After over 6 months away it’s nearly time to resume Canada’s version of Gridiron football. The teams have been back in pre-season training camps for a good few weeks as the teams trim their roster along with each coach having had a number of games via the pre-season friendlies to assess their teams and get them ready for the season openers. Below is a mini preview of each of the nine teams split into their two respective divisions. This season looks set to be another one full of excitement with a refreshing rebrand as well as a new kit deal with Adidas. East Division Hamilton Tiger-Cats Arguably the strongest team on paper in the East and as we all know the game isn’t played on paper as Ottawa proved last season by winning the division ahead of them. Before last season Hamilton did win the East division for two straight consecutive years in 2013 and 2014 falling short on both occasions to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Calgary Stampeders respectively. This is hoodoo is something that the Ti-Cats will need to overcome in order to lift the Grey Cup for the first time since 1999 and they may just achieve that with the signing of experienced slot-back Chad Owens who arrives from fierce rivals Toronto Argonauts as a free agent. Owens is a leader who’s rallied the Argo troops on the field on plenty of occasions and brings with him the experience of winning the Grey Cup once in 2012, so knows how to play the big occasions. Head coach Kent Austin has been very successful by reaching the Grey Cup on various occasions and remaining one of the strongest teams in the CFL. It may be worth taking into account too that Hamilton’s move to Tim Horton’s field may well be a huge contributing factor over the last few years. Montreal Alouettes This season the Alouettes celebrate their 20th year since reforming and they head into the campaign with a new look roster again hoping to be more dominant having missed out on the play-offs by a whisker to BC Lions last season. Montreal will have to deal with a number of loses in the locker room, most notably offensive lineman Josh Bourke who heads to his native Ontario after 8 years with the Alouettes. Bourke leaving is sure to have a big impact on Montreal given he’s been an Easter all-star for 7 straight seasons from 2008 through to 2014 as well as offering protection to the starting quarterback. This leads me on to the Alouettes quarterback problems which they’ve not had much luck for a number of seasons ever since Anthony Calvillo’s retirement in 2013. Last season they had big injury problems in this department before Kevin Glenn took up the fray, Rakeem Cato and Brandon Bridge also getting a slight look in. The question is this year should Montreal go with the experienced Kevin Glenn who’s probably got a couple of more seasons left in him or go for the ever developing Brandon Bridge who’s now in his second year with the franchise. There’s a high probability that Bridge will be the long term replacement but will Jim Popp opt for experience as the Alouettes look to improve on their 6-12 record last year in what could be the toughest East division for seasons. A tough one to call given the growing strength of this division, but feel that Montreal are possibly the weaker of the four so the best they can possibly hope for is a crossover place. In the long run they could turn into a force to be reckoned with but not before the quarterback position is sorted. Ottawa Redblacks No one or hardly anyone would’ve predicted the success Ottawa had last season by reaching the Grey Cup in only their second year as a franchise only to lose out to Edmonton Eskimos in Winnipeg. The Redblacks finished last season (regular) with a 12:6 record as well as only losing twice at home all through the season. In contrast that was fantastic to say the least compared to their first season where they were only able to record 2 wins. Last season as already stated was very impressive and there has been talk of whether last season may have been a one off in terms of relative success for Ottawa due to injuries impacting on all the other three East teams as well as Toronto’s stadium problems. Regarding statistics in the Redblacks second season they were number one in a number of areas including net offense, pass offense, interceptions and quarterback sacks. For the 2016 campaign the only factor which may hinder Ottawa is the loss of offensive coordinator Jason Mass who takes over at Edmonton. However Ottawa have strengthened their quarterback position this season with the capture of free agent Trevor Harris who turned down a new deal at Toronto. Harris who had 33 touchdown passes last season will provide stiff competition for the ever present 40+ year old Henry Burris last season. I’m predicting more good times ahead if Ottawa are going to build on last season. Toronto Argonauts The Argos will be looking to create a new era this year in their history after leaving the Rogers Centre and moving to a newly renovated BMO Field ahead of the campaign. Last season there was plenty of negativity around due to playing many home games on the road, despite a decent season that finished with a 10:8 regular season record. After their move to BMO Field got rubber stamped the clouds have lifted and there’s plenty to be positive about for Argos fans, with a new face to the team creating a good vibe. The Toronto based franchise tend to always budget for Canadian talent via the draft so don’t max out their budget when offering new deals and have to be shrewder in the free agency. This approach has often been criticised by many and this year it led to the Argos losing quarter-back Trevor Harris to Ottawa Redblacks and fan favourite Chad Owens to fierce rivals Hamilton