Hamilton Tiger-Cats pre-Training Camp Roster Breakdown

It was another year, another disappointing season for the Tiger-Cats.  8-10 and bumped from the playoffs in the East Final.  And it’s another off-season of big names moving to Hamilton.  Henry Burris, Andy Fantuz, Martell Mallett, and finally the arrival of the long-awaited Sam Giguere.  But this year also brings something the last few years haven’t, and that’s a new head coach in George Cortez.  Joining him is Casey Creehan, who just might be the biggest wildcard in all of this.  But we’ll get back to that… first, let’s take a look at the roster breakdown:

Total: 78 (including 5 non-counters)
Imports: 49
Non-Imports: 29
Players under thirty: 68
Players thirty or older: 10
QB: 5
RB: 5
FB: 2
WR: 13
OL: 11
DL: 11
LB: 12
DB: 15
ST: 4

I think these roster numbers reflect really well on what Hamilton is doing right now.  Although they consistently bring in big names each off-season, they’ve also been growing from within.  Ten players aged thirty or older, which is one of the lower totals.  Nowhere is this more evident than in their receiving corps.  Fantuz and Stala were obviously acquired as free agents, but their American counterparts have come from within for the most part.  Chris Williams and Bakari Grant in particular are very impressive, with Aaron Kelly also showing flashes.

One continuing area of concern is the secondary.  Hamilton has had one of the weaker secondaries in the league for several years now.  The addition of Casey Creehan could help here or it could backfire.  It sounds like he wants to run something similar to Winnipeg’s defence, which involves a lot of man coverage.  Man coverage is great… when you have the guys to do it.  I’m concerned that if he tries to force these defensive backs into something they can’t handle, it will really hurt the defence.

Luckily though, with fifteen defensive backs coming to training camp, this looks to be one of the most highly contested places on the roster.  Ryan Hinds is a rare breed as a Canadian defensive back and he is a good starting point to build around.  Other than that, I think all four other spots in the secondary should be up for grabs.  Another interesting point to note is that only one DB on the roster stands below 5’11″, and that is Chris Rwabukamba at 5’10″.  It’s rare to see so many big defensive backs on a CFL roster, but they’ll need them if they want to play that aggressive defence.

Defensive line is another area of concern with the departures of Garrett McIntyre and Stevie Baggs.  They took a step towards replacing them with Greg Peach, but he has had injury problems in the past.  He is a good player when healthy but they’ll want to keep another guy on the practice roster just in case.  To me it doesn’t look like they’ve brought in enough competition here, but it’s possible that a couple young guys step it up.  Beyond Maurice Forbes, Eddie Steele, and Greg Peach, it’s hard to know who will end up on the roster.

5 Clawing Questions

1. Does Henry Burris still have what it takes?  Wouldn’t be the first time an older QB had a bit of a renaissance…
2. Can Martell Mallett step back in to the CFL and perform like he did in 2009?
3. Do the Ticats have the right players to power Casey Creehan’s aggressive defence?
4. Can Andy Fantuz regain his Most Outstanding Canadian form?
5. Can the Ticats finish above .500 for the first time since 2004?

Once again, the Ticats look really good on paper.  It will be interesting to see if they can finally break out of the rut they’ve been in for the last 3 years.  The East division hasn’t been this wide open in years, so now would be the perfect time.  The 61-year-old George Cortez finally has his first head coaching job after over 30 years of experience.  Either he takes that wealth of experience and turns it into victories, or we find out why the man has gone 30 years without a job as a head coach.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers pre-Training Camp Roster Breakdown

The next stop on our tour is Winnipeg, Manitoba.  East Division Champions and Grey Cup finalists…. in other words, close but not quite there.  You would think just a few pieces added here and there would put the team over the top, but the Bombers have done the opposite of that.  Yet, Joe Mack and Paul LaPolice seem unfazed, so maybe they have an ace up their sleeve… or really good poker faces.  Let’s take a look at the breakdown:

