Off-Season Time Waster: Predict 2012 Standings

Alouettes de Montréal
1

Okay, guys, just a bit of harmless fun to pass the time until training camp.

Predict the standings in each division for the 2012 season. Here are my completely unscientific, subjective picks.

West

#1 Lions: Can't see anyone dislodging Wally's boys from the top. Talent and depth on both sides of the ball, a young QB who's only going to get better, and Stubler back in charge of the D.

#2 Stampeders: With the changing of the guard now complete (Burris, Reynolds, and probably Rambo gone), we'll see a fresher, hungrier Stamps. Defense is a bit of a concern with a rookie DC replacing the guy who was supposed to replace Chris Jones.

#3 Roughriders: Should be competitive after an awful 2011 season, but no guarantee that they'll be able to replace Fantuz and possibly the weakest secondary in the league.

#4 Eskimos: Jyles and Joseph at QB? Losing Barnes, Stubler, Peach, Davis, and Restelli? Basement time for Gropin' Eric's unit.

East

#1 Alouettes: The offense will continue to roll, and should benefit from some fresh blood at wide receiver, with Watkins gone and an open battle for his and possibly Bratton's spot in training camp. Popp has done a magnificent job shoring up the defense by adding Hunt, Restelli, Davis, and Mullinder.

#2 Argonauts: The organization is finally doing things right, with a gifted offensive mind in charge, a legit no. 1 QB with a solid backup, and an improved cast of receivers to go along with a stud RB in Cory Boyd. Jones will milk that defense for every ounce of productivity he can, and O'Shea will continue to lead a dangerous ST unit. They will grind out a number of close, one-touchdown-or-less wins.

#3 Tiger-Cats: The offense should be spectacular to watch, provided the line can block for Burris and Mallett, but the defense is a question mark and Medlock's departure is going to hurt more than people think. They'll be entertaining, but they'll also lose a lot of shootouts.

#4 Blue Bombers: Have not done much to improve the weakest part of the team (offense), and have actually lost some valuable NI starters without finding good replacements. Defense will still be tough but teams will adjust to Burke now. They'll lose a lot of low-scoring games.

2

I think your spot on in the West, the East I can't make out. Too much change, with Winnipeg messing around with the schedule. it will take till Labour day to sort out the East IMO.

3

I'll take a stab at it;
West....

  1. Lions - loaded with talent
  2. Edmonton - the D-unit earns it
  3. Roughriders - Durant plays well
  4. Calgary - not sold on Tate yet

East....

  1. Montreal - Calvillo gets it done
  2. Argos - Ray and the D-unit have a good year
  3. Hamilton - talent is there to finish second?
  4. Bombers - a rebuid year perhaps
4

Oh yeah, it's all guesswork and probably 3/4 wrong anyway, but it's fun to speculate.

And backer, I could give you Edmonton at third spot in the west, but ahead of both SSK and CGY with nothing but Jyles and Joseph at the QB position? Really not sure the defense is strong enough to win that many games for them, especially with the losses of Peach and Davis.

5

My predictions never turn out either, but you never know though. "IF" the Esks O can score enough points for the D-unit to hold on is my take; Toronto did it with Lemon at the hem two seasons ago. You are right though d&p, the Eskimos could plummet and Calgary too for that matter as I'm still sceptical on Tate.

6

Jyles played well in Winnipeg but could not win any games. So if the defense is very,very good, you could be on to something. Hamilton well till they can show me they can control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball I am not going to take them seriously, especially with Burris coming off the worst year of his career.

7

Ahh, why not. Might as well chip in.

~ West ~

  1. B.C. Lions - No reason to think they wouldn't be as ferocious as they were last year. Solid all around.
  2. Saskatchewan Roughriders - I don't know why, but I'm feeling a bounce-back season coming from Durant.
  3. Calgary Stampeders - Drew Tate could be great, but it might take him time to really settle in. No Chris Jones could hurt.
  4. Edmonton Eskimos - Too many key losses. Between Ray, Barnes and Davis, I think they'll be regretting the trades.

