With Canadian Football League training camps commencing in full this Sunday following rookie camps, sportsnet.ca takes a look at each team and poses five burning questions about each.
Here’s a look the East Division burning questions
Today, the West Division. Closer to the regular season, sportsnet.ca will provide a more in-depth analysis.
Calgary Stampeders
Who starts at quarterback?
Drew Tate had the job last year and lost it because of an injured shoulder in the second game. He is healed up, but the biggest thing he’ll need to do is control his emotional and mental mindset. The physical tools are all there. Backup Kevin Glenn is a consummate professional who won’t make an issue about being the backup even after becoming the starter because of injury last year. Third-stringer Bo Levi Mitchell might make a case for the backup spot.
Who gets the spot at left defensive end?
Anwar Stewart did a decent job, but the team wanted to get younger. Stevie Baggs joined the team from the NFL in the fall, but was plagued by a quadriceps injury and played only one game. If healthy, he can be a force.
What will the receiving corps look like?
Canadian Johnny Forzani is shelved indefinitely following recent ankle surgery and along with Romby Bryant, who was let go, there are spots open. Maurice Price showed some incredible talent last year as a rookie in a limited role. Joe West is another second-year talent with a huge upside.
Can Dan Federkeil rediscover his talent?
The lanky offensive lineman played four seasons in the National Football League with the Indianapolis Colts as a guard and tackle before retiring at the end of 2009. He now attempts a comeback. If he can retain the form he had in the NFL, he becomes a Canadian who can start and impacts the ratio, allowing the Stamps to employ more Americans at receiver.
Stamps dealt with Toronto to acquire him in the off-season, hoping he can do some good things playing in the city where he excelled with the Calgary Dinos in university.
Will the linebacking corps stay the same?
This is an area of depth, but Chris Randle will be one to watch. He was the Stamps’ rookie of the year candidate last year and showed he can play linebacker and defensive back. He was also solid on special teams. As a second-year player, he just might have the ability to break through to a starting role.
B.C. Lions
Is there life after Geroy Simon?
The future Hall of Famer was traded to Saskatchewan in an off-season shocker, but part of the plan to go in a different direction in the receiving corps, along with cutting loose Arland Bruce III. Reacquiring Emmanuel Arceneaux, who was with the team for two seasons before heading to the NFL in 2011, is huge. The receiving corps will provide plenty of competition for the vacant jobs.
What to make of the quarterback situation?
Starter Travis Lulay had his contract extended and is among the highest-paid in the league. He did not have a stellar season last year, and his backup was traded to Winnipeg. Bombers’ castoff, Joey Elliott, is signed as a possible backup. Most of all, Lulay has to rediscover what made him so valuable two years ago. He and his receiving corps looked out of sync so often last year.
Will Adrian Awasom live up to his name and will Jabar Westerman improve on his first season?
Awasom was acquired from Toronto in the deal that sent defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell to the Argos. Awasom is tall at 6-foot-5 and weighs 280 pounds, so he might be better suited as an end. But the Lions are stacked at the end spot, notably with Westerman, who had 14 tackles and four sacks as a rookie, living up to the Lions’ selecting him second overall in the draft in 2012. Now, it’s a little early to be comparing him to Brent Johnson, the all-time leading Canadian in sacks, but this kid’s upside is huge.
What will the back end look like?
Cornerback Byron Parker was released and signed with Montreal. The group as a whole is full of experience, but competition could change that. Sophomore Joshua Bell will get a good look at cornerback following a limited role as a rookie.
Is the O-Line in need of some young blood?
This group as a whole is old and some have played through chronic injuries, so this is where training camp will likely create the most competition. Matthew Norman, drafted 22nd overall in 2012, had some reps last year and surely will be more of a factor in his first full season.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Can George Cortez help the offence, notably the quarterbacks?
Cortez clearly wasn’t comfortable as a head coach in Hamilton last year, but Riders’ head coach Corey Chamblin wasted little time in hiring him as the offensive co-ordinator. Cortez’s strength has been working with quarterbacks, so I think this could a key area of improvement for the Riders.
Will receiver Geroy Simon make an impact with his new team?
Surely he feels he has something to prove after his illustrious career in B.C. came to an end when a contract haggle led to a trade. If he can rediscover the skills that made him great, it’s a good deal for the Riders. But the Lions rarely make personnel mistakes.
What will the defence look like?
Some incoming veterans with big profiles such as cornerback Dwight Anderson, rush end Ricky Foley, linebacker Rey Williams, defensive tackle Jermaine McElveen and defensive back Weldon Brown arrive via various ways and collectively add a lot of experience. Chamblin has a defensive background and obviously felt after one season that the defensive unit needed changes. Foley gives the team ratio options because he’s a Canadian who can start.
Will having the Grey Cup in Regina this year have any effect?
Some people think it will be a positive factor for the Riders so they can shoot towards playing at home in the championship game. The goal of every team is to make it to the Cup, regardless of where it takes place, but the marketing department might try to use this to generate added excitement.
Who will handle the kicking and punting?
It’s been a revolving door for several seasons now. Chris Milo handled both duties for most of last year, but suffered an injury and was replaced by Sandro DeAngelis, who was let go after the season. Milo will have competition in camp from Brody McKnight, who keeps bouncing from team to team. This might be his best chance to get an opportunity.
Edmonton Eskimos
Did new GM Ed Hervey do an adequate job of overhauling the team?
Well, he certainly put his own fingerprints all over it, addressing various issues, including addressing some salary cap issues to keep veterans from leaving via free agency.
Is head coach Kavis Reed on the hotseat?
Yes. He dealt with so many distractions last year, but this year all he has to do is coach and there can be no excuses. Reed is part of the previous Eric Tillman regime, but Hervey felt confident enough in the head coach to honour the existing contract.
Reed has hired Greg Marshall as his defensive co-ordinator and this adds veteran experience to the staff. Doug Sams will co-ordinate the offence, and he did some good things last year in Hamilton, although Henry Burris’ successful season certainly had something to do with Cortez’s familiarity and influence.
Is the quarterback position solidified?
It was a total disaster last year with a quarterback, Steven Jyles, who is no longer with the team. Matt Nichols showed some promise before dislocating an ankle in the playoffs. He’ll be pushed for the starting job by Mike Reilly, acquired from B.C. in a trade. Neither player has played the position long enough as a starter in the CFL to truly gauge their talent. Veteran Kerry Joseph is back again, but he can only be a last resort and a de facto QB coach.
Was the signing of defensive end Odell Willis worth it?
The Eskimos targeted him in free agency and got nailed by the CFL police for being a little too zealous in announcing it because of an obvious tampering violation. Willis has played for several teams and is one of the best rush ends in the CFL when he’s motivated.
Playing in Marshall’s system, which is generally a 4-3 defence that is based on power without a lot of stunts or gimmicks, this will allow Willis to simply go after the quarterback. The Eskimos’ defensive line was beaten up by injuries last year. It’s a solid unit with a lot of talent, but playing in a new scheme may hinder or help the veterans.
Can Hugh Charles handle the role of full-time feature back with Jerome Messam out of the picture?
He did some good things last year running and catching the ball, but when Messam came back from a failed NFL tryout it ate away at Charles’ playing time and role. There’s always a concern about his durability because of his size, but there’s no question the king of the backflips gives his all.
Canadian Calvin McCarty is available in some situations but he’s had trouble staying healthy. There’s a slew of rookies who have been brought in and you have to think at least one will be kept around for depth.