Total: 71 (including 6 non-counters)
Imports: 40
Non-Imports: 31
Players under thirty: 66
Players thirty or older: 5
QB: 4
RB: 5
FB: 2
WR: 12
OL: 11
DL: 12
LB: 8
DB: 13
ST: 4

Let’s start with the number that jumps out first; only five players aged thirty or older.  This is the lowest total in the league.  The young guys better be good because they’re going to be needed… spots are open on the offensive line, at wide receiver, and on the defensive line.  The offensive line in particular will need to improve this season, and that has to start with the selection of their new Center.  I think it would be a smart move to slide Steve Morley over and let the young guy, likely Chris Kowalczuk, get his feet wet at Guard for awhile.  This is contingent on whether Morley can actually play the position well, obviously. I think if the performance level is close, you have to go with the veteran at Center.

With most of the other spots on the offence likely locked down already, there is probably only room for one more American receiver on the roster. This will be one of the more interesting battles in training camp, as Joe Mack has shown he can bring in high-quality receivers.  Mack has brought in a couple guys with size similar to Greg Carr that he’s hoping will help the team and their fans forget all about Carr.

The battle between Henoc Muamba and Pierre-Luc Labbe for the starting MLB job should be fierce, but truthfully in the end I see them sharing the role to some degree… with Muamba gaining more and more playing time if he shows he can consistently play at this level.

The Bombers’ secondary is the picture of stability and this is a very good thing for them.  They were downright dominant for most of the season and get all five starters back.  The dimeback spot will probably see competition though.  Last year we saw several different players there and a couple more have been brought in to compete.  Demond Washington in particular, a defensive back and kick returner from Auburn University, could have a good opportunity if he shows he can do both jobs.  However, he is also indirectly competing with running-back/returner Chad Simpson who comes in with significant NFL experience.  It’s clear that the Bombers hope to solve the kick return problem that has plagued them for several seasons now (that’s kick returns, their punt returner has been pretty outstanding).

5 Bombastic Questions

1. Last year they got close to a full season of Buck Pierce as a starter, and it was a little disappointing.  Does he bounce back this season?
2. Will the young guys on the offensive line be up to the task?
3. Can Henoc Muamba be an impact player?
4. What does new OC Gary Crowton bring to the table?
5. Who gets the privilege of starting in Doug Brown’s spot?

It’s clear the Bombers have lost a couple key players, but it looks like they’ve been preparing.  Most of the team that went to the Grey Cup last year is still there, including 18 of last year’s 24 starters.  Joe Mack and the Bombers are putting a lot of faith in their young guys to take the places of some good players and to be honest there are question marks in a lot of spots.  Clearly Mack believes that it will be worth it in the long run but he might have to endure a couple rookie moments along the way.  But if this young team is allowed to grow together over the course of the season, they might just find themselves with another shot at the big game.

Saskatchewan Roughriders pre-Training Camp Roster Breakdown

And so we come to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  They are probably the most-discussed team in the CFL, so I won’t be able to say much here that hasn’t already been said before.  But one thing is for sure, this is going to be a fairly different Rider team than what we saw last year.  The core pieces like Durant, Getzlaf, and Dressler all remain the same, but the players around them should be quite a change.  Before we go any further, let’s take a look at the breakdown.

Total: 81 (2 non-counters included)
Imports: 51
Non-Imports: 30
Players under thirty: 69
Players thirty or older: 12
QB: 5
RB: 7
FB: 2
WR: 16
OL: 12
DL: 11
LB: 10
DB: 15
ST: 2

Looking at these numbers makes it fairly obvious where the biggest battles will be in camp… running back, receiver, and defensive back.  So far, it looks like Brendan Taman has brought in a lot of really good talent to compete at those spots.  The incumbents in the secondary are returning, but their spots are not guaranteed.  Nick Graham and Chris McKenzie in particular will have to fight to keep their spots.  James Patrick may be returning to safety according to an article by the Regina Leader-Post’s Rob Vanstone, and this leaves me wondering what is to become of Craig Butler.  He is way too good to be sitting on the bench, I hope they find a way to get him playing time.

