A very interesting scenario unfolded in Edmonton in the offseason. After winning the Grey Cup last season, head coach Chris Jones left to take over football operations in Saskatchewan. He also decided to take basically his entire coaching staff with him, leaving Edmonton scrambling to find replacements. In comes Jason Maas. He helped lead the Ottawa Redblacks march to the Grey Cup game last season as their offensive coordinator. He is a perfect fit here, as he is familiar with this organization, and what he did with that Ottawa offense last season proves he can be a terrific coach in this league. As a former QB himself, Maas can rely on Mike Reilly to lead the charge. He got his favorite target back as Adarius Bowman extended his contract in December. He is joined by Derel Walker and Chris Getzlaf to form a solid receiving corps. They did lose Kenny Stafford to Montreal, but their passing attack should be solid again. They have solid depth in their running game with John White and ex USC standout and NFLer Joe McKnight. With the best offensive line in the league, this offense should be just as consistent as last seasons championship team.
The strength of this team last year was their defense. They led the CFL allowing only just over 18 PPG. The defensive front remains solid with Almondo Sewell, Odell Willis, JC Sherritt, and Deon Lacey leading the way. It appears as if they will be able to get into opposing teams' backfields again this season. The area I am concerned about with this team is their secondary. They have lost a lot of key pieces. Otha Foster left for Saskatchewan with Chris Jones. Aaron Grymes signed an NFL deal. Ryan Hinds went to Ottawa. Perhaps the biggest loss was in their first preseason game when they lost John Ojo for the year with an achilles injury. A chance for others to step up I suppose, but those are some big time losses back there.
Sean Whyte is back to handle the kicking for the champs again. He has been nothing but reliable for the Esks, only missing two FGs and zero XPs last season. He only played in half of their games, but proved he could be very consistent.
Outlook: The Esks begin the Jason Maas era in Edmonton with a target on their backs as defending champs. Most of the ingredients are in place for another run at the Grey Cup, but I am very concerned about that decimated defensive backfield of theirs. Very good and important players from last years championship team will not be back there this season. This will be something to watch with this team as the season progresses.
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West Division Preview
Edmonton Eskimos
Last season: 14-4 28pts. (1st West)
2016 season win total: 11.5
2016 Grey Cup odds: +400
A very interesting scenario unfolded in Edmonton in the offseason. After winning the Grey Cup last season, head coach Chris Jones left to take over football operations in Saskatchewan. He also decided to take basically his entire coaching staff with him, leaving Edmonton scrambling to find replacements. In comes Jason Maas. He helped lead the Ottawa Redblacks march to the Grey Cup game last season as their offensive coordinator. He is a perfect fit here, as he is familiar with this organization, and what he did with that Ottawa offense last season proves he can be a terrific coach in this league. As a former QB himself, Maas can rely on Mike Reilly to lead the charge. He got his favorite target back as Adarius Bowman extended his contract in December. He is joined by Derel Walker and Chris Getzlaf to form a solid receiving corps. They did lose Kenny Stafford to Montreal, but their passing attack should be solid again. They have solid depth in their running game with John White and ex USC standout and NFLer Joe McKnight. With the best offensive line in the league, this offense should be just as consistent as last seasons championship team.
The strength of this team last year was their defense. They led the CFL allowing only just over 18 PPG. The defensive front remains solid with Almondo Sewell, Odell Willis, JC Sherritt, and Deon Lacey leading the way. It appears as if they will be able to get into opposing teams' backfields again this season. The area I am concerned about with this team is their secondary. They have lost a lot of key pieces. Otha Foster left for Saskatchewan with Chris Jones. Aaron Grymes signed an NFL deal. Ryan Hinds went to Ottawa. Perhaps the biggest loss was in their first preseason game when they lost John Ojo for the year with an achilles injury. A chance for others to step up I suppose, but those are some big time losses back there.
Sean Whyte is back to handle the kicking for the champs again. He has been nothing but reliable for the Esks, only missing two FGs and zero XPs last season. He only played in half of their games, but proved he could be very consistent.
Outlook: The Esks begin the Jason Maas era in Edmonton with a target on their backs as defending champs. Most of the ingredients are in place for another run at the Grey Cup, but I am very concerned about that decimated defensive backfield of theirs. Very good and important players from last years championship team will not be back there this season. This will be something to watch with this team as the season progresses.
