Chris Streveler

Nicole

Week 13 Recap

Maybe I’m getting old and crotchety, but I’m over the live mic games.  The novelty has worn off, and you can tell that either the players and coaches have some say in what goes to air or they’re just shutting their mouths.  See: Chris Jones basically having nothing to say during his live mic game.

But once in a while, the live mic gives a little glimpse of humour, and the above clip of Travis Lulay was pretty funny.  He took a vicious shot right under the chin later in the game, so we’re hoping he’s okay.

Ottawa at BC

What is the deal with Ottawa QB Trevor Harris?  He has a dynamic RB in William Powell and a solid receiving corps with Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli, and Dionate Spencer.  Yet Harris and the REDBLACKS are having a tough time generating any offense over the past couple of weeks.  While they’ve run into a couple of teams whose defenses have made big improvements over the past couple of weeks – see: Montreal and BC – they should still be able to put up points.

If I recall correctly, the TSN crew thought Harris does much better in a hurry up offense rather than one that takes the full 20 seconds between each play.  If that’s the case, then run the hurry up offense!  But I’m starting to think the problem is starts with the REDBLACKS’ offensive line, which gave up SIX sacks on Friday night.  It’s a young line – and that will pay dividends in time – so there are some growing pains.

Still, the REDBLACKS need to figure out how to help their young oline so that their offense can get going.  That might mean focusing on the running game more in the first quarter to help the young’uns start winning the line of scrimmage, or bringing in extra blockers to help the passing game.

The Lions had to win on Friday night to keep any hope of making the playoffs alive.  The crossover is in play, as the Lions now have four wins, one more than both Montreal and Toronto in the East Division.

BC’s offense was not spectacular, as it only managed to 260 yards.  It was in tough from the beginning, as C Cody Husband went down, leaving the backup to take over.  His snaps were all over the place, making it difficult for the BC QBs on timing routes and hand offs.  Luckily, the BC defense scored a pick six and came up with two other interceptions that helped limit the REDBLACKS to only one TD on the night.

As mentioned above, QB Travis Lulay went down after taking a hit to the chin in the second quarter.  WR Emmanuel Arceneaux is already out for an extended period of time.  If Lulay misses any significant playing time, the Lions’ chances of making the post-season will be in trouble.

FINAL: Ottawa (6-5) 14, BC (4-6) 26

Hamilton at Toronto

Before I say anything about the actual game, I need to complement Henry Burris.  And no – you are not in a parallel universe or the twilight zone.  Burris worked this game alongside Gord Miller and I thoroughly enjoyed the two of them.  Miller is a classic play-by-play man who clearly follows the CFL even though hockey is his milieu.  What I liked about Burris was that I felt like I was learning by listening to him break down a play.  He talked about the progressions a QB would generally have on a certain type of play and would identify the routes.  It was like he was in my living room beside me breaking down the game for me as it went along.  I hope he gets more assignments because he is far better than either Glen Suitor or Matt Dunigan.  Duane Forde is pretty blasé, but I still enjoy him.

As for the game, the Argos did start WR Duron Carter, but he mostly saw time on kickoff and punt returns.  He was targeted on one offensive play – a pass deep to the end zone that was beyond his reach.  He could be a difference maker for the Argos as he gets more time on the field.  The Argos are desperate for another receiver to take the heat off of veteran WR SJ Green, although WR Armanti Edwards has proven to be a good foil for Green.

The Argos put up more of a fight than I expected.  Inconsistency remains their biggest issue.  Some offensive drives they couldn’t get the right amount of personnel on the field, while on others, they cut through the Hamilton defense making it look so easy.  A couple of miscues on short yardage – they lost two 3rd down gambles – and the game might’ve ended differently.

I continue to be impressed by Hamilton QB Jeremiah Masoli.  He threw for over 300 yards and 4 TDs on Saturday afternoon, with another 300+ yard game breaking a franchise record formerly held by – Henry Burris.  He also moved the ball on the ground, rushing for 51 yards, which kept the Argos’ defense off balance most of the game.

With a win, the Tiger-Cats moved into a tie with the REDBLACKS for first in the East Division, while the Argos remain in the CFL basement with only three wins.

FINAL: Hamilton (6-5) 36, Toronto (3-8) 25

Saskatchewan at Winnipeg

I have a lot to say about this game, but much of it isn’t exactly PG.  The play above was inexplicable.  The Riders ran the same play earlier in the game.  You have four receivers on the right side of the formation, telegraphing exactly what is about to happen again.  No one seems to see the DB creeping up to jump the route and the play is not only a bust, but results in a pick six.  The Riders’ offense is so very easy to defend against.  Opposing defensive co-ordinators probably look forward to the weeks they play the Riders because they don’t have to put much thought into their game plan.

That being said, the Bombers’ offense didn’t exactly light the world on fire.

Matt Nichols was amazingly inept, throwing TWO pick sixes in the first half, which led to him being booed off the field a half time and Chris Streveler going in at QB in the third quarter.

It didn’t help.

Here’s another inexplicable play.  It’s second down, and a bunch of the Blue Bombers’ defenders are crowding the line of scrimmage.  They’re going to blitz.  It’s not hard to see that there are few Rider olinemen than Bomber guys on the line, so someone is going to get by unblocked.  The inability of ANYONE on the Rider offense to react is mindnumbingly stupid.  And it resulted in QB Zach Collaros being pulled from the game.

Obviously the Rider defense won this game for the Riders.  It had a much better game against the run, but, in my opinion, left receivers with too much cushion throughout the game.  But when the defense has two TDs and the offense had NONE, it’s hard to criticize the game plan.

Kudos also to Brett Lauther, who racked up another six field goals on Saturday afternoon.

The Riders’ offense is just – effing terrible.  (I am running out of adjectives to describe its ineptitude.) Somehow it has managed to help put up enough points to keep the Riders on a four game winning streak, but instead of getting better, it’s getting worse.  If RB Tre Mason wouldn’t have put up 117 rushing yards, the Riders would’ve been two and out for most of the game.  The offense wasn’t working when QB Brandon Bridge was running it, and it isn’t working with QB Zach Collaros.  The common factor is Offensive Coordinator Steve McAdoo.  Kevin Glenn made McAdoo look good last year.  But his offensive playbook is now being exposed for what it is: a couple of plays drawn on the back of napkins from the Memories restaurant at the Quality Hotel in Regina.

The Riders have won the last four games DESPITE their offense.  The Riders’ defense is the main reason why the Riders are 7-4.  The Riders lead the league in points off of turnovers.  I think the Rider defense has now scored MORE TDs than the Rider offense.  That is unacceptable.

