In our last column two weeks ago, we focused on Edmonton’s decision to part ways with general manager Ed Hervey. The main thrust for me was that, yes, the timing of the decision was not ideal, but I really applauded president Len Rhodes for standing up for the league’s key tenets. The Eskimos could have found Hervey’s replacement and I think they’ve got a good one, even if the timing wasn’t as good as it could have been.
New direction
The Eskimos announced Monday that Brock Sunderland was named the club’s new GM and VP of Football operations and I love the hire.
He’s one of the guys I think many across the CFL have been waiting for to get an opportunity like this, and for good reason. I think Sunderland would have been a good hire under any circumstances, but to get him in the fold so close to training camp is even more impressive.
Sunderland’s credentials are impressive after spending the last three seasons as Ottawa’s assistant general manager under Marcel Desjardins. What excites me most is his background in scouting and player personnel. In fact, his work in personnel evaluation and acquisition is amongst the best in the league I believe.
Just take a look at the work that REDBLACKS’ football operations department has gotten done over the last four years. To go from being a two-win expansion franchise to a two-time East Division champion and defending Grey Cup champ is remarkable, and it wasn’t due to luck.
RELATED: Esks make Sunderland hire official
Heading up Ottawa’s scouting department, Sunderland was instrumental in so many of the team’s key acquisitions over the last few years. The REDBLACKS nailed free agency a couple years ago and transformed their team with the additions of players like Ernest Jackson, Chris Williams, and Greg Ellingson. Heck, even with holes to fill this off-season, Ottawa has done a nice job in bringing in promising 25-year-olds Kenny Shaw and Diontae Spencer at receiver.
But Sunderland’s work goes beyond just what they’ve done in free agency. Take a look at the REDBLACKS’ depth chart for November’s title showdown with the Stamps and the Canadians in key positions, starting with the offensive line. First round picks Jason Lauzon-Seguin (2016) and Nolan MacMillan (2013) started at right tackle and right guard, respectively, with 2015 first rounder Alex Mateas backing the latter up.
Antoine Pruneau and Connor Williams, 2014 and 2013 picks, respectively, played key roles all season on the defensive side of the ball, further underlining just how strong Ottawa’s work in the draft has been.
Plain and simple, the REDBLACKS have done great work in virtually every aspect of player personnel. Whether it be via the expansion draft (J’Michael Deane and Zack Evans), trade (Jon Gott), unsigned free agents (Abdul Kenneh), big time free agency, or the draft, Ottawa’s blueprint is extremely impressive.
In his duties with the REDBLACKS, Sunderland had a huge influence in all of the moves listed above and I think he’s a great hire by Edmonton. Sure, he’s coming in very late in the game to pay huge dividends in the immediacy. That said, though, I’m not expecting it to take long at all for Sunderland’s hire to pay off.
Savvy acquisition
In an early March edition of the MMQB, I talked about receiver SJ Green potentially being an under-the-radar weapon for the Montreal Alouettes. Well, I was wrong about that, because he won’t play for the Als this season. Instead, he has a chance to be that same secret weapon for his new team: the Toronto Argonauts.
The connection between Green and the new Toronto brain trust of Jim Popp and Marc Trestman is an easy one to make, and clearly a big reason why the move was made. But familiarity isn’t the only reason the Argos pulled the trigger on bringing Green into the fold.
Toronto is getting great value in Green, as the asking price ended up being a 2017 sixth round pick and a conditional 2018 selection. Even if he doesn’t return to the form we’re used to seeing, it’s a relatively low risk acquisition for the Argos knowing the price they paid. But as we talked about last month, I still think there’s lots left in the tank for Green.
Yes, Green is coming back from a knee injury that ended his 2016 season before it really even got started. But, as Green told MontrealAlouettes.com in March, his off-season has been an encouraging one.
“This has been the most invigorating off-season I’ve had in a long time,” Green said. “I’ve been building myself back up from ground zero.”
