CFL: The CFL Thread: Part V

[Holden Caulfield]

Okay with the regular season right around the corner, I want to hear some predictions:
1) Standings
2) GC winner
3) MVP
4) Breakout Performer

GO!

1)
Cgy 12-6
Wpg 12-6
BC 11-7
Edm 11-7
Ssk 7-11

Ham 10-8
Tor 9-9
Ott 5-13
Mtl 4-14

BC 21 @ WPG 31
Edm 34 @ Tor 15

Wpg 24 @ Cgy 21
Edm 45 @ Ham 41

Wpg 34 v Edm 28

Don't take me too seriously, pre-season has barely started haha.

2) Winnipeg. Feels like our year finally. Big question mark is of course at QB for Bombers. Are we getting 2018 Nichols or 2017 Nichols? 2017 Nichols with this roster wins the Grey Cup, IMO. 2018 Nichols ends in a similar spot as last year. Hopefully Streveler continues to develop he is certainly the long term hope in Winnipeg.

3) Bo Levi of course. Can't believe he didn't take his shot down south I have no doubt he could be a decent NFL QB.

4) It's hard to predict this league wide, Imo. I'll go for Bombers only. From what I've heard from camp it's going to be Lucky Whitehead. Former Dallas Cowboys KR/PR he is one of the fastest players most have seen. They are already figuring out offensive plays to use his speed, he has the potential to be a Chad Owen's type (starts as a returner then moved into offensive role).

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Okay with the regular season right around the corner, I want to hear some predictions:
1) Standings
2) GC winner
3) MVP
4) Breakout Performer

GO!

I'll see how the rest of camp shakes out and which key injuries occur before final predictions, but I'll say this much: Hamilton finishing 1st in the East feels like a foregone conclusion. I think the Argos are going to be decent with a better coach (Trestman is/was one of the most overrated coaches in recent history), but with the questions at QB, probably still only a 7 or 8 win team. Montreal is going to be hard pressed to hit 6 wins, and honestly I think the Redblacks are in the same boat. Unless Marcel Desjardins did one hell of a recruiting job, I can't see them posting a winning record. There are holes all over the place on that roster after the free agency exodus.

Unless Masoli gets hurt, there's no way Hamilton is worse than a 10 or 11 win team, and that should comfortably win the East. I think Steinhauer is going to be a good coach. Sucks that June Jones bolted back down south instead of sticking around to run the offense, but they've got plenty of returning pieces and a maturing QB.

For any fellow investors out there, a certain sportsbook has listed Hamilton at +140 to finish 1st in the East. That is a gift IMO.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Holy bias.

West:

1. Calgary (13-5)
2. BC (12-6)
3. Edmonton (10-8)
4. Winnipeg (9-9)
5. Saskatchewan (6-12)

East:

1. Hamilton (11-7)
2. Toronto (6-12)
3. Ottawa (5-13)
4. Montreal (2-16)

This is gonna be the ugliest east i can remember, and that's saying something

Playoffs

Semis:

Winnipeg over Toronto
BC over Edmonton

Divisional finals:

Hamilton over Winnipeg
BC over Calgary

Grey Cup:
BC over Hamilton

MVP: Masoli

Breakout performer: Chris Strevler after it becomes apparent Matt Nichols can't do **** without a league best o-line

 

[Mightygoose]

League buys the Wettenhal family out and officially take over the Alouettes.

https://www.tsn.ca/cfl-taking-ownership-of-montreal-alouettes-1.1314812

Speaking with potential ownership groups, my understanding 4 of them. Preferred one is still least by Vince Guzzo, but still 'conflicts with those involved in the deal'..

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Holy bias.

West:

1. Calgary (13-5)
2. BC (12-6)
3. Edmonton (10-8)
4. Winnipeg (9-9)
5. Saskatchewan (6-12)

East:

1. Hamilton (11-7)
2. Toronto (6-12)
3. Ottawa (5-13)
4. Montreal (2-16)

This is gonna be the ugliest east i can remember, and that's saying something

Playoffs

Semis:

Winnipeg over Toronto
BC over Edmonton

Divisional finals:

Hamilton over Winnipeg
BC over Calgary

Grey Cup:
BC over Hamilton

MVP: Masoli

Breakout performer: Chris Strevler after it becomes apparent Matt Nichols can't do **** without a league best o-line

Bc after completely blowing their load on 3 players isnt winning Grey Cup. They dont have the depth. They are one injury away from being Montreal or Ottawa. But you never know I suppose.

Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton are the Grey Cup favourites, imo. Bc and Toronto are the outside chances. Ottawa, Saskatchewan and Montreal are the longshots.

You also have a -14 win differential. Meaning that at there's at least 7 more wins out there than you proposed. Can't have 4 teams barely above .500 and 4 teams WAY below .500.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

In my initial run-through of the schedule I had all 5 Western teams projected at 8 to 12 wins. It's going to be a year where anyone can beat anyone else in the division and I don't see any particularly dominant or weak teams.

It's hard to imagine Calgary won't take a step back after losing arguably their 4 best defensive players, but Huff always finds the next man up. True to form, they pitch a shutout tonight. Sask's offense looks to be another dog's breakfast, mind you.

I like what I saw out of Winnipeg's QBs tonight. Bryan Bennett looks really confident in the pocket and zips the ball out of there quickly. If a starter goes down elsewhere, I expect the Bombers phone to be ringing with inquiries about this guy or Streveler.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I'm gonna go back and watch the PVR of Hamilton-Ottawa sometime today or tomorrow, but at a glance that looks really bad on Ottawa. They dressed a pretty full roster and still lost despite housing a kickoff.

 

[tony d]

Should be another fun season in the CFL. Will be interesting to see who does what.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

What's with all this Eskimos love? They were already a mediocre team last year and they got worse at every position in the off season.

 

[kovacro]

Ticats should be hosting the Eastern Final this year. I can’t see any of the other clubs in the East being able to match Hamilton’s Canadian depth as they are loaded everywhere, especially on both sides of the line.

Getting Van Zeyl was massive and also getting Ryker Mathews back really solidified that Oline.

The depth at WR is incredible. I think they may have unearthed another gem in Jaelon Acklin. He could be their nominee for ROY.

IF they can stay fairly healthy, they have an excellent shot at representing the East in the GC.

I think getting Reinbold to come back to the Hammer as ST coach will be huge. When he was here last, the special teams were very strong.

For funzies..

East: 1. Hamilton, 2.Ottawa, 3.Toronto, 4.Montreal.

West; 1. Winnipeg 2. Calgary 3. B.C 4. Edmonton 5. Sask.

Grey Cup: Winnipeg v Hamilton

 

[kovacro]

What's with all this Eskimos love? They were already a mediocre team last year and they got worse at every position in the off season.

They have already lost one of their prized FA signings for an indefinite period of time in OL Sir Vincent Rogers (torn tricep). That’s a huge loss.

I’m gonna say either Larry Dean or Don Unamba bust. I don’t see both working out for the Eskies.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

What's with all this Eskimos love? They were already a mediocre team last year and they got worse at every position in the off season.

I would say they got stronger at linebacker and in the defensive backfield. Anthony Orange and Don Unamba are a significant upgrade on Chris Edwards and Aaron Grymes, both of whom were atrocious in 2018 (actually Edwards has been awful his entire career, no clue how he kept a roster spot for years). Larry Dean and Jovan Santos-Knox should also be an improvement over JC Sherritt (great career, but got old) and Adam Konar (constantly injured). And Jordan Hoover can't be any worse than Neil King was at the free safety position. Overall, I believe this defense should be no worse than average, and potentially pretty good if they stay healthy.

Offense is another story. Losing SirVincent is a crippling blow to an O-line that was already looking thin. And while I don't mind the personnel elsewhere, they will forever be stifled by Jason Maas' bad scheming, poor play calling, and just general incompetence from the sideline. I see this as a 10-win roster than will be coached down to 8 wins. There are going to be a lot of close games in the West this year, and Maas has shown repeatedly that he'll make the wrong call at a crucial time to lose the game.

 

[tony d]

I expect the Eskimos to hover around .500. Will that be enough to make the playoffs I wonder?

 

[Fish on The Sand]

I expect the Eskimos to hover around .500. Will that be enough to make the playoffs I wonder?

You and Kyle are far more optimistic than me. I see them as a 6 or 7 win team at best.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

You and Kyle are far more optimistic than me. I see them as a 6 or 7 win team at best.

