I am back everyone…..so let’s waste no time and get right into it!!!

What a ride it was. Needless to say, this is the greatest season many of us green and white fans have ever seen. And I have a lot to say about that but that will come later. What I am doing here today is a bit of a breakdown of each team, my thoughts on the season they had, and what may need to happen next year for the team to improve from the ‘07 mark. So to get it going I will start in the East.

Hamilton Tiger Cats:

The Ti-Cats always seem to be in next year country. We always keep hearing this could be the year the Ti-Cats shock people in the East. They have made moves towards the future, and this year, I think they made the biggest steps. Casey Printers is a good quarterback, maybe hyped up a bit, but nevertheless, he is a good quarterback. It seemed that everything went wrong in Hamilton this year. The year started off with some terrible trades to the Roughriders and newly appointed General Manager Marcel Dejardins was not a fan favorite before the first down of football was even played in Hamilton. Looking ahead to the ‘08 campaign Hamilton is looking like it could be one of the better teams in the East. If Jesse Lumsden and Casey Printers can stay healthy this offense is looking like one of the more powerful ones in the League. Add Bob O’Billivoch to the mix as the new GM in town and that’s another instant upgrade to this team. I know it’s said almost every year, but I truly believe that the Hamilton Tiger Cats could be a team to look out for in 2008.

Montreal Alouettes:

The Als did not host a home playoff game and if it not been for Jim Popp’s poor coaching in the Eastern Semi Final, this team had a legit shot at knocking off the Eastern Champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers. One of the lone bright spots in the offense was Kerry Watkins, to bad there are rumors swirling that he wants out of Montreal. Anthony Calvillo’s future is up in the air, Ben Cahoon isn’t getting any younger and neither is the once feared O-Line. Jim Popp did step down as Head Coach, which might be the best thing to happen to Montreal all season. From listening to interviews Popp had lost control of the team. Popp has set the team up nicely and been a great GM over the years, but I think his ego got the better of him and he actually thought he could be a good coach. As of yet, no one has been hired, but Steve Burrato has been the rumored man to take control. The Als have a lot of questions to address in the off-season, and this could be the start of some very dark times in Montreal.

Toronto Argonauts:

First and foremost, Pinball Clemons has stepped down. This is easily the biggest news out of Toronto. His replacement, Rich Stubbler, will do a very good job. Toronto had a great year; and it seemed that Michael Bishop had finally hit his groove in the Canadian Football League, until the Eastern Final. But you can’t hang that all on Bishop. It seemed as though a lot of his team mates had given up on him. But Toronto will contend again, like they have done in the past in the East. They have in my opinion the best Defensive Backfield in all of the CFL. Next year should not be much different. Usually when a new coach comes in, expectations are allowed to drop a bit, but not in this case. The move from Clemons to Stubbler was a lateral move and Toronto should contend to win the East yet again. Let’s just hope the team shows up come Playoff Time.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers:

A great start to the Season, Winnipeg got off on the right foot and played some great football. Down the stretch, they started to drop off, but picked it up at the right time. So what was it that prevented the Bombers from winning the Grey Cup? They ran into a team playing even better football. Plain and simple. I have never heard a group so positive about a backup QB making his first career start in the biggest game of the year, turn around and have him thrown under the bus quicker then you could say, Saskatchewan Roughriders….2007 Grey Cup Champions. Milt Stegall has had quite the career on the field in the CFL. Many people had said Milt had an attitude or and ego to him. Anyone who watched the Grey Cup saw just that. Dinwiddie was PRAISED all week about being a QB that had all the tools to be a successful pivot here in the CFL. But before the Riders had even made it back to the hotel to begin the celebration, Dinwiddie was thrown under the bus. Players saying the game would have been a different with Glenn at QB. Winnipeg played a great game; we had a great time in Toronto. Would it have been a better game with Kevin Glenn at QB? Probably. But that’s like the Riders saying this would have been a different game had Matt Dominguez been healthy. Injuries are a part of the game, every team deals with Injuries. At the end of the day, you need capable backups. Maybe Winnipeg should question Taman and not having a capable backup at QB, instead of saying it would have been a different ball game with Kevin Glenn at the helm.

