CFL cuts see some interesting choices made as teams move toward start of 2019 season

The interesting, or weird thing is how much “timing is everything” is a factor in making a professional football team.

Sometimes there is the ideal marriage of player and team, but sometimes there is a player who comes of out nowhere to make the team through hard work, and sometimes there is a player who can’t miss in training camp who turns out to be a dud when the lights come on.

So the player cuts come a day or so after the final round of CFL exhibition games including the Riders losing 35-29 to the God Less Winnipeg Blue Bombers. While losing to Winnipeg is bad enough, the fact that the teams starters had tied 14-14 in the first half is a pretty good sign the 2019 Saskatchewan Roughriders will be competitive.

Collaros passed for 163 yards and two touchdowns and one interception for his half of work. The Riders had a chance to tie the game at the end, by quarterback Ty Gangyi was unable to pull the trigger on making the play.

Winnipeg may have left a sizeable chunk of their defense at home, but what the last exhibition game showed is the Rider depth needs to show more than what it has. That being said, the Rider offense looks like it is ready to surprise and overcome what was one of the most boring and predictable offenses in the league last year.

The big intangible in all is this is injuries, when they happen and to whom. If the Riders first job was ensuring there is a competent back up behind Zach Collaros, then consider the exhibition season as nailing down a back up spot for Cody Fajardo while Isaac Harker has managed to make it to the pro ranks from the Colorado School of Mines.

There were some interesting and unexpected names in the Rider cuts. The Riders released: DB Valentino Blake*, DL Mathieu Breton, DB Crezdon Butler*, RB James Butler*, WR Kyle Davis*, DB Jacob Dearborn, WR Austin Ellsworth*, QB Ty Gangi*, DL Chad Geter*, WR Donald Gray*, DB Jacob Janke, LB Christopher Judge, LB Deon King*, DL Tresor Mafuta, WR Sebastien Olvera,* OL E.J. Price*, DL Gerald Rivers*, DB Stephen Roberts*, OL Vincent Roy, K Sean Stenger, OL Travis Vornkahl*, QB David Watford*, WR Malik Wilson*.

They put on the practice roster: OL Rene Brassea*, DB Blace Brown*, DL Charbel Dabire, DL Jeremy Faulk*, DB Javier Garcia*, DL Chester Graves*, WR Carlos Henderson*, DB L.J. McCray* WR Paul McRoberts*, RB Jamal Morrow*, WR Mitchell Picton, OL Braden Schram.

The biggest surprise was Crezdon Butler who despite being a solid player, did not hang on likely because of his age and because the Riders could play a younger, cheaper player. Also important is the Riders clearing salary cap room in case of returning players from NFL trials.

Defensive lineman Chad Geter was also a surprise because he did start last year. Chris Jones was high on Geter, but he may have been one of those players whose resume was attractive to coaches looking to make a mark. Receiver Austin Ellsworth had shown flashes during training camp, while players like Christopher Judge who blew their knees out in camp were released.

The release of quarterback David Watford was not unexpected. Watford was a project as a quarterback with the ability of an athlete but not the mind of a quarterback. Watford had an impressive arm I suppose, but other than running the ball, he is most noted for his failed Hail Mary pass in the 2018 western semi final that fell short and was intercepted, officially ending the Riders season.

Rene Brassea of Mexico made the practice squad along with defensive back Javier Garcia. Making the regular roster was German receiver Max Zimmerman who impressed through camp his determination to make a professional football team by not taking a team off if he needs it.

One interesting guy to keep an eye on is draft pick defensive lineman Dabire who made the practice roster. When Dabire showed up, he looked big and people wondered if he was in enough shape to play. However, Dabire moved better than you would think a large guy like him could and assuming he can be shown how to train and get into good enough shape, he could eventually take a spot in the defensive line rotation.

Toronto had some interesting cuts, starting originally with running back Anthony Coombs who was released likely because he hasn’t stayed healthy long enough through the season to make an appreciable difference.

The Argos also released REC Austin Duke*, REC Kamathi Holsey*, REC Malcolm Williams, REC Darren Carrington II*, REC Cole Watson*, DB Jamie Harry, DB Malik Davis*, DB Marcus Roberson*, DB Jonathon Dowling*, DL Alexandre Gagnon, DL Evan Foster, DL Trevaughan James, DL Cardell Rawlings*, DL Sean Harrington, DL Cam Walker, DL Willie Yarbary*, OL Josiah St. John, K Zach Medeiros, K Tyler Crapigna, QB Brandon Bridge, LB Akeem Jordan.

