Victories count heavily, of course.
The rest is is mostly talk.
#1 Calgary ... Great run blocking within a great scheme. Did Hufnagel make adjustments over the off season. I think so.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
#2 Toronto ... The Grey Cup was no fluke. IMO Scott Milanovich is a great young coach. And having Ricky Ray don't hurt.
#3 Montreal ... They got the win over the Bombers. Whoooo Hoooo ... Not sure yet what to expect here, but Calvillo may not be as comfortable in a new offence.
#4 Saskatchewan ... And they got the win over the Eskimos. Whoooo Hooooo ... Hopes are high in Regina.
#5 Hamilton ... IMO they are probably #3, but it seems to me you have to go with the wins. IMO Kent Austin is outstanding as a coach. Right up there with Hugnagel in all aspects.
#6 B.C. ... A one off stinker vs the Stampeders? Not sure. Scary performance by our Defence, in its complete inability to stop Cornish and the Stampeders running game.
#7 Edmonton ... Who knows? I believe in Mike Reilly. Not so sure about Kavis Reed. Not so sure about Ed Hervey.
#8 Winnipeg ... They did better than they showed in pre-season. And they lost.
.........
I know. I know. It is too early to rate anything. Well, it seems to me once you have rosters, you can start evaluating. And then you have games, and you can evaluate. Of course, the early results can be much differerent than how things look later. But I would not be surprised to see Edmonton and Winnipeg at the bottom throughout the year. We will see if B.C. can climb up the ladder.
If we can beat Toronto, then we might look at the no show vs the Stampeders as a one off. But if we don't beat the Argonauts, then it looks like parity has caught us, and we might struggle this year. Plus the coaching in this league just keeps getting better and better. Getting Hufnagel and Marc Trestman was great for the league. And Austin before that, and now he is back once again. And now add Milanovich to the mix, and we have some wonderful, high level coaches going at it.
How did the Stamps dissect our run defence? Schemes? Flood motivation? Hufnagel making adjustments? Got lucky? Stuff we planned, starting in the off season, may take some time to integrate?
Hufnagel kicked our butts for about 8 wins in a row, when he took over the Stampeders. It took us a while to get some results against him. Then we did better for a while, and now it seems he has "out schemed" us once again. It seems to me that Milanovich and Austin are outstanding at the schemes also. They don't just run the same stuff over and over. They tailor their schemes to each team, to each game, refining, probing for weaknesses, setting things up. And they build confidence and motivation. And they are unpredictable.