CFL teams are not missing NFL departures
During the off-season, fans of the CFL could only sit back and watch as their league was ravaged by the NFL.
The NFL signed players from the CFL in a frenzied pace. There were some signings that didn’t garner much attention, but some big names were take from the CFL like defensive end John Chick (2009 most outstanding defensive player), returner Larry Taylor (2009 most outstanding special teams player) and running back Martel Mallett (2009 most outstanding rookie).
Naturally, this activity worried some fans. For some, it meant watching their team’s star player or players leave. Others worried that this kind of behaviour would become a trend.
However, it is funny to note that after six weeks of play in the CFL, these big name departures to the NFL have had virtually not affect on their respective CFL clubs.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were arguably hit the hardest by the NFL in the off-season. The team lost defensive ends Chick and Stevie Baggs as well as starting middle linebacker Renauld Williams.
The Riders were sad to lose Chick to the NFL, but Hawkins and Mullinder have more sacks each than he did at this time last season.
Fans of the Green and White wondered how the Riders could replace the 23 combined sacks of Chick and Baggs. The answer has been ex-NFLer Brent Hawkins and Luc Mullinder.
So far, Hawkins has three sacks and Mullinder has three. Fans may think this is a far cry from the performance of Chick and Baggs, but through six weeks in 2009, Baggs had four sacks and Chick only had two. As a team, the Riders are on pace for 45 sacks. They only had 39 in 2009.
As for Williams, free agent pickup Barrin Simpson has filled in nicely. Through six weeks, Simpson has 30 tackles and is on pace for 90 tackles. Williams had 59 in 2009. When it comes to stopping the run, the Simpson-led defence is allowing 105 yards a game, but this is actually an improvement from 2009 when 124 rushing yards were allowed a game.
The British Columbia Lions were also hit hard by the NFL, losing starting defensive end Ricky Foley and Mallett.
Even without their sack-master Foley, BC is on pace to exceed their sack total of 45 last season by about six sacks.
To replace Mallett, the Lions turned to free agency and brought in Jamal Robertson, who spent 2009 with the Toronto Argonauts.
BC hasn’t experienced a drop off in the running game with Robertson in, who has rushed for 388 yards and five touchdowns so far with a 7.1-yard average. He is on pace for 1,164 yards and about 15 touchdowns. Mallett finished last season with 1,240 yards and six touchdowns. Keep in mind, Robertson is on pace to get 49 less carries this season than Mallett did last season.
The Montreal Alouettes were not affected much by the NFL, but losing Taylor was a concern.
Taylor had been one of the most dazzling returners last season. He had a 20.8-yard kick return average, two punt return touchdowns and a missed field goal return touchdown.
The Alouettes have found their man to replace Taylor in Tim Maypray. Maypray is averaging 22.4 yards on kick returns and already has two missed field goal return touchdowns.
For the Calgary Stampeders, the loss of offensive lineman Dimitri Tsoumpas appeared to be pretty serious.
With two missed field goal return touchdowns, Maypray has replaced Taylor nicely in the return game for Montreal.
Yet without Tsoumpas, who recently returned to Calgary, the offensive line has allowed only 12 sacks (tied with Saskatchewan for the lowest in the league) and have helped the Stampeders average 141 rushing yards a game.
The only other team who had a major loss in the off-season was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who lost defensive back Jonathan Hefney. Hefney, who was the East Divison most outstanding rookie last season, had 66 tackles and four interceptions in 2009.
This move has not had a very negative affect on Winnipeg’s secondary. After recording 31 interceptions and allowing 271 passing yards a game in 2009, Winnipeg is on pace for 12 interceptions in 2010 and they are currently allowing 278 passing yards a game. The interception total may be low, but the secondary is not doing worse against the pass and that is the important thing.
While some teams in the CFL that lost star players to the NFL are struggling this season, like BC at 1-5-0 and Winnipeg at 2-4-0, it is not due to these losses. Would BC be winning games with Foley? Would Winnipeg be winning games with Hefney? Not likely.
Most teams have not been affected at all by their star players leaving to the NFL. Montreal and Calgary are 5-1-0 and Saskatchewan is 4-2-0.
So, why have teams adapted to their star players leaving for the NFL so well? There is not a clear answer, but it does speak highly of the level of talent available in the CFL and general managers ability to adapt.
So, if a star player on your favourite team bolts to the NFL in the future, just take a deep breath and relax. As we have seen this season, it is not the end of the world.
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About the Author
An aspiring journalist who has a freelance contract with the Regina Leader-Post and is a veteran online CFL columnist. Hamelin currently attends the University of Regina and is enrolled in the pre-journalism program. After this year, he will apply for the school of journalism. Hamelin has had work published in his highschool paper, university paper, Regina's paper and a number of online sites. For a look at all of his work, visit http://jonathansjournalismportfolio.webs.com/View Author Profile
Saskatchewan giving up the most points on defence in the league says that they are still missing Chick, Baggs, and Williams. That's the difference between Grey Cup Champion (Montreal) and Grey Cup Participant.
I disagree. The reason the Riders have been giving up points is because their pass defence is terrible. Case in point, the Riders' run defence has not allowed a 100-yard rusher. You can't say the run defence, or the sacks totals, are lacking because the stats clearly show they aren't. So, the reason the Riders are getting burned a bit on defence is because of the passing game. Would Chick and Baggs help defend the pass? No. Would Williams? Maybe a little but not a lot.
So how are they missing those players?
The biggest loss the Riders had was Eddie Davis, not Chick, Baggs or Williams.
It's not a question of individual stats being the same or better as last year, and defending the pass starts with getting pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. The Riders were much tighter on defense last year, finishing the season ranked fourth in points against. Being last in points against does mean that they miss having three of the main defensive players from last year, even if the individual stats don't show it.
Once again I disagree. At this point last season, the Riders had given up 203 points AS A TEAM an nearly three 100 yard rushers AS A TEAM. This season, they've given up 183 points and no 100 yard rushers. So, you're wrong, as a team they are playing better on defence last year, when they had Chick, Baggs and Williams. How can that point even be denied? When the end of the season comes around, maybe we can talk, but at this point they are CLEARLY not experiencing a drop off. I really don't get the argument here.