Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
On the eve of 2009 Canadian Football League training camps, which are set to officially open June 7 across the country, here’s a look at some of the most pressing issues as we enter the new year. I’m sure if you looked closely enough at the eight franchises across the league you could find many more issues, but these five have been identified as the most burning questions we can find in the CFL:
1 – How will Mike Kelly fare in his maiden season on the sidelines with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers?
This question immediately jumps to the top of the pack. The outspoken and much-travelled Kelly finds himself back in Winnipeg for the first time since he left the club in 1996 after five very successful years as the Bombers’ offensive coordinator. In between, he’s spent time in the XFL, NCAA and NFL before coming back to Canada in 2008 as Edmonton’s receivers coach.
After being hired on December 2, 2008 as the 27th head coach in Blue Bomber history, Kelly immediately went to work gutting the Winnipeg roster. 29 players have been either traded or released from last year’s 8-10 team which lost out to Edmonton in the 2008 East Semifinal.
Beyond this, both Kelly and Bomber President Lyle Bauer have been forced to issue public apologies for outlandish comments the new coach has made since his hiring. Not the least of which was referring to Saskatchewan as “the crotch of Canada” at a Bomber fan forum.
Is he completely crazy or is he an eccentric genius? We’ll soon find out.
2 – Who wins the battle to be the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ starting quarterback?
What a great question. Incumbent Quinton Porter wowed the Ticats, their fans and the rest of the CFL when he wrestled the starting job away from Casey Printers last year. The Boston College grad was nothing short of phenomenal as he threw for 1,496 yards and his efficiency rating of 102.3 was aided by his spiffy touchdown-to-interception ratio of 10-4.
But Porter will be pushed in training camp by Kevin Glenn, who was snatched off the open market this winter by Ticats’ GM Bob O’Billovich shortly after he was released by the Blue Bombers. At 5’10”, 203 lbs, Glenn couldn’t be any more different from the 6’5″, 228 lb Porter. However what Glenn lacks in physical attributes, he makes up for in football smarts and his 3,637 yards passing in 2008 shows he knows how to get the ball downfield. But his 20 touchdowns versus 20 interceptions shows he’ll need to make better decisions in training camp and the preseason if he wants to be under centre in Week 1.
3 – How will Buck Pierce produce as the starting quarterback for the B.C. Lions in 2009?
Likely fairly well. Pierce signed an extension with the Lions on March 3 and Coach Wally Buono wasted no time declaring that the New Mexico State product would be on top of the depth chart heading into the new season.
Although injury prone, Pierce was the 6th-highest passer in the CFL last season despite missing considerable amounts of playing time. He completed 64.1% of his passes for 3,018 yards and his efficiency rating of 97.4 was fourth-best out of the top eight QBs.
Pierce guided the Lions to a 33-12 upset of the Roughriders in Regina in the West Semifinal before succumbing to the Grey Cup-champion Calgary Stampeders 22-18 in the West Final. On that afternoon, Pierce couldn’t find
the endzone as the Lions only managed six field goals.
Now is Buck’s time to shine. However if he falters, Buono won’t hesitate to go with Jarius Jackson, which is the mirror opposite image of what went down last year in Vancouver.
4 – Where does Casey Printers end up?
The 2004 CFL Most Outstanding Player was unceremoniously dumped by Hamilton at the conclusion of their 3-15 season and he’s still out of work. On May 4, Printers fired his agent and uncle, Jason Medlock which will make for some uncomfortable family reunions.
Anybody who watched Printers and the Ticats in 2008 could see what the able-bodied and strong-armed quarterback is capable of because he showed flashes of brilliance. However, dropped passes and poor pass protection killed drives and ultimately killed the season for the Ticats. But should it kill his career?
Here’s one guy who’s sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring. How long does he wait and who will be on the other end of the line?
5 – How will the Saskatchewan Roughriders do with an unproven quarterback in this brand new season?
2008 Coach of the Year finalist Ken Miller was given the opportunity to sign either Casey Printers or Kevin Glenn in the off-season but elected to stick it out with incumbent Darian Durant. From the outset, it appears to be quite a gamble.
Durant, the all-time leading passer at the University of North Carolina, has been with the Roughriders since 2006 and was a find of then-GM Roy Shivers. Durant finally got a chance to shine in ’08, leading the Riders to four straight unlikely victories between Weeks 2 and 5 before being knocked out with cracked ribs.
He never regained his form as he was used sparingly in relief of Michael Bishop the rest of the way, but this year Miller’s put the ball in his hands again. Behind him on the depth chart are veteran Steven Jyles (who failed to seize the opportunity when presented in ’08) and NFL practice roster journeyman Dalton Bell who saw only practice time with the Green & White last year.
For Durant, it’s sink or swim.
And for the rest of these burning questions, thankfully we’ll find out the answers soon enough!
Rod Pedersen is the Voice of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Check out his award-winning blog at www.rodpedersen.com
