Podskee Wee Wee, Episode 5

A new commish, some potential rule changes, Bakari Grant staying in Hamilton and the Argos finally maybe landing at BMO. It is all discussed in the latest episode of Podskee Wee Wee.

Like I say every time, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by clicking the button down below and if you can, leave a rating or comment. Hit the blog's comment section and fire off your criticisms and leave a question for possible inclusion on the next episode.

So here is Episode No. 5 for your listening pleasure.

Monday Mailbag, Vol. 3

So I caused a bit of a stir over the weekend, eh?

While some of the vitriol that arrived following my piece about Rider Nation was certainly expected, there was one side effect that caught me off guard: support from Rider fans.

There were plenty that took offense – and if you took offense, well, not much I can say other than thanks for helping me prove my point – yet there were a lot of Rider fans who came out in support of the piece. They, too, said they hated the arrogant fans who think it is Riders only. It was very shocking and quite encouraging to read.

And in all honesty, it was not a piece I wanted to write, but one I felt had to be written. And with the outpouring of support from fans around the league, I now know that I definitely made the right choice in letting the world know how I feel about a certain segment of the Rider fanbase.

But this is the last I will say on the matter. Now, onto the mailbag.

Despite having Delvin Breaux, the Ti-Cats secondary wasn't exactly elite in 2014. Now without Breaux, are DBs Hamilton's biggest need?

Short answer: yes.

The two biggest areas of concern for the Ti-Cats heading into the offseason were the secondary and the offensive line. While they didn’t do anything to bolster the offensive line since the season ended, they will have a fully healthy Peter Dyakowski for an entire season, and adding the former East Division All-Star automatically makes the Tiger-Cats line better. Also, the Cats were breaking in a new centre last year (Mike Filer) and tackle (Jake Olson) and with a year under their belts, they should be better in 2015.

That leaves the secondary and coping with the loss of Breaux. His signing in the NFL was not just expected, but guaranteed, and he lives a gigantic hole in secondary. The Tiger-Cats decided not to pursue any veteran free agent defensive backs, so they will now rely on players already in-house or rookies they find in free agent camps or on their negotiation list. That doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, but Hamilton has not had an elite secondary since... um… I don’t even know when, and it hasn’t been an impediment in getting to the last two Grey Cups. Every team has a weakness or two, Hamilton’s will be the secondary. It will be up to the other units on the team to step up their game until the secondary finds its rhythm.

Will the East do well enough to avoid the crossover this year?

Hamilton and Montreal are as close to locks to make the playoffs as exist in the East, so it comes down to whether you like one of Toronto or Ottawa better than two of Saskatchewan, BC and Winnipeg.

The RedBlacks made a ton of moves in the offseason to get better, so they will not be repeating their 2-16 season of 2014. Toronto has done the exact opposite of Ottawa and have been practically silent since the season ended. The Argos have Ricky Ray, which means they will be in every game they play, but I don’t see them doing much better than their 8-10 record last season. In fact, at this point, I would say they would be in tough to match last year’s record.

In the West, every team looks good. The last-place Bombers spent money to build themselves back up, the Riders found ways to sign a majority of their top-flight free agents, and BC is a wild card with a new head coach and a finally healthy Travis Lulay.

I just like what I see out of those three teams in the West. One of them will miss the playoffs, but I can’t tell you which one it will be – should I say Saskatchewan just to piss off Rider Nation one more time? – and I am not all that enamoured with the two teams that should be fighting for third in the East. So I think 2015 will once again feature a West team crossing over into the East.

Will Nik Lewis have the “Geroy Effect” in Montreal and put them over the top this year?

I think Nik Lewis is a phenomenal acquisition and makes the Als that much more dangerous, but I don’t think he is the final piece that will push them over the top.

The Als came one game short of making it to the Grey Cup last year and all they did in the offseason was get better. They re-signed an incredible number of their own free agents and brought in some great players to fill some needs they had. Lewis is the latest addition, but at this point it just seems like overkill. You can never have too many great players and the Als are proving that right now.

If I had to pick a player to have a Simon-like effect on the 2015 Als, I would pick Fred Stamps. Stamps was phased out of the Eskimos’ offense last season and I think he is going to have a massive bounce-back year. Add in that Stamps has never even played in a Grey Cup, let alone won one, and I think his hunger to finally sip from the Grey chalice will be what lights a fire under him in 2015.

Who will be Cats’ 2nd string QB? Masoli or the newly signed QB?

I am going to assume that “newly signed QB” refers to former Cornell signal caller Jeff Mathews, so that is what I will base this question on.

I think Masoli will start camp as the No. 2 and he may even make it to opening day as the backup behind entrenched starter Zach Collaros, but I think before the season ends, Mathews will move up the depth chart and supplant Masoli as the team’s primary backup.

There are a number of reasons why I think this. For starters, we have seen Masoli play and despite having spent a few years in the CFL, he does not look like a competent professional quarterback. He is a turnover prone and does not make reads well. Perhaps he can be groomed out of his bad habits, but he will be entering his fourth year in the CFL this season – he spent the 2012 season on the Edmonton Eskimos practice roster – and simply has not shown the progress that young pivots usually do.

Secondly, what Mathews lacks in CFL experience, he makes up for with Austin/Condell experience. Mathews played for the Ti-Cats head coach and general manager at Cornell, where he ran an offense designed by current Hamilton offense coordinator Tommy Condell. Mathews will be familiar with the terminology and that will give him a leg up over other similarly situated quarterbacks around the league.

I was a big fan of Masoli when he was coming out of college, and I thought he would make a very good CFL quarterback. But after two seasons in black and gold, I think we know what we have with him.

Thoughts on another ridiculous CFL.ca poll. Lawrence and White the best 1-2 RB combo? You kidding me?

Another week, another question about a CFL.ca poll. Last week, I was asked my feelings on receiving corps, this week it is running back tandems. I would not pick the Edmonton duo as the top tandem, but it is not as egregious as last week’s poll results crowing the RedBlacks receiving corps as the best in the league.

There are actually a number of great running back tandems in the CFL: C.J. Gable and Nic Grigsby, aka G&G TD Factory, in Hamilton (add in Mossis Madu and you get a pretty stellar Three-Headed Monster); the aforementioned White and Lawrence in Edmonton; Andrew Harris and Stefon Logan in BC; Tyrell Sutton and Brandon Whittaker in Montreal. There are some duos, like Jon Cornish and Matt Walter in Calgary, that would rank high because of how good one of those players (Cornish) is (that’s no knock on Walter, but c’mon, that’s not a deadly combo if Cornish isn’t the other guy). And while I am not as high on them as the rest, the Curtis Steele-Steve Slaton pairing in Toronto has a lot of potential.

I have to pick a tandem, don’t I? I know this will get me called a homer, but it has to be Gable and Grigsby. I don’t pick them by much, mind you. Logan’s and Lawrence’s biggest contributions don’t come from the running game, so I eliminated them. While Cornish is head and shoulders above every other running back, Walter doesn’t exactly make defensive coordinators tremble. And the Steele-Slaton duo is long on talent, but short on actual output. That left, at least for me, G&G and Sutton-Whittaker, and the Tiger-Cat twosome is just better. That is not meant as a slight, but we are talking about back-to-back East Division All-Stars in Gable (2013) and Grigsby (2014) as well as the East Division’s top rookie (Gable, 2013) and the CFL’s rushing touchdown leader among running backs (Grigsby). That, to me, vaults them to the top of the list.

Monday Mailbag

When the decision was made to re-start the blog, I wanted to make it different than the previous incarnation. One way I wanted to do that was through more interaction with readers. There has been some decent discussion in the comment sections, and some great conversations via Twitter, but I want to expand that and make you, the readers, even more involved than before.

So with that I bring you our newest feature, The BWW Monday Mailbag. If you want to get a question answered, you can tweet at me using #BWWMailbag or drop a question in the comment section. Every Monday, I will answer a handful of your questions. If you asked a question and didn’t get it answered, don’t worry, I will answer it in another mailbag.

Let’s get started with a question I have been asked on more than one occasion.

What are your thoughts on the Tiger-Cats’ new home, Tim Horton’s Field?

In one word: beautiful. But you want more than one word.

When I first entered Tim Horton’s Field back on Labour Day, I don’t think it is a stretch to say that my breath was taken away. It is a truly amazing stadium and has become a great place to watch a game. The upgrades over Ivor Wynne Stadium are many, and while that venue will always hold a special place in my heart, I have fully embraced Tim Horton’s Field.

That’s not to say the stadium doesn’t have some flaws. The biggest one being that it wasn’t completed for any of the games that were played there. I also am not a fan of the concourses, as I found them small and hard to maneuver through. Of course, that might also have been due to the unfinished nature of the place.

