Five CFL storylines to watch in 2015

The CFL season kicks off Thursday night with the Ottawa Redblacks facing the Montreal Alouettes (7:30 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN2), and it should be a fascinating one. From the Calgary Stampeders' attempt to repeat as Grey Cup champions to the Redblacks' hopes to improve in their second year of existence, there are plenty of team-based storylines, but there are also player-centric and league-wide stories to consider. Here are five of the biggest storylines to watch for in 2015.

How will the new rules impact the game? The CFL made dramatic rule changes this offseason, limiting the amount of permissible downfield contact from defenders, moving back one-point conversions, forcing interior linemen to wait until the ball's kicked on punts and kicks while adding no-yards penalties to the end of returns, and allowing the offence to start the clock more quickly if they want to play up-tempo. All of these changes seem somewhat positive, at least in theory; the coverage changes on passes and punts should emphasize speed and athleticism over brute physicality and allow for exciting plays without tweaking the game too dramatically, while moving the conversion makes that less of a gimme and offers more interesting decisions about whether to go for two points or not, and the ability to start the clock should make up-tempo offences more viable.

A big question is how well and how quickly the CFL's players will adapt, though, especially on pass coverage. If players follow the rules, we should get a more exciting and fast-paced game, and perhaps even some of last year's concerns about low-scoring contests will be alleviated. If defenders don't adapt, though, games may turn into tough-to-sit-through flagfests. Coaches will have to ensure that their players are aware of and playing within the new rules, and we may see some struggles on this front early in the year.

Will this be a year for old or young quarterbacks? This is generally thought of as a quarterback-driven league, but the CFL's teams fall into very different camps with their quarterbacks. Will this be a year where proven veterans, such as Ottawa starter Henry Burris (40), Toronto starter (when healthy) Ricky Ray (35), Saskatchewan starter Darian Durant (32), Saskatchewan backup Kevin Glenn (36), B.C. starter Travis Lulay (31), and Edmonton starter Mike Reilly (30), shine? Or will it be a year dominated by younger guns like Calgary starter Bo Levi Mitchell (25), Hamilton starter Zach Collaros (26) and Winnipeg starter Drew Willy (28)? Mitchell and Collaros won that battle last year, taking their teams to the Grey Cup, but can they keep that up in 2015?

How much of an impact will NFL returnees make? The CFL always gets some high-profile players with past success in the league coming back from NFL stints each offseason, but while those players always come in with a lot of hype, their on-field impacts can be very different. Some are quickly able to pick up where they left off in the CFL, while it takes others more time, and some never regain their old form. There have been some big-name additions from the NFL this offseason, such as the Saskatchewan Roughriders bringing back defensive end Alex Hall and the Redblacks signing former Hamilton WR/KR Chris Williams. Will these guys be able to play at the all-star level they once did in the CFL, or will they fail to readjust to the league?

Will the East still be the least? Last year saw a vast disparity between divisions, with the West teams going 53-37 overall compared to the East's 28-44. The West was also 28-12 against the East. Some of that may carry over into 2015, as many of the East's teams still don't look to be on that stable of footing. A big question here is how well the Redblacks will do in their second season; if they get much better, the gap between the divisions may close a bit, but if not, the records may still be out of balance. We'll see if the disparity is as stark as 2014's or not, but for now, it seems fair to predict the West's fourth-place team finishing ahead of the East's third-place team and earning a crossover playoff berth.

What will the TV ratings look like? 2014 was an okay year for the CFL on the TV front, but far from a great one. Solid early ratings fell off as the fall started, and regular-season ratings dropped six per cent year over year. Playoff ratings were also down, and the Grey Cup was down 14 per cent from 2013. The CFL is still one of Canada's strongest TV properties even with those declines, and TSN still believes in the league; they extended their lucrative broadcasting contract with the CFL through 2021 this offseason. If the ratings stabilize or rise, that could be very good news for TSN and for the CFL's financial future. If they fall again, though, that might be a worrying sign for this league.