1957 Season Preview

 1957 Season Preview 

Schedule
The new schedule looks to continue traditions and create new ones. The season will kick off on June 28th with Ottawa VS. Worcester. Over the first two weeks, there will be a game on Canada Day between Montreal and Boston and then a game on the Fourth of July between Buffalo and Providence.  

The expansion teams will kick off their seasons at home with Indiana hosting Buffalo on June 29th and then Louisville hosting Ontario on June 30th.  

Rivalry week will remain during week 6 with the usual rivalry games taking place with the addition of Louisville and Indiana squaring off. However, the two expansion squads will meet for the first time two weeks earlier in week 4.   

As for TV, this season all games will be nationally televised by CBS or CBC, CBC will handle the all Canadian matchups and Canadian home games, but CBS will also be in town for the games against American opponents. 

Power Rankings

1 - Ottawa Royals
1956 Record: 8-2
1956 Result: Won McCallister Cup
The Royals lost several key contributors this offseason either to retirement or to the expansion draft. Despite all of that, the team remains a favourite to win yet another championship. Having QB Jean Matieau leading the way in the league’s best offence will always keep you at the front of the pack. Even with WR Allen Atkins retiring, Matieau will have several weapons in WR Chester Bennett, WR Mackenzie Jones, TE Jervonte Howell, and of course RB Alexei Volkov. The point of concern for the Royals would be their weakened LB core. With both Roland Hensley and Mickaël Beaumont being taken by Indiana, they will be relying on LB Leo Davenport to take the lead next to the two young LBs in David Marx and Alister Henry. Overall, Ottawa still looks great and will continue to compete for a championship this season. 

Captains
C - QB Jean Matieau
A - DL Olaf Viktorsson
A - OL James Knowles

2 - Long Island Raiders
1956 Record: 4-6
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
The Long Island Raiders may take a big step forward into a consistent championship contender this year. QB Lyle Painter enters his third season as the team’s starter and will hopefully have found his confidence and groove to get the Raiders to the next level. Of course the biggest factor for the Raiders this season will be its monster LB core. LB Rusty McVee has been a force since entering the league in 1953, and will only boost the current core of LB Elijah Goldwater and LB Gene Bensen to new heights as the best trio in the league. The big concern for Long Island will be in Painter remaining healthy and in the lineup as well as the running ability of RB Timothy Weeks. Weeks showed great promise last season but will need to take it a step further to get the Raiders to be the true contenders they can be. 

Captains
C - DL Vernon Spear
A - LB Elijah Goldwater
A - WR Robert Lang 

3 - Worcester Athletics
1956 Record: 9-1
1956 Result: Lost McCallister Cup
After an odd offseason where the Athletics didn’t seem to do much of anything, they still remain a team that will challenge for the McCallister Cup. QB Riley Kiernan and RB Marcus Devonshire will lead the way on offence after both had award-winning seasons last year, and LB Scotty Williams will headline a strong LB core with Harrison Bennett and Silas O’Brien following his lead. The strength of their superstars remains the positives for the Athletics, however, they may stumble into a depth issue again. With DB Lester Murphy being picked by the Victors, there is a giant hole in the secondary behind DB Alexander Bradley and S Shawn Jensen. They will have to hope that veterans like DB Timothy Key and DB Karl Shannon can hold down the back end or else they will not be able to stop teams like Ottawa or Providence with the weapons both those teams have.  

Captains
C - LB Scotty Williams
A - QB Riley Kiernan
A - WR Clyde McIntosh 

4 - Providence Gold Stars
1956 Record: 6-4
1956 Result: Lost Semi-Finals
Providence is an interesting team once again. Their defence is looking really strong this season with the addition of DL Zakary Turbide next to their young star DL Calias McDonough on the line. Not to mention the lethal secondary with DB Lee Wolfe, DB Victor Bean and former Tigers, DB Paul Gregory and S Mason Parker. Their offence will also get a boost with RB Élisée Marchal bringing in veteran leadership, and WR Sammy Moss coming up on the youthful side. The concern will be for the protection that the team has for QB Connor O’Rourke. The O-Line looks to be one of the weaker groups in the league and has been a consistent concern for the Gold Stars over the years. Hopefully, they can hold on and provide O’Rourke with enough protection to get the job done in a tough east division. 

Captains
C - DB Lee Wolfe
A - QB Connor O’Rourke
A - WR Peter Brooks 

5 - Buffalo Blue Wings
1956 Record: 5-5
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
It’s a make or break year for the Blue Wings. Their championship window is closing quickly and they hope to add to their 1952 championship this season. With bringing back DL Sean Bowen and holding onto DB Louie White, the Blue Wings have a bit of renewed confidence and energy with those two believing the team can still win. RB Arthur Conner has been the best RB in the last two seasons and has to keep that up for this team to compete. While Buffalo will certainly challenge for top spots in the west division they have a lot of questionable positions. Especially with depth on both the D-line and LB core, but also within a young WR group made up of Nathan Green, LeRoy Krueger, and Daniel Irons. QB Angelo Medina will also be in a hot seat this season as he just has not been the same since a knee injury he suffered in 1953, the team is starting to lose faith in the veteran to lead them back to the top.  

