I think people are sleeping on Winnipeg a little too much as well. Montreal always has everyone’s trust; their 15 years of dominance gives them that. People see the changes the Ti-Cats (Burris, Mallett, Fantuz, Giguère, Cortez) and Argos (Ray, Milanovich, Jones) made and can’t help but rate them highly. The Bombers kinda did nothing in the off-season. Now, they took the same route last year and that worked out, but I think people see the talent that has departed Winnipeg – Reid, Willis, LaBatte to name three – and that they have replaced them with pretty much unknown players and draw from that that Winnipeg is due to take a step back. That said, there is also that pesky 3-7 finish to the season. I don’t think the Bombers can rely on starting the season 7-1 once again. All in all, I think the East will be tough from top to bottom, but since this is a prediction thread, here’s how I think it will shape out:
East
Montreal
Hamilton
Winnipeg
Toronto
West
BC
Calgary
Saskatchwan
Edmonton
I’ll say BC and Hamilton in the Grey Cup, but I’m not 100% sure on that. The Argos and Esks will miss the playoffs. Edmonton because they don’t have a QB, simple as that. With the Argos, their undoing will be the fact that they have no receivers. Durie is good, but he’s not a go-to guy; Owens is good, but he’s not a go-to guy; Barnes is good, but he’s not a go-to guy. Other than those two, they have Maurice “If He Was as Good as He Thought He Was He’d Be a 1,500-yard guy in the NFL” Mann and nothing else. They have a lot of good No. 2 and No. 3 receivers, but no No. 1. Ray is good, but he’s not good enough to win 10-12 games with that group of receivers; 5-7, sure, but not enough to get them to the playoffs.
I said that Bombers would win 1 or 2 games in 2012, after thinking that over I now believe that Bombers will win both pre season games and finish with a record of 0-18 :cowboy:
On to a different light....
Grasshopper to snatch the Pebble; QB Steve Jyles
Best receiving core; Edmonton
On Defense; LB Dumaso Munoz has a break out year
For sure it's going to be an interesting year in the East. ......and I do understand the complete excitement Ham. fans are showing early in the season. Seems to have been a concentrated effort to improve all areas of the team in the off-season. Seems to have only partially worked on defense. Every teams' training camps are bringing optimism to their fans. It all sounds good so far, doesn't it?
As far as predictions. The West is easier, I believe: BC, Calg. Sask. & Edm....The East, however, will be very tough. Mtl. Ham. & Wpg. will all contend from the start. Tor., not so much. All teams have quest. marks and Tor. leads the way in this regard.
All East. teams QBs will answer a lot of the ? marks.
Calvillo, Burris, Ray & Pierce. Ranked on their own, you can pick your own orders. Can Calv. & Burris stave off their age issues? Will R.Ray & Pierce have enough protection? Will Burris bounce back from a gawd-awful year? Will R. Ray be able to find enough receivers?
......and back-ups? If the main men go down, who steps up?
Lots of questions, but don't count out the Bombers yet.
EAST - Hamilton, Winnipeg, Montreal all too close to call for first in the East. I think Toronto is very close right behind the others but will miss the playoffs.
WEST - BC, then Calgary, May be a good battle between Sask and Edmonton for the final playoff spot. I think Edmonton gets it.
I have no doubt that AC will have another highlight season, although he did start to show his age after the record breaking game last season. Nevertheless I think that AC will continue to the be AC we all have come to know. I’m expecting Burris will have a bounce back season in 2012 with a renewed career and different receiving corps and the recent addition of Avon Coburn will not only give him more protection when he needs to air the ball out but will also get him the first downs and TDs. Buck Pierce is always a question mark for me, even though I’m not a Bomber fan I still kind of hold my breath every time BP is hit because it seems like it doesn’t take much to take him out. Very injury prone. A health BP will carry the Bombers to a Winning record. As far as Toronto goes I think the Argos have all their eggs in one basket with R. Ray. The feeling I’ve had since I’ve heard of his trade to T.O is that they’re relying on him to take them to the promised land. I can understand them wanting to upgrade their QB in a year they’re hosting the GC but I’m not sold that he’ll be able to deliver. Yes, Ray is a step up from any QB the Argos have had since Allen but I just don’t think he’s the answer entirely. The Argos are going to have to really gel as a team, something which they’ve looked out of sync with in recent years. Ray will make the better decisions behind center, something they’ve been lacking. He’ll make them a playoff contender but who really knows until after Labor day if they’ll be a true GC contender.