Another year, another set of team previews! As per usual, this week features the four East Division teams, while next week features the five teams of the West Division. If you’d like to study up before making your picks in this year’s [DFO] CFL Pick ‘Em Pool, I highly recommending reading onwards! If you have yet to join, please click the link below in order to register. As well, info on how to download PoolTracker’s web app to your phone or desktop can be found here. I look forward to having you in the competition!

https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=193216 

And now, onto the main event.

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

Founded: 1950 (the Hamilton Tigers, est. 1869, and Hamilton Wildcats, est. 1941, merged to create the current franchise)

Home Stadium: Tim Hortons Field, Hamilton, ON (24,000)

Grey Cups: 8 (1953, 1957, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1986, 1999)

2019 Record: 15-3, first in East Division; lost in Grey Cup to Winnipeg

GM: Drew Allemang/Shawn Burke

Head Coach: Orlondo Steinauer

Starting QB: Roll the dice.

Famous Alumni:

• Angelo Mosca, DT (won 5 Grey Cups, was a pro wrestler in the WWF known as both King Kong Mosca and The Mighty Hercules; famously got in a fight with BC Lions QB Joe Kapp over a hit in the 1963 Grey Cup, where he hit him several times with his cane… check out the video here!)
• Matt Dunigan, QB (2-time Grey Cup champion and current studio analyst for Canadian sports network TSN)
• Bernie Faloney, QB (3-time Grey Cup champion who chose the CFL over the San Francisco 49ers in 1954 because the Canadian dollar was worth more… kind of a shocker!)

Fun Facts: Tim Hortons, the quintessential Canadian coffee joint, is headquartered in Hamilton, and thus the stadium takes the naming rights from them; for whatever reason, there seems to be a major wind tunnel effect, and the new stadium, which replaced the ancient Ivor Wynne Stadium, is hellish for kickers. The Ti-Cats were also owned by insane Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard in the 1980s, who claimed at one point he was losing “a million dollars a year” on the team despite their on-field success. The Ti-Cats are the only CFL team to ever beat an NFL team, when they topped the Buffalo Bills on August 8, 1961. Every year, the Ti-Cats and archrival Argos play the Labour Day Classic at Hamilton’s home stadium, with a 35-15-1 advantage all-time in the series.

The Training Camp Scuttlebutt: Hamilton shredded a weak East Division in 2019, going 15-3 en route to a disappointing loss in the Grey Cup Final. What’s more, they had their best season in franchise history, beating their best previous wins total by three full games. All the more impressive was managing to accomplish the feat despite longtime starting QB Jeremiah Masoli going down with a torn ACL in Week 7. Backup Dane Evans led the team to the Grey Cup final, where they were defeated by former Ti-Cats starter Zach Collaros and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. I mention quarterbacks so heavily in this season’s preview because this is probably the biggest question the team faces heading into 2021. Masoli is now fully healed from the torn ACL, but the team looked even better with Evans as the starter back in 2019. Further complicating the QB competition is pressure from rookie pivot J’Mar Smith, who played at Louisiana Tech before a couple of NFL tryouts; the team felt him promising enough to release veteran David Watford, the former third-stringer, ahead of camp opening in early July. With no preseason games this year, it’s likely going to be really hard to figure out who Hamilton’s number one guy is going to be – but save for a bit of a shakeup in the secondary due to some veteran retirements, Hamilton is poised to be good again this year.

Key Additions: LB Jovan Santos-Knox (FA); DB Ciante Evans (FA); WR DeVier Posey (FA); QB J’Mar Smith (FA)

Key Subtractions: LB Larry Dean (FA); DB Rico Murray, Delvin Breaux (retired), Patrick Levels (FA); QB David Watford (released)

2021 Record Prediction: 9-5

MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Founded: 1996 (Original franchise 1946-1987)

Home Stadium: Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, McGill University, Montreal, QC (25,012)

Grey Cups: 4 (1995 as the Baltimore Stallions, 2002, 2009, 2010) (Original franchise won 4 – 1949, 1970, 1974, 1977)

2019 Record: 5-13, fourth in East Division; missed playoffs

GM: Danny Maciocia

Head Coach: Khari Jones

Starting QB: Vernon Adams, Jr.

Famous Alumni: 

• Anthony Calvillo, QB (football’s all-time passing yards leader, beating even Favre and Manning, with 79,816)
• Mike Pringle, RB (all-time CFL rushing yards leader – 16,425 on 2960 carries, averaging 5.6 YPC)
• Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, WR

Fun Facts: Percival Molson Stadium is the only one in the CFL that doesn’t contain perfectly square endzones due to a running track surrounding the field. Nobody seems to care, funny enough. The Als’ 2009 Grey Cup win against the Saskatchewan Roughriders ( which saw them win on a last-second field goal, their second attempt after Saskatchewan had successfully blocked the first one, but were penalized for too many men) is considered one of the greatest CFL championship games in the history of the league. The current franchise relocated from Baltimore in 1996, after the Stallions captured the 1995 Grey Cup, the only American team to ever do so.

