Monday Morning Sentimonies: Free Agency Approaches

Wednesday free agency opens across the CFL. As per usual, there will be no NHL-style TSN all day event… though not for lack of trying on my part. I have been pitching an all day CFL Free Agent Frenzy special hosted by me. Discussions fell apart when we got to the part where I would be doing the Charleston for 40-50 minutes, as well as the segment devoted to me making a sandwich… it may have also had something to do with my refusal to accept their terms that I wear pants. Anywho, we will have to settle so periodic interweb updates to follow the goings on.

As a preview free agency, allow me to present my highly biased and unscientific thoughts on what we might see on Wednesday. I’ll start with current Riders and then move into other big names across the league.  

Andy Fantuz – This is of course the talk of free agency. Fantuz is the grand prize on the FA market. We already have a humungous offer on the table, Edmonton will be joining us, so will Winnipeg. Hamilton and Toronto both claim they will not pursue Fantuz hard but quite frankly that’s a bigger load of crap than most farmers have when they clean their barns out. It will be an all out bidding war and the craziest offer will land Fantuz.

It still wouldn’t surprise me if we are that craziest offer (remember Taman did pay Dominique Dorsey 6 figures for goodness sake). I hope we have a somewhat reasonable limit and walk away if it goes beyond that. I want Fantuz back but its not worth breaking the bank over.

Odds of returning: 40%

Jason Clermont – Will most likely retire, but so far he has been rather non-committal in that regard. I’m guessing he will but I bet he would entertain another short deal. Otherwise he might actually have to start paying for advertising for his real estate business.

Odds of returning: 5%

Leron Mitchell – He’s Canadian, fast, an asset on special teams, can play corner in a pinch (not well, but he can play). Don’t see why we wouldn’t bring him back unless we have something else lined up in terms of Canadians.

Odds of returning: 60%

Tristan Jackson – One of the few guys to bust his ass consistently last year. He would probably already be signed if not for the fact that he made over $100,000 last season and we won’t pay him that again (nor should we). I like him but at $100K he’s replaceable.

Odds of returning: 60%

Stu Foord – Same deal as Mitchell. We need Canadians to play special teams (and yes that’s all I see his role as) so might as well be him.

Odds of returning: 75%

Cary Koch – This one baffles me. Go back and watch the 2010 West Final and the preseason game last year where he made that one handed catch and tell me this guy shouldn’t be in camp. I don’t think he’ll ever be a #1 but I think he’s showed enough to earn an invite back. Sadly given how quiet things have been on the Koch front I don’t see that happening.

Odds of returning: 25%

Graeme Bell – Be honest, did you even remember he was on our team? He’s another Canadian special teams guy. If we had guys waiting in the wings he might be expandable but as far as I know we don’t. I could either way with him… err… in a purely metaphorical sense that is.

Odds of returning: 50%

Other Big Names Across The League

Brendan Labatte (OL) – Rumours running rampant that we are ready to step up with big money to bring the Weyburn product home. Let’s see for a second… Bomber: Check. Big Money: Check. Yep that is definitely right up Taman’s alley. That said as long as we don’t go crazy on the money, a young elite OL like him would be nice to have.

Rod Davis (LB) – To me he is the biggest defensive name on the market. For a team faced with replacing all 3 starting LBs he would be a wonderful addition. That said I don’t see it happening. My guess would be BC scoops him up so Rich Stubler can have him again… they do need to replace Elimimian.

Jermaine McElveen (DL) – Not sure why Montreal didn’t use this guy more last year. He had 8 sacks in 2010 but then saw a fraction of the playing time last year. We need help along the DL. Again don’t see it happening but just throwing it out there as something worth looking at.

Aaron Hunt (DL) – A couple years ago I would have said we should go hard after him. I still think he’s good but realistically he is now the wrong side of the 30 so the little bit we may gain in replacing Romero with him would likely not be worth the extra money. I bet he stays in BC.

Dominic Picard (OL) – He a starting caliber centre so he should have value on the market. His only downside is the fact that he’s French… kidding. His downside his is temper that leads to bad penalties from time to time. I’m going out on a limb here and saying he ends up going back to Winnipeg.

Tim O’Neil (OL) – Another starting centre and this one has familiarity with Kris Sweet so it wouldn’t not surprise me to see him land here. I say his options will be Calgary, Toronto and us. 

