Tomorrow the 2-1 Alouettes roll into town to take on the 3-0 Roughriders in a battle of division leaders and the CFL's two most potent offenses. For the 10th straight time at Mosaic Stadium, the game will be played in front of a sold-out crowd.
Darian Durant will once again get the start for the Riders as Marcus Crandell is still not 100%. This will be a big test for Durant. We will find out if he is indeed the bright young QB prospect we've been hoping for or if he's just another Rocky Butler -type who only manages to look good when playing Hamilton. I'm thinking it's the former but after watching Hamilton play last night, I'm taking a wait and see approach.
Injuries continue to be a big story. The Riders list of walking wounded seems to grow each week. We are currently without Marcus Crandell, Chris Szarka, DJ Flick, Weston Dressler and Leron Mitchell. I'm glad that we have so much depth on this team but I would be a lot happier if we weren't testing the limits of that depth so early in the season. Can you imagine if we start 4-0 despite missing our starting QB, FB, kick returner and last year's top receiver?
The Alouettes come into this game with some injuries of their own. OL Dave Mudge is sidelined with a knee injury. Despite a gruesome looking pinky dislocation last week, Anthony Calvillo will be playing. Calvillo must really be embracing life in Montreal because his pinky did its best impersonation of Quebec and tried unsuccessfully to separate from the rest of the hand.
What do Damien Anderson, Joe Smith and Jesse Lumsden have in common? All 3 are starting RBs who have played us and are no longer playing: Smith and Lumsden due to injury and Anderson due to being replaced. Warning to Avon Cobourne! I would not play on Saturday if I were you. We seem to be like the kiss of death for starting RBs.
Our defense has yet to allow a passing TD, though that is mainly because Hamilton has no passing game and Jarious Jackson sucks. They will be put to the test this week though. Calvillo has been paying well so far and has a dangerous group of receivers led by Kerry Watkins. They key to this game will be taking away the deep passes and forcing the Als to grind it out with us. The Als are such an old team that if we force them to fight for every inch and go toe to toe with them, by the start of the 4th quarter they will likely throw in the towel and head back to the locker room to apply bengay and watch Matlock.
Honestly the Riders have already outlasted the league's best QB in Ricky Ray, the league's best defense in BC and the league's best RB in Jesse Lumsden, what more can you really throw at us?
I've always said that being a Rider fan would be the death of me and this Saturday was further evidence to that theory. I love an exciting back and forth CFL game that goes down to the wire as much as the next guy but they are not easy on the old ticker. That's two in row now. If this keeps up I will be doing my posts from the cardiac unit by mid-season.
What a game though! While it was a lot closer than I was hoping, all's well that ends well. Hamilton is looking more and more like a respectable team. I won't go as far as to say they are there yet, mainly because I believe that to be classified as a respectable team you have to have at least one passing TD in 3 games, but they are getting there. Their improvement has been mainly due to the strong play of Jesse Lumsden... well okay let's be fair... it's entirely due to Jesse Lumsden (who looks like the greasiest piece of white trash I've seen in some time, although maybe it's the grease that makes him so hard to bring down). On Saturday Lumsden made the best run D in the league look very mediocre... I'm hoping that is a reflection of Lumsden's talent more than a reflection of the strength of our run defense. But other than Lumsden, Hamilton didn't have a whole lot going for them... though if you ask Marcel Bellefeuille he will tell you it was due to the absence of Jason French.
So that Durant guys is kinda good. He hit a 31 yd pass to Corey Grant to open the game and never looked back. Watching him play, you wouldn't have thought it was his first pro start. He showed poise and executed the offense well. He was by no means perfect, but when a guy throws 2 TDs, over 300 yards, 0 INTs and isn't sacked once, I'd say he had a damn fine performance. Were it not for Andy Fantuz doing his best Steven Jyles impersonation we would have had 0 turnovers. It seems that Double D (as his teammates refer to him) has the ability to be more than just a career back-up. He's got the skills to make it as a starter. While I'm used to saying that I am a big fan of Double D's, this is the first time I used that phrase in a football context.
Speaking of breakout performances, how about Weston Dressler? He had a huge game. 6 catches for 122 yards and a TD. And that run in the 4th quarter was a thing of beauty. I had to chuckle when the Hamilton fans erupted upon hearing that it was no TD only to be devastated by the news that we still got the ball on the 1. Though it's hard to fault them for not knowing the rules when their head coach apparently doesn't either. Note to Charlie Taffe: You can't challenge with less than 3 minutes left, especially when the booth already reviewed it. As for Dressler, it looks like he's the real deal. That kid is faster than a greased Lumsden. Hopefully his hamstring doesn't keep him out too long because I think his performance against Hamilton was only the beginning for this young speedster.
Here's my big question from the game Saturday. How is a team supposed to cover our offense? I mean, we get down close to the goal line, and the Hamilton Defense is doing everything they can to make sure Wes Cates doesn't run the ball in, all while desperately trying to throw blanket coverage on any number of talented receivers. But even when they have that taken care of, they still forget about Neal Hughes (might want to watch him) and the offensive legends known as Mike McCullough and Luc Mullinder! They were wide open!
So where are all the so-called experts now? You know, the ones who predicted that the Riders would fall to the CFL's basement. The ones who assumed that Austin, Joseph, Perry and Hunt were irreplaceable. The ones who had no faith in the "no-names" we brought in this offseason. Those "experts" who were very vocal coming into the season have gone mysteriously silent. Maybe it's because for the past 3 weeks the "doomed to fail Riders" have been proving them wrong. Then again maybe they haven't gone silent at all it's just that it's too hard to hear them from all the way up here in first place.
Around the CFL...
The Toronto gong-show continues. Back-up Michael Bishop has now been reduced to playing only when Joseph's hand it hurt or when he needs to get something from the locker room. All the while he wears a look on his face that makes it seem like everyone forgot his birthday. Also, a message to all you misguided fools who think it would be a good idea for us to pick up Bishop: Crandell will be back in a week or 2 and Durant is obviously quite capable in his absence. Besides, if we wanted a mobile QB with a cannon for an arm who is prone to poor decisions and mistakes, we already have Steven Jyles who's younger, cheaper and his voice is far less irritating.
Lastly, I would like to make a brief comment on the Blue Bombers...I haven't seem a performance as embarrassing as Winnipeg's since Hulk Hogan starred as Mr. Nanny. That is all.
Good morrow Rider fans. Rider Prophet here covering what has certainly been an eventful week leading up to our weekend clash with Hamilton.
There was some roster shuffling going on this week and it started with a trade on Monday. The Riders traded Ron Flemons back to the Argos along with a 5th round pick in 2011 for receiver TJ Acree, a 3rd round pick in 2011 and the neg rights to DE Brian Smith. The loss of DJ Flick coupled with the fact that Flemons had so far failed to impress (or even crack the game day roster) led to this deal. Acree is an okay receiver, though maybe his recent performance was more a product of being stuck in an Eskimos offense (where no one looked good) than his skill level. I don't mind this trade as it gives us some added depth at receiver and moving up in the draft is always a good thing (even if the draft is 3 years away). You know Tillman has already scouted high school players for that draft and realized that the guy he has his eye on simply won't be available by the 5th round. The average GM has to predict how well a potential draft pick's skills will translate into professional success, but Eric Tillman's life is even more complicated since he also has to predict growth spurts.
