CFL 2014 Ratings/Playoff Positions at 2014 11 08

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Rammer
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I second Hambone's suggestion on the GC host team getting the better odds. Myself I would give those odds to TO, as the East looks weaker now, and they should represent the East, whereas in the West at least two teams will have to battle it out if not three.

Riders aren't where they are going to end up personel wise, with the potential of both Sheets and Dressler coming back, that will impact them more than any other team in the league. Without a TB, the Riders will have to rely upon Durant, and that isn't a good thing IMO. He has struggled when the game resides upon his arm, and he resorts to using his legs, which makes him vulnerable to an injury, they can't afford him to go down at all. So unless they find a TB, it may be tough out of the gate for the Riders. Stamps have some sorting out to do, and I don't think that has been resolved in the preseason. The two headed QB system can work, but often it hurts you more than it helps you, and that is with a good QB tandem. The Stamps don't have the QB'ing that had last season, and an emotional young QB may make this tandem blowup. You would count on Nik Lewis to add the necessary onfield leadership to help settle down the QB's, but he better find Jenny Craig quickly, because Colonel Saunders has his number right now. Both Edmonton and Winnipeg have too far to improve in order to make a GC run, they both need to find a few impact players and build on that this season.

That leaves the Lions, which I thought made too many changes in the off season to have a real shot at a GC run, but given the two top teams seemingly weaker, and the two bottom teams still a ways away, they have the potential to have a much better season than I originally anticipated. They still scare me along the OL, although the starters could make this a good enough OL behind Glenn who looks like he knows how to get rid of the ball before the last second that has plauged the Lions QB system since Wally's hiring in BC, so that will afford them to concentrate on their initial block, making it easier on their side of the ball. You do have to be concerned on any OL injury, it will both disrupt their effectiveness as a unit, plus the drop in talent is going to be exploited by opposition D's. Lions TB seems to be rich beyond any CFL team, with a TB by committee that is the envy of the league, beyond deep. Still the Lions OL had better find this foursome (Harris, Logan, Brown, and Antolin) some holes to really open up the passing game. Receivers, aren't the best group the Lions have had, but a few have another season under their belt which should help them understand the nuances of the CFL, and perhaps a new OC will help make the Lions less predictable, at least to start the season. Lions need two receivers to set themselves apart from the rest of the corps, which also depends heavily on the QB.

Which brings me to the QB, what a nice game of poker Wally played to get Glenn, othewise the Lions were going to fall behind out of the gate from what I have seen in new QB's, I have more faith in Partridge than Beck, but neither of them are ready for a full blown CFL D coming at them yet. Glenn provides the Lions with the best 1/2 combo at the QB position with a healthy Lulay of course. If preseason has any bearing, Glenn is much better than I thought he was, even with his success in Hamilton and Calgary. I always wondered about Glenn getting so excited about the REDBLACKS selecting him, then the pout when Burris superseeded him. My question was why would he accpet the same role in BC as he was upset about in Ottawa, QB number 2. He must have been told via a phone call that there was noway Lulay was going to be ready to start the season, so the position allowed him to earn his starting salary vs the much reduced salary he would receive as a backup, plus the respect of being a starter that he believes he has earned at this stage of his career. Best trade for a long time IMO, he stabalizes the most important position in the CFL, and once Lulay returns, the Lions will have the best one two punch in the CFL for 2014. Health is the biggest factor for the Lions to utilize the QB power to their benefit, which once again points to the OL, both from a health position and their capabilities.