With the stadium only being partially completed last year, I obviously cannot give a comprehensive evaluation. I think when it is 100 per cent finished, it is going to be one of the best places to watch a game in this country.

What offseason coaching change(s) will have the most impact in 2015?

The easy answer to this one is obviously Jeff Tedford’s hiring as head coach of the BC Lions. When a team replaces the guy in charge, that move is likely to have the biggest impact of any change any team made.

But outside of Tedford, the one hire that has me the most curious is one he made for his own staff: hiring George Cortez as offensive coordinator.

Say what you want about Cortez’s disastrous one-year tenure as Hamilton’s head coach, or the seemingly acrimonious split he just went through with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but the man knows how to run an offense. The 2012 Tiger-Cats, a team that finished a dismal 6-12, had one of the most explosive and exciting offenses in the CFL that season. He won a Grey Cup in 2013 with the Riders and might have gone to another one with them had Darian Durant not gotten hurt midway through last season.

BC’s offense is loaded with weapons – Andrew Harris, Manny Arceneaux, Shawn Gore, Courtney Taylor – and a fully healthy Travis Lulay guiding a Cortez-installed offense should have Lions fans salivating at what they can accomplish. Cortez has his faults – he really does not know how to handle backup quarterbacks – but the positives outweigh the negatives. Watching what he does with the Lions offense provides the most intrigue for me.

What is the problem with Hamilton in the red zone? Is it scheme or personnel? And why do they seem to be so predictable?

This seems like a question that has been asked by Tiger-Cats fans for the better part of a decade. It seems no matter who is calling the shots or who is on the field, the Tiger-Cats just can’t execute in the red zone. The clichéd answer is that executing near the goalline is a matter of will. That the offensive line must dominate at the point of contact to allow the running back to find a hole or give the quarterback enough time to go through his reads.

Over the years we have seen flashes of red zone efficiency, but last year’s unacceptable 40 per cent success rate is hopefully the nadir of red zone ineptitude. Short yardage has been a bit of a struggle for the Cats over the last two seasons, especially, and a lot of Hamilton’s red zone woes come from their inability to punch it in from short distance, like Jeremiah Masoli’s goalline fumble on Labour Day.

It can’t be scheme or personnel or predictability because these problems have existed for years with major changes to all three areas. It might simply be a matter of the team just not executing when given the chance. But this is definitely something to keep an eye on in 2015.

Will the Argos take another step back in 2015?

As long as Ricky Ray is piloting that offense, they have a chance to win any game they play. A return to health for Andre Durie, Chad Owens and Anthony Coombs will certainly help their offense, and Ricky Foley should help take pressure off last year’s top rookie out of the East, Tristan Okpalaugo. So the Argos do have some nice pieces that might be able to keep them from falling.

However, the problem stems more from the outside than the inside. Hamilton and Montreal have surpassed the Argos. Both teams have reloaded and Ottawa has made some big moves in the hopes of bettering their two-win performance from last year. Add in a rejuvenated Winnipeg, a potential explosive offense in BC, the Stamps and Esks looking like they will still be top-level clubs and it doesn’t look good for the Argos. Even Saskatchewan was able to retain a lot of their top players, as well as acquire a really good one from Toronto.

While I won’t say that the Argos will finish in last place, it is entirely possible. All the teams around them have made changes to get better, while the Argos have pretty much stood pat. Not a wise decision for a team that missed the playoffs in 2014.

Bakari Grant… still in limbo. Why the dance? No other team interested? Cats want a bargain?

I think the answer to this is three-fold. For starters, I truly don’t think Bakari Grant wants to leave Hamilton, especially if, as rumoured, the main team interested in him is Toronto. I know that football is a business, and that he does not have to have any loyalty to the Tiger-Cats, but we are talking about a guy who put on an “ARGOS SUCK” t-shirt after the Ti-Cats beat the Argos in Toronto in the 2013 East Final.

Secondly, the Tiger-Cats are very high on Joe Anderson, who spent time on the practice roster last season. Anderson will also be playing for a salary that will probably be half of what Grant will command. By letting Grant go, they can put a player on the field that they are very high on and save a little money in the process.

But at the end of the day, money is the biggest factor. The Ti-Cats have done a lot of work trying to fit everyone into their budget, while also being mindful of future contracts they will need to extend. Adding another multi-year, six-figure deal might not fit into Hamilton’s salary structure. This is one of those times that I envision Kent Austin the general manager arguing with Kent Austin the head coach. Grant might end up being a casualty of the general manager’s future-planning prudence overriding head coach’s short-term desire to field the best possible team.

Where Will the Top 20 Sign?

The time has come, football fans!

No, it's definitely not yet June. But rather, the second most exciting time of the offseason: free agency! There is a little more than 24 hours to go before players can put pen to paper with new clubs and, thankfully, a decent crop of free agents remain.

Since a staff writer at CFL.ca completely bombed their ranking of the Top 20 free agents still available – backup running back Kendial Lawrence was atop the list, while Kevin Glenn, a BACKUP quarterback, was listed ahead of two-time All-Star tackle Stanley Bryant – so I decided to take matters into my own hands and come out with what I believe is a more accurate list of the top 20 remaining free agents and where I think they may be heading.

(1) Brett Jones, Centre, Calgary
Only the Calgary Stampeders could afford to lose a player like Brett Jones and hardly suffer the next year. Jones, the 2014 Most Outstanding Lineman, is reportedly still drawing interest down south and, fortunately for Calgary, they have 2014 first-overall pick Pierre Lavertu ready to replace the 23-year-old phenom. Should Jones stay up north, expect Saskatchewan to go all out in pursuit of the Regina native. After losing Ben Heenan to the NFL and releasing former centre Dominic Picard for salary cap reasons, the Riders could really alleviate the consternation in Rider Nation by picking up Jones. Despite the Riders' room for Jones' salary and the Stamps being prepared to lose him, my gut feeling tells me Jones won't be able to leave the Stampeders just two years into his career. It will be close, but the Stamps will retain Brett Jones.

Prediction: Re-signs with Calgary.

(2) Stanley Bryant, Left Tackle, Calgary
Bryant, a back-to-back All-Star in 2013 and 2014, will likely be in the middle of a bidding war between the Ottawa RedBlacks and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Bomber general manager Kyle Walters has stressed numerous times that upgrading Winnipeg's offensive line is his No. 1 priority this offseason. Ottawa general manager Marcel Desjardins would also like to beef up his offensive line, but there are other large holes to fill as well. Bryant will be in for some good money wherever he signs.

Prediction: Signs with Winnipeg.

(3) Geoff Tisdale, Cornerback, Montreal
I expect BC, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Ottawa to all be in on the auction to sign Tisdale, the only No. 1 corner still available. The Leos made it known they were looking for an upgrade over veteran Dante Marsh this offseason, which is why I believe Tisdale will return to the West Division and line up across from Ronnie Yell in BC in 2015.

Prediction: Signs with BC

(4) Brian Peters, Linebacker, Saskatchewan
Peters remains an absolute must re-sign for the Riders. If Saskatchewan lands Brett Jones or Geoff Tisdale, then Peters will follow Richie Hall, his defensive coordinator in Saskatchewan, to Winnipeg. Since I have my doubts regarding the Riders actually signing one of Jones or Tisdale, I think they hang on to their leading tackler.

Prediction: Re-signs with Saskatchewan.

(5) Ernest Jackson, Wide Receiver, BC
All signs point to Jackson reuniting with his college quarterback Drew Willy in Winnipeg. The Bombers are in need of another international receiver and Jackson is the best of those available; however, Winnipeg made a splash by signing Nick Moore in free agency last year and just inked Clarence Denmark to an extension last September, so I don't think Winnipeg will want all three of their international receivers to be making north of $180,000/year. Ottawa would be Jackson's next best option as they are still starving for playmakers and can give Jackson the money he desires.

Prediction: Signs with Ottawa.

(6) SirVincent Rogers, Left Tackle, Toronto
Ottawa will have to "settle" for SirVincent Rogers at left tackle after missing out on Bryant. Rogers will still be a major upgrade over the revolving door of players the RedBlacks plugged in to protect Henry Burris' blindside last season.

Prediction: Signs with Ottawa.

(7) Tristan Jackson, Cornerback, Saskatchewan
Jackson's skills in coverage have come a long way since his early days in Saskatchewan, when he was primarily used a returner. Hamilton and Montreal are both in the market for upgrades at cornerback, but I think Montreal will win out on this as they may be looking for Geoff Tisdale's replacement.

Prediction: Signs with Montreal.

(8) Nic Grigsby, Running Back, Hamilton
No teams are currently in the market for a No. 1 running back this off-season, so the market for Grigsby’s services might not be that hot. Perhaps the Argonauts will give the 2014East Division All-Star a look, but even I don't think Grigsby would change allegiances for a third time in less than a year… would he? Grigsby will re-sign in Hamilton and form a pretty dynamic duo with C.J. Gable in 2015.