Edmonton Eskimos

2 years in a row without a playoff appearance. How sweet it is! It seems a lot of people in Edmonton; fans at least, aren’t sold on Danny Maciocia. Talking to some Eskimo fans at Grey Cup they were not happy at all that Danny would be back for another year. The team struggled to get things going, and finally when it seemed as though they started to, Ricky Ray goes down with an injury. Talk about bad luck. Edmonton did however fire offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine, which I still don’t totally get. But hey, if they plan on keeping Danny around a few more years, as a Rider Fan. I’m fine with that.

Calgary Stampeders:

A western semi final loss to Saskatchewan two years in a row. Henry Burris was the same Henry Burris he has always been. You see, it’s all about Henry. Sure the guy has the skills to be one of the better QB’s in the league but then he will make very costly errors which result in his team losing a game. These events are things such as red zone fumbles, red zone interceptions and just making the wrong reads. We’ve seen this time and time again. When push comes to shove and it comes down to the wire, more often then not Henry doesn’t succeed. But things could be different going forward. No longer is Tom Higgins the Head Coach in Calgary. Instead they have gone to John Hufnagel, who most recently was the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants. But Hufnagel is no stranger to the CFL, and a lot of people already think that with Hufnagel being brought in the Stamps are instant contenders again. But didn’t the Stamps fans and media say this about George Cortez last year when he was brought in from Saskatchewan? How bout NFL cut Marc Boerigter who didn’t even last the whole season with the Stamps. Again, the Calgary Media has the Stamps vastly improved, and a lot of people are still wondering why. Again, it’s a long time till training camp, but we’ve heard this all too often from the Calgary Media.

BC Lions:

Easily the CFL’s top team during the regular season. I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t worried during that western division final. BC, like in the past, will have one of the top teams in the CFL again next year. They are bringing back a large majority of players. Cameron Wake is just a beast, I’m not sure of his contract status, but if he is going into his option year, I’d expect he gets a few NFL looks. The team is losing Bob O’Billovich who is major reason a lot of these guys have ended up in BC. He is a great scout, and will be great in Hamilton. I don’t doubt they will be able to bring in good talent still and they still have a great team so next year should not be any different. One point I’d like to mention, as I know it gets talked about a LOT in Saskatchewan is the topic of Jason Clermont. Here is my two cents: He might not have even been in the Riders 08 plans. He was offered a good chunk of money at that time from BC to sign, and he did just that. Sure he could have waited around, tried the open market and possibly got a lesser offer to play for the Green and White. But you know what, that’s business. If any one of you out there had a chance to stay with your current employer where you were doing quite well for your self, would you not do it? I know you can chalk me up on that list.

Saskatchewan Roughriders:

Say it with me, 2007 Grey Cup Champions. Doesn’t that feel good? Wow, what a weekend Toronto was. Sure the beer lines were long and expensive, but I wouldn’t trade that weekend in for anything. It was sad, for myself, that the Riders had such a good team this year and I wasn’t around to see any games in Regina. But in the end, I got to see the biggest one of them all. And that my friends, was worth it. Kent Austin very well could be a uniamoius descion for Coach of the Year. You couldn’t have written the book any better then the Riders played it out. There were ups, downs, highs and lows. Some heartbreaking losses and nail biting wins. This was the season that all of us rider fans have prayed for and it was delivered. Seriously, I’m still basking in the win. I don’t really care to think about what the off-season might or might not bring us. And you know why? Because at the end of the day we are still the 2007 Champions and no one can take that from us. But I do have to address some of the biggest free agents that the Riders have. Matt Dominguez, Reggie Hunt and Eddie Davis. In a perfect world, I’d love to have all three back, but realistically speaking; I think we will see one maybe two back. Who might they be? I have no idea. I know Eric Tillman has some tough decisions to make, but I have all the confidence in the world that he will make the right ones and this team will be able to defend its Championship next year in Montreal.

Signing off, Brodie Hallett