Grey Cups are not won in February – Yet

This year was different with quarterbacks Mike Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell exploring free agency and even NFL opportunities. Reilly is 34 years old and his NFL opportunities were probably limited to a training camp invite, but Mitchell, coming off a Grey Cup title and most outstanding player title, seemed to have the more viable opportunity, especially considering the number of NFL quarterbacks who stumbled this year in Jacksonville, Denver and elsewhere.

However, Mitchell after doing a tour of NFL camps apparently came away with no vote of confidence, which comes down to a sizeable bonus payment and perhaps even a commitment of allowing a competition for either a starting position or back up. His return to the CFL was marked with a couple of bids from Saskatchewan and Toronto who by all reports promised more money, but Mitchell found the familiarity of Calgary and head coach Craig Dickenson to be what he needed the most.

Reilly leaving for BC was understandable considering his off-season home was in Washington State, along with his parents living in the area and his family was on the left coast. Add to that the tire fire that was the Edmonton Eskimos who sacrificed their president, Len Rhodes, just prior to free agency to prove to Reilly the team was committed to getting better and win a title, and the stage was set for Reilly to return to the team that provided his initial break into the CFL.

BC went on to fortify their offensive line with Sukh Chungh, receiving corps with Duron Carter, and the scene seems to be set for BC to make an impact on the CFL west this year. They also added receivers Lemar Durant and Joshua Sanford along with running back Brandon Rutley. Then on defense BC added DBs Aaron Grymes, Josh Woodman and Chris Edwards; linebackers Terrell Davis and Malecki Harris.

BC lost quarterback Cody Fajardo, receivers Ricky Collins Jr., DeVier Posey, Manny Arceneaux, Cory Watson and Chris Rainey; quarterback Jon Jennings, running back Brandon Rutley; linebackers Bo Lokombo and Micah Awe; DB’s DyShawn Davis, Anthony Orange, Winston Rose and defensive lineman Shawn Lemon.

Edmonton for their part gave Reilly permission to negotiate with other teams prior to the official start of free agency and when Reilly signed with BC Edmonton went into Plan B mode, stripping QB Trevor Harris, OL SirVincent Rogers, Travis Bond and Qadr Spooner, receivers Greg Ellingson, DeVaris Daniels, Ricky Collins, linebackers Larry Dean, Don Unamba and Jovon Santos-Knox, DB Anthony Orange.

In terms of a response to losing a franchise quarterback like Reilly, it was a pretty good move by Edmonton and puts the ball squarely in head coach Jason Maas’ court in turning the fortunes of the Eskimos around. Considering Edmonton missed the playoffs last year when they were hosting the Grey Cup, it was at the very least a very good public relations move to show the Empire Fans a new page was being turned in the historic annals of the club.

Edmonton gave up Reilly, WR Nathan Behar and Derel Walker; DBs Chris Edwards, Josh Woodman and Aaron Grymes.

Calgary for its part was a winner for landing Mitchell and having him spur the advances of the Argonauts and the Riders. With Calgary esteem, much like their stadium, in the dumpster, it was a savvy move by Mitchell to cement his legacy as the greatest Stampeder of them all and place his trust in John Hufnagel and Dave Dickenson to surround him with talent.

Calgary brought back receivers Eric Rogers, Juawan Brescacin, DL Junior Turner and defensive end Corderro Law, while waving goodbye to receivers DeVaris Daniels and Lemar Durant, OL Spencer Wilson, DE Ja’Gared Davis, DT Micah Johnson, LB Maleki Harris and DBs Tunde Adeleke, Patrick Levels and Troy Stoudamire.

In Winnipeg the big get was defensive end Willie Jefferson, along with DBs Winston Rose and Brandon Alexander and receiver Nic Demski. The Bombers unloaded OL Sukh Chung and Qadr Spooner, Jovon, receiver Ryan Langford, OL Qadr Spooner, LB Santos-Knox, and DB Kevin Fogg and Taylor Loffler.

The east was less active and the winners seemed to be which team lost fewer players than who was interested in signing.

In Toronto the inability to land Mitchell didn’t stop the team from signing receiver Chris Rainey and Derel Walker, RBs Mercer Timmis and Tyrell Sutton; DEs Shawn Lemon and Tobi Antigha; DT Poop Johnson, LBs Micah Awe and Ian Wild while losing receiver Duron Carter.

In Hamilton, the team welcomed receivers Mike Jones, Brian Jones and Shamawd Chambers; DEs Adrian Tracy and Ja’Gared Davis; DBs Tunde Adeleke and Rico Murray. The team lost RBs Mercer Timmis and John White; LBs Larry Dean, Don Unamba, and Terrell Davis; DB Courtney Stephen.

Ottawa was picked clean of QB Trevor Harris, RB William Powell, receiver Greg Ellingson, FB Christophe Normand, OL SirVincent Rogers, DL A.C. Leonard, DB Rico Murray and LB Kevin Francis. They did pick up QB Jon Jennings; RB Mossis Madu; receivers Ryan Langford, Nathan Behar and Caleb Holley; OL Phillipe Gagnon; LB Nicolas Boulay and DB Troy Stoudamire.