Prediction: Re-signs with Hamilton.

(9) Kendial Lawrence, Running Back, Edmonton
Lawrence, named the No. 1 free agent by CFL.ca, had an impressive first year with the Eskimos, playing both slotback and running back. John White, Edmonton's starting tailback, had a good year but isn't exactly cemented as the team's starter like Jon Cornish is in Calgary or Andrew Harris is in BC. For that reason, and because no other team is in desperate need of a starting running back or return specialist, I think Lawrence stays in Edmonton and has another good year as a feature player in Edmonton's offence.

Prediction: Re-signs with Edmonton.

(10) Sam Giguère, Wide Receiver, Hamilton
National players often move back home in free agency and I fully expect the Sherbrooke, Quebec native to continue that trend this offseason. The Als are in need of another Canadian pass-catcher and Giguère is the best one available. Giggy would be the icing on the cake to an already successful offseason in Montreal.

Prediction: Signs with Montreal.

(11) Rennie Curran, Linebacker, Edmonton
Curran played very well while filling in for the oft-injured JC Sherritt in the middle of Edmonton's linebacker corps. Curran is the exact type of player Bomber head coach Mike O'Shea wants in the middle of his defence: big, physical, vocal and a locker-room favourite. Winnipeg needs a MIKE linebacker and Curran meets the requirements.

Prediction: Signs with Winnipeg.

(12) Brad Sinopoli, Wide Receiver, Calgary
Just like Giguère heading home to Montreal, Sinopoli will head home to Ottawa and immediately receive a large role in the RedBlacks’ offence. The former CIS quarterback has been steadily developing as a receiver since arriving in Calgary and will look for his first big role in the nation's capital.

Prediction: Signs with Ottawa.

(13) Glenn January, Left Tackle, Winnipeg
Calgary and Toronto are both likely losing their starting left tackles, Stanley Bryant and SirVincent Rogers, to Winnipeg and Ottawa, respectively, and may be looking for new starters in free agency. Hamilton may also be in the market for an upgrade at tackle, but I expect them and Calgary to address that need in the draft. The eight-year CFL veteran will have options this year as a cheaper alternative to Bryant and Rogers.

Prediction: Signs with Toronto.

(14) Kevin Glenn, Quarterback, BC
Riders general manager Brendan Taman will get run out of Riderville if he doesn't bring in another quarterback and Darian Durant gets injured once again. Taman will turn to the league's best insurance policy to add veteran the depth behind Durant.

Prediction: Signs with Saskatchewan.

(15) Johnny Sears, Defensive Back, Winnipeg
Sears can line up all over the field and would be a useful player for many teams. The Bombers are reportedly close to re-signing the four-year pro, who would likely start at SAM linebacker for Winnipeg in 2015.

Prediction: Re-signs with Winnipeg.

(16) Dan LeFevour, Quarterback, Hamilton
LeFevour looked impressive last year before tearing his ACL in his fourth game as Hamilton’s starter. The Lions will look to the scrambling Central Michigan product to provide some certainty at quarterback as Travis Lulay's shoulder injuries continue to hang over the franchise.

Prediction: Signs with BC.

(17) Justin Hickman, Defensive End, Hamilton
Hickman hasn't played in very many football games over the last few years, serving mostly as a reserve player with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts before signing back with Hamilton midway through the 2014 season. The Ti-Cats need another pass rusher opposite Eric Norwood and will turn to the 2011 CFL All-Star in the hopes that he can return to form in 2015.

Prediction: Re-signs with Hamilton.

(18) Jason Barnes, Wide Receiver, Toronto
Despite an injury-riddled campaign in 2014, Barnes is still one of the league’s best red zone targets. The BC Lions may look to add another international receiver if Ernest Jackson leaves and, coincidentally, Barnes and Jackson are similar receivers. The Ray-Barnes connection is six-years strong, so I see Barnes returning to T.O. after testing the market.

Prediction: Re-signs with Toronto.

(19) Dan Clark, Guard, Saskatchewan
If Clark's blocking skills are anywhere near as good as his hands, he will start somewhere in 2015. Edmonton and Hamilton are both in the market for offensive guards and would certainly like to bring in a national like Clark to compete for a starting spot in 2015.

Prediction: Signs with Hamilton.

(20) Bakari Grant, Wide Receiver, Hamilton
Grant hauled in 69 passes for 947 yards in 2013 and would fit in nicely as a third receiver in Winnipeg or BC and would do so at a much more reasonable price than many other receivers both teams could target. Hamilton is deep at the receiver position and will let Grant look for a larger role elsewhere.

Prediction: Signs with Winnipeg.

Other notable offseason signings:

Greg Ellingson, WR, Hamilton: Re-signs with Hamilton.
Nik Lewis, WR, Calgary: Signs with Ottawa.
Dante Marsh, CB, BC: Signs with Saskatchewan
Aaron Kelly, WR, Winnipeg: Signs with BC.
Curtis Steele, RB, Toronto: Re-signs with Toronto.
Spencer Watt, WR, Toronto: Signs with Calgary.
Edwin Harrison, RT, Calgary: Re-signs with Calgary

Barker & Foley: Getting Back Together With Your Ex

In a move that shocked many over the weekend, the Saskatchewan Roughriders traded defensive end Ricky Foley to the Toronto Argonauts for linebacker Shea Emry.

It is definitely intriguing in what can only be seen as an about face on the part of Argos general manager Jim Barker. Only two years ago, the architect and builder of the Good Ship Argonaut deemed the former York Lion expendable, as he let the Courtice, Ontario native walk unceremoniously into free agency. And just one year ago, the biggest free agency move in The Big Smoke was the acquisition of blue-chip linebacker Shea Emry from division rival Montreal.

Fast forward to now where Gambler Jim has traded away his No. 1 free agent acquisition from last season for a player he was not motivated to retain only a year prior to that.

Allow us all to scratch our collective heads and ponder that for a moment!

Now, I realize that things change rapidly in professional sports and no more so than in the Canadian Football League. But even this flip-flop has me wondering if we need to send Jim Barker to the quiet room for concussion protocol!

My main point as to why I believe Brendan Taman and the Riders won this trade, and this will come as to no surprise to anyone who knows me or follows me on Twitter, is that I believe Ricky Foley is vastly overrated!

When you look at his production numbers, and that would be quarterback sacks for a defensive end, you will see that he is not a No. 1 edge rusher, but rather a nice national compliment more suited as a secondary or tertiary option.

In 2011, his first full season with Toronto after he spurned Wally Buono and the BC Lions on a detoured drive to the airport, Foley recorded six sacks. Defensive tackle Kevin Huntley also had six quarterback takedowns for a loss. Claude Wroten and Ronald Flemons combined for an additional seven sacks. By no means was Mr. Foley a standout at the position since the league leaders were Justin Hickman, Odell Willis, John Bowman, Marcus Howard and Keron Williams all with double-digit numbers.

During the 2012 season, Foley was only able to achieve three tackles for loss on opposing quarterbacks. Three teammates with him in Double Blue – Armond Armstead, Brandon Issac and Marcus Ball – were all able to match or exceed Foley’s production.

During Foley’s time on the prairies with the Green Riders, he put up decent numbers. His eight- and 12-sack seasons in 2013 and 2014 tied him for tenth and fifth league-wide, respectively. Yet, my belief is that much of that is due to his pairing with John Chick on the opposite side along with defensive tackles like Tearrius George, Jermaine McElveen, Derek Walker and Keith Shologun, all of which have ranked amongst the top for quarterback sacks from the interior defensive line position.

The key takeaway when looking at all these numbers is that at no point in time since his return to Canada after his failed attempt in the NFL has No. 95 led his team in quarterback sacks.

Now what do the Roughriders get out of this trade? Well, first of all they get a player who has actually led their team in the statistical category most important to their position. Emry led the Argonauts in tackles this past season, as well as the Montreal Alouettes in defensive takedowns back in 2012.

But more importantly, the Riders get a valuable national player in what was a sub-par, underperforming linebacker unit. Emry is a significant upgrade to fellow Canadians Sam Hurl, Shomari Williams and Tristan Black. As good as these players are in other roles, they are back-ups and depth players while the former UBC Thunderbird and Eastern Washington Eagle is a bona fide starter.

At this point in time you have to ask yourself why Toronto would trade away the player that led their team in tackles this past season? The answer is very simple and it comes in the form of one Cory Greenwood, via the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs. With the late-season addition of the former third-overall pick from Concordia, the Argos will be able to maintain their roster ratio, while upgrading their overall linebacker unit. As good as Shea Emry is and has been, Cory Greenwood is an upgrade. (And a long-snapper to boot if need be!)

