CFL

• CFL Previews - Week One - July 1-3

  
  

  From The Sports Network By Greg Xenakes, Associate CFL Editor Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - TORONTO ARGONAUTS (0-0) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (0-0) DATE & TIME: Wednesday, July 1, 7:00 p.m. (et) GAME NOTES: The 2009 Canadian Football League season kicks off Wednesday evening, as the Hamilton Tiger Cats entertain the Toronto Argonauts.

  Both teams have something to prove within the East Division and the CFL overall after they were the ones that failed to make the playoffs at the conclusion of the 2008 campaign.

  Between the two clubs there were a total of just seven victories and considering two of those went in favor of the Ticats over Hamilton, the other a 32-13 triumph for the Argonauts versus Toronto, neither club had much to cheer about outside of their own rivalry.

  This season Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille is hoping his starting quarterback, Quinton Porter, can lead his program back to respectability after a dismal campaign the last time out.

  A season ago, Porter completed 66.7 percent of his pass attempts for close to 1,500 yards, posting 10 touchdowns and four interceptions.

  Unfortunately, the depth chart shows that the only experienced receiver in the primary four is Prechae Rodriguez and even that is a stretch given that he has just a single year under his belt after playing at Auburn. Rodriguez, who collected 70 balls for 1,099 yards and seven touchdowns a year ago, will have to mentor the likes of David Ball, Marquay McDaniel and Drisan James, all of whom are getting their first taste of professional football.

  Carrying the majority of the load coming out of the backfield for the Tiger Cats is Terry Caulley, the former UConn back who averaged close to seven yards per carry in 2008 and scored six touchdowns on the ground.

  From a defensive perspective, Hamilton was one of the worst units in the CFL a year ago when the squad allowed more passing yards than any club and, at the same time, managed to record the fewest sacks.

  After playing for British Columbia his first two years in the league, linebacker Markeith Knowlton was picked up by the Ticats last season and responded with 95 tackles and four interceptions. Unfortunately, unless he gets some more help around him Knowlton will be run ragged far too quickly.

  Signed on early in 2009 as a free agent, linebacker Otis Floyd brings considerable experience with him, having logged close to 400 tackles and 30 sacks in his career. However, the veteran is entering his 10th season.

  Over on the other side, the Argos are putting their immediate future in the hands of Kerry Joseph, an aging quarterback now in his seventh year. The McNeese State product did manage to throw for 4,174 yards in 2008, but his 57.3 percent completions and a quarterback rating of just 82.0 (the lowest in six seasons) means that he took more than a step backwards. After posting 24 TDs and just eight picks in 2007, Joseph connected on a mere 17 TD strikes and was intercepted 14 times in 2008.

  Of the four starting receivers listed on the depth chart at the moment for the Argonauts, only Arland Bruce brings any experience with him into the 2009 season.

  Bruce did step up with a huge effort in 2008 for Toronto with a career-best 92 grabs, leading to 1,210 yards and nine touchdowns, but with the opposition keying on him until his fellow receivers prove themselves, catches will be much harder to come by.

  Former UTEP running back Tyler Ebell had been listed at the top of the depth chart at his position, but last week he became a victim of the team's final cuts.

  As a result of the recent roster moves, perhaps it clears the way for Jamal Robertson to boost his numbers after last season's 645 yards and six touchdowns.

  One of the most experienced linebackers for Toronto, Kevin Eiben has watched his production dwindle in recent years, but given the inexperience of the players in front of him he may be called upon to make that much more of an impact.

  Last year's 55 tackles for Eiben were the fewest since he tallied 21 back in 2003.

  The focus at the line of scrimmage will probably fall on Jonathan Brown who is now in his sixth season out of Tennessee.

  Brown tallied seven of his 42 tackles a season ago against opposing quarterbacks.

  The secondary of the Argonauts will be tested time and time again until the likes of Lin-J Shell, James Green and Dovonte Edwards show that they belong.

  With many of the bugs still to be worked out and youth a huge question on both sides of the ball for each club, these two teams may look vastly different by the end of the season.

  Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Hamilton 25, Toronto 17MONTREAL ALOUETTES (0-0) AT CALGARY STAMPEDERS (0-0) DATE & TIME: Wednesday, July 1, 10:00 p.m. (et) GAME NOTES: The two top teams from their respective conferences a season ago, the Montreal Alouettes and the Calgary Stampeders, collide in the 2009 CFL season opener at McMahon Stadium on Wednesday night.

