This week will be a memorable one for Canadian football fans as their patience will finally, finally be rewarded.
The CFL regular season will kick off on Aug. 5 with a rematch of the 107th Grey Cup as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will finally get to raise their banner in front of fans when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
With only 14 games being played this season, teams won’t have the same margin for error as in past years, and that should make for an intriguing playoff race — especially in the East Division.
Since 2016, the East has produced only two playoff teams per year, with the third team qualifying from the West via the crossover. Could this finally be the year where that changes?
Now that training camp is over and the final roster cuts have been made, we can finally gauge where things sit with each team in the league.
Let’s take a look at the four teams in the East and try to determine whether Hamilton has a clear-cut path to repeat their dominant season from 2019.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
2019 season: 15-3 regular-season record (1st in East); lost to Winnipeg in Grey Cup
Players to watch: Jeremiah Masoli, QB; Brandon Banks, REC; Bralon Addison, REC; Dylan Wynn, DL; Simoni Lawrence, LB; Sean Frankie Williams, DB
2021 outlook: Despite losing starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to a torn ACL, the Tiger-Cats showed just how strong of a team they were as Dane Evans helped them reach the Grey Cup. Unfortunately, that was all undone by a disappointing end against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Now the team will have to put that all aside, and they’ve done their best to keep their roster and coaching staff together to make another run. Out of all the teams in the league, Hamilton seems like the best bet to replicate their success from 2019 considering they will have Masoli back as their starter, and Evans still in place as an insurance policy.
There’s no doubting the talent the team has on its offence, which is led by 2019 Most Outstanding Player Brandon Banks. He is joined by Bralon Addison, who returns after spending time in the NFL, as well as David Ungerer, Jaelon Acklin and DeVier Posey.
If there is any cause for concern with the Tiger-Cats, it’s the departures of linebacker Larry Dean along with defensive backs Delvin Breaux, Richard Leonard and Rico Murray. However, the team’s defensive line plus the heart and soul of the defence, Simoni Lawrence, are still in the fold.
Prediction: 11-3 regular-season record (1st in East)
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
2019 season: 4-14 regular-season record (3rd in East)
Players to watch: Nick Arbuckle, QB; Henoc Muamba, LB; DaVaris Daniels, REC; Cameron Judge, LB; Charleston Hughes, DL; Shane Ray, DL
2021 outlook: In the two seasons since they won the Grey Cup in 2017, the Argonauts have put up back-to-back 4-14 seasons. The downturn led to sweeping changes with Michael “Pinball” Clemons returning to the team as general manager and many moves throughout the organization, including the hiring of rookie head coach Ryan Dinwiddie from the Calgary Stampeders.
Looking at Toronto’s roster on paper, it’s hard to not be impressed with the work done by the front office. They were one of the more active teams in free agency, shocking many with the additions of Most Outstanding Canadian Henoc Muamba and Charleston Hughes in a revamped Argos defence.
Toronto brass also went to Dinwiddie’s old team to recruit a good chunk of their offensive lineup in receivers Juwan Brescacin, DaVaris Daniels and Eric Rogers to go with quarterback Nick Arbuckle. The former Stampeders quarterback is trying to overcome a minor hamstring ailment that the team wants to be cautious about, and they feel confident in their QB depth in McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Antonio Pipkin.
This is a team with big boom-or-bust potential, and they didn’t get any help from the schedule makers with their first five games coming against Calgary, Winnipeg (x2), Edmonton and Hamilton. If they can get through that stretch of games, this team has a good chance to make a push in the East or at least finish near the top.
Prediction: 9-5 regular-season record (2nd in East)
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
2019 season: 10-8 regular-season record (2nd in East); lost to Edmonton in East Division quarterfinal
Players to watch: Vernon Adams Jr., QB; William Stanback, RB; B.J. Cunningham, REC; Almondo Sewell, DL
2021 outlook: One of the biggest surprises of the 2019 season was seeing the Montreal Alouettes earn their first winning record in seven seasons. They can thank head coach Khari Jones and the emergency of Vernon Adams Jr. for the team’s transformation.
Now under the watchful eye of general manager Danny Maciocia, the team will look to show they can continue to progress. Whether they are good enough to challenge the Tiger-Cats for top spot in the East will be determined by whether Adams can continue to improve.
Getting star running back William Standback to return from a one-year stint in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders should help alleviate some pressure on Adams. There is also a lot of familiarity between the QB and his receivers, as B.J. Cunningham, Mario Alford, Quan Bray, Jake Wieneke and Eugene Lewis were all retained.
Where the team has the most question marks is on defence considering they lost Muamba in free agency, and both longtime defensive lineman John Bowman and safety Taylor Loffler to retirement. The offensive line is also a bit of a concern as Jason Lauzon-Seguin, Trey Rutherford, Andrew Becker and Zach Wilkinson also opted to retire.
Montreal will have to wait until Week 2 to get their season going with the team on a bye to start the season.
Prediction: 7-7 regular-season record (3rd in East)
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
2019 season: 3-15 regular-season record (4th in East)
Players to watch: Matt Nichols, QB; Cleyon Laing, DL; Abdul Kanneh, DB; Anthony Coombs, REC; Micah Awe, LB
2021 outlook: The first season without Trevor Harris at quarterback didn’t go exactly to plan for the Redblacks.
In hopes of turning things around, general manager Marcel Desjardins recruited Blue Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice to be the team’s next head coach. He was then reunited with former Winnipeg starting quarterback Matt Nichols, who is looking to get back on track after having his 2019 campaign cut short with a shoulder injury.
The Redblacks have their work cut out for them considering the improved competition in the East and the losses of some significant players — longtime receiver Brad Sinopoli retired, and two other pass catchers, Jalen Saunders and Dominique Rhymes, signed with the BC Lions.
Sports Interaction has set the Redblacks win total for the 2021 season at 3.5, which might seem low. But looking at the roster on paper, it’s tough to see this group making enough improvements to get out of the CFL basement even with Nichols at the helm.
Prediction: 2-12 regular-season record (4th in West)
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