Burke Dales – We don’t need a punter but he is one of the better ones in the league so somebody should be interested. I just hope whoever signs him also signs the recently unemployed Sandro DeAngelis just for entertainment sake.

Willie Pile (S) – If we didn’t already have too many safeties I would love to nab Pile. He is one of the best safeties in the league. Chris Jones really doesn’t use safeties in the traditional sense so Pile may be on his way out. Hamilton is my bet for a landing spot.

Brandon Isaac (DB) – By no means is he a big name but I certainly have my eye on him (again strictly in a metaphorical sense). He’s a DB who Calgary converted in play LB and I really like him. He would certainly be an upgrade at the Sean Lucas spot (though pretty much anything would be). Chamblain knows him so maybe it’s in the cards. This will be my sleeper pick for the Riders.

Rider Prophet Trivia Challenges

In my unending pursuit to help you pass the time (since, let's be honest, its not like you have anything better to do) I have come up with a diversion for you.

Think your knowledge of the Riders and the CFL is equal to that of the Prophet? Well here's your chance to prove it with my Rider Prophet Trivia Challenges. Below are links to 3 different quizzes. Take the challenge and feel free to post your scores if you do well... or blatantly lie if you do not.

Name all the Roughrider players to dress for a regular season game in 2011.
(** see how much of last season you have mentally repressed**)
http://www.sporcle.com/games/rider_prophet/saskatchewan-roughriders-2011-players

List all 1000 Rushers since 2000 in the CFL
http://www.sporcle.com/games/rider_prophet/cfl-1000-yard-rushers-since-2000

List all 1000 Receivers since 2000 in the CFL
http://www.sporcle.com/games/rider_prophet/cfl-1000-yard-receivers-since-2000

I'll be developing more quizzes to help tide us over to the start of the new season

Friday Round-Up: Lots Going On

Free agency opens next week in the CFL however I will be saving my comments/predictions on that until Monday so you will have to settle for my random opinions on the various goings on across the CFL and other various sports leagues… you are pretty much at the mercy of the wanderings of my mind (which is a very scary place to be).

- We start off on an extremely positive note today as the Riders announced that they have release Marc Parenteau and James Robinson and will not be offering Wes Cates a new contract (so much for the 4 More Years campaign)

- Parenteau was hilarious off the field and did pretty much everything well… except snap. Unfortunately for a centre that is kind of a big deal. I think Parenteau’s calling in life is as a team’s 6^th OL lineman. He’s versatile but never struck me fulltime starter material.

- Like most Robinsons, James was useless. He never ran the right routes and just looked lost most of the time. Good riddance I say. That said word is Robinson has tryout with the Buffalo Bills lined up. And people wonder why the Bills aren’t a playoff contender.

- As for Cates, it’s a bittersweet moment. It was painfully obvious that Cates was done and moving on is the right decision (perhaps a year overdue) but on the other hand the guy will go down as one of the best RBs in franchise history. He was a huge part of the ’07 Grey Cup team and watching him in ’08 was a treat. The guy was on top of his game and few in the league could compare. That said we rode him pretty hard that year and that’s when his career started to nosedive. Too many hard miles too fast I think. With the exception of the mind boggling 16 TD season in 2010 he was never the same. That said I will never question his heart, I will never question leadership and I will never question his skill. He was one of the most well rounded backs I’ve seen (ran well, caught well, blocked well). He’s a shoe in for the Plaza and deserves all the respect in the world for a great career in Green and White

- The Riders also signed 3 import RBs today Louis Rankin, Demetrius Crawford and Kory Sheets. Based purely on the knowledge I have at hand (i.e. their names) I am going to speculate that Demetrius Crawford is going to be the best recruit (it’s a foundational rule of stereotyping that the blacker the name the better the athlete they are) Louis Rankin will be an early training camp cut (he sounds more like a long lost member of the Rankin Family than an imposing RB) and Kory Sheets well I just have a hard time trusting someone named after an item in my bedroom (I wouldn’t trust Jim Bedskirt or Steve Hiddenstashofporno either).

- Seriously though, these signings at least give me some confidence that the Riders are serious about addressing their deficiencies. This is a strong signal that Brandon West is not just going to be handed the starter’s role. Which is as it should be. Bring a bunch of talent to camp and may the best man win. The fact that 3 were signed makes me wonder if Yvenson Bernard might soon be released. 5 or more import RBs in camp just seems like an unmanageable amount.

