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After a long and eventful off-season, we’re back.
The sights and sounds are familiar, as they always are in early June for Canadian football fans. We get used to hearing pads smack into one another, we get used to seeing players exhaust themselves during two-a-days, and we get used to focusing in on position battles on our favourite teams.
But as familiar as things are, year after year, the best part about CFL training camps is that we get brand new stories to sink our teeth into. 2013 is no different, as the coming season will give us answers to a number of different questions.
Pivotal Points
| Backup Plans |
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Everyone knows how crucial it is in the CFL to have a reliable backup waiting in the wings. Here’s a look at each team’s 2nd string QB as show in each team’s Day 1 depth chart: » BC: Thomas DeMarco |
The first Monday Morning Quarterback of 2013 will first focus in on the position that lends its name to the column. We’ll start with the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, who didn’t have to think much about their future with Ricky Ray.
18 months after making the deal with the Eskimos, the Argos signed Ray to a contract extension, keeping him in double blue for the foreseeable future.
I know I may be in the minority, and I know you read this in this column numerous times last year, but I still believe Ray was the CFL’s most important player last season.
No knock on his Argos teammate who ended up being named Most Outstanding Player in Chad Owens, but no one player has transformed an organization in recent memory than Ray did to Toronto upon his arrival.
The Argos went from a team that couldn’t move the ball, and thus had issues making consistent stops because their defence couldn’t get off the field, to a group that possessed the ball effectively and made “two-and-out” a taboo phrase.
Having one of the most accurate passers in league history will do that, so keeping him in the fold long term was a rather easy decision for Jim Barker and company.
Toronto, along with BC, Hamilton, Montreal, and probably Saskatchewan are the teams that have their quarterback houses in order. If you’re wondering why I didn’t put Calgary in that mix, it’s because, well, I have no idea what’s going to happen with the Stampeders.
Despite seeing action in only three games last season, Drew Tate enters 2013 on top of the depth chart. That brings with it a few different questions.
First, will Tate be able to stand up to the rigors of being an 18 game starting quarterback in this league? It would be unfair to call him injury prone at this point, but we also don’t know the answer to the question yet because we haven’t seen it.
If he is able to play the bulk of a season, I fully expect to see the Stampeders get top-notch work out of him, because when he’s healthy, he’s a very effective player. I’m also curious to see the working relationship between Tate and Kevin Glenn, if the former stays healthy for the majority of the coming campaign.
Glenn stepped up in an unenviable spot last year to help Calgary advance to the 100th Grey Cup, yet is back to being the second string guy the following season.
He’s handled the thing like a pro, as he hasn’t let it become a distraction and seems to be ready to be the consummate team guy. It also seems like Tate’s attitude about the whole thing is what it needs to be, too.
He told me on the air last week how he now looks at last season’s frustration as a blessing, because he got to watch Glenn play and have success. Tate says he learned a ton from his teammate and has become a better quarterback because of it. All in all, it sounds like any Calgary quarterback controversy will have to be contrived by us conspiracy theorists in the media.
In Winnipeg, I just don’t know what to expect. Yeah, Buck Pierce will likely be the opening day starter, but as we all know by now, having a capable backup behind Pierce is of the utmost importance.
Pierce missed a large chunk of last season with various injuries and we saw both Alex Brink and Joey Elliott get chances to thrive in his absence. Both guys were familiar with Bomber terminology, and now both guys are gone. The battle for backup, and likely for some substantial playing time, is now underway.
“Normally you go into a season you say, ‘OK, here’s our No. 1 guy, here’s our No. 2 guy, here’s our No. 3 guy,’ and so you proportion your reps accordingly with the No. 1 guy getting the vast majority of them,” said Head Coach Tim Burke, entering his first full season at the helm.
“In this camp, we’re going to try to get everybody a lot of reps so we can see which will be the No. 2, 3 and 4 guys.”
It looks like Justin Goltz, who’s entering his third season with the Bombers, has the best chance of getting the call to understudy for Pierce. He’s been the team, he’s familiar with how things are done, and he’s put in his time.
But let’s not forget, he’s also thrown just 14 CFL passes. This is Goltz’s opportunity to really show the organization what he’s all about. Knowing the team said goodbye to Brink and Elliott after both showed decent flashes, Goltz also knows the time is now.
I’m very intrigued as to what Max Hall does north of the border. Being a bit of a mid-major honk watching US college football, I’ve been a fan of Hall’s for some time, having watched him play a ton at BYU.
If he can make the adjustment to the Canadian game, then the Bombers might just have a diamond in the rough.
That’s a big if, however, as success south of the border is by no means a guarantee for similar things in the CFL.
Then there’s the battle in Edmonton, which could prove to be the most intriguing.
The Eskimos welcomed Mike Reilly to the fold in a trade with the Lions over the winter; in an attempt to try and pick up the pieces after a disastrous 2012 quarterback campaign. 
