November 10, 2017

Nye: Ranking all 6 defences in the playoffs

Johany Jutras/CFL.ca

If the football cliché ‘defence wins championships’ is going to play out in the CFL Playoffs, let’s take a look at the six defences and where they rank going into the post season.

(These rankings were based on defensive statistics in major categories throughout the season, as well as the final third of the season for all six teams).

1. Calgary Stampeders

Canadian Alex Singleton has anchored the CFL’s most daunting defence in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Strengths

Every phase of this defence is a strength, from the defensive line and the linebackers to secondary. They are statistically at the top of the league in almost every defensive category as DeVone Claybrooks has once again put his team in a great position going into the playoffs. They get after the quarterback unlike any other defence and on the flip side, they create the turnovers necessary to make those game-changing plays.

Weaknesses

OK, I have to find at least one thing to criticize and it would be the run defence down the final stretch. All of a sudden, the Stampeders allowed over 100 yards rushing in their final three games. However, you could argue that it is a sign the team lost a bit of intensity with its playoff fate already known, and that can create some holes in the defence. That also slowed down the pass rush in the final six games.

3 to Watch

Charleston Hughes‘ veteran savvy and smarts are something to behold as the veteran is still one of the best. Alex Singleton is likely going to take home the defensive player of the year. Singleton can be found everywhere to make a play. If Ja’Gared Davis is ready to play in the Western Final, that adds to the matchup nightmare for the opposing offensive line. With Hughes and Davis on the end rushing the quarterbacks, the DBs will be able to make plays on the ball for the turnovers.

2. Saskatchewan Roughriders

Ed Gainey’s ball-hawking abilities helped him lead the CFL with 10 interceptions this season (Arthur Ward/CFL.ca)

Strengths

The Roughriders don’t rank all that well in terms of yards allowed or sacks/pressures, or even turnovers, but the Riders don’t allow a lot of points with all that being said. They are in the middle of the pack in many stats but it is that consistency across the board that has them ranked the second highest. In the back part of the season, the Riders’ run defence has improved while allowing barely more than 20 points per game for tops of the playoffs teams in the final third of the season.

Weaknesses

The three-man front hasn’t allowed for the Riders to chase down the quarterback and at times, they’ve allowed the quarterback to sit back and pick apart the secondary. If Chris Jones starts dialing up blitzes in the playoffs, it could pay off on the back end with a few more turnovers. Those dropped off in the back half of the season, despite the Riders ranking third in the category over the entire regular season.

3 to Watch

Despite the three-man rush, Willie Jefferson is the league leader in quarterback pressures and can also be seen knocking down passes as well as creating bad throws because of his presence. Ed Gainey led the league with 10 interceptions and had a few others fall out of his hands. Gainey will be looking to make his mark in the playoffs. Henoc Muamba has been vital in the team’s improved run defence but has also dropped back to pick off passes, knock passes down and be a solid middle man in Saskatchewan.

3. Toronto Argonauts

The Argos are hoping to have dynamic linebacker Marcus Ball back in time for the Eastern Final (Johany Jutras/Argonauts.ca)

Strengths

Toronto’s run defence was the best in the regular season, which could pay off in the playoffs when stopping the run can be of most importance. The Argonauts were also tied for the league lead in sacks so they definitely can get after the quarterback with a dynamic duo off the edge as well as a decent push from their defensive tackles.

Weaknesses

You’d think with the defensive line pass rush, you’d see more turnovers from this group. But they’ve left a lot out there and the more time they’re on the field, the more yards they’ve given up this season and in the final third, they gave up the most points of any playoff team with nearly 26 points allowed per game.

3 to Watch

Victor Butler led the team is sacks but with Shawn Lemon back on the other side, they are going to get around the quarterback. With Cleyon Laing and Dylan Wynn in the interior of that defensive line it gets even more dangerous for the opposition. Marcus Ball could be ready to return for the Argonauts in the Eastern Final and he was doing everything, everywhere before his injury.

4. Edmonton Eskimos

SAM linebacker Kenny Ladler has been all over the field this year for the Eskimos (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Strengths

I’ll be honest, the Eskimos’ final third of the season was up there with Calgary and Saskatchewan so they are getting red hot and could have easily been placed in front of Toronto on the list. Their big improvement of late has been run defence — the worst overall among the playoff teams in the regular season but second-best in the final third of the year. They’ve been one of the top in terms of sacks and pressures as well this season.

Weaknesses

You certainly would like to see more turnovers from this group. They did have a five-turnover game a few weeks ago, which was actually the game that started their five-game win streak to head into the playoffs.

3 to Watch

Almondo Sewell is going to have to walk the walk after talking the talk this week, but Sewell is more than up to the challenge. He’ll be pressed to disrupt the middle and stuff the run. Kenny Ladler has been seen pressuring the quarterback, knocking down a team-leading 10 passes, leading the team in interceptions, fumble recoveries and getting into the backfield with seven tackles for loss. Aaron Grymes is back and while he hasn’t picked one off yet, he has stabilized the secondary and will no doubt make a play this post-season.

5. Ottawa REDBLACKS

Antoine Pruneau was the lone REDBLACKS defender to earn all-star nods for the East (The Canadian Press)

Strengths

The stat where the REDBLACKS shine is run defence. They were consistent all year long and have been able to force teams into plenty of second-and-long situations due to that stout run defence.

Weaknesses

The REDBLACKS do not rate well compared to their playoff rivals in many of the other important categories. They’ve started to allow a lot of yards and points while they haven’t been able to create turnovers. Ottawa also hasn’t been able to create much pressure this season. The REDBLACKS only created seven turnovers in the final six games of the season and created pressure on the quarterback less than five times per game. Too much time for Kevin Glenn means they won’t have to worry about giving that time to Ricky Ray.

3 to Watch

Antoine Pruneau is always lurking at safety. Pruneau has made some great plays on the ball to lead the team with four interceptions and they’ll need him to make receivers think twice coming over the middle. Taylor Reed makes a bunch of tackles but Reed is needed to start creating plays for the defence. Avery Ellis has been the team’s best pass rusher and he’s another player that ‘good enough’ won’t get it done. Ellis needs to be great as he’s another one that can help create the turnovers the REDBLACKS haven’t been able to force on a regular basis.

6. Winnipeg Blue Bombers

T.J. Heath and the Bombers have been the league’s most opportunistic defence this year (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)

Strengths

The Bombers’ defence is starting to crank it up. In the final six games of the season that unit led the playoff teams in both turnovers and pressuring the quarterback. They have 73 pressures and sacks in six games. That is almost 20 more than the next closest of the final six teams (Toronto). The Bombers were also among the top over the 18-game regular season in both stats as well.

Weaknesses

My goodness do the Bombers give up a lot of yards. More than 400 per game in the final six games of the season, which is the reason they’ve been losing more than the other teams heading into the post-season, outside of Calgary’s three-game losing streak. Their run defence has been lacking by giving up more than 100 yards in four of their final six games. If Edmonton gets the run game rolling, it’s going to be a long afternoon on Sunday.

3 to Watch

Tristan Okpalaugo has been tasked to up his game after Jamaal Westerman was lost for the season. He was noticeable last week of course with three sacks, but they’ll need more of the same if the Bombers are going to advance. T.J. Heath and Chris Randle have five interceptions this season to tie for the team lead in picks. They’ll have a tough task shutting down the talent of the Eskimos this week and will need to disrupt Mike Reilly. Jovan Santos-Knox has been the team’s best defensive player of late and could really become a household name across the CFL if he keeps it up into the playoffs.