  As the top scoring team in the league, the Alouettes posted an 11-7 record in 2008, easily taking the East Division, but it was the Stampeders who got the last laugh, posting three wins over the Als, including a 22-14 victory in the Grey Cup title game.

  Montreal has had a great deal of success opening the season on the road since 1996, winning all five such contests entering this year.

  Perhaps more importantly, the squad is 8-1 and has scored 108 more points than the opposition in those nine contests when Anthony Calvillo starts under center for the club.

  Calvillo, one of just five professional signal-callers to rack up at least 50,000 passing yards, has rolled up 58,683 since breaking into the league in 1994 and now needs just five more touchdown passes to take over second place in CFL history for career TD passes, currently showing 328 for his long tenure.

  At this point, only Doug Flutie has more 5,000-yard passing seasons than Calvillo (five) with six in eight seasons, something that Calvillo could tie if all goes well in 2009.

  One of the reasons Calvillo has been so prolific is wideout Ben Cahoon, who has reeled in 861 career catches to place fifth on the all-time CFL list. Cahoon, who has played 11 seasons, has averaged better than 1,000 yards per campaign and is now the top Canadian receiver in league history.

  If it is not Cahoon on the other end of a touchdown pass it could well be Jamel Richardson, who tallied 16 a year ago to set the single-season team record.

  Throw Kerry Watkins into the mix and the receiving corps is head and shoulders above the rest.

  On the ground the squad counts on Avon Cobourne to balance the ledger, the former West Virginia back having put up six rushing scores for the group.

  On the defensive side of the ball the Alouettes count on John Bowman to make an impression at the line of scrimmage after having posted a total of 15 sacks the last two seasons.

  The middle of the field will be patrolled by Diamond Ferri (73 tackles last season), Shea Emry and Chip Cox (68 stops), while Davis Sanchez is expected to shut down Stampeder wideouts from his corner position. Since 1999, Sanchez has recorded at least one interception per season, posting nine picks in 2000 for the Alouettes and another three last year.

  Coming off their first Grey Cup Championship since 2001, the Stamps will have the entire league gunning for them from the opening kick and head coach John Hufnagel is well aware of the target that has been placed on his team's back.

  The CFL Coach of the Year in 2008, Hufnagel has his team on a three-game home win streak to open the season, adding even more pressure to the contest.

  The Grey Cup MVP who just signed a contract extension, Henry Burris is back to guide the offense for Calgary, his fifth campaign as the starting quarterback. The Western Division's Most Outstanding Player in 2008, Burris threw for more than 5,000 yards for the first time a season ago and logged a career-best 39 TD passes.

  Taking some of the heat off Burris will again be running back Joffrey Reynolds, a three-time CFL All-Star who has gained at least 1,000 yards on the ground in each of his four seasons.

  Out on the wings, Burris has to be pleased that he again has wideouts such as Nik Lewis, Jeremaine Copeland, Ken-Yon Rambo and Ryan Thelwell, although the loss of Jabari Arthur to a broken foot recently throws a wrench into a well- oiled machine.

  Lewis now has five straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons for the Stampeders and has reeled in at least one ball in 88 consecutive games, so know that he will again be a focus of stretching the field.

  The defense for Calgary has undergone a few changes, but there's no reason to think the group can't lock down opponents once again, especially after allowing a league-best 21.5 ppg in 2008.

  Perhaps the biggest concern comes at the linebacker position where only Shannon James returns to his position from a year ago. Dwayne Carpenter does have starting experience as well, but the pair will have to carry a host of fresh faces and inexperienced pros.

  Cornerback Brandon Browner, a CFL All-Star, will be tested quite a bit, especially in this game when Calvillo airs it out.

  Fellow corner Dwight Anderson will be on the hot seat as well, but as long as the pair do their jobs the Stamps should be set to start off the campaign with a bang.

  Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Calgary 41, Montreal 30WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (0-0) AT EDMONTON ESKIMOS (0-0) DATE & TIME: Thursday, July 2, 9:00 p.m. (et) GAME NOTES: Sporting a respectable 10-8 record during the 2008 regular season, the Edmonton Eskimos still finished in last place in the CFL's Western Division.

  On the other hand, an 8-10 mark for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers meant they were actually second in the East Division, the sort of discrepancy that Edmonton would like to avoid this year, as they play host to the Bombers on Thursday night.