A few names will pop out here for Rider fans. Offensive lineman Josiah St. John, formerly the first overall draft pick by the Riders, had become a free agent and signed with Toronto following three years with the Riders. St. John was the first draft of former Rider head coach Chris Jones but like Jones, St. John never truly lived up to expectations.

St. John might be an interesting pick up at the right price if the Riders are looking to solidify Canadian depth on the offensive line. But for St. John, holding out before signing his rookie contract, combined with spending a lot of time on the injury list, is looking like a guy who had the opportunities, but not the work ethic to achieve what these opportunities provided.

Another former Rider to make an impact on the cut list was quarterback Brandon Bridge. Bridge had not been re-signed by the Riders and signed a free agent contract with the Argos who after signing U of R quarterback Noah Picton and drafting UBC quarterback Michael O’Connor. Bridge did not bad in pre-season, but Bridge’s problem is he can’t make effective reads of opposing defenses and relies too much on trying to scramble and even that is hit and miss.

The Argos put on their practice roster – DL John Biewald, DL Jose Casarrubias**, DL Eric Striker*, OL Maurice Simba, OL Roubbens Joseph*, LS Joe Spaziani, DB Anthony Covington*, DB Caleb Ham*, K Donald De La Haye*, REC Rodney Smith*, LB Christian Hernandez**

The BC Lions released the following – QB Austin Apodaca*, K/P Anthony Alix, WR Joey Augustin*, WR Levern Jacobs*, WR Jamaal Jones*, WR Shakeir Ryan*, WR Josh Stanford, WR Jesse Walker, WR Will Watson, DL Vantrel McMillan*, DL Julien Laurent, DB Marloshawn Franklin*, DB Nate Hamlin, DB Keon Lyn*, LB Steffon Herd*, OL Eric Lofton*, OL Cassidy Curtis.

The most notable name here is Laurent, a former draft pick who never seemed to live up to expectations. The Lions also let go former Rider receiver Joshua Sanford who had is another player who had moments but did not have the consistency to make him a must have receiver.

Ottawa after ripping out the Trevor Harris era of great passing streaks but no championships, came out swinging by naming Dominique Davis the starter over Jon Jennings. Ottawa also showed little patience for having people on the roster who don’t apparently seemed able to progress.

Ottawa cut REC Jordan Bouah**, REC Tyrone Pierre, REC Darius Powe*, DL Kevin Broson*, DL John Sheehy*, DL Max Valles*, LB Charles Brousseau, LB Drew Morris, DB Joe Brown*, DB Shamar Busby*, DB Monteze Latimore*, OL Jacob Czaja, OL Ryan Schmidt*, QB Danny Collins*, RB Dalton Crossan*, DB Ironhead Gallon*, DL Max Soto**.

The notable name on here is quarterback Collins, who had bounced around as a back up. Ottawa placed the following on their practice roster – RB John Crockett*, DB Deandre Farris*, DB Shaneil Jenkins*, WR Wesley Lewis, RB Greg Morris, OL Daniel Omara, DL Kene Onyeka, OL DeVondre Seymour*, DB Ranthony Texada*, WR Guillermo Villalobos**, DL Blaine Woodson.

Winnipeg, who should be considered amongst the front-runners for the Grey Cup as they are every year in June, were interesting to watch because after signing some big contracts for Adam Bighill, the Bombers may be encountering a few changes to the roster to make it more cap friendly.

The Bombers cut -QB Bryan Bennett*, DL Brandin Bryant*, DL Alex McCalister*, DL Maxx Forde, DL Tariq Lachance, LS Zach Greenbert, DB Amari Coleman*, DB Tyneil Cooper*, DB Joe Este*, RB Larry Rose*, RB John Santiago*, OL Tanner Farmer*, REC Corey Washington*, REC Matt Hazel*, REC Dylan Schrot, REC Rashaun Simonise, K Gabriel Amavizca-Ortiz**.

One of the bigger names is Bennett who had been bouncing around the perimeter of the Bombers for a few years now. The arrival of Chris Shreveler last year as a back up quarterback has closed off the route for an experienced hand at third string and so Bennett not being retained indicates the Bombers wanted to save some money by letting go of someone who seemed to have hit his ceiling.

Another name that was interesting was receiver Rashaun Simonise who was a top Bomber draft pick who is also apparently wound way too tight for Winnipeg. For Winnipeg, a team that is not filled with a lot of options at receiver, to let Simonise go means that even with a Canadian passport, not all draft picks are worth hanging onto.