It is possible that Corey Chamblin just doesn’t see Craig Butler as a good “fit” for the defence they will be running.  By moving Patrick to safety, they are placing a lot of faith in the ability of their Canadian middle linebackers.  Eventually I think that they are hoping Shomari Williams can win the MLB job and keep it for the long term.  But the player who truly allows them to make this move is Mike McCollough.  He is a proven quantity, they know that he can play the position pretty well.  I could see a situation where Williams and McCollough share the role for this season.  They’ll probably want 3 Canadian LBs on the roster so even Sam Hurl and Kevin Regimbald-Gagne have a chance to earn a spot, assuming they sign contracts with the team.

There are too many open spots to go into detail on each one.  There will be battles for both the WILL and SAM linebacker spots, one defensive tackle, and one defensive end (assuming Odell Willis fills the spot on the other side).  One place where most of the questions are already answered is on the offensive line, with 4 spots already filled.  Left tackle is still open and they’re hoping one of their good import prospects, like Xavier Fulton who was acquired from the Eskimos, can fill that spot.  There should also be a great competition for the starting RB and 2 receiver spots.  Efrem Hill might be able to keep a spot as one of the receivers but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be easy with the talent that Taman is bringing in, headlined by former NFL 2nd round draft pick Sinorice Moss.

5 Roughriding Questions

1. Who wins the backup QB job?
2. Who is the starting running back?
3. Can Corey Chamblin transform a defence that was often lacklustre last season and lost a key piece in Jerrell Freeman?
4. Can Shomari Williams step up and be the impact player the Riders are hoping for?
5. Can Darian Durant regain the form that let him put up over 5500 yards in 2010?

You get the sense that the Roughriders are in a bit of a rebuilding mode… but to me it resembles last year’s Eskimos “rebuild” a lot more than the Bombers’ rebuild in 2010 that saw them finish 4-14.  The Riders have a great core to work around in their offensive line, quarterback, and 3 top receivers (Bagg, Dressler, Getzlaf), and it will be up to Corey Chamblin to see if he can mold this team back into a Grey Cup contender.

Edmonton Eskimos pre-Training Camp Roster breakdown

Today’s breakdown is the Edmonton Eskimos, which is appropriate because they were in the news for a small trade.  They traded a conditional sixth round pick in 2014 for Blue Bombers LB Merrill Johnson.  The condition likely revolves around Johnson making the 42-man roster, or being on the roster for a certain amount of games.

Looks like Tillman and Mack like dealing with each other… this trade followed another on CFL Draft day as the Bombers moved up, the Bombers traded a conditional pick to Edmonton for Eric Wilbur earlier, and they also made a trade in 2011 as Mack gave up now-retired long snapper Taylor Inglis for a fifth and sixth round pick.  There are now a few former Bombers on the Eskies, including Steven Jyles, Don Oramasionwu,  Greg Carr, Adarius Bowman, Aaron Hargreaves, and of course Merrill Johnson.  Speaking of the Esks’ roster, let’s move on to the breakdown.

Total: 75
Imports: 44
Non-Imports: 31
Players under thirty: 63
Players thirty or older: 12
QB: 5
RB: 4
FB: 3
WR: 15
OL: 11
DL: 10
LB: 10
DB: 14
ST: 3

Well… really not much to glean from these results.  They have brought in a lot of receivers, likely to make the new QB’s job as easy as possible.  Tillman was able to spend a lot of money in free agency by unloading Ricky Ray.  Fred Stamps, Adarius Bowman, and Greg Carr are locks in the receiving corps,  but the other two jobs are wide open.  Cary Koch signed as a free agent but I doubt that spot is guaranteed to him.  Right now Edmonton has many non-import receivers, but none of them are too impressive… the most likely scenario is that only one will be starting, and Shamawd Chambers probably has as good a chance as any of the others.

