2014 Eastern Conference

[Argo]

It appears that the Eastern Conference is going to be very tough, and likely to be better than at any time that I can remember.

I think the Als are going to be a force, with a lot of talent already in place - and Troy Smith is a hell of a (reasonably) young QB.

[Argo57]

It appears that the Eastern Conference is going to be very tough, and likely to be better than at any time that I can remember.

I think the Als are going to be a force, with a lot of talent already in place - and Troy Smith is a hell of a (reasonably) young QB.

I agree, Hamilton is in the best shape heading into camp, similar talent level on O and much more settled on D than the Argonauts. I see Montreal and Ottawa in a battle all season to make the playoffs, don't expect Ottawa to be a typical expansion team, they should be competitive right from the start.

[paulwoods13]

I agree, Hamilton is in the best shape heading into camp, similar talent level on O and much more settled on D than the Argonauts.

I think Hamilton's offence is far less established than Toronto's. As promising as Collaros is, he has played about eight games as a pro, and their o-line is very thin. I think our receiving corps are similar, but we have more speed.

[OV Argo]

I think I will have to disagree a bit.

The Ticats may be very good - that's IF Collaros has a really good, consistent season; and their D is kinda iffy / nothing special IMO. Maybe Medlock wins them a few games with super accurate FG kicking

The Argos will be strong on O, and IF Burke can mold a good D, they may IMO dominate the East

Montreal - ultra iffy IMO - new HC in Higgins who could clash with Popp-ego, not sold on Smith as a good starting QB at all; and a few good players on D with lots of holes there; and not much of a kicking game

Ottawa = an expansion team with a neophyte HC; new teams have no chemistry or experience working together built up; and even with a vet like Burris at QB, he has basically zip in terms of proven or star talent on the O-Line or receiver to work with; a few experienced CFL guys on D, but hardly any stars, and kicking game a huge question mark.

SO - not sure the East is going to be that strong at all: Argos & Ticats in a fight for 1st (but maybe the Argos cruise there); Als will be sub 500; Ottawa lucky to win 2 games - IMO - we shall see.

[ArgoRavi]

Hamilton used well over 80 players last season and I am not sure that they ever got really settled on defence. I still see many question marks for them there and, of course, the Argos are in a similar predicament. The Argo offence will hopefully get back to running like a fine-tuned machine after playing their worst half of the season in the EF. As Paul mentions, can Collaros be an effective full-time starting QB for the Ticats? Only time will tell on that count. I like Troy Smith enough in Montreal to think that they can still compete for top spot in the east along with the Argos and Ticats while the RedBlacks should be competitive.

[Invader]

Toronto 10-8
Hamilton 9-9
Ottawa 8-10
Montreal 7-11

[OV Argo]

Toronto 10-8
Hamilton 9-9
Ottawa 8-10
Montreal 7-11

Argos 12-6
Hamilton 9-9
Montreal 7-11
Ottawa 2-16

[Rich]

I say the East dominates the West this year, and we've got 5 teams to beat up on now.

I see Ricky and the offence keep improving, and Burke turning the D around.
Collaros is gonna light it up, the Argo-Ticat games will be epic.
People are underestimating Popp's ability to field an ultra-competitive team. Big motivation in Mtl, especially with ochocinco.

Toronto 13-5
Hamilton 12-6
Montreal 11-7
Ottawa 5-13

[Argo57]

I think I will have to disagree a bit.

The Ticats may be very good - that's IF Collaros has a really good, consistent season; and their D is kinda iffy / nothing special IMO. Maybe Medlock wins them a few games with super accurate FG kicking

The Argos will be strong on O, and IF Burke can mold a good D, they may IMO dominate the East

Montreal - ultra iffy IMO - new HC in Higgins who could clash with Popp-ego, not sold on Smith as a good starting QB at all; and a few good players on D with lots of holes there; and not much of a kicking game

Ottawa = an expansion team with a neophyte HC; new teams have no chemistry or experience working together built up; and even with a vet like Burris at QB, he has basically zip in terms of proven or star talent on the O-Line or receiver to work with; a few experienced CFL guys on D, but hardly any stars, and kicking game a huge question mark.