It was also announced that CB Arabin Justin was released. I was disappointed to hear this. Justin was easily our best DB last year behind Eddie Davis and his blanket coverage was a thing of beauty. This year though, the return of Omarr Morgan reduced Justin to a back-up who still earned a starter's salary. With the emergence of newcomers Denatay Heard and James Patrick, who are both very capable and far cheaper, it became hard to justify keeping Justin around. I hate to see him go and wish him the best of luck (unless he catches on with another CFL team in which case I hope he plays like crap). But really, did you ever think you'd see the day where Omarr Morgan was a cheaper alternative at CB?
Now on to this week's game where the 2-0 Riders look to remain undefeated against the 1-1 Ti-cats...
Of course all the talk all week has been about our QB situation. With Crandell on the limp, questions have abounded about our QBs. Man, how quickly people's tunes change. Coming into the season all the talk was about how Crandell is old and we need to give our young guys a shot. Now, 2 weeks later, Crandell is hurt and the same people say our young guys aren't good enough and we need to trade for another veteran QB. My question is why? Crandell is only supposed to be out 1-2 more weeks and it would take a newly acquired QB at least that long to start learning our playbook. I'll admit Durant looked less then spectacular last week, but he did enough to win. I guarantee with a full week of practice under his belt, Durant will do just fine under centre.
Our possible need for a new QB has not gone unnoticed as out of work QBs from around the league have been making their availability known. The recently retired Damon Allen has said he would be interested if the Riders gave him a call (No thanks Damon. Please return to playing bingo and drinking prune juice or whatever it is you senior citizens do). Also sources say there was a message from former Rider Rocky Butler on Eric Tillman's answering machine that said "Hey Mr. Tillman, I hear you may be in need of a QB. Just wanted to let you know I'm ready to go if you need me this week in Hamilton. Believe me, if there's one thing I can do, it's beat the Ti-cats."
Even though we are starting a young QB I still like our chances against the Ti-cats. Granted, Hamilton actually looked like a legitimate team last week for the first time in ages but that performance must be taken with a grain of salt. The Argo offense is absolutely brutal and their defense seemed to be doing their best impression of a treadmill, letting Hamilton run all over them.
While Hamilton does have a pretty solid run game with Lumsden, Smith and Printers, I don't see them having anywhere near the success they had last week when matched up against the best run D in the league. That will force them to rely on their passing game which features such receiving threats as Pat Woodcock and Jason French (who's ears are probably still ringing form the hit he took last week). Given the recent play of our D and the offensive weapons we have I see no reason that the Riders won't move to 3-0.
Riders by 14.
Elsewhere in the CFL...
The BC Lions have released TJ Stancil due to a lingering knee injury. This news surprised me. Not the fact that Stancil has a lingering injury, he's been that way for years. The surprising thing was the fact that he was released. Usually players with perennial injuries in BC end up playing QB.
Lastly, the QB controversy in Toronto took an interesting turn last night when the Argos placed Michael Bishop on waivers. Odds are they are just trying to see if anyone else is interested in him in the hopes of working out a trade but one way or another this likely spells the end of Bishops' time in Toronto. The damage has already been done though. The Argos are a team divided. Rich Stubler and Arland Bruce are big Bishop supporters while Pinball and a few of the other receivers have sided with Joseph. The defense is somewhere in the middle and pretty much hates all of the offense because they suck so much.
Well, the good news is that we won. And what a win at that! If you would have told me before the game that we would lose our starting QB and suffer 2 broken legs all before half-time and only manage 196 total yards in the game, I would have skipped watching the game and gone straight to drowning my sorrows with rye. Turns out despite all that adversity, the Riders dug deep and pulled out a gutsy win against the favoured Lions, who are now 0-2 (man that's feels awesome to say, Lions 0-2).
Once again hats off to our defense who are proving that they are one of the best defensive groups in the league. They kept the game close in the first half and then completely shut down the Lions offense in the 2nd, allowing 0 points and barely any yards. Through 2 games, the defense has allowed the fewest yards and points in the league... I guess Tillman knew what he was doing when he let Perry and Hunt go. Go figure. The D came up with some big plays, like the stuff on 3rd and 1 and the Lance Frazier INT... though according to Carm Cateri it was James Johnson who got the pick. Not the first time that an announcer has called the wrong name after a big play, but it's not often that a player wins defensive player of the game honours due to a case of mistaken identity.
On that subject, it wasn't a great night for the announcers overall. In addition to the defensive player of the game faux pas, Carm also managed to misdiagnose DJ Flick's injury as a separated shoulder - despite the fact that the trainers were trying to stabilize his leg as he was carted off the field. Later in the night, TSN viewers got to listen to Rod Black and Duane Forde congratulate Wes Cates on being named the Friday Night Gladiator two weeks in a row, thus leading the league in Movado watches. Shortly thereafter it was brought to their attention that Cates did not win the Week 1 Friday Night Gladiator award, possibly due to the fact that he did not play on Friday night. But just imagine if he had!
It was a good thing the defense locked things down, because our offense struggled to do much of anything. Most of the problems stemmed from Marcus Crandell pulling his hamstring early in the first half. Back-up Steven Jyles then proceeded to attempt to make every QB mistake possible in the smallest amount of time: Errant passes, check. Throwing over the line, check. Failure to manage the clock, check. Interception, double check. He was a fumble away from hitting for the cycle. The underthrow that resulted in a broken leg for DJ Flick was particularly ugly, and if it was me in that situation it would probably also result in a crutch to the back of the face for Jyles at practice this week. Fortunately for the Riders, Ken Miller pulled Jyles in favour of Durant to start the second half. While Durant didn't do anything spectacular, he did manage the game well and more importantly he didn't turn the ball over. He also made a wise decision for a young QB to make... give the ball to your talented running back. Cates made some spectacular runs and ended up accounting for over 2/3 of our total offense.
Another high point from the game was the performance of returner Weston Dressler. This guy will run a few kicks back this year, mark my word. What I like most about Dressler is that even though he's always looking for holes and corners to make a break, he's always running forward, never backwards or side to side. Honestly, Dressler's biggest problem on returns is that he's way faster than his blockers. Did you see that play where he had to slow down and wait for his blockers to catch up? Shows just how fast this guy is.
Of course any talk of the game wouldn't be complete without mentioning injuries. On top of Crandell pulling his hamstring, Leron Mitchell broke his leg and DJ Flick broke his in 2 places in one of the most gruesome plays I've seen in a long time. I haven't seen a leg twist and bend like that since the Stretch Armstrong I had as a kid. Despite our depth at receiver, this will still be a big loss for the Riders. Remember that last year Flick was tied for the league lead in receiving TDs, not to mention that he plays with a ton of heart. As nasty as it looked, early reports are that it will not be career ending which is great news. There is even some speculation that he could be back in time for a playoff run but I won't hold me breath on that one.