The Eskimos have an interesting situation on the defensive line right now.  They have four high quality Canadian defensive tackles.  If they can start two of them, that will give them good flexibility elsewhere on the roster… this is the main point that allows them to start 4 import receivers.  Marcus Howard has gotten a lot of hype over the last little while, and he will need to be a leader on their defensive line.  They will be looking for him to hit double digits in sacks again this year.

The Eskimos’ Canadian talent in particular is much better than it was when Tillman took over.  Even the once-suspect offensive line got a huge boost with the off-season signing of Simeon Rottier, and youngsters Scott Mitchell and Gord Hinse should make big strides this season.

4 Chilling Questions

1. This one’s easy…. who’s the starting QB?  If it’s Jyles, can he actually take the next step and start leading his team to victories?
2. Will Mark Nelson’s defence be able to replicate the success Rich Stubler had?
3. Who steps up as a linebacker?  They lost some good talent there this off-season.
4. Who’s the starting runningback?

The Eskimos have a really solid roster right now, but it is built around a mystery quarterback and runningback… two pretty critical pieces.  Mark Nelson ran an interesting defence in Winnipeg in 2009…. exciting to watch but prone to giving up big plays.  Polar opposite to what Rich Stubler is known for.  So that should be interesting to watch as the season plays out.  Overall, I predict a season around .500 for Edmonton, but it should be entertaining either way.

Bombers LB Merrill Johnson to the Eskimos

The Winnipeg Sun’s Kirk Penton is reporting that LB Merrill Johnson has been traded to the Edmonton Eskimos.  No official word, and no info on what may be going the other way.

Merrill Johnson has been with the Bombers since the 2010 season.  He has been a quality player on special teams for them and has filled in as their backup WILL LB.  Last year he saw significant time in the defence when starting LB Marcellus Bowman was playing MLB in the injured Joe Lobendahn’s place.

However, late in the season, Bowman was bumped back out to WILL as Pierre-Luc Labbe took over at MLB.  Apparently the Bombers felt the drop in play from Bowman to Johnson at WILL was much larger than the drop from Bowman to Labbe at MLB.  When the Bombers signed fellow backup LB Dustin Doe to an extension on May 8, that may have sealed Johnson’s fate.

UPDATE: Johnson has been traded to the Eskimos for a 2014 conditional 6th round draft pick.

Calgary Stampeders pre-Training Camp Roster breakdown

Only 6 days until rookie camps open across the CFL.  It’s been a long, long off-season but there is finally light at the end of the tunnel… a hectic 2 weeks in training camps across the country as teams scramble to get ready for the first pre-season game which is only 3 weeks away from today.

Our next stop on our journey through the CFL’s rosters is the Calgary Stampeders.  They’ve been the picture of stability over the last few years… a perennial contender.  Let’s take a look at the roster breakdown to get us started.

Total: 85
Imports: 48
Non-Imports: 37
Players under thirty: 73
Players thirty or older: 12
QB: 4
RB: 6
FB: 0
WR: 15
OL: 12
DL: 16
LB: 13
DB: 15
ST: 4

Wait… 85 players???  I guess Hufnagel is too bad-ass to care about the 68-player roster limit.  Either he’s going to have to make some cuts right after rookie camp or he’s got something else up his sleeve.  If you look at the roster in terms of numbers, it almost looks like a team going through a rebuild.  Huge number of prospects to compete for spots and not too many older players.

But wait, that’s ridiculous!  Calgary isn’t going through a rebuild, they were 11-7 last year… but then again, when you look a little closer, you begin to see it.  They have a new starting QB.  A new starting RB.  Good, young Canadian OL right across the board.  There should be great competitions throughout the defence as Rick Campbell becomes the new defensive coordinator.  There are spots to be won on the defensive line, linebacking corps, and in the secondary… all of which were good last season, but not in the top two in the league.  They will want to improve on that this year.