The D looks tougher than it has the past couple of seasons, although it is still early. With the additon of Jamal Johnson you knew going in that a punishing LB tandem of Bighill and Elimimian just got tougher and all three are capable of playing the middle with Bighill and Johnson covering a ton of outside ground. Even the backups look like they are CFL ready, just in a more physical way, watch out for Hoffman-Ellis, he looks like a throwback to me. But better yet the Lions are getting younger in the DB position, while allowing the payroll to absorb some cushion area, plus they seem to want to make contact, always good in my books. I do hope the Lions don't end up regretting the departure of McDonald though, his presence will be missed, plus he may end up facing up against the Lions, which could hurt them in a dual way. Lots of discussion on this board about the DL, rather than get too far into my ranting on it, I will be suffice to say, with the additon of Mitchell, the Lions D will move the line of scrimage in the direction that will benefit any DE's, as both Taylor and Mitchell will push the OL into the QB's face faster than most O's draw up plays for. They also aren't going to allow many A gap running plays, something that helps out the LB'ers, allowing our standout group to become heat seeking missiles. The only concern area going into the off season that wasn't addressed or seemingly so, was the safety position, I will cross my fingers that the Lions find the answer that I have been looking for since the retirement of Baron Miles.

ST's is a strength by attitude, the Lions seem to be capable of more attitude, plus they improved an area of frustration by me, KO depth. Schmitt's signing gives the Lions one of the best legs in the CFL, and it subtracts a Rider strength. Lions should be solid returning the ball as well, Logan's runs combined with Brown's straight ahead positive yardage forces the opposition to play with less aggression. Add in the addition of Antolin and the Lions could afford an injury without dropoff. Antolin was the player addition that intrigues me the most, looks like a combo of Logan and Brown, both on the returns and at the TB position. I am glad that the Lions kept him in orange, as the green team to the East would be drooling to find a gem like him to help out their team in both departments.


Okay that is the fluff from my eyes, the reality of the season is to remain the team with the most health, have the newbies find their roles, and of course then the Lions have to 'execute'. So with my respect to everyone that offers up their ratings for week 1, here are mine.

Toronto (Looks like coaching can make a difference, maybe not the standout players that you would expect from the #1 team, which is a reflection of coaching)
Riders (Champs took a few lumps, but should be rated best in the West until otherwise determined)
BC (Hope the preseason can transfer out into the regular season, but as much as I thought going in that the Stamps would be in this position, they showed enough cracks to give the Lions the bump up for now)
Hamilton (Coaching again is front and center, I may have them ranked one notch lower than they should be)
Calgary (Still have to work out some kinks, and perhaps the Hufnagel message is getting old in Stamps land)
Edmonton (there is a dropoff here from the top 5 teams, but out of the bottom 4, the Esks have the best QB and established team)
Winnipeg (any of the bottom four could be interchanged, a real crap shoot to predict, Bombers get my nod for their D)
Ottawa (Again a good QB, who can have braincramps, but will win as many as he loses with his arm)
Montreal (You have to feel for the Als, unless they have a starting QB that I am not aware of, they are going to be in cellar a position not heard of since their return to the CFL)
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WestCoastJoe
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Great post, Rammer.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Hambone
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Rammer wrote:Riders aren't where they are going to end up personel wise, with the potential of both Sheets and Dressler coming back, that will impact them more than any other team in the league.
That's of course assuming they sign with the Riders if they don't stick in the NFL. Both are CFL FAs. Odds I think are good Dressler would stay in green. Sheets I think would go to wherever the money is.
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Hambone
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sj-roc wrote:Not only that but you get to watch your beloved Red Wings as a GC warmup.
I don't know. 11am is a pretty early start on GC weekend.
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B.C.FAN
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CFL News ‏@CFL_News
.@BoLeviMitchell named starting QB for the #Calstampeders. via @SUNScottFisher #CFL
It could be a long season in Calgary. I know Dave Dickenson is high on Mitchell but his lack of experience will hurt. The Stamps' success will depend on how quickly he develops.
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David
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B.C.FAN wrote:
CFL News ‏@CFL_News
.@BoLeviMitchell named starting QB for the #Calstampeders. via @SUNScottFisher #CFL
And the **beetching** from Drew Tate starts in 3,2,1....


DH :cool:
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WestCoastJoe
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I cannot see hot head Drew Tate being a happy camper. One got the sense that Huf/DaveD were leaning towards Bo.