- The craziest news this week in the CFL was news that Jovan Olafioye was released abruptly from his 3 yr deal with the St Louis Rams (which included over $90,000 in guaranteed money) and would be returning to play out his option year with the Lions. Details are scare on the reasons for the release though mention was made in a press release about a “medical concern”. That raises some red flags for me… for the Rams to abruptly release him and none of the other 13 NFL teams who he tried out for to pick him up tells me its gotta be something serious… now whether it’s a physical problem or one of (how shall I put this?)… passing certain “screening tests” remains a mystery.

- How lucky are the BC Lions? 2 of their best players had serious NFL offers and somehow they managed to keep both. One because of a “medical issue” and one because he went crazy and parted ways with 2 agents and walked away from a good deal. At this rate I’m seriously waiting for a press release stating that Solomon Elimimian will be returning to the Lions because he has been diagnosed with a rare allergy to the colour purple.

- Coach of the Year Candidates were unveiled this week and no real surprises on the list: Wally Buono, Kavis Reed and Paul LaPolice. Without getting too much into it, if Wally doesn’t win after the ridiculous turnaround he led the Lions through it is a Shamockery (both a sham and a mockery, you can thank Ben Wallace for that fantastic word).

- Word is Mark Cohon is set to sign a 3 year extension as Commissioner. That gets a thumbs up from me.

- Justin Hickman has signed with the Indy Colts. There was speculation that the Riders were going to pursue Hickman but the damn Colts foiled us again. I’m starting to get sick of what they are doing to us. They take Kenton Keith, they take John Chick, they take Jerrell Freeman, they take Hickman before we could even get a chance with him and worst of all they sent back Jordan Sisco. It’s just not fair.

- Don’t look now but my Montreal Canadiens’ $7.3 million investment in Scott Gomez is finally paying dividends. He scored for the first time in over a year. He has 2 more years at the same pay level left on his contract so we can now look forward to the next $7 million goal sometime next spring. (hangs head shaking it in disgust)

- Lastly, I feel the need to comment on this Rob Gronkowski business. For those of you who don’t know he was spotted out at a Super Bowl after party drunk as can be, fist pumping with his shirt off on the dance floor. People are absolutely crucifying him over this and I don’t know why. The guy lost a big game and dealt with it by going out and getting drunk… big deal. What was he supposed to do? Administer lashes to himself? Sit at home and write sad poetry?  Honestly, who among us hasn’t drowned their sorrows over something far less significant than the Super Bowl? And who hasn’t first pumped with their shirt off? For me that’s just a typical Wednesday night. 

CFL Ins and Out

Montreal

In: RB Noel Devine, WR Felton Huggins, DE Duke Lemmens, DE Michael Montgomery, DB Dajuan Morgan, DB Stephan Neville (free agent signing)

Out: DL Anwar Stewart, WR Danny Desriveaux, DL Jeff Robertshaw (released)

Stewart was apparently playing for a mere $50,000 last year. I realize he’s old enough to qualify as a Rider O-lineman but I’d say they got $50,000 worth of production out of him last year. That said watch Stewart show up here for significantly more money.

Hamilton

In: WR Bakari Grant, WR Terrence Jeffers-Harris (contract extension)

Out: DL Justin Hickman (signed with Indy)

As much as the Ti-Cats were accused of signing Jeffers-Harris a few days before a game with the Bombers for dubious reasons only, I say it was a great move. He has some motivational and work ethic issues but he has the talent to be an impact receiver… and really if you look at the Ti-Cats receivers collectively they aren’t anything special so this should help.

Winnipeg

In: DB Brady Browne (contract extension), RB Anthony Woodson (2010 Draft Pick Signing)

Remember when Browne was a Rider? No? Don’t worry, most people don’t.

BC

In: DB Korey Banks, WR Paris Jackson (contract extension), DB Lin-J Shell (free agent signing)

Shell will be a solid addition for the Lions. It likely means that one or both or Dante Marsh and Ryan Phillips are done in BC.

Calgary

In: LB Joe Henderson, LB Montez Robinson, DL Cody Brown, DL Chase Vaughn (free agent signing)

Edmonton

In: WR Andrew Nowacki (contract extension)

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Jim Daley Rides Again

If you spend enough seasons following the CFL, you learn to get used to odd things happening. It’s kinda the norm that at least a couple things per season will make you go “What the Hell?!”. You know like the Ricky Williams saga, or David Braley owning 2 teams or the League not really being sure whether Fantuz was eligible to play in the last Labour Day Classic or not. I’ve come to accept these crazy quirks. That said, despite all this, there are something’s that completely blow my mind… One of those is how people keep hiring Jim Daley. 

