Riders get to host Cup, now need to figure out how to get there

This new-found wealth, the result of say a 15 year largely successful run on and off the field, no doubt has put a number of noses out of joint around the league and the Riders landing of Jones helped pave the way for the CFL to bring in a new policy of football administration salary and job cap. This cap is supposed to signal to the CFL Players Association that the league was prepared to accept limitations on the management side of the ball as a response to the salary cap imposed on players.

The cap also was a shot across the bow from the league to the Riders that pushing the boundaries on the rules to achieve a competitive advantage would not be tolerated in this area. The Riders though were put out not just by this, but also by the lack of calls that saw quarterback Zach Collaros knocked out by a shot from Odell Willis that kept Collaros out of the Western Semi-Final that the Riders lost. Then to add insult onto injury, Brandon Bridge was knocked out of that game by a late hit that left the Riders in the hands of David Watford, the third stringer on the last play of the game.

Getting a Grey Cup is nice, but now the pressure is on the Riders to repeat the success of 2013 when it put together one of the best teams in Riders history and a historic win at home over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. While the Riders signed Zach Collaros, the fact he is injury prone and with no clearly competent back-up in camp, the Riders ability to get to the Grey Cup will depend on how much of their defense manages to rise to the level of last year.

That’s why the initial reaction by Rider fans to what the team did in Week 1 of free agency verged on pitchforks and torches being raised when the team swung and missed on free agent quarterbacks Mike Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell. Fans were also puzzled by the signing of running back William Powell and 35-year-old Canadian receiver Cory Watson but that was before they knew that Rider running back Tre Mason would be out for most of this season recovering from a presumed Achilles injury and complications in Canadian free agent receiver signee Jake Harty would keep him out of this season as well.

So while Edmonton and BC started off free agency with a bang, the hangover of their initial spending spree is about to kick in. BC is looking for trade partners for linebacker Solomon Elimimian and offensive lineman David Foucault. Elimimian’s salary, combined with age and him recovering from a nerve injury to his wrist makes him too expensive for BC to justify.

Of course anytime a team is said to be looking for a trade partner, it is just a matter of time before the players in question are released, making them and especially their contracts, more manageable. The Riders might have interest in one or both, with Elimimian serving as a good anchor on defense or Foucault perhaps kicking in on the offensive line.

The Riders offensive line is currently short a Canadian, with Josiah St. John as yet unsigned and no indication if he is wanted back. The former No. 1 overall pick the first year of the Jones reign in 2016, St. John was late reporting to camp, then injured, only managing to show up action the last part of the 2018 season and appearing to hold his own.

The crucial factor here is Rider GM Jeremy O’Day who is a former offensive lineman and would probably have his own assessment of whether St. John can contribute. Then there is the situation regarding 2018 draft pick Dakoda Shepley, another offensive lineman who is trying his luck with the NFL. Shepley washed out of the New York Jets lineup, came up to Saskatchewan for a few scrimmages late in the season, and has yet to either sign a contract or sign on for another NFL tryout.

Jones’ record on draft picks saw him reach for those that had NFL aspirations and the results have been mixed. Another Rider pick, Elie Bouka has shaken loose from the roster of the Philadelphia Eagles. Bouka has been plagued by injuries in his attempts to make the NFL and got an early release from the Riders to try his luck with the NFL.

If Bouka returns, he would be on special teams and either rotate at safety or perhaps defensive half back, depending on what the Riders defense is calling for. Which brings up an interesting question of what Jason Shivers will bring to the Riders defense that will be new and hopefully as effective as what Chris Jones did.

Mike Edem seems to be the incumbent safety with Bill Radford the back-up. Bouka would provide a lot of flexibility, assuming he can stay healthy because the Riders look likely to use either Sam Hurl or Cameron Judge as the middle linebacker, with Zack Evans lining up on the defensive line. So another Canadian on defense would allow the Riders to perhaps bring in an American receiver to replace 35-year old Cory Watson on offense if they so chose.

The initial wave of free agent signings has ended and what happens now is teams are looking to sort out who might be too costly to keep on the team payroll while keeping one eye on potential Canadian returnees or negotiation list players on the fringes of NFL teams. Adding to this is the questionable spectacle of the Association of American Football League requiring an infusion of $250 million from the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes in an effort to meet payroll.

Apparently this was not a lump-sum infusion which means the money could stop flowing to the new league at any moment. The fan response to the league has also been distinctly underwhelming, raising the potential the league may not survive to see its championship.

