Monday Morning Sentimonies: Marketing

I am of course primarily a Rider fan but I love the CFL as a whole. So I find it great to see other teams doing such awesome things. Ottawa is doing the Behind the R series which is giving an incredible view behind the scenes (much watch if you haven't checked it out). Edmonton ran a promotion for $99 season tickets targeting families. BC has a family zone with $10 tickets and $85 for the season and is starting to hype a big party for the season opener. The more each time succeeds, the more the league succeeds and I think that is great.

It got me thinking about what the Riders are doing from a marketing perspective to keep pace with their competitors and attract new interest and fans. The answer is unfortunately nothing.

As is too often the case in Riderville since 2007, the Riders are resting on their laurels and adopting a “if you build it, they will come” approach. Take a look at what percentage of games have sold out since the new stadium opened and you’ll see how well that approach is working. I would describe it the way Chris Jones describes Darian Durant… moderately successful. Sure we are doing above average in terms of CFL teams but we have sold out 2 games in the past 2 seasons… seasons that featured us fishing 1^st and 2^nd and earning home playoff games. And that’s “announced” sellouts by the team. Actual butts in the seats are always much less that what ticket sales are.

So if moderately successful is what you want then by all means, continue resting on your laurels. But the fan base is not getting younger so at some point it will become a big enough problem to matter financially. Do you want to be proactive about that? Or wait until its too late?

Here are my thoughts on what the Riders should be doing to help market the team.

 Hook The Kids

Any moderately useful marketer knows the power of a child nagging their parents. To grow the next generation of football fans you gotta get them hooked at a young age. Its clear that the new leadership in BC and Edmonton have clued into this. But as it stands the Riders don’t seem to care. Its expensive to go to games. Its expensive to feed them even the lowest grade popcorn and hotdogs. Also, how prominent are kids during the in game entertainment? Not very. Go to a Regina Pats game and they get it. Every break kids are plastered on the jumbotron. That is crack to a child. My son has been coming to games with me since the new stadium opened. You know how often in that time the cameras or prize giveaways have come to the second deck in that time? Once. It used to be a regular thing in the old stadium but now the Riders rest on their laurels and put in minimal effort. And given the high price of seats, where do lots of non-season ticket holding kids sit? The second deck. Make kids (all kids) the focal point of the game day experience and it will pay dividends both in long term fans and short term ticket/food sales. My kid would damn near pay for a chance to dance on the Jumbotron. 

Also don’t limit it to game day. If you are from Regina you know the massive success of Flag football. The spring league is one of the biggest on the continent. You know what all those kids are walking around wearing as living billboards? NFL logos.  Guarantee most kids could name more NFL teams/players than CFL ones. The CFL used to sponsor fall flag and my kids used to have CFL gear to wear around. But they pulled out of that a few years back for reasons I don’t understand.

Affordability

This is tied to getting kids/families in the stadium. Its bloody expensive to go to a game. To get into a game is $60-100 easy and that only gets you the right to buy insanely expensive booze and food.  Any time you don’t sell out it’s a wasted opportunity (and as mentioned, we are not selling out). Much like other teams are doing we need a set of really cheap tickets (like $10) to get people in the door. We also need a value menu. I’m totally cool with high priced options (I mean occasionally a guy just wants a 2 foot hotdog) but have a small value menu: $1 pop, $2 popcorn, $3 hotdog $5 draft beer. Not only will this make the games more affordable for new fans, it would also suck more money out of existing guys like me. Most games I spend $0 on food (mostly out of principle). Give me a value menu and you would bleed my dry toonies at a time.

Market your stars

I want you to honestly think about which Rider players have been the most hyped. Its Dan Clark and Jon Ryan. Now I get the hometown connection but can you imagine an NFL team with their centre and punter as the most hyped guys? 

