CFL 2012 Wins/Losses, Rankings and Opinions

[WestCoastJoe]

Matthew Cauz | CFL.ca Columnist

Welcome to the first edition of the 2012 CFL.ca Power Rankings, it’s good to be back. I would like to thank all the East Division teams for making my initial rankings so easy. Normally, I formulate my final picks by looking at how each team did to finish the previous season, its off-season moves and the amount of injuries.

But after they made me look like a fool I’m banishing them all to the bottom where they belong. I’m about three weeks away from moving to Prince Albert.

B.C. Lions (1-0)
Congrats to Geroy Simon for breaking Milt Stegall’s record in style and congrats to the team for not starting the season with a five game losing streak. Barring a Travis Lulay injury I’m guessing we will be seeing the Lions in the top spot for a long time to come.

Calgary (1-0)
Only once in 2011 did Montreal’s offence fail to register at least 20 points. On Sunday, Calgary’s D held last year’s top ranked offence to 213 yards and just 11 first downs. Oh by the way, remember, Nik Lewis’ girth cannot be stopped.

Saskatchewan (1-0)
Most impressive win of the first week of the season goes to the Roughriders and their 43-16 win over the Tiger-Cats. I’m guessing Saskatchewan fans aren’t mourning the loss of Andy Fantuz.

Edmonton (1-0)
I’m waiting for Eric Tillman to hijack the Eskimos' twitter account and start posting “Who’s laughing now?” messages.

Montreal (0-1)
“One day some of the kids from the neighborhood carried my mother's groceries all the way home. You know why? It was outta respect.” One of my favourite lines from one of my favourite movies, ‘Goodfellas.’ Even though they were dominated by Calgary I’m slotting the Alouettes in the fifth spot out of respect. By the way Shea Emry you may want to stop acting like Tommy DeVito or you may get whacked by Coach Trestman.

Toronto (0-1)
Ugly stat of the weekend: Cory Boyd with 10 receptions for nine yards. You thought I was going to go with all the penalties didn’t you?

Winnipeg (0-1)
Not sure what this means, but I swear I saw some for sale signs on a couple of the downtown buildings in the heart of a Swaggerville. Before you get angry at me Blue Bomber fans, remember I was the guy that jumped on your bandwagon early last season.

Hamilton (0-1)
It’s not all bad news; the Tiger-Cats are in a four-way tie for first place. So how many people do you think have said, thought or posted that joke before me? I’m setting the Over/Under at 87.5.

"I’m waiting for Eric Tillman to hijack the Eskimos' twitter account and start posting “Who’s laughing now?” messages."

If Tillman gloats, from a PR point of view, I would say that would be very foolish. For him. Best for him to stay as low key as possible. Regina was the frying pan. If he blows it in Edmonton, that would be into the fire. IMO ...

He has to defend himself, and his team, but, with his style, and his baggage, he has to be very careful how he deals with the media. It seems he has totally lost any connection with reporter Terry Jones, for one. And many of the Edmonton fans were not happy with his hiring. Gloating = Not Good. But of course he has to speak on behalf of his team.

[DanoT]

Anyone who thinks Tillman will be gloating after a close win in which the opponent dropped passes and gave up 118 yards in penalties, that would have to be a sports writer looking for something to write.

[Hambone]

The Esks were very fortunate to come away with the W. The margin of victory was 4 points. Owens dropped a TD pass that may have been slightly deflected by the DB. More glaring though were the two Prefontaine missed FGS from what would be considered very high percentage range. One point out of a possible six would prove to be a huge factor late in the game. Had he made one of those kicks the Argos are in position to try a game winning FG in the final minute instead of needing a TD. All in all I thought Ray was getting stronger as the game went on and he and his teammates were gaining more familiarity with each other. I expect we'll see the Argo offence improve as the season moves along.

[WestCoastJoe]

How I see it after 2 games ...

1 BC ... But not by much. D soft on the passing game. O not clicking that well. ST coverage scary. But winning, and that is significant.

2 Saskatchewan ... 2 and 0 merits this, but I expect they will come back down to earth.

3 Montreal ... If Anthony can light it up, they will contend to the end.

4 Toronto ... I don't think they are that good, but the two teams below that might be better have no wins. Ricky gives them offence.

5 Calgary ... How will they do with Kevin Glenn as the starter? Who knows? But not as good as they would be with Drew Tate.

6 Edmonton ... I don't think they are this high on the pecking order, but I can't ignore their win. The D with Sherrit seems OK. No offence to speak of.

7 Winnipeg ... Toss up with Hamilton for last place. Gotta win some to move up the list.

8 Hamilton ... See comment for Winnipeg. Copy.

Can't ignore the win loss records. But IMO Winnipeg and Hamilton might both be in the top 4.

[notahomer]

I agree with your rankings WCJ. Its early in the season, so who knows. I still think the Riders O was not that good. I never did get to see their so called great performance week one as it was the lead in to Friday night football. But if that Riders Offence torched the Ticats, we should have had a way better night. Guess thats why Knowlton was back starting week two.

IMO, even the two unbeatens (Riders/Lions) haven't looked great. Obviously the best so far but there is so much season left to be played. I was suffering last season (until labour day) but I almost feel sorry for those Rider fans enduring a 3-15 season. Nah, looks good on em.....

How much longer do the two Western Teams go before making changes? I know its early and they both have one win under their belts but... Calgary has lost the guy they were banking on and the Esks seem to be showing why Ray was a QB you could build an offence around.