The Bombers have their own problems.  They may have a genuine QB controversy, as the fans clearly want Chris Streveler to take the reins, while Head Coach Mike O’Shea seemingly remains committed to Matt Nichols.  With a bye week coming up, O’Shea will have a lot of time to figure out who his starting QB is going to be going forward.

One final note: if DE Willie Jefferson EVER AGAIN showboats on his way to the end zone, he’d better be benched.

FINAL: Saskatchewan (7-4) 32, Winnipeg (5-7) 27

Calgary at Edmonton

That was CLOSE.  And it’s possible Calgary got robbed.  I thought the Calgary player’s backside might’ve hit the turf before the ball came out.  But he didn’t argue with the ruling of incomplete, so maybe I’m completely out to lunch on this one.

Both the Calgary and Edmonton defenses took the night off in what became a shootout between QBs Bo Levi Mitchell and Mike Reilly.  Mitchell ended up with 491 yards, 4 TDs, and 3 INTs, while Reilly had 397 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT – plus another 3 TDs on the ground.  His CFL Fantasy score must’ve been RIDICULOUS.

The Eskimos were in control for most of the game, but Calgary made a late surge and just about took the game away.  It was tons of fun to watch, especially given the offensive ineptitude of the previous game.

I’m surprised Calgary’s defense wasn’t better, as up until now it’s been the league’s leading defense, but what do I know?

FINAL: Calgary 42 (9-2), Edmonton 48 (7-5)

Nicole

Week 6 Picks

I have no comment on this, except to say that I hope Milt Stegall is ready to come out of retirement.

(I do not know what #PAPERPLATES means.)

Let’s see what our Week 6 match ups are:

Saskatchewan (2-2) at Hamilton (2-2)

Welcome back to the ongoing saga of the 2018 Saskatchewan Roughriders!

What did the Riders do over the bye week?  Nothing, it seems.  Apparently nothing is wrong on offense, because Duron Carter is still starting at cornerback.  Only one offensive lineman is listed as a backup.  And yet we’re carrying eight defensive linemen and eight linebackers!

The Riders surprised the Tiger-Cats’ offense on July 5th.  I do not expect it to happen again.  And, based on the quote from Rider OL Brendon Labatte, I do not think the Rider offense is prepared.  Therefore, expect Hamilton to win this game.  By a lot.

PICK: Hamilton by 12

BC (2-2) at Ottawa (2-2)

I don’t understand why this is even a question.  The REDBLACKS are 2-2, and those two losses were to the Stampeders.  Yes, last week Trevor Harris had a terrible game, but that Calgary defense is something else.  It is just way too early in the season for this question.  Let’s see where the REDBLACKS sit after Week 9 and then we’ll talk.

That same question, though, could be asked of Jonathon Jennings of the BC Lions, who has been supplanted by Travis Lulay.

The Lions are coming off a high after their implausible comeback win against Winnipeg last week.  Their defense got going in the second half and their offense managed to put enough drives together to win.  Can they keep it going?

The big negatives for BC this week are the fact that star LB Solomon Elimimian is out because of wrist surgery – which will sideline him for up to eight weeks – and that RB Jeremiah Johnson is doubtful.  Johnson’s loss is not as critical since Chris Rainey is on the roster, but the loss of Elimimian – the leader of the BC defense – is a big blow.  Expect the REDBLACKS to attack the middle and not let up.

Ottawa has more to prove right now, especially since they were booed on their home field last week.  I think Ottawa’s defense is a bit better than Winnipeg’s, and its offense has explosive play-making ability.  While BC took an important step last week, with the injuries and Ottawa’s need to rebound, I don’t think they’ll be able to make it two in a row.

PICK: Ottawa by 4

Winnipeg (2-3) at Toronto (1-3)

I will argue that the Toronto Argonauts are better than their record shows.  They came within one point of beating Edmonton last week, and stifled Edmonton’s big play offense two weeks in a row.  They were humiliated by Calgary in Week 2, which was not all that unexpected, and also lost their opening game to the Riders.  But that was prior to losing QB Ricky Ray to a likely season-ending injury.  Since that time, the Argos have been better.

Why?  You could maybe argue that it’s because of QB James Franklin, but I’m not ready to concede that yet.

Winnipeg has been up and down through the first five weeks.  They lost QB Matt Nichols for the first three weeks, but still managed to beat Montreal 56-10.  The Blue Bombers narrowly lost to Edmonton the first week out – when there wasn’t any film on QB Chris Streveler – lost to Hamilton, tore BC apart in Week 4, and then lost to BC in Week 5 in a fairly humiliating loss.  They will be looking to get ahead early and not let up.

I think this game will be closer than people think, but Winnipeg should pull out the win at home.

PICK: Winnipeg by 4

Montreal (1-3) at Calgary (4-0)

If I was a betting person – and I am – I would bet that Stampeders QB Bo Levi Mitchell will not play on Friday.  His team is 4-0, they’re playing at home, and the Stamps’ defense nearly pitched a shutout last week.

Montreal is coming off a bye week where they released their left offensive left tackle, and that was about it.  QB Drew Willy will start again since QB Jeff Matthews is going to be out for four to six weeks.  But it won’t matter, because this Calgary defense is smothering.

The Stampeders should win this one fairly easily.  So why should you tune in and watch?  To see if Mike Sherman has trouble with his headset again.

PICK: Calgary by 9

Nicole

Week 4 Recap

Milt still has allllllllllllll the moves.

I’ve enjoyed the panel this year – for the most part. But this past weekend the guys were talking out of both sides of their mouths. With a straight face, they said that James Franklin did a good job of protecting the football and being patient, even though he threw two interceptions, while the Riders had pretty much the exact same game and got roasted for it – and rightfully so.

I’m not too surprised by this, but…

The panel’s disgust with Rider Head Coach Chris Jones’ decision-making was as apparent as ever this week.  But to be fair, EVERYONE was second-guessing his two QB system on Thursday night.  Rider QB Brandon Bridge was pretty clear after that the game that it wasn’t his preference; he had two series to put some drives together, otherwise the switch was on.

As Glen Suitor said, if you’re going to do something unconventional, you’d better win, and Jones did that this week.  But while he won this week’s battle, I don’t think an in game QB carousel is going to be the answer to winning the war.

Despite the Riders winning on Thursday night, I still managed to go 3-1 with my picks.

Hamilton at Saskatchewan

If you’re looking for highlights from this game, you’re going to be looking for a long time.  On the other hand, if you’re looking for the low points from the game, just check out each and every time the Rider offense had the ball for the first 56 minutes of this game.

