Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
One week from tomorrow, the CFL’s 2017 free agency period will officially open up with a ton of big names still up for grabs. In fact, of CFL.ca’s top 30 free agents, 26 players remain unsigned as of this article being published. Free agency in 2016 was unprecedented for this league, but it sure does look like 2017 is poised to be even better.
Just think about it for a second. Currently, the East Division’s reigning Most Outstanding Player is unsigned as Ernest Jackson and the REDBLACKS have yet to come to terms. Right there with Jackson is Derek Dennis, who just happens to be the CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman with the Stampeders.
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Derek Dennis is just one elite free agent poised to hit the open market on Feb. 14 (Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca)
As it stands right now, both players look likely to hit the market, which is incredible to me. We’re talking about two individual award winners from this past season getting ready to preside over bidding wars for their services. And they’re not the only ones!
Ottawa risks losing three of its big four receivers with Greg Ellingson and Chris Williams pending free agents as well. Joining that impressive group of receivers is Marquay McDaniel, who might have been Calgary’s most important and reliable receiver during its historic 2016 season. Oh, and don’t forget about Bryan Burnham, Diontae Spencer and Kenny Shaw in this conversation. The free agent receiver party is going to be a rager next week.
The most fascinating pending free agent for me, though, is a guy who didn’t play a single game in 2016. Edmonton’s John Ojo was emerging as one of the CFL’s most dominant shutdown defensive backs before blowing his Achilles in training camp. But let’s not forget how good Ojo was in 2015 as he had five interceptions in his rookie season and helped the Eskimos to a Grey Cup title.
Regardless of who jumps off the page at you most in this year’s free agent class, it’s clear how advanced a group we’re talking about. We’ve seen teams like Ottawa and Winnipeg transform their teams via free agency over the last couple of years and that opportunity absolutely exists again in 2017. Let the games begin at Noon ET next Tuesday.
The heat is on
Speaking of free agency, Marshall Ferguson and I debated Toronto’s approach to the coming frenzy in Berg vs. Ferg over the weekend. Marshall took a pretty measured mind to the conversation as he feels the Argos should continue building through the draft as opposed to throwing around lots of cash next week.
My take, on the other hand, is Toronto needs to go hard after some of these high profile available players knowing the tumultuous off-season they’ve had thus far. But this Argos conversation goes far deeper than just who they’re going to target come Valentine’s Day.
Brandon Whitaker fends off Ticats defensive end John Chick during a game in 2016 (Thomas Makacek/Argonauts.ca)
Toronto decided to part ways with General Manager Jim Barker two weeks ago and then found out it’d be losing Scott Milanovich about a week later. We’re in February already and training camps start in just over three months. The Argos need to figure out what they’re doing in football operations yesterday.
As it stands right now, Assistant General Manager Spencer Zimmerman is handling all player personnel duties with both Barker and Milanovich departed. I’m actually not overly worried about that, as Zimmerman has worked his way up over the last six years and seems to have a bright football mind.
I’m more interested in what happens when Toronto hires its next GM. Does he share the same football philosophies as Zimmerman? Will he agree with Zimmerman’s free agent work and potential additions this winter? To have one guy making huge decisions now with a new boss still to be hired certainly opens things up for a little confusion, so Toronto has to avoid that at all costs.
And then there’s the question of a head coach. The timing on Milanovich’s departure doesn’t put the Argos in a great spot. Again, it’s already February and most of the top end candidates are already employed for the coming season. Furthermore, hiring the right assistants for a new coach becomes even more difficult with such a short time frame.
I’m not saying Toronto’s hopes for this season should be viewed as bleak. In fact, I think Zimmerman has the chance to make some really important moves in the next few weeks to really improve the Argos on the field in 2017. It is fascinating to see how this all plays out, though, because Toronto’s off-season certainly hasn’t been a typical one.
Working Overtime: A title game for the ages
While the world was watching Tom Brady engineer an historic comeback in Super Bowl 51 on Sunday, I couldn’t help but think about the epic title game we saw north of the border about two months prior. The 104th Grey Cup had a ton in common with what we saw take place in Houston over the weekend and I’ll never pass up a chance to relive that incredible Sunday in Toronto.
New England’s 34-28 win over Atlanta on Sunday was the first ever Super Bowl decided in overtime. Two months prior, Ottawa’s 39-33 Grey Cup win over Calgary was just the third CFL championship decided in overtime (the most recent was the 93rd Grey Cup with Edmonton topping Montreal), but that’s just the beginning of the parallels with North America’s two pro football titles.
Henry Burris and the REDBLACKS celebrate their Grey Cup Championship back in November (The Canadian Press)
Not only were both games decided in overtime, but both the Grey Cup and the Super Bowl were very much lopsided affairs headed to the half. The REDBLACKS had opened up a 20-7 lead heading into OneRepublic’s halftime performance and extended their lead to 27-7 on their first possession of the third quarter. Similarly, Atlanta was up 21-3 at halftime and opened that lead up to 28-3 after their second possession of the second half. And then came the comebacks.
Bo Levi Mitchell started Calgary’s comeback late in the third quarter, much like Brady started down New England’s road back late in the third frame on Sunday. The Stamps scored majors on back-to-back possessions and eventually forced overtime, despite having a glorious chance to win the game in regulation thwarted by Ottawa’s Abdul Kanneh. The Patriots needed a pair of two point conversions just to get things back even and didn’t have a chance to win it until they got to extra time.
Of course, the big difference here is the outcome of the game. In both cases, the heavily favored team mounted a furious comeback to force some heart-stopping overtime action. In the Stampeders’ case, though, they were unable to prevail over Henry Burris and the REDBLACKS. The favoured Patriots did fully complete the comeback thanks to their first and only overtime possession.
Oh, and then there’s the quarterback angle. Brady cemented himself as the greatest of all time with his fifth title by engineering the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history. And while Burris may not go down as the single greatest CFL quarterback ever, his performance against Calgary solidified him as one of the best of this league has ever seen.
It’s not a perfect comparison, I know, but the 104th Grey Cup and Super Bowl 51 had a ton in common from my vantage point. More than anything else, watching Sunday’s NFL title game made me remember just how good November’s CFL championship showdown was, too. In the end, everyone wins, because fans were treated to two incredible football showcases.
