Few things are more important to a team’s success than the quality of its offensive line. Disastrous lines, or even disastrous weak-link mismatches, can determine the outcome of games, while strong units give an incredible advantage to an offense.
This CFL season, we will be keeping track of PFF’s offensive line rankings as well as highlighting the biggest weak-link player and their upcoming opponent to identify any obvious matchup advantage one way or the other.
Key:
Red text = weakest link
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1. Montreal Alouettes (No Change)
LT Nick Callender
LG Pier-Olivier Lestage
C Justin Lawrence
RG Kristian Matte
RT Landon Rice
• Landon Rice shined bright in Week 12. He earned a pass-blocking grade above 75.0 at two positions, grading at 84.6 at right tackle and 75.3 at left guard.
• The depth of this offensive line could be tested in the coming weeks, as Pier-Olivier Lestage went down with an apparent leg injury late in the game. At this point in the season, Lestage’s 85.6 run-blocking grade ranks second among all players in the CFL.
• Sixth lineman Jamar McGloster has performed well this season, earning a 67.7 overall grade, 70.1 pass-blocking grade and 68.2 run-blocking grade.
Upcoming Week: British Columbia Lions
• The Lions have one of the best pass-rush units in the CFL. On the season, they have earned an 82.4 team pass-rush grade, second to only the Stamps.
2. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (No Change)
LT Stanley Bryant
LG Geoff Gray
C Chris Kolankowski
RG Patrick Neufeld
RT Jermarcus Hardrick
• It was a stellar week for Stanley Bryant, who put up an 87.1 pass-blocking grade for the week. He allowed zero pressures across 28 pass-blocking snaps.
• Every Bombers offensive lineman earned a run-blocking grade above 60.0 this past week. The team’s running backs led the league in rushing yards before contact (98) and explosive rushing plays of 10 or more yards (7).
Upcoming Week: Saskatchewan Roughriders
• The Roughriders’ 73.8 team pass-rush grade ranks only above Ottawa’s 69.3 on the season.
3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (No Change)
LT Brandon Kemp
LG Brandon Revenberg
C David Beard
RG Coulter Woodmansey
RT Kendrick Sartor
• The Tiger-Cats offensive line earned a league-best 82.6 run-blocking grade across 24 snaps in Week 12. Revenberg (80.8) and Kemp (79.4) were the top two run-blockers in the CFL this past week.
• This unit could hold on to the third spot — but just barely. Kemp (56.1 pass-blocking grade), Sartor (51.5), Revenberg (45.0) and Beard (44.1) were all negatives in pass protection this week.
Upcoming Week: Toronto Argonauts
• Folarin Orimolade had a marvelous game as a pass-rusher in Week 12. He earned an 82.1 pass-rush grade, producing three sacks, four hurries and a league-best 22.6% pressure rate.
4. Toronto Argonauts (No Change)
LT Isiah Cage
LG Ryan Hunter
C Darius Ciraco
RG Peter Nicastro
RT Dejon Allen
• The Argonauts’ offensive line earned a 73.1 overall grade in Week 12, the second-highest mark of the week. They graded well in both pass protection (73.4) and the run game (73.3).
• Their past performances kept them from jumping up one spot over the Tiger-Cats, but the gap between the two southern Ontario teams is razor-thin.
• Dejon Allen and Darius Ciraco had perfect games, allowing zero pressures across 32 passing plays.
Upcoming Week: Hamilton Tiger-Cats
• The Tiger-Cats fielded the best pass-rush unit of Week 12. They earned a 79.3 pass-rush grade, coming away with two sacks, three hits and 15 hurries.
5. British Columbia Lions (No Change)
LT Jarell Broxton
LG Andrew Peirson
C Michaek Couture
RG Sukh Chungh
RT Kent Perkins
• Broxton returned to action this week and was dominant in the run game, finishing with a 78.3 run-blocking grade to rank third among all qualifying linemen.
• Peirson had a pitiful week. He earned a 10.6 pass-blocking grade and allowed a sack, a hit and four hurries, losing four more reps on top of that.
Upcoming Week: Montreal Alouettes
• The Alouettes’ pass rush struggled last week, earning a 59.0 team pass-rush grade that ranked seventh among the eight teams that played.
6. Saskatchewan Roughriders (No Change)
LT Eric Lofton
LG Evan Johnson
C Peter Godber
RG Logan Ferland
RT Colin Kelly
• On the season, this unit has earned a 57.3 run-blocking grade and a 50.3 pass-blocking grade, sixth and eighth, respectively, in the CFL.
• Godber leads this group in pass-blocking grade (72.5) and run-blocking grade (66.8).
Upcoming Week: Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• Jackson Jeffcoat was last week’s top run defender. He earned an 81.8 run-defense grade with three defensive stops.
7. Edmonton Elks (Up 1)
LT Martez Ivey
LG David Foucault
C Mark Korte
RG Tomas Jack-Kurdyla
RT Brett Boyko
• The Elks continue to climb up the rankings. The pass protection woes that plagued the team early in the season seem to have vanished. For the third straight week, the Elks offensive line graded above 70.0 in pass protection and kept the pressure rate under 20%.
• Jack-Kurdyla has played his way out of the weakest link tag. In the past two weeks, he has earned pass-blocking grades above 83.0 and allowed 0 pressures.
Upcoming Week: Calgary Stampeders
• Calgary had a lackluster showing as a pass-rush unit last week. They earned a 61.1 team pass-rush grade with a league-worst 21.2% pass-rush win rate.
8. Calgary Stampeders (Down 1)
LT D’Antne Demery
LG Zack Williams
C Sean McEwen
RG Ryan Sceviour
RT D.J. Cooker
• A poor week for everyone on the Stampeders offensive line. Every starter earned an overall grade below 56.0.
• This group post posted the worst run-blocking grade (40.7) and the highest pressure rate (48.9%) in the CFL this week.
Upcoming Week: Edmonton Elks
• The Elks pass rush earned a 70.5 team pass-rush grade last week, with A.C. Leonard leading the way with four pressures from just 19 snaps.
9. Ottawa Redblacks (No Change)
LT Dino Boyd
LG Drew Desjarlais
C Cyrille Hogan-Saindon
RG Jacob Ruby
RT Dontae Bull
• Bull struggled again this week. In his second start, he earned an 18.7 pass-blocking grade and allowed three hurries.
• Desjarlais, normally the star of this offensive line, had his worst performance of the season by far, earning a 26.1 pass-blocking grade.