Toronto played four internationals along the defensive line for most of the 2014 season. If this trade dictates a ratio change for the Double Blue in the front four, then there may be some merit to the transaction. Yet, I feel that Toronto will suffer a performance decline in what they could get from starting a defensive end that does not possess a Canadian passport like Mr. Foley.

Overall, I see this as a win for Saskatchewan. They get a player four years younger and one that is signed for a longer duration. The gain in being able to start a cheaper and potentially better international player at defensive end significantly benefits the Riders. Over in Toronto, they re-acquire a player that I believe will be hard-pressed to start and contribute over any potential international player that they currently have or bring in at defensive end. The only way this trade works for Barker is if they are making a ratio change by playing three nationals on defense. Even then I feel it is not a worthwhile trade-off.

With the addition of Greenwood to the Argos, I believe Gambler Jim picked up the phone to see what he could get for Emry and, in what can only be referred to as a “booty call,” decided to hook up with an old ex-girlfriend for one last fling.

Rarely do such trysts work out well for any involved.

Inevitably both figure out why they broke up in the first-place.

Just One Number

On this first day of the first month of the New Year, I thought we would take a look at one change in one statistical number that each team should want to make for the upcoming season.

Much like many of our very own New Years’ resolutions, it involves a reduction in one aspect or an increase in another. (Except mine, of course, since I am at peak levels to be the first 45-year-old rookie long snapper in CFL history!)

I took the opportunity to look at 25 of the major factors/statistics that are tracked by the CFL. I will not bore everyone by listing each and every statistical category, but I can assure you that they are all covered. I left the “Captain Obvious” ones aside. So to those that are wont to say: “More Wins and Less Losses” or “Score More Points Than Your Opponent”, need not leave those sentiments in the comments section. I also did my best to stay away from those statistical measurements that encompass more than two other factors.

So, what is that one number? That one statistical measurement that stands out amongst the 200 statistics and comparisons for each team that is an eyesore compared to all the others?

As Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod would say: “There Can Be Only One!”

Ottawa RedBlacks

In their inaugural season, unsurprisingly, the RedBlacks were ranked last in many statistical categories. You could point to most any individual number and say that they need to improve that particular fragment of the game. Yet, one number does stand out versus all the others: Points Off Turnovers.

No matter which way you slice and dice it, points off turnovers were a significant factor for the CFL’s newest franchise. The RedBlacks scored the fewest in the league, with 38, while they also gave up a league-leading 117 points after a turnover. The 79 points in the negative is a differential of 55 more than the next-worst team. They gave up 154 per cent more than the average CFL franchise while scoring almost 30 per cent less.

Closing the gap, or even better, reversing the differential in Points Off Turnovers would definitely improve Ottawa’s fortunes in 2015.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Not only did it seem like the Bombers took one step forward while then taking two steps back in 2014, the numbers prove it. Winnipeg led the league in the area of Team Losses by a very large margin, as they incurred a whopping 637 yards against which was almost 55 per cent more than the average CFL team.

These Team Losses can mostly be attributed to quarterback-sacks-given-up – which the Bombers also led the league in – but they are also a result of fumbles behind the line of scrimmage, as well as bobbled snaps and safeties surrendered. Yet they are losses all the same and in order for Winnipeg to take continuous steps forward they must keep from taking losses and moving backwards.

Toronto Argonauts

It was not hard to get a grasp on the one area that Toronto needs to improve in from last season. In one word, or rather one phrase: “It’s A Fumble!” (Read in your own Chris Berman Voice!)

Holding onto the ball is definitely one area where the Argos demonstrated difficulty during the 2014 season. The Double Blue lost a league leading 25 fumbles which were five more than the next-worst team and 70 per cent more than average team.

But it is in the area of differentials that things get even worse for the Boatmen. While only recovering 12 fumbles from their opponents, the resultant -13 was the worst league-wide by eight more than the next team.

Toronto must get a handle on this number, and more importantly get a better handle on the actual pigskin, in order for their prospects to improve in the upcoming season.

BC Lions

For an average team overall, it would not come to anyone’s surprise that most of their statistics would hover around the mean, to the exception of one in particular. That would be the differential between Average Yards Per Rushing Attempt, both for and against.

While the Lions were not the worst team as far as running the ball – sixth in a nine-team league – the fact that they were the seventh team against the rush definitely compounds the ground game differential and magnifies the problematic issue, which resulted in the Leos finishing in second-last place as far as variance between offensive and defensive rush differential.

Not being able to rush the ball effectively, nor stop the other team from running rampant, affected so much of BC’s overall game in 2014. This factor must be addressed next season if the Lions hope to be in a position of dictating and controlling the game, and not being dictated and controlled by their opponents.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

It is fairly surprising with receivers like Weston Dressler and Rob Bagg that the Roughriders ranked last in the league as far as Yards After Catch or YAC.

When Saskatchewan had the ball their YAC was 48 per cent less than the average CFL franchise. When their opponents had possessed the pigskin, they gave up almost 13 per cent more Yards After Catch. The result was a league leading -67 per cent as far as differential between the yards they gained and the yards they gave up after a reception.

This simply cannot be explained by the absence of Dressler for the first part of the season. It had to be something more in the manner of play calling and design. Someone better write YAC with a big Sharpie and post it on new offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine’s office door!

Montreal Alouettes

Although many of the Alouettes’ worst statistics revolved around their passing game, this was due in large part to the revolving door behind centre during the first half of the season. But the one number that remained consistently poor was in the area of special teams and Average Total Returns.

Montreal ranked last in the league as far as both punt and kick returns and the total return game. The Als’ punt returners produced 30 per cent less yards on average than their league counterparts. Those tasked with returning kickoffs and missed field goals were 20 per cent less productive on average. This resulted in the overall return game for the Larks being 21 per cent below the league average.

Head coach Tom Higgins relinquishing control and hiring a dedicated coach for special teams will undoubtedly help improve what was a surprisingly poor return game for a team that has usually been quite good in this area.

Edmonton Eskimos

With a 12-6 regular season record, it is not surprising that the Eskimos were amongst the top in many statistical categories. In fact, other than an inability to beat their provincial rivals, it was hard to find a major flaw in Edmonton’s on-field product. Then all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little orange flag and I instantly knew where the Eskimos needed to improve from this past season to the next.

Edmonton was the most penalized team in the league with a 20 per cent differential in Penalty Yards Against them versus penalty yards assessed to their opponents.

Some would say that this is a by-product of the type of on-the-edge team and game that head coach Chris Jones encourages, but it is clear that the Eskimos need to be more disciplined in their aggressive play if they are to take the next step and challenge their fellow Albertan brethren.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Oskee-Wee-Wee. Oskee-Waa-Waa. Holy Mackinaw. The Tiger-Cats’ Red-Zone Offense was really flawed!

For a team that won the East Division and appeared in the Grey Cup for the second year in a row, it is somewhat surprising how dreadful the Ti-Cats were in scoring touchdowns once getting into their opponents’ scoring zone. Hamilton’s 40 per cent touchdown-conversion rate in red zone was a league low and an incredible 33 per cent lower variance than the league average.

The fact that Hamilton was successful overall in 2014 despite scoring too many 3’s when they needed to get 7’s speaks to the fact that they were so good in the area of special teams and big plays. But there is no question that the Ti-Cats must be better next season in converting red-zone opportunities and not rely upon the fast footsteps of a certain speedy return man.

Calgary Stampeders

When I decided to delve into this exercise, I thought that analyzing Calgary’s statistical profile would prove to be the most difficult. In The Year of The Horse, the Grey Cup champs were outstanding in most each and every way on the field and in the numbers. Yet, it didn’t take long for me to find that one number. It practically jumps right out of the spreadsheets screaming; “Look At Me, Rene Paredes!”

The Stampeders ranked seventh in the league in Field Goal Percentage at 73.3 per cent. That is more than 11 per cent lower than the average CFL club.

Perhaps it was an aberration since Rene Parades has been very reliable in his previous years. Nor is it a significant concern when your team is winning by more than 12 points per game. But, it is a situation that can easily prove to be problematic in a very short time. And one that is difficult to remedy since top-notch placekickers are not readily available, especially when you are already set as far as ratio in the kicking game.

I realize that statistics are not the be-all or end-all of measuring a team’s value or success. But when you do a little digging you will be surprised at what you find. In the case of this exercise, I do believe that we have found that one individual number that each of the corresponding teams needs to address and improve upon in the 2015 CFL season.

Annual Year-End Meeting of the CFL Eastern Division Coaches and General Managers Support Group

(Overheard somewhere in the basement of a church in Ontario)

Greetings and welcome everyone to the Annual Year-End Meeting of the CFL Eastern Division Coaches and General Managers Support Group.

A few housekeeping issues before we get down to business.

