Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes
Berg vs. Ferg returns for another season on CFL.ca as columnists Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate over some of the league’s most contentious storylines. For their 2017 debut they’ll debate over some of the top storylines entering training camp.
It’s good to be back. That’s how it feels for Berg and Ferg and the same goes for the hundreds of players across nine CFL teams kicking off training camp this week.
Last year, Steinberg edged Ferguson 10-9 on a buzzer-beater right before the Grey Cup. Now, though, a new season brings fresh perspective — including in the CFL, with the standings covered in zeroes and fans enjoying the hope that this, finally, must be their year.
RELATED
» Berg vs. Ferg: View past results
» O’Leary: Where will Bear Woods land?
» Argos, Lions ease injured receivers back
With so many new faces in different places this month, there’s no shortage of topics to talk about as we flip the calendar from May to June. But which conversation is the most compelling going into the 2017 regular season?
From the proverbial passing of the torch in the nation’s capital to Darian Durant’s move east, Steinberg and Ferguson launch their first debate of the 2017 season.
| BERG VS. FERG: VIEW PAST RESULTS |
||||
|
|
BERG (0-0): KAVIS REED HAS SURE MADE HIS MARK
Pat Steinberg, CFL.ca
@Fan960Steinberg
For so many different reasons, the Montreal Alouettes are the most intriguing team going as 2017 training camps are now underway. On an individual basis, any one of Montreal’s stories could easily be the number one story to watch heading into the regular season. When you put them all those stories together, though, the Alouettes become impossible to overlook.
Montreal has overhauled virtually everything this off-season, starting with the dismissal of Jim Popp in early November. That started a chain reaction of epic proportions that would eventually see the team hire Kavis Reed as the team’s new general manager. Reed’s busy winter got going shortly thereafter.
About a month after taking the reins, Reed addressed Montreal’s biggest issue in 2016 by trading for a quarterback. By acquiring Darian Durant from Saskatchewan, the Als solidified the position by getting a proven pivot with a pair of titles to his name. Reed signed reigning East Division Most Outstanding Player Ernest Jackson in free agency and finished his offensive overhaul by bringing in all-star left tackle Jovan Olafioye from the BC Lions.
Alouettes new boss Kavis Reed has wasted no time leaving his mark in Montreal (Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes)
But just when you thought Montreal’s wheeling and dealing was done, Reed had a few more surprises for us. Monday’s decision to release reigning East Division Most Outstanding Defensive Player Bear Woods was a stunner. It was even more stunning knowing the Als said goodbye to fellow standout linebacker Winston Venable in free agency.
All in all, Reed has put a stamp on his team in a very short period of time. Whether you agree with Monday’s Woods decision or not, you can’t deny how much work Montreal’s new general manager has gotten done since taking over in January. I don’t know exactly what to expect from this Alouettes group in 2017, but you can bet it’ll be a lot of fun to find out.
FERG (0-0): HANK’S PRESENCE WAS IMMEASURABLE
Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca
@TSN_Marsh
Henry Burris left an impact on the game of Canadian football. Hate him or love him, he was an important piece of the CFL storyline puzzle for two decades and with his retirement after one of the more memorable Grey Cup performances in recent memory, Hank will continue to affect the way we discuss the CFL for at least one more year.
Trevor Harris is a heck of a quarterback. We have seen from his time stepping in for Burris and his days in double blue qualities such as accuracy, pocket movement, arm strength and football intelligence. Harris should be a sure thing as a standout assuming the reins of a Grey Cup-winning offence, but players have come and gone in free agency per the usual CFL standard and there is a sense across the league of just not knowing if Harris can put together a FULL season.
All of this is incredibly hypocritical. Burris didn’t put together a squeaky clean 2016 effort; he just peaked at the best possible time. So why would we attack Harris’ ability to be a difference-maker week in, week out when his predecessor didn’t accomplish that same consistency? I just think we can’t control ourselves. We know what Trevor Harris is, but he will play through the summer and fall of 2017 in the shadow of not only Burris’ playoff heroics but his career legacy.
Henry Burris capped off his legacy with a Grey Cup Championship last November (CFL.ca)
It’s not fair, but it’s how we tend to treat relatively young players stepping in for long-time standouts.
An evolving offence, stepping in for a legend as a concrete starter for the first time in a long time and the inevitable battles against known commodities such as Darian Durant, Ricky Ray and Zach Collaros all await Trevor Harris this season.
These storylines and, oh yah, that small bit about hosting the Grey Cup in Ottawa this year all make me believe the CFL’s most intriguing off-season storyline is the QB switch in our nation’s capital.
DON’T SIT ON THE FENCE!
While both sides are pretty convincing, someone’s got to take it. Whose argument convinced you the most?
You can vote for this week’s winner both on CFL.ca and Twitter. Meanwhile, continue the conversation by tweeting @Fan960Steinberg and @TSN_Marsh.
The winner will be revealed in the following week’s Berg vs. Ferg.