Who should we be hyping? Obviously Fajardo. Dude is not only the face of the franchise he’s immensely likeable. When “Sprinkles of Jesus” became a thing it wasn’t the Riders who seized on the marketing gold, it was a local podcast, Piffle Podcast, that made shirts for charity. Guys like Leonard, Shaq, Moore, Duke, Moncrief their faces should be plastered around. These are the playmakers that people will notice when they come to the game. Whatever happened to Fantuz Flakes, All-Dressler chips, or the infamous Dressler teaser-pleaser Humpty's commercial… hell look at how iconic the Jurasin bandana was (the fact that I can’t buy one today at the Rider store boggles my mind).

Yet we have spent too much of our efforts hyping the likes of a fullback called the Canuck Truck, 4^th string receiver Jason Clermont in addition to the aforementioned mediocre punter and moderate liability of a centre.  

Not going to go too far down this rabbit hole but you have to admit that for a sport that is predominately played by African Americans, we sure give a disproportionate amount of marketing attention to white players in Saskatchewan.

 So there you have it. What are your ideas for the Riders to better market themselves?

Monday Morning Sentimonies: What If?

With a bit of a lull in terms of CFL news with free agency activity slowing down, I thought I’d take the chance to do something different.

I’m a big Marvel fan. Recently they did a series call What If? where they explore alternate universes based on one key event going different than it did originally. I realize that heartbreak isn’t exclusive to the Riders but there is healthy dose of it in our history. The plane crash of the 50s, 1975 and 2009, just to name a few. So the concept of What If? Just fits so well with the Riders.

Today will look at 5 such scenarios and the alternate universes that are out there. (I'm leaving out 2009 intentionally. A) its almost too obvious and B) I still like to repress pretty much every memory of that season) 

What if Paul McCallum makes the kick?

The year is 2005. Henry Burris is playing arguably his best game ever in green and white. The Riders have pushed the heavily favoured BC Lions to overtime. McCallum is lining up for an 18 yard FG. Of course we know he tragically missed. But What If he made it?

There is an alternate universe out there where McCallum makes the kick and we win the game. We go on to defeat the Argos in the Grey Cup, snapping the drought at a measly 15 years. Not only does McCallum go on to unquestionably surpass Ridgeway as the greatest kicker in franchise history but he also remains beloved by all and manure stays in its rightful place. But in this universe, McCallum isn’t the only one with a drastically different fate. In this universe, Henry Burris is revered as a Rider legend and one of the most beloved heroes in franchise history.

What if Kevin Glenn doesn’t break his arm?

I firmly believe the Riders still win the ’07 Grey Cup even if Kevin Glenn plays (just in a very different manner). But I will readily admit that the Bombers’ chance of winning would have gone from negligible with Dinwiddie at the helm, to very possible with Glenn. So what if Kevin Glenn played?

There is an alternate universe where the Bombers (and not the Riders) end their streak of no cups in 2007. Kevin Glenn (with a Grey cup ring and Grey Cup MVP to his name) is regarded among the best QBs ever in the CFL and his candidacy for the Hall of Fame is not in question. In this universe, Milt Stegal even knows what a Grey Cup ring is. In this universe, it’s the Riders who wallow another decade plus before winning another Grey Cup.

What if Marcus Crandell’s hamstring holds up?

The year is 2008. Fresh off winning MOP, Kerry Joseph has been shipped to Toronto and Marcus Crandell is set to lead the Riders' bid for a repeat. His hamstring lasted about 47 seconds into game 2 and it eventually led to Darian Durant’s debut in the CFL. That would be the springboard to a long successful career for Durant (or moderately successful by Chris Jones standards). But what if Crandall had finished that game.

There is an alternate universe where Darian Durant never plays in 2008 and returns to the US to find a non-football career following the end of a season where he watches Crandall and Jyles get reps ahead of him (that is a form of torture so harsh that its outlawed by international law). Crandall guides the Riders to a forgettable 9-9 record and loss in the Division finals. The only upside to this universe is that Michael Bishop never becomes a Rider.

What if the play that never happened, never happened?

