Great '07, Even Better '08?

A win this weekend by the Eagles would guarantee them a spot in the playoffs, while a loss would leave them open to the possibility of still finishing with the worst record in the league. But the story of this weekend probably isn't whether the Eagles will be the last team to clinch the final playoff spot or not; the story is how close these playoff contenders are to each other. Two and a half games separate first place from fourth place with 3 games or less to go for these teams. Not since 2004 when the Titans, Raiders and Eagles finished with 8, 7, and 6 wins respectively has a playoff seeding been so close at this point in the season. Things will probably be a lot clearer Sunday night after all these games are in the books, but regardless of how the season winds down, the level of play, and of the players themselves, has probably never been higher thanks in large part to the two expansion teams and the dismantling of the Bears this season. There are high hopes for the '08 season, and even though the end of the '07 season is still a little ways off, many players and captains have been discussing several questions about the '08 season, primarily who will be captains besides Frank, Eman and Nemo and how the draft will be conducted. There have been several reports of the unrelenting and un-aging Papa Bear Chaky Menchaky possibly retaking his role as captain (though some might say that is probably more doubtful than likely), and there has also been talk of several first-rounders possibly making the jump to captain-hood in '08. Mando Moss of the Eagles or Zok of the Titans are definitely good candidates, but a few of the captains have expressed their concerns and doubts about these players' ability to lead a team. In any case, perhaps before deciding who the captains will be or the number of teams next season, the CFL must first decide how the draft will be conducting. In other words, whether two separate drafts will be take place with the two expansion teams in one draft and the original CFL teams in another as some players have suggested, or whether it will be just one entire draft for the whole league regardless of what team they played for previously. Several players and captains have discussed both possibilities, but either scenario just probably depends on who returns to play in '08. The CFL always loses a couple players after every season, but also usually adds a few new ones too. The majority of captains seem to favor having one single draft if the expansion teams/players return for the '08 season, but whether that happens or not will not effect whether there will be a draft or not. Most of these decisions will probably be made in the next few days or weeks after the CFL Superbowl, if not in the days leading up to it, but the two-year deal that essentially freezes rosters over that period will expire once the last touchdown of the Superbowl is scored, so all this uncertainty is going to make for an interesting and intense off-season.