Williams opinion of CFL talent

[Scott Andrew]

"From my perspective it's the same practice that I've had since I was a kid, it's football practice.

"As far as talent . . . the talent here is comparable to the NFL, it's just consistency. From what I saw out there, these guys can run, these guys can hit, these guys know what they're doing. Football is football. There are a couple of differences in the game but for the most part it's just terminology."


http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Toronto/2006/05/09/1571675-cp.html

(Although I'm sure his public opinion is slightly tainted by not wanting to have everyone in the CFL hate him)

 

[Chaps]

Oh oh...oh no...what will the CFL haters say now??? Williams, the man, the God himself just said the talent is comparable.

I'm anxiously awaiting the well thought out (or not so much) responses to this one! :)

BTW, that's a hell of an avatar! :)

 

[The Mountie]

hmm...there were definitely alot of cfl bashers on here last night. where have they gone? we eagerly await your slant on how ricky is just saying the right hings and that the cfl still sucks.
I'm not naive enough to think this will change anyones opinion.

 

[Chaps]

hmm...there were definitely alot of cfl bashers on here last night. where have they gone? we eagerly await your slant on how ricky is just saying the right hings and that the cfl still sucks.
I'm not naive enough to think this will change anyones opinion.

Yeah I hear ya...

 

[unifiedtheory]

I'm not gonna bash the CFL (other then to say it bores me to tears.) I think it's great that it exists. I won't bash CFL fans because everyone has different likes and dislikes.

I'll just say one thing about the talent level of the CFL. EVERY SINGLE player playing in the CFL would drop EVERYTHING to play in the NFL, they just are not good enough to play in the NFL...it does'nt get any easier to understand then that....

 

[The Rev]

I'm not gonna bash the CFL (other then to say it bores me to tears.) I think it's great that it exists. I won't bash CFL fans because everyone has different likes and dislikes.

I'll just say one thing about the talent level of the CFL. EVERY SINGLE player playing in the CFL would drop EVERYTHING to play in the NFL, they just are not good enough to play in the NFL...it does'nt get any easier to understand then that....

How many pictures actually make it from the CFL in the NFL?

Has to be less than 10%

 

[Honus Joglund]

I'll just say one thing about the talent level of the CFL. EVERY SINGLE player playing in the CFL would drop EVERYTHING to play in the NFL, they just are not good enough to play in the NFL...it does'nt get any easier to understand then that....

Has anyone insinuated otherwise? That's a pretty obvious thing to state, everyone that plays football at any level wants to play in the NFL.

The thread is about the talent level of CFL players, not the league they would prefer to play in. It's saying that the talent gap isn't as large as alot of people would assume.

No one is saying that these guys could walk into an NFL camp and take a spot from an established NFLer.

 

[unifiedtheory]

Has anyone insinuated otherwise? That's a pretty obvious thing to state, everyone that plays football at any level wants to play in the NFL.

The thread is about the talent level of CFL players, not the league they would prefer to play in.

Someone in this thread already stated it....

And Ricky stated it...after one practice. Ricky said it because he does'nt want to bash all his new team mates and the rest of the players in the league. He's already got a target on him the size of an elephant, he does'nt need to add fuel to the fire.

I'm simply replying to the "comparable" comment. There is NO comparison. Every offseason a couple of dozen CFL "stars" attempt to make NFL teams and 95% of them flop. Once in a blue moon you have a Jeff Garcia or a Warren Moon....but for every one of them there are 100 failures.

If CFL talent was "comparable" then why dooes'nt every single CFL player leave the CFL and go to the NFL? They are allowed to negotiate with every NFL team when they are in the option year of their contracts and can leave basically whenever they want to.

 

[Scrap]

Here's the scenario:

Option A: Ricky speaks the truth, and every linebacker, etc... in the CFL wants to take his head off.

Option B: Ricky speaks nice, and just plays the damn game.

 

[jdang307]

Defending the CFL is cool. If you like it, you like it But to use this statement is absurd. It's not credible, he just joined the league, is now it's most high profile player, he's not going to go in and say anything bad. Notice he doesn't really say that much in the statement.

We'll see how comparable it is when Williams plays. That'll be a good test.

 

[Lappy]

Do you know the truth?

I can agree with the fact that Ricky is well practiced with the media and is going to say the right things. However as for the talent level I believe he was speaking the truth.

This is a situation where the game being different the comparisions are more difficult to make.

The CFL is a more wide open game. It's a nice mix of East West, where the NFL is more North South.

You need bigger body's not only to go North South but to stop it. Where speed is the game in the CFL.

Think about it, the field is 110 yards long with 25 yard endzones and 65 yards wide.

Do the math. Would you pile the field with Big body's? Or litter it with small, quick, fast ones?

The game is different and if people would open their minds to that fact, they would realize that the talent pool isn't that shallow, but that the different styles of play make a player more valueable in one over the other.

Now if you value a player more by salary of coarse the NFL is superior. However that is a simple matter of marketing and demographics.

You see, the average CFL stadium I would say would Hold maybe 25,000 fans. What's the NFL? 65,000? 70,000?

IMO it's apple's and oranges and if you think different you haven't done enough research.

Go Dolphins!

 

[CrunchTime]

How can anyone make an intelligent evaluation after one practice session ?
He played it safe and didmt make any mind bending statements....yet

 

[Lappy]

How can anyone make an intelligent evaluation after one practice session ?
He played it safe and didmt make any mind bending statements....yet

I agree with that!

I think this whole CFL NFL which is better which is worse is ridiculous.

 

[SCall13]

Ricky Williams was saying what he SHOULD have said. Of course he wasn't going to say that the talent level is inferior to the NFL. THat is a no brainer. You could put the CFLs best team against the NFLs worst team and the NFL team would obliterate them. PERIOD. Ricky knows about PR and that's what that statement was all about: PR. He was simply showing respect. Kudos to him for making his teammates feel like they are really remotely close to his level of talent.

 

[SCall13]

Someone in this thread already stated it....

And Ricky stated it...after one practice. Ricky said it because he does'nt want to bash all his new team mates and the rest of the players in the league. He's already got a target on him the size of an elephant, he does'nt need to add fuel to the fire.

I'm simply replying to the "comparable" comment. There is NO comparison. Every offseason a couple of dozen CFL "stars" attempt to make NFL teams and 95% of them flop. Once in a blue moon you have a Jeff Garcia or a Warren Moon....but for every one of them there are 100 failures.

If CFL talent was "comparable" then why dooes'nt every single CFL player leave the CFL and go to the NFL? They are allowed to negotiate with every NFL team when they are in the option year of their contracts and can leave basically whenever they want to.

For lack of a better word: EXACTLY