It’s a quiet week in the CFL with just two games. That leaves us with a Saturday night feature game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.

The Battle of Ontario actually has some importance to it as the Argos are in a tie for first place in the East. Meanwhile, the Tiger-Cats will be aiming to win their third straight game, but they may want to add some diversity to their portfolio by beating someone other than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

"(Hamilton) may want to add some diversity to their portfolio by beating someone other than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers"

Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Toronto Argonauts
Saturday, August 21st – 7:35 PM ET
CFL odds: Argonauts -2.5 at Bodog.com

Catching up with the Tiger-Cats:

If you’re an optimist, then the Tiger-Cats modest two-game winning streak is a potential turning point. If you’re a realist, then you know that the Tiger-Cats need to start winning against someone other than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Tiger-Cats and Blue Bombers have already played four times this season (in just seven weeks) and all three of their wins have come against the Blue Bombers. That means they are 0-4-0 against the rest of the league.

Marcus Thigpen has been one of the bright stars for the Tiger-Cats, as he has found a way to score a touchdown five different ways this year (kickoff return, punt return, missed field goal return, receiving and rushing), which is the first time that’s ever been done in CFL history.

Overall, the Tiger-Cats offence has been a bit suspect this season – more specifically, the running game – and that will likely hamper them once again in this game.

Catching up with the Argonauts:

Does anyone believe that the Argos are actually in a tie for first in the East? So much for their cute start being a flash in the pan.

The Argos have been the biggest surprise in the CFL this season and they emphatically stated that they are here to stay with a big 37-22 win over the Montreal Alouettes last week.

Cleo Lemon has been very efficient at quarterback for the Argos and he has guided the offence very smoothly. Combined with steady contributions from Cory Boyd, the Argos have had balance.

The one sour note from last week’s win is that wideout Jeremaine Copeland dislocated his elbow and will miss up to six weeks.

The matchup:

Is anyone else suspicious about this low line? On logic alone, the Argos are the play here. The Tiger-Cats have the Blue Bombers number, but they haven’t beaten anyone else in the league.

Meanwhile, the Argos will be confident after topping the Alouettes last week and that will carry over into this week. The Argos have yet to lose at home this season, so lay the short number as they handle the Tiger-Cats in this one.

CFL betting odds: Argos -2.5

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

I think a round of applause are in order for Jim Barker. Maybe a couple of rounds.

Dear Jim Barker,

I write to you regarding my “colorful” letter I wrote to you just before the season started, regarding my distaste for some of the decisions you made since taking over as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts.

Anyway Jim, I think this time calling you Jim would be a little more appropiate than Jimmy, I started off my letter last time by expressing my belief that there were better candidates out there for the Toronto Argonauts to hire as a head coach this off-season, such as Scott Milanovich, offensive coordinator of the Montreal Alouettes.

As it turns out, I guess I was wrong. Your Argonauts are 5-2-0, tied for first place in the East Division with the Montreal Alouettes. This is following two consecutive seasons where Toronto missed the playoffs. Under your reign Jim, the Argonauts have gone from lovable losers, to an average team and finally to a contender. It would have been hard for another coach to duplicate that.

After that comment in my previous letter, I went on to criticize some of the moves you made in the off-season, such as not re-signing running back Jamal Robertson, who was the team’s biggest offensive threat last season. You eventually decided on Cory Boyd as your starting tailback. All he’s done is so far is lead the league in rushing with 711 yards and has also added four touchdowns. Woops, my bad.

But, Jim, the biggest concern I expressed was your decision to name Cleo Lemon as your starting quarterback instead of Dalton Bell.

Was I justified in this criticism? I think so. After all, Bell had more CFL experience than Lemon. In the preseason, Bell had gone 18/26 for 341 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, while Lemon had gone 10/26 for 99 yards and one interception. Bell clearly outperformed him, yet you still called Lemon a great “practice quarterback”.