Make no mistake - while it wasn't the prettiest win, it was no fluke. Our team overcame some early adversity and earned the win. Many teams would have packed it in when faced with that kind of adversity but the character of this team shone threw and we fought hard to remain undefeated. Honestly there are few things as satisfying as watching Wally Buono lose it on the sidelines. Though with his cholesterol problems I worry about the affect that kind of stress will have on his health.
Around the CFL...
As predicted the Toronto gong show continues to get better with each passing week. The QB controversy continues to intensify. While Stubler did manage to keep one QB on the field the entire game, you could still feel the tension. Bishop sat on the sidelines all game looking like Joseph had run over his dog. Toronto's glaring offensive problems were intensified when for once the defense wasn't able to bail them out. I know a 3-4 defense is susceptible to the run but that was downright embarrassing. Hamilton (who actually looked like a legitimate team for once) had their way with Toronto aside from that one hit Wheaton laid on Jason French. What a hit! Many will say that Wheaton's hit caused an incompletion but in reality the hit just interfered with French dropping the pass on his own. Word is after that dreadful performance Rich Stubler will take over all offensive meetings and will let Joseph start calling his own plays. This makes offensive coordinator Steve Buratto a lock for first coach to be fired this year. And here I thought it would be Maciocia.
I knew Calgary's defense hadn't improved a whole lot. On Thursday night against the Eskimos they looked they Calgary of old, surrendering 448 yards passing. And in keeping with the looking like the Calgary of old theme, Henry Burris certainly played the part. After a solid performance all game including a go ahead TD with just over a minute left, Burris choked under pressure and threw an INT in the dying seconds of the game. Now granted, had the defense not let Edmonton drive the field in under 30 seconds, Burris wouldn't have had to try and win the game for his team BUT all the Stamps needed was a FG to tie and a few short completions would have easily put them in DeAngeles' range. Instead, Burris tried to be the flashy hero like he always does and went for it all on a long TD attempt and ended up throwing an INT. I hope John Hufnagel knows the Heimlich maneuver because Burris is so prone to choking the condition could be classified as chronic.
Good Day Rider fans. Rider Prophet here gearing up for the first road game of the year. This week we must travel out west to face the mighty Lions.
Both teams were the best in the west last year but come into this game with very different circumstances. The Riders are fresh off a big home win and looking to maintain momentum. The Lions are fresh of a pitiful performance and looking to avoid the misery of opening the season 0 and 2. How awesome would that be? The unanimous pick to run away with the west starting 0-2 while the Riders, who many assumed would be in the west basement, open 2-0. BC only lost 3 games last year and unless they start playing like the all-stars they can be, they could match and eclipse that mark less than a month into the season.
The big story for BC (as it always seems to be) is quarterbacking. Buck Pierce managed to hold onto the starter's role for less than half a game before succumbing to injury. Pierce, the trooper that he is, has been practicing hard and contends he's still able to play. Whenever I hear him talk, all I can picture is that scene from Simpsons where Homer is chasing the flying pig. "My shoulders just a little separated. It's still good, it's still good. My rib is just a little cracked. It's still good. It's still good." With Buck falling apart at the seams, the Lions will look to Jarious Jackson once again to lead the offense.
Unfortunately for Jarious, he will not be offered the level of protection he is used to in BC. Sherko Haji-Rasouli is injured and will not be playing. Also, 2 time defending Lineman of the Year Rob Murphy will not be dressing as he has flown back to Florida to be with his wife who just gave birth to triplets. This leaves some big holes on the O-line and should lead to increased pressure on Jarious. With Murphy and Haji-Rasouli out, Jimenez will also be under increased pressure as he will now be solely responsible for on-field violence and general dirty play (though if anyone is up to the challenge it would be Jimenez).
For the Riders the story continues to be Crandell. Despite some struggles, Crandell had a solid game last week and showed he can lead our offense. The question is whether he can do that against a real defense not just the Eskimos. Crandell though will have a lot of help with Flick, Cates, Fantuz and Bowman at his side. He will also have another weapon at his disposal... Matt Dominguez! For the first time in 10 months, #88 will be suiting up this Friday. Dominguez, who was leading the league in receiving at the time of his injury, will provide a huge boost to an already dangerous offense. Seriously, we've got more weapons than Tank Johnson
One thing we will be missing is Wayne Smith, who hurt his shoulder and will sit out in favour of Belton Johnson. No disrespect to Belton but Smith is a big loss. This will be the big test to see if our re-jigged O-line is really the best. BC's front 4 is still the best in the league, even if their performance last week left as much to be desired as the Hamilton cheerleaders. But to be fair, maybe the Lions were just in awe of Rob Lazeo's side boob.
With Jarious at QB and the holes on the O-line there is potential for the Riders to run away with it. But given the level of talent BC has at every other position, I just don't see that happening. I think we match up well with them. Both teams have a great RB, talented receivers and a solid defense. So for me, it boils down to QB... where Crandell wins hands down. Riders by a touchdown.
One last bit of news from around the CFL...
Just when I thought Rich Stubler couldn't get any worse as a head coach, I stumbled across this gem of a story. Following last Thursday's game in which Mike Vanderjagt missed his first 3 FG attempts, Stubler said he believes the Argos have done Vanderjagt a disservice by not practicing on a field fitted with uprights, an oversight that will be addressed... I'm not making this up! It makes me wonder just what Vanderjagt was doing at practice... pretending to kick FGs? There's good coaching for you, let's take a guy who hasn't kicked in the CFL in over a decade and hasn't kicked at all since 2006 and not have him practice kicking through uprights. As smart as Stubler is when it comes to defense, it appears to be balanced off with a complete lack of knowledge for any other aspect of the game.
Well it appears both the Riders and Eskimos picked up right where they left off last season… the Riders playing like champions and the Eskimos … well being the Eskimos. While we didn't have the best start, we did manage to keep it close in the first half and then make halftime adjustments and blow them out of the water and open the season with a win.
The defense had a great game not allowing the Esks to score a major. In fact, we have yet to give up a TD on defense this year when we dress our starters. Keeping Ricky Ray from scoring is no small feat, it's like keeping a prostitute at a basketball players' convention from scoring. The defense also threw some new looks at Ricky Ray, such as the "rush 2 up the middle and drop everyone else" play (no doubt the work of Gary Etcheverry). To be fair, James Johnson had a decent game (and if you know me, you know that I died a little inside just writing that).
The offense took awhile to get going, but once they did, it was a thing of beauty. Once he got those INTs out of his system, Crandell really seemed to get into a groove, nailing some nice passes to Cates, Flick and of course Adarius Bowman who once again made a nice catch in double coverage for a long TD play. I know it's only Edmonton but the fact that 2 DBs consistently can't cover the long ball to Bowman makes me very excited for the rest of his rookie season. Another guy who will have a big season is Wes Cates.
For those of you who still have doubts about the loss of Fred Perry look at his stats from Saturday… 1 tackle 0 sacks. This means his defensive output put him on par with current Rider defensive standouts such as Wayne Smith, Andy Fantuz and Wes Cates. Just saying is all.
