TSN and SportsCage analyst Glen Suitor believes the Saskatchewan Roughriders receivers have something to prove in the 2025 CFL season.
"There's not a Eugene Lewis in that group and we'll see if they can be explosive with the talent they have. I think they have talent -- don't get me wrong -- but they've got to show it," Suitor told the SportsCage.
"I liked the secondary and really like their linebacking corps. I think the leadership is there. These offensive line injuries have all of a sudden made it a bit of a question, I still like their depth. We talked about that a few weeks ago; I wouldn't be overly concerned."
When it comes to thee Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Suitor's worried about the team's experience but believes all the naysayers will be used as motivation. He wonders about new offensive coordinator Jason Hogan, who is replacing Buck Pierce after he left to be the B.C. Lions' head coach.
"Their core, their number one offensive lineman, their number one defensive lineman, their quarterback, they're all past 30. They're using every one of the times that we say something like this, they are using it for bulletin board material -- I guarantee you," Suitor said.
"Last year they were getting used to a new defensive coordinator. Yes, Richie Hall was still in the building. They don't have Buck Pierce, so now they're starting fresh."
For the Calgary Stampeders, Suitor sees more questions than answers and found it hard to pick out notable strengths with Dave Dickenson's team. Suitor's worried about the Stamps losing players such as veteran defensive lineman Mike Rose and quarterback Jake Maier.
"The biggest question mark is the personnel there. They're going to have a new defensive coordinator, what's that defence going to be all about? I'm not going to say they're going to be better at quarterback because I thought Jake Maier is good enough to be a championship quarterback. I'm going to keep saying that and we'll see how many opportunities he gets in Regina," Suitor detailed.
"Vernon Adams Jr. is a different style of player and that is still a question mark. It's not even a strength yet to me, it's a question mark because David Dickenson is structured and was a pocket passer. Vernon Adams Jr. is a bit of a freewheeling, deep ball guy that loves to get out, sling it and move around in the pocket."
As for the Stampeders counterpart in Alberta, the Edmonton Elks, Suitor believes the Green and Gold's strength will be the team's running game, but views their weakness as more psychological.
"They had the best running game in the league last year, I don't see that changing. When you have a Tre Ford, it widens your D-line," Suitor said.
"The question mark for them is, can they snap out of this: 'We're not a very good organization team anymore.' I think it's mental for them in a lot of ways and they brought in some guys to maybe change that."
One concern Suitor has for the B.C. Lions is how the team's defence will shape up in 2025.
"For the Lions, I think their question mark was going to be on the defensive side of the ball last year. Especially in the back half of the season, they weren't great tacklers and weren't an overly physical team," Suitor said.
"Mathieu Betts was coming back from his NFL tryout. He was getting back into the flow of it with the angles and Canadian football. I'm not giving him an excuse, it wasn't just him, but that team didn't play very aggressively on defence. I think that's going to be the question mark this year. They've made a little switch, Ryan Phillips, who was the DC there, remains but he has transitioned to a positional coach role, and Mike Benevides will be the new DC."