As with the Robertson comment, I have had to eat my words. On the season, Lemon has gone 112/185, with 1,467 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Not great, but then again, pretty good for a first-year CFL starter. The big thing though, as has been brought up a lot this season, is that Lemon has led the Argonauts to a lot of victories. ‘Elite’ quarterbacks like Ricky Ray, Casey Printers and, for the most part, Kevin Glenn, haven’t done the same.

Once again, my bad.

After that, the rest of my original letter gets kind of fuzzy. I might called you stubborn, said the Argonauts were doomed and predicted you would quickly be fired. But hey, we’re all good, right?

I’ll admit it, pretty much everything I said in that original letter turned out to be wrong. Sometime this season, Jim, we can grab a beer and laugh about this whole thing. Well, I don’t drink, but I could grab a Pepsi or something.

Best of luck on the rest of your season, that is, when you are not playing the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Yours truly,
Jonathan Hamelin

Hamelin’s work can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Many of the media that cover the CFL and more importantly the Toronto media are figuring out what a few of us have already figured out,. Jim Barker doesn’t like it.

Cleo Lemon is 3-2-0 as the Argos' starter.

Barker’s choice to go with Cleo Lemon as the starter for the Toronto Argonauts at the beginning of the season was questioned by people in the media and everywhere. Dalton Bell had much better numbers than Lemon in the preseason, but I can understand Barker’s reasoning for the choice.

Barker wanted to go with experience. With Lemon 31 this year and having played for four NFL teams, Barker figured there might be a learning curve for Lemon and things would get better as the season progressed.

The season may only be five games in, but everyone who has questioned Lemon is questioning again and wondering how long it’ll be until Barker makes the decision to switch it up.

Apparently all the questions Barker has been receiving about the quarterback choice have caused him to flip his lid. He continues to back his choice and it seems the more frustrated he gets, the more his pride seems to kick in. The more his pride gets in the way, the longer he may decide to go with Lemon for a little too long.

How many times have we seen the NFL go with a quarterback justifying their picks and dollars spent and ruining the season because their pride got in the way. Remember Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie? Johnson probably averaged more times being sacked than passes thrown, yet Buffalo stayed with him in spite of the fact Flutie could get the job done and didn’t get sacked.

Dalton Bell was thought by many to be the clear winner of the quarterback competition before the season began.

Bell may not be extremely experienced, but he’s been around the CFL game long enough to understand the game more than Lemon. Now, Lemon has been thrown to the wolves and not fared terribly, but he hasn’t wowed. His defence has done extremely well and actually won two of those three wins for the Argos. So, even though Lemon is 3-2-0 as a starter, I have to wonder how many more wins the Argos will get this season. They’re is still a chance for another 3-15 season.

Now Jim Barker is a smart guy and he has an eye for talent, but coaching has not really been his strong suit. He is very loyal and trusting, but I wonder how much that loyalty is factoring into his decision here. To be honest, I don’t really even know why Barker is so hung up on Lemon. His career stats aren’t spectacular and other than “life” experience, Lemon hasn’t been the go to guy that should garner that much confidence.

In college, Lemon set school records for attempts, completions, passing yards and touchdowns. When you look closer you see that he threw 1,128 attempts and completed only 48% of them. He did have 48 touchdowns, but threw 33 interceptions. Even his best season in college his pass completion percentage was only 47%.

His NFL experience wasn’t any better as he only started eight games in three years. His percentage moved up to 55%, but he still threw seven interceptions to his eight touchdowns. Most of his time was with the Dolphins over two years and they were one of the worst teams in NFL history as they only won one game in 2007.

Lemon hasn’t had much luck in the teams he has ended up with, but he has also never used those opportunities to turn those teams into winning teams. This year’s Argos may not be the worst team in CFL history and Lemon still isn’t the factor that is causing them to win.

The Argonauts may not have deserved some of the wins they got so far, but a lopsided loss to the Alouettes last week showed them they have a long way to go before they will compete for the East.