While we appreciate Tiger-Cat Coach/General Manager/Director of Football Operations Kent Austin only taking up one chair, your demands of a five-yard Halo around your chair makes it difficult for us to have everyone in a sharing circle that we prefer. Also, while we appreciate your attempt to streamlining the title and introduction process to these affairs, “Omnipotent God of all that is Football” is a little much. Can’t we just call you Kent?

Mr. Barker. How many times do I have to tell you that you cannot stand behind me while I am opening the meeting and addressing the group? Please, take your seat in the circle with the others! And can you please tell Mr. Clemons that there are no cameras or media here so his presence is really not required.

Mr. Popp. While we appreciate that you took the advice of the group to actually bring coach Higgins to our gathering this time, can you please do something about him? He seems to be walking aimlessly around the room not really knowing what's going on. And further to the motion you brought forward last meeting, we will not note in the meeting's minutes that you are the General Manager that signed Duron Carter, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter. That is Rod Black's responsibility and a very different meeting.

Mssr. Desjardins. While we respectfully appreciate your suggestion that cookies imported from the United States are a dime a dozen, we would prefer to stay local and support our domestic manufacturers. We, as a group, have also decided that your censure for drafting Marwan Hage, Kevin Glenn and subsequently signing a 40-year-old quarterback shall expire at the end of this meeting.

Okay then – with those items taken care of – let us get onto tonight's agenda!

Since this is our last meeting for 2014, I thought it would be good for us all to make our 2015 New Year's resolutions. Let us start with the reigning Eastern Division Champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Mr. Austin?

Kent?

Oh Omnipotent God of all things that is Football?

For the last time, would you please stop running around pushing people in the back? We get it already! Honestly, we all get it!

Now, are there any New Year’s resolutions that you would like to share with the group Kent?

Well, that’s not really a resolution but we’ll make sure Mr. Proulx receives your sentiments!

Coach Milanovich!!!

Please refrain from speaking while it is someone else’s turn and for the last time watch your language! We understand that Owens and Durie getting injured at a Community Centre Secret Santa Party is upsetting but that is no reason to be that fouled mouthed. In the name of all things Pinball, would you please just shut the heck up!

How about we move on to division runner-ups Montreal.

Tom?

Jim?

That’s a challenge flag Tom – again – not really a resolution. But the effort was indeed appreciated. Please try and keep up.

Thank you Jim, but once more that is not really a resolution. I promise we will put it to a vote in our January meeting that the Alouettes have first right of refusal for all offspring named Rice, Reed, Irvin, Lofton, Swann, Stallworth …

Moving on now. Hopefully there’s a New Year’s resolution in Ottawa?

FINALLY!

Thank you! An actual New Year’s resolution!

But really, don’t be so hard on yourself Marcel. Many of those personnel moves were perfectly unadvisable… err… I mean understandable. At least you did not draft a dead guy like one of your predecessors! That would have been really bad!

I think we should bring things to a close here before things really get out of control. I would like to call on our senior member, Mr. Jim Popp, to stand up and lead us in our closing prayer.

Jim?

Mr. Popp?

Are you standing?

Oh! There you are Jim. You are standing. Sorry about that.

“We, the members of the CFL Eastern Division Coaches and General Managers Support Group do vow to remember that the season begins in June and to not start the season so slowly and go 12 and 28 versus the West.”

And now, as customary, we will pass around David Braley's hat for contributions from the group. Of course Jim and Scott, you are not expected to pay since it has already been deducted from your paycheques!‎

Alrighty then! That concludes the Annual Year-End Meeting of the CFL Eastern Division Coaches and General Managers Support Group. As a reminder, we do not know where we will be meeting in the New Year.

Hopefully Hamilton’s venue will be complete.

The Argos can only offer space on Tuesdays at 2am.

While Montreal is available, we worry that no one will actually show up.

So I guess it will have to be Ottawa! Welcome to the East Division Fellas!

Righting the Good Ship Argonaut

With the Grey Cup in the rear-view mirror, the offseason is now in full swing. Every team faces different challenges, and over the course of the next nine days we will look at each team individually and what they need to do prior to the start of next season. Today, we look at the Toronto Argonauts.

"You are what your record says you are!"

While I agree with Hall of Famer Bill Parcells in his now famous assessment, I will say this: I believe the 2014 Toronto Argonauts were a better team than their results indicated.

I realize that injuries, and player and coaching departures ‎happen to all teams, but the Argos' ship was pirated and ransacked at this time last year. Chris Jones' move out west and subsequent plundering of his former vessel was borderline larceny. In a way I actually felt sorry for Toronto and that is coming from a Tiger-Cats Fan!

That being said, the Double Blue controlled their own fate much of the season and had every opportunity to clinch first place in the East or at least lock-up a playoff position. All of which makes missing out on the playoffs an obvious disappointment for the Boatmen and spells out that they were exactly what their record says they were.

We now know that Ricky Ray was playing with an injured shoulder during the 2014 campaign. That’s not meant to be an excuse for the team's poor performance, but obviously a 100 per cent healthy Ricky Ray at the helm makes the Argos automatically better.

Having many of their other oars repaired and in the water will also greatly help the Boatmen. A healthy Chad Owens, Andre Durie and Anthony Coombs ‎gives the league's best pure passer the weapons he needs to set sail down field and score a boatload of points.

That’s not to say that there will not be any changes to the Double Blue Offense. Five Receivers: Darvin Adams, Jason Barnes, John Chiles, Maurice Mann and Spencer Watt, are set to become free agents in February. Of those, I believe retaining Chiles and Watt is critical for general manager Jim Barker. I don’t see The Gambler Jim being tremendously active in free agency, especially at the receiver position. Barker has found a knack, and a well-deserved reputation, for finding speedsters, playmakers and game-breakers south of the border.

Changes will occur to the boys up front as three of those who were tasked with protecting their franchise quarterback are also poised to hit the open market in 2015. There will be significant interest in Tyler Holmes and it may very well take more money than they are willing to part with in order to keep him from going home to Ottawa. Having former first-round picks Matt Sewell and Scott Mitchell on the roster, and being able to step into starting roles, will help offset such a loss, while keeping the all-important ratio intact.

Offensive linemen SirVincent Rogers and Jarriel King are also slated to hit the open market this winter. While Rogers has been solid at left tackle, I see King as being more important in retaining since he has played multiple positions along the line during his tenure with Toronto.

Yet, it was not the offense or scoring that sunk the Argos in 2014. It was a very leaky defense that ranked near the bottom of every category that was the leading contributor to their swamping and ultimate submerging.

Toronto needs to improve drastically in getting after the opposition quarterback, taking the ball away and not‎ giving up so many big plays. In a sentence, the Double Blue needs more playmakers on the defensive side of the ball.

Defensive back Jalil Carter is drawing attention down south as a wide receiver. If they cannot get the versatile standout to stay in the Big Smoke, his ball skills will have to be replaced. Strong-side linebacker Matthew Ware was also solid in his return to professional football. But at 32-years old, and questions about his future firefighting career, it is unclear whether he will be back in Double Blue.

Odell Willis would be a very interesting acquisition should owner David Braley be willing to loosen the purse strings. Willis has relationships with both Jim Barker, who brought him into the league in Calgary, as well as Defensive Coordinator Tim Burke and Line/Linebackers coach Casey Creehan, thanks to the time the three of them spent in Winnipeg. Toronto has had some flamboyant and controversial mayors in their past – how about another one?

Jerald Brown or Geoff Tisdale would be attractive acquisitions for a sub-par secondary. Montreal may be hard pressed to retain both of these All-Star calibre defenders once they dole out the dollars to S.J. Green and Bear Woods. Having already spent their 2014 salary cap savings on four higher-priced players – Chip Cox, Eric Deslauriers, Nicolas Boulay, and Tyrell Sutton – there might not be enough room under the cap for Brown and/or Tisdale.

However, the biggest challenge that Toronto faces may very well be the turbulent waters that they attempt to navigate going forward off the field. Continued turmoil as far as where they will play in the future needs to be remedied, and the futures of both head coach Scott Milanovich and general manager Jim Barker also have to be solidified.

With an uncertain and cloudy view on the horizon from the quarterdeck, it could be a challenge for Toronto to acquire the recognizable free agents necessary to right the good ship Argonaut.

Grey Cup Rotation System Fairest for All Teams

The Grey Cup is headed back to the west coast as Vancouver will host Canadian football's biggest game in 2014.

This will be the second time in four years and the third time in nine years that the game will be played at BC Place. The only other bid was from Winnipeg, who pulled out to concentrate on bidding on the 2015 game, so Vancouver was the only option.

