Music: {allcanada} CFL teams keep close watch on NFL cuts

Saskatchewan Roughriders GM Brendan Taman has three good reasons to be glued to the NFL waiver wire this weekend.

With NFL teams finalizing their 53-man active rosters ahead of the regular season, he'll be curious to see what the Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers do. Defensive linemen John Chick and Stevie Baggs -- who combined for 23 sacks last year with Saskatchewan -- are with the Colts and Cards, respectively, while linebacker Renaud Williams remains in the Steelers camp.

All three played integral roles last year as Saskatchewan finished atop the West Division for the first time since 1976 and advanced to the Grey Cup. But Taman isn't getting his hopes up about the trio returning to Regina.

"The one thing I've learned over the course of time is not to get too excited about rumours and updates and all that stuff because things can change so quickly down there," Taman said Thursday. "You're one injury or one little thing away from changing the outlook for all three guys.

"We've got a pretty decent report of what their status is as we speak but I'll wait and see when it's all said and done where they fall."

Taman and other CFL GMs are anxious to bolster their lineups heading into the second half of the season. Even though some cuts land on NFL practice rosters, a glut of talent should hit the open market.

CFL teams spend a lot of time scouting NFL camps each year. The Riders, for example, had Taman, player-personnel director Craig Smith and American scouting director Joe Womack attending various workouts and exhibition games last month.

Other teams divide training camp duties accordingly, with their representatives then compiling reports and grades on perspective players. The information could be used to place potential prospects on a CFL team's 35-player negotiation list -- which gives a CFL club exclusive rights -- or at the very least be an immediate resource when a player is released by an NFL squad.

The quandary Taman and other GMs face at this time of year is trying to upgrade their roster during the season without damaging team chemistry. Fortunately for Taman, it's not like the Riders have struggled without Chick, Baggs and Williams. Saskatchewan (5-3) is second in the West Division standings, four points behind front-running Calgary (7-1) and unlikely to bring in an abundance of new faces.

But Taman still wants to know who to pursue next month when CFL practice rosters expand from seven to 12 players for a 30-day period.

"Unless they've had CFL experience before, then that's a different story," he said. "Generally speaking, unless you get really lucky the impact you'll find will come a year or two down the road.

"If you're playing well and winning games you're definitely not going to make too many changes. Even if you're losing a lot of games the hesitancy to change for a guy who really doesn't know what you're doing is there."

Then again, Hamilton Tiger-Cats GM Bob O'Billovich said other front office executives have a different approach regarding the airlift of NFL castoffs.

"When I first started working with Ralph Sazio, he said his philosophy all those years he was in Hamilton was if they could be .500 at Labour Day when all the cuts were made he felt his team would improve by 50 per cent by bringing in talent that was available to improve where they needed help," O'Billovich said. "He lived by that philosophy for a long time.

"It just depends on where your team is. If you have a veteran club it's going to be tough for people to take jobs from those guys. But if you're just getting your roster organized and there are good players out there who can make you better then you're going to make those kind of decisions and get guys in that you can look at and evaluate."

Hamilton (4-4) finds itself in the thick of it in the East Division, trailing second-place Toronto (5-3) heading into their annual Labour Day clash at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Monday. Still, O'Billovich says it's incumbent upon a GM to always be looking for talent to make his club better and ensure his players realize that fact.

"All these years I've always made it a point that you have to tell the players what's going on so they understand," he said. "It's our due diligence to look at players to see if they can help us and if it's not right now then for nothing else it's for next year possibly.

"Everything is relative to how a player is playing and if he's playing well then there shouldn't be anything for him to be nervous about. It's a tough situation in some ways but it's also something you have to do because it could provide you with the opportunity to resolve some of your areas of concern while at the same time build for the future."

Unfortunately for Taman there's little chance Chick, the CFL's top defensive player last year, will return. He has made a very favourable impression with Colts' coaches and players alike this summer.

Williams is attempting to catch on as a backup linebacker and special-teams player with Pittsburgh while Baggs is trying to crack the Cardinals' roster as a linebacker.

Kick-returner Stefan Logan, a former B.C. Lion, is also looking to remain with the Steelers for a second season.

Running backs Martell Mallett and Rolly Lumbala, both former Lions, are in tough with the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, respectively. Linebacker Cory Greenwood of Kingston, Ont., is in the same position with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kick-returner Larry Taylor, who played for the Montreal Alouettes last season, and defensive end Ricky Foley, a native of Courtice, Ont., who was the CFL's top Canadian last year with B.C., are both looking for spots with the New York Jets.

One player whose status O'Billovich will monitor this weekend is Sam Giguere, a receiver from Sherbrooke, Que., who has spent the past two seasons on the Indianapolis Colts' practice roster. Giguere, who the Ticats drafted in 2009, is looking to crack Indy's lineup as its primary kick-returner.

"We've been following him pretty closely," O'Billovich said with a chuckle. "We're well aware of what's going on there.

"We liked him when we drafted him and we knew there was a possibility of him getting a chance in the NFL ... if things don't work out he would certainly be welcomed in Hamilton."

The CFL certainly provides Canadians like Giguere or players with roots in this country a viable alternative if released by an NFL squad. For Americans who suddenly find themselves unemployed, the prospect of playing pro football in Canada could be a very enticing one but Taman says often getting then up north isn't always easy.

First of all, Americans signed by CFL teams usually have to spend time on the practice roster for roughly $500 a week as they learn the nuances of Canadian football. Also, joining a team in Canada at the midway point of the season drastically reduces their earning power in a league where the average base salary is about $70,000.

The emergence of the United Football League not only allows the player a chance to earn a full salary -- the average stipend is US$50,000 for an eight-game season -- but continue playing four-down football with the opportunity to return to the NFL. With the CFL no longer allowing option-year players the chance to sign NFL contracts, those signing deals in Canada will have to honour them completely before being allowed to head south as a free agent.

"Quite frankly, when we start talking to these guys next week the draw of getting them up here to come on our practice roster for $500 a week after they've been cut from an NFL camp isn't appealling to them," Taman said. "People think you can just snap your fingers and here they come.

"Well, you might go through 20 guys at a position before you get one to come in. It's not easy because the UFL is out there waiting for some of these guys as well that could pay them more than $500 as an example.

"Don't get me wrong, you'll get guys but it's not as easy as some people think."