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The story lines are piled high for the East and West Division Final.
But here are a few ‘X’ factors that I feel haven’t been quite addressed that could have a huge impact on the winners and losers on Sunday and decide who will travel to Winnipeg for the 103rd Grey Cup presented by Shaw and who will be cleaning out their lockers on Monday.
Stamps Secondary
When the Divisional All-Stars came out you saw John Ojo and Aaron Grymes for the Eskimos make it. Pat Watkins and Cauchy Muamba had reason to raise an eye brow as to why they were left on the all-star list, especially when the players voted Watkins as top shutdown corner in the CFL.
But the Calgary Stampeders were the most hard done by. Yes, Joshua Bell was named an all-star safety for the Stamps but Jamar Wall and Brandon Smith could question the voters as well and they, along with SAM linebacker Keon Raymond will be tasked to cover some big time talent in Edmonton.
Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker were both named all-stars and will both command a lot of attention from the Stampeders to try to make Mike Reilly hesitate an extra few seconds to allow the pass rushers to rattle the Eskimos quarterback.
If Wall, Smith and others can tame the double headed monster of the Eskimos receiving corps, the Stampeders will be well on their way to making travel plans to Winnipeg.
Special Teams
No, I’m not talking about Brandon Banks and the impact he could have on the East Division Final. These are ‘X’ factors that I think are flying under the radar.
I’m talking about Sean Whyte and Rene Paredes and the other special teamers out West that could impact Sunday’s final.
The three games for the Stampeders and Eskimos were all defensive battles. Points were hard to come by and when that’s the case, it is imperative the kickers are knocking them through the uprights, the punters and coverage teams are containing and on the flip side a big play by the return man could go a long, long way to making the difference in a Division Final. (See Brandon Banks, 2014 East Final)
I’ve pinned Kendial Lawrence as a player that could do damage at Commonwealth Stadium in three phases, returning, rushing and receiving.
Red and Black Lemon-Aid
One of the big story lines coming into the East Division Final is Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and what will make him successful.
What I don’t hear about too often are the men tasked at stopping the read-option that Masoli can masterfully execute at times. That style of offense really tests the defensive ends and/or the linebackers tasked for containing a quarterback.
Shawn Lemon, Keith Shologan, Zack Evans, Justin Capicciotti … etc … etc… they all have to be on point and can’t be overly aggressive in their early reads or Masoli is going to make them pay. REDBLACKS Defensive Coordinator Mark Nelson is likely finding a ‘spy’ for Masoli who has the speed to go sideline to sideline but also needs to have the strength to fend off blocks because Kent Austin and Tommy Condell will recognize that early and try to get a block on them early.
It’s going to be another great chess match on the REDBLACKS trying to be aggressive against an inexperienced starter, with the Tiger-Cats trying to use that aggression against them and hope the contain man crashes one too often and can bite them off tackle.
Ready to Run
This may be a strange one as the Ottawa REDBLACKS threw more passes than any other team in the CFL and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were 8th in run plays in 2015. And that is why I don’t think William Powell and CJ Gable are getting enough love in terms of their impact on the East Final.
If the Tiger-Cats are going to be able to run a strong option style offense, Gable is going to have to be very effective when the read tells Masoli to give it to the running back.
Gable has been derailed by injuries since his break out campaign in 2013 and it could be a great stage for Gable to remind everyone why he was the runner up for the CFL Most Outstanding Rookie.
Gable had over 100-yards from scrimmage last week. He was at 98 yards in the final game of the year. Slowly, he’s raising his stock.
On the other side you have William Powell, who has been great since replacing the injured Jeremiah Johnson for the Ottawa offense but he still seems to be the fifth or sixth guy mentioned in terms of offensive threats in Ottawa after Henry Burris, Chris Williams, Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson and Ernest Jackson. Oh, there is Maurice Price to. Powell may be seventh.
He’s going to have a bigger impact on the East Final I feel than more than half the guys listed above.
Discipline
You have the two most disciplined teams facing off in the West Final and two teams in Hamilton and Ottawa who actually finished with 219 and 220 penalties respectively.
There isn’t much to give in terms of these teams during the regular season in discipline but at playoff time sometimes it’s about not taking a penalty at the worst time. The Argonauts found that out last week.
While the officials don’t want to have an impact on either the West or East Finals, they’re bound to throw a flag that is going to have a tremendous impact. It’s just up to the Stampeders, Eskimos, Tiger-Cats and REDBLACKS players to try to play as clean a game as possible to not move a team within field goal range, to not extend an opponents drive or take a big offensive play away with a hold.
