Prediction Season: Who does Nye have winning the West?

You want a challenge?

Try to predict how the West Division will shake down in the 2016 season.

The Eskimos and Stampeders are first and second. No doubt, right?

The Riders, Bombers and Lions will scrap it out for the final playoff spot or maybe a cross-over.

That’s where the smart money may sit right now as Bo Levi Mitchell and Mike Reilly continue to lead the powerful Alberta rivals into 2016.

Arguably the best two quarterbacks you would want leading your teams at the start and conclusion of a season. They are, after all, the last two quarterbacks to win the Grey Cup and take home the MVP of that game.

But don’t be so quick to throw those two teams at the top.

In Calgary, you have Dave Dickenson as a rookie head coach, taking over for Mr. Consistency John Hufnagel. While Huf is still in the house, taking care of the general manager duties, it won’t be easy for Dickenson to start his head coaching career with an expectation to win 10 games or more EVERY SEASON!

Adding to that, future Hall of Famer Jon Cornish is no longer carrying the ball after his retirement and Eric Rogers is now in the NFL.

All these things will surely cost them three or four wins.

CHECKING DOWN: Esks wrap up mini-camp, but difficult decisions await

In Edmonton, it’s been the biggest story of the off-season as Chris Jones is now running the Riders and the Eskimos are going with Jason Maas as a rookie head coach, after just one year as an offensive coordinator.

Hey, how about this for a first year on the job. You now have to win the Grey Cup to keep up with the coach you’re replacing. Maas clearly loves a challenge!

Oh, and Jones didn’t leave alone; he took the entire coaching staff to Saskatchewan (except one – who also left the Eskimos) and a handful of Edmonton’s best players in free agency.

You’re not picking another 14-4 season are you? I’m definitely not.

As for those other three teams. Jones of course has the Riders starting to look like a team who can go from worst to first, but they haven’t played a game yet with their completely rebuilt roster. How long will it take for the ‘chemistry’ of this team to gel is the biggest question I have.

The talent is there, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Darian Durant is the championship quarterback before Mitchell and Reilly really got started on their rise to fame. And they have a few offensive weapons who appear poised to make the jump into 1,000-yard receiver/rusher territory.

FANTASY: Durant poised for a bounce-back year?

In Winnipeg, Richie Hall’s addition last year made some fans and media analysts happy to see a defence play more ‘traditional’. At times however they broke down as the offense was a major problem.

Enter Paul LaPolice.

LaPolice has a tremendous resume, including taking the Bombers to the Grey Cup as their head coach in just his second year on the job in 2011.

Add to that the money General Manager Kyle Walters spent this off-season and the Bombers will either be a major threat or a major bust with all the work that has gone into the off-season.

Oh and the BC Lions have brought back to the sideline the man who sits number one on the CFL list of coaching wins, who in his last game as a coach hoisted the Grey Cup.

To doubt their ability to move up the chain would be short-sighted.

In my QB rankings, Bo Levi Mitchell is my #1 so I’ll move Calgary back into first.

Edmonton will be in a fight for second with Saskatchewan and Winnipeg at around the .500 mark. But I’ll take them in that order for now. Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg. But I think a tie-breaker will decide either second or third…. or both.

Jamie Nye’s West Division predictions

BC will just miss the playoffs by a win or two.

There, I did it.

Now it’s your turn.

Have fun.

The balance of power in the West is unstable and this could be the year it gets flipped on its head.