Part of the problem Barker is having is that he’s not even using Bell to push Lemon. Bell has only thrown six passes this year and the longer he sits on the sideline without serious game action, the longer it may take to shake off the rust if his number is called.

If Barker is having trouble swallowing his pride and admitting that Lemon isn’t the quarterback he thought he could be, losses will pile up and team confidence could be shaken to a point where this potential shown this season goes right down the toilet.

Off their 41-10 spanking at Montreal last weekend, the Toronto Argonauts travel west to Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton to battle Ricky Ray and the Eskimos.

Last week, the Eskimos notched their first win of the 2010 CFL betting campaign when they beat the British Columbia Lions 28-25 at home. This week, they’ll hope to open up their first winning streak of the year.

Throw out the record books when you see these two teams play each other. There is no way that the Argonauts are as good as their 3-2-0 record indicates and the Eskimos, though not a beast in the West by any stretch of the imagination, are certainly better than a 1-4-0 squad.

"Throw out the record books when you see these two teams play each other"

The Boatmen have been a wreck offensively this season. They’ve only scored 113 total points, dead last in the East and third to last in the CFL. Seven offensive majors in five games is tied for worst in the league. The real proof in the pudding comes in the form of the yards per game statistic. Toronto has racked up 220 fewer yards than any other team in the league and are averaging almost 180 yards per game less than the league leading Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The passing attack has been particularly woeful. Quarterback Cleo Lemon looks like a deer in headlights at times. Amongst starting quarterbacks in the league, Lemon still has the worst QB rating of the bunch at 73.6. His 57.6 completion percentage ranks him second to last, while a 2.3 percent touchdown ratio is tied for the second lowest in the CFL.

Last week, Lemon only went 8/17 for 143 yards before getting replaced. The Alouettes held Toronto to just 227 yards and racked up three sacks.

The man who has to be getting incredibly frustrated at this is wide receiver Jermaine Copeland. The former Calgary Stampeder only has 14 catches for 204 yards and one touchdown all season long. Since 2003, he has averaged 71 catches and 1,172 yards per season. Obviously, he isn’t on any sort of pace to reach those numbers this year.

The star for the Toronto offence remains running back Corey Boyd. Boyd is tops in the CFL in rushing at 484 yards, but he only has found the end zone one time all season.

The good news for the Argonauts is that they are running up against a rush defence that ranks dead last in the CFL at 160.8 YPG.

Defence has been a major concern all season long for the Eskimos. They are allowing a league worst 7.9 YPC and have given up the most points in the CFL at 154.

In spite of the fact that Edmonton won last week against the Lions, there has to be a lot of concern considering the fact that BC was playing without its starting quarterback. The Lions still averaged 8.6 YPC in the game and were kept in it thanks to the ground attack.

Quarterback Ricky Ray is coming off of what has probably amounted to be his best game of the season. He was 25/34 for 360 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Three receivers had at least 75 yards through the air and running back Arkee Whitlock added 102 yards on the ground for his best game of the season.

Whitlock has the second most carries in the league this year (74) and ranks third in yardage (430). His three scores puts him in a tie for third in the CFL.

Ray might only be averaging one touchdown pass per game, but he still ranks fourth in the CFL in passing with 1,450 yards for the year. He 68.0 completion percentage not only dwarfs that of Lemon, but it also leaves him in second place behind Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo in that category.

Ray loves to sling the ball all over the field, particularly to receiver’s Kelly Campbell and Fred Stamps. Both are in the Top 3 in the CFL in receptions and they are the only duo of receivers in the league to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark combined in the first five games of the year.

Last season, Edmonton swept the series by winning 22-19 at Rogers Centre and 36-10 at home. The team split the proceedings against the CFL odds.

On Friday night, the Eskimos have been lined as 5.5 point CFL betting favorites. The ‘total’ has been set at 51.5

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

Give the Toronto Argonauts their due for reaching this stage of the CFL season with a 3-1-0 record. Thursday night, however, the Argonauts will be due for a whipping from the Montreal Alouettes.

