First off, I've bugged you guys enough about SportsOptions so I'll keep it short. If you are thinking about signing up download the free trial from sportsoptions.com and email at jaket@sportsoptions.com. I have some special deals I can hook you up with for posting at TheRX.
Second, if you bet on the CFL the service is going to pay for itself. I think I've been annoying everyone here at the office by talking about the CFL so much but it's a sport I actually watch and care about. Most of the time only top QBs get sent out in critical notices but we are going to open it up this season and send out info on other important players at other positions. If Drew Willy or S.J. Green or Zach Colleros missed week 1 you aren't going to hear about it at any other similar services. No one else cares. I'm putting an emphasis on stuff like CFL, Arena Football, WNBA, etc to make sure we cover everything on the board in depth (minus soccer since there are a million leagues and we'd have to hire someone exclusively for that if not a few people).
Third, here are the quick previews I wrote up. They aren't 100% complete and I haven't spell checked anything but maybe they will be helpful to some. If you have comments/predictions/etc I'd love to start a discussion. PS I think Colleros is going to have a much stronger season than Willy. Don't trust Willy at all.
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BC Lions - Solid on both sides of the ball but starting QB Travis Lulay will probably miss the first 2-4 weeks of the season. Team is well above average with Lulay in there but struggled without him last season. Should be better without their star now that the experienced Kevin Glenn is playing backup. Defense should get a boost with Khaliff Mitchell returning this season.
Calgary Stampeders - Best offense in the CFL last year despite rotating QBs due to injuries all year. No one can run the ball like these guys. They're dominant on the ground. Bo Levi Mitchell is starting game 1 even though Drew Tate has more experience. Tate just can't stay healthy and Mitchell has looked very good running the offense. Defense puts a TON of pressure on opposing QBs. Had massive sack and turnover numbers last year. Best team in the CFL last season even though they lost in the playoffs.
Edmonton Eskimos - Offense has a veteran QB coming back in Mike Reilly but they struggled to score despite being above average at yardage. Reilly got sacked a ton and is likely to get hurt at some point. Offensive line is bringing in new guys and trying to swap around their tackles. Doesn't look that good but can't be as bad as last year. They have some nice pieces. Defensively the team couldn't stop the run at all or force a turnover last season. No D-line push.
Hamilton TiCats - New QB leading an offense that got sacked a million times last season. I like Zach Colleros at QB in this league and think he will do well. He has the smarts to move the offense even if the line doesn't give him time. Defense was sound enough but lacked the big play and they were close to last in sacks and forced turnovers. Part of that was the offense setting them up in poor position but this team has potential to do well this season.
Montreal Alouettes - Signed Ocho Cinco Chad Johnson. Troy Smith is the new QB. Looked solid but not great last year. Still no accuracy. Montreal does have a nice offensive line and he should put up numbers while turning the ball over a bit too much. Probably a good guy for the over. Alouettes released one of the best RBs in the game after he had knee surgery so it will be interesting to see what happens there. Team couldn't run a whole lot without Richardson last season. Montreal has a new coach with a ton of CFL experience but he hasn't been in the league since 2008 so I don't know what to expect.
Ottawa RedBlacks - Who knows. League's expansion team has an above average QB in Henry Burris. New head coach was the Calgary defensive coordinator last few years so you can expect Ottawa will blitz like crazy and force turnovers. Offensively they have looked way behind. Burris will give them a chance but the offense is going to need plenty of time to gel. They have looked very vanilla in their 2 preseason games offensively.
Saskatchewan Roughriders - Probably the best offense in the CFL outside of possibly Calgary. Team can kill you with both the run and the pass. Darian Durant is impossible to stop at QB because of his run/pass threat. Roughriders kept great control of the ball last season, forced a ton of turnovers, and got to the opposing QB. League champions' main concern is that the WR corps is almost all brand new with Getzlaf injured (most important returning starter at WR/pivot).
Toronto Argonauts - They have a reliable veteran QB in Ricky Ray, assuming he stays healthy. Offensive line gives him great protection and this is probably the best passing team in the CFL. Ray kept turnovers low and knows how to run an offense. Defense needs some work at the line but is sound at forcing turnovers and getting at the QB. Should be one of the better CFL teams this year.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Drew Willy was the backup for Saskatchewan the last 2 years and was named the starter the second Winnipeg signed him. He's played very little over the past few seasons and has made some bad decisions throwing the ball during his time. I don't trust him behind an offensive line that wasn't that good last season. Winnipeg's defense forced zero turnovers but got to opposing QBs enough and should show a large improvement after being dead last in the league at points allowed by a large margin. Much of those points came because the offense turned the ball over a million times which won't be as bad this time around.