I thought I knew all the football terms there was to know in the CFL but Saturday's game introduced me to a new one… the "illegible receiver" which I can only assume means that the ref couldn't read the name on his jersey. Thank you Andre Proulx.
Around the CFL…
This week's action started in Hamilton where the Alouette's showed that yes indeed, Hamilton is still as bad as last year. Who would have thought that uniting the worst defensive coordinator in the league with the worst offensive coordinator in the league would lead to such a terrible on-field performance? Evidently not Bob O'Billiovich.
After defeating the Bombers on Friday, Argo head coach Rich Stubler came to 2 realizations: 1) He shouldn't have traded Noel Prefontaine and 2) He definitely shouldn't have traded Glen January. Despite the win, the Argos are on the verge of a complete gong show one week into the season. Turns out the NFL's most accurate kicker, is currently the CFL's least accurate kicker; The first 2 doctors David Boston saw about his fractured foot were right about him needing surgery; letting 4 offensive tackles leave in the same season will come back to haunt you; and I don't even know where to begin with the fiasco they have at QB.
Watching that game you almost had to feel bad for Joseph. It certainly wasn't the debut he was hoping for. I mean few players can say they were pulled twice in their first game with a new team. But you see that's the difference between Saskatchewan and Toronto. The Riders could only afford to pay Joseph $250K because we spent the rest of the money on things like an offensive line that can actually block and a coach who isn't a complete idiot when it comes to dealing with starting QBs. Toronto on the other hand did not bother investing in these types of things so they were able to offer Joseph way more money. Joseph needs 2 things to be effective: protection from the O-line and the ability to use his legs through rolling out. Rich Stubler, the offensive genius that he is, decided it would be better to offer no O-line protection and not roll/run Joseph at all. Bravo Stubler. It will be entertaining to watch this gong show all season long as I think it's only going to get better as weeks go by.
Who had "the first half of game 1" in the "How long before Buck Pierce gets hurt Pool"? Although replacing Dave Dickenson is not easy you'd at least think they could have found someone who was slightly less fragile. With Buck now nursing injured ribs and a throwing shoulder that according to him "can't get anymore separated" I wouldn't be surprised if Pierce is done. Not just for the season, I mean his career. He's got talent but he's a fragile as my Grandma's hip.
The 2008 CFL season is upon us. Gone are the long offseason months, gone are the grueling training camps, gone are the meaningless preseason games, and gone are Hamilton's chances of winning the cup. Okay maybe that last one was a bit premature given that they won't be mathematically eliminated for a number of weeks but realistically, they're more done than Man in the Bush was at our buddy's wedding last weekend.
Now the start of the CFL season on the prairies means 3 things: (1) A dramatic increase in the sale of Pilsner, Wisers and Watermelons (if you have stock in any of these I encourage you to sell somewhere around November), (2) A dramatic decrease in work productivity, particularly on Mondays and Fridays, and (3) the long-awaited end of filler posts from the Rider Prophet as he no longer has to try to justify his off-season existence.
Though the season officially kicks off tonight with Montreal at Hamilton and BC at Calgary, we will have to wait until Saturday to see the Riders in action. We start the season against a familiar foe... the Edmonton Eskimos, who trounced us (good word - trounced) one week ago in preseason action. The results of that game however, are about as meaningful as a late-March game between the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets when you consider that the majority of the players we dressed in that game have either been cut or relegated to back-up status. This time around, the Esks will have to contend with the likes of O'Day, Fantuz, Chick, Cates and Crandell for the first time. By contrast, Edmonton really has nothing more to throw at us that we didn't see last week.
To be fair, Edmonton is a better than last year. But given how far behind the rest of the division they were talent wise, saying Edmonton is a better team is like saying Britney Spears has taken great strides in her parenting skills. Sure it's a positive step, but don't expect her to win Mother of the Year anytime soon.
The key to Edmonton's season will be to get off to a good start. They are relying on 2 QBs who have suffered injuries to their throwing shoulders and I have my doubts about the durability of either of them over an 18 game season. Sure they both look good now... well let me re-phrase that... they are both playing good now but after the wear and tear of a few games look for a drop in performance. Speaking of injuries, Edmonton will be starting the season without defensive star Adam Braidwood, who was placed on the 9 game injured reserve as he recovers from knee surgery.
While I'm not expecting a blow-out, I do expect the Riders to start the season off on the right foot with a win. It will be a great start to the Canada Day long weekend.
Elsewhere in the CFL...
A lot is being made of Stampeder coach John Hufnagel's decision to close practice to the public all week. Speculation is running rampant over what it is exactly that Hufnagel is hiding. Is it trick plays on offense? A new defensive scheme? A touchdown celebration worthy of a Tony Award? The fact that Sandro DeAngeles has been able to bull rush their patchwork quilt of an offensive line and get pressure on the QB? Your guess is as good as mine. Then again, maybe Hufnagel is just doing it to piss off his old buddy Wally Buono.
From Winnipeg comes this week's weirdest story. It seems that Duncan O'Mahony will not play in Friday's opener against the Argos after breaking his toe when he stubbed it on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. See, that's why kickers aren't real athletes. I mean, when discussing what is keeping a player out of a football game, the term "unfortunate bathroom accident" is used about as frequently as "difficult reading mishap" or "tragic salad incident".
What can you say about Thursday's game that hasn't already been said about Britney Spears? It was painful to listen to and involved a variety of people repeatedly scoring with very little effort. Now, although I don't like seeing a game this lopsided, you do have to put it in perspective. We didn't dress 14 of our regular starters and the ones that did dress didn't play the whole game, whereas Edmonton played their starters for the majority of the game. I won't spend too much time dwelling on the game but here's a few things I did take away:
• Anton McKenzie has stepped up big time and is ready to be an impact player
• Congratulations to Carl Berman and Stu Foord who played their way onto the team
• Congratulations to Chris Getzlaf and Tad Kornegay who played themselves off the roster
• Apparently we still haven't addressed 2 major concerns from last year... coverage on kicks and covering crossing routes.
• I warned you about Ricky Ray getting hurt. Although it turned out to be a minor injury, I wish I could have been there to see Maciocia's life flash before his eyes as Ray laid there on the field.
• Wayne Smith managed to take 2 consecutive penalties despite not even dressing for the game, or even being in the same province for that matter. Come on Wayne you gotta be more disciplined than that. You gotta show some veteranism (as Carm would say).
Although it was a fairly uninspiring performance by the Riders, we need to put it behind us. With out veterans back in the line-up, a stadium full of supporters, this Saturday will be a completely different story.
With the final preseason game out of the way, it was time for the easiest part of any coach's job... the cuts. Now while we weren't able to cut everyone we wanted to we did cut a lot of people.
Bagley you're cut. Bake, Burnett and Verdon you're cut. Bradshaw, Chatelain, Curvey, Dokes, Zelinski and Freeman you're gone. Heard, we liked your hustle... that's why it was so hard to cut you. Congratulations to the rest of you, you made the team! Except Hernandez, Hicks, Kornegay, Lynch, Marshall, Orban, Stratton and Whitley. You guys are cut.