John Hufnagel steps aside after some great seasons coaching this Stampeders team, and lets Dave Dickenson take the reigns. Dickenson has been the offensive coordinator in Calgary under Hufnagel so there is the familiarity amongst players with the new head coach. Dickenson will have the luxury of continuing to coach Bo Levi Mitchell at the QB position. In my opinion, this could be a defining season for Mitchell. Three huge offensive pieces that he once had the luxury of leaning on are not there this year. Calgary's two best receivers, Eric Rogers and Jeff Fuller, both signed NFL deals. Rogers lead the CFL in receiving last season. Also, one of the greatest RBs to ever play in this league, Jon Cornish, decided to call it a career. These are major subtractions from this offense. Although these losses are huge, the Stamps may not be as bad off as one would think. They still have a solid tandem of wideouts in Marquay McDaniel and Anthony Parker. They also signed Bakari Grant in the offseason. At RB, they picked up Jerome Messam from Saskatchewan late last season as if they knew Cornish was ready to call it quits. Their offensive line is still solid, and although their depth on offense took a significant blow, they still have many talented weapons on offense.
The Stamps' offense wasn't the only area of the team that saw significant losses. Defensive coordinator Rich Stubler left for Toronto. They also lost two very key components of their linebacking core when Keon Raymond joined Stubler and signed on with the Argos, and Juwan Simpson decided to retire. These two players have been the heart and soul of this defense for the past couple of seasons, and these losses could be tougher to overcome than the losses they suffered on the offensive side of the ball.
Rene Paredes handles the kicking in cowtown, and he is a very solid kicker. He made 87% of his FGs and XPs last season accumulating 149 points. He gives the Stamps a reliable option in the kicking game.
Outlook: While the Stamps lost some very important pieces in the offseason, I still see them being able to score some points. I fear that the defense will feel the departures a lot more than the offense will. Bo Levi Mitchell statistically regressed last season, and I see that regression continuing a bit without Eric Rogers and Jeff Fuller. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Stamps struggle a bit out of the gate as they try to find a new identity.
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Calgary Stampeders
Last season: 14-4 28pts. (2nd West)
2016 season win total: 11.5
2016 Grey Cup odds: +450
John Hufnagel steps aside after some great seasons coaching this Stampeders team, and lets Dave Dickenson take the reigns. Dickenson has been the offensive coordinator in Calgary under Hufnagel so there is the familiarity amongst players with the new head coach. Dickenson will have the luxury of continuing to coach Bo Levi Mitchell at the QB position. In my opinion, this could be a defining season for Mitchell. Three huge offensive pieces that he once had the luxury of leaning on are not there this year. Calgary's two best receivers, Eric Rogers and Jeff Fuller, both signed NFL deals. Rogers lead the CFL in receiving last season. Also, one of the greatest RBs to ever play in this league, Jon Cornish, decided to call it a career. These are major subtractions from this offense. Although these losses are huge, the Stamps may not be as bad off as one would think. They still have a solid tandem of wideouts in Marquay McDaniel and Anthony Parker. They also signed Bakari Grant in the offseason. At RB, they picked up Jerome Messam from Saskatchewan late last season as if they knew Cornish was ready to call it quits. Their offensive line is still solid, and although their depth on offense took a significant blow, they still have many talented weapons on offense.
The Stamps' offense wasn't the only area of the team that saw significant losses. Defensive coordinator Rich Stubler left for Toronto. They also lost two very key components of their linebacking core when Keon Raymond joined Stubler and signed on with the Argos, and Juwan Simpson decided to retire. These two players have been the heart and soul of this defense for the past couple of seasons, and these losses could be tougher to overcome than the losses they suffered on the offensive side of the ball.
Rene Paredes handles the kicking in cowtown, and he is a very solid kicker. He made 87% of his FGs and XPs last season accumulating 149 points. He gives the Stamps a reliable option in the kicking game.
Outlook: While the Stamps lost some very important pieces in the offseason, I still see them being able to score some points. I fear that the defense will feel the departures a lot more than the offense will. Bo Levi Mitchell statistically regressed last season, and I see that regression continuing a bit without Eric Rogers and Jeff Fuller. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Stamps struggle a bit out of the gate as they try to find a new identity.
Maybe the team that made the biggest moves in the offseason was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Specifically on the offensive side of the ball. They added some big playmakers to help spark an offense that was the worst in the league last season. They brought in hometown boy Andrew Harris who has been one of the best all purpose yards producers in the CFL for the past few seasons. They also raided Saskatchewan's WR cupboard and brought in Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith. These additions cannot be ignored, but without a healthy and productive Drew Willy, these pickups could end up going by the wayside. Drew Willy being on the field will ultimately decide how this seasons unfolds for the Bombers. However, this isn't the greatest offensive line he gets to play behind, so him getting injured again this season could be a very real possibility.
