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2011 CFL season

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2011 CFL season
DurationJune 30 – November 5, 2011
East championsWinnipeg Blue Bombers
West championsBC Lions
99th Grey Cup
DateNovember 27, 2011
VenueBC Place Stadium, Vancouver
ChampionsBC Lions
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Canadian Football League team locations: West, East

The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes opening the season against the visiting BC Lions on Thursday, June 30, 2011.[1] The season was among the most notable in the modern era for the competitiveness of the teams; going into the final week, five teams were tied for first place in the league, a first in modern CFL history. It was also the first time since 1982 that all teams finished with fewer than 12 wins in the regular season. As well, for the first time since 1950, the start of the modern era, all four teams competing in the division finals were different from the four teams that had competed in the division finals the previous year. Newly renovated BC Place Stadium in Vancouver hosted the 99th Grey Cup on November 27, with the hometown Lions defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34–23 in front of a sold-out crowd.[2]

CFL news in 2011

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Touchdown Atlantic

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The CFL returned to Moncton for the second installment of the Touchdown Atlantic series. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were the home team, while the Calgary Stampeders were the visitors with the game having taken place on Sunday, September 25.[1]

Labour Day Classic twist

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When the 2011 schedule was released, it was revealed that the typical Labour Day Classic match-up featuring the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosting the Toronto Argonauts would not occur this year for the first time since 1995.[3] Instead the Tiger-Cats will play host to the Montreal Alouettes and then visit the Alouettes the following week as a part of a home-and-home series. While the fan reaction was heated, Commissioner Mark Cohon explained that due to a lack of available home dates for the Argonauts, Toronto would be hosting a game against the BC Lions that weekend, necessitating the need for the change.[1][3] This was the ninth time that Hamilton played Montreal on the Labour Day weekend.

Rule changes

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On April 14, 2011, it was announced that four significant rule changes would be introduced for the 2011 season.[4] The following changes were implemented:

  • Expanding the use of instant replay on game-changing plays and giving the CFL Command Centre more control over these calls. These include:
    • Awarding possession to the defensive team if they successfully challenged and recovered a loose ball that was fumbled by a quarterback that was originally ruled an incomplete pass.
    • Awarding possession to the defensive team if they successfully challenged and recovered a loose ball that was fumbled by a receiver after a catch that was originally ruled an incomplete pass.
  • Eliminating blocking below the waist after a completed pass. This means that the offensive team can only block above the waist of a defender, otherwise it will yield a 10-yard penalty. Blocking below the waist is still permissible on running plays and on plays where the pass is completed behind the line of scrimmage.
  • Adding 10 yards to an illegal punt that goes out of bounds. If a punt goes out of bounds in the air (i.e. without bouncing) between the 20-yard lines, the receiving team will have the option of taking the ball where it went out of bounds plus 10 yards or have the kicking team re-kick 10 yards further back from the original line of scrimmage.
  • Specifying that if a player is pushed out of bounds by an opponent, he can return to the field and make a play. Originally, the rule did not state that there had to be bodily contact from an opponent.

Hall of Fame induction weekend

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For the third consecutive year, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame induction weekend events took place outside of Hamilton, Ontario, the home of the museum. It took place in Calgary from September 14 to 18, with the hall of fame game itself featuring the Calgary Stampeders hosting the BC Lions on Saturday, September 17, 2011.[5][6]

Salary Cap

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According to the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2011 salary cap will be set at $4,300,000. As per the agreement, the cap is fixed and will not vary with league revenue performance. The minimum team salary will be set at $3,900,000 with individual minimum salaries set at $43,000.[7]

Records and milestones

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Regular season

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Structure

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Teams play eighteen regular season games, playing divisional opponents three or four times and teams from the opposing division twice. Teams are awarded two points for a win and one point for a tie. The top three teams in each division qualify for the playoffs, with the first place team gaining a bye to the divisional finals. A fourth place team may qualify ahead of the third place team in another division (the "Crossover") if they earn more points in the season.[1]

If two or more teams in the same division the following tiebreakers apply: [2]

  • a) Most wins in all matches
  • b) Head to head winning percentage (matches won divided by all matches played)
  • c) Head to head points difference
  • d) Head to head points ratio
  • e–g) Tiebreakers b–d applied sequentially to divisional games
  • h–i) Tiebreakers c–d applied sequentially to all games
  • j) Coin toss

Notes:

  • 1. If two clubs remain tied after other club(s) are eliminated during any step, tie breakers reverts to step a).
  • 2. Tiebreakers do not apply to the Crossover. To cross over a team must have more points than the third place team.

Standings

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Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points

Teams in bold are in playoff positions.

West Division
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
BC Lions 18 11 7 0 511 385 22 Details
Edmonton Eskimos 18 11 7 0 427 401 22 Details
Calgary Stampeders 18 11 7 0 511 476 22 Details
Saskatchewan Roughriders 18 5 13 0 346 482 10 Details
East Division
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18 10 8 0 432 432 20 Details
Montreal Alouettes 18 10 8 0 515 468 20 Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 18 8 10 0 481 478 16 Details
Toronto Argonauts 18 6 12 0 397 498 12 Details
  • BC finished 1st in the West Division because they won the season series over Edmonton (3–1) and Calgary (2–1).
  • Edmonton finished 2nd in the West Division because they won the season series over Calgary (2–1).
  • Winnipeg finished 1st in the East Division because they won the season series over Montreal (2–1).

Award winners

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CFL Player of the Week

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Week Offensive Player of the Week Defensive Player of the Week Special Teams Player of the Week Outstanding Canadian
One Jamel Richardson Alex Suber Tim Brown Ian Logan
Two Anthony Calvillo Joe Lobendahn Rene Paredes Jerome Messam
Three Brandon Whitaker Chip Cox Justin Medlock Jermaine Reid
Four Buck Pierce Greg Peach Damon Duval Cory Watson
Five Chad Kackert Jonathan Hefney Paul McCallum Dave Stala
Six Anthony Calvillo Solomon Elimimian Larry Taylor Jerome Messam
Seven Chad Owens Chip Cox Sean Whyte Jabari Arthur
Eight Arland Bruce Aaron Hunt Noel Prefontaine Chris Getzlaf
Nine Henry Burris Joe Lobendahn Sean Whyte Johnny Forzani
Ten Travis Lulay Jerrell Freeman Chad Owens Akeem Foster
Eleven Anthony Calvillo Khalif Mitchell Paul McCallum Craig Butler
Twelve Buck Pierce Chris McKenzie Noel Prefontaine Jerome Messam
Thirteen Brandon Whitaker Jovon Johnson Marcus Thigpen Ricky Foley
Fourteen Jon Cornish Charleston Hughes Adam Bighill Jon Cornish
Fifteen Anthony Calvillo Anwar Stewart Paul McCallum Jerome Messam
Sixteen Cory Boyd Chip Cox Paul McCallum Jon Cornish
Seventeen Ricky Ray Jason Vega Justin Medlock Jerome Messam
Eighteen Travis Lulay Khalif Mitchell Christopher Milo Johnny Forzani
Nineteen Adarius Bowman Juwan Simpson Paul McCallum Andre Durie
Twenty Anthony Calvillo Jamall Johnson Marcus Thigpen Jon Cornish
Twenty-one Chris Garrett Korey Banks Paul McCallum Andrew Harris

Source[15]

CFL Player of the Month

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Month Offensive Player of the Month Defensive Player of the Month Special Teams Player of the Month Outstanding Canadian
July Ricky Ray Odell Willis Justin Medlock Jerome Messam
August Henry Burris Solomon Elimimian Sean Whyte Johnny Forzani
September Brandon Whitaker Jerrell Freeman Paul McCallum Jon Cornish
October Travis Lulay Byron Parker Paul McCallum Jerome Messam

Source[16]

CFL playoffs

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Main article: 99th Grey Cup

The BC Lions became the first team to win the Grey Cup on home turf since the 1994 BC Lions and became the first ever team to win the championship after starting the season 0–5 by defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 34–23 at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium. Lions' quarterback Travis Lulay was named the MVP, while Lions' running back, Andrew Harris was named the Grey Cup's Most Valuable Canadian.

Playoff bracket

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November 13:
Division Semi-Finals 		November 20:
Division Finals 		November 27: 99th Grey Cup
BC Place Stadium – Vancouver
         
E3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 3
East
E1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 19
E3 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 52*
E2 Montreal Alouettes 44
E1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23
W1 BC Lions 34
W2 Edmonton Eskimos 23
West
W1 BC Lions 40
W3 Calgary Stampeders 19
W2 Edmonton Eskimos 33

*-Team won in Overtime.


CFL Leaders

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2011 CFL All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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Special teams

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2011 CFL Western All-Stars

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Offense

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Defence

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Special teams

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2011 CFL Eastern All-Stars

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Offence

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Defence

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Special teams

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2011 Gibson's Finest CFL Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "2011 CFL schedule is here". Cfl.ca. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  2. ^ "99th Grey Cup Recap: Winnipeg 23, B.C. 34". CFL.ca. November 27, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "No Argo Labour Day game this year". TheSpec. February 19, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. ^ "2011 CFL rule changes approved". Cfl.ca. Archived from the original on April 17, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. ^ "Canadian Football Hall of Fame – Hall of Fame Weekend 2011 Dates Confirmed". Cfhof.ca. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  6. ^ "Official Site of the Canadian Football League". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  7. ^ "New CFL-CFLPA CBA at a glance". Cfl.ca. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  8. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/new-touchdown-king Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine New Touchdown King: Calvillo throws TD 395
  9. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/calvillo-sets-completions-record-against-argos Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Calvillo sets completions record against Argos
  10. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/mccallum-lions-kick-stamps-out-of-first-place Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine McCallum, Lions kick Stamps out of first place
  11. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/calvillo-becomes-cfl-s-all-time-leading-passer Archived 2015-01-05 at the Wayback Machine Calvillo becomes CFL's all-time leading passer
  12. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/argonaut-chad-owens-sets-pro-football-record Archived 2011-12-23 at the Wayback Machine Argonaut Chad Owens sets pro football record
  13. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/parker-registers-ninth-pick-six-a-new-record Archived 2012-12-21 at the Wayback Machine Parker registers ninth pick-six, a new CFL record
  14. ^ http://www.bclions.com/article/best-in-the-west Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine Best in the west
  15. ^ "Gibson's Finest CFL Players of the Week". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
  16. ^ "Gibson's Finest CFL Players of the Month". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
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