John McMullen on NFL Free Agency

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NFL POOL FINAL STANDINGS

T-1) Mr.Khan, Stefano: 37-31

T-2) Matthew, Producer, Listener: 34-34

3) Moe: 33-35

4) Mitch: 31-37

5) Sean: 27-41

Alouettes Free Agent Priorities

As the CFL enters the dead of winter, I have decided to rank the soon-to-be-free agents on the Alouettes roster. I have prioritized each player and given them a percentage as whether or not they will be back in an Alouettes uniform in 2012.
Please be aware, so many variables have to be considered, as the Alouettes could go in any direction and not even offer a contract. But as winter progresses towards free agency in February, some of these names might be signed before the period begins.

But it is always amusing to speculate on the future of this team.

1. Marc-Olivier Brouillette: Without question, this should be Jim Popp’s first order of business in re-signing one of the rising players in the CFL. It has been a seamless transformation from being a CIS quarterback to playing defense in the CFL. As one of his old football coaches told me about him, “The kid picks up things fast.” In 2012, he has a great chance to get more playing time. Beyond his on-field capabilities, Brouillette could be the local face of the franchise in the community. He is well spoken in both official languages. He has gone through the minor league, CEGEP, and CIS systems to now becoming a role model for the next generation of football players to follow in his footsteps.

Odds: 98-percent chance he comes back, unless he is blown away by another offer.

2. Scott Flory: When Bryan Chiu opted to retire on the eve of the 2010 training camp, Flory became the dean of the offensive line. He is well respected and looked up for guidance by his younger cohorts. Yes, he is entering the last stages of his professional career. But his ability to play and know every position on the offensive line has made him an integral part of this team. This club still needs the veteran presence. Flory can provide it for the next couple of years.

Odds: 100-percent chance he comes back. He loves this team, city, and is well respected in the community.

3. Jermaine Mcelveen: He is in an intriguing situation. Throughout his Alouettes career, he has shown glimpses of his potential. However, in 2011, he was banged up throughout the course of the season. As mentioned in the local papers, he wasn’t too thrilled about the very limited playing time he received towards the end of the season. He does have NFL tryouts lined up during the winter. But given his size, would the Alouettes be content to let him walk away to a rival CFL team? If he stays for the long-term, he could replace Anwar Stewart, and become more relevant in the system.

Odds: 75-percent chance he returns, unless he is holding out for a big payday from the NFL, or better offer from another CFL team.

4. Etienne Boulay: This is a tricky state of affairs. He didn’t get off to a good start in training camp when whispers were abounding of him not being in the best shape. During the season, Boulay was placed on injured reserve after suffering an upper body injury. He wasn’t seen or spoken of until a few days after the season was completed where he came on television to clear up, and explain his side of the story. The Alouettes secondary was decimated by injuries. It was greatly felt at the safety position where rookie Jeff Hecht wasn’t as effective. I believe Boulay will be back. But what salary will Popp offer him? Will it be incentive based performance, or will he ask the local product to take a pay cut?

Odds: 70-percent chance he returns. However, if Jim Popp will lowball him, there are suitors out there for him. Especially in Toronto where two of his former coaches Scott Milanovich and Chris Jones are there.


5. Mark Estelle: He suffered a terrible knee injury against Calgary. The irony, when he went down, the secondary started to give up big plays. Estelle is considered to be one of the premier cornerbacks in the league. At 31-years old, I fully expect him to re-sign with the team. But would defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar ask him to move to safety to alleviate any wear and tear on his body? The example that can be looked upon is former Alouette Barron Miles, who made the transition to safety. Miles will surely be a future CFL hall of famer. Estelle is a quiet leader, but he has all the tools to make the shift to safety where he would have more opportunities to ball hawk.

Odds: 80-percent he returns. If he is 100-percent healthy, it could up his value. But it will not shock me to see other suitors who might make a play on him.