On the practise roster the Bombers held onto the following players -OL Asotui Eli, DL Connor Griffiths, DL Patrick Choudja*, REC Kenny Walker*, LB Dale Warren*, LB Manuel Hernandez-Reyes**, RB Johnny Augustine, DB Mike Jones*, DB Marcus Rios*, DB Chris Humes*, DB Sergio Schiaffino-Perez**. The notable name from this group is running back Johnny Augustine who tested well three years ago for the CFL combine and has struggled to live up to that benchmark.

The Bombers also announced the retirement of OL Manase Foketi.

The Calgary Stampeders announced the cuts of DB Zacary Alexis, LB Jerod Fernandez*, K Gabe Ferraro, WR Shay Fields*, DB Reese Fleming*, RB LaDarius Galloway*, WR Christian Gibbs*, LB Anthony Gore*, DB Gump Hayes*, DL Michael Kashak, WR Julan Lynch, DL Jonathan Massaquoi*, DB Dagogo Maxwell, DB Marko Myers*, DL Rickey Neal*, DL Kevin Prosser*, DB Mike Stevens*, DL Darnell Thompson*, DL Charles Walker*, WR Griff Whalen*, LB Travis Wilson.

The Stampeders have following players on their practice roster – WR Daniel Braverman*, OL David Brown, OL Guillermo Calderon**, RB Ka’Deem Carey*, DL Chris Casher*, DB Jamari Gilbert*, OL Jaylan Guthrie, WR Aaron Peck*, K Oscar Hugo Silva**, OL Zack Williams.

The Stampeders also put these players on the six game injury list -OL Leon Johnson*and WR Kamar Jorden. Jorden would be a nice gift for Bo Levi Mitchell.

In Hamilton the following players were cut – DB Darius Allensworth*, DB James Allen*, DT David Dean*, DB Tre Dempsey*, K/P Michael Domagala, OL Isame Faciane*, OL Christian Harris*, DB Demontre Hurst*, RB Ray Lawry III*, LB Darnell Leslie*, RB Luis Lopez**, DT Cashaud Lyons*, WR Jose Noriega**, DB Gabriel Ouellet, DB Kevin Richardson II*, DB Joel Ross*, WR Justin Sumpter*, WR Justin Thomas*, DT Justin Vaughn, LB Lucas Wacha*, WR Desmon White*, OL Avery Young*.

Hamilton then placed the following on their practice roster – WR Jaelon Ackin*, LB Tyrice Beverette*, DB Maurice Carnell IV*, WR Marcus Davis, DE Valentin Gnahoua**, WR/KR Janarion Grant*, LB Lukas Korl, WR Marcus Tucker*, OL Joel Van Pelt, DT Eddy Wilson I*.

In Edmonton the following players were let go – OL Kwabena Asare, OL Tyler Howell*, DL Gabriel Bagnell, DL Kyle Cerge-Henderson*, DL Jamar King*, DL Shaquille Riddick*, DL Ben Sorensen*, DL Trenton Thompson*, REC Tyler Batson*, REC Torrance Gibson*, REC Ron’quavion Tarver*, LB DJ Calhoun*, LB Daniel Carrete*, RB Blake Ingleton*, DB Oshane Samuels, DB Jalen Spencer*, DB Nick Taylor*.

The Eskimos practice roster will consist of the following players – REC Bryce Bobo*, REC Diego Viamontes**, DB Scott Hutter, DB Jose Romero*, DB Brian Walker*, DL Darius Jackson*, DL Mark Mackie, DL Kelcey Quarles*, OL Jean-Simon Roy, RB Alex Taylor, LB Jonathan Walton*, QB Troy Williams*.

The Eskimos also announced the suspensions of DB Eric Blake, REC Hunter Karl, DL David Perkins*, REC Malik Richards. They also put on their retired list – DB Bryce Bartlett, K Greg Hutchins, DB Robert Priester*.

The Montreal Alouettes announced the following players were cut -WR Dante Absher*, WR Andrew Bennett, WR Alexander Morrison, WR Chris Osei-Kusi, WR Zac Parker*, WR Dalton Ponchillia*, WR Andrew Verboys*, OL Zach Annen, OL Jarvis Harrison*, OL Na’Ty Rodgers*, OL Samuel Thomassin, LB Kevin Haynes*, LB Paris Taylor*, LB Benjamin Whiting, RB Jeshrun Antwi, RB Shaq Murray-Lawrence, RB Asnnel Robo**, DB Cody Cranston, DB Jamirr Holland*, DB Larry Hope Jr.*, DB Jamarcus King*, DB Jermaine Robinson*, DB Justin Strong*, DB Dondre Wright, DL Gabriel Knapton*, DL Justin Stewart*, DL Tyler Copache*, LS Maxime Latour, QB Jeff Mathews*, QB Chris Merchant.