Coming in, I, and everyone else, thought Hamilton’s offense would absolutely dominate the Riders.  But after getting shellacked by the Alouettes last week, the Riders brought their ‘A’ game to an epic defensive battle against the league’s current top offense.  The Rider D managed to keep the Tiger-Cats out of the end zone for 60 minutes, which I didn’t think was possible.

On offensive, the Riders continued their streak of ineptitude.  It began with the asinine QB rotation I mentioned above, and continued with the ridiculous play calls.  Calling for a hand off to a running back on 2nd and 19 should result in an automatic firing of the offensive co-ordinator.  As usual, McAdoo seemed to completely hamstring his QBs, calling more runs than usual in order to minimize mistakes.  It made for a boring and predictable game until Bridge let loose with a couple of minutes to play and connected with WR Joshua Stanford on a great pump and go.  Bridge made a great toss with defenders in his face by putting the ball only where Stanford could catch it.  And Stanford made an excellent adjustment to the ball and secured it with a defender draped all over him.  RB Marcus Thigpen FINALLY showed his breakaway speed and ran the ball to the outside and down the sideline for the winning TD.

(Why the CFL on TSN Twitter feed doesn’t have a clip of this one good play I do not understand.)

While the Riders kept the Tiger-Cats out of the end zone, they still let them amass 300+ yards of offense.  Plays like these drove me CRAZY!

CB/WR Duron Carter had a much better game on Thursday night, mostly because he was kept to the wide side of the field and wasn’t matched up with speedy WR Brandon Banks.  That match up was left for DB Ed Gainey, and while he didn’t have his best game, he made enough plays on the last drive of the game to ensure Hamilton didn’t score.

The Riders go into the bye week with a 2-2 record, as to the Tiger-Cats.  And while the Riders are happy to have escaped with a win on Thursday night, they have a lot of work to do this week to try and solve their offensive woes.

FINAL: Hamilton (2-2) 13, Saskatchewan (2-2) 18

Ottawa at Montreal

Apropos of nothing, I would like to mention that the REDBLACKS’ Twitter feed is the snarkiest in the CFL.  Par exemple:

But I am kind of ticked I took WR Greg Ellingson instead of WR Brad Sinopoli this week.  As a result, my fantasy team got rolled over this week.

With William Powell’s effort, the REDBLACKS should’ve put the Alouettes away a lot sooner than they did.  Instead, they let Montreal hang around and make a game of it – sort of.

Ottawa did no help itself by taking 100+ yards in penalties.  It settled for field goals instead of TDs, but it owned the time of possession and Montreal could not come back.

The good news for the Alouettes is that after beating the Riders last week, they hung around with a team that everyone thought would beat them by at least a dozen.  Even better, starting QB Jeff Matthews was better than the combined Rider duo of Brandon Bridge and David Watford.  What the Alouettes need to do is use RB Tyrell Sutton more.  He got into a groove in the 4th quarter, but it was far too late.  Integrating him into the offense in a game right from the start should pay dividends for the Alouettes later on.

Whatever the Alouettes do next, they need to focus on getting fans in the stands.  Attendance at this game was just north of 16,000 – and that was with a lot of REDBLACKS fans in the stands.  It’s a worrying trend.

FINAL: Ottawa (2-1) 28, Montreal (1-3) 18

Edmonton at Toronto

Mike Reilly versus James Franklin.  The teacher versus the student.  Mentor vs. mentee. It was the same blessed thing all week long.  After all of the build up, you think it would’ve been a great game!  Instead, it was a complete snoozefest.

Toronto went up early, Edmonton took the lead in the second half, and in the last couple of minutes, Toronto scored a TD, got a two and out from its defense, and James Wilder Jr. ran out the clock.

As a result, we have this wonderful headline:

Jason Maas’ decision-making under fire again after Esks loss

With about two minutes to go in the game, Maas decided to kick the ball away instead of attempt to get a first down on 3rd and 8.  The Argos got the ball and never gave it back.  Should Maas have tried to get the first down?  In retrospect, sure.  At the time?  He probably should’ve.  As the Eskimos’ defense hasn’t exactly been locking it down this season, I would’ve put the ball in Mike Reilly’s hands.

Too bad, so sad.

FINAL: Edmonton (2-2) 17, Toronto (1-2) 20

BC at Winnipeg

Jock Climie, whom I rarely quote or paraphrase, said it best this weekend: the Lions are a talented team, but for all that talent, that are underperforming.

As a result, when the Bombers went up 21-3, I turned off the TV and did something else.

In my head, I jokingly thought that the TSN panel should question Head Coach Mike O’Shea’s strategy to pull Matt Nichols and let Chris Streveler make a couple of plays from time to time throughout the game.  But unlike the Bridge-Watford tandem that can’t seem to even create decent statistics for ONE QB, the Nichols-Streveler duo was very productive.

Ugh.

As for the Lions, well, 3 interceptions makes it tough on your defense.  The Lions could not get their passing game together.  QB Jonathon Jennings only managed 105 yards, and backup Cody Fajardo had 68 yards.  In other words, they had a Bridge and Watford kind of night – not good.  The only bright light was Jeremiah Johnson with 80 rushing yards.  But it was just not the Lions’ night.  Jennings needs to be much better, as does the Lions defense.  Unfortunately for them, they face the same Winnipeg team again in Vancouver this week.  Oof.

FINAL: BC (1-2) 19, Winnipeg (2-2) 41

Nicole

Week 4 Picks

You all know that the more you tell Chris Jones NOT to do something, the more inclined he is to do it and prove you wrong, right?  

Besides the ongoing saga of Carter’s Corner – which would be a great name for a TV show – there were two other CFL stories that caught my eye.

Poor BC Lion OL Jovan Olafioye.  Initially, he was likely pretty happy to return to the Lions after a year of struggles with the Alouettes.  But then he tried to find a place to live.

He posted his troubles on Twitter, and Sportsnet 650 then took the ball and tweeted Olafioye’s problem out to its followers.  Lots of people responded, and we now know that to rent a two bedroom/two bathroom in Yaletown, it’s going to cost you $3,000 a month.

This was probably my favourite tweet, as Olafioye asked TELUS to help him out.  It was kind of shady, as he noted that TELUS sponsors the team.

No word yet on whether Olafioye has a place to live, but hopefully it happens soon so his fiancee and two kids can join him out west.

My second favourite CFL story this week is summed up in this picture:

The Tiger-Cats attended the Queen’s Plate, which is one of the – if not the – most prestigious horse races in Canada.  I love this picture of LB Simoni Lawrence – backwards hat and all – laughing it up with a fellow attendee whose ensemble is straight of an episode of Downtown Abbey.  If you click on the link in the tweet, you can see what duds the other guys were wearing.  I think it would’ve been fun to watch the Ti-Cats cheering the horses down the track.

