Friday Round-Up

It's been an eventful week in the CFL so we will take a break from Expansion Draft Team previews to get caught up on all that's been going on. I'll be back on Monday with the 7th Annual Rider Prophet Awards and then Tuesday through Friday we will resume Expansion Draft previews with a look at the East Division.

If you havent already done so make sure to cast your vote in the Fans Choice Douche Bag of the Year. Jon Cornish currently leads Ed Hervey by a wide margin. Will Cornish become the first to repeat the dubious title? Only you will decide.

On to the goings on in the League...

Riders announced 4 contract extensions. Getzlaf, Bagg and Picard through 2015 and Labatte through 2016. Always great to lock up top end Canadian talent. Getz and Labatte are no brainers. Picard is likely a sign that we will be protecting him and letting Ottawa take Foley. As for Bagg, there is talk that his deal was one that would make him unattractive to Ottawa to discourage taking him.  (i.e. big signing bonus due Dec 17 that we ultimately renegotiate). Of course no team would ever stoop to such dubious tactics right?

Coaching Moves
- Winnipeg hired Mike O'Shea as their new HC
- Tim Burke signed on as the new DC in Toronto
- Rick Campbell will be the first HC of the REDBLACKS!!
- All signs point to Jim Popp staying on as MOntreal's HC
- BC parted ways with OC Jacques Chapdelaine. They are interested in LaPolice and Cortez as possible replacements (Montreal has also been in contact with LaPo about an OC job)
- Nothing official but all signs point to Craig Dickenson going to Edmonton (ST), Khari Jones to Winnipeg(OC) and Marc Nelson to Ottawa(DC).

There was rumors briefly that Danny Maciocia was in contention for the Ottawa and that would have just been fantastic... for everyone but Ottawa. His inept team management and creepy QB man crushes would have been awesome. He is dearly missed... by everyone but Edmonton.

NFL Watch
- Minnesota Vikings worked out the following players: Alex Hall, Nick Moore, Dontrell Inman, Ted Laurent and Chris Matthews
- Henoc Muamba has a workout shceduled with the Denver Broncos and a few other unnamed teams
- Biggest news was Weston Dressler having workouts scheduled with multiple unnamed teams.

With Dressler, its no surprise he's getting workouts but it remains to be seen if that will turn into a contract offer. The main issue with Dressler from an NFL perspective is that he is pretty old for a team to take a chance on given that he hasn't played four down ball since college. He may get an offer but he will have to evaluate the seriousness if he's just gonna be training camp fodder he's better off the re-sign here. If someone if willing to give him a serious shot then he should take it. I wish him the best but deep down selfishly hope nothing materializes (be honest, you are too). 

Expansion Draft: Edmonton Eskimos

We round up our look at the West Division teams at the bottom of the barrel with the Eskimos. Despite their record the Esks are devoid of talent so there will be some decent choices coming here.

Round 1: Imports

Players likely to be protected: Mike Reilly, Fred Stamps, Adarius Bowman, Odell Willis, Rennie Curran, Aaron Grymes, TJ Hill, Marcus Howard, Almondo Sewell, Chris Thompson, JC Sherritt.

Notes:

-       Hugh Charles, Joe Burnett and Damaso Munoz might normally be on the protected list but are potential FAs

Who Will Ottawa Take?

A case could be made for taking Marcus Henry but I think Ottawa will opt for defense instead and take Eric Samuels. I could see Edmonton opting to protect the younger Samuels and let either Thompson or Hill walk, in which case Ottawa would take that person.

Round 2: Canadians

Players likely to be protected: Donovan Alexander, Shamawd Chambers, Matt O’Donnell, Don Oramasionwu, Simeon Rottier, Alex Krausnick-Groh

Notes:

-       Knowing Hervey’s ego I could see him not protecting Rottier out of spite and ensure “he never plays another game for us again”. Not a wise move but Hervey hasn’t exactly extoled the virtue of wisdom in his tenure.

-       Ted Laurent would normally be protected but he is an FA and probably NFL bound

Who Will Ottawa Take?

Honestly can’t see Edmonton protecting 2 receivers so leaves Nate Coehoorn open and the obvious choice for Ottawa.

Round 3: Canadians

Players likely to be protected: Eddie Steele, Grant Shaw, Justin Cappicciotti, Brian Ramsay, Ryan Hinds, Calvin McCarty

EDIT: I have since been informed that I overlooked the portion of the rules that says kickers can only be taken in Round 2. Oops my bad. So the part about protecting Shaw and losing O'Neil is incorrect. Ottawa could still take Hinse,
 

Who Will Ottawa Take?

As inconsistent as he was this year, I think Ottawa needs to take a flyer on the hobo-kicker aka Hugh O’Neil. They will need a kicker and other Canadian options from the Esks are weak at this point. The nice bonus is that the endangered birds living in O’Neil’s beard will qualify the REDBLACKS! for a special tax break.Other option here would be Gord Hinse
 

Expansion Draft: Calgary Stampeders

Any talk surrounding the Stamps and this draft centres around QBs. Simply put, Calgary has 3 QBs that could start and can only protect one. Seems logical that Ottawa would take advantage of that. The only thing that I think should make Ottawa think twice about that is the fact that the Stamps also have an abundance at another key position… kicker. Stamps can only protect Paredes which in theory would leave Maver open but if Ottawa takes a QB then they can’t take a kicker. Obviously it’s more important to get a QB than a kicker but if Ottawa was confident it could address that through free agency and drafting another QB then maybe a young kicker would be worth going for. I bet they go QB but its definitely not a no brainer.

