Finally the CFL is back for another mind blowing season! It has been a long off-season for the Riders and their fans after the debacle of the 97th Grey Cup. Well it is now time to evaluate the teams' rosters, performance, and predict who will be the contenders in the Grey Cup. The numbers in parenthesis are standings from 2009 season.
The BC Lions (8-10) have finally released QB Buck "Concussion"Pierce now that they have Casey Printers back. They have added to their defense with Dave Sanchez and Keron Williams. Martell Mallett was replaced by Jamal Robertson at running back. The Lions have, however, lost a number of strong players in the off season: LB Lavy Glatt, WR Ryan Grice-Mullen, OL Jason Jimenez, RB Ian Smart, and LB JoJuan Armour.
I believe BC will have another mediocre year. Printers is a decent QB, but I'm not sure he is in the same form he was back in 2004. BC had rough time last year protecting against the run and had a league leading 59 turnovers. In a tough western division look for the Lions to be at the bottom.
Calgary Stampeders (10-7-1) will once again be a formidable team. They had the number one running back in the league with Joffery Reynolds racking up 1504 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. The Stampeders also have a solid receiving core and defensive line. As a result, they have made relatively few change during the off-season. Perhaps the most questionable was not re-signing kicker Sandro DeAngelis who made 85.7% of his field goals and accumulated 176 points for his team (second in the league). Calgary will finish first in the west.
The Edmonton Eskimos
(9-9) fell short of my expectations last year. Although QB Ricky Ray finished the season first in yards passing he did not perform overly well.
Despite averaging 286 pass yards/game the Eskimos often struggled to win games. Virtually every aspect of their team was inconsistent. Four of their nine wins were by three or less points. Most of their changes came at defense where DB Chris Thompson, LB Javier Glatt, and DB Lenny Walls will fill the places of Kelly Malveaux, Lenny Williams, and Reggie Hunt. Edmonton will finish third in the west.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (10-7-1) have made several changes over the past six months. On defense John Chick, Stevie Baggs, and Renauld Williams have departed for the NFL. Kicker Jamie Boreham was traded to Toronto for first overall draft pick, where we acquired
DE Shomari Williams. Saskatchewan also signed QB Ryan Dinwiddie and Cole Bergquist. Originally I was somewhat skeptical of Dinwiddie; however he performed well against the Lions in pre-season action.
I believe Durant sums up the team's attitude best; "If you dwell on what happened in November, you won't be able to move forward." Centre Jeremy O'Day adds that "if anything is going to fuel this team...it's a game like that." The Riders have signed a few key players who will help. RB Dominique Dorsey will certainly improve the Riders special teams' worst kickoff return average in the league (18.6 yards). The green and white are also glad to have veteran receiver Prechae Rodriguez from Hamilton. Barrin Simpson also joins the team as a proven linebacker. The Riders will battle their way to second in the west.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-11) smartly fired coach Mike Kelly back in December. Kelly's attitude and demeanour let to the release of important players; QB Kevin Glenn, DE Barrin Simpson, and receivers Arjei Franklin and Romby Bryant; and a disgruntled fan base. New head coach Paul LaPolice was hired in February. QBs Steven Jyles and Buck Pierce should add some stability and amelioration to the team. However, the Bombers have also lost a number of key defensive players. Winnipeg will finish third in the east.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-9) continue to strengthen their team in all facets. They will improve defensively with the addition of talented defensive backs. The precision of kicker Sand
ro DeAngelis on special teams will be of great significance. Wide receivers Maurice Mann from Edmonton and Adam Nicholson from Saskatchewan will augment Hamilton's receiving core. Despite this progress the Tiger-Cats still won't be able to overtake Montreal in the east. Hamilton will settle for second in the east.
The Toronto Argonauts (3-15) have hired a new head coach, Jim Barker. In addition, they have four new QBs. Dalton Bell, the only one with any CFL experience, looked the best in their first pre-season game. Receiver Jermaine Copeland was also acquired. However Toronto did lose valuable players in the off-season. SB Andre Talbot, WR P.K. Sam, kicker Justin Medlock (who connected on 87% of his field goals), and RB Jamal Robertson. Many changes were also made on defense. Toronto lacks a seasoned CFL QB and their new players will need time to gel together. Toronto will once again be in the basement of the east.
The Montreal Alouettes (15-3) had another banner year in 2009, boasting first in numerous CFL categories. On defense DL Keron Williams and DB Davis Sanchez left the Alouettes. More pressing was the retirement of OL Brian Chiu just before training camp. Regardless, Montreal will have one more dominating season before a few key players retire. Montreal will place first in the east.
Predictions:WestCalgary 12 - 6 Saskatchewan 10 - 8 Edmonton 9 - 9 BC 8 - 10
EastMontreal 14 - 4 Hamilton 10 - 8 Winnipeg 7 - 11 Toronto 4 - 14
West Semi/FinalSaskatchewan/Edmonton = Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan/Calgary = Saskatchewan
East Semi/FinalHamilton/BC = Hamilton
Montreal/Hamilton = Montreal
98th Grey CupSaskatchewan/Montreal = Saskatchewan
Nathan's 2009 season predictions: 44-27 (NateB3)
Day the teacher was explaining how we can recycle items to reduce waste. On child asked if we could recycle clothing. The teacher replied yes. Abruptly, Srujan (4.5 years old) declared that his father did not recycle his underpants.
It is not uncommon to hear Issy (4) break out into song. Her set list typically includes "Alouette", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", or cartoon theme songs. One day just before the other children arrived for group time, Issy was on the mat singing "Party in the USA".
While playing outside after school a few months ago, Christie (4.5) noticed that I walk home. Since then when I left school for the day Christie would regularly say to me, "Have a nice walk Mr. Nathan."
Just before heading to the spray park one June morning, Rowyn (3) was attempting to cram his towel, bug spray, and water bottle into his backpack. I came over to assist him when he declared, "No, it's too hard fur yu."
26th, Willem (5) strutted into the classroom wearing a white dress shirt, black pants, and tie in celebration of his fifth birthday.