But the CFL is seeing a stadium-building boom right now – Winnipeg opens their new facility in June, Hamilton and Ottawa should be ready by 2014, and Regina will have their new stadium in 2017 – which means the league should change how the Grey Cup is awarded. Instead of a bidding process, the league should institute a simple rotation system. Here is how I would do it (starting in 2017):

2017 - Vancouver
2018 - Hamilton
2019 - Calgary
2020 - Montreal
2021 - Regina
2022 - Ottawa
2023 - Edmonton
2024 - Toronto
2025 - Winnipeg

This is the fairest system not just for the teams, but also the fans. The game isn't held in the same region of the country two years in a row, the games in domes (2017, 2020, 2024) are spread out enough to ensure the game isn't played in the cold too often (for people who care/worry about that kind of thing), and every team gets the game every nine years.

With places like Hamilton soon able to host the game, all nine CFL cities will be viable candidates for the Grey Cup. It makes little sense to continue to have teams bid on the game when the league can just put in a schedule that sees teams get the game when it is their turn. Once all the stadia are complete, we should never see something like BC (or any city) hosting the game multiple times in less than a decade (let alone multiple times in less than half a decade). If every team can host, every team should host. The CFL has a chance to once again do right by its fans and I hope they make the necessary changes to ensure Grey Cup equality amongst their nine franchises.

Eiben Retires

Changes continue for the Ti-Cats as linebacker Kevin Eiben has announced his retirement.

The former all-star linebacker took to Twitter earlier today to officially announce that he was calling it quits after 12 seasons in the CFL, 11 with the Toronto Argonauts and one with the Ti-Cats:

I would like to thank the Argonauts and Tiger Cats for 12 great years of pro football. Some great times and better friends. #35 is retiring!

— Kevin Eiben (@keiben) March 4, 2013

Eiben wasn't a dominant player anymore, but at his peak, he was hands down one of the best defensive players in the CFL. He was a two-time nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian, and quite possibly the best player to never win that award, a five-time East Division all-star and three-time league all-star. He was also a member of the Grey Cup-winning Argos in 2004.

A lot of great things can be said about Eiben, but maybe the most flattering thing that can be said about him is that he was a player that even Tiger-Cat fans liked (myself included). He was the rarest of players in that respect (you can the number of those on one hand). Eiben was easy to like, even though he mostly wore that hideous blue uniform.

I'm glad Eiben was a Tiger-Cat for one season so I could cheer for him publicly and I wish him nothing but the best in his post-football life.

Ti-Cats Following the Double Blueprint

When teams fail to reach expectations, like the Tiger-Cats did in 2012, sometimes we look for silver linings. We try to find the little things that make the big things seem not so bad.

I could go on once again about the great seasons had by Chris Williams, Henry Burris and Luca Congi. Or I could try to shed light on some underappreciated seasons, like the ones had by Dee Webb, who started all 18 games and did not allow a player he guarded to score a touchdown, or Brian Simmons, who gave up one sack and was called for just three penalties all season.

But that is terrain we've trudged down before. This is something different. Maybe this is me grasping at straws, or maybe this is me just being ahead of the curve. But taking the Tiger-Cats 2012 failures into account, I am starting to wonder if they are following the path of their nearest rival.

Yes, I mean the Toronto Argonauts.

To put the Tiger-Cats terrible season into perspective we have to travel back to 2011. That was the year the current Grey Cup champions went a disappointing 6-12, lost five games by seven or fewer points, missed the playoffs and underwent a drastic makeover. In the off-season, that team acquired itself the head coach it had wanted for over a year, a quarterback that will be headed to the Hall of Fame when his playing days are done and flipped over a roster filled with underachievers. Things didn't go swimmingly at first, and they finished a rather pedestrian 9-9 in the regular season, but they got rolling at the right time and won the ultimate prize.

Now let's look at the 2012 season for the Ti-Cats. They finished a disappointing 6-12, lost seven games by seven or fewer points, missed the playoffs and then made a huge change at the top of the organization. So far this off-season, they have acquired a head coach they have been after for over a year and will go about making over a roster that needs a few tweaks, but no massive overhaul. They, unlike the Argos, don't need to go get a future Hall of Fame quarterback because they already have one, so the Ti-Cats may be better positioned to succeed in 2013 than the Argos were in 2012.

Maybe I'm just an optimist and 13 years of championship-less football hasn't dampened my spirits as much as others. Or perhaps I'm just a fool who tries reading too much into things during the downtime between the Grey Cup and free agency. But there are many similarities between the path taken by the Argos the last two seasons and the one the Ti-Cats look to be on. We'll find out in about 11 months if the end of that path is the same for the Ti-Cats in 2013 as it was for the Argos in 2012.

Three Questions: Toronto Argonauts

The off-season is underway and every team faces questions. Today, I look at three questions concerning the Toronto Argonauts.

1. Can they build on Grey Cup win?
I don't mean on the field, because they seem to be doing a good job of that. But I wonder if the Argos can build their fan base following a championship-winning season. Getting fans to pack the Rogers Centre SkyDome has always been difficult for the Argos. They had the second-lowest attendance average in 2012 and they are only ahead of the Als because Montreal's regular season home holds fewer seats than Toronto's. If the people of Toronto were ever going to fully embrace the Argos, now is the time to do it. They have a talented young head coach and a quarterback still in his prime, so the Argos look like they will be contenders for at least the next half decade. But like everything in Toronto sports that isn't connected to the Maple Leafs, I feel that those who became Argo fans during Grey Cup week will not be there at the start of next season and we'll be back to the same conversation about why Toronto doesn't support the Argos.

2. Will they be able to re-sign Kackert?
A concern that never would have come up a year ago is all of a sudden priority no. 1 for the double blue: can they ink running back Chad Kackert to a new contract? After the release of Cory Boyd, Kackert assumed the starting role and performed more than admirably. In the playoffs, he was a force and was named the MVP of the Grey Cup MVP. The price for his services went up big time after that and he might now be too rich for the Toronto's blood. But they must re-sign him, even if it means cutting players to do so. Kackert may not be a transcendent player, but he is a key cog to what the Argos want to do and they made room for him by releasing, at the time, the league's leading rusher. To let him walk now would be a huge mistake. The Argos need to sign Kackert and I think they probably will.

3. Can they fix their discipline problem?
Despite winning it all, the Argos spent most of the year accumulating penalties at an alarming rate. They employed some of the dirtiest players in the CFL – Ejiro Kuale, Brandon Isaac and Adriano Belli to name just three – and even had a player (Belli) ejected in the Grey Cup! Toronto may have won the Grey Cup, but if they don't fix their discipline issue they won't win a second one next year. With Belli retiring and Kuale being released, it looks like the Argos are serious about cleaning up their act. Isaac will probably remain, but most teams employ at least one line crosser. Cutting ties with the others is a step in the right direction.

10 Things I Learned... In Week 19

And with that, we bid adieu to the 2012 CFL regular season. Once again, it was a season that showed that as much as we think we know, we really don't know all that much. Aside from BC being the team with the best overall record, did anything play out like expected? Hamilton was supposed to be a Grey Cup contender, not the team with the top pick in next year's draft. Winnipeg was supposed to be a contender and play in a new stadium, not finish with four fewer wins and play the whole season at Canad Inns. Saskatchewan and Edmonton were supposed to struggle, not both make the playoffs. The East was talked about as possibly crossing over into the West, not the other way around. Montreal was old and ready to fall, not win another division title. Calgary was supposed to take as step up with Drew Tate, not Kevin Glenn. And Toronto was supposed to light the league on fire with Ricky Ray, not struggle to get to .500. Basically, it was just another typical season in the wild and crazy (in a good way) CFL.

(1) Parity or mediocrity
Parity is what most professional sports leagues strive for in the 21st century. Most leagues want to have as many teams in the playoff chase as possible and the CFL is no different. But does this hope for parity just bring out mediocrity? Just three teams (BC, Calgary and Montreal) finished the season above .500, while the one (Toronto) finished at .500 and four (Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton) finished under .500 and two of those teams made the playoffs. The salary cap probably plays a role in this as well, but it seems as if the more equal the team are, the worse the football is. There was some great action this year, but I believe the parity that leagues strive for hurts the product more than helps.

(2) Record breaking weekend
Three CFL records went down in the final weekend of the season. JC Sherritt broke Calvin Tiggle's record for tackles in a season, Jon Cornish broke Normie Kwong's record for rushing yards in a season by a Canadian and Chad Owens broke Mike Clemons' record for all-purpose yards. Cornish, who also finished the season as the league's leading rusher, probably had the most impressive record-breaking year. Kwong's record stood for over 50 years and any time a record that old goes down, it is impressive. Sherritt was a beast on defense and it is fitting that he would break Tiggle's record, but it felt less than impressive when he did it on a play that netted the Stampeders a first down. I am not at all impressed with Owens' record because I think picking up a lot of kick return yards is essentially meaningless. But three records went down on one weekend and I can't recall the last time that happened.

