(Previous: Canada West.)
WINDSOR LANCERS'05 Record: 4-5, lost in quarter-final to McMaster
Reason For Being: To be to OUA football what Brazil is to the world economy: A perpetually emerging powerhouse that has never put it together.
Opener: Monday at Waterloo.
Make or Break: Sept. 16 at Queen's, Oct. 14 at Guelph.
Outlook: Team Mercurial could finish anywhere from fourth to seventh.
How many otherwise apposite observers have been made fools of by saying, "Watch out for Windsor?" Prospects are always bright, but the Lancers are usually revealed to be suspect before too long. The problem might be coaching. Mike Morencie is 19-41-1 in seven seasons, and you wonder how long it will be before someone starts saying he's the problem.
Daryl Stephenson, who'll be running behind a big line, led the CIS in rushing last year with 1,306 yards (don't act impressed: the CIS rushing leader almost always comes from the OUA), and the Lancers are high on some of their newcomers, including a pair of quarterbacks, Jorel Petree and Dan Lumley, who also might become their punter. Jon Dent remains the starter there, but for how long is anyone's guess.
Defensively, there's a couple of 300-lb. guys to man the line in Windsor's 3-5-4 defence. Overall, Windsor has 21 starters back from a just-average team, plus its usual contingent of newcomers who got "disenchanted" at some NCAA D-2 school you never heard of before. Fifth-year cornerback Sasha Glavic seems to have been there forever.
Does this sound like a breakout team? Not really.
WESTERN MUSTANGS'05 Record: 7-3, lost to Laurier in conference final
Reason For Being: To remind you that life is unfair and the good-looking people with the cool clothes will always get the benefit of the doubt.
Opener: Sunday at Ottawa.
Make Or Break: Sept. 23 vs. Laurier, Oct. 14 at McMaster.
Outlook: Overconfidence could cost them fourth place.
All together now: "OVER-RATED!" Man, that felt good.
Disclaimer: What you're about to read about the 'Stangs can probably be written off as the splenetic ranting of a Queen's alum. Dr. Freud could have a field day explaining how our animus toward Western for its holier-than-thou snooty elitism is simply transferring our own resentment toward Queen's for, wait for it, its own brand of holier-than-thou snooty elitism.
Some people manage to be cool with it -- some of my best friends have degrees from both schools -- but the resentment festers since Western still manages to have a solid academic reputation while putting out big-time sports teams (at least by Canadian standards) while Queen's is usually middle-of-the-pack in every sport except rugby and women's soccer. Plus you don't have to explain what a "Golden Gael" is and why your team is wearing all-gold uniforms.
Oh, but Western would need to make sure its sports teams are high-profile, wouldn't they? How vain is that?
Since the quote-unquote Toronto media includes a goodly number of Western journalism grads,* any treatment of OUA or CIS football basically can be summed up, Oh, but you can't overlook Western. Similar to Notre Dame in the NCAA, Western has to go into the season ranked in the top Top 10 and boasting a Hec Crighton Trophy favourite (that's Canada's version of the Heisman) if they're remotely good. It's the rules.
That's just what they are this year, too: Remotely good. The Mustangs made big off-season news by hiring Greg Marshall, late of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who will take over the head-coaching duties from legendary Larry Haylor next fall, but Marshall is only offensive co-ordinator and it will probably take a while to rebuild a defence that has a reputation for breaking down like an '83 Chevette. By the way, the combined score of Western's last five season-ending losses: Other Guys 191, Mighty Mustangs 92. Ouch.
With QB Michael Faulds and tailback Randy McAuley, plus a receiving corp that includes some promising speedsters such as Anthony Adderley and Miguel Wason, the 'Stangs will be formidable on offence. On defence, not so much. Until they fix that, they'll probably be no better than fourth in the league.
LAURIER GOLDEN HAWKS'05 Record: 12-0, won the whole schebang-a-bang
Reason For Being: To be everyone's second-favourite OUA team.
Opener: Monday at Guelph.
Make or Break: Sept. 23 vs. Western.
Outlook: Lost 13 starters, including QB Ryan Pyear, so a repeat looks unlikely.
Half the regulars from the Vanier team are gone, but Laurier at least knew this was coming. Most of their new starters saw plenty of mop-up time last season, including all-purpose wideout Dante Luciani, who caught the game-saving third-and-15 pass on Laurier's winning drive in the Vanier Cup. Luciani was a part-time quarterback last season, but reports are Laurier has settled on Jamie Partington as Pyear's successor.)
Receiver Andy Baechler is one of the holdovers on offence. The linebacker trio of Jesse Alexander, Yannick Carter and Justin Phillips should be very good. Beyond who's gone and who remains, though, it needs to be said that Laurier is too well-coached and well-organized to take too big of a tumble from the heights it scaled the past two seasons.
Pencil them in for a 6-2 record and third place. Five and three, fourth place in the worst-case scenario, unless there's a run of injuries.
WATERLOO WARRIORS'05 Record: 2-6
Reason For Being: So Laurier doesn't have to play home games at a high school field.
Opener: Monday vs. Windsor.
