Western Conference Predictions

[TheLionKing]

http://www.thesnap.ca/rod-pedersen-rele ... d-twitter/

Now there is a surprise. Pederson picking the Riders to finish 1st. This before even training camp starts. Might as well anoint the Riders as Grey Cup Champs

[B.C.FAN]

He made that prediction on April Fools' Day. I'm surprised people took him seriously.

[Rammer]

He made that prediction on April Fools' Day. I'm surprised people took him seriously.

I should have realized it when he placed the Lions in third.

[squishy35]

All thing considered so far with the FA signings in WPG and the massive changes in Sask.... I will loosely predict:

Either of Calgary or BC finish 1 or 2 as the teams have had the minimal amount of disruption of players in the off season. Good leadership on both teams at the coaching and player levels. Lots of upside to both teams.

Edmonton or Winnipeg (either could finish 3rd and 4th). Edmonton has lots of talent and a very good QB. Winnipeg will need time to Gel as a team and could make the latter half of the season very interesting.

Saskatchewan 5th. Rebuilding year, even with CJ at the coaching helm they have overhauled their line up, have a fragile QB coming back from a major injury and have lost a lot on their defense and receiving corps...... sorry Riders.....

[Lionsfan65]

All thing considered so far with the FA signings in WPG and the massive changes in Sask.... I will loosely predict:

Either of Calgary or BC finish 1 or 2 as the teams have had the minimal amount of disruption of players in the off season. Good leadership on both teams at the coaching and player levels. Lots of upside to both teams.

Edmonton or Winnipeg (either could finish 3rd and 4th). Edmonton has lots of talent and a very good QB. Winnipeg will need time to Gel as a team and could make the latter half of the season very interesting.

Saskatchewan 5th. Rebuilding year, even with CJ at the coaching helm they have overhauled their line up, have a fragile QB coming back from a major injury and have lost a lot on their defense and receiving corps...... sorry Riders.....

I think that actually sounds fairly accurate. The Lions really started to play better during the second half of last season. I think thee might be a bit of a learning curve for Dickenson. Edmonton lost Jones along with several players, Saskatchewan is in a rebuild and Winnipeg will find some way to mess it up.

[The_Pauser]

1. Calgary - Still the cream of the crop.

2. BC - Good young QB coming in, assuming Jennings is the real deal we should be in for an exciting season. Strong offense. A couple question's on the O-line but some decent starters. Solid defense led by Team 100.

3. Saskatchewan - Great coach, solid talent, should be in for a good bounce-back season.

4. Winnipeg - Added a lot of talent this offseason. Can their QB stay healthy though? That'll be the big question.

5. Edmonton - Absolutely gutted. Should still be solid though, but I think they've been passed by everyone else.

[maxlion]

Very hard to predict this year in the west. So much change, and seemingly a lot of parity. I think the teams that escape injury and deal best with injuries will make the playoffs, especially at the qb position. Sask seems the most vulnerable due to amount of change and uncertainty at qb. Cgy and Edm have been significantly weakened. Despite last season's poor showing and all the questions about the Lions, I think we have a good chance at finishing on top this year.

1. BC
2. Edm
3. Wpg
4. Cgy
5. Sask

[JohnHenry]

Stamps 11-7
Riders 10-8
Lions 9-9
Bombers 9-9
Eskimos 9-9

[KnowItAll]

sask
wpg
bc
cal
ed

[JohnnyMusso]

Some of these predictions seems very optimistic and maybe mine is pessimistic, but the only real change the Lions have made is their head coach. Last year, they were not at all competitive with the very good teams and I don't see it changing this year. It will take 2 or 3 years for the Lions to turn it around. Their O-Line is still questionable and Jennings is still an unknown factor and only a 2nd year player who will be prone to more mistakes. Their receiving core is average and their defence questionable. They ranked near the bottom last year. No way will they finish first and beat out Calgary, who is still the class of the West. Eskimos will drop off somewhat, but still be good. Sask will be the most improved and Winnipeg better.

And I am not a fan of Khari Jones as OC and don't think he will be much better than last time.

