CFL on verge of strike or training camp

This is of course dependent on the CFL coming to a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the players before then which is somewhat of an open question. CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie spent the past weekend watching the Mexican Football League play its championship, which is nice if you are looking to build ties with other football leagues, but perhaps indicates a league that wouldn’t mind pushing the players into a strike position and doesn’t see negotiations as perhaps as pressing an issue as one might think.

The CFL in its infinite wisdom came up with a football administration cap in job numbers and dollar amounts which was an effort to demonstrate to the CFLPA that the league is looking to address the increase in football administration while withholding off-season bonus payments to players until a CBA is signed.

The problem is the cap has resulted in the league losing coaches and talent to other leagues as American coaches realize there is a ceiling to how far they might be able to go financially in the CFL. The latest coach to leave is former Hamilton head coach and current offensive coordinator June Jones who announced he was taking the head coaches job at Houston in the XFL.

Jones had stepped back from the head coaching position in Hamilton when Orlando Steinhaeuer returned to take over the head coaching job and Jones said he had no problems in being the offensive coordinator. Jones’ departure within a week of training camp leaves Tommy Condell the new offensive coordinator.

Jones’ departure will not likely materially affect Hamilton this season, except for maybe the play of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Masoli managed to survive last year taking control of the Hamilton offense, even with John or Johnny Manziel waiting on the sidelines to start the season until he was traded to Montreal in one of the greatest fleeces since Jason and the Argonauts in ancient Greece.

Masoli had a breakout year, but injuries to his receiving corps by the start of the playoffs meant Hamilton’s offense had no punch whatsoever. So the question is whether Masoli will take a step back with the absence of Jones, or if the steps forward he made last season can be sustained as Hamilton appears to be the class of the Eastern Conference.

When Jones stepped back from the head coaching position, it appeared he had no ego problems in taking on the lesser paid offensive coordinator position, but when you have a chance to take a head coaching job in a place where you got your start creating the run and shoot offense, well, who wouldn’t take that opportunity.

You could draw a connection with Chris Jones moving on from Saskatchewan to take a defensive consultant role with the Cleveland Browns, or Jamie Elizondo leaving Ottawa as offensive coordinator to try his luck with the XFL. While the new cap might have played a role in getting them to look south, in Elizondo’s case the refusal by Ottawa to let him interview for the head coaching job in Saskatchewan no doubt played a role and you can expect other coaches to be checking the exits after this season if the football administration salary cap and personnel restrictions remain in place.

The last minute personnel changes have also hit Saskatchewan as the assistant coach with the best hair in professional football – Merritt Bowden – resigned from the Riders to pursue other opportunities. Bowden was slotted to take the reins of special teams’ coordinator for the Riders when Craig Dickenson was named.

The replacement for Bowden is Terry Eisler, who had been coaching special teams for the University of Alberta Golden Bears for the last four years. This was Eisler’s second stint with the U of A, having served as offensive coordinator for 6 of 12 years in a previous incarnation. Eisler also served one season as special teams coordinator for the Edmonton Eskimos.

You may remember Eisler from his play with the junior football Regina Rams for four years and another four years with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. Bowden was part of Chris Jones’ efforts to cultivate coaching staff in his image, but with Jones now rocking it in Cleveland, Bowden apparently wanted to reconsider his options.

This kind of follows in the footsteps of a bunch of other moves as teams attempt to get their rosters under the limits for training camp following the CFL draft. The Riders cut kicker Tyler Crapigna, who the Riders sent Jerome Messam to Calgary for a few years back. Crapigna underwent hip surgery last year and Brent Lauther took over the field goal and kick off duties and demonstrated a stronger leg and greater accuracy.

In 2018 Lauther attempted 60 field goals, making 56 for a 90 per cent success rate. He also made four field goals of over 50 yards with 56 yards being his longest field goal. By comparison Crapigna made 36 of 42 for an 85 per cent average and 50 yards being his longest.

Whether Crapigna’s hip problems explain his limited range and perhaps some accuracy issues, Lauther’s ability to make long field goals helped bail out a Rider offense was more offensive than successful. The Riders looking at Zach Collaros as a quarterback who has never played more than 14 games in a season with an undetermined array of back up quarterbacks and a receiving corps that is a work in progress and a running game that will be relied upon to bail out offensive misfiring, means there are more question marks than answers but the kicking game should be in good shape.

The Riders fine-tuned their roster, cutting running back Tre Mason who had suffered an ACL injury last season. Mason was one of Chris Jones NFL reclamation projects who had burst on the scene with the St. Louis Rams before getting injured and then drifting off the NFL radar before re-emerging with the Riders.

Mason had his moments, but in terms of moving the stack of defenders on the line of scrimmage, he was no Jerome Messam. The Riders signing of William Powell of Ottawa in free agency was a clear sign that to take the pressure off the quarterback and offensive line, a strong running game would be a priority.

Another priority was improving the run defense and the Riders’ signing of Solomon Elimimian was a major step forward. The Riders loss of linebacker Samuel Eguaveon to the NFL was an issue to be addressed in case he did not return.

Elimimian was a victim of BC General Manager Ed Hervey spending big time to bring quarterback Mike Reilly back to BC from Edmonton along with a host of other high profile and high ticket players in free agency. Elimimian is also recovering from a wrist injury last year, but his ability to set new tackle records means teams running against the Riders will find it even more difficult this year.

Elimimian joins Manny Arceneaux, the former BC receiver who is also coming off an injury and is expected to contribute sometime after Labour Day. Elimimian seems to be a natural at middle linebacker, but this makes things interesting because Sam Hurl has been platooned with Cameron Judge in the middle and Hurl is not considered to be a good bet to be bumped to the outside.

