Friday Thoughts: Assessing The Rest

With the Riders on bye I thought I would take this opportunity to a) experience the joy of not being disappointed by our offense for one week and b) give a random smattering of thoughts on the other 8 teams. Like most of my sentimonies these are in no particular order nor are they well thought out, researched or possibly accurate. It's definitely a mail it in Friday for me.

BC Lions - Not sure if Wally had become the stereotypical "coasting in retirement" guy but that team looks awful and its not due to lack of talent.  Obviously the continued struggles of Jennings set the tone for the whole team. Lulay is being looked to as the saviour. I like the guy but have we all forgotten just how not durable he is? 

Calgary Stampeders - The calendar may change but the dominance of the Stamps doesn't. They are once again the top team in the league. Though I would like to see them play a West team before declaring them West Champs... just not us. Don't really want to see that.

Edmonton Eskimos - Their defense is struggling (though injuries do play a part as 3 starters are currently out) but that offense keeps bailing them out. What I have noticed this year (other than Jason Maas' continued ass-hattery) is that this high powered O is prone to periods of inconsistency that we haven't seen in the past. Still the most potent O in my opinion but they can be corralled. 

Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Feel the need to remind people that the Riders and Bombers have the same record. As much as the Bombers are suddenly the golden child with Nichols back and we are sinking fast. We are currently the same. But I digress... with Bighill on D and Nichols back on O, the Bombers looked pretty solid. Still think that Richie Hall D will cost them when they face better opponents but certainly up there in terms of West contenders... at least if Harris stays healthy (which I'm convinced at some point his workload catches up with him).

Ottawa RedBlacks - The good news for them is that they are done playing Calgary. Their O should carry them through in the East. Still the concern over Trevor Harris' ability to become an elite QB is not quieting down. Remember all that hype about how many combined yards Diontae Spencer would get and what records he could break? That certainly did not pan out.

Hamilton Ti-Cats - While I think the Ti-Cats are an improved team and that Masoli is a damn good player, I think they have maybe been over-hyped thus far. They beat an Edmonton team with a depleted secondary and a Winnipeg team without their starting QB. I think their D has improved from last year but I wonder if other teams have started to figure out the June Jones offense.

Toronto Argos - If I was to pick a team to have a strong second half, it would be Toronto.I think the O will improve the more experience Franklin gets and the D at some point will welcome back Taylor Reed and Bear Woods from injury. It's not how you start, it's how you finish (that's what she said, though she said "how quickly you finish" for some reason). Could be a slow start but I see them as a dangerous team come playoffs

Montreal Alouettes - I still can't believe we lost to them. That one will sting for a while. Their brutal and their only hope is turning things over to Vernon Adams and hoping he's been worth all the hype (dude has been traded more than he's started).