -- you watch the CFL? If so, how is it different?

[skinsguy]

Unless they have changed, in the CFL, you get only 3 downs instead of 4. I know that there has to be some other rules different from that one, but that is a pretty big difference between the CFL and the NFL.

[MTK]

I don't know much about the CFL to be honest, all I know is the field is wider

[Longtimefan]

Go Mo!!

[CrazyCanuck]

There's a football league in Canada?

[TheMalcolmConnection]

HAha! Nice one.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by CrazyCanuck

There's a football league in Canada?

ROTFL!! I remember ESPN used to show CFL games quite a bit, but I don't see very many of those games played on ESPN nowadays. It seems like the major networks are pushing the AFL and NFLe.

[SmootSmack]

CFL vs. NFL

[MTK]

Good info, obviously a league that heavily favors the offenses

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Ol' Mr. Flutie sure used to pass for a lot of touchdowns up there.

[monk81]

Yes, why did they stop showing the CFL.............I liked their rule no fair catches on punts......only kamakazie's need apply...........

Well I'm glad Moe turned his life around and is still playing football..........

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Ol' Mr. Flutie sure used to pass for a lot of touchdowns up there.

He was considered the "Joe Montana" of the CFL from what I understood about Flutie in his days up there.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

He was indeed. The couple of times I've spent vacationing in Niagra Falls I noticed that people STILL were talking about him even when he was gone.

[CrazyCanuck]

For what it's worth here are my thoughts on the CFL:

- When I was a young kid I used to watch a lot of CFL games. There was an awesome rivalry in the late 70s between the Montreal Alouettes and the Edmonton Eskimos. They seemed to play in the Grey Cup every year. One of the notable Alouette QBs was Vince Ferragamo, who took the Rams to the Super Bowl shortly after he left the CFL. The Eskimos' QB was a guy named Warren Moon. He was awesome in the CFL. I think he won like 5 grey cups. Warren Moon was the Joe Montana of the CFL.

- In 1981 I became a Skins fan and started tuning out the CFL. The bottom line is the NFL was just bigger, better, and had the best players in the world. The CFL was a bit of a Mickey Mouse league. They had 2 teams named Roughriders (in a 9-team league). A lot of the scoring rules seemed stupid (ie 1 point for a missed field goal). Then they expanded to the US for a few years, I think Baltimore had one of the US teams. Franchises were popping up and folding all over the place it was hard to take the league seriously. Eventually even Montreal's team folded (the 1st or 2nd biggest market in the country at the time). Unfortunately they were not the only Montreal franchise to die a slow death at the Olmypic Stadium (aka the Big Owe).

- I give the CFL a lot of credit for turning itself around. They got rid of the U.S. teams (no offense) and went back to basics. They improved their relationship with the NFL. They were even able to resurrect the Alouettes by letting them play at McGill University. I can't begin to tell you how much the change of venue helped. The team moved from an indoor cavernous concrete disaster in the middle of nowhere (the Big Owe) to a cozy outdoor stadium in the heart of downtown. You can't really get a car anywhere near the stadium but since it's right downtown it doesn't really matter. You can always see a crowd of people walking down Pine St. towards the stadium on Friday nights. It's become a nice college atmosphere. In fact it's EXACTLY what the Expos always needed, but I'm venting...

- I still dont really go to games or follow the CFL closely, but I've come to like and appreciate the league. I even find the rules fun now (although I can't really say that I know what they are). Here's a good link about the differences between the rules in the CFL and NFL: http://www.13thman.com/cflvsnfl.html.

- Basically the game is much more wide open due to a larger field, larger endzones, and less downs. You never see teams pounding it up the middle like the Skins used to do. Instead you see more passing, more screens, and more scrambling. That's why I think it's become a great training ground for today's NFL QB. You can't dump it off to your RB 40 times a game, you gotta be able to move around and make something happen.

- Finally, here's my list of CFL notables:

Warren Moon - Like I wrote earlier, the Joe Montana of the CFL. The guy was awesome and turned the Eskimos into a dynasty.

Vince Ferragamo - Took the Rams to the Super Bowl after leaving the CFL. He was a solid QB, but I also remember him being an interception machine.

Marv Levy - Coached the Montreal Alouettes from 1973-77. They made the playoffs all 5 seasons and won 2 grey cups.

Doug Flutie - I love Flutie. Flutie was built for the CFL. In many ways he made the CFL, and the CFL made him into a great NFL quarterback.

Rocket Ismail - Rocket's speed on that enormous field, plus I'm a ND fan. All good.

Jeff Garcia - Another CFL monster. Played 5 seasons for the Calgary Stampeders and won a grey cup.

...and last but definitely not least...

Joe Theismann - Played 3 years for the Toronto Argonauts before joining the Skins.

I'll leave you with this quote from the 1971 Argos media guide:

"Although he was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the best college player in the U.S., Joe was considered too small for the NFL. The Argos, however, feel they have landed one of the great QBs of the future."