TSN All Time Grey Cup Team

[SpeedFlex27]

I have no problem with Matthew Scianeti's crowning the 1981 Eskimo team as the All Time Greatest Grey Cup Team. That dynasty of 5 straight Grey Cups has never been matched. Although naming the 81 team The All Time Best is a bit of a head scratcher considering Edmonton found itself down 20-1 at halftime to an 8-10 Ottawa Rough Riders team that had no business even being there. The 82 Edmonton team may have been the better choice but what the hell? They won 5 straight. Just a strange choice for Best Ever. 

My issue with the list of the 8 Grey Cup Championship teams Scianeti gave us are some of the choices he made. Now that list isn't on the TSN website for some reason but I'll do my best to name the teams by memory... Calgary Stampeders 1948, Edmonton Eskimos 1981, BC Lions 2011, Winnipeg Blue Bombers 1958, Hamilton Tiger Cats 1972, Baltimore Stallions 1995, Toronto Argonauts 1997 &  Montreal Alouettes 2009.

First, why Calgary 1948? They couldn't play today's game & would lose by 70 points so then why are they even on that list? Because they were undefeated? C'mon Matt. That isn't a valid reason to include the 1948 Stamps. There are other Stamps teams that were much better & deserve to be there like the 1971 or 2014 teams. Picking a team from an era where a forward pass completion was more of an accident than a planned outcome as one of the Grey Cups Top 8 teams is another strange choice indeed. In their era yes, they were dominant but they couldn't have beaten any of the other 7 teams on the list.

Two, no mention of the first Edmonton Dynasty team that won 3 consecutive Grey Cups from 1954-56 & had the CFL Player of the first half century in Jackie Parker as a player. Yet somehow the 1948 Stampeders were rated higher than the Eskimo Dynasty of the 50's by Scianeti. Go figure.

Three, the Baltimore Stallions didn't have to worry about the ratio so they had a huge advantage which should have disqualified them from the list. Good on Matt Dunigan for pointing that out. Playing with a complete team of American players is a HUGE advantage. As we all know, injuries can change the ratio making a healthy superior American player sit out while being replaced by an inferior Canadian. We see that on both sides of the lines, at receiver or in the secondary all the time.

Four, how could Scianeti have overlooked the 1967 Hamilton Tiger Cats? To me that is the biggest oversight & insult of any team on the list. They were a team playing in it's 8th Grey Cup game in 10 seasons having won 4. They had one of the most dominating defenses of all time. They never allowed a touchdown in their final 6 regular season games & crushed the 1966 Grey Cup Champs Saskatchewan Roughriders 24-1. They were a much better team than the 1972 Tiger Cats who made the list.

Five, I never felt the 2011 BC Lions were that special. They started off 1-6 & then went on a huge hot run for Wally going 12-1 the rest of the way to a Grey Cup win. Everything that worked, worked well for them that year but Top 8??? Not a chance. The 1964 Lions would have been a much better choice. Or the 1984 Bombers or 1998 Stampeders.

Six, there was the Bombers Grey Cup Champs in 1958, 59, 61 & 62. Scianitti picked the 58 team as one of the Grey Cup 8 best & maybe they were the best of that group as they only allowed 181 points in 16 games. However games were low scoring in that era & scoring was beginning to go up a couple of seasons later as offenses were starting to open up. Myself, I'd have picked the 1961 Blue Bomber team over the 58 team even though that gave up 251 points that season just because that team was more mature & experienced. That's just me. 

Seven, not one Rider Grey Cup team made the list which I think most Bomber fans will find funny. That 1966 Grey Cup team deserved to be on that list. But it's not so Ha ha. I'm sure Rider fans are outraged & rightly so. 

Eight, I also can see Milt's point about the 1997 Argos. He felt that they were the All Time Greatest Grey Cup Team. He may not be wrong. 

Edited November 22, 2020 by SpeedFlex27

[Noeller]

97 Argos... They should have been the winners. That team was like a video game where the player gets to create all the players and almost everyone is a 99 rating. It was unfair how good that team was.. 

[SpeedFlex27]

7 minutes ago, Noeller said:

97 Argos... They should have been the winners. That team was like a video game where the player gets to create all the players and almost everyone is a 99 rating. It was unfair how good that team was.. 

If those 2 teams could have played each other in their primes that would have been a helluva game. I love how Doug Flutie just cherished his time up here. He should have finished his career in the CFL.  he was loved & appreciated up here. Not a freak show like he was treated in Buffalo & Chicago. Wade Phillips his HC in Buffalo was an idiot & a backstabber. 

Edited November 22, 2020 by SpeedFlex27

[rebusrankin]

Speed makes a ton of great points in his original post. For BC, how about 85? Agree with him and Noeller about the 97 Argos. Best time I have seen.

[Y2C]

First thought was the 97 Argos as well.

As has been said they were leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the league.

