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.

A Little Love for "Thick Nik"

I find it very hard to envision Nik Lewis sporting any other colours than the red, white and black of the Calgary Stampeders; however, in 2015, that may be a reality.

Stampeders boss John Hufnagel hasn't expressed very much interest in bringing the Stampeder great back. It doesn't appear as though many other teams are very interested either, as Lewis has been a free agent for an entire week now with very few rumours surrounding his name. The lack of interest in "Geronimo Jones" somewhat baffles me, as I feel like all nine teams should at least check the price tag on Lewis and give him an offer.

First of all, Lewis is one the best to ever catch a football in CFL history. While his production has certainly trailed off recently, he is still just two years removed from nine straight 1,000-yard seasons, something very few players have accomplished.

The biggest question surrounding "Thick Nik" is if he'll ever be able to bounce back from the his broken fibula that ended his season prematurely in 2013. This will be Lewis' first offseason since he suffered the injury where he won't be rehabbing his leg and can focus solely on his game, something he admits the injury prevented him from doing prior to the 2014 campaign.

Lewis has also stated that the injury affected his speed and route running at the beginning of last season, but he felt like he regained his step near the end and, as a result, played more snaps in October and November than he did in July and August. Even if Lewis' ankle injury is a thing of the past, what can teams realistically expect from him on the field?

While playing limited snaps thanks to Calgary's loaded receiving corps, Lewis managed to haul in 400 yards and three touchdowns in 2013 prior to the injury and followed that up with 37 receptions for 377 yards in 2014. Keep in mind, at 32 years old, Lewis isn't that old and could contribute a solid 500 yards on a team where he wasn't the odd-man out every time his team needed to start a Canadian because of ratio issues. Lewis is also known for his big blocks downfield, something that age or a broken fibula can't take away from him. Around 500 yards from Nik Lewis would be a bonus, as it's what he brings on the sidelines and away from the field that makes him worth the money.

You know exactly what you are getting from Nik Lewis away from the field as a teammate and a person: a winner, a well-respected leader, a motivator, a competitor and an outgoing personality that's always entertaining and good for a quote. Lewis would walk in on the first day of training camp and already have the respect of his peers. He'll be in a position to immediately mentor the younger players with 11 seasons under his belt and he's also a two-time Grey Cup champion that brings a winning attitude to the organization, something Winnipeg and Ottawa both could use. Best of all, you could get all this on a rental contract with a low price.

We know Nik Lewis is willing to accept a smaller role on another team. He sat in the backseat in 2014 with Calgary and not once did you hear the nine-time 1,000-yard receiver complain. Nik understands he's nearing the end of his career and his best days are behind him, so I expect his asking price to match his role as a depth receiver. That asking price also may have dropped by now with few teams expressing interest while Nik still wants to play another year. Lewis would slot in as the fourth or fifth receiver on most teams, which would make 500 yards from the big-guy very impressive and worth every penny.

While many teams have made it clear they don't plan on signing any more international receivers in free agency, I still fully expect Nik Lewis to find a new home come June. In fact, all nine teams should be showing interest in Thick Nik. There won't be any bidding wars over the 32-year old, but likely some offers from teams looking to go on a Grey Cup run or are looking for an experienced veteran that brings just as much, if not more, to the table off the field than on it.

As weird as it would be to see Nik Lewis playing a game without the horseshoe on his helmet, I can only hope it's my team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, that picks up the always entertaining, 240-pound pass-catcher from Southern Arkansas.

Nik Lewis provides more than just touchdowns and big blocks, and I assume other teams know that and take a chance on the Stampeders legend.