Now everyone give me 5 laps and hit the showers. Oh Griffin, you don't have to... you're cut.
Given that we haven't yet declared our 7 man practice roster, I expect that a few of these guys will be sticking around town. However, competition for those spots got a little more heated with news that 4th overall draft pick Keith Shologan was released by the San Diego Chargers and has been in contact with Eric Tillman about joining the Riders. Now we didn't expect Shologan to show up in Riderville until sometime in September but it looks like he'll be here sooner than expected.
Elsewhere in the CFL...
First overall draft pick Dylan Barker will likely miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg during preseason action. I feel bad for Barker and was looking forward to see him in action this season. Someone should have told him though, if he really didn't want to play for the Ti-cats there are less drastic ways of going about it.
What a great start to the season! I know it's only preseason but you can't help but be excited about Friday's performance by the Riders. Not only did we defeat the Lions, which always feel good, we also added a few shots for good measure...
There is an unwritten agreement that in the preseason that you play basic defense (i.e. only rush 4) so teams can evaluate their players. Wally Buono, being the honourable man that he is, decided to break that agreement by sending Korey Banks and a few others after Crandell. The Riders responded by sending Tristan Clovis on a safety blitz that leveled the ever fragile Buck Pierce. To be sure Buono got the message they also sent Mike McCullough up the middle twice to lay a hard hit on the QB, the 2nd time the hit may have been a little late (okay replace "may have" with "was definitely" and "a little late" with "so late that I think both the QB and receiver were hit simultaneously" but the important thing was that Wally got the message).
Then at half time we added insult to injury in one of my favourite moments from Friday. As the BC Lions emerged from the locker room for the 2nd half, the first thing they saw was 2 RCMP officers proudly holding up the Grey Cup for all to see. The Grey Cup that BC (though heavily favoured) was denied when they lost to the Riders in the West Final last year. Take a good look Lions because that could have been you. Nothing like pouring a little salt in the wounds.
I was most impressed by our defense who did not give up a major. The only thing they were unable to defend was an errant Stephen Jyles pass, though I guess I'll forgive them for that. Granted, BC's top 2 offensive weapons Geroy Simon and Joe Smith did not suit up but then again neither did Mo Lloyd, Eddie Davis or James Johnson, 2 of our top defensive weapons and a guy that Mo and ED let hang out with them sometimes. I think our defense will be among the best in the league all season long. I may start referring to them as the CFL's chastity belt because nobody's going to scoring when they are around.
It was a solid effort all around by the Riders but a few players' efforts deserve special mention:
John Chick - Chick came off the end on the very first play and continued to do so all game long. Chick actually stayed in the game longer than I thought he would which made me feel sorry for the guys BC was lining up at tackle. I mean Murphy and Jimenez have trouble stopping this guy, those poor back-ups didn't stand a chance.
Adarius Bowman - That 46 yard TD reception from Durant while in double coverage clearly showcased what we can expect from this guy all season long.
Anton McKenzie - After playing back-up to Reggie Hunt for a couple years, Anton is making the most of his opportunity to succeed the Reaper amassing 7 tackles in one half of football.
Stu Foord - Wow, what a performance! I can't remember the last time that people in Riderville had something positive to say about a guy with that last name.
Neal Hughes - Hughes looked very solid running the ball. I think he should be our back-up RB. And I'm not just saying that because of my severe disliking of Henri Childs. Although if Hughes doesn't work out there, I'm hoping that we bring back Nate Davis to be the back-up RB. Okay, that one was because of my severe dislike for Childs.
Denatay Heard - Going into the game I assumed Heard wouldn't last too long here. He was a late pick-up and hadn't been a stand-out during camp so far. Well that all changed when he hauled in 2 INTs. This means we could actually have some depth at defensive back this year - something we were in dire need of last year.
While most players were trying to play their way onto the team, a few seemed to be doing their best to play their way off. Most notably...
Quentin Griffin - How embarrassing it must be for a former NFL starter to be completely upstaged by a local junior player. Such was the case for Griffin who fumbled and dropped a wide-open pass. Griffin, you're cut!
Davon Fowlkes - Fowlkes was having a less than stellar camp already and pretty much sealed his fate by running backwards for 7 yards while returning a punt. Fowlkes, oh you better believe you're cut!
Elsewhere in the CFL...
The Bombers released Troy Westwood over the weekend following their preseason game where he missed his only FG attempt. After the 2001 Grey Cup, Troy swore that he wouldn't cut his hair until he helped the Bombers win a Grey Cup. Looks like if he's to be a man of his word, Westwood now has himself in a bit of a predicament - but don't worry Troy, there's always male pattern baldness.
With not much time to spare before the season starts, the Bombers are moving quickly to find a replacement kicker. They have apparently already been in contact with Duncan O'Mahony. Last time they signed him it didn't turn out so well, but they are optimistic that this time Duncan will make it to Canad Inns Stadium, mainly because the flight from Calgary to Winnipeg is a direct flight with no layovers.
The Stampeders released 3 players including offensive lineman Jermese Jones. Now I'll be the first to admit that Jermese isn't the best lineman in the league but I have to question the logic of this move given the current status of the Stamps O-line. I mean when you're having trouble fielding 5 guys to begin with, you'd think you'd avoid releasing the token few able ones you have. There are a couple of competing theories to explain things. The first is that maybe Jermese really was that bad. The other is that Hufnagel was worried that his tackles were going to be significantly better than his guards and center, thus making the inside guys look even worse than they actually are. It's all about perception.
What a great day Sunday was. The sun was shining, fans lining the seats at Mosaic Stadium and the Riders practicing as a team for the first time this year. Yes indeed football is back! Which is good because I was about 1 more football-less week away from taking up knitting and changing my name to the Afghan Prophet (on second thought that may have lead to some confusion).
I was down at Mosaic Friday for the last day Rookie camp. A few things worth mentioning about rookie camp...
• Believe the hype about Weston Dressler. This guy is faster than a greased Scotsman.
• The hype about Adarius Bowman also appears to be well deserved, he's not a flashy player but he runs great routes and catches very well. Odds are good he will make the team.
• Brock Stratton is built like a truck, solid head to toe. I can't wait to see him hit someone full bore.
• Quentin Jones and EJ Whitley looked good at defensive back and should provide some good competition at main camp. Though for some reason Whitley refuses to let his jersey go below his nipples and I find that annoying.
When all was said and done 6 guys didn't make it out of rookie camp. That list includes Ryan Ackerman, Jeremy Burnett, Princeton Sheppard, Kevin Garrett (who was traded to Winnipeg for a neg list player) and Nuvraj Bassi (who is huge for the record). I actually expect Bassi to stick around and rejoin the team once his leg heals up. He needs to work on his technique and conditioning but his power is pretty awesome (as is his beard). The final rookie camp victim was TJ Stancil (not sure how a vet manages to get cut following rookie camp). Stancil's departure definitely leaves a hole on our roster... the good thing is to fill that hole all we need to do is find someone who can play 6 games over the next 3 years. I liked Stancil but he was hurt at a rate that rivaled Nathan Hoffart. In the salary cap era an oft injured player isn't a good investment regardless of their talent level.
