Mark Taylor/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Have we all sufficiently recovered from the Grey Cup yet? No? Well take a minute, breath; re-watch the Cassius Vaughn fumble return touchdown one more time because we are entering that glorious a time of year that is often more exciting than the regular season.
That’s right, it’s the off-season, where coaches get fired and all-stars switch allegiances as everyone is constantly updating team rosters. As I was super strident with my “Calgary is going to win the Grey Cup” prediction, I am not going to give out any proclamations about what I expect to happen between now and the Draft. Instead, here are eight things I would love to see happen:
1. James Franklin is traded to Montreal.
The James Franklin talk has already started as the off-season gets under way (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
I am not going to spend much time on this one as it is a cottage industry for CFL writers (myself included) to speculate about Franklin’s future. Every time I have seen Franklin step in for an injured Mike Reilly, he has looked the part of a starting quarterback. He’s 26 years old, his contract is up in February and, I hate to say it, but we all know that Darian Durant at 35 is not the long-term solution to Montreal’s offensive woes.
The Alouettes have been looking for years to find the next Anthony Calvillo, and while there are no guarantees when it comes to the quarterback position, Franklin represents the team’s best chance at regaining stability at the most important position in the game. There are many reasons why we’ve seen Montreal switch coaches five times since 2013 but the main one is not having a top level passer.
2. Wally Buono, Khari Jones and a team of quarterback whisperers work around the clock to fix whatever ails Jonathon Jennings.
Key to the Lions moving forward will be whether Jonathon Jennings can return to his 2016 form (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
Was it his Week 4 injury to his throwing shoulder? Was it another mysterious injury that we don’t know about? Did the rest of the league simply figure out all his tendencies and he couldn’t adjust? I have no earthly explanation for the fall of Jennings but damn it I want it fixed for 2018.
We were all waiting to see what was next for Jennings after throwing for over 5,200 yards and accounting for 31 touchdowns. This year he seemed off as he threw for more interceptions (19) than touchdowns (16). He had plenty of weapons at the skill position but his offensive line was last in pass protection, giving up 49 sacks.
I’ve written about it in the past: The biggest disappointment of the 2017 season was the fall of Jennings. With Jeremiah Johnson, Chris Rainey, Chris Williams and Bryan Burnham all signed through next year, there are high hopes we see a return to form for Jennings.
3. Saskatchewan re-signs Brandon Bridge and Coach Chris Jones announces Bridge is the team’s #1 quarterback going into training camp.
Despite a strong 2017 season, Brandon Bridge remains without a contract beyond Feb. 13 (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
All right, I admit, I’m getting a little pushy with this one, but don’t we all want to see what Bridge would look like with an entire off-season and training camp as the Roughriders’ alpha dog? They already have one of the better security blankets in Kevin Glenn, who is under contract for next year, so the coaching staff has an excellent Plan B if it doesn’t work out.
Bridge has shown enough flashes to be given an opportunity and just imagine, if it works out, what it will mean for Chris Jones’ resume if he becomes the guy to develop the first starting Canadian quarterback since Pierre Trudeau was in his second year as Prime Minister? Coaches crave that sort of attention and what coach doesn’t like hearing the “genius” mantle thrown around their name?
Oh, while I’m here, if you’re going to give Bridge the best chance to succeed, you may want to go on ahead and re-sign Duron Carter.
4. The REDBLACKS get some legitimate defensive help.
Rookie halfback Sherrod Baltimore led a new-look REDBLACKS secondary in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
2017 saw the team bring in DB A.J Jefferson and LB Khalil Bass to help shore up their defence, and neither survived the season. Yes, Trevor Harris missed three games and came up short in Ottawa’s playoff loss to Saskatchewan, but he still put up big numbers and deserves to be re-signed.
A far more pressing need is a secondary that allowed 316 yards per game, gave up 29 touchdowns through the air while picking off a measly 11 passes. Ottawa should rebound in 2018 as the REDBLACKS went 1-7-1 in games decided by four or fewer points and finished the year 7-3 over the final 10 games.
There is a lot to like about the REDBLACKS if they can find some veteran help for the back end of the defence.
5. Zach Collaros is traded to Toronto.
The status of Zach Collaros will be a trending topic all off-season as the Ticats’ QB spot is up in the air (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Jeremiah Masoli may be an unorthodox-looking quarterback, but there is no denying the success the Hamilton Tiger-Cats had as soon as June Jones installed Masoli as the full-time starter. The offensive numbers got better across the board as Hamilton rebounded from a winless start to win six of its final 10 games.
Collaros gets to rejuvenate his career with Marc Trestman either next year or in 2019 when cyborg-Ricky Ray retires. Also, the CFL is better off when either the Hamilton or Toronto fan base is super angry at the other one. A reborn Collaros in Toronto would drive Hamilton fans nuts.
6. Edmonton brings in the cast of ‘ER’, ‘House’, ‘M*A*S*H’ and Doogie Howser to monitor the team 24 hours a day.
Despite injuries, Jason Maas had his Eskimos within a touchdown of appearing in the 105th Grey Cup (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Hey Brock Sunderland, why stop there? Bring in Doctor Who for all I care, just find a way to keep this team healthy. It is a bleeping miracle that the Eskimos, despite having 54 different players start at least one game as they lost a whopping 346 man-games, still won 13 games. If healthy, Edmonton should be the odds-on favourite to win the West next year.
Oh, while we are on this theme, can someone call up Doctor Frasier Crane to get Jason Maas to just admit he made a mistake with that field goal call? It’s okay Jason, we all make mistakes.
7. The Calgary Stampeders do nothing more than bring back all their important pieces.
Despite back-to-back Grey Cup losses, Dave Dickenson’s club should hope for a quiet off-season (Alex D’Addese/CFL.ca)
I have no doubt John Hufnagel will have a successful off-season; the Stampeders always do. I’m just hoping the team doesn’t overreact to back-to-back Grey Cup disappointments. They are a couple plays away from Bo Levi Mitchell and company having three Championships in the past five seasons.
I want to see this same group come back for at least one more chance to distance themselves from the playoff choke tag and to show the world they are the best team in the league no matter when the game is played.
8. Winnipeg has to shake things up on the defensive side of the ball.
While the Bomber defence ranked at the top of the league in takeaways, yards and points were a different matter (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
I will not be calling for Defensive Coordinator Richie Hall to be fired; I rarely dabble in the sabre rattling of FIRE THE COACH. But a reckoning of some sort is needed. Yes, generating turnovers is critical and few teams have been better at taking the ball away like the Blue Bombers’ defence. However, only Hamilton and Montreal allowed more offensive points and touchdowns than Winnipeg.
Watching your team pick off opposing quarterbacks 25 times is super fun but what isn’t so hot is seeing that same defence give up more than 7,000 yards and sabotage the great work of Matt Nichols and Andrew Harris.