The year is 2014. The Riders are defending champions and sit at 7-2 heading into Banjo Bowl and are once again the best team in the CFL. On a play that never officially happened, a Winnipeg D-lineman blew passed a useless Dan Clark (he was an absolute trainwreck as a guard, moving to centre saved his career) and hit Darian Durant, snapping a tendon in his elbow. The Riders would go on to win just 3 of the remaining 9 games and lost to Edmonton in a game where Kerry Joseph was determined to set an all time record for interceptions thrown. But what if Durant didn’t get injured?

There is an alternate universe where a healthy Durant leads to Riders to continue to steamroll the league. They go on to win back to back Grey Cups. In this universe, Durant is unquestionably one of the greatest Riders ever. In this universe, Chris Jones even upgrades his assessment to “fairly” successful. But it’s not just Durant’s fate who has wildly alternated by the play that never happened. In this universe, Cory Chamblin (as the only 2 time Grey in franchise history) doesn’t have his famous 2015 collapse and has a long tenure and finishes as the best coach in franchise history.

What if Simoni Lawrence played by the rules?

The year is 2019. With one vicious head tackle, Simoni Lawrence sets in motion a series of events that saves a wallowing franchise and launches a career (it also may be indirectly responsible for a global pandemic but I digress). His headshot on Zach Collaros ended the QBs’ time with the Riders and made way for Cody Fajardo to become the franchise QB in Riderville. It also led to Zach Collaros being traded to Toronto and eventually Winnipeg and winning back to back Grey Cups. But what if Simoni was a cheap shotting douchebag?

There is an alternate universe where Cody Fajardo is a mildly successful insurance salesman in the States who is no more than a footnote on the CFL history books. Zach Collaros leads the Riders (not the Bombers) to a Grey Cup win in 2019. In this universe, Simoni Lawrence is the world’s nicest guy. The Bombers still haven’t won a Grey Cup and everyone outside of Manitoba is generally very happy about life.

Do you have any "What Ifs?" to add to the list?

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Free Agency So Far

When it comes to free agency there is only one of 2 reactions that ever occur in Riderville. Either we start planning the parade route based on how many great signings we have made or we question the competency of the GM for not doing anything and assume the sky is falling. That’s it. There is no in between. This year we are leaning to the latter.

Before I get into my thoughts on how the Riders have fared so far in free agency let me just point out that if your team is super active in free agency it probably means you were terrible last year (i.e. Ottawa and BC). Good teams, by their nature have less holes to fill and need to be less active. So if you are measuring success by the number of signings, you are in for a disappointment down the road. Many years the Bombers “won” free agency only for their season to end in disappointment. More recently they have opted for stability, similar to Hufnagel’s approach in Calgary and they are winning. (Side note it seems that Toronto likes Hufnagel’s approach so much that they also have adopted a policy of signing only Stampeder players).

Those expecting big Rider news this week have clearly been underwhelmed. O’Day opened with 2 massive signings Tuesday. Signed a receiver we are likely to cut in camp on Wednesday and actually cut a player Thursday. But you have to look at the whole of O’Day’s work, not just what he did this week.

Wisely deciding that continuity was important for a team that as been to back to back West Finals, O’Day did the bulk of his work in December. He locked up Ferland and the white Johnson (a young interior that should continue to improve). He kept Terran Vaughn, who when healthy is a legit starting tackle. He kept Shaq, Moore and Duke, along with McInnis and Picton. He made sure that AC Leonard stayed in the fold coming off his best season ever. He kept key Canadians in Teitz, Edem and Oneyka. He brought back Dean and Marshall. He made sure everyone’s favourite kicker stayed in Green and White. He kept a strong core in tact and as a result didn’t have to be super busy come free agency.

Bringing back Derrick Moncrief is massive. He’s one of my favourite players in recent years. He locks down one of the toughest positions on defense. As a reminder, last year that spot was an ever changing roulette wheel that included Hendy, Oneyka, Dearborn and Bouka. The stability and excellence that Moncrief brings will be a huge plus. Given that we re-signed Dean I was surprised to see us target Darnell Sankey. Makes me think that a) Dean came relatively cheap and b) he may not be ready for week 1. Never a bad thing to add the league leader in tackles to secure the middle. Sankey is a playmaker. Think back to last year when we were looking to replace Judge/Elimimian/Moncrief and the only experience LB we had (Dean) blew his achilles. We are miles ahead of that and LBs will be a strength for us this season.