Which makes it interesting to raise the issue of “load management” which is a term you heard a lot in the NBA this year with Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors. Leonard was coming off a year in San Antonio where he only played eight games and Toronto avoided playing Leonard every game, giving him regular time off to avoid jeopardizing his recovery.

The Riders may want to consider a similar approach for Elimimian so if they platoon him with Hurl in the middle, at least until they determine how his wrist is holding, up, they would also have the option to move Elimimian around the field, giving different looks and allowing the Rider defense to even more disruptive.

The Riders could then move Judge to the outside, or perhaps mix and match with Elimimian and Hurl around the field, giving different looks to what may be a fascinating defense. Elimimian should be motivated to prove BC wrong and signing a one-year contract allows him to show his injury has not slowed him down and he still has a lot to provide to a CFL team.

The Riders also cut linebacker Paul Dawson and wide receiver Doug McNeill while signing defensive lineman Jeremy Faulk and defensive backs Davon Jernigan and Jason Dearborn. Faulk comes to the Riders fresh from the implosion of the Alliance of American Football, but before that he was with the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. Faulk is 6’2” and 305 pounds.

Jernigan comes from Lamar University where he played four years and in his senior year came away with 11 tackles, 78 of which were unassisted; a sack, broke up 11 passes; had four interceptions and returned one for a touchdown. Jernigan is 6 feet, 208 pounds.

Dearborn spent three years with the Carleton University Ravens where he played eight tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, two knockdowns and an interception. What is interesting about Dearborn is at the CFL East Regional Combine he placed first overall in the vertical jump with 41 inches and first in the broad jump with a leap of 11’1” which got him a spot in the national combine and set an all-time combine record. At the national combine he beat his record in the vertical jump by hitting 42 inches, which is a great skill for a defensive back to have.

The Rider draft was an interesting exercise with the Riders getting receiver Justin McInnis from Arkansas with their first pick, sixth overall. The Riders then went with receiver Brayden Lenius of New Mexico who has some Regina roots with their second round pick.

The Riders then picked up Jacob Janke, a linebacker from York University who is being viewed as a special teams’ player; Charbel Dabine, a defensive lineman from Wagner College; offensive lineman Vincent Roy of Sherbrooke who will likely return to university ball this upcoming season; and linebacker Chris Judge of California Polytechnic who is the brother of Rider draft pick Cameron Judge and is being pencilled in as a special teams player.

As the CFL tries to figure out its new CBA and what role if any, Canadian content will play in it, it seems the Riders are looking to get their Canadian receiving corps into some kind of shape. The Riders loss of Jake Harty, a free agent acquisition last year who has never suited up for the Riders after blowing out his knee in the first practice of training camp and had complications following surgery which will keep him off the roster this year, has complicated the Rider efforts to rebuild their Canadian receiving corps.

Complicating things is the lack of a CBA which would determine the number of Canadian starters in addition to whether or not Canadian quarterbacks would count against the ratio. The CFL in trying to broaden its international appeal, has had a draft of potential Mexican and European players and it is yet undetermined if the CFL will set aside a number of roster spots especially for the international players and if they will come at the expense of Canadian players.

The collapse of the AAFL before it could complete one season has probably got players wondering about the stability of the XFL, the other spring league expected to start next year.

The first round of free agent camps in the NFL has seen a number of former CFL players shake loose including receiver Chris Matthews who played for Calgary last season, came back from an NFL tryout and signed a three-year agreement with Winnipeg, where he got his initial professional start.

Former Eskimo receiver Bryant Mitchell was released by Arizona and if Edmonton is pushing maximum cap space, Mitchell might be a good get for a CFL team that has some cap room. This is part of the unique challenge of being a general manager, working the cost of players into roster determinations.

And now the Riders have signed punter Jon Ryan and released Josh Bartel. Ryan did a stint at a Rider free agent camp in Florida and he also tried out for Toronto. Ryan is coming off a 10 year career in the NFL and his ability to kick deep will be a different look for the Riders after trying what was either directional punting by Bartel or perhaps just lousy punting.

The ability to punt deep, combined with the ability to hit long field goals, will help the Rider defense and the Rider offense. This will take pressure off the defense because if the Riders can consistently kick the ball deep and even better, cover those kicks, it makes a longer field for the opposition.

It is unlikely the Riders got too much of a hometown discount for Ryan, but his record speaks for itself. Even better for the Riders, who are awaiting the unveiling of their New Era jerseys on Wednesday, a local guy will help boost sales of the new jerseys, because if you have wandered into a Rider store recently, you will see no jerseys out and no one knows who is going to be here and who is going to be cut.

So as we approach what might be either the start of the 2019 season with training camp, or just a one or two-day wonder if the players decide to walk out on strike, the players will try to leverage whatever they have to get the best possible deal for themselves.

What makes this interesting is if the players, having taken a strike vote, hold off until say, Labour Day, and then walk out, having committed to a portion of the season, whetting fans appetites and then pulling the plug, putting pressure on teams to come to an agreement to settle.

The players have done a better job of communicating with fans than the CFL is, and their attitude is more or less a take it or leave it, even when it comes to fans.

It’s an attitude that can be off-putting, and as we see attendance going down with costs going on, fans may decide to take a flyer on this season and make all of this a painful unfolding nightmare. Or maybe, just maybe, the CFL and the players will do what is reasonable and this weekend we can sit down and watch some training camps unfold with some great stories.

by Greg Urbanoski

CFL on verge of strike or training camp

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