(3) Chad Owens celebration was ill-timed
The Argos stopped the game when Owens broke Pinball's record and I am getting a little sick of teams doing this during a game. Owens broke the record near the end of the second quarter, and the game was stopped to honour the feat. I have no problem with teams celebrating the achievements of their players, but do it at a more appropriate time than in the middle of the game. Ceremonies for record-breaking performances should be held after the game, not during it. I didn't like when the game was stopped for Damon Allen, Ben Cahoon or Anthony Calvillo, and I didn't like that it was stopped by Owens. There is a time and a place to recognize records being broken and that time is not with four minutes left in the second quarter.

(4) Allen's rushing record probably safe
Staying on the topic of records, if there is one record that I think is safe, it is Damon Allen's record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Allen is the league's third leading rushing, regardless of position, with over 11,000 rushing yards. For a QB to top that mark, they would have to rush for over 1,000 yards for 11 straight season. I just don't see any QB breaking that mark. Records are made to be broken, but I bet Allen's stands for a very long time.

(5) Damon Allen: the most under-appreciated player in CFL history
Sticking with Allen, it was great to see him finally get into the Hall of Fame (he was eligible last year and was not voted in for some inexplicable reason). I believe that Allen is one of the most under-appreciated players in CFL history and I can't think of a more deserving player to make it into the Hall than Allen. The rest of his induction class was pretty good too (as much as I hate Milt Stegall, the guy was one of the best to ever play the game), but Allen deserved to be in last year and was denied. I can't imagine another player with the résumé of Allen having to wait one second longer than necessary to get into the Hall of Fame. I'm glad he is in now, but this was one year too late.

(6) Lulay's streak ends lamely
Travis Lulay's streak of games with a touchdown pass came to end on Saturday night when he failed to throw a TD in his one quarter of action. Lulay played in what was a meaningless game for the Lions and it was surprising to see BC not play him until he had his streak-continuing touchdown. I know players aren't supposed to play for records, but if Lulay wasn't going to be able to extend his streak, then there really was no point in playing him. There was nothing to gain for playing Lulay, and it was kind of disappointing to see his streak end in such a lame fashion.

(7) Winnipeg says goodbye to Canad Inns
Last week, it was Ivor Wynne Stadium; this week, it was Canad Inns Stadium. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers said goodbye, for real this time, to their long-time home. The Bombers will move, for real this time, into a new stadium next season. Like the Ti-Cats the week before, the Bombers sent their fans home happy with one final win. It is an exciting time to be a CFL fan as new stadia are being built across the league. Winnipeg's will open next year, Hamilton's and Ottawa's the year after, and Saskatchewan will get a brand new facility in 2017. Seeing new homes built shows that the CFL is moving in the right direction.

(8) The Anthony Calvillo bye week
An interesting stat that I saw this week was about Anthony Calvillo and his lack of playing time in the final week of the regular season. Calvillo has thrown a grand total of 17 passes in Week 19 since 2007, and all of those passes came in last year's finale. Calvillo sat out this week's game in Winnipeg and also sat out games in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. This speaks to the success of the Als over the past six years. It also makes me wonder where Calvillo's records would be if he played in those games.

(9) Playoff predictions
I didn't do game predictions this year, part of it was forgetting in Week 1 and part of it was just not wanting to do it (hence me forgetting), but I figured I might as well put out how I think the playoffs will play out. In the West, I think Calgary beats Saskatchewan and then beats BC to head to the Grey Cup. In the East, I like the Eskimos to upset the Argos and then the Als to steamroll the Eskies. That sets up a Calgary-Montreal Grey Cup and I will take the Stamps to win it all. I'm sure I'll be wrong, but that's how I see it all playing out over the next three weekends.

(10) Players of the Week
As much as it is hard to give a guy who threw two interceptions, one which went for a touchdown, and fumbled once, you simply cannot ignore the near 500 passing yards and four touchdowns that Henry Burris threw against the Argos. You don't throw for 497 yards all that often and Burris did just that last Thursday. If the CFL handed out an offensive player of the year award, Burris would win it in a landslide. They don't, so he'll just have to accept being the final player to win offensive player of the week in 2012.

Picking up 11 tackles and one sack is impressive, but when one of those tackles sets a record for the most in a season by any player in CFL history, it is more impressive. JC Sherritt did just that in Calgary on Friday night. Sherritt was a machine all year and will likely be named the top defensive player this year. He made a strong final case for himself by being the best defender on the field this past weekend.

Hit all five field goals and nail a 51-yarder to knock your biggest rival from playoff contention was all in a game's work for Swayze Waters. Waters was huge in Toronto's win over Hamilton and is more than deserving of being name the final week's top special teams player.

The top Canadian was none other than Winnipeg linebacker Henoc Muamba. The top pick in 2011 draft picked up 10 tackles and one sack against Montreal. Muamba has been getting more and more involved on the defensive side of the ball and this type of performance could be a harbinger of things to come for Muamba. Expect big things from this week's top Canadian next season.

Tillman Out as Eskimo GM

The off-field moves continue as we head into the final couple of weeks of CFL action in 2012. First, the Blue Bombers announced the return of Tim Burke (and Joe Mack) for 2013 and now the Edmonton Eskimos, a week before they play the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division Semi-Final, have fired general manager Eric Tillman.

The timing seems a little odd, but this seemed like a move that was going to be made sooner rather than later. After the blunder that was the Ricky Ray trade, the clock was ticking on the Tillman era in Edmonton. He gambled and pretty much lost. The Argos may not have ripped up the league with Ray, and Edmonton did make the playoffs without him, but is their really any doubt who won that deal?

Now the speculation will start up as to where Tillman will land (because with his three Grey Cup rings as a general manager, he will land somewhere). Some say Ottawa and others say Toronto. Dave Naylor squashed the Ottawa part by saying the expansion Ottawa team will not want to look to the past – Tillman was the Renegade GM from 2002-2004 – for their general manager.

The Toronto rumour was slightly squashed by Naylor, but not entirely. he said he spoke to Argo president Chris Rudge and that they haven't had any discussion about hiring Tillman. That doesn't mean that aren't having those discussions right now, just that they hadn't when Naylor talked to Rudge. There are rumours that Jim Barker will not return as Toronto's GM, so Tillman would be an obvious replacement. But if Tillman somehow lands in Toronto, the Ray deal begins to look highly suspicious. I'm not one prone to believing conspiracy theories, but the optics of the Argos hiring Tillman just a year after he gift wrapped Ray to them wouldn't be good.

There is also another team, one near and dear to my heart, that is kind of in the market for a general manager: the Ti-Cats.

Tiger-Cat president Scott Mitchell said in Septmeber that Bob O'Billovich would be leaving his post as VP of Football Operations before the start of the 2014 season. Teh rumours of Obie retiring have come up the last couple of years, but a GM with the the success of Tillman could make the Ti-Cats move up their succession plan. Tillman's track record is impressive, three Grey Cup wins in 14 years as a GM with four different teams. Tillman does make some curious moves – such as trading Ray and, prior to that, trading reigning MOP Kerry Joseph in 2008 – but his Grey Cup rings speak for themselves. While I am not 100 per cent sold on Tillman being the guy to run the Ti-Cats, the team could do a lot worse than him in picking the man to replace Obie.

Wherever Tillman ends up, I don't expect him to be out of work for very long. We'll probably know sooner rather than later where Eric Tillman will cal his football home.

Toronto 43, Hamilton 40

So it's over. Thursday's 43-40 loss to the Argos ends the season for the Ti-Cats. It's a disappointing end to a very disappointing season, but if we're being honest, this team really deserve to make the playoffs. I would have cheered them if they did, but being eliminated now let's us all reflect and admit that this team, this 6-12 team, just wasn't good enough. Wherever you want to place the blame – be it on the defense, Burris' turnovers, Cortez's decision-making, all three or something else entirely – the team as a whole just wasn't the team we thought it would be when the season started.

It's hard to look at positives in a game that ended the season. No matter what the team did tonight, they didn't win and that was the only goal for this evening. That said, two players who can walk with their heads held high are Chris Williams and Avon Cobourne. Both guys played their hearts out. Williams had over 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including his Tiger-Cat record 16th and 17th touchdowns of the season. Cobourne had 98 yards receiving and one touchdown. The running game wasn't working for the Cats, and it pretty much had to be abandoned the entire second half, but Cobourne found a way to contribute.

There are also a lot of people to kick square in the behind as well, and the list is a familiar one in Tiger-Cat losses: Burris, Cortez and the defense. It's hard to kill a guy who puts up nearly 500 passing yards and tosses four touchdowns, but Burris threw another pick six, his third against the Argos this year and fourth overall, and had another fumble turn into points for the opposition. Those 14 points ended up being a big difference in the game. Like most games this season, when Bad Hank reared his head, the team lost.