Let’s take a look at our games this week:

We’ll start with the Roughriders, who’ll be looking to get back on track after a dismal effort this past weekend.

Hamilton (2-1) at Saskatchewan (1-2)

If the 2018 CFL season ended today, Ti-Cats QB Jeremiah Masoli would be the CFL’s MOP.

Masoli has eight – yes, EIGHT – straight 300+ yard passing games.  Here are his statistics over the past eight games:

Completion Percentage 70.5% | 2,775 passing yards (346.9 yards per game) | 13 TDS | 4 INT | 5-3 record

Masoli QBs what I consider to be the CFL’s best offense right now.  The Tiger-Cats lead the league in yards per game at over 450.  The key for the Rider defense will be to rattle Masoli early and often.  Keep him in the pocket.  And for the love of all things green and white, DO NOT let Brandon Banks get behind Duron Carter.  I think Banks will try and run a go route between 4 and 5 times tomorrow night.  Eek.

Chris Jones is slowly wearing out his welcome in Riderville.  Between Carter being stuck on offense again this week and seeing RB Jerome Messam as third on the depth chart, Jones’ decisions are being second-guessed at every turn.  His premature benching of QB Brandon Bridge last week was no exception.

Jones needs to let Bridge PLAY.  He’s going to make mistakes.  He’s a young QB who hasn’t had a lot of starts.  And those starts have been few and far between.  Having rewatched the first half of last week’s game, Bridge showed better than I remembered.  Play calling was a major issue, as was offensive line play.  Yes – Bridge made mistakes.  But I would’ve preferred to see him try to battle his way out of the mess, as that’s the true measure of a QB.  I feel like a Brandon Bridge sympathizer.  And maybe I am.  But the guy said he’d “love” to have Carter on defense.  How can you not get behind that?

The Riders defense will have to play lights out in order to give the Riders a chance.  The Riders have only scored THREE TDs in three games.  THREE.  While the Riders *should* play better after last week’s debacle, the Tiger-Cats have too much offense and the Riders have next to none.

PICK: Hamilton by 9

Ottawa (1-1) at Montreal (1-2)

So Ottawa was reminded last week that it has a little ways to go in order to stay with the Calgary Stampeders.  The Alouettes didn’t learn much except that they’re better than the Riders, which isn’t saying much.

With Alouettes QB Drew Willy still ailing after last week, QB Jeff Matthews will likely get the call to start.  I don’t remember this, but apparently Matthews started five games for the Tiger-Cats back in 2015.  Or maybe I have a vague recollection of it.  Regardless, he hasn’t started a game since 2015, and his 2017 season was apparently so memorable that it’s not even mentioned on his bio page.

The REDBLACKS kept it close for three quarter last week and then let made enough mistakes to allow Calgary to pull ahead.  I’m going to go out on a real limb here and say that the team that makes the least amount of mistakes will win.

Ottawa’s roster is superior to Montreal’s in every way.  While the Alouettes will be riding high after posting a win for the first time in 12 games, they’ll start a new losing streak on Friday night.

PICK: Ottawa by 10

Edmonton (2-1) at Toronto (0-2)

It’s James Franklin versus his old team in this game, as Franklin gets his first start since being traded from the Eskimos to the Argos during the off season.  And James Franklin was brought to the Argos for exactly this type of situation: Ricky Ray is out for the foreseeable future, possibly the season, and possibly forever.

But let’s just take a second and reflect on the fact that Franklin’s Twitter handle is jfranktank1.  I now think less of him than I did before learning this fact.

The Argos had a bye last week, so Franklin should be absolutely prepared to take on the Eskimos.  He should also be familiar with Eskimos defensive coordinator Mike Benevides, aka HoodieMan.  And with Eskimos Head Coach Jason Maas and his offensive tendencies.  That being said, the Eskimos will be just as familiar with Franklin.

Enter Toronto Head Coach Marc Trestman.

If anyone can keep a defense off-kilter, it’s Trestman.  He did wonders for Anthony Calvillo’s career, and helped Ricky Ray lead the Argos to last year’s Grey Cup.  Franklin should blossom under his guidance, and it would be really helpful for Rider fans if he could speed that up and blossom this week.

Last week, it took the Eskimos a good quarter and a half to get into a groove.  Once they did, it was off to the races.  I am still surprised that the BC Lions didn’t run the ball more given the Eskimos’ weakness against the run.  Expect the Argos and James Wilder, Jr. to attack the line of scrimmage on Friday night.

Overall, the Argos are a bit of an unknown quantity thus far.  They unexpectedly lost to the Riders, and were then stomped on by the Stampeders.  Their offense has struggled mightily to this point.  It’ll be interesting to see if a week off helps the team reset.

PICK: Toronto by 1

BC (1-1) at Winnipeg (1-2)

Will he or won’t he?  That is the question for the Blue Bombers when it comes to QB Matt Nichols.

I think Nichols starts this week.

The Bombers’ defense, in true Richie Hall style, has been more than a little suspect thus far this season.  It gave up a ton of yardage to the Tiger-Cats last week, and the same could happen this week with Lions receivers Bryan Burnham and Emmanuel Arceneaux.  But QB Jonathon Jennings needs to get on the same page as his receivers.

After a promising start last week, the Lions let the Eskimos’ offense start to roll, and it never stopped.  If Nichols is back, the Lions’ defensive back had better be ready.

BC has shown flashes of an improving team, but has also shown why it finished last in the West Division last year.  BC’s first game against the Alouettes didn’t show us much, while last week the Lions played a solid quarter and a half of football and kept the league’s best QB in check.  They need to keep that mentality if they’re going to have a chance in Winnipeg.

Each team has great running backs and strong receiving corps but defenses that are a work in progress.  I think this is going to be a shootout where the last team to have the ball wins.

PICK: Winnipeg by 3

Nicole

Week 3 Recap

THE RIDERS LOST TO A TEAM WHOSE COACH CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO REMOVE HIS HEADSET.

The Riders reached a new level of incompetence and futility on Saturday night.  If you’ve been a Rider fan for awhile, you knew that what happened on Saturday night was a distinct possibility, no matter how much you wished it wouldn’t happen.  But that’s what happens when you have a head coach who doesn’t understand roster management, who plays one of his biggest offensive weapons on defense because he can’t recruit a cornerback, and whose offensive coordinator only has one page of playcalls and calls it a playbook.

Oy vey.  Duron Carter *does* know that the TD he gave up to Chris Williams on Saturday was 90% his fault, right?  They pointed out on the broadcast that Carter was likely looking for help from the inside, but he still allowed Williams to release without putting up a fight and let him get a good two yards behind him.  For his part, though, Carter doesn’t seem to think he played that badly:

“It wasn’t a tough night for me, “ Carter said. “I let up a touchdown. I let up two catches. It was a tough night for the team. We’re really this close and we always have some type of self (inflicted) mistake that brings us back.”