Tiger-Cats. However they’ve made a number of acquisitions during free agency with offensive line Josh Bourke arriving from Montreal and defensive lineman Bryan Hall joining from Hamilton to name a couple. In addition these as well as other arrivals, Argos offered new deals to Ricky Foley who took a pay cut in order to stay in his native Toronto and chose to put their faith in ageing quarter-back Ricky Ray by offering him a new contract. Ray’s new deal has been met with huge positivity in the Argos locker room with wide receiver Vidal Hazelton complementing Ray by stating “he adds so much swag to this offence” adding “it’s fun playing with him and it’s fun catching his passes”. I’m predicting a great year for Toronto and think they may finish top of the East division and will be contesting the Grey Cup in their home city come November. West Division BC Lions Last season the Lions advanced to the play-offs last season, but it would be fair to say that they only continued their road to the Grey Cup due to the inconsistencies of Winnipeg and the poor form of Saskatchewan, not down to their own brilliance. This season offers one of hope, despite losing starting receiver Andrew Harris to their Western rivals Winnipeg. The reason I say that there’s hope is BC do have a number of factors potentially in their favour. Firstly they have a new coach in Wally Buono who’s got a great record at identifying quarterback talent, then leading nicely onto the next point they have to good QB’s vying for the number 1 spot. The Lions have got one with plenty of experience in Travis Lulay who’s a former CFL’s most outstanding player and Grey Cup MVP of 2011, then they have the upcoming Jonathan Jennings who’s now in his second season in Vancouver with a lot expected of him. Buono has stated his intention to use Jennings as the number 1 QB this season having started 8 games last season with a 66% passing rate (making 2,004 yards) with 10 interceptions and 15 touchdown passes. Along with the quarterback competition BC also have ‘the Manny Show’ in wide receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux who offers the Lions faithful plenty of excitement and promises for that to continue this campaign “you’ve got to give the fans what they came to see, and that’s to put on a show”. BC could be one of those teams this season that gels straight away as they look to replicate their 2011 Grey Cup success. However given the loss of some key individuals I think it would be more of a realistic expectation for them to possibly finish 3rd in the division like last season, laying the foundations for a more dominant Lions in future years. Calgary Stampeders Calgary somewhat went under the radar during the off-season as other teams stole the limelight with the signings of big name players or by appointing a new coach. The Stampeders have been consistent over the last few seasons having achieved at least a semi-final spot and went one better in 2014 by lifting the Grey Cup. This season’s a new dawn for Calgary with John Hufnagel stepping down after 8 seasons and he now switches focus solely on his General Manager duties. Taking over from Hufnagel is Dave Dickenson in what could prove to be a smooth transition given Dickenson was offensive coach before being promoted to the role of head coach for this season’s campaign. Not forgetting too that Dickenson was a great quarterback for the franchise so is held in high esteem with the Calgary faithful. As well as a new head coach the Stamps also have a new defensive coordinator with DeVone Claybrooks taking up that role. Furthermore, Calgary like a lot of other franchises have to deal with a loss of a key player but for a different reason than losing a free agent. Instead it was the retirement of Canadian quarterback and 2x Grey Cup champion Jon Cornish, who spent his entire career in the CFL and with Calgary. However I believe there will be a smooth transition in the quarterback department as stated with the head coach change. Bo-Levi Mitchell will be key for Calgary if they are to stay at the top. Edmonton Eskimos The Grey Cup champions head in to the new campaign with a new look as Jason Mass is the new head coach after Chris Jones left to take up a similar role with last year’s worst team, Saskatchewan Rough Riders who finished bottom of the West in 2015. The Eskimos have managed to keep the majority of starters from their Grey Cup success last season which quite possibly will bode well for this season. The reason I say this is that is that the teams not too dissimilar from a number of seasons, meaning the team spirit which has built up in the Esks locker room will only grow stronger. Last season’s Grey Cup MVP Mike Reilly will be key for Edmonton this season as they look to replicate their 2015 success. Reilly who plays quarterback completed 21/35 passes for 269 yards as well as two touchdowns in the Grey Cup alone, with his overall total in regular season equalling 214/329, 2,449 yards made with 10 interceptions and 15 touchdowns. However where Edmonton might struggle is with new coach Jason Mass who moves from Ottawa Redblacks where he was offensive coordinator, as he’ll have to learn the ropes pretty quick. Saying that he comes with a good reputation from Ottawa after last season’s success. Not only have the Eskimos had to bring in a new head coach to replace Chris Jones they’ve also had to bring in a whole backroom staff to support Mass as Jones took all bar one with him to Saskatchewan. Personally as impressive as Edmoton were last season I can’t see them winning the Grey Cup again this year as I have a feeling it may be going East. However I’m pretty confident that they will at least reach the semi-finals. Saskatchewan Roughriders The Riders