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It’s that most wonderful time of year, the playoffs! It’s time to separate the good from the elite and to crown a champion for the 2015 season. But it’s also getting into mid November which means were close to holiday party season and Christmas shopping. Who has the time to wrap their heads around all the different plot twists and stories that comes from the postseason? Well that is where I’m here to help in simple list form! I’ve put together my Top 10 most interesting players for the first round of the playoffs. Enjoy and remember that gift cards, while they may save you time this holiday season are wildly impersonal.
1. Jon Cornish
For the first time since 2011, Cornish did not finish the year as the CFL’s leading rusher. One of the biggest x-factors going into the playoffs is the health of Cornish who has been going through the league’s concussion protocols and hasn’t been seen since the team’s Week 16 15-11 loss to Edmonton. The last time we saw Cornish in the playoffs, he was playing the role of the most talented decoy in CFL history with just 25 yards on the ground in last year’s Grey Cup. Before anyone in Calgary starts yelling at me, yes I am aware he torched Edmonton in the Western Finals with 174 total yards and one touchdown.
If Cornish is good to go I don’t see many opportunities for recently signed 1000-yard rusher Jerome Messam. This is not a slight at Messam’s abilities but more about my skepticism around the narrative that we’ll see Calgary run their offence through both backs. This isn’t 1970’s NFL where quarterbacks would throw the ball 12 times for an entire game. Team’s rarely give the ball to their running backs more than 20 times in one game. A near 100% Cornish is just about the most dangerous weapon in this game and he could have a big day against a Lions defence that finished last against the run.
I’m rooting for a couple Cornish vs. Adam Bighill individual match-ups! Let the best athlete win.
2. Jonathon Jennings
I think we can all agree that it would be a major shock if we didn’t see Jennings starting this weekend. The fact that coach Jeff Tedford elected to sit out a healthy Jennings in their meaningless regular season final against Calgary speaks volumes about who will get a chance to engineer an upset over the defending Grey Cup champions. In fact we may have seen the last pass as a B.C. Lion for Travis Lulay, who got the majority of the snaps last weekend. Lulay, who will be a free agent at seasons end, has spent more time these past two season battling shoulder injuries than fighting with linebackers. If you ever wanted to see just how cruel/punishing football is just look at the career arc of Lulay, who only a couple years ago was the best quarterback in this league.
Back to Jennings. The last time he faced the Stampeders defence was in relief of John Beck when he was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury. Jennings managed to generate some big plays downfield but he also put tossed three interceptions in the teams 35-23 loss. Speaking of interceptions, Jennings has six over his last four games which makes him a complete wildcard this weekend. He has the play making ability to scare any Stampeder fan but he’s a rookie who will try to force some plays, a fact that will scare Lions fans. Jennings represents the future for the Lions and there is no better place to showcase what he can do than in the playoffs against an elite defence.
3. Eric Rogers
Rogers was an unknown last year until the Grey Cup when he made life miserable for Hamilton’s secondary to the tune of 108 yards on five catches. That was only 41 yards less than he had during the 2014 regular season. That performance was a sign of things to come as he went on to lead the league this season in receiving yards (1448) and tied for the league led in touchdown catches (10). Anonymity is no longer an issue for Bo Levi Mitchell’s new favourite target. This is a man who last season missed the birth of his daughter just for a chance to make the team, just imagine how focused he is to take on a secondary he has already burnt once this year.
4. C.J. Gable
The quarterback play in Hamilton after Zach Collaros went down has been, hmmm, how to be nice here… let’s go with inconsistent. Jacory Harris was pulled early in last week’s critical loss to Ottawa while Jeremiah Masoli’s fourth quarter fumble ended any chance for a Tiger-Cats comeback. If Hamilton wants to make it a hat trick for Grey Cup appearances it will need the 2013 version of Gable. We saw glimpses of that player, a 164 yard day against the Roughriders comes to mind, but Gable’s biggest problem is health, having played in just 11 games over the past two seasons.
Gable needs to be a safety blanket for whoever starts at quarterback. For Hamilton to win they need him to turn 1st-and-10 into 2nd-and-short, to take a routine screen pass and turn it into a 50 yard gain and to provide some insurance for his quarterback by swatting away would be blitzers. Hamilton is no longer a team that can beat you with their quarterback; they’ll need Gable to be the focal point if they want to upset the Argonauts. (yes I used the word “upset”, I know the game is in Hamilton but doesn’t it feel like Toronto is the favourite?)