The strengh of this Blue Bombers defense seems to be their defensive backfield. With playmakers such as Maurice Leggett, Chris Randle, Johnny Adams, and Macho Harris, this looks to be a very solid secondary the Bombers have put together. There are a bunch of questions marks up front however, but if a defense can shutdown another team's passing attack, they have a good chance to be successful in this league.
Maybe the biggest and most important move the Bombers made in the offseason was going out and getting Justin Medlock from Hamilton. In my opinion, he is the best all around kicker in the league. This stabilizes their kicking game as they felt Lirim Hajrullahu had been a little too inconsistent for them the last couple of seasons. They quickly rectified this by going out and getting Medlock who hit 91% of his FGs and XPs last year for Hamilton.
Outlook: It appears the Bombers were serious about turning this team around. The acquisitions they made on the offensive side of the ball will definitely help Drew Willy in this offense. I have major concerns with their offensive line though. It is ultimately at the line of scrimmage where it will determine if these pickups will come through for them. I am not completely sold on this team just because of the names they went out and got in the offseason, but at least they are looking to be headed along the right path.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Last season: 5-13 10pts. (4th West)
2016 season win total: 6.5
2016 Grey Cup odds: +1000
Maybe the team that made the biggest moves in the offseason was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Specifically on the offensive side of the ball. They added some big playmakers to help spark an offense that was the worst in the league last season. They brought in hometown boy Andrew Harris who has been one of the best all purpose yards producers in the CFL for the past few seasons. They also raided Saskatchewan's WR cupboard and brought in Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith. These additions cannot be ignored, but without a healthy and productive Drew Willy, these pickups could end up going by the wayside. Drew Willy being on the field will ultimately decide how this seasons unfolds for the Bombers. However, this isn't the greatest offensive line he gets to play behind, so him getting injured again this season could be a very real possibility.
The strengh of this Blue Bombers defense seems to be their defensive backfield. With playmakers such as Maurice Leggett, Chris Randle, Johnny Adams, and Macho Harris, this looks to be a very solid secondary the Bombers have put together. There are a bunch of questions marks up front however, but if a defense can shutdown another team's passing attack, they have a good chance to be successful in this league.
Maybe the biggest and most important move the Bombers made in the offseason was going out and getting Justin Medlock from Hamilton. In my opinion, he is the best all around kicker in the league. This stabilizes their kicking game as they felt Lirim Hajrullahu had been a little too inconsistent for them the last couple of seasons. They quickly rectified this by going out and getting Medlock who hit 91% of his FGs and XPs last year for Hamilton.
Outlook: It appears the Bombers were serious about turning this team around. The acquisitions they made on the offensive side of the ball will definitely help Drew Willy in this offense. I have major concerns with their offensive line though. It is ultimately at the line of scrimmage where it will determine if these pickups will come through for them. I am not completely sold on this team just because of the names they went out and got in the offseason, but at least they are looking to be headed along the right path.
Wally Buono comes in to takeover the head coaching duties this season in BC. Wally has always been considered one of the better football minds in the Canadian game, so it seemingly makes sense that he would be the guy to come in and coach up this young Lions team. He gave QB Jonathon Jennings a nice contract extension to be the franchise QB. Jennings has tremendous upside and seemingly came out of nowhere to take the starting job from the often injured Travis Lulay. With Lulay and now Keith Price to back up Jennings, the Leos have some solid depth at the QB position. The loss of Andrew Harris is huge, but the Lions did an admiral job of trying to replace all those yards they lost with Harris. They brought in the tandem of Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen to share the ball handling. Those are two pretty solid options considering what they had to replace. My concern on offense for BC is who will Jennings throw the ball to? Of course Manny Arceneaux is there and he is their go to guy, but after him the depth is in question. They went out grabbed Nick Moore from Winnipeg, so that will help, but the dropoff from there is significant.
It would be easy to come to the conclusion that this BC defense will automatically be better with Solomon Elimimian back at the linebacker position, but I also think it would be a little unfair to say that he will be in 2014 form right from the hop. An achilles injury is never easy to come back from, but Elimimian at 90% is better than no Elimimian at all. He is reunited with Adam Bighill to form a great linebacking tandem. Up front Alex Bazzie and Maxx Forde will need to be monsters this seasons for this defense to excel. They added Brandon Stewart and Mike Edem from Hamilton to their secondary, and those two should give this group of DBs a solid boost. Overall, this Lions defense could be sneaky good if Elimimian comes back to even close to his 2014 form, and if the defensive front can put enough pressure on opposing QBs. Those are two big ifs however.