Seriously?!?!  

Then there was Chris Jones, getting all defensive about his defensive back:

“If (Eskimos defensive back) Aaron Grymes gets beat deep you all aren’t in here asking questions about Aaron Grymes because he’s a proven DB,” Jones said. “What we’ve got to do is work with a very good athlete, make him a better player.”

I’m sure having Carter continue to play DB is causing dressing rooms around the CFL to wonder what the (#!% Chris Jones is thinking.  Take this excerpt from quite the Instagram exchange between Carter and WR Kevin Elliott of the BC Lions:

kev1n_3lliott_ @dc_chillin_8 Ha! You’re a scrub according to the film. Your head coach has more faith in you than he should…. #FilmDontLie

The rest of the conversation is NSFW, but you can probably figure out how it went from there.

The Riders’ unexpected – and yet completely expected – loss to the Alouettes put me at 2-2 for the week.  It started out well…

Ottawa at Calgary

William Powell doesn’t get a lot of love outside of Ottawa even though he’s the most consistent RB in the CFL.  Thus far, he has 217 yards in 2 games.  He had 123 yards in this game alone.  But, no TDs.

And the REDBLACKS needed TDs on Thursday night.

This was a fairly even game until the fourth quarter, when the REDBLACKS made too many mistakes and the Stampeders capitalized.  For instance:

The REDBLACKS couldn’t convert on third and goal.  Then there was this:

When you play the Stampeders, you can’t make these types of mistakes, because they will take advantage.  The REDBLACKS’ only TD of the game came after the midway point of the 4th quarter, and by that point, it was too late.  REDBLACKS’ QB Trevor Harris only had 135 passing yards in this game and was 13/29.  When’s the last time he was held to that kind of yardage?

A discussion of this game cannot end without mentioning REDBLACKS LB Kyries Hebert’s vicious hit on Stampeder WR DaVaris Daniels.

This is the kind of crap that wrecks the game.  Hebert left his feet, led with his helmet, and decked Daniels while he was in a vulnerable position.  There was absolutely no reason for that hit, and it was deliberate.  The CFL obviously agreed, as Hebert was suspended the next day for one game.

This was the swiftest the CFL has made a discipline decision in recent memory.  I did not expect more than the maximum fine, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the CFL went farther.  The discipline was also meted out within 24 hours, and not announced the following week like most discipline matters are.  Good for the CFL for seeing an egregious hit and acting quickly to demonstrate that hits like one Hebert levelled on Daniels are not welcome in our game.

FINAL: Ottawa (1-1) 14, Calgary 24 (3-0)

Winnipeg at Hamilton

There was a lot of “Hockey, hockey, hockey!” on Friday night during the CFL’s first live mic game.  And a few f-bombs, which always offends the ears of some (and makes me wonder if these people have ever attended a live football game before).  My favourite playcalls were Winnipeg’s audibles or hurry up offense calls, which included nouns such as “eBay”, “email”, and “limo”.  And another I missed that, uh, is NSFW.

Except for Winnipeg’s opening TD, the Tiger-Cats were in complete control of this game.  QB Jeremiah Masoli has 369 yards passing and a TD.  He continued his streak of +300 passing yard games.  What is even more impressive is that the Tiger-Cats are featuring two – yes, 2 – Canadian running backs in Mike Timmis and Sean Erlington Thomas.

As for the Blue Bombers, their Richie Hall defense let them down.  The DBs generally played 5 yards off the receivers, allowing Hamilton to gain 5+ yards on first down and easily convert on second down.  This showed in the time of possession, which Hamilton owned by about 15 minutes.

QB Chris Streveler faced his first true defensive test against the Tiger-Cats, and his statistics showed that he was pretty much stymied at every turn.  He finished with 146 passing yards and went 17/30.  Surprisingly, Winnipeg amassed 134 rushing yards.  These were split between Steveler and Andrew Harris.

Winnipeg was at a disadvantage from the start since this was its second game out east in two weeks.  But Hamilton clearly studied the film on Streveler and held him in check all night.  Hamilton is the real deal, which is exciting for its long-suffering fans and trouble for the Argos and REDBLACKS.

FINAL: Winnipeg (1-2) 17, Hamilton (2-1) 31

BC at Edmonton

I was feeling like a genius for the first 20 minutes of this game.  BC came out and picked off a Mike Reilly pass and converted it into a TD, and then recovered a fumble on a kick return and got a field goal.

By the end of the first quarter, it was 11-0 for the Lions and I was fairly giddy over having picked the Lions.

Then reality set in.

With less than 3 minutes in the half, the Eskimos managed to put two TDs on the board, including a two point convert.  By the end of the half, the Eskimos were leading 17-14, and they never looked back.

BC’s defense gave up over 500 yards to the Eskimos, including nearly 200 rushing yards.  And Eskimos WR D’haquille Williams had 129 yards and 1 TD himself.

BC’s QB Jonathon Jennings struggled a bit, only throwing for 199 yards and completely just over 50% of his passes (13/24).  The Lions ran the ball early on, but went away from it as the game went on and they got farther behind.  It did not help that K Ty Long only went 2/4 on field goals.

The Lions were in a tough spot having had a bye last week and playing Montreal the week before.  They came out sharp, but lost any semblance of momentum on offense as the game went on.  They need more 2 and outs from their defense in order to give their offense more time to gel.

But this formation was fun:

FINAL: BC (1-1) 22, Edmonton (2-1) 41

Montreal at Saskatchewan

GOOD LORD.  The Riders’ offense stunk on Saturday night.

Having re-watched the first half, I think the problems were threefold:

  1. At times, Bridge looked for the big play instead of taking what was in front of him.
  2. Bridge didn’t have a lot in front of him most time, as most plays called for receivers to be at least 10 yards downfield.
  3. The offensive line collapsed more often than not.

And one more: the lack of a running game meant the Montreal defense did not have to respect the run and could focus on defending the pass.

On re-watching the game, I noticed that there were moments where it looked the offense was putting it together.  Near the end of the first quarter, QB Brandon Bridge hooked up with WR Jordan Williams-Lambert for a short gain that he turned into a first down.  Bridge then connected with Shaquelle Evans (I think) for a long gain.  Those were good play calls.  And Bridge, despite throwing a couple of INTs, seemed to be more comfortable towards the end of the half.