I don't have a clue how the east is going to turn out.

[joe kapp22]

IMO Kory Sheets gives them a dimension on offense they needed.

It is early though, this is one reason why I've not been around very often.

I'd think Tillman is as nervous as a cat in a tall tree in a wind storm.

[WestCoastJoe]

After Week 2 ...

[WestCoastJoe]

After Week 3, here are some opinions ...

1 Saskatchewan ... Tough defence, careful offence, quick passing attack, great receivers, Sheets an impressive back, Chamblin

2 B.C. ... Close loss to Regina. Playing at about a B level compared to last years A level in the Grey Cup run. No real worries aside from ST coverage and kicking.

3 Montreal ... Back where we expect them to be. Calvillo still getting it done.

4 Edmonton ... Tough defence. Jyles showing some signs of effectiveness. Kavis Reed keeping the team on track.

5 Toronto ... Tossup with Hamilton for 5th on this list. Could contend for the East IMO.

6 Hamilton ... Tossup with Toronto for 5th on this list. Could contend for the East IMO.

7 Calgary ... Kind of hard to just roll another QB out there, when your #1 guy goes down. No knock on Kevin Glenn, but your plans for the year are kind of out the window.

8 Winnipeg ... WTF? Games on the road. New stadium. Buck is hurt again, and again. Is Mack doing a good job? Does LaPolice have the pulse and attention of his team?

[notahomer]

Those rankings make purrfect sense to me, WCJ. Just like I said after last week, the two top are still wearing the rust off to start the season. Riders were full value for the win but both teams were not 'awesome'.

Heard rumours (going to check out) Drew Tate maybe getting surgery on the left shoulder. If that is true he's gone for awhile. Calgary certainly needs some changes.....

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/07/17/c ... d-blunders

Kirk Penton of the Winnipeg Sun ...

CFL POWER RANKINGS

1. (2) Saskatchewan -- The Roughies proved their defence is for real against Lulay and the Leos.

2. (1) B.C. -- They are purrfect no more, but they fought valiantly against the resurgent Riders.

3. (4) Montreal -- Good teams find ways to win, and that's what the Als are doing.

4. (3) Calgary -- They're not as dangerous with Kevin Glenn at the controls.

5. (7) Edmonton -- They haven't produced any masterpieces, but they win when they need to.

6. (6) Hamilton -- Henry Burris and Co. finally find the win column, thanks to Chris Williams.

7. (5) Toronto -- A perennial team strength, special teams, is now hurting them big time.

8. (8) Winnipeg -- The Blue and Gold are winless, and Buck Pierce is on the shelf.

[notahomer]

Hmmm, Calgary seems a bit high, IMO. I guess it was a close loss to the Al's that give's him the reason to rate a 1-2 team above a 2-1 team.

Obviously so early in the season, these rankings are meaningless even come playoff time because they are based on opinions. Certainly agree the Riders deserve to be #1 so far and I hope I don't have to stick to that comment for long......

[KnowItAll]

to me, power rankings represents how much or how little each team would worry me playing against my team, the lions.

so. regarding the other 7 teams,

sask - gave bc and ed their only losses
tor - one slumping fg kicker away from 3 - 0
Ham - getting better every week
Cal - Glenn can get it done, lost 2 close ones.
ed - not sold on QB duo, beat up on the bottom dwellers, but was lucky to get their other win
mon - AC's health a concern, bad defense, also 1 win against the bottom dwellers.
WPG - sad sad sad. great defense from last yr to worst D this yr, so far. QB issues. Not looking too good

[WestCoastJoe]

Win/Loss records, and some opinions ...

[WestCoastJoe]

Some opinions ...

1 Riders ... Surprise to me, just when I thought the Riders were entering a dark age under Taman, he seems to have hired an excellent coach in Chamblin. Tough defence. Fail Safe offence. Durant responding well to his coaches.

2 Eskimos ... Not as good as their record IMO. Beat T.O. barely. Pounded the Bombers. Lose to Riders with no offence to speak of. Beat the Lions while the Lions kind of self destruct. Nevertheless they look to have an outstanding young coach in Kavis Reed, another excellent hire by Eric Tillman. Tough defence. Fail Safe offence.

3 Lions ... In alphabetical order B.C., Calgary, Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto, all with 2 and 2 records. We could still be considered ahead of anybody else with that record, but we have lots of stuff to work on, as Mike Benevides always says. Can we solve our problems? Dunno about the STs. Last week Mike B, Dan Dorazio and even Wally looked under the hood, and could not get the engine running properly. Is it just on Chuck McMann? Dunno about that. Lack of young, eager, hungry personnel could be the main problem with the kick coverage. McCallum? Dunno, but we have been blessed since 2006.

4 Stampeders ... If Kevin Glenn stays healthy, they could be as good under his leadership as they might be under that of Drew Tate. Loaded with talent.

5 Alouettes ... Just going with Trestman on this one.

6 TiCats ... If Burris plays this well, look out. Pretty talented roster IMO.

7 Argonauts ... Not much difference between 3 and 7 on this list IMO. But the Argos might not reasonably be expected to fill their non import roster so fast after years of poor drafts.

8 Bombers ... 0 and 4. But looking forward to a strange place, Home. Shocking turnaround since last year. Does Joe Mack not even live in town? Dunno about that. Gotta make a commitment, it seems to me.

[TheLionKing]

Astonishing that Edmonton has surrendered only 56 points in 4 games. On the other side of the coin they only mustered 89 points