The Argonauts have been one of the CFL’s surprises so far this season and very few people thought the Alouettes and them would both be 3-1-0 going into this contest.

On the surface, it may look like Toronto is playing with enough confidence to make the 10-point football betting spread too much to lay with the Alouettes, but we’ll stick with the favourite in this contest.

"The Argonauts (are) due for a whipping from the Montreal Alouettes"

Toronto Argonauts at Montreal Alouettes
Thursday, July 29 – 7:35 p.m. ET
CFL Odds: Alouettes -10

Catching up with the Argonauts

The Argonauts have righted the ship – there’s no doubt about it – but let’s be clear: They have caught some breaks in the first month of the CFL season.

They caught Winnipeg off guard in Week 2 and needed a thrilling finish to beat the Calgary Stampeders at home in Week 3 before facing the B.C. Lions without Casey Printers in Week 4.

Toronto’s margin of victory in the three wins is 3.0 points-per-game, which indicates the Argonauts aren’t exactly dominating anyone.

Nonetheless, they are confident right now and for them, that may be all that matters. This is a team that was in shambles last season and just the fact that they believe they can compete on a weekly basis is a big plus for them.

Catching up with the Alouettes

The Alouettes have been one of the most impressive teams in the CFL so far this season and that doesn’t catch anyone’s eye. They were expected to do so and they are executing according to plan.

After losing in overtime in dramatic fashion in Saskatchewan during the opening week, they have won three straight games including their most comfortable win this week, which was a 23-point triumph over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Considering that the Tiger-Cats are just 1-3 and the Blue Bombers are 2-2, a win over Toronto this week gives the Alouettes a comfortable two-game lead over everyone in the East Division.

One reason the Alouettes find themselves in the driver’s seat is because they have scored a league-high 137 points so far this season.

The matchup

The Argonauts – and quarterback Cleo Lemon – have managed their contests well, but this game will get away from them. Look for the Alouettes to build an early lead and force the Argonauts’ hand, which is not something they are ready to do. Toronto isn’t capable of getting into a shootout and the Alouettes will score regularly.

Football betting pick: Alouettes -10

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

There are four teams tied for first in the CFL at 3-1. Three of these teams were expected to contend this season, but two have surprised everyone because of their defensive play.

Having battled for the 2009 Grey Cup in one of the greatest CFL games in history, the Montreal Alouettes and the Saskatchewan Roughriders didn’t lose enough in the off-season to drop out of contention for first in their divisions.

After four weeks in the CFL, the Riders and Alouettes are tied for first as expected. Right along side, however, are the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts.

"After four weeks in the CFL, the Riders and Alouettes are tied for first as expected. Right along side, however, are the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts"

The Stampeders showed last year their offence could usually get the job done, but they had some defensive troubles keeping them from moving forward. Some positions were addressed, but changes on the offensive line had people questioning them coming in. The offensive line has answered most of those questions, allowing less than two sacks a game and averaging 158 rushing yards a game.

It is Calgary’s defence that has most impressed, as they have only given up 21 points a game, 99 rushing yards a game and only two rushing touchdowns. What was most impressive was their ability to shut down a Saskatchewan offence in Week 4 that coming into the game was leading the league in many offensive stats.

Even though there have been offensive struggles this season, the Stampeders defence has held its own, keeping them in games and giving the offense more chances to succeed.

Much of the same can be said for the Argonauts. The Argonauts were very hard to watch last year, from a fan’s perspective, lacking in many positions from the coach down. A new coach and philosophy gave a lot of people hope when the season began, but expectations weren’t high with so many new faces in the lineup.

Receiver Jermaine Copeland was brought in to bring a spark and to mentor young receivers. So far his output has been limited, but not due to his lack of effort. The Argonauts made a questionable choice in starting NFL veteran, but CFL rookie, Cleo Lemon in the quarterback position. In doing so, Toronto bumped back veteran backup Dalton Bell.