will be looking to get back to their best this year having had a horrific campaign last season finishing bottom of the division with only 3 wins to their name. There wasn’t much time after the season had concluded for the staff and the locker room to feel sorry for themselves as the boardroom recognised the poor season and went after who they saw as being the best in the business in 2015 Grey Cup winning coach Chris Jones who joined from Edmonton. Jones wasted no time putting his stamp on the team by firstly bringing his backroom staff East with him to Saskatchewan before remoulding the roster as he saw fit bringing in a number from his former team as well as others from Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg to name a few. Players following him to Saskatchewan include wide receivers Shamawd Chambers and Kendial Lawrence whom both played a pivotal role in the Eskimos success last year. In addition to Jones’ use of the free agency he also picked up a gem or to back in May during the official draft, most notably offensive linemen Josiah St John who was the top pick in this year’s draft. With Jones bringing a fresh look to the Riders it’s sure to be exciting times ahead for the Riders faithful and I can pretty much guarantee they won’t rank as the worst team this time around. However I think it would be extremely unlikely they would reach the Grey Cup as we all know building a successful side takes time, so in 2-3 years’ time it may just be their year? Winnipeg Blue Bombers
After a disappointing season last year Winnipeg will be looking to transform their fortunes this time around. The Blue Bombers will see this year as a new era given the new uniform by Adidas which will see them play in their traditional royal blue and gold along with their revamped team. The Bombers made waves in the free agency with plenty of upheaval and remodelling of their team with some notable arrivals. Notable arrivals include running-back and Winnipeg native Andrew Harris from BC Lions who stated “it’s a dream come true and something I’ve always envisaged”. Other arrivals include defensive-back Macho Harris, wide-receiver’s Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith, whom all three arrive from Saskatchewan. Winnipeg do tend to prefer to splash out on free agency compared to the approach Jim Barker takes at Toronto where young talent in the draft is preferred. However the Bombers will hope their reshaping will pay off as they go in search of their first Grey Cup since 1990. Although they will at least be hoping to advance to the play-offs for the first time since 2011 when they were East division champions and put last season’s record of 5 wins and 13 losses to bed. As already stated there is plenty to look forward to for Bombers fans with the new look squad and the new uniform too, which the fans are delighted about having been wanting to go back to Royal Blue for quite some time. This season I would expect Winnipeg to give the Bombers faithful some joy by securing a play-off spot and advancing at least to the semi-finals. Although I do believe the team does have potential to appear in Toronto at the Grey Cup this year.
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Last year was a challenging year for Ontario native Brandon Bridge having gone unpicked in the NFL draft, eventually going in the 4th round (31st pick) to Montreal Alouettes, meaning he would be playing his football in Canada. In his rookie season he started as the third choice quarterback at Montreal, but did work his way up to play back-up to fellow rookie Rakeem Cato after injuries to Jonathan Crompton and Dan LeFevour. Although given Cato didn’t arrive till later in the 2015 season, Bridge did make his debut in game week 1 of the season but did not make his first start till the final game in early November where he completed 21/30 passes (220 yards) as well as assisting with two touchdowns. Despite only the one start in 2015 Bridge does have a lot going for him most notably being one of a sparse number of Canadian quarterbacks in the CFL. Not only this, but he does have a huge advantage over other Canadian quarterbacks having gone to an American University as opposed to a Canadian one, South Alabama to be precise. The advantage of attending a University in America is that there is access to more full time coaches and better facilities as well as tougher competition. This means his game should be more rounded, so his arm strength should match other American quarterbacks playing in the CFL leading to him making the all-important big plays during game time. Also Bridge has the skill to hold on to the ball for a long time, thus giving himself the opportunity to look for teammates across the pitch. All these skill sets should set Bridge in good stead for the upcoming season as he battles it out for the number 2 quarter-back slot with Compton, Cato and Vernon Adams Jr who will face his rookie season. Ideally Bridge like most other QB’s would like to be the starter but knows he must bide his time and impress GM Jim Popp in practice. Meanwhile the current honour of starting QB goes to 37-year-old Kevin Glenn who Bridge admires stating “he’s been a great mentor” helping him out and offering advice where appropriate. Playing under such an experienced head as Glenn is will only further help improve his game and after not playing as much as he would have liked last year, Bridge will be even more determined to prove a point and grasp every opportunity. 2016 has the potential to be a great year for Bridge where he could lay the foundations to becoming one of the faces of the CFL for future years. Is this the year where Air Canada departs for greatness?
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