Arriving in the midst of all of this was Ambrosie who came to Regina as the second stop in his “Randy’s Roadshow” tour on Sunday. Ambrosie used the stop to talk about his CFL 2.0 vision which arose from realizing the CFL could not treat all teams the same when it came to marketing.

Using recent demographic data, Ambrosie said the majority of people who live in Toronto are new Canadians or a generation removed and therefore don’t have the same emotional attachment to the CFL that people in Saskatchewan have.

What Ambrosie has in mind is the Premier League of English Football where the percentage of British players went down while the number of foreign players has gone up. To compensate for the decreased number of British players, the amount they were being paid has increased substantially.

That is due to the increase in revenue in television rights, which goes up from soccer fans from other countries looking to follow the progress of their fellow countrymen in the Premier League. Whether that would work for football was an interesting proposition where Ambrosie pointed out healthy football leagues in other countries would provide a venue for Canadian players to continue their careers or get the seasoning they might need to take the next step in their pro careers.

Ambrosie pointed out Canadian universities like York are down to three high schools playing football and are looking to foreign born players to pick up the slack. It’s not a phenomenon limited to York – the University of Regina already has a Mexican player on its roster, and this may be a trend that continues.

That points out a need to try to rebuild the sport at a grass roots level, which will get a boost from a new campaign from the league to get kids playing called – Try Football. This campaign will consist in getting thousands of footballs into kids hands to encourage grassroots participation and support.

The CFL is opening discussions with U Sport to figure out how to rebuild football’s grass roots. Among the ideas being pondered is twinning the Vanier Cup with the Grey Cup. This was done a few years ago and stopped because the then management of U Sports wanted to build their own profile away from the Grey Cup.

So now it seems the professional and amateur sides are realizing they need to work with each other. If they were really adventurous they would throw in the Canadian Junior final and see what all that football can do for the collective unconsciousness.

The other question is what will happen to the number of Canadian players in the CFL. If Ambrosie is looking for more international content to encourage interest, it raises the possibility the Canadian ratio may be reduced which will be interesting in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement talks.

What might counter that is the prospect that a Canadian quarterback, who if on the field, would then count in favor of the Canadian/International ratio. That prospect might help the Toronto Argonauts most of all this year as they signed former Rider backup quarterback Brandon Bridge who joins former University of Regina Ram Noah Picton as one of five quarterbacks on the Argonaut roster.

What might make this a good move for Bridge is Jacques Chapdelaine as the new Argonaut offensive coordinator. Chapdelaine was the offensive coordinator and then head coach of the Montreal Alouettes in 2015 when Bridge got his first CFL start as a quarterback and while Bridge lost that to the Riders, who usually lose notable first games to rookie or inexperienced quarterbacks.

Bridge signing with the Argos on Tuesday was compounded with former CFL running back Cameron Marshall signing with Hamilton. Marshall had been in his second year with the Riders and after rebounding from an injury in 2017 Marshall had seemingly established himself as part of a troika of running backs taking the lead on the Rider offense.

With the Riders signing former Ottawa running back William Powell, the Riders running game will take a different look. Marcus Thigpen signed a contract extension and provides the quick strike ability to score from a running back, and the Riders addition of Kienan LaFrance provides a bit of a Canadian running back depth, although LaFrance has not done much outside of an eastern Final for Ottawa in 2016.

The Riders took a bit of a break from CFL free agency to then announce the signings of receivers Kyle Davis and Brock McCoin, and offensive lineman E. J. Price. The Riders also announced they will be continuing their string of free agent try-out camps in the United States, starting March 30 in Florida and then running until May 12 in Oakland. The free agent camps were a mainstay of the Chris Jones era, and are needed to help dig up some potential diamonds such as receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert.

Ambrosie’s appearance in Regina continued what is a trial balloon being raised regarding the CFL schedule. The CFL has worked with its broadcast partner TSN on establishing Friday and Thursday nights for football and having Saturday as yet another option.

Ambrosie told his Regina audience the CFL was looking to get away from Sunday games, and asked people how they felt about CFL playoff games held on Saturdays. While a question about Sunday Grey Cups saw a clearer preference for Sundays, Ambrosie said the league was looking at moving playoff games to Saturday and part of the purpose of the tour was seeing how fans felt about it.

Fans also had questions about a CFL video game, and Ambrosie announced the CFL had a presentation from where the CFL Football Frenzy was rated with its approximately 600,000 downloads. Ambrosie said the league was told this application had a lot to offer fans and if the league was looking to expand its footprint around the world, then the Football Frenzy application was an excellent introduction.

