The year of football is now over North of the border and south of the border (The XFL doesn't count yet, it doesn't carry the same clout as the National Football League and the Canadian Football League). So, why not look at who my favourites are to win the coming seasons of the top prizes of American and Canadian football.
South of the Border
Let's look south of the border first, only because I want to save the Canadian game for later. There are some clear and obvious picks for contenders for next year, and they are Kansas City and Baltimore
Kansas City are the defending champions and have a young core that is going to hopefully be intact. They also have the amazingly talented Patrick Mahomes, who has been groomed under the quarterback whisperer, Andy Reid. This team has the pieces they need to win, and that's why they're the odds on favourite to win the Lombardi again.
Baltimore and Lamar Jackson have a hurdle to overcome; the big playoff moments. For the second year in a row, the Ravens lost in their playoff opener, both of those being at home. Lamar Jackson is 20-3 as a starter in the NFL. Yes, that is correct, 20-3. That works out to .870 win percentage. Jackson can play, but can he play in the playoffs, if he can start, watch out for the Ravens.
San Francisco had built a team this year that was able to win, but they ran into a team that had more will to win, and was able to get it done. It wasn't that the Niners lost the game, but that the Chiefs won. There is a trend in the NFL of the runners up not having a good year the following year. Maybe this will be the year that that changes, but for that reason, San Francisco is not a contender this year for me.
North of the Border
There are many teams that can make a push for Lord Grey's trophy in 2020: Hamilton, Montreal, and Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan won the CFL West division last year, but we defeated by their prairie Rivals in the playoffs, who later went on to win the Grey Cup. This team is keeping the major pieces they need to and replacing the coaches that they need. Can they make the small splashes they need to win the championship? February 11th will tell.
Montreal is a good team. They have a great coach who knows the league, a new general manager who has coached in the CFL and has coached in the Canadian college ranks, as well as new owners. This team looks to be moving in a great direction, look for them to make waves next year.
The one team that Montreal should be worried about, is the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. This team is heartbroken after being upset in the Grey Cup by Winnipeg. This team is hungry, maintaining their core, and building a team the right way. Watch out for the Tabbies to end the longest active Grey Cup drought for the second straight year.
Calgary is always a good team, and has the management to build a winning team, but they need time to rebuild. They're always losing players, but lost a lot this past year, and it cost them. They need to rebuild, and Rome wasn't built in a day.
Winnipeg is coming off of their First Grey Cup in 29 years, and the city and province are over the moon, but that needs to last for a few years. This team is falling to shambles, due to their success. There is news of many of their players trying out for the NFL, and some of their major free agents may walk. This team needs to rebuild as well, but the Canadian Mafia built one Grey Cup championship team, they'll build another soon.
The Way Too Early Picks
For the Super Bowl, I'll take Baltimore over San Francisco, and north of the border, I'll take Hamilton over Saskatchewan.
La Cheeserie, Littles
Fight On, Sleepers
Commentaires