My prediction:

1) Calgary
2) Eskimos
3) Sask
4) BC
5) Bombers

[maxlion]

Some of these predictions seems very optimistic and maybe mine is pessimistic, but the only real change the Lions have made is their head coach. Last year, they were not at all competitive with the very good teams and I don't see it changing this year. It will take 2 or 3 years for the Lions to turn it around. Their O-Line is still questionable and Jennings is still an unknown factor and only a 2nd year player who will be prone to more mistakes. Their receiving core is average and their defence questionable. They ranked near the bottom last year. No way will they finish first and beat out Calgary, who is still the class of the West. Eskimos will drop off somewhat, but still be good. Sask will be the most improved and Winnipeg better.

And I am not a fan of Khari Jones as OC and don't think he will be much better than last time.

My prediction:

1) Calgary
2) Eskimos
3) Sask
4) BC
5) Bombers

I agree that there a lot of questions, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Lions finish anywhere from 1st to 4th. However, I disagree with your assessment of the receiving core as average. Arseneaux is among the top in the league, and Hawkins finished with 673 yds in only 9 games. Moore is a solid addition and upgrade on Burnham if he stays healthy, and Boldewyn has high potential. Gore is as good as most nationals that other teams are fielding. Our Canadian depth is so-so, but overall, I'd rate our receiving core as among the best in the league.

Not sure if Cgy will still be the class of the league after losing Hufnagel as HC, Stubler as DC, Murphy their key recruitment guy, plus two star players in Cornish and Rogers. They have an uphill climb in my opinion.

[squishy35]

Some of these predictions seems very optimistic and maybe mine is pessimistic, but the only real change the Lions have made is their head coach. Last year, they were not at all competitive with the very good teams and I don't see it changing this year. It will take 2 or 3 years for the Lions to turn it around. Their O-Line is still questionable and Jennings is still an unknown factor and only a 2nd year player who will be prone to more mistakes. Their receiving core is average and their defence questionable. They ranked near the bottom last year. No way will they finish first and beat out Calgary, who is still the class of the West. Eskimos will drop off somewhat, but still be good. Sask will be the most improved and Winnipeg better.

And I am not a fan of Khari Jones as OC and don't think he will be much better than last time.

My prediction:

1) Calgary
2) Eskimos
3) Sask
4) BC
5) Bombers

I agree that there a lot of questions, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Lions finish anywhere from 1st to 4th. However, I disagree with your assessment of the receiving core as average. Arseneaux is among the top in the league, and Hawkins finished with 673 yds in only 9 games. Moore is a solid addition and upgrade on Burnham if he stays healthy, and Boldewyn has high potential. Gore is as good as most nationals that other teams are fielding. Our Canadian depth is so-so, but overall, I'd rate our receiving core as among the best in the league.

Not sure if Cgy will still be the class of the league after losing Hufnagel as HC, Stubler as DC, Murphy their key recruitment guy, plus two star players in Cornish and Rogers. They have an uphill climb in my opinion.

Not sure about Sask being most improved Mr Musso. They had a very mediocre season last year and have been gutted at linebacker, DB and receiver positions. Edmonton also had their coaching staff decimated and lost some good players as well.

The Bombers have made HUGE gains in the FA market and with a healthy Drew Willy are much better than a 5th place in the west team.

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.famous-quotes-and-quotations ... uotes.html

''It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.'' -- Yogi Berra

Dave D in Calgary as HC. Who knows?

Jones will be good in Regina. But this year?

Wally Redux in BC. Who knows?

Edmonton gutted, but they do have Mike Reilly.

Winnipeg? Who knows? Odds against, methinks.
..........

God bless Yogi Berra.

[KnowItAll]

sask
wpg
cal
bc
ed

on a hunch

[OV - 54:40]

On a hunch too:

Esks - Reilly might work very well with new HC Maas in a mostly pass offence, with some very good receivers; still got some good D players too

Stumps - new HC too, but still some good talent on O; D might be not so great; outstanding kicking game though

Riders - lots of question marks all over the roster; depending on a healthy Durant and Jones being this supposed defensive genius

BC - Wally redux knows how to win - maybe - QB position a question but potential; D could be very good, or - not ?

Bombers - some nice FA additions; Willy a decent QB but not good enough IMO: D is questionable; Medlock might carry them further with great FG kicking