6. Paul Woldu: He has been highly regarded as a bright player in the CFL. Unfortunately, given the rash of injuries on the team, he was thrust into a situation to play cornerback where at times he looked a bit uncomfortable. Given that he is Canadian and that he can play special teams very well, Woldu will be a valuable free agent. It will not surprise me to see his home province Saskatchewan Roughriders call him up.

Odds: 50-percent, this could go either way. If he plays his cards right, he could command a bigger payday. But it might be hard not to listen to the Roughriders offer.


7. Eric Deslauriers: One of the classiest players on the roster. Deslauriers has always been a media favorite because he gives well thought out answers. On the field, he has fallen into the numbers game. Given the receiving position is their strongest and deepest group occupied by Americans, it has been tough for him get any significant playing time. Even though he did catch Anthony Calvillo’s touchdown record mark, and had a huge catch in the East semi-finals. But will that be enough to sway him to re-sign and be a backup again? With his size and non-import status, it will be tough to say no to other suitors.

Odds: 55-percent, very tough for Canadians to get any significant playing time at receiver on this team. The Argonauts could be calling his name since they’re in dire need of Canadian content.

8. Jeff Robertshaw: An excellent role player. He had his moments making plays for this team. He did get banged up during the season which slowed his development. Next June, there will be intense competition for spots on the defensive front. He doesn’t have much leverage in commanding a big deal; therefore, he might have to accept what is given to him.

Odds: 65-percent he returns. What else can a backup Canadian defensive lineman command on the open market?


9. Walter Spencer: Quite a career with the Alouettes. He has earned his mark as special-teams demon for this football team. However, at 33-years old, does he want to endure another grueling season? This could go many ways, he could re-sign with the Alouettes, look elsewhere if he doesn’t get a contract he desires, or simply retire.

Odds: no line, very tough to gauge where his mind is at this very moment.

You can follow me on Twitter @MoeKhan19

Tebow passes first tough test - turning it over and STILL winning

Like or hate him, the one thing Tim Tebow wasn't doing so far this season was turning the ball over. He did it on Sunday, and guess what? He still won! That was the test.

All he does is win

Never mind that Tebow once again was clutch in the fourth quarter, this was all about him facing adversity, albeit self-imposed, and coming out on top. NOW people surely must be believers. At 6-1 on the year, he has his team tied atop the AFC West and poised for a playoff run.

Versus the Vikings, the religious wonder put an impressive 200 passing yards on the board (okay, impressive isn't the word, but at least he cracked the double century mark) and made the throws when it counted.

But when you talk about Denver's win over Minnesota, you can't do it without mentioning the defense. They were able to come up with turnovers when it mattered the most. Despite giving up over 30 points, you have to be impressed with a unit that was playing without its rookie phenom, Von Miller.

So where can Tebow take this team? The sky is the limit. At this point, you cannot underscore just how important his intangibles are. You can talk about offensive gimmicks and his lack of a quality throwing motion. But all he does is win.

As a Broncos fan, I have to tip my cap to the man who drafted the former Gator - Josh McDaniels. Your tenure was strange and puzzling and disappointing, Josh. But you left a nice parting gift behind.

Follow Matthew Ross on Twitter - @gamepointsradio or @matthewrossmtl

Moe Khan: Grey Cup and Vanier Cup closing thoughts

Welcome to my first “Musings and Observations.”  In this week’s column, I recap my time at the Grey and Vanier Cups.

Southern Ontario Interest?
At the commissioner’s annual media session, Mark Cohon addressed the league’s interest to increase fan following for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.

By doing so, Cohon announced a million-dollar investment to help jumpstart the promotion awareness campaign within the ever-growing population of southern Ontario.

Given that the city of Toronto is hosting the 100th edition of the Grey Cup, the league is hoping to reap the rewards of this being the most successful event.

However, to the confusion of many esteemed reporters on hand for the press conference, they were curious to know how Mr. Cohon would go about helping the game in this area of the country.

