I know it's early, but let's see how everyone thinks the CFL will stack up this year.
(Remember, if you are providing records, it needs to end up 81-81)
East
Montreal 12-6
Hamilton 11-7
Winnipeg 8-10
Toronto 6-12
West
BC 12-6
Calgary 10-8
Saskatchewan 7-11
Edmonton 6-12
Has to end up 72-72; does it not?
East
West
A 9-9, third-place finish would be just about the worst possible outcome for the Ticats. All these changes to end up with the same record as Bellefeuille’s team would be disastrous.
As for my very early predictions (which I reserve the right to change):
East
West
I think we're giving to much credit to an aging Als team
Ticats 12-6
Argos 10-8 ( I hope I am way wrong on that one)
Als 9-9
Bombers 5-13 (No Pierce for half the season and a drastically weaker d)
Great year in the East
Lions 13-5
Stamps 11-7
Riders 10-8
Esks 9-9
Very competitive West as usual
Riders beat Stamps - Stamps lose to Lions
Als beat Argos - Ticats beat Als
Ticats win the 100th Grey Cup 33-28 - Hey I am not picking against the Cats ever!
Burris league MVP
Stala Grey Cup MVP
The Als aren’t actually that old. I think we tend to think they’re older than they are because of Calvillo. But it’s really only him and Scott Flory who are “old” by football definitions. Take away those two, and the Als aren’t much different, age-wise, than the rest of the league.
I could not have written it better than you; every year, some fans always write that the Als are getting older. As you wrote,exclude Flory and Calvillo and they are as young/not older than any other team.
With regards to predictions, I say:
Montreal and Hamilton will fight for first place.
Winnipeg and Toronto will fight for third place.
BC and Calgary will fight for first place.
Saskatchewan and Edmonton will fight for third place.
Richard
I agree that we are still giving them too much credit although not so much for the age. The Als seemed quite vulnerable last year and ended the season rather poorly. Their domination of the league is in serious jeopardy.
We had a ridiculous number of injuries on defense last season. This year, we’ve purged a bunch of veterans and brought in a new DC. Time will tell if we succeed, just like it will in the case of Hamilton, which has also made significant changes on both sides of the ball and in its coaching staff.
my bad, i was already preparing for Ottawa to come back, yes it’s 72-72
LOL, what?
To quote Clubber Lang, I predict "PAIN" for the TiCat opposition. :lol:
Pat Lynch(the old guy)
A week before beginning of CFL training camps-excluding rookie camps beginning on May 30,2012- and I am including my predictions for the 2012 season; these predictions are based on last year records and 2011-2012 off-season moves. I will make other/review my predictions after training camps.
EAST:
Montreal 12-6
Hamilton 9-9
Toronto 8-10
Winnipeg 6-12
WEST:
BC 12-6
Calgary 10-8
Saskatchewan 8-10
Edmonton 7-11
Let's hope that the 2012 season will be one of the best.
Richard
Seriously, I have no idea how to predict this season. Looks good on paper but have to wait and see. I will give my final prediction after Labour Day.
Agreed, Earl. I am encouraged for 2012 though, because of our biggest upgrade, at any position, – George Cortez.
I have high hopes for Cortez as well, but how does anyone know if he’s an upgrade? Yes, his résumé is marvelous, but that doesn’t mean he’ll make a great head coach. Greg Marshall was an excellent DC and yet he lasted less than half a season with the Roughriders. Sure, it’s a different circumstance, but there is no guarantee that Cortez will turn out to be a better coach than Bellefeuille. I hope he is, but it’s far from a sure thing.
Difference is Marshall was never a great DC. He was the prototypical example of the recyled CFL coach – a mediocrity wherever he went, yet still finding work. His defenses were statistically unimpressive, soft, and easily schemed against no matter where he was. By contrast, Cortez was a great OC. His offense led Calgary to a Grey Cup in 2008, and he is very familiar with the Cats’ starting quarterback. He has NFL experience and a history of success as a coordinator for decades. You’re right: he may not turn out to be a good head coach. But his pedigree is far superior to Marshall’s.
In 2009 the Ticats were second best in terms of points given up per game. In 2010, they were also second in the same category. That was with a poor secondary and a poor interior defensive line. I think Marshall was excellent during his time in Hamilton.
Agreed, Cortez’ pedigree is far superior to Marshall’s. And, Marshall’s is far superior to Bellefeuille’s.
And yet Bellefeuille is almost undeniably the superior head coach between the two, which was entirely my point. Success as an assistant does not mean you’ll be successful as a head coach. And I’m with Jordan re: Marshall. I don’t care how many yards a defense gives up, you don’t win games because you had more total yards than your opponent. If the defense keeps the team off the scoreboard, that’s all I care about. Marshall’s defense kept teams from scoring, so he was excellent here as far as I am concerned.
Also, I’m not saying that Cortez was not a good hire or that he doesn’t have all the tools to succeed. I think he’s going to make an excellent head coach, but like nearly every move that every team has made this off-season we won’t know until the games are played if it was a good one or not. I think Cortez will be a better head coach, but since the guy has yet to coach a game, I’m not ready to be so definitive about it.
One thing I am going to say for sure, Edmonton is gonna be a very weak team this year. Ricky Ray, Jarome Messam, Fred Stamps, and Jason Barnes are what got them off to the 5-0 start and we all saw what happened when they lost a few of their receivers. Now Ray, Messam, and Barnes are gone. They will have to rely heavily on their defence (which is still very good) but even Eric Tillman knows they will be taking a huge step back this year.