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It’s going to be another wild season in the CFL’s West Division! Is there a top dog among the five teams? Absolutely!
The Calgary Stampeders are the team everyone will be gunning for after an impressive 17-3 record through the regular season and playoffs. One of the most successful seasons in the history of the Canadian Football League that may not be seen again for another generation.
Riders General Manager Brendan Taman explained to our listeners on The Green Zone that Calgary has to be the team every one looks at to set the standard.
If the other four teams in the West didn’t go into this off-season with a mindset of ‘how can we beat Calgary?’, then they’ll be behind the eight ball going into 2015.
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Nye’s Weekly Predictor
Each and every week Jamie Nye will inform on CFL Fantasy by giving you who he is taking in CFL Pick’Em. This week, Nye is taking …
» OTT over MTL | CGY over HAM | EDM over TOR | SSK over WPG
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The Stamps have the #1 and #2 players on the CFL on TSN’s Top 50 list that was unveiled on Tuesday night with quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and running back Jon Cornish getting top billing from the 18 voters.
Right from the get go, the Stampeders start the season with what some experts say is the best backfield in the league and they will be tough to stop, but in their way are some of the most successful defences in the CFL.
Edmonton will bring Odell Willis, Dexter McCoil, Almondo Sewell and JC Sherritt to the dance to try to disrupt Calgary’s impressive arsenal.
Saskatchewan’s John Chick, Tyron Brackenridge and Tearrius George were on TSN’s Top 50 list and add to that an all-star DE in Alex Hall and LB Shea Emry and you see how the Riders have upped the ante this season defensively.
And then we get to BC, with the duo of Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill, and the Bombers have some big upgrades to do defensively, but with veteran defensive coordinator Richie Hall now in charge, it’s doubtful you see Cornish have 160-yard games against the Bombers in 2015. I note Hall’s defence in Saskatchewan last season held Cornish to 74-yards in the lone game the Riders played against Cornish.
The problem for the Calgary Stampeders is actually in front of Bo Levi Mitchell and Jon Cornish. It’s hard seeing them get the protection and the holes this year with the depth drastically depleted with Stanley Bryant going to Winnipeg and Brett Jones going to the New York Giants.
If the pass rushers and interior linemen that the CFL West has can disrupt the Stampeders at all, it is very unlikely the Stamps will be able to run away with the division like they did last year. They had an 8-2 record vs. Western opponents last year, but everyone around them is arguably better.
Add to that, the Stamps were able to beat the Eskimos all three times last year and got to play the Roughriders without Darian Durant in their two meetings late in the year. No way do they go 5-0 against those two teams this season.
The defence of the Stamps will still be a group that will be hard to score points against. With Shawn Lemon off to the NFL, they didn’t lose much else this off-season and will deploy a play-making defensive unit.
So how do the rest of the West look offensively against the Stamps? Mike Reilly and the Eskimos took a big hit with running back John White’s injury, but they feel they’ve gotten a bit more explosiveness on offence with 1,500-yard receiver Adarius Bowman now complemented by Cory Watson and Kenny Stafford, adding to that second year CFLer Devon Bailey and of course a weapon from every where on the field, Kendial Lawrence.
The Riders hope to have Darian Durant back to full health and with Weston Dressler in for the entire season right from the get-go, Saskatchewan is looking to get this offence back to where it was in 2013 with new offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine.
The Bombers helped themselves by hurting the Stampeders with the addition of offensive lineman Stanley Bryant. Maybe the best left tackle in the game adds some much needed protection for Drew Willy to try and have a breakout year.
And in B.C., the Lions have to be happy to see Travis Lulay look efficient in his first action in the pre-season. Although, the Lions offence may all hinge on Lulay’s right shoulder. But with George Cortez’ run happy offence, that may help reduce the amount of times Lulay has to take a hit during the regular season.
It’s not going to be easy to de-throne the Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders after they’ve put up seasons of 14 and 15 wins in the last two years, but the Riders, Eskimos, Lions and Bombers all think they’ve improved enough to at least give them a run for their money.
Although if I were a betting man, I’m still taking the Stamps.
