OUT OF THE TUNNEL: THE DROUGHT IS OVER

BY RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

Let’s begin with a huge congratulations to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and their organization for ending the CFL’s longest Grey Cup drought with a dominating 33-12 performance over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. If any fans know what it’s like to be mired in season after season of disappointment and then finally winning one it’s Saskatchewan Roughrider fans.

Big happy smiles to see Richie Hall, Paddy Neufeld, Jake Thomas, Nic Demski and even Zach Collaros win the Grey Cup.

It was tough to see Hamilton lay an egg but this game and the playoffs as a whole show that any football team, from high school to professional, is built on solid offensive and defensive line play which just makes everything else easier.

There’s a quote you hear in some football circles that good offensive lines travel. That means they play great at home and on the road. You can say that for both sides of the Bombers line. From the offensive line opening holes for Andrew Harris, Demski and Chris Streveler to keeping Collaros’ jersey clean and their defensive line making multiple short-yardage stops and racking up nine sacks between the West Final and Grey Cup. They did all of this on the road.

Now that the season is over and the silly season begins, here are five things we were thinking about while watching the final game of the 2019 season.

1. What will happen with all of the great back-up quarterbacks?

2019 was the year of the back-up. From the emergence of Cody Fajardo in Saskatchewan to Zach Collaros and Dane Evans battling it out in the Grey Cup, the clipboard holders made an incredible impact on the 2019 season. So now what?

B.C. (Mike Reilly), Edmonton (Trevor Harris), Calgary (Bo Levi Mitchell), Saskatchewan (Cody Fajardo), Montreal (Vernon Adams) and Hamilton (Evans) will all be in great shape heading into training camp.

As for Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa? All three are in different situations.

Matt Nichols’ contract is up in February 2020 and the same can be said for Streveler and Collaros so Winnipeg will have a big decision ahead of them. Do you go back with the man who won you the Grey Cup (Collaros) or with the one who got you off to the hot start (Nichols)?

Ottawa just needs anything after the awful quarterback play in 2019. This would be a great spot for Jeremiah Masoli. 

And as for Toronto, who knows. They are in a bad spot and need as much help as possible.

2. What will the Saskatchewan Roughriders do to build up for the 2020 run?

As the Grey Cup hosts, you know president Craig Reynolds will want general manager Jeremy O’Day to do anything and everything to get a team that is Grey Cup worthy.

It’s almost a clean slate. Justin Dunk lays it all out pretty well in his 3DownNation article with a lot of the dominant skill players back but 11 of 12 defensive starters will be free agents in February.

The interesting thing will be to see how quick O’Day will be to re-sign the bulk of the players, but also who he will really go after in the free agent market.

3. Coaching Carousel.

With the Grey Cup moratorium over next week the coaching silly season will begin. B.C. and Ottawa are looking for new bench bosses. TSN’s Dave Naylor said this week that the Argos will be bringing back Corey Chamblin. Jason Maas is in his final year of a contract in Edmonton and that’s a situation a coach rarely likes to go into. Let’s hope Montreal does the smart thing and quickly retains Khari Jones.

4. There is a lot of work ahead prepping for the 2020 Grey Cup in Regina. 

Not just within the football operations office but everything else that goes into making a Grey Cup week the best week of sports in Canada.

5. TSN’s broadcast.

TSN did a fantastic job with the Divisional Finals and the Grey Cup broadcasts but can they carry that momentum into the 2020 regular season games? They advanced the broadcast when they took over from the CBC years ago, but can they take the week-to-week games to the next level with their shiny new contract extension with the CFL?

Also, can TSN please change the graphics package. It’s been the same look for almost 10 years and 2020 seems like a good time for a refresh. 

This Week in Canada West.

The Calgary Dinos won their first Vanier Cup since 1997 with a defensively dominating 27-13 performance over the Montreal Carabins.

The Carabins couldn’t move the football on the Dinos defence as they suffocated the Quebec champions out of the stadium.

After looking back at the 2019 USports season, it’s very apparent that the Canada West was, top-to-bottom, the best and toughest football conference in Canada.

Calgary had to scratch and claw out of the conference where the two teams that missed the playoffs (UBC and Regina) could at any point of the season knock off the Dinos. Usually by the end of the season, the Canada West champ is so beat up they can’t seal the deal but in 2019, the University of Calgary is the top Canadian college football team.

Canadian to Watch in the NCAA:

LB – Amen Ogbongbemiga (RsJr.)
Oklahoma State (Big 12)
6′ 1″ 225lbs.
Calgary, Alberta
High School – Notre Dame

Amen Ogbongbemiga is one of the top defenders in the Big 12. He was one of the main reasons the Cowboys were able outlast West Virginia this past weekend 20-13.

Ogbongbemiga had 11 total tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss in their victory. He is currently second on the Cowboys in tackles but also has 3.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for a loss in 2019.

He is also a two-time Big 12 all-academic player and will be one of the top players in the 2021 CFL draft as a perfect hybrid linebacker 

You can watch Ogbongbemiga and fellow Canadian standout Chuba Hubbard next week on Fox as the Cowboys face the Oklahoma Sooners in Bedlam.

(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)