The CFL is looking to move the start of its season back and Reynolds applauded the move, noting the Rider premiere playoff game last year against Winnipeg was not sold out due to weather factors. Ambrosie said some of the potential issues and problems included the risk the CFL would have to compete with the latter part of the NHL playoffs for public attention.

Ambrosie stick-handled his way through questioning of the league’s commitment to eliminating shots to the head of quarterbacks. Ambrosie acknowledged the missed call on the head shot that took Collaros out of the 2018 season resulted in the addition of an on-field position to focus solely on trying to protect the quarterback.

What that means in the 2019 season is open for discussion as Ambrosie said the league was looking to address the issue in the new CBA and the CFL competition committee would have to take up and address the issue with some recommendations. One worrisome aspect was the perception parents are not signing up their children for football because of perceived increase risk of head shots.

Ambrosie said while the CFL is working with other leagues on addressing the problem of head shots and how to properly protect QBs from them, but a rethinking of the current relationship between the CFL and amateur football is another step forward in securing football’s future as a sport.

Another part of the potential future for the CFL revolves around the prospect of a CFL franchise in the Maritimes, more than likely Halifax. The CFL will be playing one Touchdown Atlantic game this season in Moncton, but main stumbling part is a potential stadium for the new team.

Ambrosie noted the difference between the last time to put a team in Atlantic Canada and the current effort. Ambrosie said the current proposed ownership team for the Schooners has $60.5 million to put towards a team and the stadium is currently costed out to cost $130 million for a stadium with the appearance and facilities of say BMO Field.

Left unsaid was there would have to be a taxpayer funded solution to the construction of a new field which could serve as a lynch-pin of urban development in Halifax. Whether there is an equal appetite from Halifax taxpayers for such a proposition will decide whether or not the franchise becomes a reality.

The Riders last week put the final touches on their football staff –

Vice President, Football Operations & General Manager -Jeremy O’Day

Assistant General Manager – Paul Jones

Director, Football Operations – Ryan Pollock

Manager, Player Personnel – Mike Davis

Coordinator, Football Operations – Jordan Greenly

Coaching Staff

Head Coach & Special Teams Coordinator – Craig Dickenson

Offensive Coordinator & Assistant Head Coach – Stephen McAdoo

Defensive Coordinator & Defensive Backs – Jason Shivers

Quarterbacks – Steve Walsh

Running Backs – Kent Maugeri

Receivers – Travis Moore

Offensive Line – Stephen Sorrells

Linebackers – Chris Tormey

Defensive Line – Mike Scheper

Special Teams – Mike Scheper

Defensive Assistant & Assistant Defensive Backs – Merritt Bowden

Equipment Staff

Equipment Manager – Gordon Gilroy

Assistant Equipment Manager – Mike MacNeil

Video Staff

Manager, Football Analytics and Scouting – Chad Hudson

Football Video & Research and Development – Alex Smith Jr.

Football Video & Research and Development – Nick Bowley

Health & Fitness

Head Athletic Therapist – Ryan Raftis

Assistant Athletic Therapist – Trevor Len

Strength and Conditioning Trainer – Clinton Spencer

This is Kent’s second go-around with the Riders as a coach. He had been a secondary coach under Chamblin and his return may up the factor on an aggressive secondary to get turnovers. In terms of reading tea leaves, while the Riders are an unknown quality, some of the pieces they have brought in indicate the team is intending to continue an aggressive defensive theme first established by Chris Jones.

So now the first couple of weeks of free agency is over, the move is now shifting towards the CFL draft; start of negotiations for the Collective Bargaining Agreement and seeing the fallout from free agency. With BC looking to make player cuts to reduce under the salary cap, other teams are likely to follow

The Riders have some interesting scenarios developing as the start of the NFL year coming March 5 will see a change in status for some players the Riders may have interest in south of the border. The Riders will be looking at addressing how they will approach their offensive line and Josiah St. John gets an offer or is cut loose, and if the Riders will try to upgrade their backup quarterback position and then trying to find a younger quarterback.

Ambrose for his part will continue to take his vision of the CFL across Canada and try to determine some consensus from fans. The CFL has set out to make its off-season more relevant for fans and observers and the thing to keep in mind is these past two weeks are not a destination, but process of becoming.

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders get to host Cup, now need to figure out how to get there

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