  This particular matchup pits a pair of rookie head coaches against each other as Mike Kelly paces the sidelines for the Bombers and Richie Hall moves from being an assistant with the Saskatchewan Roughriders to being the top man with the Eskimos.

  In the case of Hall, he should bring a more energetic defense to Edmonton, one that tries to get the ball back in the hands of an aggressive offense.

  Getting the nod as the starting quarterback for the club is Ricky Ray, now entering his seventh season in the league out of Sacramento State. The Happy Camp native (you read that correct) was the top quarterback in the league a season ago as he completed almost 70 percent of his attempts for 5,663 yards and 26 touchdowns. However, putting the ball in the air as much as he did, Ray was also guilty of some poor decisions which resulted in a hefty 17 turnovers.

  Wideout Maurice Mann, who spent time on a number of practice squads in the NFL before settling in North of the Border, is entering his third season with the Eskimos and has showed some flashes of brilliance here and there, enough to make defenses step up and take notice.

  Not to be overlooked is Fred Stamps who caught 50 passes for 751 yards and six TDs on offense and also generated 297 yards in kick returns before missing the final four games of 2008 with a leg injury suffered against these same Blue Bombers.

  Kamau Peterson has racked up two straight 1,000-yard seasons and a 101-catch campaign in 2008, more than enough to earn him the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian award a year ago.

  Although he started just three games for Edmonton in 2008, Calvin McCarty still made appearances in all 18 regular season contests and paid dividends by carrying the ball 88 times for 490 yards and four touchdowns, not to mention grabbing 70 passes for another 583 yards and a score. Clearly a threat coming out of the backfield, McCarty is one young man who can do it all, even take part in special teams when needed.

  The defense for the Eskimos will be going through some growing pains early on, especially at the linebacker position where there are a number of new faces that will try and counter the loss of 14-year man Shannon Garrett who decided to retire. Perhaps, with another year under his belt, Jason Gross is ready to take on more responsibility in the secondary after leading the program with three fumble recoveries and five interceptions.

  Facing his former team, quarterback Stefan LeFors expects to see quite a bit of action for the Blue Bombers in the opener. The player of the year in his conference while with the University of Louisville in 2004, LeFors saw very little playing time last season while sitting behind Ray over on the Edmonton sidelines, which makes this one intriguing matchup to say the least.

  A starter in five games in 2007, LeFors had one game against Saskatchewan in which he threw for 412 yards and three touchdowns, so he certainly has the ability to perform in this league.

  Expected to make some noise as a receiver this year for the Bombers is Romby Bryant who, after recording 96 receptions for 1,341 yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons with Tulsa, affiliated himself with three NFL teams (Arizona, Atlanta and Baltimore) before heading to Canada. Last year with the Bombers Bryant logged 65 receptions for 1,206 yards and nine scores.

  In last year's season opener against Edmonton, wideout Adarius Bowman had his best game as a pro with six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, numbers he would like to improve upon a year later for Winnipeg.

  Running back Yvenson Bernard who, when he left Oregon State was the program's second-leading rusher with 3,862 yards, is settling in for his first full season of CFL action and should make significant contributions.

  A one-time CFL Rookie of the Year, defensive end Gavin Walls was named to his third all-star team after tying for the East Division lead with 10 quarterback sacks.

  Walls finished with 56 total stops in 2008 and will again be a focal point for the Blue Bombers defense this time around.

  The added storyline of LeFors facing his former team should add some intrigue to this matchup and provide enough of an adrenaline boost for the quarterback to take his team into the win column.

  Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Winnipeg 28, Edmonton 23BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (0-0) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (0-0) DATE & TIME: Friday, July 3, 9:00 p.m. (et) GAME NOTES: Two teams that tried to catch the Calgary Stampeders last season but came up a bit short, the British Columbia Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, get the Friday night lights all to themselves as they kick off their portion of the 2009 CFL campaign this week.

  Both teams played well at home last season, something that bodes well for the Roughriders who finished 12-6, compared to BC which was 11-7 at the end of the regular season and had to deal with a losing record (4-6) inside the Western Division.

  Guiding the offense in 2009 is Buck Pierce, the quarterback now entering his fifth season. Pierce had his most successful season thus far in 2008 when he completed better than 64 percent of his pass attempts for 3,018 yards and 19 touchdowns.

  Signal-caller Jarious Jackson provides a dual threat for the Lions because he can both pass (2,164 yards and 17 TDs last season) and run (362 yards) to keep defenses honest