The Training Camp Scuttlebutt: 2019 was a resurgent year for the CFL’s most recent sad-sack franchise – and the entire league is better for it. After former owner Bob Wetenhall sold the team to the CFL and finally had Toronto-based S and S Sportsco agree to become its new owners, the franchise’s stability became much more assured. GM Kavis Reed was fired for “unknown reasons”, though it’s strongly suspected that it had to do with figuring out a way to circumvent the CFL salary cap by paying players through personal registered companies, as well as illegally charging the team for personal expenses. Despite this offseason turmoil, on-field the team came together in part due to rookie head coach Khari Jones – thrust into the role just six days before the team’s season opener – and former Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams, Jr, who proved himself worthy of a full-time starter’s job after an excellent year. Montreal finished 10-8 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2014. With all of the offseason shenanigans now behind the franchise, there’s lots of reasons to be optimistic about the Alouettes moving forward. With the quarterback position seemingly stable for the first time since the legendary Anthony Calvillo retired in 2013, and with Jones having a strong reputation as a player’s coach, the Als will hopefully make the East a very competitive division.

Key Additions: WR Naaman Roosevelt, Eli Rogers (FA); DL Almondo Sewell, Michael Wakefield, Nick Usher (FA); DB Patrick Levels, Kevin Fogg (FA)

Key Subtractions: RB Tyrell Sutton (retired); QB Antonio Pipkin (FA); DB Ciante Evans (FA); LB Henoc Muamba (FA), DE John Bowman (FA), WR DeVier Posey (FA)

2021 Record Prediction: 8-6

OTTAWA REDBLACKS

Founded: 2013 (Original Rough Riders franchise lasted 1876-1996; Renegades 2002-2005)

Home Stadium: TD Place Stadium, Ottawa, ON (24,500)

Grey Cups: 1 (2016) (9 as the Rough Riders – 1925, 1926, 1940, 1951, 1960, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1976)

2018 Record: 3-15, fourth in East Division; missed playoffs

GM: Marcel Desjardins

Head Coach: Paul LaPolice

Starting QB: Matt Nichols

Famous Alumni: 

• Russ Jackson, QB ( 3-time Most Outstanding Player, 4-time Most Outstanding Canadian, 6-time All-Star, one of the greatest Canadian QBs in the history of the game)
• Tony Gabriel, TE (scored the game-winning touchdown in the 1976 Grey Cup)
• Rohan Marley, LB (the bastard son of Bob Marley, was also married to singer Lauryn Hill)
• Dexter Manley, LB (he of the lifetime NFL ban for cocaine problems)

Fun Facts: if you say the name “Glieberman” in an Ottawa sports bar, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll get punched by some pudgy, middle-aged white guy. The financial mismanagement of this father & son team killed not only the historic Rough Riders in ’96, but the 2000s expansion Renegades as well. They are fucking idiots. (I am still hurt by the loss of the Rough Riders.) Fans in the stands also constantly talk shit about each other – “North Side Sucks!” and “South Side Sucks!” have been staples for decades at home games. Also, the team insists on spelling REDBLACKS in all capitals, and I still have no idea why. But I respect the commitment to the bit.

The Training Camp Scuttlebutt: The 2019 season was a disaster for the REDBLACKS. After GM Marcel Desjardins – possibly due to being directed by ownership – neglected to spend enough cash to keep most of the key contributors from the 2015-18 teams that went to three Grey Cup games and win one, the roster saw a huge turnover. Faced with two new quarterbacks and no offensive coordinator (with Jamie Elizondo abruptly quitting to join Marc Trestman’s staff in the XFL), the offense sputtered, and Dominique Davis and Jonathon Jennings were absolutely atrocious. With longtime head coach Rick Campbell having left to join the BC Lions as their new head coach for 2021, the team will look different this year. Paul LaPolice, former Winnipeg OC who was the mastermind behind the team’s surprising 2019 Grey Cup win, takes over as HC, while Matt Nichols, longtime Bombers starter who was traded to Toronto in 2019 as he was recuperating from shoulder surgery, takes over as the new #1 quarterback. While this is a good signing, it also comes on the heels of Ottawa trading away the first overall pick in the 2020 CFL draft for the rights to promising young QB Nick Arbuckle out of Calgary… who then refused to sign a contract extension with Ottawa, making this some very poor asset management on Desjardins’ parts. Regardless of this unfortunate fact, the league’s worst offense in 2019 will still, almost definitely, be somewhat less pathetic this year. That said, there are still a number of holes on the roster, particularly with veteran receiver Brad Sinopoli, two-time Most Outstanding Canadian of the CFL, opting for retirement this year, not to mention key offensive linemen Alex Mateas, defensive lineman Danny Mason, and receiver Jalen Saunders, a marquee free agent signing from 2020 who was in an unfortunate car accident back in May. I would absolutely expect improvement from 2019, but the REDBLACKS still have some work to do in their rebuild if they want to return to contending for a division title again.