5. Ricky Ray
He is the Bizzaro Jonathon Jennings and the next couple weeks could be absolutely fascinating for him. I mean is there a more obvious storyline than the aging quarterback trying for one last chance of glory? He’s Kevin Costner from ‘For Love of the Game’ mixed with Dennis Quaid from ‘Any Given Sunday’. His contract is up after this year and I can’t see Toronto letting go of Trevor Harris like they had to do with Collaros a couple years back. Would anyone be shocked to see Ray get hot and lead Toronto on a run to the Grey Cup?
A year ago he was leading the league in passing yards and his weapons are better this year. If he can decent pass protection I think there is a good chance we’re all talking about a Ricky Ray resurgence which would be great because we in the media love two things (not including free food) catchy alliterations and comeback stories.
6. Kent Austin
If you Google search Kent Austin the first picture you will find is of him on the sideline staring at you looking like your dad when you got home to inform him that you smashed up his new car. Don’t believe me? Check it out… does that look like that sort of person you want to upset?
Austin has been nothing short of brilliant these past three seasons guiding Hamilton to back-to-back Grep Cup appearances but the 2015 Playoffs represents his toughest test as a head coach. Does he go with Jeremiah Masoli who has one career start under his belt or Jacory Harris whose resume is rather thin with 21 career CFL pass attempts? How do you generate enough big plays from an offence that lost its leader? How does Hamilton get back to winning important games? This is a team that ended the year 2-5 after the Collaros injury.
Austin did a great job transforming Collaros into a MOP candidate now he needs to find a way to squeeze out a win with one of these untested quarterbacks.
7. Chad Owens
This year was all about the rookie receivers for the Argonauts. Vidal Hazelton, Tori Gurley and Kevin Elliott were the team’s top three leaders in receiving yards yet it is the “old” man of the group who I’m interested in seeing. Owens was shut down by Hamilton in the regular season (61 yards in three games) but that was with Harris at quarterback. Owens has more big game experience than anyone else at that position and is a big reason for Ray’s success with Toronto. Owens is still one of those guys who can get open and make people miss and he is the current belt holder for “best catch” of the 2015 season… that crazy one handed touchdown grab to beat Ottawa 38-35 in early October.
8. Ryan Phillips
Phillips is one of only two remaining members from the 2006 Grey Cup winning B.C. Lions, the other being OL Dean Valli. With his 33rd birthday soon approaching and 2015 representing his 11th year in the league you have to wonder just how much longer Phillips have left. He has lasted longer than Dante Marsh but his contract status for next year is murky at best so this may be the last time we see Phillips in a Lions jersey.
Despite his age, Phillips recorded his second highest single season interception total leading the team with six takeaways. His speed may not be what it once was when he broke into the league in 2005 but clearly his football instincts are still firing on all cylinders. If you look back at most upsets in the playoffs it’s turnovers that make the biggest difference. For the Lions to win they’ll need to come out on the winning side of the turnover battle, which is what Phillips specializes in.
9. Andrew Harris
The last time we saw Harris in the playoffs was two years ago against Saskatchewan. Harris had a big day with 12 touches for 114 yards but the Lions collapsed in the fourth quarter as they were outscored 13-0 and fell 29-25. It’s tough to ask a rookie quarterback to win a road playoff game as so much of the offence will have to come from their star running back.
Harris has had an odd season where some weeks we see him finishing with 10, three and even a mere two yards rushing and on four other occasions he’s topped a 100 yards. The Lions squandered numerous fourth quarter leads and the lack of a running game played a big part. The Lions will need Harris to keep drives alive and Calgary’s offence on the sidelines.
10. Spencer Wilson
If you want street cred writing about football you need to make that hipster pick, you need an offensive lineman on your list. Calgary was hit with multiple injuries and departures on the offensive line including Brett Jones going to the New York Giants. Wilson was the Swiss army knife for Calgary playing three different positions and remaining healthy all year. Calgary finished second in scoring and were tied with Montreal for allowing a league low 33 sacks on the year. No lineman played a bigger part in Calgary’s success than Wilson.