Is Calgary going to be a strong contender this year? Dunno ... Seeing some bad signs. But they have a talented roster. I guess it depends on how well Mitchell steps into the role.

Not a Drew Tate fan. Didn't like how he tore into Cornish. His hissy fits seem to me like a sign of a self-preoccupied player.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
TheLionKing
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B.C.FAN wrote:
CFL News ‏@CFL_News
.@BoLeviMitchell named starting QB for the #Calstampeders. via @SUNScottFisher #CFL
It could be a long season in Calgary. I know Dave Dickenson is high on Mitchell but his lack of experience will hurt. The Stamps' success will depend on how quickly he develops.
Wonder how long a leash he is on
TheLionKing
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CALGARY -- A competition for the highest-profile position on the football field makes for a compelling storyline, so it’s no surprise that fans and media had been fixated on the battle for the No. 1 quarterback job with the Calgary Stampeders.

Much had been written and said about the arms race between Drew Tate and Bo Levi Mitchell and Stamps head coach and general manager John Hufnagel was asked almost daily for a progress update on the competition.

Coach Huff brought an end to the drama on Monday by announcing that Mitchell would be under centre for Saturday’s home-opener against the Montreal Alouettes, but the coach stressed that both players figure to see plenty of action in 2014.

“In my mind,” said Hufnagel, “it really doesn’t matter who’s the starting quarterback for Game 1. It’s a long season, they’re all going to play, and I believe they both will play well when they’re on the field.”

The numbers back up the coach/GM on both fronts. As far as the credentials of Tate and Mitchell go, both players have enjoyed success with the Red and White

Tate has been with the Stamps since 2009 and became the starter in Week 17 of the 2011 season. Injuries have limited him to eight regular-season and two playoff starts since that time but he has been very productive when healthy, posting a 5-0 record when he plays the entire game.

He has completed 259 or 381 passes during his Stamps career (a 68.0-per cent completion rate, the highest total in franchise history) for 3,270 yards, 24 touchdowns and just nine interceptions.

Mitchell has been with the Stamps for two seasons and posted a 3-0 record when called upon as a starter in 2013. He completed 94 of 135 passes last season for 1,156 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Coincidentally, both players had a tough night in the Stamps’ pre-season game at BC last week although bad luck — passes were deflected by Calgary receivers and even by an official into the hands of Lions defenders — played a role in the quarterbacks’ struggles.

And when it comes to the suggestion that both players are likely to get their chance this season, one only needs to look back to 2013 when three different QBs — Tate, Mitchell and the since-departed Kevin Glenn — started and won games for the Stamps.

And it’s not just in Calgary that the pivots were rotating a year ago. In an eight-team (at the time) league, 18 different quarterbacks started games including one player who started games for two teams (Buck Pierce in Winnipeg and BC) and four different QBs in Montreal (Anthony Calvillo, Josh Neiswander, Tanner Marsh and Troy Smith).

Only two clubs — Edmonton (Mike Reilly) and Hamilton (Henry Burris) — had the same starter for all 18 regular-season contests.

With Burris now with the expansion Ottawa RedBlacks, Pierce and Calvillo retired and Glenn in line to start the year as the Lions No. 1 QB in favour of injured Travis Lulay, five of the eight incumbent teams in the league will have new season-opening starters in 2014.

The Calgary quarterbacks have proven that they will support one another regardless of the order on the depth chart from week to week. When Glenn was in the picture a year ago, observers marveled at how well the trio of talented throwers got along even when outside forces tried to create a quarterback controversy.

There’s no reason to believe that will change this year with Tate, Mitchell and newcomer Bryant Moniz, who won the No. 3 job in training camp.