Main camp started yesterday and man was it nice to see familiar faces like Cates, Fantuz and Schultz back on the field. There will be some interesting position battles to watch at camp: who will replace Perry and Hunt? Who will win out at cornerback? Will Frenette be able to fend off Kevin Scott at long snapper? Will my prayers finally be answered and Henri Childs be cut? One noteworthy change that's already been made is Gene Makowsky has been moved from tackle to guard on the offensive line. I think this is a great move. Makowsky is still among the best in league but he isn't getting any younger or faster (unlike some of the defensive ends around the league). Fred Childress made the same move and it extended his career by a few years, hopefully the same thing will happen to Makowsky. This is a good time to make the move given our current depth at offensive line. Glen January (who is a force by all accounts) will likely take Gene-o's spot and it will be between Wayne Smith and Steve Morley for the other tackle spot. Toss in O'Day, Abou-Mecherek and Szarka and Marcus Crandell will have more protection than a case of condoms.
Now here's some news from around the CFL...
Unlike our offensive line which is only getting better, the Stampeder's offensive line is quickly going down the tubes. Already gone from last year's offensive line are John Comiskey (traded to Edmonton) and Jay McNeil (retired). Now you can add to that list Bobby Singh who was cut along with JR Ruffin after failing a physical. And the list of people being brought in as replacements wouldn't exactly put a QB at ease. So far they've brought in Jermese Jones (whose pass blocking is suspect at best), Antonio Hall (who didn't play football last year) and 2 rookie draft picks. John Hufnagel better hope Burris can be successful throwing on the run because the o-line won't be stopping a whole lot this year and Dickenson will likely refuse to play behind that line. Seriously, if BC's line (who was among the league's best) couldn't protect him what chance does this group of cast offs and rookies have?
The other big news this week came out of Toronto. The Argos announced that they signed kicker Mike Vanderjagt to a contract. Vanderjagt started his career here in Saskatchewan, won 2 Grey Cups with the Argos and then went to the NFL where he became the most accurate kicker in the NFL (with the exception of his last season when he was pretty brutal). I find this move a bit odd. Not because the Argos are signing a washed up NFLer who was once good... that's just business as usual. The price tag is what intrigues me. Last year the Bombers were interested in him but he said he wanted $200K a season or no deal. So I wonder how much he agreed to play for. They must have been able to agree on a deal that was just right... or in Vanderjagt's case wide right. Regardless, I'm not too worried. Anyone who Peyton Manning refers to as an "idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off" shouldn't be cause for concern.
To make room for Vanderjagt the Argos traded Noel Prefontaine to the Eskimos, who appear to be setting records for most kickers signed and released in a single offseason. In return Edmonton sent a 1st round pick in '09 and a conditional pick in 2010. What is it with the Eskimos and using their first round picks to acquire kickers? I mean Prefontaine is good but a 1st rounder is a steep price to pay (particularly when you're likely to finish last, we're talking a 1st or 2nd overall pick here). Danny Macciocia has apparently decided on the only strategy for draft picks that is worse than Brendan Taman's. As a result of acquiring Prefontaine, the Esks promptly cut Duncan O'Mahony who didn't seem to mind since odds are he wasn't going to be able to find his way to Edmonton anyway.
Let's get you caught up on all the news that is news across the CFL…
Hall of Fame
In: Doug Flutie, Mike Clemons, Mike Pringle, John Bonk, Tom Shepherd (2008 inductees)
Why is it that when I read this list, I had flashbacks to watching Sesame Street as a kid? Come on, sing it with me - "One of these things is not like the others!" As I had my first look at the list, I was pretty impressed with the selections. First I saw three of the greatest players to step on a CFL field in the last 15 years. Then I saw a versatile Canadian whose only real fault was a long-term affiliation with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And then there's Tom Shepherd, who will for reasons unknown be enshrined as a builder.
Now, I guess if they were determined to induct Shepherd, builder is the only category they could put him in. After all, he wasn't a player, so he doesn't fit in with the rest of the nominees in their category. I'm told that some categories that were tossed around were "Megalomaniac Ford Defender", "Inebriated Radio Enthusiast", and "What's the Opposite of Builder?" but apparently they didn't want to have to construct a whole new wing down at the Hall.
But in honour of Tom Shepherd and his contributions to the Riders over the years, I'm going to start my very own $100,000 Rider Prophet Lottery. Just send me $100, and I'll send you a ticket. "I have a feeling that someone reading right now will win a major prize!"
Saskatchewan
In: Jamal Robertson (re-signed), Jeremy Burnett, Kevin Garrett (free agents)
Eric Tillman has signed another running back with an impressive resume. Robertson was named NFL Europe's offensive MVP in 2002 and also spent time in the NFL with San Francisco and Carolina returning kicks. The combination of Robertson and Quentin Griffin has people pretty excited about our running back situation this year. I, however, will reserve my judgment until training camp. Let's not forget that last year we brought in 2 highly touted running backs by the name of Childs and Russell and we all know how that turned out.
Edmonton
In: Rob Pikula (trade with BC)
Pikula is being passed around like a doobie at a rock concert. For those of you keeping score at home this is now Pikula's 4th team in 2 years. At this rate, he'll have made the complete league circuit and be back in BC before the Olympic Torch.
Toronto
Out: Derrell "Mookie" Mitchell (released)
And that should be the last of them... It seems as though the Argos have completed their purge of over-the-hill veterans that were rejected by other teams. This may signal a change in philosophies in Toronto. Instead of trying to improve their offense by signing rejected veterans such as Mitchell, Davis, Edwards and Boerigter, they appear to be trying to improve their offense by trading for players with a history of being injured such as Hoffart, Ebell, Acree and Joseph. Only time will tell if this shift in philosophies will work out.
Ol' Squinty will remain a fixture on the BC sideline until at least 2010. This extension was kind of a no-brainer for the Lions as the team has been among the league's most successful since Buono arrived in 2003. In that time he's given BC fans: 5 winning seasons, 2 Grey Cup appearances, 1 Grey Cup win, 2 Most Outstanding Players, 2 separate QB controversies and an offensive line that is currently competing with the Philadelphia Flyers for the right to be called the dirtiest group of athletes in sports.
Montreal
Word is the Alouette's are interested in signing former Rider Corey Holmes, there's just one problem... they can't get ahold of him. Holmes apparently hasn't returned any of their calls. This has lead to a great deal of speculation as to his whereabouts. Some people are even speculating that foul play might be involved. Yeah, because that's the most likely explanation... Let's ignore the likely possibility that Corey's just on vacation and away from his phone. Or the even more likely possibility that Corey has call display and enough common sense not to answer a call from "J Popp".
The CFL announced Tuesday that a conditional franchise in Ottawa has been granted to an investors group led by Jeff Hunt, who runs the Ottawa 67's, and includes some other prominent local businessmen. The team could be in operation as early as 2010 provided a number of hurdles are overcome, most notably renovations to Frank Clair Stadium.
