The Turk Takes It Easy
It happens every season. Cut-down day arrives on the heels of the second set of pre-season tilts, and long lists of players are jettisoned.
Because the CFL is a league built on short-term contracts, fans and analysts become accustomed to a good bit of roster turnover. Customarily, this turnover comes with its share of beloved veterans hitting the pavement.
It makes it almost impossible to stay on the optimistic high of a new season when the loss of team pillars like the Duane Butlers, Kevin Johnsons, and Timothy Stricklands of the CFL universe are sent packing before the new year kicks off. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to change my computer desktop the week before the season kicks off because one of my favourite players has caught the axe.
The Turk, master of all roster cut-downs, is typically the prime perpetrator when it comes to deep cuts like that. This year, however, the Turk wielded a kind axe toward vets around the league. And surprise cuts were rare team by team.
Of the roster moves announced last Saturday, only a handful of household names appeared on the list, and few of those names came as shockers given the possibilities.
Edmonton probably stunned me the most with the releases of Chunky Adams and Lenny Walls. Adams seemed to be the perfect veteran replacement for Dario Romero on the Esks D-line. And Walls looked to have completed an unlikely comeback to rejoin the Esks as veteran depth in their secondary. As much as I feel those players would be assets to Edmonton, both on the field and off, the decisions were certainly in keeping with the philosophies of new sheriffs Eric Tillman and Kavis Reed. Par for the course, actually, considering all the overhaul going on in Titletown.
In its initial list of cuts, Winnipeg released a couple of players in Rico McCoy and Remond Willis who I felt certain would make the squad. Both are young, aggressive defensive players with good quicks and excellent motors. Both, though, were better fits for a 4-3 defence, and since the Bombers are undergoing an evolution toward the 3-4, both (like former Al and native Montrealer Shawn Mayne) became expendable.
I also had high hopes for another former Alouette, QB Chris Leak, when he signed in Saskatchewan to compete for a back-up spot behind Darian Durant. Despite a couple of awkward performances in relief of Anthony Calvillo, Leak showed a real propensity for hard work and study during his time in Montreal, and I felt he’d be an upgrade (athletically and intellectually) over Ryan Dinwiddie and Cole Berquist for the Riders. Leak simply underperformed in is two preseason appearances for Gang Green and couldn’t create any niche for himself in practice.
Lastly, I’d have to throw the names of young linemen Justin Sorenson of the Lions and Matt Morencie of the Bombers into the mix as disappointing cuts. Both are gifted athletes physically who were simply never able to live up to the potential they displayed to get drafted in the first place.
Given the level of competition for roster spots around the league, I’d say that the Turk swung his axe with discretion this past weekend. And while no roster is set in stone at this point, it looks like all the shock cuts might have survived to fight another campaign.