But Chris Jones, in his infinite wisdom, decided to pull Bridge at halftime and put in 3rd stringer David Watford for the rest of the game.  Watford’s numbers were marginally better, largely because they included a TD, but the same problems that plagued Bridge in the 1st half were there in the 2nd half.  I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

What bothers me is that it’s the third game of the season – it was the perfect time of year for Bridge to stay in the game and try and dig himself out of the hole the Riders were in.  He said so himself:

“I put myself in my own deficit and I wasn’t able to take myself out of it so it definitely hurt. I wish I would have stayed in. I wish the coach would have left me in so I could actually get myself out of the deficit and let me rock,” Bridge said.

And I think he would’ve done so.  Instead, Jones basically told him that a couple of mistakes means he’s going to get pulled, and you don’t want a player playing with that type of mindset.  Plus, why does Duron Carter get a pass and Bridge doesn’t?  Carter was burned a couple of times by Alouette Chris Williams, but he wasn’t benched.

But that’s because the Riders don’t have another DB, which is freaking ridiculous.  Here’s another ridiculous fact: the Riders did not dress one backup OLman on Saturday night.  Not one.  What kind of roster management is that?

Getting back to the offense, it sucked because everyone sucked:

“A lot of people reached out to me and said not to worry about it because it looks like it’s all your fault on TV but when you look at the film and people that actually know football it’s actually a team game and a lot of the mistakes we had wasn’t just on me it was as a whole,” Bridge said.

It’s a sentiment that was supported by his quarterback coach Steve Walsh.

“I think a lot of time the quarterback gets more credit when things are going well and more blame when it’s going bad because the job of quarterback is dependent on all the other positions to do their job and we’re struggling,” he said.

“We’ve had receivers open and we missed, we had receivers open and we didn’t have quite enough protection and we’ve had receivers open and maybe we didn’t capitalize on the catch … all areas have to get better offensively, it’s certainly not just the one position but my focus is on making sure the quarterbacks play better.”

Maybe it would be helpful for Naaman Roosevelt to have Carter out there drawing attention and creating space for Roosevelt to get open and give Bridge a target.  Right?

In the end, the Rider defense couldn’t make up for the lack of offensive output and the Alouettes ended a 13 game losing streak.

We should’ve seen it coming.

FINAL: Montreal (1-1) 23, Saskatchewan (1-2) 17

Nicole

Week 3 Picks

The world feels like a whirling mess these days.  But this weekend, the CFL will help us all focus on Humboldt, Saskatchewan, and remind us of the importance of community.  At the end of the day, we are all human, and we all feel the same pain when we lose a loved one.  In the spirit of healing, we will come together throughout the weekend and remember those who were lost on April 6, 2018.  Please keep remembering the survivors, their families and friends, and the first responders in the coming months as their recovery continues.

Unfortunately it appears that Ricky Ray’s career may be over, as reports have surfaced indicating that the soon-to-be Hall of Famer has been told by doctors not to play for the rest of the season.  Interestingly, it’s been nearly three years since Anthony Calvillo was forced to retire after a hit from Ricky Foley caused concussion issues.  I suspect the same fate will befall Ray and that he has played his last game in the CFL.

While Ray won’t be going out on his own terms, his long-term health matters a lot more than getting back on the football field.

This week’s games present a challenge, as there are no clear favourites – even in the Montreal/Saskatchewan game.  Why?  Read on.

Ottawa (1-0) at Calgary (2-0)

This could be a shootout.  Both offenses put on a show last week, heavily outscoring their opponents and making use of both the long ball and the running game.  The difference?

The REDBLACKS won’t be facing Chris Jones’ soft defense this week.

The REDBLACKS were never really challenged by the Riders last week – and I write that as a Rider fan.  QB Trevor Harris had allllll dayyyyyyy looooooooong to throw, and William Powell had tons of room to run.  The REDBLACKS will face a much tougher defense in the Stampeders.  There’s also a week of film on the REDBLACKS now, something the Riders didn’t have prior to their game.

Accordingly, this game comes down to the battle between the REDBLACKS’ rookie offensive line versus Calgary’s more experienced and more defensive line, and I don’t see the REDBLACKS having the same success two weeks in a row.

PICK: Calgary by 9

Winnipeg (1-1) at Hamilton (1-1)

I have to eat a bit of crow here, as I did not think QB Jeremiah Masoli would’ve matured into the QB he’s shown since the latter half of the 2017 season.  I honestly thought he was a scrambler without much of an arm who was prone to making silly mistakes.  He is proving me – and everyone else in the CFL – very wrong right now.

What’s been the difference?  I think Coach June Jones has made a huge difference, as he named Masoli as his starter when he took over and never wavered.  He made the same commitment this year, even with that other backup QB people can’t stop talking about.  Jones’ faith in Masoli is being rewarded right now, and while it’s annoying as a Rider fan who can’t understand why the Riders can’t find another starting QB, you can’t help but be happy for Masoli.

Then there’s Chris Streveler.  Good lord, he was ON FIRE last week.  He threw for 246 yards and 3 TDs, and ran for another 98 yards and 1 TD.  But as with the previous game, I must point out the quality of the Bombers’ opponent, which was the lowly Montreal Alouettes.

The featured match up in this game is Streveler versus the Tiger-Cat defense.  Hamilton must contain Streveler and keep him from using his legs to move the ball.  Keep him in the pocket and let him try to beat you with his arm.  And whatever you do, don’t take him lightly.  He nearly beat the Eskimos in his first start; don’t be surprised if he matches Masoli TD for TD.

That being said, I think the Tiger-Cats will win this one, even though the Tiger-Cats always do the OPPOSITE of what I think they will do.

PICK: Hamilton by 4

BC (1-0) at Edmonton (1-1)

The Esks’ defense sucked last week, giving up nearly 530 yards to the Tiger-Cats. (Yes – injuries were a factor.)  And right now, the Eskimos’ offense consists of QB Mike Reilly throwing the ball as far as he can downfield and hoping one of his receivers catches it.

BC’s first game was against the terrible Alouettes, and they had a bye last week.  It’s hard to know how they’ll play when they face some real competition.

Edmonton’s run defense has been suspect through the first two weeks.  If BC keys on that with RB Jeremiah Johnson and Chris Rainey, they could make this a close game.

But the real match up is at QB: Mike Reilly versus Jonathon Jennings.  This is the type of game where 2017 Jennings would implode.  He has to be smart with the ball and use his legs when necessary.  If he can do that, the Lions just might win this game.

PICK: BC by 2

Montreal (0-2) at Saskatchewan (1-1)

Here’s a picture of most Rider fans these days:

QB Zach Collaros was put on the 6 game injured list earlier his week, which means it’s Brandon Bridge’s team for the next several weeks – if not the season.