There has been much talk about the strength of the investor group. All members of the group have close ties to the Ottawa community and when you throw in the fact that Hunt has experience managing a sports team it makes for a pretty impressive bid. As successful and well-regarded as these people are, I do have to question their sanity. I mean what businessman in his right mind decides that this is the best venture to invest his money in? They are making an investment in a concept that has failed twice and hinges upon a stadium that was condemned last year and was slated for demolition. Not to mention the fact that the keys to the venture's success (quality players and coaches) are currently under contract to their competitors, potential fans are jaded since they haven't had a decent on-field product in over 30 years; it cost them $7 million for the opportunity to pursue this venture regardless of whether the team actually comes to fruition; and the league's future has been cast into doubt now that a large American competitor is starting to move in on their territory. I would really like to see that business plan and how they manage to justify it as a good investment!
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that football may be returning to the nation's capital and I think this group of investors has a good chance at developing a sustainable franchise. It's just that when you look at this from a purely business perspective it seems pretty crazy.
CFL fans, Ottawa fans in particular, have good reason to be skeptical about this announcement. Football in Ottawa dates back over 100 years and that history has been full of ups (such as winning 4 Grey Cups in an 8 year span) and downs (such as having 2 franchises fold in a similar span). Here's a brief history...
It all started in 1876 with the Ottawa Football Club (130 years later people in Ontario still hadn't come up with an original idea for a team name and give the same name to a soccer team). They adopted the name Rough Riders in 1898 and went on to win 9 Grey Cups, the last being in 1976. But that's about where things began to go wrong for the Rough Riders. Poor on-field performance and even worse management put the team in a downward spiral. This spiral reached an all-time low in 1995 when the team drafted Derrell Robertson. Although Derrell had a decent college career, Ottawa overlooked the minor detail that he had died a few months earlier. Finally in 1996, they folded.
In 2002, football was resurrected in the form of the Ottawa Renegades but a string of losing seasons and dwindling fan support once again put the team in a downward spiral.
Then in 2005, two knights in shining armour arrived... Sir Bernie and Sir Lonnie of Glieberman. Not being satisfied with failing as owners of the Ottawa Rough Riders and Shreveport Pirates, the Gliebermans looked to complete the trifecta by taking over the Renegades. Sure enough, team operations were suspended prior to the 2006 season due to mounting debt that the Glieberman's didn't want to cover. Some highlights of the 2nd Glieberman regime in Ottawa include hiring a coach who hadn't coached since the Shreveport Pirates folded 10 years earlier and who, at one point, couldn't remember the name of his starting QB (hint: it rhymes with Merry Boseph). They also came up with a promotion that involved offering Mardi Gras beads to women at home games which drew much public criticism. Apparently the whole story has inspired a made for TV movie entitled "Boobs and Bimbos: The Glieberman years"
So here we are again hoping the 3rd time is a charm. At least this time the Glieberman's are not involved which increases the chance of success exponentially. While there are still some major hurdles before this conditional franchise becomes an actual franchise it looks like Jeff Hunt and his group are off to a good start and I wish them all the best. And hey, if Hamilton continues their futility and Montreal continues its fall from glory, Ottawa may be pretty much guaranteed a playoff spot in their first season (if Winnipeg rejoins the West division it could even be a home-playoff game).
The list of hardware earned by the Riders in 2007 already includes the Most-Outstanding Player Award, the West Division Championship and of course the Grey Cup. Well now you can add one more to the list...
In what is no doubt the biggest surprise since that scientific study found that exercise is good for your health, it was announced Thursday that Kent Austin was the winner of the Annis Stukus trophy as 2007 Coach of the Year. Truthfully, this announcement could have been made back in November when the voting was conducted since there was never any doubt as to who would win. Here's a brief summary of Austin's season.
He managed to win a Grey Cup despite:
* Being a rookie head coach with a new offensive coordinator
* His starting QB taking a huge pay cut, being forced to compete for the starting spot in training camp and being pulled twice during the season for poor performance
* Last year's starting RB, who happened to be the team MVP, leaving for the NFL
* His replacement RB being acquired after the final preseason game and completely missing training camp
* That same RB also missing the last 4 games of the season due to injury
* His FB cutting the tips off 2 of his fingers
* His receiving core going like this: #1 got hurt and missed half the season, #2 was traded halfway through the season, #3 had family emergencies on 2 consecutive weeks and missed practice both weeks, #4 got temporarily benched, #5 missed the first half of the season with injury, #6 missed the end of the season with injury
* The starting safety playing himself out of a job halfway through the year
* 3 of his 5 O-linemen being brand new (and one of the other two contracted mono)
* 2 of his 5 starting defensive backs being new and no DB playing all 18 games, including his best DB who missed 9 games
* The rookie starting at defensive end wearing an insulin pump on the field
* His punter recording 7 special teams tackles
* His team leading the league in both CFL-imposed fines and league-issued apologies regarding blown calls
* His team also leading the league in man-games lost due to injury
Not too shabby.
Austin joins some elite company as 1 of only 5 Rider coaches to win the award. He joins John Gregory (1989), Joe Faragalli (1981), Eagle Keys (1968), and Steve Owen (1962).
Austin received 21 of the 42 votes, which isn't surprising given the competition he was up against. However, Austin overcoming 2 great opponents pales in comparison to Doug Berry overcoming not being nominated to garner 1 vote. This is what you get for letting people in Manitoba vote. Obviously the instruction "Place an X beside 1 of the 3 following names" was too complicated. To be fair, the balloting method is a relatively unknown process in Manitoba. The preferred method is, of course, to grunt once to vote for the first guy, twice for the second guy and so on. So it's hard to fault a guy for voting incorrectly when the CFL doesn't respect local voting practices.
Now the nominees themselves created a slight controversy that I would like to address before we put this Coach of the Year story to bed. Many people were shocked that Doug Berry was not nominated and equally as shocked that Pinball and Buono were nominated. Allow me to compare these 3 (bare in mind voting occurs prior to the playoffs).
Buono - Led his team to the best record in the CFL despite missing his #1 and #2 QB for most of the season.
Clemons - His team went from competing with Edmonton for the final playoff spot in the East to finishing 1st in their division fueled by an amazing 9-1 run to end the season.
Berry - His team went from being pretty much a lock to run away with the East to finishing with only 3 wins in the last 7 weeks of the season, landing in 2nd place.
I'm not taking anything away from Berry's coaching ability or the season the
Bombers had, I'm just saying the right people were nominated for the award.
Speaking of coaches it appears Jamie Barresi will be joining the Riders as our new Running Backs coach. Barresi spent last season as the receivers coach in BC and was also the offensive coordinator in Hamilton in '04 and '05. Just when you think Tillman has run out of former Ti-cats to recruit he proves you wrong again.
This one again goes out to long-time Rider Prophet fan Steve who wanted to know my thoughts on the NFL coming to Canada.
It was recently confirmed that the Buffalo Bills will play 8 games in Toronto over the next 5 years. Whether we like it or not, the NFL is coming to the Great White North. The question is, what effect will this have on the CFL? Allow me to explain.