But I’m not going to blow smoke up your ass (odd expression by the way) and say that the Riders have improved as a team. I would say, at best we have maintained.

Offensively, a full season a Duke is certainly a plus. I have zero concerns with Morrow if he’s our starting RB. Vaughn helps the OL but there are still concerns there. Yes we added Na’ty Rodgers but he comes from Ottawa… the only team to allow more sacks than the Riders last season. So our O-line is still the big question mark. We also have no proven depth at QB… though honestly its not like Mason Fine is much of a difference from entering 2021 with Harker. So based solely on Duke, I’ll say the offense is slightly improved from 2021.

Defensively though it’s a different story. As mentioned our LBs are stacked and will be solid. But we lost a ton in the other positions and didn’t add any replacements. Along the line we lost Micah, Henry and Woodard and have signed zero replacements. AC is a stud and I like the potential of Marino, Robertson and Lanier in year 2 but at this point I would have to say our line is a downgrade from last season. Not doom and gloom, but a downgrade. Overall the secondary is solid with Edem, Webb, Clark and (sigh) Marshall. But we lost both Gainey and Purifoy. That’s 2 starting HBs. Webb takes the place of one of them no problem but the other? We currently have nobody else who has played HB on the roster (except Marshall but he is a trainwreck at HB). So again 4 out of 5 is pretty solid but our secondary at this point is not as good as last year. Jason Shivers showed last year that he can cobble together a solid D with whatever rag tag roster you give him so we are in good hands despite the uncertainty.

There are still some names out there in free agency that could help us. Also don’t forget that the season doesn’t start next week and we still have new recruits and the CFL draft to fill out the roster. He’s a few areas I would like to see us address.

O-line – As mentioned, tackle is still a concern. That might have to be addressed through recruiting (we did so well at that last year) as the only vet left out there is Justin Renfrow. We have also been linked to negotiations with Nolan MacMillan. I see him as a better Boyko. Primarily a guard but can play tackle in an emergency. Would be a nice depth add ideally as a back-up.

Receiver – I’m pumped about our top 4. Duke, Shaq, Moore and Schaefer-Baker. Man if Cody has any protection at all that’s a dangerous combo. But I also remember that last year I was pumped about Shaq, Moore and Williams-Lambert and 2 ended up not finishing the season and one missed significant time. My point is, depth is going to be needed. There are some intriguing names still out there that would bring great depth probably at a reasonable price. A few former Riders are out there. Ricky Collins just keeps producing everywhere he goes. Armanti Edwards and Kenny Stafford are also vet options. Possibly also DeVier Posey.

D-line – Nevis Drake is still sitting out there. Man do I want him. Some other options along the edge like Thiadric Hansen, Cordarrow Law and Chris Casher to help with the loss of Woodard. We will need to look to the draft to add some Canadian depth here.

Secondary – Most HBs have been snapped up. Jamar Wall is an intriguing name. At 34, I’m not sure if he intends to keep playing. But he is a guy who can play safety, HB and cover LB. Jeff Richards is really the only other true HB on the market. There are also a number of cornerbacks out there and for the right price they could provide great competition in camp. Guys like: Frankie Williams, Jonathan Mincy, Jonathan Rose, in that order of preference.

Defensive Canadian Depth – With 3 defensive starters last seasons, we routinely rostered 7 Canadian defenders. We currently have 11 total on the roster and that includes 5 draft picks/new recruits who have never taken a snap. Getting Lokombo on the field is a big plus and I’m a believer in Cimankinda but it would be nice to have an actual competition in camp and some depth there. Draft will be the primary way we address this but a couple vet Canadians from free agency would be nice as well.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Free Agency Week

By the time Tuesday finally gets here all the excitement about the opening of free agency might be gone. Most players have already announced the deals they totally can’t officially sign until Tuesday. It will just be a steady string of press releases making official deals that we’ve know about for days. By this point if you’re a free agent who hasn’t signed you gotta start wondering if there will be any cash left for you.

