CFL 2022 East Division Preview

by Scott Rickenbach

Monday, Jun 06, 2022
Canadian Football League East Division Preview for CFL 2022
 
 Hamilton Tiger-Cats – The Ti-Cats have reached the Grey Cup each of the last two seasons as East Division Champions and yet fell short each season. Can they reach the big game again this season? It will depend heavily on QB Dane Evans. It is now his team with Jeremiah Masoli now having moved on. This is a lot of pressure on Evans but I also really like this defense again this season. On the strength of that defense and with solid weapons in the passing game on offense, you can bank on Hamilton being one of the best teams in the CFL again this season. 

Montreal Alouettes – Too many penalties, too many fumbles lost, losing games decided in the final minutes ... all these things combined to lead to a mediocre season for Montreal. I like the Als to have a solid season this year as they are strong at QB and have some talented playmaking options at the skill positions. However, this team did lose some key personnel and I am not solid on the defense just yet. That D, including getting rookie Richards on the field early and with success, is likely going to key the Als season. 

Ottawa Redblacks – Ottawa will be much improved after a 3-11 season. They added QB Jeremiah Masoli and a wealth of talent with other player additions to build up a much more competitive roster for 2022. This team is certainly not going to blow teams away but my expectation is they will be able to get the .500 level as they added a lot of weapons for Masoli plus bolstered the offensive line. Defensively they also bolstered their talent level and I expect some value with backing the Redblacks early this season as many will still be expecting the same old Ottawa but Masoli and company have rejuvenated this team. 

Toronto Argonauts – Think the Argos could be due for a regression here. They dominated with wins in the final minutes of games last season and won a lot of games by 4 or less points. I know they are still a solid team but you just have to feel their luck is going to run out. They added a couple of aging vets with Banks and Harris. Just feel Toronto is reaching here a bit and they need to be a little stronger defensively. Argonauts known for being a bit inconsistent defensively. Solid QB but just a question mark about the overall cohesiveness of this group with some new faces and, again, teams like Ottawa improving and you know Hamilton is still hungry. All in all, I am expecting a slight regression with the Argos this season. 

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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