The pivot impressed at different times backing up Travis Lulay in BC and comes in with a true opportunity to be a professional starter for the first time. He has company, though, and it comes from a guy who has traveled a very similar road.
Matt Nichols also impressed at different times last year from deeper on the depth chart, and also comes in with a shot at being a pro starter for the first time. His hill to climb may have an added obstacle, as Nichols is also looking to bounce back from a horrid ankle injury suffered in last year’s Eastern Semi-Final in Toronto. But Eskimos Head Coach Kavis Reed will have his work cut out for him when it comes to making this decision
Reed has stressed how wide open this battle really is, and it shouldn’t be any other way. The similarity of their 2012 stats is striking, with Reilly throwing for 684 yards and four touchdowns on 53-for-74 passing last season.
Nichols had seven touchdowns and 884 yards while connecting at a 48-of-83 clip. Of all the questions at quarterback for different teams heading into this season, this is going to be the one I’m most intrigued to see answered.
Familiar faces, new locales
Geroy Simon’s time in BC came to an end in January, concluding an era that started back in 2001 and saw him develop into one of the best receivers in CFL history.
Now a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, there are two big questions to answer: First, can Geroy bounce back after a tough 2012 season (by his standards)?
And, second, can CFL fans adjust to seeing him ply his trade in green and white?
Simon is coming off a year where injuries hampered his productivity. He missed five games and also played at less than 100% at different times. As such, not only was his overall receiving haul down more than 600 yards from 2011, but his average gain per reception went from 16.1 yards to 12.9
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At 37, Simon is on the other side of his peak, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be extremely useful.
Two things need to be underlined when talking about the CFL’s all time yardage leader. First, the guy is in incredible shape and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see him stay healthy much more consistently this season.
Second, and more importantly, he’s as proud as they come. Simon isn’t going to come back if he doesn’t believe he can still contribute at the highest level, and after a trying season, I think he’ll be motivated and ready to give Darian Durant a reliable option in the slot, still with the opportunity to break a game wide open.
Dan Federkeil may not be a household name for many CFL fans, but he’s certainly a recognizable face in Calgary, where he hopes to continue his pro career. Federkeil starred on the defensive line for the University of Calgary before finding his way onto the offensive line of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts for four seasons between 2006 and 2009.
Now after three seasons away from the game, Federkeil is back and could give the Stampeders a much needed boost when it comes to capable tackles. Calgary suffered injury after injury on their offensive line last year, and saw all kinds of turnover at left tackle.
In the mix for that position early on in training camp, Federkeil has the chance to be one of the best comeback stories of the year.
Random Thoughts
The BC Lions lead the CFL with 47 sacks during 2012 after finishing second in that same category with 54 in 2011. Hulking and dominant defensive lineman Khalif Mitchell was a big part of the reason for that, and I’m very curious to see how the BC pass rush is affected with his departure.
Mitchell has reported to camp in Toronto, and now the Lions will be asked to fill that hole. I’m fairly confident they’ll be able to, though.
Early on in camp, BC has moved Keron Williams from the edge to the interior, and I’ll be interested to see what he can do partnering Eric Taylor on the inside. Taylor is a capable defensive tackle, and brings a power and strength dimension that could be an intriguing foil to the speed and burst of Williams. No Mitchell is a loss, but there’s enough strong personnel there to not be felt as much as it might be otherwise.
What is Hamilton going to do if they don’t get Chris Williams back in time for opening weekend? The reigning Most Outstanding Special Teams player is on the suspended list to start the season as he remains embroiled in an arbitration dispute with the team.
Not having Williams in the fold is a huge loss in so many different ways, as he’s among an elite class of receivers who can break a game open on any given play. Add in the special teams dimension that he brings, and the loss of Williams is tough to bear in Hamilton. Let’s cross our fingers this gets worked out soon.
Speaking of the Tiger-Cats, just what should we expect from Kent Austin in his second CFL head coaching stint? The guy will never have to buy a meal in Regina ever again after leading the Riders to Grey Cup victory in 2007 in his first and only season as Riders Head Coach.
Austin returns to the CFL to replace George Cortez, and the expectations are going to be high. His talent is pretty impressive and he comes into a good situation in a lot of ways. Hamilton grossly underachieved in 2012, so it might be a little easier to temper those expectations, at least in season one.
Finally, in Montreal, the most frequently asked question is always going to surround Anthony Calvillo and how effective he’s going to be. This year, the question for me is less about how he performs, and more about how he works with new Head Coach Dan Hawkins.
Marc Trestman and Calvillo hit it off immediately, and with Trestman off to the Chicago Bears, it’s time to see another quarterback-coach dynamic at work in Montreal.
The Alouettes were bold once again in their coaching choice, opting for someone with no Canadian experience, just like they did when hiring Trestman. Hawkins has a solid resume, with plenty of success at Boise State and some nice accolades at Colorado.
How he works with Calvillo, and how designs his offence to get the most out of his 40-year-old quarterback will be what many Als fans judge their new coach on, at least in the early going.