Montreal picked up FB Christophe Normande, RB Jeremiah Johnson; receivers DeVier Posey, Ernest Jackson and BJ Cunningham; OL Spencer Wilson;DL John Bowman; LB Bo Lokombo and DBs Taylor Loffler and Patrick Levels. Montreal lost receiver Joshua Stanford, OL Phillipe Gagnon and LB Nicolas Boulay.

The Riders added quarterbacks Zach Collaros, Cody Fajardo; RB William Powell; receivers Cory Watson and Manny Arseneaux; DL A.C. Leonard; DT Micah Johnson; K Brent Lauther and DB DyShawn Davis. The Riders lost DEs William Jefferson and Tobi Antigha; DT Poop Johnson; LB Kevin Francis, and receivers Brian Jones and Caleb Holley.

Rider fans had their pitchforks and torches out for GM Jeremy O’Day for first losing bringing in either Mike Reilly or Bo Levi Mitchell. O’Day did make a pitch for more money in the case of Mitchell and probably in the case of Reilly, but the Riders missed out on the big name quarterbacks for a few reasons, none of which had anything to do with the competence of O’Day.

Reilly was headed to the west coast for family reasons and might have at least listened seriously to the Riders if Chris Jones, with whom Reilly won a Grey Cup, was still in charge. However the Riders were also handicapped by the poor showing of their offense and the fact with a rookie head coach, there is no sense of what the Riders would be like as a team this year.

Familiarity also helped Mitchell make up his mind to stay in Calgary, and the Riders being a team in transition made staying the Calgary the football equivalent of staying with the devil he knew than the devil no one knew.

The Riders signed Collaros who was probably the Plan B, but the Riders signing of Fajardo shows the Riders are looking for a quarterback who could plausibly step in for Collaros should he go down with another concussion. There is still Travis Lulay, who is making up his mind whether he wants to move on from BC, or Kevin Glenn who may be 39, but does offer back up quarterbacking that is well ahead of Brandon Bridge in case of emergency.

The Riders first new acquisition was running back William Powell who was a bit a surprise for Rider fans until word got out that running back Tre Mason, who went out with an ACL injury last season, would miss most of this season in recovery.

The Riders signing of Watson also raised questions of whether O’Day knew what he was doing, but then word came out that Jake Harty, who the Riders signed last year and went out with an ACL injury in the Riders first practice in the spring, would be out again this year with another round of surgery.

Hardy may well be a bust as a signing, but his and Mason’s extended recoveries are not a surprise when you look at how Washington QB Alex Smith had an knee injury, then battled an infection during his recovery which extended the period Smith will be out.

The Riders addition of Micah Johnson and A.C. Leonard more than makes up for the loss of defensive end Willie Jefferson. Keeping Jefferson would have been a nice get for O’Day, but it appears his loyalty was more for Chris Jones than the club.

Johnson at defensive tackle is a player who consistently gets double teamed and now becomes the highest paid defensive player in the CFL. His addition to the line which features Zach Evans and the bookends of Charleston Hughes and Leonard make the Riders harder to run against. A note of caution here with Hughes sack production going down towards the end of the 2018 season, although his legal entanglements with drinking and driving might have had an effect, is that the Riders will need to find a good rotation of players on the defensive line to ensure Hughes is relatively fresh and provide enough different looks for opposing defenses.

The loss of Antigha does sting a bit, not that he was much of a defensive lineman, but his versatility in dropping into coverage paid off with some timely interceptions last year and prevented opponents from figuring out what the Riders were doing on defensive plays.

The Riders will be looking for players to step up and perhaps take over from Sam Eguavoen who signed with Miami and could be back if he doesn’t make the team. There is also Jeff Knox Jr. available as a free agent who played with Toronto last year after coming back from an NFL trial.

The addition of Powell shows the Riders will again be dedicated to their running game, although the Riders have yet to sign Canadian offensive lineman Josiah St. John who after being drafted number 1 three years ago, finally took a spot on the offensive line and acquitted himself well.

The receiving corps is the great unknown and the addition of Arceneaux is probably intended to give some pop to a receiving corps which was either inexperienced or cursed with a back up quarterback who was unable to hit a receiver in normal conditions. Arcenaux though is not expected to be back on the field until probably Labour Day, which means if the Riders can keep Collaros upright, he will have to mold an inexperienced receiving corps into something more.

The Riders defense is probably still the strong unit of this team, even though Jovon Johnson retired to be a defensive secondary coach with Defiance University in the United States, and left behind a statement about a locker room made up of uh, strong personalities who may not have all been going in the same direction. Johnson’s comments are not unusual from a guy who sold his 2007 Grey Cup ring because he wasn’t on the roster for the game, but to say the Riders carry some sort of Chris Jones demon seed in the locker room is being a bit alarmist.

The Riders roster will undergo a few more changes as the initial rush from free agency appears to be over and the big spenders in Edmonton and BC start to figure out how they can field a team under the salary cap and which players may have to be let go to help the team make it under the cap at the end of the year.

