2010 CFL Predictions, Part One: The Eastern Division

CFL spring training is about to end, and the regular season is about to begin. Now that all the preseason games are complete, we can much more accurately make predictions about the upcoming season.

There was plenty of drama to go around in the league last year, with most of the guilty parties no longer in the CFL. Only time will tell if the offseason changes will have a positive impact on their teams' standings.

Let's look at the East first and work backwards.

No. 4—Toronto Argonauts

The Argos are in better hands with Jim Barker, but the team is still one with a lot of question marks in key positions.

The quarterback position has the biggest question mark with Dalton Bell leading the way. Bell left the Saskatchewan Roughriders after realizing he wasn't going to move into the No. 1 position ahead of starter Darian Durant. Moving to Toronto will give him a better chance at a starting job, but don't count out Kerwin Bell to win a starting job.

The Argos have too many unproven youngsters pieced together to think that they will make the step out of the basement. Knowing Jim Barker's ability to find talent makes me think there could be a step up to the No. 3 spot, but there are just too many new faces for me to think it will happen.

No. 3—Winnipeg Blue Bombers

New head coach Paul Lapolice made some big strides in his value, as some solid play calling in the playoffs brought the Riders to within seconds of winning a Grey Cup.

Even though Winnipeg fans will be much more understanding with Lapolice because he isn't Mike Kelly, fans weren't hugely fond of Lapolice when he was the Bombers offensive coordinator. Hopefully for Lapolice, he is somewhat successful; if not, he can only hope that the fans are more forgiving.

The Blue Bombers are looking more stable than they were at the beginning of last year, and even though the quarterbacks aren't bona fide No. 1s, Buck Pierce and Steven Jyles have seen success. The only knock against Pierce is that he hasn't been super durable

Winnipeg has made big strides, but not quite enough to pass the Als or Ti-Cats.

No. 2—Hamilton Tiger-Cats

It's too soon to say that Hamilton is a Grey Cup contender, but the pieces seem to be in place for a team that could dethrone Montreal very soon. 

The most important part of this team's success—and I have been saying this for years—is the offensive line. A unit that had been weak for years, the deep front five is going to be a piece of the puzzle that makes this team strong for the next decade...if they can keep them that long.

With a strong O-line, the rest of the offense will be that much better, especially at quarterback. Even though Quinton Porter showed hints of success, Kevin Glenn is the man Hamilton needs at No. 1 to be successful this year. The running backs, Cobb and Summers, will also be much better with some good hogs to block.

With a decent defense and a good offense, the Tiger-Cats have the definite potential to fight for No. 1, at least next year if not this year.

No. 1—Montreal Alouettes

The Grey Cup Champions are getting old, but not retired just yet. Bryan Chiu was the first of a long line of potential Hall of Famers to call it a career and the rest, notably Anthony Calvillo and Ben Cahoon, shouldn't be much further behind him.

That being said, they are still Alouettes, and with both stars looking to solidify a few CFL records, you shouldn't see any of them letting up this year. The Als are still very strong on both sides of the ball, and even though they will have more competition inside their division, they should have enough to finish on top of the East.

Check back for the second half of the preview in which I'll take a look at the CFL West.