It's been a busy few days so let’s get you caught up.

Who we kept

The big news of course is that we kept Duke… and paid him handsomely. His one year, $260K contract makes him the highest paid receiver in the CFL. Honestly did not think O’Day would pay him what it would take. I’m happy he did, he just hasn’t been the type to sign these “highest paid” deals. With Duke, Shaq and Moore we have one hell of an offense brewing… assuming we find a way to actually pass block.

We kept Larry Dean. Assuming he’s healthy its an important signing as we need a strong veteran presence in the middle. We also re-signed Pete Robertson. I’m really excited to see what guys like Robertson, Woodard, Lanier and Marino can do in year 2.

Who we lost… it’s a growing list

Gainey is reuniting with Jones in Edmonton (sounds like Mak Henry too). Micah is off to Hamilton. Purifoy is getting paid to return to BC. Powell is going back to Ottawa. Jon Ryan is… well he’s just not coming back.  

Gainey is not surprising… though I felt a lot better about letting him go before Purifoy also left. I’m a big Purifoy fan so he’s a loss and his versatility is going to be tough to replace. I enjoy Micah’s 1 year here followed by 1year signing somewhere else pattern and look forward to his return in 2023. He is also a loss but we are betting on AC and the new recruits being ready to carry that line. Powell is not much of a loss. I like him but he is not a good age for an RB and should be replaceable. As for Jon Ryan, I get the sentimental aspect here but from a purely performance standpoint he was a mediocre CFL punter who was among the top paid at his position and was closing in on 40. What part of that equation says re-sign him? He is a great person and his overall football career is damn impressive but he never finished above 5^th in net punting as a Rider.  

Who we should be targeting

We have 3 primary needs and a couple less pressing ones heading into Tuesday. We still need an offensive tackle. Options are essentially limited to Rykar Matthew (please, please, please) and Justin Renfrow (still better than watching Boyko and Jefferson embarrass themselves). We need a halfback. Options there include DeShaun Amos, Richard Leonard, Nick Taylor, or Jeff Richards. Amos would be the top target. Leonard strikes me as a slightly more likely/affordable. We also need a cover LB. Moncrief, Darby, Cioffi, Unamba and Levels are all options. 

Assuming Marino stays healthy we don’t need at DT but it would be nice to add one. Steven Richardson is the top option but he should get paid so a more value option may be Drake Nevis or Woody Baron. Also we will need to add some Canadian special teamers with both Herdmans, Dearborn, Francis and Bouka still unsigned. We do get Lokombo back and there is still the draft but we are a little thin there.

Some chatter linking us to Darnell Sankey. He’s a phenomenal player but I’m sure I see him as priority in terms of spending with Dean and Teitz locked in at LB. I mean I'd take gladly take him but not the biggest area of need. 

Be interesting to see what O’Day has up his sleeves tomorrow… though in all likelihood all our signings will be leaked within 5 mins of me posting this if history is any indication.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Free Agent Shopping

The negotiation period, aka legal tampering, has started. That of course means that good old fashioned illegal tampering has been going fast and furious for months. Free agency opens on Feb 8. So let’s take a look at what is left in terms of Rider potential free agents and where O’Day might be looking.

The Riders still have a pretty extensive list of free agents but for me there’s a “Big 3” that are priorities and then there’s the rest that are less of a big deal. Originally it was a Big 4 as Brett Lauther was on the list but we locked him up which is huge. If you want a cautionary tale on assuming kickers are easily replaceable look at BC, Winnipeg and Hamilton last year. 

 My big 3 are as follows:

Louchiez Purifoy – I still don’t think he gets enough credit for how good he is. I’ll add that he is still just 29 years old. Versatile, impact defender. Keeping him would allow us to roll with a secondary of Marshall, Purifoy, Edem, Webb and J Clark. That would be pretty darn good.

Duke Williams – This is the one everyone is talking about. Duke has said he is making his decision this week (that could mean signing here, that could mean deciding to wait until Feb 8 to officially sign with another suitor). He’s an impact player, plain and simple. At no point in 2021 did we field a healthy Duke, Shaq and Moore together, that would be some firepower. I will say this though. With Evans and Moore under contract I could see O’Day getting outbid on Duke and waiting to find a more economical option in free agency. There is a ton of "name" receivers hitting the market and there's not enough money for them all to get huge contracts (Ellingson, Walker, Bailey, Lawler, Wieneke, Cunningham, Posey, Rogers, Collins) Not saying I like that but it’s a possibility.

Michah Johnson – Dude is still a beast in the middle of the DL and makes everyone around him better. Issue will be money. We didn’t want to pay him headed into 2020 so he signed with BC (remember that?). They mysteriously dumped him in favour of an all rookie D-line (how’d that work out?) and he came back here on a very reasonable contract for 2021. He likely deserves a bump in pay. Do we keep him? Or does BC try and swoop him again?

Other needs:

If I started with any other position other than OT you’d ridicule me right? Obvious to everyone that its our #1 need. Rykar Matthews tops the list of people we should be calling. Also in there would be Joel Figueroa and Justin Renfrow. Based on last season they could announce they are bringing Gene Makowsky out of retirement and I’d consider that an improvement.

Linebackers is another area of need. Other than Teitz we don’t have anything set. We need a middle linebacker where there are in house options like Larry Dean and Deon Lacey. Or free agent options like Darnell Sankey, Micah Awe, Justin Tuggle and Jovon Santo-Knox. Jameer Thurman would be a hell of an acquisition but I don’t see him leaving Calgary. We also need a cover LB and there are a number of good options there including our old friend Derrick Moncrief, Anthony Cioffi and Patrick Levels.

Should we not retain Micah, we will need help at DT. Some interesting options there are Sheldon Richardson (a very talented dude who gets overshadowed by Jefferson and Jeffcoat in Winnipeg), Dylan Wynn, David Menard and a more value option like Drake Nevis.

Not a pressing need but there will be some talented DBs hitting the market like DeShaun Amos, Jonathan Mincy, Jamar Wall, Frankie Williams and Winston Rose. Would not be opposed to adding one of them at the right price.

I also have a list of people I hope we don’t look at. It’s Andrew Harris and Brandon Banks. 

For Harris is goes far beyond the general Rider hatred of the guy. Look, we’ve managed to stomach the likes of Dwight Anderson and Diamon Ferri before, so I’m sure we’d survive after some initial griping if that was it. But Harris is on the downslope of a very impressive career. If he wasn’t, Winnipeg would have re-signed him by now. He’ll be 35 come the season and despite a full year off, only managed to be healthy enough to play in 7 games last season. If we really want an old RB we should just keep Powell. He's at least durable... and infinitely more likeable.

Banks is a similar story. He can still be an impact player in spurts but at 34 he’s clearly slowing down and his durability is in question. Not worth the money he’ll be looking for. Also, with Kyran Moore in tow, I don’t think another small quick receiver adds much to our offense. What we need is a possession receiver who can win the deep ball.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Re-signings

Like many GMs, Jeremy O’Day has been slowly chipping away at his list of pending free agents. Today we’ll take a look at what he’s done so far as well as look at other Rider news including NFL tryouts. 

NFL Watch

We know that Brayden Lenius signed with the Falcons. Happy to see him get an opportunity. He put in a lot of work to improve for 2021 and it paid off in his performance. The odds are always staked against a receiver making the NFL (not due to talent but since they don’t play special teams they need to outright win a roster spot) so we may see him again in the fall. Two other notable Rider notes in regards to the NFL. Both Jonathan Woodard and Anthony Lanier had a tryout with the NY Giants. Now one tryout likely means that odds are low they end up with a contract but certainly worth keeping an eye on. Our D-line recruiting class for 2021 was outstanding and keeping as may of those guys as possible is important. 

Re-signings So Far

AC Leonard – This was a big one. Leonard got paid with a contract reportedly in the $200k range but he deserves it. Since 2016 he has 36 sacks including 20 in the last 2 seasons. If you want some context on how good that is its more than Willie Jefferson (19), Ja’Gared Davis (19) and Jackson Jeffcoat (14). He has increased his sack total in each of his past 4 season. He’s an impact player. He’s also one of the few whacky Chris Jones experiments that panned out. Remember that Leonard was a TE until he showed up here in 2016. 

Kyran Moore, Shaq Evans – Everyone is eager to see Duke re-sign and I would certainly love that but let’s not underscore the importance of keeping these 2. Moore was leading the CFL in catches prior to his season ending injury. He was also among the leaders in missed tackles. I’m a big Kyran Moore fan and think he can be a key part of the offense. The big question with Shaq is do we get 2019 or 2021 Shaq? No guarantees but I’m willing to bet 2021 Shaq was more hampered by injury than anyone ever let on. I think he rushed back and it affected him. The thing about both these guys is that Fajardo trusts them. Keeping continuity with offensive guys who have a connection is important. 

Terran Vaughn – He was projected to start at offensive tackle but a shoulder injury ended his year in training camp. That hugely impacted our offense in 2021. A healthy Vaughn is definitely a boost to our biggest area of weakness.

Mike Edem – Edem is a reliable Canadian playmaker but I don’t think we realized his true impact until he missed the last half of the season with a wrist injury. Defense still did good and Purifoy can certainly play any position in the secondary but it just seemed to be more solid with Edem in there. Nice to have him back.

Charbel Dabire – I may be one of his biggest boosters. Have liked him since his rookie season. He’s a solid Canadian DT

Jamal Morrow – I hope with the benefit of hindsight, our coaching staff realize how wrong it was that Morrow sat on the practice roster for the first 3 games and then was inexplicably benched for 3 more games mid-season. He was far an away our best returner and made plays when given the chance. He will have a legit chance to compete for starting RB in 2022 and I’m all for it. 

Justin McInnis – Mentioned in a previous post that while Schaefer-Baker is our best Cdn WR we need depth behind him. The departure of Lenius only reinforces that need. We still have yet to see the talent that made McInnis a first round pick in 2019. Injuries were a factor in 2021. Be nice to see him do like Lenius and take a big step forward.

Jake Harty – This is the one I’m most meh on. Harty is a valued contributor on special teams and technically helps with Cdn depth at receiver but when you consider that pretty much every Cdn receiver on our roster got reps ahead of him and when he did get reps he had some notable drops I think we are at a point where his special teams play is the only reason he is here, not his offensive play. Always good to retain those “grit” Canadians that contribute on special teams but I’m neither excited nor mad about this one… as I said, just meh.

We also added a couple CFL veteran free agents in OL Na’ty Rogers and FB James Tuck. Rogers has CFL experience playing tackle so I’m very happy we are bringing players to have an actual competition there. But I’m tempering my expectations. Rogers comes from Ottawa… remember that the RedBlacks OL was one of the few that made ours look good by comparison. Willing to give him a chance but let’s not assume we’ve solved the OT issue yet.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Catching Up

With the new year upon us, GMs are hard at work trying to whittle down their list of pending free agents, which is most team’s cases represent like 90% of their team. Most of the top end talent (or those with a competent agent) will wait until free agency to see their true value. But O’Day has managed to re-sign a few. So today we will take a look at the re-signings so far as well as what’s remaining on the potential free agent list.

Most of the re-signings so far have lacked the wow factor but quietly O’Day has been working to keep our Canadian depth in place. Most people probably couldn’t name our longsnapper but that’s because he does his job so well we take Jorgen Hus for granted. Kienan LaFrance is also not a top end guy but fills an important role on teams with the ability to step in a contribute on offense when needed. I was among our O-line’s biggest critics but I think maintaining some continuity there is important. Logan Ferland had a pretty solid year for someone who had never started a game outside of junior. I see him as someone with a very high ceiling as he gets more pro experience. Evan Johnson was somewhat of a disappointment in 2021… not bad, just average. But at just 27 its reasonable to expect him bounce back. Him and Ferland help keep the core of our OL young.

Had you told me a year ago that in a press release featuring the re-signing of Marshall and Teitz that Teitz would be one I was excited for I would have laughed at you. Keeping Teitz was important as he became a strong Canadian starter. You know my thoughts on Marshall, so I have very mixed feelings on that re-signing. I would have been fine letting him walk. But then you look at how he played in the playoffs and see a guy who still has the top end talent… even if we are starting to see it way less consistently. I hope we bring in some CBs to push him because if he’s starting in 2022 I want it to be because he earned the spot again, not just because of his past reputation. I’m genuinely puzzled why either us or Paul McRoberts would be interested in an extension. His role on our team has pretty much been absolute last resort but only if the only remaining option is fielding a scarecrow at WR. I like the guy and want to see him succeed but each season seems to be like Ground Hog's day for him.

So what’s left…

Obviously the big names we need back include: AC, Micah, Duke, Lauther, Purfoy and one of Dean or Lacey at MLB. There are also a few less heralded names on my list:

Charbel Dabire – You all know I’m a big fan of his and keeping a young Canadian DT certainly helps us.

Mike Edem – We definitely missed him at safety after he broke his wrist. I know he’s starting to get up there in age but he’s a versatile guy and as much as Purfioy can play anywhere, our secondary plays best with Edem at safety and Purifoy at HB.

Elie Bouka – Durability is his main issue. But when healthy he can play multiple spots in the secondary as a Canadian and make plays like he did in the playoffs.

Shaq Evans/Kyran Moore – Obviously a down year for Shaq but I really think the injury played a bigger role than he let on. A fully healthy Shaq is still a force to be reckoned with. As for Moore he quietly led the CFL in receptions prior to his injury. I know stupid swing passes inflated those numbers a bit but I don’t think he gets the respect he deserves for how good he is yet. If we want to rediscover our offense we need to keep our offensive playmakers, particularly the ones the QB actually trusts.

Justin McInnis/Mitch Picton – Lenius is off to the NFL and while Schaefer-Baker is obviously the future, we are going to need depth. Picton is a reliable token Canadian receiver you can line up on the wide-side. McInnis I think has a higher ceiling but hasn’t stayed on the field long enough to show it.

A dark horse name is Takoby Cofield. He opted to sit out 2021. If I am O’Day I would literally be begging him on my hands and knees to return.

Here’s a few names I would be perfectly ok with letting walk:

Brett Boyko – Other than his passport is there anything of value with him? The only scenario I want him on our team is as the 6^th OL. He’s a serviceable injury replacement but the only people who want him starting again are opposing D-lineman.

William Powell – This is not a knock at Powell. Great guy. Has been a solid runner for us (those rare times we actually committed to the run). He will be 34 come next season. At some point we need to go younger there. You’ve seen that Morrow can be a playmaker. And if you can’t recruit an RB in the CFL, you don’t deserve to be a GM.

Isaac Harker – Another player I like as a person but he’s simply not progressing as a QB after 2 full years in the league. Might as well given some other QB prospects the chance as they at least may have a higher ceiling. I think we’ve seen Harker’s ceiling and only Weston Dressler would we able to stand under it.

Ed Gainey – A bit torn on this one. He exceeded my expectations in 2021 and played really good. But you always want to be 1 year too early in letting a guy go than 1 year too late. We would be solid with Purifoy and Webb and HB. So unless he’s coming dirt cheap, I sadly don’t see Gainey as a priority. If this is indeed the end of his Rider career, mad respect for all he accomplished here.