Bridge came into a number of games last year when Kevin Glenn was struggling and performed admirably – if you forget the East Final versus the Argos.  He’s a big QB with a cannon for an arm, but he’s never been able to put it all together.  If he gets into trouble in the pocket, his first instinct is to RUN BACKWARDS, which is pretty much the last thing any QB should do in that situation.  Last year he was timid when it came to running the ball.  This year, Coach Jones has given him the green light to pull down the ball and take off with it:

I am praying to Baby Football Jesus that Offensive Co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo is born again and discovers the running game this week, as RB Marcus Thigpen is finally available after serving his two game suspension for failing a CFL drug test.  Thigpen was a revelation late last season, and with RB Jerome Messam slowing down, his quickness is needed to help establish the line of scrimmage, get opposing defenses to respect the run, and move the yardsticks.  If McAdoo doesn’t use Thigpen on Saturday night, I am going to LOSE IT.

Lucky for Bridge and the Riders, their opponent could not be more perfect.  The abysmal Alouettes will be in town after getting kicked up, down, and all around the field last week.  Good job, Kavis!  But it’s the fact that the Alouettes are so bad that scares me, as this is the type of game that the Riders SHOULD win.  But will they?

Defensively, the Riders need to pursue QB Drew Willy all night long.  DO NOT go soft and play zone.  DO NOT rush three guys all night.  DO NOT rush ONE PERSON.  DO YOU HEAR ME, CHRIS JONES?!?!  This defense was a thing of beauty for the first half of the Argos game.  THAT is the defense that will help the Riders win more games than not.

Coaching is what is holding back this team.  I am praying to Baby Football Jesus that after last week’s humiliating display in Ottawa, the coaches will have adjusted accordingly.

PICK: Saskatchewan by 9

Nicole

Week 2 Recap

Okay, okay, REDBLACKS.  We get it.  You scored on Duron Carter.  But don’t forget that Duron also did this to you:

I have to say that going 2/2 on pick sixes to interceptions is pretty good.

More about the Riders shortly.

I have no idea why Milt Stegall was running, but it’s fun to watch Matt Dunigan make fun of him.

While all of Week 1’s games were decided in the fourth quarter, nearly all of Week 2’s games were over by the 4th quarter.  I went 3-1 again this week for a two week record of 6-2.  Where did I go wrong?  Two words: Jeremiah Football.

Saskatchewan at Ottawa

Oooooh, that is shady, REDBLACKS!  But that 50/50 is just pitiful.  Only $36,000?  Seriously??

Let’s be honest: the REDBLACKS completely demolished Gang Green on Thursday night.  And it wasn’t even close.

Like the week before, the Riders’ offence got off to a sluggish start.  Unlike the week before, the Riders’ defense didn’t even show up.  The lack of pressure throughout the game was downright confounding.  Rushing three guys when the REDBLACKS often lined up six meant the defensive line got swallowed up right away and REDBLACKS QB Trevor Harris had alllllllllll day to throw.  Looks at these numbers:

DBs were playing yards off their receivers, the LBs were missing tackles everywhere, and there was no sense of attack or urgency.  The REDBLACKS’ offense made it look remarkably easy against a defense that stifled Ricky Ray’s offense the week before.

On offense, QB Zach Collaros was hit a number of times in the first quarter, and he eventually left the game with a possible concussion.  The offensive line kept getting pushed back and couldn’t establish a run game until late in the fourth quarter when the game was all but done.  The Riders started three Americans on their offensive line, which means they’re starting LB Sam Hurl at middle linebacker.  This is unacceptable.  Start OL Darius Bladek and put LB Sam Eguavoen at middle linebacker.  Bladek can’t be worse than OL Jarvis Harrison, who might as well have just waved a white flag whenever he was on the field.

Can you sense the frustration?

The Riders did not properly game plan on either side of the ball.  The result?  An early season wake up call.

FINAL: Saskatchewan (1-1) 17, Ottawa (1-0) 40

Winnipeg at Montreal

If I am Mike Sherman, I am asking myself why I bothered to come up to Canada to try and turn around a struggling franchise given that I used to be an NFL coach and deserve A LOT better.

So do the fans.

Before the league expands to 10 teams, it needs to ensure its current 9 are all stable.  The Alouettes are on the brink of returning to obscurity in Montreal.  Not good.

There’s not much to say about this game when it was over by halftime.

This stat line from Alouettes QB Drew Willy is just sad:

And the Blue Bomber time of possession is just ridiculous:

As are the Montreal penalties:

Montreal is a complete and utter mess.  Not good.

FINAL: Winnipeg (1-1) 56, Montreal (0-2) 10

Hamilton at Edmonton

For the second week in a row, the Edmonton Eskimos had their game delayed due to lightning.  But lightning did not strike twice for them as they could not come back after the Hamilton Tiger-Cats took control of the game.

While the Eskimos are hurting on defense – injuries have already taken their toll – their offense is fairly one-dimensional right now.  About all they have is the long ball.  Their running game needs to get going, and once that does, they’ll be able to actually drive down the field instead of scoring TDs in one or two plays.

On the other side, Jeremiah Football is hopefully making everyone say, “What’s the name of that second string guy?”  And it’s putting a stop to the constant stories about that other guy as well – sort of.

The Tiger-Cats had a balanced attack against the Eskimos, spreading the ball between five different receivers and three different rushers.  It kept the Edmonton defense off kilter all evening long and frustrated Eskimos Head Coach Jason Maas, which greatly amused me.

Jeremiah Masoli reminds me of Darian Durant circa 2009.  Keep it up, Jeremiah Football.

FINAL: Hamilton (1-1) 38, Edmonton (1-1) 21

Calgary at Toronto

That’s two weeks in a row that the Argos haven’t managed to put points on the board until late in the game.  Argos QB Ricky Ray was held to a mere 74 yards passing, and supposed star RB James Wilder, Jr. had 60 yards rushing.

Then this happened:

Ray went down after a seemingly innocuous tackle.  On further review, as he went down, the two Stampeder defenders ran into each other and Ray’s head and neck were put in an awkward position.  He was taken off the field in a stretcher.  Not much of an update has been provided except to say that it’s a suspected neck issue and he’s able to move his extremities.

As for the Stampeders, QB Bo Levi Mitchell had a near record-setting day after setting a career low for completion percentage the previous week.

The Stampeders were firing on all cylinders.  As for the Argos, it’s too bad they had such a poor effort given the near sold out crowd at BMO Field.

No matter, though.  It’s not like this was a Grey Cup game.

FINAL: Calgary (2-0) 41, Toronto (0-2) 7

Nicole

Week 2 Picks

I get what the Riders are trying to do here, but I think ‘Wassup?’ would’ve have been a better word choice.  To ‘sup’ means to sip a drink.  Come on, guys.