The big names are Mathews and Mercant, who is another prospective Canadian quarterback, but who didn’t survive in the Montreal tire fire.

Montreal put the following players onto their practice roster – WR Quan Bray*, WR Richmond Nketiah, LB Tevin Floyd*, LB Jason Hall*, FB Étienne Moisan, DL Elijah Norris*, DL Michael Sanelli, DB Marcellus Pippins*, DB Juan Tamayo**, QB Hugo Richard, OL Zach Wilkinson, K Enrique Yenny**. The big names here are Richard, who was quarterback with the University of Laval last year and Wilkinson, a former high draft pick.

Of course Montreal also did a coaching change with Mike Sherman agreeing to part ways with Montreal. The change came shortly after the league assumed responsibility for running the team while looking for an owner and also after the league apparently put in observers to see if players were on the verge of a mutiny or revolt.

If that is the case, then maybe this is the first Kavis Reed decision that actually does some good. Montreal is in desperate need of trying to show the league it can handle itself and also sell tickets as an entertaining team. How Montreal looks under interim coach Khari Jones will be interesting, because this might seem to be an extended job interview situation in front of prospective owners.

While the team may have dodged a bullet in terms of a potential player revolt under Sherman, the league, who owns Montreal, is also on the hook for the cost of paying out the remaining year of his contract. I suspect any new buyer for Montreal will want the league to assume the full responsibility for paying out Sherman and the league may be getting first hand experience of how tough it is to operate under the coaching salary and numbers cap.

Of course Reed was responsible for bringing Sherman in, with a great NFL resume, and well, that fell flat. For Montreal, the process is going to be to get new ownership that will bring in credible football people not named Kavis Reed.

For Kavis to claim Sherman was slow in getting the CFL makes Sherman sound like a moron while standing as an example of how Kavis can speak out of both sides of his mouth. Whether the league, which has come in for some criticism from prospective buyers for putting conditions like apparently Danny Maciocia in as the GM/coach. Ask Edmonton fans what they thought about Maciocia when he had the reins there.

So with the final pre-season done and the player cuts out of the way, the league is now ready to start Thursday with Saskatchewan at Hamilton. Other games this week include Montreal going to Edmonton, Ottawa going to Calgary and Winnipeg at BC.

So with the Rider-Hamilton game, on paper Hamilton should be favored to win the east based on the premise they lost the least amount of talent this year. Last year saw quarterback Jeremiah Masoli statistically lead the team but while a streak of 300 yard passing yards per game is exceptional, Masoli demonstrated he could be knocked off his rhythm.

The Riders are going to be the great unknown in all of this, with a new lead of the coaching staff and another year of familiarity with the system and players. The problem is no one knows how this will unfold under Craig Dickenson and while the Riders defense should be pretty good, how the offense unfolds will be interesting.

So let’s say Hamilton wins this one 30-21 because the Rider offense is not likely to be as bad it seems and its defense may not quite the world beater it was last year. This will be an interesting game to chart, but in the end, Hamilton has more road tested options than the Riders do and Hamilton takes this one 31-20.

Montreal goes to Edmonton and after Montreal cut Mike Sherman loose, the remains of the Montreal Alouettes are asking themselves, well, how did we get here? If Montreal’s problem was due to Sherman not being able to relate to younger players or the CFL style of play, then having Khari Jones take the reins and lead may be the best choice in a bad situation.

However, is there enough talent on the Montreal roster to make a difference? That is an interesting question and on the other side of the field, how Edmonton rebuilds after losing Mike Reilly will be interesting. Edmonton went all in for Trevor Harris and well, Edmonton’s roster will be a mix of highly paid quarterbacks and receivers and not as rich other kinds of players who might not be as talented as those who have left.

That being said, even though Jason Maas is still the coach of Edmonton, Edmonton could be said be under more adult supervision than Montreal Edmonton wins this one 25-17

Ottawa goes to Calgary and Ottawa is a team that lost its starting quarterback and one of their start receivers and is looking to start off with Dominque Davis as their starter with Jon Jennings in the bullpen. Calgary lost a bunch of players, but Calgary is the defending champions and Calgary has a good enough system for identifying players on an ongoing basis.