Make Or Break: Sept. 16 vs. U of T.
Outlook: Lucky to win two games. Just like last year.
May or may not be the worst program in Canada, but not far from holding that distinction. When a season preview begins with words such as "retention" and "growth," it's as sure a sign as anything that malaise and a free-floating ennui have set in around the team.
There's some nice parts -- all-Canadian tackle Chris Best, cornerback Drew Haynes, fifth-year QB Jon Morbey -- but it pretty much adds up to doodley squat and no, there's no nice way to say that. This team must be on retainer from Pfizer, because anyone who watches them is probably on all kinds of anti-depressants.
McMASTER MARAUDERS'05 Record: 6-4, lost in semifinal
Reason For Being: So the Tiger-Cats don't have to look far to find Canadian backups.
Opener: Monday at York.
Make Or Break: Sept. 16 at Ottawa.
Outlook: It's been 34 months since Mac's last Yates Cup. What's wrong with you guys?
Hotshot young coach in Stefan Ptaszek; a veteran defence that has a new co-ordinator in Greg Knox; a veteran quarterback in Adam Archibald; plus a tailback, Jordan Kozina, who topped 1,000 yards rushing in his rookie season. Plug in Andre Sadeghian, who was UBC's leading rusher in 2004, and 6-foot-5 rookie receiver Kevin D'Hollander, whom the Marauders recruited from under Western's nose.
How do these guys not win the Yates Cup?
Here's why: Mac has an identity crisis. Not to go all dollar-store psychology on you, but this team has some sort of mental block that has developed over its efforts to go to a wide-open passing game. (Maybe that's why for all his talent, Archibald completed barely 50% of his throws in '05.)
See, when Greg Marshall took over Mac when it was stuck in a winless rot in the mid-'90s (0-8 in '96), he looked for the kinds of players who would fit a power-football style. That was his area of his expertise, that was what had worked when he was on Western's coaching staff, and OUA teams were kind of infamous for having really vanilla offensive and defensive schemes.
It worked well enough to make Mac a conference powerhouse, but against a team that could match them for physical prowess, time and again Mac lost when it went up against a team from outside Ontario. So since '03, the Marauders have tried to be balanced team -- easier to do since it's a magnet program that can attract talented receivers -- but it never really took. Maybe this has caused a little self-doubt to creep through the ranks, since Mac always knew that it could just wear other teams out, while shutting down opposing running games.
Truth be known, yours truly has never respected Mac more than after the '03 national semi against Laval, when they had to open up the offence after falling behind 17 points and damn near won, falling just short, 36-32. That was Marshall's last game there, so it really was the beginning of a transition period for Mac.
They're still good, but now it seems like they're at the point Western was at five or six years ago -- not quite sure of who they are. That kind of mental baggage might trip them up, because not winning won't be for a lack of talent.
As for their offence, it's going to be interesting to see how Ptaszek adjusts from having a mobile touch passer at Laurier (Ryan Pyear, who replaced him as offensive co-ordinator), to having a 6-foot-6, 240-pound dropback passer in Archibald. Don't be surprised if Mac's offence is occasionally sporadic this season.
GUELPH GRYPHONS'05 Record: 3-6, lost quarter-final to Ottawa
Reason For Being: To teach student sportswriters to check their spelling; inevitably it gets misspelled "Griffins."
Opener: Monday vs. Laurier.
Make or Break: Sept. 9 vs. Queen's, Oct. 14 vs. Windsor.
Outlook: Up-and-coming team plays Laurier, Queen's, Western and Ottawa in the first five weeks, and finishes the regular season at Mac.
No one will get anything easily against Guelph's defence, which was integral in the team's head-turning upset of McMaster last season. It returns 10 starters, most notably fifth-year safety Trevor Small and the defensive-line tandem of Chris Hladich and Adam Wigdor. Guelph, which in recent years had failed to stop other teams from fishing off their dock for talented players, has some highly regarded rookies waiting in the wings, including linebackers Adam Dunk and Scott Puillandre, who you will likely hear more about in future seasons.
So what's the worry here? There's a new coach in Kyle Walters, a new offensive co-ordinator in Jamie Kana, and four new starters to break in on the offensive line. The quarterback and running back, Justin Dunk and Brad Crawford, are both second-year players. (Crawford looks like he can be every bit the player his brother Bryan was for Queen's before moving on to the CFL. There's also a trio of good receivers led by Jeff Keegan, who had a CIS-leading 936 yards in '05.
Throw in what may be the toughest schedule in the OUA, and it adds up to Guelph being hard-pressed to finish in the top six and return to the playoffs. Watch for this team in 2008 and '09, though, especially if the Crawford-Justin Dunk tandem stay the full five years.
U OF T VARSITY BLUES'05 Record: 0-8, but you knew that already
Reason For Being: To demonstrate the perils of what can happen if a university dares to de-emphasize football. (Pay attention, Queen's.)
Opener: Monday at Queen's.
Make or Break: Sept. 16 at Waterloo, Sept. 30 vs. York
Outlook: The losing streak (33 games and counting) should end this year.
