By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

Can anyone stop the Hamilton Tiger-Cats?

Feb 25, 2020 | 9:13 AM

We are almost at the end of February and the CFL free agency frenzy seems to have petered out leaving the Hamilton Tiger-Cats crowned as the likely team to beat in the 2020 season.

Part of that is due to signings like linebacker Larry Dean and DB Patrick Levels that have upgraded the defense. According to chatter on line, those signings might have been relatively cheap and affordable from the Hamilton point of view, but, the real test will come when training camp arrives.

Hamilton also added receiver DeVier Posey, former Grey Cup MVP and a bit unexpected when you look at the receivers available and especially the money available. AC/DC once sang, Money Talks and you can’t underestimate the role money played during free agency.

The new collective bargaining agreement in the CFL raised the level of minimum salary from $55,000 to $65,000, but did not increase the salary cap all that much. So while rookies and new players got a boost, the lack of growth in the salary cap means there was not that much money available for big ticket players like say, receiver Derel Walker who apparently made over $200 K last year and is finding there is not a similar demand this year.

For older American veterans, there is an option – receiver SJ Green of Toronto signed with Tampa of the XFL to be reunited under his former coach Marc Trestman and perhaps learn how to be a receiver coach when his career is over. Offensive lineman Derek Dennis who a few years ago went from Calgary to Saskatchewan for a year before returning to Calgary, also signed in the XFL. Apparently Rider offensive lineman Thaddeus Coleman might also be trying the XFL.

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The XFL provides an option and while the AAFL went under without completing a season last year, the XFL seems to be finding that area between hubris and viability although the jury is still out on the long=term health of the league. The XFL seems to be focused on being a feeder league for the NFL and with some of the rules closer to the CFL standard, a 25 second clock between plays and one foot inbounds on a reception being deemed a catch, it will be interesting to see how the XFL progresses.

With the XFL playing 10 games and three are down already, the league will be done by the time training camps take place for the CFL and NFL. That allows players who may not have gotten a good look during their own NFL tryouts the opportunity to get film on what they can offer prospective employers.

With the gap between the end of the season and the start of a new one in the CFL and NFL, the XFl provides players like Dennis the opportunity to put some dollars in their wallet while waiting to see how the free agency landscape shakes out in various leagues. So while Dennis and Green may have signed in the XFL, nothing is stopping them from coming back to the CFL after their XFL experiences.

The interesting thing in the CFL will come when training camps arrive and CFL teams will have to cut their rosters down prior to camp. That means those teams that dived into free agency and maybe find themselves over the cap will have to let some vets go (since they are more expensive) in order to make it under the cap.

Now last year BC and Edmonton were said to have won free agency but what those teams found, along with Calgary, is while it is nice to pay your QB big money, if you don’t have enough money left over to pay for decent offensive linemen or receivers, your team is doomed to fail. So with Hamilton bulking up for a Cup run, while Winnipeg is taking the opposite tack of nailing down their own free agents before going out for more, will Hamilton be forced to let some players go when they hit camp, preferably at a time when adding playings released by Hamilton would be a pricey option for teams that are keeping their gunpowder dry.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders by finishing first in the west and missing out on a Grey Cup berth by the width of a crossbar feels they have the nucleus of a Grey Cup contender and only need to dabble around the edges. Since no starting quarterback made it through the season in one piece last year, having a competent back-up quarterback is essential for success and the Riders signing James Franklin, former Toronto starter and Edmonton back-up does provide a bit of insurance for the Riders.

Hamilton has two capable starting quarterbacks in Dane Evans and Jeremiah Masoli so if something does happen again to Masoli, Evans can step in and do the job. Evans could have made major dollars as a starter in Hamilton or another team, but the allure of a championship has apparently the two quarterbacks thinking of Tom Brady who took a bit less on his contracts so the team can add talent at other positions.

I will be curious to see how Hamilton goes through training camp and a part of me wonders if the Cats are borrowing a page from the Riders 2013 Grey Cup playbook and going all in on winning in 2020. If history is any judge, it might work but sustaining that will likely be difficult.

The Bombers have done what defending Grey Cup Champs usually do in situations like this – they looked first to nailing down their down players, especially Willie Jefferson. With the departure of Paul LaPolice, the Bombers made the calculated risk to go with Zach Collaros over Matt Nichols because Zach has actually won a Grey Cup and Nichols was a capable game manager, but either had bad brain farts in the most inopportune moments or got injured.

Winnipeg is calculating it has the offensive line that can keep Collaros upright and with Andrew Harris either on or off the juice, they have a running game that prevents opposing teams from teeing off on Collaros and forcing him out of the game. So Winnipeg’s plan to repeat is centered around its offensive line being physical enough to make holes for Harris to run through and keep Collaros clean of hits.

With reports of teams signing players like Jefferson for less than one might think, I get the suspicion that teams like Winnipeg and Saskatchewan are keeping a rainy day fund that might come in handy in September when NFL cuts flood the market and teams might pick up some much needed reinforcements.

The Riders nailed down their own free agents first, players like Shaq Evans, Cameron Judge and Solomon Elimimian. Saskatchewan’s three quarterbacks – Cody Fajardo, Bryan Bennett and Isaac Harker, are extended through to next season so if Franklin doesn’t show anything at camp, no harm, no foul.

Franklin may be a calculated risk in terms of depth at the quarterback spot, and the Riders dipped into their past to fill out depth and/or starters at other positions. Otha Foster III returns as linebacker, presumably to fill Derek Moncrief’s roster spot and Josiah St. John returns to fill out the depth on the offensive line.

St. John was a number one draft pick but held out in his rookie year, reported late and then ran into injuries as he discovered if you want to be a pro, you have to work at it. At the end of his first three year stint, he was seeing regular action on the offensive line and managed to drive Micah Johnson crazy when he was with Calgary.

Teams that go nuts in free agency usually need to – they are coming off a losing season and need to change the culture quickly and send a message to their fans they are turning the ship around. However free agency is one part of the puzzle of filling out a roster – there is the Canadian draft and there is also an upcoming round of free agent camps in the US where the Riders will find out if Paul Jones still has the touch he had in Edmonton in keeping the Eskimos stocked with talent.

There is also ensuring there is the proper coaching in place to find and use the players talents within the team structure. The Riders have yet to name a D-Line coach and if you have someone like say, DeVone Claybrooks, it makes things interesting and more attractive to prospective defensive players.

The NFL combine is currently underway in Indianapolis and while there are some Canadians eligible to be drafted, the combine is an opportunity to scope out some players who may be not be Round one or two types and more likely to filter through to the CFL.

The Riders free agent camps will also have individual testing on the 40 yard dash, broad jump and short shuttle. Prospective players will have to pay $100 registration and camps start March 28 in Orlando, March 29 in Fort Lauterdale, April 4 in Dallas, April 5 in Houston, April 18 in Los Angeles, April 19 in Oakland, May 2 in Atlanta and May 3 in Baltimore.

So in the meantime, CFL fans can prepare for the appearance of the Randy Ambrosie road show February 29 at 1 pm at Mosaic Stadium. Apparently there are no more free tickets for this, which begs the question of whether the number was capped or whether the Riders and/or Ambrosie are being selective about who might get in.