When the CFL launched its American expansion in the 90's, our league did the honourable thing by avoiding established NFL markets (obviously a foray into Green Bay would have spelled the ultimate demise of the Packers, and the last thing Larry Smith needed at the time was thousands of angry cheeseheads coming after him). By contrast, the NFL is launching its Canadian invasion in Toronto, a market that is widely thought to be the key to the CFL's media exposure and advertising dollars. That's right, rather than picking one of the many viable Canadian markets that is not currently occupied by a professional football franchise (such as Gimli or Grande Prairie), the NFL has decided to tackle the CFL head on. Which, as we all know, is a 15 yard penalty under Canadian rules.
Will these 8 NFL games be devastating to the league? No. While it's hardly a "positive thing" for the CFL as the NFL commissioner would have us believe, it's not going to hurt us short-term. The games are even supposed to be held in December so as not to conflict with the CFL season.
Hamilton has already voiced their disagreement with the situation and another group is joining them in expressing their displeasure... Buffalo Bills fans. Who can blame them for being pissed? Their season ticket packages will not include tickets to Toronto games so they get 7 home games for the price of 8; they are not given first crack at tickets, and ticket prices (of which Buffalo enjoys the lowest in the league) have been grossly inflated. Can you imagine the outrage if they moved a Rider home game to Saskatoon, didn't include it in the season ticket package and jacked the price up? Anarchy would ensue!
Well, not really... knowing the hardcore nature of the Rider Nation, fans would head to Saskatoon and patiently wait in the parking lot all night for tickets to go on sale. Once they slowly came to the realization that the game was sold out due to the large demand from those who chose to remain warm in their homes while purchasing tickets online, then anarchy would ensue.
But I digress...
I am actually surprised Hamilton decided not to cross-promote the Buffalo games by offering an incentive to their season ticket holders. I mean the prospect of offering something of value with their season tickets should have been very appealing since, let's face it, having to watch Hamilton play 9 times is more a punishment than a benefit. I can picture the marketing campaign now - "Buy Bills tickets and get 9 Hamilton games for free".
Speculation on which other NFL team will make the trip to Toronto has already begun. While no decisions have been made, I will tell you this... A major consideration in which team it will be is the ability to have the players clear customs. So that pretty much rules out any chance of the Bengals coming north. I actually hope the first game features Dallas, then we would get to see the headline "TO to TO".
While an 8 game schedule over 5 years is not immediate cause for alarm, the bigger concern for the CFL is that this trial run could be a stepping stone to an NFL team moving to Toronto permanently. What if after 5 years the Bills end up setting up shop up north?
Personally, I have no idea why they would want another sub-500 team in Toronto, maybe they need something to fill the gap in the Blue Jays off-season or take the pressure off the Maple Leafs' never ending failures but nonetheless the interest appears to be there.
Roger Goodell is trying to present the NFL's interest in Canada as beneficial to both leagues. I tend to see the NFL in Toronto benefiting the CFL in the same way that a cow "benefits" from the opening of a new McDonalds restaurant. Let's face it, if given the opportunity, the NFL will chew up the CFL and spit it out faster than a bulimic at a 4th of July hot dog eating competition.
First of all yes, I am in favour of the CFL expanding. Quite frankly, it's tough defending the legitimacy of a league where your odds of making the playoffs are way better than your odds of missing them (unless you're the Ti-cats). "But Prophet," you say, "do you really think expansion will work after attempts failed in 7 American cities and twice in Ottawa?" Okay, anyone who actually thought that Canadian football would be successful in the US probably also thought that it would only be a matter of time before Jessica Simpson won an Oscar for Best Actress, and if it weren't for the fact that the Gliebermans have about as much business sense as a half-eaten turkey sandwich that has been left out in the sun for three days, Ottawa would still have a team.
I have prepared a list of possible expansion sites (listed from most logical on down) and some suggestions for team names:
Ottawa - You could go the easy route and revive the Renegades, but if you want to revitalize football in Ottawa I would go with something edgy and tough like the Face Punchers or the Chuck Norris's.
Quebec City - Every team from the province has to have a French name so how about the Frère Jacques, Poutines, or my personal favorite "le Pamplemousse".
Maritimes - A group has been campaigning for the Atlantic Schooners for years but I think a slightly different team name would be in order. In keeping with a nautical theme, how about the Atlantic Sea Men.
Victoria - Now you may think adding another team to the province that is already home to the B.C. Lions would cause problems, but Tampa Bay managed to win a Stanley Cup despite the presence of the Florida Panthers so I think this could work. As for a team name, I would go with the "Secrets" (trust me the stands would be packed).
London or Kitchener - Given that this would be the 3rd or even 4th team in Ontario they would need to play off the popularity of others in order to be successful. I suggest the "Guitar Heroes" as that seems to be popular with the kids these days.
Territories - Given that a town of oil rich tycoons who enjoy regular chinooks already own the rights to the most logical name for this team, it would naturally have to be the "Seal Clubbers" (and they would use their first pick in the expansion draft to select the new face of the franchise, Henry Burris).
I thought it would be interesting to see which provinces are carrying their weight in terms of CFL teams. Saskatchewan and Manitoba each support 1 team with populations that hover right around 1 million, but then again there's really nothing else to do in those provinces. So I will use Alberta as my comparison point as they manage to support 2 CFL teams with around 3.5 million people despite the presence of an NHL team in both cities (well, one NHL team and then whatever it is that the Oilers are). That means they have a football team for every 1,750,000 people.
Here's how the rest of Canada stacks up:
- Saskatchewan and Manitoba are both exceeding my arbitrary bar
- The Maritimes collectively could support 1.3 teams... so bring on the Sea Men (rest assured this is the last time that combination of words will ever appear on my blog).
- BC should be able to support 2.5 teams given their population so although they aren't complete slackers they could be doing better. For the record, I believe this is the first time that BC has not been high.
- Quebec should be able to support 4.4 teams so asking for 1 more shouldn't be too onerous. Although from what I understand, Quebec legislation states that the CFL must employ one French referee for every team in the province. This has left the league less interested in expansion and more interested in contracting the Alouettes.
- Ontario is by far the Canadian slacker as they should be able to support 7.4 teams with their population. That means that they have room for 5 more teams! That said, if half of the league was situated in Southern Ontario, the humidity issues would border on catastrophic.
For anyone who's interested, the Territories collectively could only support 0.14 teams so I guess the Seal Clubbers just aren't in the cards yet (much to the dismay of the dogsled valet industry).
Maybe the solution to the expansion problem requires thinking outside the box. If movies have taught me nothing else, it's that you can turn a bunch of inmates into a competitive football team. And so, I propose a team comprised completely of inmates from our country's prisons... The State Penn Shankers. Not only would it make prisoners give something back to society but the team would have no issue meeting salary cap as the inmates would not get paid. There's already a middle linebacker at their disposal. It may also be possible to bring in a marquee import QB from down south if a deal can be cut (not to mention most of the Cincinnati Bengals).
All my ideas of course completely ignore the need for investors to fund the team, a football stadium with significant capacity to financially sustain a franchise, a management group with significant expertise in football operations and players to fill the rosters, but hey, if I was that good at developing sound business proposals I would probably be making millions in the venture capital market instead of giving my ideas away for free.
Original Story:
