October 19, 2018

Berg vs. Ferg: Is the crossover the easier path to Grey Cup?

Arthur Ward/CFL.ca

Berg vs. Ferg returns for another season on CFL.ca as columnists Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate over some of the league’s most contentious storylines. This week’s question: Is the path to the Grey Cup easier through the East?

TORONTO — With the recent imbalance between East and West, it’s become an annual debate in the Canadian Football League.

For teams in the West Division, is crossing over the easier path to the Grey Cup than staying out west?

Take into account, first, that no team has ever crossed over and won both playoff games. The Riders were on the verge a season ago before being foiled at the last moment by the always-clutch Ricky Ray, sending the Riders home and the Argos to an eventual title.

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» View updated standings

Now consider the highly-competitive West, where a third-place team would have to win twice on the road, including a Western Final that’s likely to be at McMahon Stadium. It’s a stacked deck in Western Canada, and winning back-to-back road playoff games against the league’s elite team seems like an impossible task.

Then there’s the alternative. No one is counting out the REDBLACKS or Ticats, the co-leaders of the East Division and the playoff opponents of the team that will cross over. Yet the two clubs are each a game above .500, a combined 16-14. They also sport identical 4-3 records at home.

Both are difficult tasks, and with the playoffs fast approaching and four teams fighting for their playoff lives, the question is legitimate. Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate in the latest Berg vs. Ferg.

BERG VS. FERG: LAST WEEK’S RESULTS

BergvsFerg_Twitter_Facebook

Last time, Berg and Ferg debated over the Argos and Als.

» View previous Berg vs. Ferg

Poll Result: Which team is closer to contending in 2019?

Last Week’s Poll:

Ferguson: Toronto Argonauts (53%)

Steinberg: Montreal Alouettes (47%)

FERG (11-8): THE COMPETITION IS TOUGHER IN THE WEST

Marshall_Ferguson_2016

Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca
@TSN_Marsh

I love East Division football. I really do.

Many people bash its quality of play against the West or the inability of any team to separate, but almost annually there is a battle for the East Division Championship and first round bye and I love that.

However, no matter of love I have for the football played in the East Division can deter the realist in me from knowing the East is a much easier path to the Grey Cup, regardless of what division you originate from.

Some view a West division team looking longingly towards the East as a slight to the football played in this half of the CFL, but it’s just a fact that the East gives an easier path, and who can blame men judged on winning for wanting that?

In the West I still believe Calgary to be the team to beat despite last Saturday’s loss to the BC Lions, while any number of dangerous and talented teams can finish between second and fourth in the West.

Whoever finishes fourth will travel to either Hamilton or Ottawa in an attempt to become the first crossover team to ever win the Grey Cup.

Both Hamilton and Ottawa have shown moments of absolute greatness capable of being the most dangerous teams in the entire league. The problem is those have been flashes and the inconsistency of both teams right now is why they sit at .500 fighting for the chance to avoid a first round crossover date.

For a West Division team, making the playoffs has to be the first goal, but finishing fourth and travelling East isn’t a half bad consolation.

BERG (8-11): HAMILTON, OTTAWA WON’T BE EASY OUTS

Pat_Steinberg_2016Pat Steinberg, CFL.ca
@Fan960Steinberg

Going through the East Division as a crossover team might have been the easier road the last two seasons, or at least that argument could have been made. But with the CFL’s playoff crossover coming into play for a third straight year, that isn’t the case in 2018. For two distinct reasons, staying in the West is the way to go.

The last two years, you could make a strong argument the two crossover teams (Edmonton and Saskatchewan) were better than both East Division teams they’d potentially have to play en route to a Grey Cup appearance. This year, though, that gap doesn’t exist.

I’d put Hamilton and Ottawa up against any of the four potential crossover teams in a head-to-head battle. In fact, other than Calgary at the top and the two non-playoff teams at the bottom, there is next to no separation between the teams in this fight right now. As such, the task of going on the road for one, if not two, tough games across the country is not an attractive path to travel as a crossover team.

Making things more interesting is the fact so much is still up for grabs in the West Division. All four teams in the crossover battle have mathematical chances of finishing second, and thus hosting a playoff game next month. Regardless of how hard the crossover road is going to be, that’s incentive enough to finish as high up the standings as possible.

The crossover makes for some of the most interesting conversations we have in this league, and 2018 is no different. The big change this year, though, is how clear-cut it is for me there is no benefit in finishing fourth in the West Division. I don’t like any team’s chances of going through the East, which should make for a great battle as four teams jockey for position in the final three weeks of the season.

DON’T SIT ON THE FENCE!

While both sides are pretty convincing, someone’s got to take it. Whose argument convinced you the most?

You can vote for this week’s winner both on CFL.ca and Twitter. Meanwhile, continue the conversation by tweeting @Fan960Steinberg and @TSN_Marsh.

The winner will be revealed in the following week’s Berg vs. Ferg.

Fan Poll
What's the easiest path to the Grey Cup for a West Division team?
Staying west
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Crossing over
Vote