[Stickem]

I think an asterisk should be placed on all of the teams in that Edmonton era of ...'best teams ever', who have won the Cup..We shouldn't forget that they were also the most 'monied' teams because in those years there was no sms...and those Edm. teams had a ton of cash compared to the other clubs of that era....Can you buy a winner??....I think in those days you could...One of the reasons the sms was installed AND it sure bought an end to Edmonton dominance...As much as some hate the sms....it sure brought a more even playing field to the league

[Mr Dee]

5 minutes ago, Stickem said:

I think an asterisk should be placed on all of the teams in that Edmonton era of ...'best teams ever', who have won the Cup..We shouldn't forget that they were also the most 'monied' teams because in those years there was no sms...and those Edm. teams had a ton of cash compared to the other clubs of that era....Can you buy a winner??....I think in those days you could...One of the reasons the sms was installed AND it sure bought an end to Edmonton dominance...As much as some hate the sms....it sure brought a more even playing field to the league

I’ll never forget the advantage had with all that revenue. The Bombers (and others) had some pretty good teams, but when you’re stacked like Edmonton was, it was an uphill battle.

Need a QB? Go out and buy one. Need some linemen? Entice them with big money. 
50-60,000 fans would provide the needed bank account.

[SpeedFlex27]

1 hour ago, Mr Dee said:

I’ll never forget the advantage had with all that revenue. The Bombers (and others) had some pretty good teams, but when you’re stacked like Edmonton was, it was an uphill battle.

Need a QB? Go out and buy one. Need some linemen? Entice them with big money. 
50-60,000 fans would provide the needed bank account.

I remember the Riders having a telethon sometime in the late 80's & selling season tickets with farmers using wheat to pay for them. The Stamps had an SOS Telethon in November 1985 as thye team was about to fold & the City stepped up to save the team. The Bombers had some bleak times in the late 90's & early 00''s but we never had to have a telethon. And we always kept the team community owned. I think those are 2 things to be proud of as Bomber fans. 

[JCon]

1 hour ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I remember the Riders having a telethon sometime in the late 80's & selling season tickets with farmers using wheat to pay for them. The Stamps had an SOS Telethon in November 1985 as thye team was about to fold & the City stepped up to save the team. The Bombers had some bleak times in the late 90's & early 00''s but we never had to have a telethon. And we always kept the team community owned. I think those are 2 things to be proud of as Bomber fans. 

I lived in Saskatchewan when they had the telethons. It was a sad time for Rider fans but, it's okay, because there were so few of them. 

Rueben Mayes was the story where I was. That name will take you back to the 80s. 

Edited November 23, 2020 by JCon

[Stickem]

Bud Grant was easily the best coach this league has had and ever seen'''He was revolutionary and didn't have to have big money to put together a winner...His Bomber teams won legit  and as far as I'm concerned those teams were the winners of greatest cup achievers................Am I biased....hehheh...maybe but the talent on those clubs said it all..Leo Lewis for one...Could have made bigger money in the states and could have easily played there according to Grant...but he chose to stay with an honest straight up coach and winner

[Noeller]

Hard to not say Wally or The Don were the two best of all time in this league, but absolutely Bombers bias says Bud Grant the greatest of all time....who am I to argue with that? 

[SpeedFlex27]

4 hours ago, Noeller said:

Hard to not say Wally or The Don were the two best of all time in this league, but absolutely Bombers bias says Bud Grant the greatest of all time....who am I to argue with that? 

My Top Five All Time Best CFL Coaches:

Wally Buono

Don Matthews

Bud Grant

Frank Clair

Hugh Campbell

[SpeedFlex27]

Cal Murphy was one of the all time greats as well.

[Stickem]

20 hours ago, Noeller said:

Hard to not say Wally or The Don were the two best of all time in this league, but absolutely Bombers bias says Bud Grant the greatest of all time....who am I to argue with that? 

Wally and the don....good at what they did BUT I never witnessed them get a shot in the NFL like Bud ....never mind make a big success out of it😉

[Noeller]

52 minutes ago, Stickem said:

Wally and the don....good at what they did BUT I never witnessed them get a shot in the NFL like Bud ....never mind make a big success out of it😉

I understand your point, but I don't like celebrating "NFL success" as some sort of measurement for the CFL. **** that league and everything about it. When we talk about the best of all time in our league, it's about our league and what was accomplished here. 

[SpeedFlex27]

16 minutes ago, Noeller said:

I understand your point, but I don't like celebrating "NFL success" as some sort of measurement for the CFL. **** that league and everything about it. When we talk about the best of all time in our league, it's about our league and what was accomplished here. 

I'm not one of these fans that celebrate NFL success by former CFL players like it somehow validates our league as somehow being more important. Once they leave the Bombers for another team in the CFL or to play in the NFL that is what they are... former Bombers. I wish them well but I prefer to dwell on the guys we have still here. If I wasn't an Arizona Cardinals fan (& I'm not) I wouldn't suddenly become a fan of that team because former Blue Bombers Cliff Kingsbury is HC & Chris Streveler is a backup qb with them. 

[Stickem]

23 hours ago, Noeller said:

I understand your point, but I don't like celebrating "NFL success" as some sort of measurement for the CFL. **** that league and everything about it. When we talk about the best of all time in our league, it's about our league and what was accomplished here. 

In judging a coach....NFL or CFL I take into consideration their overall achievements and talent that got them there....I agree if you're just talking CFL...then I have to go with Bud Grant (aka 'the silver fox')still....and the clubs he coached....