It feels good to be back! And my oh my, what an eventful season we're having. The start of 2024 looks almost like a parallel to today's CFL. In this returning blog post, I will grade every team's performance midway through the year, starting with the best and ending with the worst.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES: A+
Through 14 weeks, the Alouettes have put up amazing numbers. They've already clinched a playoff spot and with a record of 10-2, they sit with a 3-point advantage over the next best team in the east, the Ottawa RedBlacks. They couldn't be doing much better than they are now.
OTTAWA REDBLACKS: A
The RedBlacks have turned a franchise who only managed to rack up three wins last season into a team that already has eight and is looking to add to their tally against the 3-9 Ti-Cats. The speed of the turnaround from a bottom-feeder to a legit contender from the RedBlacks is something you don't see very often, but Shawn Burke has made it a point that he doesn't want to go back to those days anytime soon.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS: B
We all thought we'd be seeing a more dominant Bombers team to start the year, but that's not how things went. They fell to the bottom of the standings only to get a lot of consecutive wins to push themselves to the top of a very strange west division this year. If only they would have won more earlier in the year, they would have a higher grade.
BC LIONS: B
They started the year 0-1, but quickly rebounded and went back-and-forth with Saskatchewan for first in the west. During that stretch, however, it seemed like neither team wanted to be first, with both the Lions and the Riders suffering big losing streaks. But with Nathan Rourke finding his footing again and Matthieu Betts coming back from his NFL stint, it seems like the Lions have a shot at playing in a home Grey Cup.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS: B
The Argos managed to hold their ground quite well while waiting for star quarterback Chad Kelly to return from his suspension. Now only posting a 6-6 record and staying at .500, they have some work to do if they want a shot at the Grey Cup.
EDMONTON ELKS: B-
The Elks had an abysmal start to 2024 and it felt like the same old Elks as before. But after the firing of head coach Chris Jones and some growing pains with Jarious Jackson, the Elks have started winning games again. Despite being 5-8, they sit 1 point outside of 3rd in the west in an outstanding rebound season.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS: C-
The Riders started with so much hope, going 5-1 to start the year. It felt like the pain of the last few years was finally over for Riders fans under new HC Corey Mace, but then they started losing. 0-6-1 in their last 7 is not the way to get into the playoffs. Mace and his squad need to turn things around after the bye or they're in serious trouble of missing the playoffs to a red-hot Elks team.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS: D
Jake Maier may not be the guy for the Stampeders. In their rough season so far, the Stamps are 4-8, going 0-6 on the road. The Stampeders could be looking for a new quarterback in the offseason as well as a couple of other teams, so the Vernon Adams Jr. race will be very interesting.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS: D
Sigh. This season for the Ti-Cats felt like it was going to be different for them at the start of the year. A healthy Bo, Tim White coming back and a brand new head coach in Scott Milanovich. Unfortunately, a brutal defense sent them down to the 3-9 record they have now, and they may need to start looking to next season for some hope.
By Bruce Chimirri-Olson
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