While the Argos are 3-1 this season, the offence can’t be credited for much of the teams success. Some questioned the choice to go with Lemon over Bell and I think the statistics are showing they might be right.

Lemon is averaging 190 passing yards a game, with three touchdowns, four interceptions and four fumbles in four games.

Rookie running back Cory Boyd has been the only shining light for the Boatmen on offence, leading the CFL in rushing through four weeks with 431 yards on 66 carries.

The defence, on the other hand, has been incredible at shutting down some solid offences and bringing their team back in games they probably should have lost.

Many thought the Stampeders would have wiped the floor with the Argonaurts in Week 1. Toronto didn’t play well on offense, but the defence held Calgary to 23 offensive points. The other seven points were off a fumble return for a touchdown near the end of the game.

After giving up some big yards in the win over Winnipeg, Toronto’s defence came up huge against Calgary, limiting Henry Burris to 207 yards passing and intercepting him four times. The Argonauts defense also held two-time CFL rushing leader Joffrey Reynolds to 44 yards on the ground.

Calgary had the lead for most of the game, but Toronto was able to stop Burris and the Calgary offence from putting the game away and opened it up for the Argonauts to come back and take it.

The Argonauts defence wasn’t finished there. The British Columbia Lions looked like a formidable opponent and again had a lead on the Argonauts late in the game.

Former Argonauts running back Jamal Robertson did have two touchdowns, but only rushed for 54 yards, and did fumble once.

Travis Lulay looked pretty sharp in his first CFL start, but threw two picks to the Argos defence, one of which was returned for a touchdown late in the game to give up the lead and eventually the game.

While both teams deserve credit for their victories, I have to wonder how long the winning streaks will last. Calgary overcame some offensive struggles to put up a huge win over Saskatchewan. The Argonauts haven’t been able to do much offensively, and while Boyd leads the league in rushing, he only has one touchdown.

Calgary looks to be moving in the right direction and could be number one at the season’s end, and while the Argos do look much better than anticipated, they will have to get much more out of their offence if they plan on challenging Montreal for first in the east.

The British Columbia Lions head to Rogers Centre in Toronto on Friday with two straight losses on their ledger while the Argonauts are looking to extend their two-game winning streak.

"Last season, the Lions swept this series, winning 23-17 at home and 36-28 at Rogers Centre"

With the road team playing so poorly and the home team having already exceeded most expectations for the 2010 campaign, the oddsmakers have come up with a puzzling line of BC -1½ and a ‘total’ of 47 in this one.

The offence for the Lions has been quite embarrassing so far this season, scoring just 55 total points in three games. Only the Edmonton Eskimos (53) have scored less. On the bright side, BC does have the top scoring defence in the CFL at just 21.0 points- per-game allowed. The Lions can also rest easier knowing that they are undefeated this year on the road having won at Edmonton in Week 1, while they are still winless in their new temporary home at Empire Field.

Change could be on its way at the quarterback position for head coach Wally Buono. The legendary CFL coach has to be unhappy with the way Casey Printers has handled the starting job this year. He ranks seventh amongst eight CFL starting quarterbacks in completions (50) and passing yards (591). His two touchdown passes are third fewest in the league, while his quarterback rating of 75.5 is pathetically low.

Jackson is also nursing injuries to his knee and elbow, which could put Travis Lulay under center. Another possibility is Jarious Jackson, who has been held out of action all season due to offseason shoulder surgery.

If the rushing game performs as it did last week, the Lions are in a heck of a lot of trouble. Running back Jamal Robertson, a man who Buono speaks highly of, only rushed for four yards on six carries and fumbled twice against the Alouettes. It was all part of a disappointing game on the ground for BC, which mustered just seven yards on nine carries.

For the Argos, the numbers aren’t overly pretty, but they’re on the right side of .500 now, something that no one would have predicted even three games into the season. Toronto was tabbed by the oddsmakers to win just 4.5 games this season.