SO - not sure the East is going to be that strong at all: Argos & Ticats in a fight for 1st (but maybe the Argos cruise there); Als will be sub 500; Ottawa lucky to win 2 games - IMO - we shall see.

I don't expect anyone in the division to "cruise" at all, each team has their own issues.
Regarding the Argos who knows what their D will be like at this point, lost a couple of good guys on O as well, have to keep Ricky healthy, find an effective running back, replace Inman and of course rebuild our D again.

[Argo]

I don't expect anyone in the division to "cruise" at all, each team has their own issues.

Yes, exactly. The Argos could easily finish anywhere from third place to first. It's early days, of course, for predictions.
Though I do anticipate one constant: a highly-competitive Eastern Division.

[Will]

I don't expect anyone in the division to "cruise" at all, each team has their own issues.

I'll echo Argo and say that you are exactly right.

[paulwoods13]

A team cruising to a monster year could happen. It's way too early to know how each team's talent and cohesiveness will play out, but teams have come almost out of nowhere to go 14-4, 13-5, etc. The Argos certainly have that potential, IMO, if RR stays healthy and Tim Burke finds pieces that fit his defensive system.

[Invader]

There's too much parity in the league for any team to cruise to a 13-5 season. The Riders and Stamps maybe, but they'll have to fight tooth 'n nail to achieve that, not cruise. The eastern division, not so much.

It boils down to QB'ing. The Argos have it, perhaps Ottawa does if they can protect Burris. The Als and Ticats are question marks. Troy Smith is a 53% passer in the CFL (52% in the NFL). Unless you're another Russ Jackson with a nearly 20-yard completion average, completing less than 60% of your passes in the CFL means your going to be punting a lot (Smith did have a decent 14.7 yd. avg. last year.)

At least Collaros has a sparkling completion ratio (66% with a 12.1 yd. avg. in 2013) but it'll be more difficult for him as the starter, with opponent's knowing his tendencies and game-planning for him. I think Zack will do fine under Kent Austin's guidance. But who does Troy Smith have in Montreal?

Even if the Rouge et Noir have OL issues, they could design their offence to compensate, i.e. quick passes, swing and screen passes to take pressure off the OL, QB sprints and roll-outs, etc.

[paulwoods13]

I don't see how anyone can be so certain now that no team (except possibly Riders and Stamps -- who between them represent 22% of the entire league) can cruise to 13-5 because of too much parity. Obviously if "cruise" is taken to mean the top team almost never has a close game, that is unlikely in this or any sport. A hell of a lot can happen that could see a strong team roll up 13 or 14 wins. We haven't seen any team on the field yet. What if Sask falls apart because of the personnel losses and post-GC hangover? What if Ottawa is a typical expansion team with two wins? What if Edmonton is no better than last year, or worse? What if Zach is not that great or doesn't adapt to Kent's system or gets hurt? What if Troy Smith is not the real deal as some believe? Etc. I stand by my belief that it is definitely possibly for a team to go 13-5 or 14-4. If "cruise" is too strong a word, fine, but 13-5 or 14-4 is definitely possible. In fact it has happened in 11 of the past 13 seasons.

[1argoholic]

I think there are too many changes to our D coming up. We really have no clue how this team will do, it's a big guessing game. I hope we can win 9 or 10 games. You can't expect to fill this many holes on D every off season and always have these players gel, get it and play great. Pile injuries on top of that and you need that much more depth.

[argotom]

It appears that the Eastern Conference is going to be very tough, and likely to be better than at any time that I can remember.

I think the Als are going to be a force, with a lot of talent already in place - and Troy Smith is a hell of a (reasonably) young QB.

I agree with you.
Can't wait to see how it plays out especially with Ottawa's potential.
Either way it has the makings of all team being competitive and maybe a record of 10-8 winning top spot.