Key Additions: QB Matt Nichols (FA); LB Micah Awe (FA); DL Davon Coleman, Cleyon Laing, Stefan Charles (FA); WR/RB Anthony Coombs (FA); RB Tim Flanders, Akeem Hunt, Justin Davis (FA); DB Don Unamba, Abdul Kanneh (FA)

Key Subtractions: QB Jonathon Jennings, Nick Arbuckle (FA); WR Brad Sinopoli, Jalen Saunders (retired), Dominique Rhymes (FA); OL Alex Mateas (retired); DL Michael Wakefield (FA), Ettore Lattanzio, Danny Mason (retired); RB John Crockett, Mossis Madu (released); LB Mikael Cote (retired); DB Corey Tindal (retired)

2019 Record Prediction: 5-9

TORONTO ARGONAUTS

Founded: 1873

Home Stadium: BMO Field, Toronto, ON (25,000 for Canadian football crowds)

Grey Cups: 17 (1914, 1921, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1983, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2012, 2017)

2019 Record: 4-14, 3rd in East Division; missed playoffs

GM: Jim Popp

Head Coach: Ryan Dinwiddie

Starting QB: Nick Arbuckle, but maybe McLeod Bethel-Thompson

Famous Alumni:

• Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, RB (largest contract in CFL history and MOP of the 1991 Grey Cup, one of the most exciting ever)
• Ricky Williams, RB (scampered north when the NFL suspended him for weed in 2006. Gave no fucks about it.)
• Michael “Pinball” Clemons, RB (won 4 Grey Cups with the Argos and holds the CFL record for most all-purpose yards with 25,396; current GM of the team)
• Damon Allen, QB (retired at age 44 in 2008, holds the record for combined passing and rushing yards in all of pro football, with 84,301)
• Doug Flutie, QB (6-time CFL MOP and QB for the NFL Bears, Patriots, Bills and Chargers)

Fun Facts: John Candy, Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall owned the Argos in the early ’90s; they also offered a CFL-record contract to Rocket Ismail ($18.2 million over four years – an absolutely unheard-of amount which has not come close to being equalled – QBs, which make the most money on average of all players in the league today, typically have contracts between $4-700,000 at the most.

The Training Camp Scuttlebutt: The Argos basically forgot how to play defence in 2019. The team had a 4-14 record, and didn’t win a game until Week 8 of the regular season. James Franklin, who had been highly touted as a new starting QB following Hall of Famer Ricky Ray’s retirement, ended up losing his job to McLeod Bethel-Thompson halfway through the season. While the D wasn’t fixed, the offense perked up, and Bethel-Thompson threw 26 touchdowns and had a 105.4 QBR. Devoid of context, this would appear to bode well for the Argos moving into 2021, but Bethel-Thompson is also 33 this year and has limited starting experience despite his time on numerous NFL, CFL, XFL and arena league rosters. This year, Toronto decided to do what they do best: throw around boatloads of cash at free agents of all stripes, especially at QBs, and it’s currently a three-way battle between Bethel-Thompson, highly coveted free agent Nick Arbuckle (former backup to all-star Stamps’ pivot Bo Levi Mitchell who Ottawa traded for and then failed to sign to an extension, lol), and former Alouettes starter Antonio Pipkin, who lost the #1 job to Vernon Adams, Jr. The Argos’ roster is going to look much different than in 2019, with many new faces on both sides of the ball, especially in the receiving corps and the D-line. Additionally, new head coach Ryan Dinwiddie, the former Calgary Stampeders OC, will get his first-ever opportunity at being the top dog. Toronto has done a full makeover a number of times over the previous decade, though with Argos legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons moving into his first full season as GM since returning to the organization on a full-time basis after a decade away, it’s tough to say whether or not they’re done yet. My gut is telling me the Argos are going to be a boom or bust squad for 2021 – though even if they are a bust, I think it’ll still be an improvement over their dismal 2019 year. As for the off-field stuff? Well, attendance has not been high over the past decade, but with Ontario’s return to allowing widespread outdoor activities plus with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment officially bringing the Argos into the organization’s fold, any potential financial losses will now matter far less to a holding company that owns and operates the Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors, Toronto FC, plus all their minor-league affiliates.

Key Additions: QB Nick Arbuckle, Antonio Pipkin (FA); WR Martavis Bryant, Juwan Brescacin, Ricky Collins, Jr., DaVaris Daniels, Eric Rogers, Terrell Sinkfield, Jr. (FA); DL Charleston Hughes, Cordarro Law, Odell Willis (FA); LB Cameron Judge, Henoc Muamba, Dexter McCoil (FA); DB Crezdon Butler (FA); RB John White (FA); OL Terry Poole (trade)

Key Subtractions: LB Bo Lokombo (released), Micah Awe (FA); DT Davon Coleman (FA); QB Michael O’Connor (FA), James Franklin (released, retired); DB Kevin Fogg, Abdul Kanneh (FA), Alden Darby (trade); WR Derel Walker, Armanti Edwards (FA); RB James Wilder, Jr., Chris Rainey (FA)

2021 Record Prediction: 7-7

That’s all for now! Thanks for reading up to this point – see you back here next week at the exact same time.