CFL: Clamour in the Hammer to see Manziel starting
A look at some of the other storylines around the CFL this season:
á Johnny Football: Johnny Manziel made headlines last month when he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the CFL club had plenty of American reporters attending training camp to speak with the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner and former Cleveland Browns first-round pick.
Jeremiah Masoli is a bona fide starter but if Hamilton falters coming out of the gate — the club opens with five games in a row against West Division opponents — there could be calls for a quarterback change.
Manziel, a six-foot, 210pound Texan, was 21-of-32 passing for 168 yards and a TD with 29 yards rushing on six carries in Hamilton’s two exhibition games but did show flashes of brilliance, especially when using his mobility to extend plays. á The Trestman effect: The Toronto Argonauts captured last year’s CFL title in their first season with Marc Trestman on the sidelines. They enter the season looking to become the first back-to-back Grey Cup champions since the Montreal Alouettes, who won in 2009 and 2010 with Trestman calling the shots.
After mulling his football future, quarterback Ricky Ray returns to lead Trestman’s pass-happy offence.
á Sideline Sherman: The Mike Sherman era in Montreal officially kicks off Saturday night when the Alouettes visit the B.C. Lions.
Sherman has previous pro head-coaching experience with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers (2000-05) and served as the club’s GM from 2001-04. The Packers were 57-39 over Sherman's tenure and won three division titles (200204). He takes over an Alouettes squad that lost its last 11 regular-season games in 2017 en route to a leagueworst 3-15 record.
á Bombs away: Rookie Chris Streveler will start at quarterback Thursday night when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Edmonton Eskimos.
The six-foot-one, 211-pound Streveler replaces veteran Matt Nichols, who is out fourto-six weeks with a knee injury suffered last week in training camp. Streveler played in both of Winnipeg’s exhibition games, completing 13-of-19 passes for 184 yards and two TDs with an interceptions.
The Bombers also have quarterbacks Alex Ross and Bryan Bennett on their roster. Ross appeared in four games last year with B.C., completing 5-of-12 passes for 82 yards.
á QB controversy? Head coach/GM Chris Jones still hasn't said whether Zach Collaros or Mississauga native Brandon Bridge will be the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starter when they host the Argos on Friday night.
The Riders acquired Collaros from Hamilton in the off-season after he’d been supplanted by Masoli as the Ticats’ starter. Collaros was the frontrunner for the CFL’s outstanding player award before suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2015.
But he has struggled since returning, tying the league record for most consecutive losses by a starter at 12.
Bridge was effective coming off the bench last year for the Riders and Jones hasn't been afraid to use two quarterbacks in a contest. Stay tuned.
á Dynamic duo: Winnipeg running back Andrew Harris came close to becoming the first player in CFL history to register 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.
The Winnipeg native led the league in rushing (1,035 yards) and catches (105) while adding 857 receiving yards. Reigning rookie of the year James Wilder Jr., now fully entrenched as Toronto’s No. 1 running back after splitting duties in 2017, has said one of his goals this season was the reach the 1,000-1,000 plateau.
á Missing hands: Mike Reilly was the CFL’s outstanding player last year after passing for a league-high 5,830 yards. But the Edmonton Eskimos quarterback will be minus Brandon Zylstra (Minnesota, NFL) and Adarius Bowman (Winnipeg). Derel Walker, the league’s top rookie in 2015, will anchor the receiving corps. He returned to Edmonton last season after a stint with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.