Mocking the U of T has officially become uncool, and besides, The Streak is likely to end this season. Can you imagine -- there are guys who have gone winless for their entire careers there. One such player who deserves better is running back Marc Gaudett, who ran for school-record 822 yards in 2005. Coach Steve Howlett basically started from scratch with freshmen three years ago, and those who stuck it out have steadily improved.
YORK LIONS'05 Record: 3-5, missed playoffs
Reason For Being: (Shrug.)
Opener: Monday vs. McMaster.
Make or Break: Oct. 7 at Windsor, Oct. 14 vs. Queen's.
Outlook: Will finish just out of the playoffs.
York's hallmark is always having a couple players who make you think, "Man, if they could ever find 20 more guys like that, they'd really have something." This is a team that had a player (Ricky Foley, now playing for the B.C. Lions) attend a NFL mini-camp this spring. In 2004, it had arguably the country's most exciting player, running back Andre Durie, who is out for this season while rehabbing the leg he broke early in '05. His replacement is a fifth-year guy who averaged over six yards a carry in '05. Too bad it came on only 16 carries.
Which all adds up to very little. Not to go all Dave Feschuk on the Lions, who do have ex-Queen's star Tom Denison coaching their offence, but if there is a more generic, nondescript collegiate football team in Canada, maybe in North America, they haven't been found yet. York is like some post-modern character who's almost thoroughly average at everything. All you need to know is that the school stripped its sports team of their one unique quality -- the Yeomen/Yeowomen nickname -- and replaced it with Lions, which is high school-generic.
QUEEN'S GOLDEN GAELS'05 Record: 3-5, missed playoffs
Reason For Being: Driving me nuts during September and October; annoying pointy-headed academics by their very existence.
Opener: Monday vs. U of T.
Make or Break: Sept. 16 vs. Windsor.
Outlook: Have a soft early schedule, so they should make the playoffs. It just won't be a long stay.
Yours truly has a very childish attachment to Queen's Football (always capitalized, by the way), but not so much that a little harsh reality can't seem in through those Tricoloured glasses. If Queen's can run the ball consistently and be halfway decent on defence and special teams, they have a shot at a playoff berth. All three of those areas, along with offensive-line play, tend to be touch-and-go with any Pat Sheahan-coached team, so watch out.
The Gaels are an offensive team, but it's better to start with the defence. Queen's has depth in their linebacking group, which is led by Ian Hazlett and Adam Ross. The Gaels usually don't have the most athletic secondary, which is probably why they were glad to see Jay Okundoye on the field at camp after missing two seasons with injuries. If the Gaels can keep teams to 20-24 points, they'll have a shot most days.
Offensively, it starts with QB Danny Brannagan, the OUA rookie of the year in '05, who has experienced guys at both the skill positions and the offensive line surrounding him. Brad Smith, the brother-in-law of Montreal Alouettes kicker Damon Duval, will probably see a lot of passes since this is his final season. There's plenty of local players, with receiver Rob Bagg and running backs Marty Gordon and Mike Giffin, the twin MGs.
OTTAWA GEE-GEES'05 Record: 7-3, lost semifinal to Western
Reason For Being: None of your damn business.
Opener: Sunday vs. Western.
Make or Break: Sept. 9 at Laurier, Sept. 16 vs. McMaster.
Outlook: The hip pick to win the Yates Cup outright for just the second time in school history. (Ottawa shared the trophy twice in the '70s, but its only outright win came in the paleolithic, pre-forward pass days of 1907.)
The Gee-Gees start off with the other three OUA heavies, so by Oct. 1 you'll know if they're for real. To this observer, at least, it looks like the blueprint used by their dominant teams from the late '90s: Physical up front, plus a lot of depth at the other positions
All-Canadian centre Kevin Kelly anchors a big offensive line, while Sébastien Tétreault and Dan Kennedy are a pair of bookends for the D-line. Another similarity with those late-'90s teams is having a dual-threat quarterback: Josh Sacobie (23 total TDs last season) looks a lot like what Phill Côté (the '99 Hec winner) would have if he had been six inches taller. Davie Mason and Kingston native Craig Bearrs should be a good 1-2 punch at tailback.
There's a good chance the Gee-Gees will host a national semifinal for the first time since 1997. That was infamous snow bowl that is forever remembered for the Gee-Gees mascot coming out on the field to make an illegal tackle on Waterloo player. Stuff like that just happens when the Gee-Gees are around, so there's a slight possibility a significant part of the team could be lost after being caught doing something really, for a lack of a better word, dumb -- like dunking an Ottawa city councillor's head in a toilet or something.
(Although, should that happen and should the councillor be Clive Doucet, very few people will be upset.)
Predicted order of finish: 10) Waterloo 9) U of T 8) York 7) Guelph 6) Queen's 5) Windsor 4) Western 3) Laurier 2) McMaster 1) Ottawa. Conference champion: Ottawa.
Next: Quebec, Atlantic.
Related: CIS Football Picks, Week 1.
(* Yeah, about Western's journalism school. I didn't get in.)
That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment