2024 Free Agency is almost a week old, which has provided a fresh swack of CFL news but it’s not like we were starving for stories before that. From trades to retirements, coaching changes and more, this winter has been as jam-packed as ever with storylines.
Reality was that Reilly was a QB who survived on broken plays. He took a pounding because of it but really as a conventional QB…not great, but a good arm and good scramble rules made for something exciting to watch.
MBT will help Ford with his pocket passing no end. And likely with reading defences more than anyone else.
I expect they will play both Ford and MBT, MBT getting most of the work and Ford packaging in to disrupt the defence, which was what we did with Prukop and Lynch when Reilly was here.
Everything I’ve heard to date from Matthew Scianitti @ TSN to former team mates is that MBT is a guy that will take control & change the locker room. Getting Ford to learn for a year behind him is a piece of cake in comparison to handling Kelly who did it in Toronto without any team turmoil. MBT has said his job is to train up Ford & he understands that & I am sure that Ford will be actively engaged in the offence.
On an outside note, Squishy, have you heard anything about the coaches? Outside Maxie going to TO & Schriver rumoured coming to Edm the silence is deafening.
So far it’s Saskatchewan’s offensive line and ground game that’s improved the most in the West. Edmonton’s one two QB punch got a whole got a lot more experienced while Calgary’s rotation got a whole lot more interesting with the signing of Mathew Shiltz.
BC’s defense is only slightly worse off with the loss of Mathew Betts. There may be a question mark or two amongst their receiving corps but otherwise they look like contenders.
Which Western team units are worse for wear? Bomber’s defense as a whole… and more alarmingly… it’s perennially awesome offensive line. Filling the craters with quality recruits will be Danny Mac’s greatest challenge to date.
Hands down amongst Western Teams, The Riders have improved the most. 3DownNation has them ranked at #5 in the CFL at this very moment which puts them in the playoff hunt.
Interesting read. I’m not necessarily in disagreement with the ratings but how, when they are obviously of the opinion Ford is a starter, do you rank a team with 2 #1 worthy QB’s below an Ottawa team who has no proven starter @ all? The comments on the D are warranted at this point as the DL looks to be pretty raw.
Sorry - not sold on the Riders myself. Yes they are improved - in some areas by a lot. But am I sold on Harris, who seems to carry bad reviews from previous teams wherever he goes & hasn’t shown he can win? And new coaching staffs, more often than not, are not 1st year winners - O’Shea, Jones, LaPolice, Dyce, Claybrooks… Still I can see why they’re there. Hamilton’s got Bo & is clearly in a massive rebuild. Ottawa - well they were rated by many, including some @ 3DNN if memory serves, to win the East. They seem to win FA every year. Is Dru Brown this year’s saviour after Masoli, after Arbuckle, after Nichols? I won’t be putting $$$ on the REDBLACKS finishing above .500 but you never know.
Anyway - no real surprises at this time of year. Check last year’s winners & put them in order of their finishes, pop Ottawa up a few notches & we’ve got this year’s winners. 
Pretty predictable.
Don’t forget… 3DownNation also picked Montreal to finish dead last in the East and look how THAT prediction turned out. Right now Edmonton is lurking around the CFL like that skinny shark nobody in the water is paying any attention to. Knowing that, when an Elk is nearby I’m gonna start swimming WITHOUT my Lucky Ham Vest (filled with mashed potatoes for extra buoyancy).
Was that YOU in the water? My Lagotto Romagnolo went wild. Good thing you were kicking it coz it was all I could do to hold him back. MMMMMM ham.
Nothing but the same rumours I don’t pay attention to rumours much myself.
Maxie was probably ready to move on with his career and that wasn’t happening here so good luck to him.
Shivers stepping back to a position coach is probably a little bit of a humbling moment. But little doubt he can learn a lot here too under Jones.
Power rankings and pre- season stuff makes me laugh. There are a lot of guys who may or may nor make the team. As for Riders on the rise - they may be better but they sort of spent the farm on the O-Line and did nothing about the back end of the defence which IMO was an even bigger problem last season.
BC will be a team to look out for. They have a run game this season and they made it to the Semi without one last year.
Calgary could be better or could be worse. I don’t know Schiltz is the answer at QB but he could be. It will be interesting to see who else they pick up in the run game. Too many injuries left them with one back or the other last year and rarely both in a game.
Elks didn’t add a lot but…between Leake and Deontez Alexander have two fast fast fast returners - who can sub in at wide receiver too. And return game, and Kicking game. They quietly signed Romeo McKnight away from Calgary before they moved Ceresna for Gittens. And all those young defensive guys should be back for year 3.
Plus 6 of the first 31 draft picks are the Elks picks too.
Winnipeg - will be very good but they lost a little to this point IMO. They needed some youth in a few spots and they got some. Good or bad - there are likely spots they may not be as good as in years past but overall I would bet the road to the Grey Cup will likely run through Winnipeg again this season.
Apart from that all I can say is - the west will bet an unpredictable dog fight this year and I would bet we will all know all the tie breakers for the standings by November…
We hope this is the case
I never count Calgary out
Edmonton is going the turn the corner
The Bombers are not as hurt as some hope
BC is quietly putting together what they need
The Riders have improved but will it be enough because the West is hard to place one, two, or three. The crossover may be in effect this coming season again
I think the West will be exciting this coming season. Should be three teams with a legitimate chance at winning the Division. Calgary is probably the weak link but outside of that, every team should have a good chance at beating every other team on any given game day. It should be fun!