Richie Leone is BC's big leg in the kicking game. He lead the CFL in average punt yards and average net punt yards, but he really struggled with his accuracy kicking FGs. He only converted 74% of his FGs and XPs. There is no denying his leg power, but he will need to be more accurate if the Lions are to depend on him to put points up on the board.
Outlook: I am not really sure what to make of this Lions team. There are a lot of concerns on this team for me, but I also see some tremendous upside with the pieces they have in place there. I look for Jonathon Jennings to make a name for himself this season in this league. A coming out party, if you will. And if Solomon Elimimian comes back to prominence sooner rather than later, this BC team could surprise some folks out West.
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British Columbia Lions
Last season: 7-11 14pts. (3rd West)
2016 season win total: 8.5
2016 Grey Cup odds: +900
Wally Buono comes in to takeover the head coaching duties this season in BC. Wally has always been considered one of the better football minds in the Canadian game, so it seemingly makes sense that he would be the guy to come in and coach up this young Lions team. He gave QB Jonathon Jennings a nice contract extension to be the franchise QB. Jennings has tremendous upside and seemingly came out of nowhere to take the starting job from the often injured Travis Lulay. With Lulay and now Keith Price to back up Jennings, the Leos have some solid depth at the QB position. The loss of Andrew Harris is huge, but the Lions did an admiral job of trying to replace all those yards they lost with Harris. They brought in the tandem of Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen to share the ball handling. Those are two pretty solid options considering what they had to replace. My concern on offense for BC is who will Jennings throw the ball to? Of course Manny Arceneaux is there and he is their go to guy, but after him the depth is in question. They went out grabbed Nick Moore from Winnipeg, so that will help, but the dropoff from there is significant.
It would be easy to come to the conclusion that this BC defense will automatically be better with Solomon Elimimian back at the linebacker position, but I also think it would be a little unfair to say that he will be in 2014 form right from the hop. An achilles injury is never easy to come back from, but Elimimian at 90% is better than no Elimimian at all. He is reunited with Adam Bighill to form a great linebacking tandem. Up front Alex Bazzie and Maxx Forde will need to be monsters this seasons for this defense to excel. They added Brandon Stewart and Mike Edem from Hamilton to their secondary, and those two should give this group of DBs a solid boost. Overall, this Lions defense could be sneaky good if Elimimian comes back to even close to his 2014 form, and if the defensive front can put enough pressure on opposing QBs. Those are two big ifs however.
Richie Leone is BC's big leg in the kicking game. He lead the CFL in average punt yards and average net punt yards, but he really struggled with his accuracy kicking FGs. He only converted 74% of his FGs and XPs. There is no denying his leg power, but he will need to be more accurate if the Lions are to depend on him to put points up on the board.
Outlook: I am not really sure what to make of this Lions team. There are a lot of concerns on this team for me, but I also see some tremendous upside with the pieces they have in place there. I look for Jonathon Jennings to make a name for himself this season in this league. A coming out party, if you will. And if Solomon Elimimian comes back to prominence sooner rather than later, this BC team could surprise some folks out West.
The Chris Jones era in Saskatchewan begins as he takes over football operations in every capacity in order to try and turn around Riderville. Chris Jones decided to leave the Eskimos after coaching them to a Grey Cup championship last season to come to Saskatchewan and hopefully build a winner. Of course the Riders organization threw a bunch of money at him, but it is an interesting personal decision for himself. He inherits a team that will look nothing like it did last season, and that's the way he wants it I am sure. The health and productivity of Darian Durant is the first item on the list for Mr. Jones. A healthy and productive Durant would go a long way in helping this rebuild blossom this season. Rob Bagg is still there at WR, but that is about all who is left. Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith both signed with Winnipeg. I am interested in seeing the development of Naaman Roosevelt under Chris Jones as I think he is a young receiver with tremendous upside. At RB, they brought over Curtis Steele from Toronto and Matt Walter from Calgary. These are two hard running backs, but not exactly names that strike fear into opponents. This offense will start and end with Durant. If he goes down, it should be another long year in Riderville.
They made some upgrades on the defensive side of the ball. Chris Jones got a solid DB/LB in Otha Foster to come over with him from Edmonton. They also signed Eric Norwood from Hamilton, but he is starting the season on the six-game injured list. Justin Capicciotti comes over from Ottawa and he will contribute nicely along the defensive line as well. Ty Brackenridge has been the leader of their secondary for many years, but he ultimately decided upon retirement. That leaves a hole on the back end of the defense that Chris Jones will eventually need to fill.
