CFL Pre-Season Defensive Rankings

Keron Williams is one of the best D-Linemen in the CFL, but is he on the best defence?

With the CFL pre-season set to start tonight, players around the league will attempt to make their mark on their coaches and management, hoping to earn or keep their roster spot.

Last week I looked at the offences and how I ranked them, now here’s a look at the defensive rankings, one through eight. Let me start by saying that the defences were much harder to rank in my mind than the offences were. It should also be noted that only Tim Burke (Winnipeg) and Richie Hall (Saskatchewan) are the only two defensive coordinators who are still with the same team they were with last season.

1.       BC Lions: Rich Stubler takes over as defensive coordinator with Mike Benevides’ promotion to Head Coach, and has quite an arsenal in terms of personnel. According to one member of the Montreal Alouettes’ offensive line, Keron Williams is the quickest defensive lineman in the league when it comes to getting off the line, and Williams has Khalif Mitchell and Eric Taylor in the middle of the line as well, forming quite a trio up front. The second line of defence, the linebackers, are led by Korey Banks, who I believe is the best defensive player in the league, and Anton McKenzie, who were both big parts in the Lions’ championship in 2011. The defensive secondary boasts some impressive names as well, with Byron Parker and Lin-J Shell being the two newcomers, joining Dante Marsh and Ryan Phillips. Free safety is quite deep as well, with non-imports JR Larose, Jason Arakgi and Cauchy Muamba all vying for the starting job.

Positional Grade Breakdown: DL – A-, LB – A-, DB – A, Defensive Coordinator – A

2.       Winnipeg Blue Bombers: According to the Bombers’ almost immediate firing of offensive coordinator Jamie Barresi following the Grey Cup loss to BC, it wasn’t their defence which lost them the championship game. Tim Burke heads a solid cast in Swaggerville. Kenny Mainor and Justin Vega should take on more prominent roles on the defensive line, which lost longtime fan favourite Doug Brown to retirement. Draft pick Jake Thomas should also be able to find some time in the middle of the line. Henoc Muamba will likely inherit the starting middle linebacker spot from the departed Joe Lobendahn, and his freak athleticism should bolster the linebacking corps, which also includes Clint Kent.  The defensive secondary is impressive, with Jovon Johnson and Jonathan Hefney coming off huge seasons. Deon Beasley and Alex Suber will also play huge roles in the secondary for Winnipeg.

PGB: DL – B, LB – B, DB – A-, DC – A+

3.       Calgary Stampeders: With 16 defensive lineman currently in camp, the Stamps are not short of talent on the front line. Justin Phillips, Corey Mace and Junior Turner are three non-imports who join import Charleston Hughes in the trenches, but non-imports Ameet Pall and Brian Bulcke could also factor in at the position. Juwan Simpson, Marc Calixte, Malik Jackson and Joe Lobendahn are the top four linebackers, but Justin Conn and Akwasi Antwi play important roles on special teams, and could find their way into getting playing time defensively thanks to their size and speed.  Erik Fraser patrols the back portion of the defence from his safety position, and Geoff Tisdale, Keon Raymond and Brandon Smith are all coming off strong seasons in 2011. Rick Campbell takes over the Stamps’ defensive coordinator duties.

PGB: DL – B+, LB – A-, DB – A-, DC – B+

4.       Montreal Alouettes: Quite possibly my favourite coaching move of the off-season was Montreal’s bringing Jeff Reinebold back to the CFL as their new DC. Reinebold, known for being a bit of a wild boy in his head coaching days with Winnipeg in the late ‘90s, is a complete opposite personality to that of head coach Marc Trestman. Will this turn out to be a match made in heaven? We’ll see. But enough about Reinebold, let’s talk about his personnel. Their secondary was decimated by injuries last season, but Dwight Anderson and Etienne Boulay at full health will be a tough duo to beat. Jerald Brown also returns from a season-ending injury, and Billy Parker is consistent back there as well.  Linebacker Marc-Olivier Brouillette could also figure into the secondary in addition to his normal position. Middle linebacker Shea Emry is one of the best Canadians in the game, and free agent acquisitions Rod Davis and Mark Restelli join him and Chip Cox in what should be a very exciting linebacking group to watch. The defensive line got weaker with the release of Anwar Stewart and Eric Wilson, but they signed Aaron Hunt to clog up the middle. With John Bowman now out for a month with a knee injury, more pressure will be on as-yet unproven Chima Ihekwoaba and Luc Mullinder. Good thing Mike Sinclair, their D-Line coach, is one of if not the best positional coach that the sport of football has to offer.

PGB: DL – B+, LB – A, DB – B+, DC – B+

5.       Hamilton Tiger-Cats: A formidable linebacking corps headlines the Ticats’ defensive unit, highlighted by Markeith Knowlton and Jamall Johnson, who are both right up there with Banks in terms of being among the best in the league. Rey Williams and free agent acquisition Kevin Eiben will also wreak havoc for opposing offences. Up front, Greg Peach is another free agent signing who should make his mark felt on the opposition, along with tackle Eddie Steele. Ryan Hinds, Carlos Thomas, and Bo Smith make up part of a secondary which got torched in the Eastern Semi last season, and could be the weak point in the defence.  I for one am very excited to see what Casey Creehan will do with the defence, in his first season as a coordinator.

PGB:  DL – B, LB – A+, DB – B+, DC – A-

6.       Saskatchewan Roughriders: Richie Hall is one of the best coordinators in the CFL, and his Riders defence should be stronger than last season, when everything seemed to go wrong for Rider Nation on both sides of the ball. Safety Craig Butler is coming off an impressive breakout season, and with James Patrick and Lance Frazier on either side of him, it should be a solid middle of the secondary. The outside got better with the signing of Paul Woldu as well. Linebackers will be mostly new, with two starters gone. Mike McCullough is a veteran presence, and 2010’s #1-overall pick Shomari Williams will be a force to be reckoned with. Up front, Tearrius George and Odell Willis join a group which includes Brent Hawkins and Keith Shologan.

PGB: DL – B+, LB – B-, DB – B+, DC – A-

7.       Toronto Argonauts: Another team for which everything seemed to go wrong for last season, the Argos will look to rebound, with new coordinator Chris Jones at the helm. Ricky Foley provides some character and speed to their D-Line, which also has a mountain up front in 6-foot-8 Kevin Huntley. Jason Pottinger is the only real veteran in the linebacking corps, and will be relied upon heavily in the second line of defence. Ejiro Kuale and Tristan Black will likely flank Pottinger at the outside linebacker spots. The secondary took some big blows with the departures of Byron Parker and Lin-J Shell, but Jordan Younger will be a force at the safety position. Evan McCollough and Matt Black should take on bigger roles in the starting group, along with Sean Smalls.

PGB: DL – B, LB – B, DB – B-, DC – A-

8.       Edmonton Eskimos: Poor Edmonton. Greg Peach, Rod Davis, Mark Restelli were all lost to free agency, and coordinator Rich Stubler jumped ship further west to BC. The bright spot is that they have a mostly Canadian defensive line, which should be able to provide some quality pressure on opposing QBs. Etienne Legare, Ted Laurent, Jermaine Reid, and Don Oramasionwu are joined by import Rashad Jeanty up front. Linebacker TJ Hill will likely be joined by JC Sherritt and Damaso Munoz to form a fairly undersized group, Munoz being the tallest at 5’11. Their secondary might need some help too, as Donovan Alexander, Weldon Brown and Rod Williams are the only true returning starters at defensive back. Hopefully new coordinator Mark Nelson will put together some solid gameplans, and will be able to find a couple of diamonds in the rough to help boost the defensive ranking.

PGB: DL – B+, LB – B-, DB – C+, DC – B-

And, just like last week, here is how each team fared defensively in net yards and points a year ago.

Yards Against:

1.       Winnipeg – 5420

2.       BC – 5725

3.       Calgary – 6088

4.       Edmonton – 6437

5.       Montreal – 6465

6.       Saskatchewan – 6574

7.       Hamilton – 6757

8.       Toronto - 7591

Points Against:

1.       BC – 385

2.       Edmonton – 401

3.       Winnipeg – 432

4.       Montreal – 468

5.       Calgary – 476

6.       Hamilton – 478

7.       Saskatchewan – 482

8.       Toronto – 498