Captains
C - DL Sean Bowen
A - S Frazier Brooks
A - RB Arthur Conner 

6 - Ontario Tigers
1956 Record: 5-5
1956 Result: Lost Semi-Finals
A building year for the Tigers this season could still see them make the playoffs. With the financial troubles and having traded several stars last season, GM Joseph Johnson was going to be taking the Tigers through a minor retool. However, the team has proven to be quite something in the absence of those stars. QB Christian Stewart will enter his second year as a starter with a strong WR core with Wilbert Benjamin, Marqués Gardner, and Benedict Spencer. RB Clifford Russell will also look to take another step forward after earning Rookie of the Year last season. They will certainly feel some growing pains in the secondary with DB Ricardo Salvador and S Neil Graham likely leading the way. Salvador has 1 year of experience but Graham will be in his first season and there will be some mistakes made early on as the two adjust to their roles. Hopefully, the front 7 led by LB Aengus Lynch can pick things up and keep the Tigers in the fight.  

Captains
C - LB Aengus Lynch
A - QB Christian Stewart
A - WR Wilbert Benjamin 

7 - Boston Independents
1956 Record: 1-9
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
Boston was relatively quiet during the offseason, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t take any steps forward. Their youth has been improving a lot over the past couple of seasons and they are hoping that they will start to break through this season. LB Brent Harper, DB Clayton Malone and DB Carson Scott all look to be the stars this season and if they get going could put Boston into contention for a playoff spot. Even LB Konrad Aust and DL Robin Hill will be factors in the defence entering their second year. Their offence stills have RB Joel Bonner to be a leader, as well as WR Ellis Lindholm and TE Richard Stewart to help move the ball. However, their indecision at QB could be a weakness. QB Caldwell Higgins III is a likely starter but hasn’t been super consistent or super capable to be strong under pressure. QB Bart Swayze will be getting some snaps as well as they look to figure out who can take the reins in the long run.  

Captains
C - RB Joel Bonner
A - OL Andrew Furrson
A - LB Brent Harper 

8 - Indiana Victors
Expansion Team
The first expansion team to be put into the power rankings looks to be an outside playoff contender. With the veteran stars they brought in, Indiana could surprise a lot of people this season. QB Duane Logan and RB Laurent Brazeau will be reunited to lead the new team into their first season. Hopefully, the two can accomplish more than they could with the Tigers. Logan will be excited to have WR Joseph Barry and WR Samuel Floyd as weapons through the air. The Victors also have a strong defence with DB Lester Murphy and rookie DL William Sanderson leading the way. Their biggest weakness will come in a weaker O-line as well as the lack of hybrid football experience among a lot of the depth the team has from players coming from outside the NAAF. The experience factor will also extend to the coaching staff with HC Maurice Evanson coming from American football at the college level.  

Captains
C - QB Duane Logan
A - DB Lester Murphy
A - RB Laurent Brazeau 

9 - Montreal Rouge
1956 Record: 2-8
1956 Result: Missed Playoffs
The Rouge certainly have a lot of buzz around them. With QB Stanislav Ovechkin joining the team, the fans are hoping that he will finally be the long term answer at QB after years of a rotating door of QBs. Ovechkin will have lots of pressure, but the offence will have some solid support with RB Scott Mallard-White, WR Ray Lopez, TE Eli Grant, and rookie WR Derek Cross. The offence is shaping up to be one of the best the team has ever had, however, the defence is one of the worst. With the loss of DL Zakary Turbide, the D-line is going to be more of a minor annoyance than a true threat. The LB core is still young and will need lots of development especially in rookie LB Sam Fitzroy. The silver lining could be the secondary with DB Quentin Xavier who has been nothing but fantastic in his first two seasons. Montreal could still have a rough but still exciting year. 

Captains
C - QB Stanislav Ovechkin
A - OL Eugésippe Chalifoux
A - DB Quentin Xavier 

10 - Louisville Thunder
Expansion Team
Last but not least, the Louisville Thunder are very likely going to fall to the back of the line this season. It will be exciting to see the youth take the lead in this team. There are a lot of players that haven’t gotten the right opportunities that will get a chance to prove themselves this year. It starts with QB Ollie Rogers who has been in the league since 1951 and has only stepped on the field for half a game. He has potential as a starter and will hopefully be able to show that this season. There also will be former 2nd round pick WR Truman Harry and RB Lawrence Sharp being able to step up into a starting role. The defence is a mix of veterans and youngsters headlined by DB Jesse Scott, S Lester Greer, and LB Ben McCray. It will likely be a long first year for the Thunder but they won’t be a team to count out completely.  

Captains
C - OL Aaron Spears
A - K Thomas McFadden
A - DB Jesse Scott 

Wallflower’s Predictions 
WEST
Long Island 10-2 y
Buffalo 7-5 x
Ontario 6-6 x
Indiana 5-7
Louisville 1-11 

EAST
Ottawa 9-3 y
Worcester 8-4 x
Providence 8-4 x
Boston 4-8
Montreal 2-10 

DSF
Buffalo Over Ontario
Providence Over Worcester 

DF
Long Island Over Buffalo
Ottawa Over Providence

McCallister Cup
Long Island Over Ottawa