[Argo]

There's too much parity in the league for any team to cruise to a 13-5 season. The Riders and Stamps maybe, but they'll have to fight tooth 'n nail to achieve that, not cruise. The eastern division, not so much.

It boils down to QB'ing. The Argos have it, perhaps Ottawa does if they can protect Burris. The Als and Ticats are question marks. Troy Smith is a 53% passer in the CFL (52% in the NFL). Unless you're another Russ Jackson with a nearly 20-yard completion average, completing less than 60% of your passes in the CFL means your going to be punting a lot (Smith did have a decent 14.7 yd. avg. last year.)

At least Collaros has a sparkling completion ratio (66% with a 12.1 yd. avg. in 2013) but it'll be more difficult for him as the starter, with opponent's knowing his tendencies and game-planning for him. I think Zack will do fine under Kent Austin's guidance. But who does Troy Smith have in Montreal?

Even if the Rouge et Noir have OL issues, they could design their offence to compensate, i.e. quick passes, swing and screen passes to take pressure off the OL, QB sprints and roll-outs, etc.

I'm quite impressed with Troy Smith. With the help of a great corps of receivers, I am expecting him to torment opposition defences - given adequate protection, of course. We'll see, won't we? That's the fun of it.

I doubt the Riders will be as good as they were last season and I suspect a lot of CFL fans may have reached the same conclusion.

The REDBLACKS signing Burris... meh. A plethora of resources spent (wasted?) upon Hank (38), when Kevin Glenn (34) - all-the-better supported by said plethora - would have been perfectly suitable for the first-year team.

[D-Gap-Willie]

This is an Argo forum and most of us will over rate the Argos, and rightly so. I can't see the Argos winning more than 10 games this year. There is so much work to be done before the gelling can even begin, even on the offence. I believe that they will come on strong later in the year and get 10 wins.
Argos 10-8
Als 9-9
Ticats 9-9
R-Bs 5-13
I haven't included the Riders and Stamps in my comment since I don't see them joining the Eastern Conference this year.

[Argo]

This is an Argo forum and most of us will over rate the Argos, and rightly so. I can't see the Argos winning more than 10 games this year. There is so much work to be done before the gelling can even begin, even on the offence. I believe that they will come on strong later in the year and get 10 wins.
Argos 10-8
Als 9-9
Ticats 9-9
R-Bs 5-13
I haven't included the Riders and Stamps in my comment since I don't see them joining the Eastern Conference this year.

Two points: First, 2014 promises to be an interesting, exciting season, unlike (for example) when Montreal easily cruised to first place in the EC year after year. Second, in regard to this "knotty" complecting thread's inclusion of the Riders and Stamps: there's always the crossover...

[Invader]

I'm quite impressed with Troy Smith. With the help of a great corps of receivers, I am expecting him to torment opposition defences - given adequate protection, of course. We'll see, won't we? That's the fun of it.

I doubt the Riders will be as good as they were last season and I suspect a lot of CFL fans may have reached the same conclusion.

The REDBLACKS signing Burris... meh. A plethora of resources spent (wasted?) upon Hank (38), when Kevin Glenn (34) - all-the-better supported by said plethora - would have been perfectly suitable for the first-year team.

It seems most people like Troy Smith and believe he'll do well in the CFL. For the Als sake, I hope he does pan out and becomes an excellent QB. The Als have essentially given him the keys to the franchise. If Smith fails, the Als season is over if they have to play any of their backup QB.

The Als have an excellent OL and should have a terrific receiving corps. All they need is the QB to pull the trigger and complete some passes. There were a few other QB's who did catch my eye last year, like Z. Collaros and T. Sunseri (Riders) while T. Smith seemed tenative at times, which is not uncommon with new QB's in the CFL.

I had pegged the Rouge et Noir at 8 wins, while most prognostacators have them winning 3 to 5 games. That production may be typical of expansion teams but the RB's have a proven QB (or two) which should give them a leg-up over the Renegades (Dan Crowley), for example.