Cortez also deserves to be raked over the coals as well. His decision to let the clock run down to two seconds before icing the kicker – a lot of good that did – was the cheery on top of his inedible sundae. It was the latest, and final, rookie mistake he made as a head coach. The team lost more than its fair share of games because of coaching mistakes Cortez made, so it is fitting that the final one would literally end their season.

And of course, we end with the defense. I like to consider myself a patient man, and I even like to consider myself a reasonable man even if I let my fandom take over me on more occasions than I'd like to admit, but this final display from a defense that allowed an astounding 576 points was the straw that broke this camels back. To put that number in perspective, it is the most points given up by a team since the Argos gave up a whopping 627 points in 2008 (the Ti-Cats gave up 598 points that season as well). Nothing about the defense worked this season. Nothing. Aside from a couple of decent outings, they simply could not be relied upon. But the worst part of all is that they gave up 36 points (43 total, but seven came off a Burris interception) to the Argos B, C, and D teams. But based on how the unit played all season, it was unreasonable to expect a repeat performance of last week.

So it is fitting that the three culprits behind most of the Tiger-Cat losses this season – untimely and costly Burris turnovers, baffling decisions by Cortez and a horrendous defense – would be the three main reasons behind this final loss.

So now we go into an off-season without a championship celebration in Hamilton. We head into the off-season trying to figure out where it all went wrong. But that is for later; for now, we simply close the book on the 2012 Tiger-Cat season.

Preview: Tiger-Cats at Argonauts

6-11

8-9

And so it has come to this. With the final week of the CFL season here, the Ti-Cats are in a win or else situation in regards to their playoff hopes. Win and the team will still have a chance; lose and the season is over. But just a win tonight won't suffice; the Ti-Cats also need the Calgary Stampeders (quarterbacked by some guy named Kevin Glenn) to beat the Eskimos on Friday night. So if Hamilton leaves Toronto tonight with a 'W', they live for at least another 24 hours.

The Tabbies catch a bit of a break playing an Argo team with nothing to play for. Toronto knows they'll be hosting the East Division Semi-Final on Remembrance Day and a win or a lose will not change that. In fact, these two teams would meet again for that game if everything falls the Ti-Cats way. The Argos are choosing to rest a number of their starters, including quarterback Ricky Ray, running back Chad Kackert and former Tiger-Cat receiver Maurice Mann. Jarious Jackson will get the start, but will only play about one quarter before giving way to Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros. This will basically be a glorified exhibition game for the Argos. But the Ti-Cats can't get too cocky knowing they will be playing a lot of backups. Those guys are looking to prove to the coaching staff that they have a future in Toronto and will be playing hard.

Last week's emotional final game at Ivor Wynne Stadium ended with a Hamilton win, and a rather convincing one at that. The offense did enough in the early part of the game, but it was the defense that set the tone. The object of much scrutiny throughout the season, the Tiger-Cat defense has stepped their game up considerably the last two weeks. They held Winnipeg's offense in check for almost the entire game last Saturday and even managed to find the end zone themselves. Another defensive performance like the ones we've seen the last two weeks will probably be enough to let the Ti-Cats live one more day.

Expect a large contingent of Tiger-Cat fans to make their way to the Rogers Centre SkyDome for tonight's game. Ti-Cat fans always travel well to Toronto, so this could end up being a de facto home game for the Black & Gold. The game gets underway at 7:30PM.

10 Things I Learned... In Week 18

Five of six playoff spots have been secured and all that is left to decide is who will play the Argos in East Division Semi-Final. It is down to Edmonton and Hamilton. A Tiger-Cat win and Edmonton loss means the Ti-Cats head to the playoffs; an Edmonton win or tie or a Hamilton loss means the Eskimos will cross over into the East to play the Argos. Hamilton's game is Thursday and Edmonton's is Friday. It all comes down to the final week.

(1) Emry should have been suspended
Shea Emry was fined for punching Brandon LaBatte in the groin during last week's Montreal-Saskatchewan game. The incident got Emry tossed from the game. This is the third time this season that Emry has been fined by the league and clearly he isn't learning anything or amending his ways. The league needs to find a way to make repeat offenders pay substantially higher fines and/or face suspensions if they continue to act like goons. Acts like Emry's have no place in the game and a mere fine, as he has proven, will do nothing. Emry doesn't seem to care and it is time he faced a stiffer punishment for his constant idiocy.

(2) Brandon Isaac should be suspended
Sticking with dirty players, I was stunned to see Brandon Isaac's helmet-to-helmet hit on Darian Durant go unpenalized. It was as obvious as any such hit all season and I can't believe the refs missed it. Like Emry, Isaac is a repeat offender and because of that he should be suspended for the next game. Clearly the fine he was given after his dirty hit on Buck Pierce did nothing to curtail his dirty ways. The refs need to be reamed out for missing the call and Isaac needs to be put on ice for at least a game.

(3) Glenn should start the rest of the year
Now that Drew Tate has returned from his injury, the question of who should start for the Stampeders has arisen. The answer is easy: Glenn should start the rest of the season and Tate should take the job back in the off-season. Glenn has led the Stamps since halftime of the second game this season, so this is his team right now. Glenn has spent pretty much the entire season developing chemistry with his teammates and one week before the playoffs start is not the time to mess with team chemistry.

(4) Eskimos should start Nichols
Did anyone else see what Matt Nichols did in a quarter of action? He threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns after taking over for an injured (and ineffective) Kerry Joseph. Kavis Reed has always said that Joseph will start in the season finale against Calgary, but Nichols is the future and even with a playoff spot on the line, I think Nichols should be handed the reins. It might cost Edmonton a playoff spot this year, but it could set them up for the next 10 years.

(5) Dressler's uncharacteristic drops
Weston Dressler is not known for dropping too many passes, but he had two very costly ones in Saskatchewan's loss to the Argos. His first big drop was on a two-point conversion attempt. The ball hit Dressler right in the hands, but he couldn't bring it in. That proved costly later when the Riders were trying to score at the end of the game. His second was later in the game one what would have been a first down. Dressler wasn't the sole reason the Riders lost to the Argos, but he had a big hand in it.

(6) Sandro's all too familiar misses
While Dressler deserves some blame for Saskatchewan losing, the bulk of the blame belongs on the shoulders of Sandro DeAngelis. Tiger-Cat fans know all to well about DeAngelis missing makeable kicks, but now Rider fans know the feeling. DeAngelis missed a chip shot 16-yard field goal that proved as costly as any mistake any player made. How far he has fallen from his peak with the Stampeders.

(7) I want more Gord Miller
Last week, I said I wanted to see Rod Smith call more games; this week, I will be saying the same thing about Gord Miller. Miller has called a few games in the past, but he is calling more now because of the NHL lockout. Once the NHL resumes play, either this year or next, Miller will go back to being the voice of the NFL on TSN. Until then, I hope Miller calls more CFL games.

(8) Ray is rollin'
It took longer than hoped for Argo fans, but Ricky Ray seems to have found his groove in Scott Milanovich's offense. Ray has thrown for eight touchdowns in the past two weeks and the first time in his career that he has thrown four touchdowns in back-to-back weeks. Ray is starting to get the offense clicking at just the right time. Even if Toronto doesn't make it to or win the Grey Cup, they have set themselves up to possibly take it all next year.

(9) Calvillo making strong case as best ever
I am sure there are people out there who already consider Anthony Calvillo the greatest CFL quarterback of all time. I still believe Doug Flutie is the best ever, but Calvillo is really starting to make me reconsider my thinking. He has all the career records and just topped Flutie for 5,000-yard passing seasons in a career. When Calvillo finally does hang up his cleats, I might have changed my mind on where he ranks on the all-time list.

(10) Players of the Week
For the second week in a row I am handing my offensive player of the week award to Ricky Ray. Ray came up big for the Argos in their playoff-clinching win in Regina. He went a cool 24 for 30 with 305 yards and four touchdowns. He was great in a crucial game for the Argos and stepped up when the team needed him to do so.

There were three contenders for defensive player of the week. Adam Bighill had eight tackles and two sacks for BC, while Geoff Tisdale picked up two interceptions for the Tiger-Cats. But in the end, Anwar Stewart and his four sacks earn the award. For a guy who was sitting on his couch less than a month ago, he played last week like he hadn't missed any time.

My special teams player of the week is BC returnman Tim Brown. Brown tallied over 200 kick return yards, including a 56-yard touchdown scamper in the second half. It wasn't enough to get BC the win, but it was enough for him to earn the award.

Top Canadian was a little tougher, but Akeem Foster's four catches for 94 yards and a touchdown are enough to give it to him. There were no monster days from any Canadian, but Foster was BC's leading receiver, so the award is his.