Second, if you bet on the CFL the service is going to pay for itself. I think I've been annoying everyone here at the office by talking about the CFL so much but it's a sport I actually watch and care about. Most of the time only top QBs get sent out in critical notices but we are going to open it up this season and send out info on other important players at other positions. If Drew Willy or S.J. Green or Zach Colleros missed week 1 you aren't going to hear about it at any other similar services. No one else cares. I'm putting an emphasis on stuff like CFL, Arena Football, WNBA, etc to make sure we cover everything on the board in depth (minus soccer since there are a million leagues and we'd have to hire someone exclusively for that if not a few people).
Third, here are the quick previews I wrote up. They aren't 100% complete and I haven't spell checked anything but maybe they will be helpful to some. If you have comments/predictions/etc I'd love to start a discussion. PS I think Colleros is going to have a much stronger season than Willy. Don't trust Willy at all.
----------------
BC Lions - Solid on both sides of the ball but starting QB Travis Lulay will probably miss the first 2-4 weeks of the season. Team is well above average with Lulay in there but struggled without him last season. Should be better without their star now that the experienced Kevin Glenn is playing backup. Defense should get a boost with Khaliff Mitchell returning this season.
Calgary Stampeders - Best offense in the CFL last year despite rotating QBs due to injuries all year. No one can run the ball like these guys. They're dominant on the ground. Bo Levi Mitchell is starting game 1 even though Drew Tate has more experience. Tate just can't stay healthy and Mitchell has looked very good running the offense. Defense puts a TON of pressure on opposing QBs. Had massive sack and turnover numbers last year. Best team in the CFL last season even though they lost in the playoffs.
Edmonton Eskimos - Offense has a veteran QB coming back in Mike Reilly but they struggled to score despite being above average at yardage. Reilly got sacked a ton and is likely to get hurt at some point. Offensive line is bringing in new guys and trying to swap around their tackles. Doesn't look that good but can't be as bad as last year. They have some nice pieces. Defensively the team couldn't stop the run at all or force a turnover last season. No D-line push.
Hamilton TiCats - New QB leading an offense that got sacked a million times last season. I like Zach Colleros at QB in this league and think he will do well. He has the smarts to move the offense even if the line doesn't give him time. Defense was sound enough but lacked the big play and they were close to last in sacks and forced turnovers. Part of that was the offense setting them up in poor position but this team has potential to do well this season.
Montreal Alouettes - Signed Ocho Cinco Chad Johnson. Troy Smith is the new QB. Looked solid but not great last year. Still no accuracy. Montreal does have a nice offensive line and he should put up numbers while turning the ball over a bit too much. Probably a good guy for the over. Alouettes released one of the best RBs in the game after he had knee surgery so it will be interesting to see what happens there. Team couldn't run a whole lot without Richardson last season. Montreal has a new coach with a ton of CFL experience but he hasn't been in the league since 2008 so I don't know what to expect.
Ottawa RedBlacks - Who knows. League's expansion team has an above average QB in Henry Burris. New head coach was the Calgary defensive coordinator last few years so you can expect Ottawa will blitz like crazy and force turnovers. Offensively they have looked way behind. Burris will give them a chance but the offense is going to need plenty of time to gel. They have looked very vanilla in their 2 preseason games offensively.
Saskatchewan Roughriders - Probably the best offense in the CFL outside of possibly Calgary. Team can kill you with both the run and the pass. Darian Durant is impossible to stop at QB because of his run/pass threat. Roughriders kept great control of the ball last season, forced a ton of turnovers, and got to the opposing QB. League champions' main concern is that the WR corps is almost all brand new with Getzlaf injured (most important returning starter at WR/pivot).
Toronto Argonauts - They have a reliable veteran QB in Ricky Ray, assuming he stays healthy. Offensive line gives him great protection and this is probably the best passing team in the CFL. Ray kept turnovers low and knows how to run an offense. Defense needs some work at the line but is sound at forcing turnovers and getting at the QB. Should be one of the better CFL teams this year.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Drew Willy was the backup for Saskatchewan the last 2 years and was named the starter the second Winnipeg signed him. He's played very little over the past few seasons and has made some bad decisions throwing the ball during his time. I don't trust him behind an offensive line that wasn't that good last season. Winnipeg's defense forced zero turnovers but got to opposing QBs enough and should show a large improvement after being dead last in the league at points allowed by a large margin. Much of those points came because the offense turned the ball over a million times which won't be as bad this time around.