Don’t get me wrong I’m very happy that one of our CFL rivals was stupid enough to hire him (and in doing so officially handicapping a part of their team for the upcoming season). But I simply don’t get it. Sometimes coaches get hired that may have a black mark or 2 on their resume but at least they generally have some previous tangible success that helps to rationalize the hire (Richie Hall comes to mind). Not Daley. The man seems to be immune to the rules of employment that seem to govern the rest of society. As George Cortez indicated the man does have 16 years of coaching experience in the CFL… but none of it is good. If my employment history was as awful as Daley’s I would be living in a van down by the river (or in a management position with the Maple Leafs).

In an effort to try and understand the Daley phenomenon, I decided to go back in his resume and try and pinpoint a reason why people keep thinking he is such a great hire in spite of the pile of evidence to the contrary.

Starting at the beginning before the CFL, Daley did win a National Junior Champion with the Ottawa Sooners of the CJFL in 1984. He was also head coach for the Ottawa GeeGees where he was name Coach of the Year in both ’84 and ’88. Okay, so I can understand why he was first hired into the CFL. At this point so far, so good. Now here’s a rundown of his CFL resume.

1991 – Special Teams/RB Coach, Ottawa – Team went 7-11. Nothing particularly good or bad to report, a rather inauspicious start.

1992 to 1993 – D-Line Coach, Ottawa – Team went 9-9 followed by 4-14 (notice the sharp decline).

1994 to 1995 – DC, Saskatchewan – Team went 11-7 followed by 6-12 (again note the pattern of decline).

1996 to 1998 – Head Coach, Saskatchewan – Choosing to ignore the repeating patterns of decline, the Riders gave Daley his first chance as HC at the pro level. To say the least things went awful: 5-13 in 96 and 98. There is of course the miracle Grey Cup run of 1997 that to this day academics, scientists, philosophers and sports pundits are unable to explain. He rode the Slack Attack to an improbable playoff run culminating in a far more probable ass kicking by Doug Flutie. All in all, few were sad to see Daley go (except maybe the other CFL teams).

2002 to 2002 – D-Line Coach, Calgary. Though he did get a Grey Cup ring with Cortez in this stint, a closer look at the Stamps’ record shows a familiar pattern. The team went 12-5-1, followed by 8-10 and 6-12 (yet again note the familiar decline, by this point it can hardly be considered coincidence).

2003 – DC, Calgary – Team went 5-14 and finished 4^th in the West… though I’m sure the fact that Daley was responsible for a significant portion of the team was just a coincidence.

2004 to 2005 – Head Coach, Winnipeg. Leave it to Taman to give a hack like Daley a second chance as HC. He went 5-6 after taking over for Dave Richie mid-season, followed by 5-13 and dead last in the West in his first and only full season as the Bombers’ HC.

2007 to 2008 – CFL Director of Officiating Development. While I won’t go as far as to say that Daley was a failure at this role as well, I will note that his time in this role did coincide with a fairly bad run of reffing across the league. Just saying.

2009 – DC, Edmonton – To be fair, this was during the Maciocia era but still the Esks’ D did finish dead last in passing yards allowed and 2^nd last in points allowed. Which actually isn’t bad by Daley standards.

2010 –ST Coordinator, Saskatchewan. For the sake of my sanity and out of respect for my family who probably don’t want to hear the curse filled rant that would ensue, let’s not rehash how awful he was here. Though I did find a rare photo of the only useful thing Daley ever did for the Riders in 2010.

So there you have it. That is the resume that George Cortez would have looked at decided that this was the perfect guy for his Hamilton Ti-Cats. It blows my mind (even if you exclude the part where Cortez was in the NFL and might have been out of the loop) that this at any point seemed like a good idea. Oh well, as I said I’m happy that some other team did this to themselves. It will at least be enjoyable to watch the damage Daley inflicts on that group.

CFL Ins and Outs

BC

In: K Paul McCallum (contract extension)

Out: OL Jovan Olafioye (signed St Louis)

After trying out for half of the NFL, it is hardly a surprise to see Olafioye catch on down there. Word is he got a 2 year deal with 6 figures worth of guaranteed salary. The only downside for him is having to spend 2 years in St Louis as a Ram.

