TOP 10 CFL OFF-SEASON STORYLINES

My advisors in Florida have encouraged me to write more and to continue a CFL media career which dates back to 1991 even though I’m not actively working in the league full-time anymore. (Wouldn’t you like to meet them?). Since I’m paying a pretty penny for their guidance, and have no allegiance nor affiliation to any one CFL team, I figured now’s a good time to give it a whirl.

So in no particular order, here’s my list of the Top 10 things I’m watching in the CFL in 2022 as we sit in the dead of winter:

10 – CHRIS JONES IN EDMONTON: Frankly this could could be points 10-through-1 because the return of the sunglass-wearing, motorcycle-riding, southern drawl’ing football coach to the CFL sidelines is the most delicious thing going on in Canadian football this year. The last time Jones wore Green & Gold, he was hoisting the Grey Cup in 2015 as head coach. A week later, he’d bolted to Saskatchewan and it sent the Eskimos into a tailspin from which they still haven’t recovered. Now, under the name Elks, Jones is back to save the day and won’t be knocking heads with GM Ed Hervey anymore. Jones is now the GM too. How bout that? They MIGHT become my favourite team. Jones is a beauty and some insiders have the Elks picked to finish ahead of the Roughriders already. Frankly, I can’t see it.

9 – BO KNOWS: The Rod Pedersen Show is in Calgary broadcasting from Grey Eagle Resort & Casino – long-time sponsors of the Stampeders – for a weeks-long residency which will extend well into the spring. As such, I’ve been been immersed in Stamps talk around the city and it’s been interesting. Calgary General Manager John Hufnagel made a live appearance at Grey Eagle and divulged lots of things including the fact that his star QB Bo Levi Mitchell was playing with both significant upper AND lower body injuries through almost all of 2021. While it may have been an “off” year, Mitchell still finished 4th in league passing and Huff was pleased to have made the playoffs in a season where they fielded their youngest roster in years and had no preseason games to audition them.

Meanwhile a mainstay on the Calgary media scene informed me over the weekend that, regarding Bo Levi Mitchell, his biggest problem is that he feels responsible for carrying the team on his back and always returns from injury too early.

How could you fault him for that?

On the Hufnagel thing, he was surprised I picked him out in the Tom Brady documentary The Man In The Arena which is airing on ESPN. It was a still photograph of Huff and Tom Brady from 2003. “My hair wasn’t gray back then!” John laughed. I should’ve told him I’ve been watching him since I was in Grade 3.

8 – THE O’PLAN: Let me be clear — Calgary football people have seeked me out to discuss CFL items. I haven’t been throwing any lines in the water, looking for a reaction which has long been my MO. Anyway, one player with an impressive resume looked me in the face this weekend with his eyes wide open as saucers and gasped, “WHAT’S O’DAY DOING????” So it seems that not just the Rider Nation is asking ‘Where’s the beef?’ Fans from coast-to-coast are watching the 2022 Grey Cup host Saskatchewan Roughriders and wondering where the All Star team is that’ll compete in their own stadium for Lord Earl Grey’s trophy this November? The Riders have spent big money on QB Cody Fajardo and top receiver Duke Williams however their defense has taken a massive hit with the departures of DT Micah Johnson and DBs Ed Gainey and Loucheiz Purifoy. However, from what we read, O’Day planned for that.

As it stands now, Jamal Morrow is at the top of the depth chart at running back. The Washington State grad is a talent, but he has nine carries and three receptions to his credit in his career. Hardly in the realm of Wes Cates (2007) or Kory Sheets (2013).

7 – THE BEST OF THE REST: You could stock the expansion Atlantic Schooners roster with all the names which are still available in CFL free agency. The market opened on February 8 but has cooled off considerably, and the free agent period is generally considered to be over. However could you imagine suiting up for the Schooners in Sea Foam and Gray uniforms the following?: QBs Matt Nichols & David Watford, WRs Ricky Collins Jr & DeVier Posey, RB Tim Flanders, TEs Spencer Moore & Patrick Lavoie, OL Nolan MacMillan, DL Frank Beltre, Charleston Hughes, Cordarro Law, Drake Nevis, LBs Micah Awe & Don “The President” Unamba, DBs Frankie Williams & Jamar Wall, K Sergio Castillo.

I really felt the CFL missed the boat by not having the Atlantic Schooners play the 2019 season out of the beautiful University of Moncton Stadium after announcing the team and its uniforms at a splashy party at the 2018 Grey Cup in Edmonton. I was at that party, and felt it was a cruel tease of CFL fans. Here we are almost four years later and … nothing.