Eddie Steele is likely not coming back since it appears he is looking to working with his father in Edmonton in a business and the only team he would consider signing with is Edmonton because of the location of the family business. The Riders signing of Makana Henry will likely see him rotate with Zach Evans at the defensive tackle position, and Mic’hael Brooks is still unsigned after being injured last year but was an effective run stopper and could be rotated with Johnson at the other defensive tackle position or even put out on end.

The loss of Francis is a meh moment notable only because the Riders bid a third round draft pick for the right to pick Francis in the supplemental draft and Francis spent his time here either injured or on the practice roster with intermittent special team appearances in his time here. The signing of Sam Hurl along with Cameron Judge provides Canadian content at the linebacker position.

As teams sort through their signings, who is left and who is down south that money will have to be set aside for, they will also have to figure out the upcoming salary cap and where the team can improve in a practical way. Accepting the Riders receiving corps should improve and making it imperative the Riders offensive line improves and keeps Collaros upright, the Riders should be able to steadily improve and be better positioned to make an impact in the playoffs.

While Edmonton underwent an overhaul, it is somewhat interesting the streakiness of Trevor Harris is now twinned with the repressed man-child that is Jason Maas. This is a make or break year for Maas who had Mike Reilly but threw him under the bus towards the end of last season and now for his sins must make do with Harris who when he is good is very good, but if you can get him off his rhythm, can turn bad very quickly.

Edmonton’s defense should be improved under new defensive coordinator Phillip Lolley who will be bringing back a taste of the former defense under Chris Jones. The question marks will come on offense for the Empire, which means a good defense should be able to stump them.

BC will be different under new coach DeVone Claybrooks, and Mike Reilly returning back to the left coast should be good for fan interest, but how the pieces all stick together will be interesting to see. Calgary lost a number of fine players, but have developed a fine pipeline of talent to compensate for that and this season will be another indication of whether the Stampeders can continue reloading.

Winnipeg should be considered a favorite in the west, but have lost enough people on the offensive line to raise questions over when, not if, Chris Streveler takes over. Matt Nichols may have reached the ceiling on what he can achieve and with Winnipeg investing heavily on Adam Bighill and Willie Jefferson, the Bombers will again attempt to capitalize on big plays and turnovers, but depth may prove to be a bit of a problem.

Hamilton may win the east by default simply by not losing their quarterback to another team. Hamilton did get their linebacker corps fleeced but the key for Hamilton and how well they do under new head coach Orlando Steinhauer will depend on how well their receivers rebound from injuries.

Toronto with the addition of Walker should have a better offense, but it will be interesting to see if James Franklin can claim the number one quarterback spot or if he is much ado about nothing as Mike Reilly’s back up in Edmonton. Cory Chamblin should have the Argos playing better defense than last year and having Jacques Chapdelaine as offensive coordinator should give the Argos a boost. The Argos will be somewhere between last place and Grey Cup Champs, but should be trending upwards.

Ottawa having been ravished by Edmonton, will now have to sell Jon Jennings as a better QB than Harris, but the truth is Harris did not have the ability to lift a team that say, a Mike Reilly or Henry Burris did. Ottawa may have hit the ceiling on what Harris was able to do as a team leader and using Jennings as a placeholder while they look to identify and develop a new quarterback who had that intangible of being a championship quarterback. Ottawa have been content to be complacent in the east considering their opposition, but winning a Grey Cup requires someone who can transcend the moment and Ottawa didn’t have anyone of that quality before free agency or even now.

Montreal may have improved by not losing anyone, but they are still prisoners of Johnny Manziel and his limited attention span. Manziel did have his growing pains last year, but he is clearly a quarterback with one eye either on the Association of American Football League or the NFL.

The problem either league will have is while Manziel’s playground scrambling is entertaining, it is not winning and his apparent refusal to learn a playbook and how to use his personnel means no one will want to have him in their building that expects a winning team. Montreal has four other quarterbacks on their roster with Vernon Adams Jr., Antonio Pipkin and Jeff Matthews waiting in the wings and hopefully providing more consistent quarterbacking than Manziel.

If anything, this will hopefully be the last year of Kavis Reed and Montreal can provide some adult leadership to prevent the franchise from sinking into the St. Lawrence.

So this week the CFL will announce the location of the 2020 Grey Cup and here is a bit of going out on the line – Hamilton will get the 2020 Grey Cup while the Riders will get the 2021 Cup hosting rights. Hamilton will get 2020 because Bob Young has been a good owner for Hamilton and the city has gone without hosting a cup since 1996.

Then on Sunday CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie will bring his preseason tour to Regina and I will be among the audience to see what the hell the Ambrosie is doing with the CBA talks and all of this agreements with foreign football associations while it appears the Atlantic Schooners are scaling back their stadium request and are probably on the road to not being the 10^th franchise.

But let’s see what happens first…

by Greg Urbanoski

Grey Cups are not won in February – Yet

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