As far as the Riders kicking game goes, well, it is an uncertain situation to say the least. Paul McCallum retires, so there is a chance for some fresh blood at this position. Tyler Crapigna will get a shot after playing the last three games for the Riders last season. To his credit, he only missed one of ten FGs and XPs combined in those three games. Encouraging, but we shall see how he fares during the course of an entire season.
Outlook: With a massive overhaul in player and coaching personnel, one could only assume the Riders will be in tough in a much more balanced West Division. I understand that Chris Jones wants to put his stamp on this organization and rebuild the right way, but you have to think that the Riders are a year or two away from being competitive again. But hey, they can't be much worse than a three win season from last year.
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Saskatchewan Roughriders
Last season: 3-15 6pts. (5th West)
2016 season win total: 7.5
2016 Grey Cup odds: +800
The Chris Jones era in Saskatchewan begins as he takes over football operations in every capacity in order to try and turn around Riderville. Chris Jones decided to leave the Eskimos after coaching them to a Grey Cup championship last season to come to Saskatchewan and hopefully build a winner. Of course the Riders organization threw a bunch of money at him, but it is an interesting personal decision for himself. He inherits a team that will look nothing like it did last season, and that's the way he wants it I am sure. The health and productivity of Darian Durant is the first item on the list for Mr. Jones. A healthy and productive Durant would go a long way in helping this rebuild blossom this season. Rob Bagg is still there at WR, but that is about all who is left. Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith both signed with Winnipeg. I am interested in seeing the development of Naaman Roosevelt under Chris Jones as I think he is a young receiver with tremendous upside. At RB, they brought over Curtis Steele from Toronto and Matt Walter from Calgary. These are two hard running backs, but not exactly names that strike fear into opponents. This offense will start and end with Durant. If he goes down, it should be another long year in Riderville.
They made some upgrades on the defensive side of the ball. Chris Jones got a solid DB/LB in Otha Foster to come over with him from Edmonton. They also signed Eric Norwood from Hamilton, but he is starting the season on the six-game injured list. Justin Capicciotti comes over from Ottawa and he will contribute nicely along the defensive line as well. Ty Brackenridge has been the leader of their secondary for many years, but he ultimately decided upon retirement. That leaves a hole on the back end of the defense that Chris Jones will eventually need to fill.
As far as the Riders kicking game goes, well, it is an uncertain situation to say the least. Paul McCallum retires, so there is a chance for some fresh blood at this position. Tyler Crapigna will get a shot after playing the last three games for the Riders last season. To his credit, he only missed one of ten FGs and XPs combined in those three games. Encouraging, but we shall see how he fares during the course of an entire season.
Outlook: With a massive overhaul in player and coaching personnel, one could only assume the Riders will be in tough in a much more balanced West Division. I understand that Chris Jones wants to put his stamp on this organization and rebuild the right way, but you have to think that the Riders are a year or two away from being competitive again. But hey, they can't be much worse than a three win season from last year.
West Synopsis: The west has changed so much this season, at least personnel wise for every team. Four of the five teams have new coaching staffs, players have moved to new homes, and some teams' depth charts took huge blows. This really makes prognosticating this division extremely tough. It really doesn't look like Saskatchewan will be too competitive in this division, but I guess you never know what Chris Jones will bring to the table for them. It seems as though BC and Winnipeg have closed the gap a little bit between themselves and the Stamps and Esks, but it seems to me that this is still one of those two teams' division to lose. I think BC could surprise here, and maybe the crossover could be in play this year as well.
Drivetime's West Division Prediction
1. Edmonton Eskimos
2. BC Lions
3. Calgary Stampeders
4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
5. Saskatchewan Roughriders
I will post my future bets for the 2016 CFL season tomorrow at some point. I will also offer my thoughts on the week one games tomorrow in my week 1 thread.
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West Synopsis: The west has changed so much this season, at least personnel wise for every team. Four of the five teams have new coaching staffs, players have moved to new homes, and some teams' depth charts took huge blows. This really makes prognosticating this division extremely tough. It really doesn't look like Saskatchewan will be too competitive in this division, but I guess you never know what Chris Jones will bring to the table for them. It seems as though BC and Winnipeg have closed the gap a little bit between themselves and the Stamps and Esks, but it seems to me that this is still one of those two teams' division to lose. I think BC could surprise here, and maybe the crossover could be in play this year as well.
Drivetime's West Division Prediction
1. Edmonton Eskimos
2. BC Lions
3. Calgary Stampeders
4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
5. Saskatchewan Roughriders
I will post my future bets for the 2016 CFL season tomorrow at some point. I will also offer my thoughts on the week one games tomorrow in my week 1 thread.
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