This hub generates good television ratings, so what else needs to be done? Cohon, with great confidence and not going into too many details, mentioned that they have hired a marketing group who the league will collaborate with to increase the game’s popularity.

Clearly the pressure is on the Toronto organizing committee to make this Grey Cup a huge success. The league has already started to sell tickets for next year’s game. But really, what I would like to inquire is how many of those sales are from the 416/905/647 area code than the rest of Canada?

The CFL and city of Toronto have 12 months to pull off what is being billed as the Grey Cup no will ever forget. I sure hope no one in Toronto forgets the date of this event.

Vanier Cup Final the Greatest Game
I think it's time for the CFL and CIS to come to a permanent agreement to have the Vanier Cup in the same city and weekend as the Grey Cup.

On Friday night, those who were in attendance, listened on radio, or watched the game on television, were treated to a gem of a game.

Everyone in the country knows about the Laval Rouge Et Or and their dominance they have waved in the last 12 years. But what no one knew was the determination, confidence and underdog mentality that quarterback Kyle Quinlan and his McMaster Marauders brought to the field.

Not once did they back down from the Rouge Et Or. Even when they jumped out to a 23-0 halftime lead and then were down 24-23 late in the third quarter. Quinlan was able to march down the football field many times and respond back.

This game had everything you would only be able to script in a Hollywood movie, from an interception returned for a touchdown, to laterals in overtime, and finally a game winning field goal by Tyler Crapigna.

These two teams should take a bow for their performances. They displayed why this is a good brand of football being played in the University ranks. It is time for the two entities (CFL, CIS) to get together and hammer out a deal to make this a part of Canada’s week long football festival.

Milanovich to the Argonauts
On Saturday, word started to spread like wildfire amongst the media members at B.C. Place that the Argonauts were on the verge of hiring Alouettes assistant coach and offensive coordinator Scott Milanovich to join their staff.

Now, the catch was it couldn’t be a lateral move because Milanovich has one year left on his contract in the very same position with the Alouettes. In talking to one person close to the team, he was being interviewed for the head coaching position, not the aforementioned same position.

As confusion progressed throughout the afternoon into the evening, it was becoming more comedic that the Argonauts could potentially fumble for the second time in as many years in trying to hire the Alouettes assistant.

Finally, after the Grey Cup, all matters came to rest, when TSN’s Dave Naylor tweeted that the deal was all but done. That Milanovich would become the head man, and Barker “relegated” to general manger duties.
Now, can he (Milanovich) be able to turnaround the sinking ship and get this team to be respectable in time to host the Grey Cup? There is a lot of work ahead, but the Argonauts might have found their man to steer the ship.

Grey Cup Recap
To be honest, this wasn’t the best played final. The game lacked execution on offense, and even at times my interest waned due to the ineptitudes from both teams.

The most excitement brought to the 99th edition of the cup was the amount of distaste from the fans for rock band Nickelback who performed at halftime.

Finally, the immortal Gene Simmons of Kiss was about 25-yards away from me in his suite with his family. Fans below Simmons were taking numerous pictures of the fable star that has become somewhat of a regular at B.C. Lions games, as he attended a game at the old Empire Field.

As for the final, the Lions were far too much for their opponent in all three phases of the football game. The Blue Bombers were exposed on offence. Being down by a big deficit on the road, simply put, they’re not built to play from behind. Moreover, it showed how valuable their defence was throughout the season masking the deficiencies of the offence.

Furthermore, the home crowd made life difficult for the visiting team. As a result, they were not able to match the output set forth by their counterparts when they jumped out to an early lead, and never looked back.

The questions that remain: can the Lions repeat and will Wally Buono be back? They will be answered in the next 12 months. But without a doubt the newly minted champions will be one of the favourites to win it again next year.

Moe Khan is the host of TSN 990's Midnight Snack, late night Thursdays in Montreal. You can reach him at Moe.Khan@bellmedia.ca or on Twitter @moekhan19.