OttawaREDBLACKS.com/Argonauts.com/BCLions.com
TORONTO — The holiday season is here, and in just a few short days, Christmas will be upon us. So that begs the question: With the Canadian Football League off-season in full swing, what does each team need for Christmas?
Some will have a list of items that they’d like Santa to leave under the tree for them to open on the morning of Dec. 25. Others, on the other hand, are in need of more presents than others.
Specifically, the BC Lions, Ottawa REDBLACKS and Toronto Argonauts are trying to fill some holes in order to avoid missing the playoffs in 2020 after being on the outside looking in this past year.
On the latest episode of The Waggle presented by Sport Clips, Davis Sanchez and Donnovan Bennett spoke to CFL.ca’s Don Landry to dole out gifts to each squad.
Episode 191: The annual holiday show with gifts for each team!
EPISODE OVERVIEW: We quickly touch on the most recent coaching moves before bringing in Don Landry to help us think of gifts for every CFL team!
EPISODE RUNDOWN: Dinwiddie takes over in Toronto (3:00); Chamblin out (7:00); Milanovich returns in Edmonton (9:00); Walters/O’Shea extensions (11:30); Don Landry has a gift for every team (14:00).
“I want to give them an accountant,” Bennett said of the REDBLACKS heading into free agency. “I don’t understand how you lose so much talent in free agency with big-money players leaving and you don’t fill any of those voids. Whether it was Trevor Harris or SirVincent Rogers or Greg Ellingson or William Powell, I expected them to lose but still end up being net neutral and spend a lot of money, and that didn’t happen. Now, they ended up losing games because of it.
“So I want to give Desjardins and LaPolice an accountant so they know exactly where the CFL salary cap is at and that they can be aggressive in free agency.”
It was a dismal year in the nation’s capital. It started off by losing several of their key offensive players, the biggest of which was star pivot Trevor Harris. He opted to depart and join Jason Maas in Edmonton, and he managed to get star pass-catcher Greg Ellingson to join him. Additionally, running back William Powell departed for Saskatchewan and had his third consecutive 1,000-plus yard rushing campaign. The team wasn’t able to bring in big-name talents to replace those individuals, leaving them at a disadvantage heading into a new season.
Despite all the off-season turmoil, the team came out of the gates hot in 2019. The REDBLACKS opened the season 2-0, with those victories coming against the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders — the eventual No. 1 and 2 seeds in the West Division playoffs.
However, it was just downhill from there. They’d lose 15 of their final 16 games of the year and finish with a league-worst 3-15 record. Following the year, the team decided to part ways with longtime head coach Rick Campbell.
With a new season comes the second head coach in history, and that man is Paul LaPolice. The talented offensive mind will be giving head coaching a second try after an inaugural run with Winnipeg.
Among the biggest issues for Ottawa last season was the lack of a star pivot. While there aren’t any names that stack up to the top of last year’s class, there are still quality pivots available. LaPolice will almost surely be aggressive when it comes to landing a star signal-caller to lead the REDBLACKS.
“I look at this situation the way I’d look at giving the gift of music to my teenage niece,” Landry said of the REDBLACKS heading into free agency. “I should never go out and buy an album for my teenage niece. I would just get her a gift card so that she could go out and buy whatever album she wants or download whatever music she wants.
“So for the REDBLACKS, (I’d give) a QB gift card so that Paul LaPolice and Marcel Desjardins can go out and get the quarterback that best fits them and suits them.”
Not too far ahead of them in the standings were the Toronto Argonauts, who finished with their second consecutive 4-14 campaign in 2019.
General manager Jim Popp was relieved of his duties mid-season and Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons was brought in as his successor.
After Clemons did a long overview of the organization, the Argos ultimately made the decision to part ways with head coach Corey Chamblin. Now, Ryan Dinwiddie is at the helm of the team, and the former Calgary QB coach will also be trying to groom a new starting quarterback.
There are a lot of holes to fill roster wise, however, the guys believe that the one thing they need is a new identity.
“Stability is the thing that comes to mind,” Landry said. “It’s an overarching and kind of generic gift but I think that’s what they need most and what Pinball Clemons has decided they need.”
“I had something similar written down; I wrote ‘a culture.’ And I think that’s both on the field and off the field,” Bennett added. “You talked about energy and that’s something that has been lacking since the move to BMO (Field).
“If I had to give them something else, maybe a student card. I’d love to see in terms of seeing tickets, maybe a discounted rate or maybe a section for students so maybe the fanbase continues to grow but also a bit younger.”
Finally, the BC Lions are also going through an off-season where they’ll be aiming to bounce back after a season that came up well short of expectations.
After splurging for star quarterback Mike Reilly in free agency, the team looked to be on the rise. However, a 1-10 start to the campaign quelled the hype.
The biggest issue surrounding the 2019 Lions was the offensive line. Through the first 10 games of the year, they allowed 43 sacks — unsurprisingly a league-high. That forced the team to relieve offensive line coach Bryan Chiu of his duties. Under Kelly Bates, the Leos did improve in that department, however, the goal will be to make sure that Reilly is sufficiently protected.
B.C. Lions quarterback Mike Reilly runs the ball during first half CFL football action against the Toronto Argonauts. (The Canadian Press)
Among all starting quarterbacks from Week 1, Reilly was the man who remained healthy the longest — remarkable when you consider how many times he was taken down. However, his season would end with him on the injured list, as he’d suffer a broken wrist in Week 18 that would require surgery.
“I’m getting them tickets to go see the new Star Wars movie ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ so they can go in there and learn any kind and all kinds of Jedi mind tricks to provide Mike Reilly with the force field and protection that he deserves,” Landry said. “Whatever it takes to keep Mike (upright) — It was amazing that he got through as much of last season as he did. So they need to protect Mike so he can do his thing and they can be more successful.”
All three teams are looking ahead to February, but hopefully, they do enjoy the holidays and what they find under their respective trees.