Edmonton

In: OL Simeon Rottier, DL Rashad Jeanty (free agent signing)

This one was almost as obvious as the ending to the movie Titanic. Rottier is from Edmonton, is currently building a new house in Edmonton, there were ongoing trade talks between Tillman and the Ti-Cats about acquiring him and just days ago Hamilton released him because he had no interest in signing a new deal in Hamilton.

Montreal

In: Jeff Reinbold (hired as DC)

Well this should be interesting. Somewhere Greg Marshall must be in disbelief.

Friday Round-Up: Out With The Old, In With… Well The Old

Today’s post is dedicated to PR who specifically requested this be posted in the morning as he plans on doing no work today and needs something to help him pass the time. Fortunately for PR I won’t reveal where he works… but for the right price I could be convinced to spill the beans. Just saying, the offer is on the table.

Onto to Rider news where we were busy turfing an old face and hiring another old face… in a surprising twist both moves are fantastic news. We turfed old man Alex Gauthier in a move that actually surprises me. I’m glad to see Gauthier go and I think it’s a positive move but of our senior citizen O-linemen he was actually the one I least expected to see go just because he is a Canadian and plays tackle. Gauthier wasn’t horrible but for what we were paying him he should have been better than “not horrible”…. In a surprising coincidence that last sentence was actually used verbatim to describe my brief career as a gigolo. We have young Patrick Neufeld waiting in the wings and could even go with an import if need be so thumbs up.

We also let Freddy Barnes go… literally hours after I posted that Barnes could be something special. Whoops. Swing and a miss there. Though, given how quickly someone I endorse tends to get released (remember Gabe Nyenhuis?), I’m strongly considering endorsing Dan Goodspeed.

The release of Gauthier leads me to believe that Makowsky will be back. That and the word on the street is that Geno is still working out. I don’t know much about being an MLA but I’m going to guess there is no physical to pass and the only lifting you do is lifting your hand to vote. I’d prefer to see Geno go but if we are going with a new tackle and likely new centre (and hopefully other new tackle) and can see the logic in keeping a veteran presence to help ease the transition.

The “old guy” we welcomed back was Dan Farthing… as our new Strength and Conditioning Coordinator.  Farthing is ideally suited for the job since he is already doing this for a living and is “the” name in high performance training here in Regina. Many Riders use him already anyway. It will be nice to have Farthing back with the Green and White. Hell… given Sisco’s crappiness and Bagg’s uncertain knee, I can foresee and series of events that leads to Farthing being seen as a legitimate option at non-import WR this season.

Speaking of old guys, Jeremy O’Day has poured some cold water on some rumoured acquisitions… one was rumoured by me (Avon Cobourne) and was plausible. One was rumoured by lord knows who (Dante Culpepper) and was quite frankly ridiculous.  Given that we actually we interested in Cobourne last year, I’m surprised to see us not go after him again. As an aging veteran that used to be really good you’d think Taman would be all over him. Guess that means the “Wes Cates. Four More Years” Campaign has worked. As for Culpepper… Really people? If I posted that we were planning on signing Willie Beamen as our back-up QB would people have to check with the Riders to see if it was true?

CFL Ins and Outs

Saskatchewan

In: WR Jason Cherry, WR Taj Smith (free agent signing)

I have no comment on these guys, other than Taj and Smith seems like an odd combination of names.

Winnipeg

In: QB Buck Pierce, QB Joey Elliot, WR Greg Carr, GM Joe Mack (contract extension)

Somehow Pierce managed a 3 year deal out of the Bombers… though I guess since CFl contracts aren’t guaranteed they could have signed him to an 80 year deal. Fact remains he won’t play a full season or if he does won’t be very good by the end.

Montreal

Out: Kerry Watkins (retired), Tim Maypray (released)

Always liked Watkins, in his prime he was great to watch… except for when it was our DBs him and AC were torching.

Hamilton

In: RB Martell Mallett (free agent signing)

Out: OL Simeon Rottier, RB Avon Cobourne, DL Luc Mullinder (released)

Ti-Cats invested $100,000 into an RB that hasn’t been in the league since ’09 and is coming off a major knee injury. This is either going to go extremely well for them or end up like when the time Hamilton signed Kenton Keith.

Calgary

In: RB Jeramy Avery, RB Michael Smith (free agent signing)

Edmonton

In: P Eric Wilbur (free agent signing)

Out: K/P Damon Duval (released)