Round 1: Imports

Players likely to be protected: Bo Levi Mitchell, Stanley Bryant, Shawn Lemon, Keon Raymond, Brandon Smith, Larry Taylor, Joe West, Charleston Hughes, Jeff Fuller, Edwin Harrison, Deon Mayo.

Notes:

-       Maurice Price, Cordarro Law, Malik Jackson, Juwan Simpson and Fred Bennett might normally be on the protected list but are potential FAs

-       Uncertainty surrounding recovery from knee injuries keep Micah Johnson and Marquay McDaniel off the list

-       As crazy as it seems, based on where he is in his career and his recent injury, I bet the Stamps leave Lewis unprotected and roll the dice on him not being taken.

Who Will Ottawa Take?

If they weren’t going QB, they could nab a vet receiver like Lewis or McDaniel (though both have injury concerns) but with Collaros being an FA, Ottawa’s best chance at a starting QB comes from Calgary. Personally I think Glenn would be great selection. Guy can still play and would be perfect to bring a young team along. That said the REDBLACKS will be looking to make an impact and take riskier pick in Drew Tate. Guy is a bandaid so much though that its laughable to even call him a starter since he never does but the flashes of potential are there. Not the pick I’d make but I think it’s what Ottawa will do.

Round 2: Canadians

Players likely to be protected: Jon Cornish, Dan Federkeil, Jon Gott, Brett Jones, Eric Fraser, J’Michael Deane, Junior Turner, Brad Sinopoli

Notes:

-       Calgary gets 8 protections if Ottawa takes a QB

-       Ottawa can take a kicker from a team if they take a QB so Calgary doesn’t have to waste a protection spot on Paredes or Maver

-       Dmitri Tsoumpas and Rob Cote are potential FAs so they don’t need to be protected.

Who Will Ottawa Take?

With 8 protections and no kickers in play, the potential crop of selections is pretty weak already. Based on that I would employ a strategy that is popular in the CIS Draft: “When in doubt, draft an OL”. By default that makes the pick Spencer Wilson.

Round 3: Canadians

Players likely to be protected: Matt Walter, Ben D’Aguilar, Wilkerson DeSouza, Keenan McDougall, Justin Phillips, Corey Mace.

Who Will Ottawa Take?

By this point, if you exclude potential FAs, there will be like 2 people to pick from. So I guess Yannick Carter will be the last man standing so Carter will be Ottawa bound.

Expansion Draft: BC Lions

Next up in my team by team expansion draft analysis is the BC Lions. Now BC is in somewhat unique situation. While most teams have huge lists of potential free agents (mainly to help protect against the expansion draft), BC has just five… mainly because they gave contract extensions to a huge chunk of their team last year. Most of those where the kind of deals where the team give a higher signing bonus (which is taxed lower) to the player in exchange for a lower base salary (which is taxed higher). End result is more money in the player’s pocket and less of a cap hit. Buono is the master of these. Football accounting lesson aside, the point is BC offers a bigger selection to Ottawa than most teams due to their heavy use of cap friendly extensions and is lucky that Ottawa can only take one import.

On with the analysis…

Round 1: Imports

Players likely to be protected: Travis Lulay, Ryan Phillips, Korey Banks, Cord Parks, Adam Bighill, Solomon Elimimian, Jovan Olafioye, Eric Taylor, Emmanuel Arceneaux, Khreen Smith, Stefan Logan

Notes:

-       Nick Moore and Keron Williams would normally be on the protected list but are potential FAs

-       Ben Archibald considered retirement last offseason so odds are he may make it official this time.

Who Will Ottawa Take?

BC employs a ton of savvy vets on defense, so many that they can’t protect them all. For a new team looking to establish themselves this is a good chance for the REDBLACKS to select someone to help stabilize a new defense. Based available will be Anton McKenzie, Lin-J Shell or Dante Marsh. I would opt for Shell if it were me but any would be a decent option.

Round 2: Canadians

Players likely to be protected: Andrew Harris, Shawn Gore, Matt Norman, Jabar Westerman, SJ Haidara, Kirby Fabien

Notes:

-       Dean Valli has already said he would rather retire than go to Ottawa

-       BC has a tough decision with their 6^th protection. Kirby Fabien is a young promising OL but coming off a serious knee injury. McCallum turns 75 this year but is all they have at kicker and is still getting it done at a high level. It’s a risk to leave either unprotected but Buono will play it safe with his young OL and risk Ottawa wanting a senior citizen no-chinned kicker.

Who Will Ottawa Take?

Would be tempting to give McCallum a 2^nd stint in Ottawa as a solid kicker who can do both jobs is valuable but I think age will be the deciding factor in opting for other options. Couple directions they could here. Market for OL is thin so they may complete the circle and bring Kabongo back to Ottawa (who first drafted him) but if it were me I would take someone with a higher ceiling (not glorified oversized pylon). A receiver like Marco Ianuzzi or a defender like Jason Aragki would be better choices in my opinion. I’d take Ianuzzi

Round 3: Canadians

Players likely to be protected: Paul McCallum, Rolly Lumbala, Jason Aragki, JR LaRose, Patrick Kabongo, Matt Albright

Who Will Ottawa Take?

Scraping the bottom of the barrel here for Ottawa but Jermaine Reid would be a decent value pick here. Veteran DL who can play inside.