Ottawa may not be as bad as people think, but I don’t think they will be as good as their fanbase might think. This game will be close enough to give Ottawa confidence they are doing the right things – Calgary 26-20.

Finally, we have Winnipeg at BC. Winnipeg went through the exhibition season undefeated as they claimed the June Grey Cup. Winnipeg is seen as one of the teams to manage to maintain consistency in an amazingly changed western conference and should be seen as Grey Cup contenders. BC is a work in progress and even though the Lions have Mike Reilly, they have way too many holes at this stage to expect to compete consistently.

So put Winnipeg down for a 28-16 win.

So how should the CFL unfold in 2019?

In the West while Winnipeg prepares to claim their first Grey Cup since 1990, the Calgary Stampeders have shown that despite their turnover in personnel, they have the edge in coaching and scouting to more than make up the difference. They also have the quarterbacking and while Matt Nichols may be best described as a game manager, compared to him Bo Levi Mitchell is a game breaker. Calgary has been on top the last 10 years for a number of reasons, mostly because they are interested in winning the regular season. It’s the playoffs that are the problem.

So let’s put Calgary first, Winnipeg second and then I’m going on a ledge to pick the Riders for third. The Riders will not have the same fallen off the face of the earth offense they employed last year and their defense should be good, but not as great as last year. The trick for the Riders will be to demonstrate consistency on both sides of the ball.

This leaves BC and Edmonton fighting it out for fourth and the likely crossover spot. BC and Edmonton are similar in rebuilding under new quarterbacks with giant contracts that will play havoc with their respective salary caps. The trick will be which team will be able to realize gains from their acquisition first.

I’m going to say BC because Claybrooks has the effect of being a rallying presence for a rebuilding team. BC has brought in some new talent, got some of their draft picks back from the NFL, and is young and hungry and led by a quarterback who is a proven winner.

That addition will probably make the difference with the Eskimos. Harris is a statistically good quarterback, but he does not inspire much confidence. BC finishes fourth and Edmonton takes 5^th.

In the east, Hamilton by the process of elimination has lost the least of its playing corps, even though they have added and shifted some coaching around. Hamilton has lost the least, although the depth of their receiving corps remains an unknown question and whether Masoli can take the next step to get his team into the Grey Cup is again an open question. Put let’s put Hamilton into first.

The rest of the eastern conference should be competitive and I kind of like Toronto to bounce back under coach Cory Chamblin. Chamblin took over after taking a year off trying to break into the NFL, and he should have learned from his experience in Saskatchewan.

With Ricky Ray retired, the job of Toronto quarterback is up between James Franklin and McLeod Bethel-Thompson and with that being clear, expect to see better play from the two guys. Chamblin has left the offense in the hands of Jacques Chapdelaine who has run some pretty good offensive schemes and Toronto should be able to get some movement on the ball.

The biggest improvement will come from defense, which fell apart when Chamblin left last season. With a Chamblin defense, the Argos should be able to get back into the playoffs by hosting the eastern semi-final.

Ottawa which lost their starting quarterback, receiver, running back and best offensive lineman, is starting again from ground zero. Ottawa probably had no faith in Trevor Harris’ ability to lead the team to a Grey Cup and so decided to make thing fairly interesting.

Whether Dominique Davis has the leadership qualities that Trevor Harris was apparently missing is again an open question. Ottawa lost their offensive coordinator a few weeks ago and are now relying on former Ottawa Renegade quarterback Joe Paopao to help out.

This may be a case of karma coming back to bite Ottawa in the ass since they refused their assistants the opportunity to interview with other teams. Defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe may be the thin line keeping Ottawa in contention.

Finally, we have Montreal – seriously, did you expect them to finish anywhere else?

So BC versus Toronto, let’s go with Toronto because while it is easy for western teams to make a crossover, few seem to make it to the eastern final, never mind the Grey Cup.

The Riders go to Winnipeg and there the Bombers lucky streak continues officially for 29 more years as the Riders advance to the western final.

Toronto goes to Hamilton for the eastern final. I’m going to guess that Hamilton finally demonstrates that not only is it good on paper, they can actually show up on a field and win that too.

The Riders go to Calgary and can Calgary represent their rabid fans in a home town Grey Cup? Uh, no….Calgary chokes and all 12 hard core Calgary fans begin to think that maybe they are well and truly cursed.

So we have the Riders returning to Calgary, scene of one of the most devastating Grey Cup losses in recent years. This time they finish the job against the feckless Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

by Greg Urbanoski

CFL cuts see some interesting choices made as teams move toward start of 2019 season

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