the Paw's Pre-Preseaon Predictions

[the paw]

Based on my impression of the off-season and training camps to date.  First west Conference, next post will be East.

Winnipeg 14 - 4
One year soon the wheels will fall off the old heads (Bighill, Bryant, Hardrick Neufeld, Jefferson), but this isn't the year.  I don't see any holes in this roster.

Calgary 11- 9
Always competitive, awesome ground game, but I think they may be a little thin at receiver.  And Maier still has some learning to do.

BC 10-8
I am a big VAJ fan, and if he can stay healthy they will win more than they lose.  They lost their starting RB, but have made some impressive signings.  Dane Evans is good insurance.

Edmonton 9-9
Like Billy Bragg sang, Elks fans are Waiting for the Great Leap Forward....  I think this year they turn the corner on offence.  I think Cornelius shows a lot more poise once they finally gave him the reins, and that receiving corps is awesome.  Only Jones' erratic front office and roster management on D will be holding them back.

Riders 7-11
Although I think Harris will give them good QB play, the OT spots are still a question and they have turned over almost their entire set of receivers.  Along with a rookie OC, I think they will struggle early.  I also think Dickenson is not a strong enough leader to set the right culture.  He says the right things, but I don't his players believe him. 

[the paw]

East

Argos 10 -8
I loathe Chad Kelly, but the roster is too deep for this team.  They might miss Barker on the roster-building aspect, but they win the East.

Ottawa 9-9
I like the way they have gone about free agency both last year and this year.  I think there is enough talent there now, and if Masoli is 100% they can win games.  Much as I like Lapo, he was just too inflexible and I think Dyce will let his OC maximize the talent they have.  Looking for big improvement here.

Ti-Cats 8-10
Bo Levi is a gamble that I am not sure is going to pay off.  They let Addison go, and more suprisingly Dunbar.  Duke Williams has the talent to replace one of them, but not the discipline to make anyone else better.  They are also turning over a large percentage of their secondary so I think they will be vulnerable to the big play.

Als 5-13
They don't have a starting quality QB in Fajardo, I think Caleb Evans drives the bus by Labour Day.  They lost Weineke and Lewis, and White is starting the year on IR.  They may actually have to go wishbone.  With the premature retirement of Ackie and Rolle, there are some holes in the defence as well. 

[TecnoGenius]

Nice.

W: I am boldly going to put EDM above CGY.  Corny>Meier.  I'll agree with the rest.

I also think Dickenson (The Lesser) is not a strong enough leader to set the right culture.  He says the right things, but I don't his players believe him. 

"Aww shucks, the guys gave it their all.  They'll try harder next time."

As for E:
I think OTT has the better QB over TOR.  The game is becoming (has always been?) so QB-dependent.  If Kelly is a turnover machine or his running antics get him injured, TOR is in trouble.

HAM is the wild card.  They want it bad.  If BLM can remotely produce (I don't think he will) then HAM can win the E.

At this moment I think all of TOR, OTT, HAM have equal opportunity to win the E.  I would be hard pressed to pick one.  If you give the edge to the more consistent and most-momentum team, then yes TOR would have to be the favorite.  But TOR has proven they are often a flash-in-the-pan team.

[Pigskin]

It will be interesting to see how Maier does this year. It's his team now, no one looking over his shoulder.

[DM83]

Great predictions.

1st - I have Hamilton. Mitchell may or may not be done.  He can still dink and dunk though, and the team wants to be a home team in the Grey Cup.  Maybe they win it on Defence.

2nd - Its a toss up with Toronto with an unproven big mouth as the QB, but if their defence shows up?  Maybe?

3rd - Ottawa - Massoli is a good player.  So, maybe.

4th - Montreal is the usual mess, off he field.  They were lucky to have Khari come in and rescue them a few years ago.  Then they dump all their players(which is basically the players creaming "let me out of here."  I bet we hear stories of the league having to prop up the team, by August. Fajardo is inconsistent.  If he is healthy, he can probably run the ball himself.  He has to have help play calling, but even then, not sure he reads defences as well as necessary..

Defence wins championships.  I honestly do not know much about these teams defensively.