“Obviously, you want to be the guy,” said Mitchell last week, “but no matter what, no matter who is in there, we’re going to win and that’s all we care about.”

http://cfl.ca/article/bos-ball-mitchell ... mps-vs-als
TheLionKing
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Another perspective on Bodog's Grey Cup prediction

http://cfl.ca/article/cauz-my-thoughts- ... y-cup-odds
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.cfl.ca/article/prediction-ti ... nual-picks
Prediction time: Nye makes his annual picks

Time to put my neck on the line for the 2014 season.

West Division

Let me start of the West Division predictions with this; Who knows? It’s wide open season, especially among the top three teams. Edmonton, Winnipeg can only get better than what they were last year. I don’t see a 14-win leader in the West this year. Try all teams between 11 and 6 wins. But I’m going to take my butt off the fence and predict...

First Place: Saskatchewan Roughriders - As a note, I did not pick them to finish first in the West or to even appear in the Grey Cup last year, so no homerism here. They have the #1 QB in the West. They have the #1 offensive line in the West. They have the #1 secondary in the West. All of this will allow them some stability early to get over some early season bumps in the road and find their groove in the back half of the season. Complete opposite of last year, where they started 8-1. More like a 5-4 start and a 6-3 finish.

Second Place: B.C. Lions - I really think the trade for Kevin Glenn will pay off big time for the Grey Cup hosts. Add to that the dynamic of Stefan Logan and Andrew Harris out of the backfield. The offence may not be a chuck it 30+ yards down field big play team, but they’ll certainly get some big plays that start with a quick hitch or dump off. As for the defence, they may have the best pass rush in the league up the middle. Can I also say 11 wins for B.C? I think I just did.

Third Place: Calgary Stampeders - Bo Levi Mitchell/Drew Tate... it doesn’t matter who throws the ball, as long as they have Jon Cornish running it they’ll stack up some wins. The question comes with the offensive line changes, can they get off the ball as powerful as they did last season. I’m not so sure. With Charleston Hughes and Keon Raymond, etc on the defence, they have playmakers, and add to that the best kicking in the CFL West Division, they’ll be right there fighting for first in the West. 11 wins? Fine, I’ll give them 10.

Fourth Place: Edmonton Eskimos - Mike Reilly is a fierce leader who a team is going to follow him all the way through, especially if he stays on his feet a little more. A new dynamic pair of running backs and the offence will win some games. Still questions on the defensive side of the ball, but I’m excited to see what Chris Jones does with talent like JC Sherritt, Rennie Curran and Marcus Howard. They could threaten a crossover to the East.

Fifth Place: Winnipeg Blue Bombers - I still have questions about the offensive line. If they give Drew Willy time to find a pretty good crop of receivers, they’ll be able to go score-for-score with the opposition. But there has to be concern with unproven special teams and defence, which is interesting as that has been head coach Mike O’Shea’s specialty over his career. But a rookie kicker has a lot to prove. Their pass rush has always been great, but can the new faces at LB and DB get on the same page? A team that may find itself after labour day and could start to surprise.

East Division

First Place: Hamilton Tiger-Cats - The Tabbies aren’t going to need the first half of the season to find their game like last season and that should allow them to leap frog Toronto for first place and host the Eastern Final at the new Tim Hortons Field. I have only two concerns with Hamilton. Is Zach Collaros the guy? Is the offensive line going to keep him on his feet? Kent Austin is two for two getting teams to the Grey Cup game in his two years as a head coach, and it’ll be hard to bet against him this time.

Second Place: Toronto Argonauts - The race in the East is going to come down to the head-to-head battles between the Argos and Ticats. The QEW should be full on game day between the two markets when they face each other, because that will be the best football played in the East this season. Ricky Ray and Chad Owens will be great, but expect the Argos defence to miss coordinator Chris Jones, who will turn the fortunes around in Edmonton.

Third Place: Ottawa REDBLACKS - What, you think I was not going to take a flyer on a team? Why not! Ottawa has a very talented coaching staff. Henry Burris may be getting closer and closer to the end of his career, but he can still lead a team to victory. The whole dilemma is whether they can find an identity early enough, commit to it and find ways to win with it. I did see a very prepared and organized team in both pre-season games. They still may not be a playoff team with so much positive going on in the West.