The Boatmen might be winning games, but it certainly isn’t happening due to the play of the quarterback position. The Cleo Lemon experiment probably needs to come to a close. The offence has still only scored four majors all season long, just one of which has come through the air. Lemon is only completing 56.3 percent of his passes, is averaging 180.3 passing yards-per-game and has a 69.2 quarterback rating. All three numbers are worst in the CFL amongst starting quarterbacks.

Ironically, if you add up the numbers, Toronto has accounted for over double the points on special teams and defence (55) than it has on offense (24). A scoring average of 26.3 points-per-game might be tied with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for worst in the East Division, but only the Saskatchewan Roughriders out West have a better mean points per game mark.

The one superstar for Toronto this season has been running back Cory Boyd. No one in the CFL has carried the ball more times than Boyd, as he has handled the rock 47 times. His 283 rushing yards ranks second in the CFL and there is no shame in averaging 6.0 yards-per-carry.

Last season, the Lions swept this series, winning 23-17 at home and 36-28 at Rogers Centre. They have won five straight visits to Toronto, going 3-2 ATS in that stretch. BC has scored at least 24 points in all of those games, while the Double Blue have only met that point total once in five tries. Needless to say, four of the five stayed ‘under’ the ‘total.’

The Argonauts might be just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against teams with a losing record, but BC is only 3-7-1 ATS in its last 11 games played in the month of July.

Courtesy of SBRForum.com

In order for a football team to be successful, it needs all the ingredients to blend together.

Lemon lead the Argonauts to their first win since their double-overtime victory over Hamilton on September 11, 2009.

The offence, defence and special teams need to mix together just right.

Furthermore, each individual player on offence, defence and special teams need to play together in order for their group to fit in to the finished product.

On Friday, the Toronto Argonauts used a perfect mixture of offence, defence and special teams to stun the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 36-34 in Winnipeg.

The most positive stat for Toronto’s offence in the game was zero turnovers. Turnovers kill a team and in Toronto’s 30-16 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in Week 1, it was the team’s four turnovers that killed them. No turnover hurt more than Malik Jackson’s fumble return for a touchdown when Toronto was down only 23-16 in the fourth quarter.

Running back Cory Boyd had the best night for the Argonauts, putting up 109 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. After only running the ball a total of 13 times in Week 1, it was nice to see Toronto put more of an emphasis into it in Week 2.

Besides Boyd, no player put up any gaudy numbers on offence for the Argonauts. Cleo Lemon went 15/23 for 162 yards, Jeffrey Webb caught four passes for 52 yards and Jeremaine Copeland had 40 yards on three receptions. Still, the important thing was the offence had no turnovers, allowed no sacks and put up nearly 30 points. They matched Buck Pierce and the potent offence of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers stride for stride.

On defence, the Argonauts did their part. Yes, they gave up four offensive touchdowns, but the defence stepped up when it mattered for the most part. With Winnipeg driving in the fourth quarter, after Toronto had taken the lead, Kevin Huntley sacked Pierce, forcing Winnipeg to punt it away. When the Bombers were pinned down in their end on the next drive, the Argonauts forced a two-and-out and picked up the safety. As a group, the defence had one interception and two sacks.

Even the special teams got in on the act. Chad Owens had a dazzling 117-yard missed field goal return for a touchdown for the Argonauts, which gave them the lead for good. Owens had a punt return for a touchdown in Week 1. Jamie Boreham had a respectable 42.4 yard punting average and pinned Winnipeg near the goal line in the fourth quarter with a beautiful punt that eventually forced a safety. Rookie kicker Grant Shaw had a day to remember, hitting all four field goals he attempted.

Picked by virtually everyone to finish last in the East, Toronto doesn’t look completely hopeless. They still have room to improve, but showed at least that they will compete each night. It was good to see Toronto’s offence carry the defence at times in Week 2, as opposed to how it usually is.

If Toronto hopes to build on this victory and keep winning, they will need the solid play to continue from the offence, defence and special teams. It is going to take a perfect mixture.

Jonathan Hamelin is an aspiring journalist who has a freelance contract with the Regina Leader-Post and is a veteran online CFL columnist. His work can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

CFL spring training is done, and the regular season is about to begin. Now that all the preseason games are complete, we can much more accurately make predictions about the upcoming season.
There was plenty of drama to go around in the league last year, with most of the guilty parties no longer in the CFL. Only time will tell if the offseason changes will have a positive impact on their teams’ standings.
Let’s look at the East first and work backwards.

No. 4—Toronto Argonauts

The Argos are in better hands with Jim Barker, but the team is still one with a lot of question marks in key positions.
The quarterback position has the biggest question mark with Dalton Bell leading the way. Bell left the Saskatchewan Roughriders after realizing he wasn’t going to move into the No. 1 position ahead of starter Darian Durant. Moving to Toronto will give him a better chance at a starting job, but don’t count out Kerwin Bell to win a starting job.
The Argos have too many unproven youngsters pieced together to think that they will make the step out of the basement. Knowing Jim Barker’s ability to find talent makes me think there could be a step up to the No. 3 spot, but there are just too many new faces for me to think it will happen.

No. 3—Winnipeg Blue Bombers

New head coach Paul Lapolice made some big strides in his value, as some solid play calling in the playoffs brought the Riders to within seconds of winning a Grey Cup.
Even though Winnipeg fans will be much more understanding with Lapolice because he isn’t Mike Kelly, fans weren’t hugely fond of Lapolice when he was the Bombers offensive coordinator. Hopefully for Lapolice, he is somewhat successful; if not, he can only hope that the fans are more forgiving.
The Blue Bombers are looking more stable than they were at the beginning of last year, and even though the quarterbacks aren’t bona fide No. 1s, Buck Pierce and Steven Jyles have seen success. The only knock against Pierce is that he hasn’t been super durable
Winnipeg has made big strides, but not quite enough to pass the Als or Ti-Cats.

No. 2—Hamilton Tiger-Cats

It’s too soon to say that Hamilton is a Grey Cup contender, but the pieces seem to be in place for a team that could dethrone Montreal very soon.

The most important part of this team’s success—and I have been saying this for years—is the offensive line. A unit that had been weak for years, the deep front five is going to be a piece of the puzzle that makes this team strong for the next decade…if they can keep them that long.
With a strong O-line, the rest of the offense will be that much better, especially at quarterback. Even though Quinton Porter showed hints of success, Kevin Glenn is the man Hamilton needs at No. 1 to be successful this year. The running backs, Cobb and Summers, will also be much better with some good hogs to block.
With a decent defense and a good offense, the Tiger-Cats have the definite potential to fight for No. 1, at least next year if not this year.

No. 1—Montreal Alouettes

The Grey Cup Champions are getting old, but not retired just yet. Bryan Chiu was the first of a long line of potential Hall of Famers to call it a career and the rest, notably Anthony Calvillo and Ben Cahoon, shouldn’t be much further behind him.
That being said, they are still Alouettes, and with both stars looking to solidify a few CFL records, you shouldn’t see any of them letting up this year. The Als are still very strong on both sides of the ball, and even though they will have more competition inside their division, they should have enough to finish on top of the East.

Even though he was out played by Dalton Bell, you decided to name Cleo Lemon the starting quarterback anyway Jimmy.

Dear Jim Barker,

I write to you concerning your shocking decision to name Cleo Lemon as the starting quarterback of the Toronto Argonauts instead of Dalton Bell.

Before we get in to that, let’s backtrack a little bit Jimmy. Oh, is it OK if I call you Jimmy? Anyway, I was never a fan of your hiring in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, the Argonauts made the right choice in firing Bart Andrus – who guided the team to a 3-15 record in 2009 – but I thought there were better candidates out there.

I strongly felt that Scott Milanovich, who has been a very successful offensive coordinator in Montreal, would have gladly become the new head coach if Toronto had offered him a reasonable contract.

Still, I was eager to see just what you would do to turn the team around.

I am not sure how much of an impact you had on every decision, but soon after you arrival the Argonauts made some big moves. The team got rid of all of the quarterbacks on the roster. This was a move I could live with, though having no pivot on the roster hardly inspires confidence.

A move I wasn’t so thrilled about was the decision not to bring back Jamal Robertson. Robertson was Toronto’s only offensive threat last season Jimmy. He pounded out 1,031 rushing yards last season and nine touchdowns. Furthermore, the move left your team without a solid running threat.

Even though I didn’t agree with all of the moves, Jimmy, at least you seemed to have a plan in place to rebuild the team your way. You wanted to start over with a new quarterback and running back. To your credit, Toronto did add talented slot back Jeremaine Copeland.

But Jimmy, I lost all respect for you when you decided to anoint Lemon as your starting quarterback.

A move like that makes me realize why you went 5-13 as the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders in 2003.

During Toronto’s training camp, in which the quarterback battle seemed to take centre stage, three main contenders emerged: Bell, Lemon and Ken Dorsey. It was clear, Jimmy, that you were rooting for Lemon, as you compared him to “Henry Burris”, but it was also reported that Bell and Dorsey didn’t do too bad either.

Then, preseason rolled along and upon its conclusion the decision of who should be the starting quarterback should have been clear to you.

In the first game, a 13-10 victory over the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Dorsey and Bell both put up good numbers. Bell went 7/10 for 94 yards and Dorsey went 8/17 for 96 yards and an interception.

Lemon, on the other hand, stunk up the joint. He went 3/10 for 41 yards.

How you didn’t cut Lemon at this point was amazing Jimmy. Kent Smith, a hopeful quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders who saw time in the first preseason game, went 2/12 for 32 yards and was subsequently released. That must be some love affair you and Lemon have got going.

Then, in the second preseason game, a 31-23 loss to Toronto, it was clear the competition was centered on Lemon and Bell, the only two quarterbacks who played for the Argonauts. Bell was very solid, going 11/15 for 247 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. Lemon improved from the first game, which wasn’t hard to do. He went 7/16 for 58 yards and an interception.

Just for fun, Jimmy, let’s look at both Lemon’s and Bell’s total preseason stats.

Bell: 18/26 for 341 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Lemon: 10/26 for 99 yards and one interception.

I got to say, Jimmy, that’s a pretty close call…

While about 95% of CFL fans thought Bell would be named the starter after this game, you didn’t seem so sure in the post-game interviews. You were quick to point out that Bell played against Montreal’s second-string defenders and Lemon made some good throws.

Soon after, you named Lemon the starter.

All I can say is, after looking at how poorly Lemon played in the preseason, he must be one hell of a practice quarterback. I am talking about a guy who throws effortless 60-yard spirals play after play.

Seriously, Jimmy, your stubbornness was really surprising. You obviously put a lot of stock into Lemon and weren’t willing to admit your mistake, even when Bell completely outplayed Lemon during the preseason. Lemon is not the quarterback to turn your team’s sinking ship around. Bell has more CFL experience and seems ready for the job.

Of course, this is only my opinion Jimmy. Maybe Lemon will turn out to be a fine starter. If that’s the case, feel free to send me an email at roughriderfreek@hotmail.com and rub it in my face. I won’t be expecting an email…

To leave off, I would like to wish you the best of luck in this new season Jimmy. You’ll need it. Your Argonauts look terrible on paper and will likely be in for a rough season. As for you Jimmy, well, you are the fourth head coach of this team in two years. Don’t get too comfortable.

Yours truly,
Jonathan Hamelin

Jonathan Hamelin is an aspiring journalist, who has a freelance contract with the Regina Leader-Post and is a veteran online CFL columnist. He can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.