6 – HARRIS IN DOUBLE BLUE: Are we not all wondering how Winnipeg favourite son Andrew Harris will fare with the Toronto Argonauts in 2022? The 2019 Grey Cup MVP and Most Outstanding Canadian signed with Toronto after being spurned by his hometown Blue Bombers, where he won two Grey Cups, and has vowed to make the Bombers regret their decision. Frankly, Andrew had a Hall of Fame career in BC from 2009-2015 (3x Canadian Bowl champ with Vancouver Island, 1 Grey Cup with the Lions) and only added to it with Winnipeg (2016-2021). He doesn’t need to prove another damn thing.

However the 34-year old told me on the RP Show that he wasn’t happy with how his 2021 season went and didn’t want his career to end that way. He got a positive vibe off Argos GM Pinball Clemons – I mean, who doesn’t? – and wants to continue chasing the dream. For that, I applaud him.

5 – CFL DRAFT: The CFL Draft is always a cattle call, and unfortunately will never, ever have the glitz and glamour of its USA cousin in the National Football League. If anything, it’s a necessary evil however for the diehards it’s very much worth following. The current BC Lions were built through the draft, with 2021 CFL Rookie of the Year LB Jordan Williams having been taken #1 overall, and starting QB Nathan Rourke taken in the second round that same year. This year’s Draft doesn’t seem as sexy, with Penn State linebacker Jesse Luketa ranked #1. University of Calgary’s Philpot brothers, Jalen and Tyson, are both ranked in the Top 5.

Quick: Who’s got the #1 pick in the 2022 CFL Draft on May 3? It’s the Edmonton Elks.

4 – B.C.’S CANADIAN QB EXPERIMENT: Of course we’re watching it closely. The Lions have tabbed Rourke as their #1 quarterback and signed veteran Canadian, and UBC grad, Michael O’Connor as his back-up. Anybody who saw Rourke play in 2021 knows he’s good enough, but just needs more reps. He’s Victoria-born, Toronto-raised, and Ohio-trained. If this works out, co-GMs Rick Campbell and Neil McEvoy will look like geniuses. They had a chance to sign an American veteran QB in free agency, but preferred this route. God speed.

3 – FULL NEST: Nothing surprises me in the CFL so I didn’t fall off my chair when the Montreal Alouettes cut QB Trevor Harris the week of Christmas, and then turned around and signed him a couple days into free agency. Apparently incumbent pivot Vernon Adams Jr. was miffed that Harris was brought back but that didn’t surprise me for two reasons: 1) You’re not guaranteed a damn thing in this league, or life, and 2) Alouettes GM Danny Maciocia won a Grey Cup in 2005 as head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos where they rotated QBs Ricky Ray and Jason Maas in the playoffs on the way to a championship. They say if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one but the Super Bowl LII champion Philadelphia Eagles proved that wrong once and for all. This was a wise move by Montreal.

2 – ON THE AIR: Both the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders are without radio play-by-play voices as we sit here in late-February. Could one be related to the other? That’s the rumour, as the whispers suggest Derek Taylor left the Riders to take over the Bomber booth. If what I’m hearing is true, Winnipeg is close to a decision/announcement while Saskatchewan is nowhere near close to naming D.T.’s successor. Regardless, we wish Derek well because he’s a consummate professional, an outstanding guy, and is excellent for the CFL.

1 – RANDOMS: Other things to watch … Winnipeg’s drive to Three-Peat is probably the #1 thing to watch! … Program sales will be high again. If they still sell programs at CFL games. Do they? Greg Ellingson is a Blue Bomber. Brandon Banks is an Argonaut. William Powell is back with the RedBlacks. … I loathe the one-year contracts, but they’re here to stay. … How will Ottawa fare in the first year of the Shawn Burke/Paul Lapolice regime? The insiders are giving it an early thumbs-up, saying “The RedBlacks are signing everybody”. … Hats off to the B.C. Lions for hiring the CFL’s first-ever female assistant coach, Tanya Walter. If all goes well, you won’t even know she’s there (like a good referee). The Alberta product was on my show last week and is all-business. She’d prefer not to be singled out, and just wants to get to work. … Please stop sending me articles about the NFL/XFL partnership. It’s clear the CFL wants nothing to do with The Rock. Unfortunate, but that road is closed. Groan.

Thanks for reading,
RP
@rodpedersen

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)