4) Montreal Alouettes - Too much change! Bottom line. When you lose leaders like Calvillo, Richardson, Flory, and Emry, there will be some growing pains. Add in yet another change in coaching staff, a fired offensive coordinator during training camp and sorry but I find it hard to think they’ll be firing on all cylinders. Chad Johnson will be fun to watch in the first few weeks to see if he’s the real deal, though.

GREY CUP PREDICTION: Hamilton over Saskatchewan. Why not?
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Second Place: B.C. Lions - I really think the trade for Kevin Glenn will pay off big time for the Grey Cup hosts. Add to that the dynamic of Stefan Logan and Andrew Harris out of the backfield. The offence may not be a chuck it 30+ yards down field big play team, but they’ll certainly get some big plays that start with a quick hitch or dump off. As for the defence, they may have the best pass rush in the league up the middle. Can I also say 11 wins for B.C? I think I just did.
Glenn :thup:

Harris and Logan :thup:

D Line up the middle with LBs :thup:

Not a bad view by Nye IMO ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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First Place: Hamilton Tiger-Cats - The Tabbies aren’t going to need the first half of the season to find their game like last season and that should allow them to leap frog Toronto for first place and host the Eastern Final at the new Tim Hortons Field. I have only two concerns with Hamilton. Is Zach Collaros the guy? Is the offensive line going to keep him on his feet? Kent Austin is two for two getting teams to the Grey Cup game in his two years as a head coach, and it’ll be hard to bet against him this time.
I respect Kent Austin, but is it possible for him to make 3 Cup finals in 3 years? Dunno ... He is an intense man, a great football man; he sets high expectations, and his teams deliver. But the Argos will be in the hunt with a pretty good leader themselves in Scott Milanovich.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
TheLionKing
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Third Place: Ottawa REDBLACKS - What, you think I was not going to take a flyer on a team? Why not! Ottawa has a very talented coaching staff. Henry Burris may be getting closer and closer to the end of his career, but he can still lead a team to victory. The whole dilemma is whether they can find an identity early enough, commit to it and find ways to win with it. I did see a very prepared and organized team in both pre-season games. They still may not be a playoff team with so much positive going on in the West.

4) Montreal Alouettes - Too much change! Bottom line. When you lose leaders like Calvillo, Richardson, Flory, and Emry, there will be some growing pains. Add in yet another change in coaching staff, a fired offensive coordinator during training camp and sorry but I find it hard to think they’ll be firing on all cylinders. Chad Johnson will be fun to watch in the first few weeks to see if he’s the real deal, though.
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WestCoastJoe
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June 29, 2014

Ever seen standings like that? 4 wins for the west. 0 wins for the east. And we, the BC Lions, did not get one of the wins for the west.

Edmonton looks very competitive. Reilly looks like an All Star. Jones' defence looks very formidable.

Don't know about Winnipeg. But O'Shea has to be doing some good stuff. Drew Willy :thup:

Calgary. No surprise.

Saskatchewan. No surprise. Kory Sheets. Who?

BC. O Line? OC? DC? Tackling? Did we mention STs? Overall determination? Overall sense of focus? Some of this has to be on Mike Benevides. All of it on Mike Benevides? Sure. The OC and DC are his. The players are his. It is his team. And it is only game 1. But I see in Edmonton's paper that Chris Jones had his first game as Head Coach. Many new players. New coordinators. It looks like it took one TC, two preseason games, and one regular season game for Chris Jones to put his culture in place with the Eskimos. What is the culture brought by Mike B? High fives and chest bumps?

Hamilton. Butt kicked by Saskatchewan. Austin looked kind of grumpy walking across the field post game.

Montreal. Is this chaos in Montreal? Well, BC is heading to town next week. It will be interesting.

Toronto. MIssing Chris Jones? It seems so. Good offence. No defence.

These are obviously not ratings. Just some observations.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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