One thing is for sure.  Calgary has a TON of non-import talent.  37 players, and you can’t hide them all on the injured list.  You have to wonder about the ability of a guy like Chris Bauman to make this team when they have Forzani, Parker, Franklin, and Arthur already there.  You get the feeling this could be his last chance to do something.  But the most likely place to shed some Canadians will be in the linebacking corps… nobody carries 6 non-import linebackers.  They also have a lot of Canadians on the defensive line but the quality of those players is generally a little higher than the quality of their linebackers.  Corey Mace, Brian Bulcke, Junior Turner, and Ameet Pall form a pretty impressive core of Canadians there.

5 Stampeding Questions

1. Who wins the MLB job?
2. How do they keep all these good Canadians around?
3. Can Tate be the star QB that the Stamps hope he’ll be?
4. Will Nik Lewis keep his 8-year 1000-yard+ streak alive?
5. Can they win a playoff game???

It should be interesting to see if Calgary takes the next step this year or if they maintain the status quo and continue to make the playoffs only to have an early exit.  It’s even possible that Tate isn’t the guy they thought he was and they take a big step back.  Murphy’s Law says that’s the kind of thing that tends to happen when a GM gets an unusually long extension like Hufnagel just did.

BC Lions pre-Training Camp Roster breakdown

Starting today I’ll fire off one of these each day until rookie camp begins.  Obviously there will be some changes to the rosters before that point…. but come on, I’m not going to write them all up on the last day!!

So, today is the BC Lions.  I figured the reigning Grey Cup champions and the residents of the far left coast would be the natural place to start.  Although the Lions looked incredibly strong to finish the season, there are still a few question marks.  First off, let’s feed the roster through my handy Rosterizer to see how it breaks down.

BC Lions

Total: 67
Imports: 40
Non-Imports: 27
Players under thirty: 51
Players thirty or older: 16
QB: 4
RB: 3
FB: 2
WR: 9
OL: 11
DL: 10
LB: 10
DB: 16
ST: 2

The first thing that jumps out at you is the number of defensive backs.  16!  And this is a team that already had a pretty damn good defence.  And then take a look at the names on the roster.  Dante Marsh, Ryan Phillips, Jerome Dennis, Anthony Reddick, Lin-J Shell, Byron Parker… these are some good players.  It makes you wonder if Rich Stubler wants to do something quite different from what Benevides was running, and as such is bringing in a different type of player.  Sometimes change is good but they’re going to want to be careful not to fix something that isn’t broken.

Otherwise, none of the numbers really stand out.  Their total of players aged 30 or older is one of the higher totals in the league, but I think they’ve been doing a nice job of integrating their young guys into the lineup thus far so I don’t anticipate a problem there.  However, the older a player gets, the more likely he is to get injured or have a drop-off in production… so having too many older starters can backfire when you have to throw a bunch of rookies into the starting lineup.

27 non-imports is only 7 more than the required amount of Canadians, so you can probably expect almost every one of those guys to stick around… a couple injuries, a couple on the 46-man, and a couple on the practice roster allows Buono to keep most if not all of them.

5 Roaring Questions

• Can Benevides succeed as the head coach of a CFL team?
• Will Stubler make too many changes to an already good defence?
• How much will that defence miss Soloman Elimimian, Brent Johnson and Aaron Hunt?
• Speaking of Elimimian… who’s the new middle linebacker?
• Is this the year we see a drop-off in play from Arland Bruce or Geroy Simon?

Lots of pundits have Lulay and the Lions down as nearly invincible going into the season, but lots of pundits are wrong every year… new head coach, new defensive co-ordinator, possible Grey Cup hangover… you never know.  Should be an interesting season in BC.