~ East ~

  1. Montreal Alouettes - Calvillo in his prime + very promising defense = success!
  2. Toronto Argonauts - Ricky Ray is champ material. Milanovich can surely lead a winning team.
    3t. Hamilton Tiger-Cats - Burris might still have gas in the tank, but this team looks very new. Could be great, could be a flop.
    3t. Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Tied with the Ti-Cats. Could potentially be a cross-over? Buck Pierce is a playmaker, but made of glass.
8

I'll second that. First ever east to west crossover. but with winnipeg it would actually be a natural switch. :stuck_out_tongue:

9

And just to complete the healing of 2011.

When Marcel Bellefeuille did his 'hell yeah' gesture at the end of the east semi he didn't realize that was his last win as a head coach. Goodbye Marcel,Glenn and Cobourne. For a team that won, the end result wound up the same than if they had lost.

When winnipeg clinched first place they didn't realize they were going to go 0-5 in grey cup games since 1990. Ha ha ha.

BC Lions were coached by former alouette Wally Buono. Alouettes franchise come out a winner for it. Small comfort.

Good luck in 2012.

10

WEST
BC
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Edmonton

EAST
Toronto
Hamilton
Winnipeg
Ottawa
Montreal

11

Well, I've always liked Mark Nelson, and Jyles certainly has ability, so maybe you'll be right in the end, backer. Tate still has a lot to prove, no question, but Hufnagel is a pretty astute judge of QB talent and if he cut ties with Burris in favour of someone unproven it's for a good reason IMO. He could be this year's Lulay.

12

I'll second this one for now anyway :wink:

13

With the increase parity, every team is a starting QB injury away from falling to the bottom.

14

I see you brought the stupidity from your posts on Herb's blog to this site. Thread carefully...

15

Is he that absurd Johnny All-Caps guy from Herb's blog? Probably the main reason why I don't read the comments there anymore (apart from the fact that Herb never updates his blog -- he still has nothing up on Carter being released).

16

West
1 - BC - Untouchable. Deep everywhere. Benevides has no excuses. First overall. Easy.
2 - Calgary - leaders of the trailing pack.
3 - Edmonton - Consistency issues at QB, but their defense is WAY better than Sask's.
4 - Sask - Wise man say, 'only team in league with no secondary finish last place.'

East
1 - Montreal - Still the class of the east, but it will be tough. If defense stays healthier than last year they should be fine.
2 - Toronto - Got a good feeling about the Argos. It's not just Ray, there's a different attitude there.
3 - Hamilton - These top 3 should be close, someone gotta finish 3rd. Perhaps a little more flash than smash here holds them back. We'll see.
4 - Winnipeg - Loss of Doug Brown hurts like hell. There will be games where their defense can't keep their slow and steady offense in it.

East will beat the west head to head for the first time in what? 35 years?

17

Also Calgary has Glenn to push Tate so to speak too. For Edmonton; there is nothing wrong with Joseph as far as his coaching goes for the other QB's the Esks have going into camp. With the play action that will be much different without Ray; at some point one of them Nichols/Ward has to step up I say.

18

I like where you've placed the Lions! They have the makings of running away with it this year. My only concern is the coaching staff changes. I've seen guys placed in the role of head coach who have great talent and leadership only to cave in and not meet expectations. Benevides is a knowledgeable guy but he is not without his detractors given the dismal start the Lions had during the first 7 starts of last year. He will be making clutch decisions as head coach which he did not have to make as DC. If the coaching staff gels like the team did in the 2nd half of the season the Lions could repeat.

The TiCats may surprise everyone. I'm not convinced the Als will end up on top this season. They'll be in the running but they may be upstaged.

19

Montreal has a lot going for them. Stability for one and I am very happy with the moves they made in the off season to improve the defense and special teams.

20
Nope! I don't have the luxury of living in St-Leonard or driving a Camaro. So, I am not Johnny all caps. Duh!
We have Italian Montrealers who are valued members here and you will respect them.