Barring significant injuries, I can't see any Western team doing as poorly as only 6 wins. They all have six games the Als, Redblacks, and Argos...that should be at least 4 wins right there for everyone. Are the Eskimos (or anyone else) going to go 2-10 against the rest of the league? I think that's doubtful. 4-8 is a more realistic number. I think 5th place in the West still gets to 8-10 on the season.

 

[tony d]

You and Kyle are far more optimistic than me. I see them as a 6 or 7 win team at best.

Have to see what happens, they're a team you should never count out. Probably won't win the Grey Cup this year but I can see them getting 8-10 wins.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

It's been a hell of a long winding road for Vernon Adams Jr, but he is looking good in this pre-season game. A true Casey Printers type scrambler he is probably the best fit for that awful Alouettes team this year. Sounds like they are going with Pipkin though. Honestly though I don't think QB will be their downfall, decent potential guys there.

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Alouettes gong show continues: Mike Sherman and the team part ways. Khari Jones is the interim HC.

The season starts in like 5 days. Just wow.

 

[Mightygoose]

Interim head coach with interim ownership.

Wow, what a circus in Montreal right now. Never felt sorry for Als fans more than ever.

How much money is the league saving on this move? It's a cleaner slate for new ownership once they take over...punting Reed will make it even cleaner.

 

[robertmac43]

The Als do have a somewhat cool new logo though...so thats a plus...

 

[Kyle McMahon]

So Kavis and Sherman decide to part ways after agreeing that Mike hasn't figured out the Canadian game. I'm just shocked that a 65-year old coach with millions of dollars in the bank wasn't spending hours a day during the off-season figuring out how to be better at the lowest paying job he's probably had in 20 years.

At least Khari Jones is very familiar with the Canadian game and has plenty of experience as a coordinator. That should help. But now you have a guy in his first head coaching gig who will simultaneously be running the offense, all with precisely 6 days notice that he is in fact running the sideline. The other concern is that Jones hasn't ever really run offenses that were any better than average. His track record in BC was only okay-ish. Hard to judge him last year considering the personnel he had to work with, but those personnel aren't looking any better this year. Going to be another long season in Montreal by the looks of it.

 

[Scott Stevens]

So Kavis and Sherman decide to part ways after agreeing that Mike hasn't figured out the Canadian game. I'm just shocked that a 65-year old coach with millions of dollars in the bank wasn't spending hours a day during the off-season figuring out how to be better at the lowest paying job he's probably had in 20 years.

At least Khari Jones is very familiar with the Canadian game and has plenty of experience as a coordinator. That should help. But now you have a guy in his first head coaching gig who will simultaneously be running the offense, all with precisely 6 days notice that he is in fact running the sideline. The other concern is that Jones hasn't ever really run offenses that were any better than average. His track record in BC was only okay-ish. Hard to judge him last year considering the personnel he had to work with, but those personnel aren't looking any better this year. Going to be another long season in Montreal by the looks of it.

I will always respect Mike Sherman for getting in Warren Sapp’s face for cheapshotting Chad Clifton.

 

[hoglund]

I expect the Eskimos to hover around .500. Will that be enough to make the playoffs I wonder?

They should get the crossover, Montreal and Toronto suck and Ottawa has lost many good players to Edmonton. I'd be surprised if there isn't a crossover this year and I think Edmonton will do it this year.

 

[shmglsky]

They should get the crossover, Montreal and Toronto suck and Ottawa has lost many good players to Edmonton. I'd be surprised if there isn't a crossover this year and I think Edmonton will do it this year.

It's gotten to the point where making the playoffs doesn't matter anymore. With Montreal being a perennial bottom feeder you're practically guaranteed to make the playoffs in the East. Going to an One Division playoff format would solve this, make making the playoffs in the East worth something if it was a challenge, but the league is stuck in the East versus West mindset.

 

[hoglund]

It's gotten to the point where making the playoffs doesn't matter anymore. With Montreal being a perennial bottom feeder you're practically guaranteed to make the playoffs in the East. Going to an One Division playoff format would solve this, make making the playoffs in the East worth something if it was a challenge, but the league is stuck in the East versus West mindset.

The CFL needs to keep East vs West for the Grey cup so the whole country stays interested, if you had two West teams in the Grey cup they'd lose half their viewers, similarly if two East teams were in the finals.