That’s scary stuff coming from one of the league’s most productive receivers in recent years. Yes, he turns 32 in June and, yes, he is coming off a catastrophic knee injury; both are valid question marks to point to. However, let’s not forget how productive Green was in his last full CFL season with the Alouettes.
Green was a top ten receiver in 2015 in both receiving yards (1036) and average yards per catch (14.6), and did so as Montreal’s primary passing weapon. He also did so with a ridiculous revolving door of quarterbacks, as Rakeem Cato, Jonatha Crompton, Tanner Marsh, Brandon Bridge, and Anthony Boone all got significant time that season. For Green to do what he did under 2015’s circumstances in Montreal is pretty remarkable.
Green now joins an Argos team with Ricky Ray at quarterback and Marc Trestman at the helm. He also does so with a newfound motivation after a frustrating 2015 season and many wondering if he’ll return to his prior form. I’m betting the Argos will be very happy with their return of investment on Green, particularly knowing the modest price they paid.
The Money List part four
Our 2017 Money List is starting to take form with the additions of a running back and receiver a couple weeks ago. To refresh the criteria, we’re selecting players at each position that we’d start a team to win a Grey Cup this season. In defining that, it negates factors like age and allows us to select our true “money” player in each slot. Below is what we have thus far:
Quarterback: Bo Levi Mitchell, Calgary Stampeders
Running Back Andrew Harris, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Receiver: Adarius Bowman, Edmonton Eskimos
Linebacker: Solomon Elimimian, BC Lions
Defensive back: TJ Heath, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
We’re switching focus back to the defensive side of the ball today and focusing in on the big boys up front.
Defensive Tackle – Ted Laurent, Hamilton Tiger Cats
This was another tough one because the number of impact makers at defensive tackle has really increased in recent years. I went with Hamilton’s Laurent over a pair of 2016 CFL All Stars in Edmonton’s Almondo Sewell and Calgary’s Micah Johnson, but it was extremely close. In reality, any one of the three would absolutely be worthy of being named the best player at their position, because that’s how close, and how good, these guys are.
For Laurent, it comes down to track record and his rare combination of size and explosiveness. For the last four seasons, Laurent has been an absolutely devastating interior force and disrupts things so much that running in his direction just isn’t advised. He is explosive off the snap and can stretch the field laterally really well, which again, makes him particularly tough to deal with in the run game.
Although Laurent isn’t thought of first and foremost as a devastating pass rusher, his impressive speed and explosiveness makes him a threat to opposing quarterbacks by default. Laurent finished second only to Sewell in sacks for defensive tackles with eight in 2016 and has 20 in his three seasons with Hamilton thus far.
While it’s been tough to select just one “money” player at each position, choosing between Laurent, Sewell, and Johnson might have been the toughest decision yet. That said, with Laurent’s track record and disruptive presence, I’m comfortable calling him the CFL’s best defensive tackle, even if it’s by the slightest of margins.
Defensive End – Charleston Hughes, Calgary Stampeders
Since 2008, Hughes has been terrorizing opposing quarterbacks off the edge. But its been the last five years that have served as the true coming out party for Hughes. Even while missing 12 games combined since 2012, Hughes has racked up double digit sack totals in four of his last five seasons; that would have been all five had he not been injured for a good chunk of the 2014 campaign.
At 6’1 and 240 pounds, Hughes is somewhat “undersized” in comparison to his contemporaries like Shawn Lemon, John Chick, and John Bowman. But what he gives up in inches and pounds, Hughes makes up for with speed, power, and brute strength.
Hughes is as quick as they come off the edge and blocking him is a difficult proposition as such. But his ability to shed blocks when contact is made is what really puts him over the top and is a huge reason why Hughes has led the CFL in sacks twice in his career, including 2016.
Many thought Hughes’s days as a dominant pass-rusher were behind him when he played just 11 games in the 2014 season. But back-to-back double digit sack totals put those doubts to rest and that bounce back sealed his place on this list. Hughes may be a couple years older than some of the other impact defensive ends in this league, but in a big game, there’s no one else I’d want lining up on the edge other than Hughes.