Anyway…

Remember the guy who got pasted at last weekend’s Lions’ game?

He decided to get a lawyer.  He’s probably going to sue Lions DB Marcell Young for battery – or at least threaten to sue him.  Apparently the streaker’s name is Jager Myslawchuk, which tells you everything you need to know after him.

In other news…

GOOD LORD.  BTW, does anyone know what the #paperplates hashtag means?

And finally…

The REDBLACKS are in first place in the East Division by virtue of having a bye in Week 1.  I love the CFL!

Last week I was a solid 3-1 with my picks.  My only error was in picking Toronto over the Riders.  But if you’d sat through the Riders’ last pre-season game, you wouldn’t have picked them, either.

Here are this week’s games:

week2

This week’s games are a lot harder to pick than last week’s.

Saskatchewan (1-0) at Ottawa (0-1)

Oh man.  Could this be the reverse of last year when Bo Levi Mitchell told Duron Carter he’d pick on him if he played defensive back and Carter ended up picking off Mitchell for a TD?

“Bo Levi – SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!”  I still love it!

The REDBLACKS certainly aren’t giving Carter any ammunition, which makes me nervous.  Carter is starting in place of DB Nick Marshall, who was placed on the six-game injured list earlier this week after picking off Ricky Ray and taking the ball back for a TD when the Argos were in town last Friday night.  (My question to Chris Jones is this: do you really not have any other defensive backs that are better than Duron?) Look for REDBLACKS QB Trevor Harris and his wide receiver trio of Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli, and Diontae Spencer to go after Carter early and often.

Other than Carter versus the REDBLACKS’ receivers, the other key match up is the REDBLACKS’ offensive line against the Riders’ formidable front four.  The REDBLACKS’ offence thrives on the big play, so it’ll be important for the Riders to disrupt the pocket and make sure Harris doesn’t have time to set up the long ball.  There will no doubt be some double-teaming in Charleston Hughes’ future given last week’s performance.  The Riders’ defense was fairly passive in the second half of last week after being up a few TDs, and they can’t let that happen against the REDBLACKS.

One variable this week is the fact that it’s the REDBLACKS’ home opener.  After a bye last week, the REDBLACKS have had loads of time to prepare for the Riders and they’re rested and ready to put on the pads and play.  This just might give the REDBLACKS a little more jump in their step, so the Riders will need to ensure the REDBLACKS don’t get out to an early lead.

Notice I haven’t said anything about the Riders’ offense?  I am cautiously optimistic after last week’s performance, but it’s still a work in progress.

PICK: Ottawa by 3

Winnipeg (0-1) at Montreal (0-1)

Why yes – I did watch this, even though it was ridiculous.  What I really don’t understand is why they have to wear their uniforms while doing a key flip challenge.

I tried to find the Instagram story to see which team Stella picked to win, but no luck.  There’s a metaphor for the Alouettes of the past few seasons in there somewhere.

Last week, rookie Winnipeg QB Chris Streveler had a pretty decent debut.  Montreal QB Drew Willy started off strong, but faded as the game went on.  Both team’s defenses had trouble, particularly Winnipeg’s, which gave up nearly 500 yards against Edmonton.

Winnipeg is also on the road.  That doesn’t usually bode well for West Division teams.  But Winnipeg used to be an East Division team.

In case you can’t tell, I don’t have much to say about this game.

PICK: Winnipeg by 5

Hamilton (0-1) at Edmonton (1-0)

Hamilton was not exactly handed an easy schedule to begin the year.  Last week they were in Calgary, and this week they make a stop in Edmonton.

The Tiger-Cats may be aided by the return of CB Delvin Breaux from the NFL.  Breaux was released following the 2014 season and signed with the New Orleans Saints.  He broke his fibula twice while with the Saints and was recently released.  The crazy part?  Two orthopedic surgeons with the Saints misdiagnosed his second broken fibula as a contusion.

For Rider fans, Breaux will always be known as the guy Kory Sheets stiff armed for his first TD of the 2013 Grey Cup.

(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

You can watch the play at the 0:25 mark of this highlights video.

Once he’s ready to play, Breaux will be a great addition to a Tiger-Cats secondary that could use a veteran presence.

As for Edmonton, they barely escaped with a win last Thursday night.  Their secondary did not show up, although it was missing a few guys, including key veteran DB Aaron Grymes.  That unit should play better this weekend.

Hamilton QB Jeremiah Masoli had a decent game in Calgary last week, but a costly interception late in the 4th quarter sealed the game for the Stampeders.  Masoli can’t turn the ball over this week if the Tiger-Cats are going to win, as Edmonton QB Mike Reilly will pounce on every mistake.

PICK: Edmonton by 6

Calgary (1-0) at Toronto (0-1)

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

The Stampeders are so undeniable they’ve lost the Grey Cup TWO TIMES IN A ROW!!

(These teams should really hire me to review their marketing campaigns.)

This is the game that should’ve opened the season, as it features a rematch between the two teams who squared off in the 2017 Grey Cup in snowy Ottawa.

There’s no doubt the Stampeders will want to exact a little revenge on the Argos.  Both teams struggled in their opening games as their offences tried to get going.  Until the 4th quarter, the Stampeders seemed to stumble every time they got near the end zone, while the Argos didn’t even get near the end zone until the last 15 minutes of their game against the Riders.

Both defences will be challenged this week.  Neither can let the opposing QB get into a rhythm, as both Bo Levi Mitchell and Ricky Ray can slice a defense apart if given time.  I’m personally hoping for a high-scoring game.

While the Argos beat the Stamps in the Grey Cup last year, the Stampeders were the superior regular season team as Toronto only had a 9-9 record.  It may be a new season, but I think the Stampeders will have an extra edge given the bit of unfinished business they have from last year.

PICK: Stampeders by 5

Nicole

Week 1 Recap

As far as opening weekends go in the CFL, this one was quite eventful.  From the second longest game in CFL history, to a streaker in BC getting decked after making his way on to the field, this weekend had all the elements that make CFL games GREAT.

Before we get to the actual games, though, I would like to salute Milt Stegall.  Milt trolled Henry Burris alllllll weekend long on the CFL on TSN panel.  It started with Milt leading the “Heeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy!” chants at New Mosaic on Friday night, and continued with Milt telling Henry to stop being a baby and whining about how hard it is to be a QB since he was compensated fairly well for his trouble.

This new dynamic on the panel is working out very well thus far.  Kept it up, gentlemen.

Edmonton at Winnipeg

So the game started out as was expected, with Eskimos QB Mike Reilly airing it out to WR Derel Walker and the Eskimos going up 7-0.  After that, though, things went sideways.

Fred was found (!!) and the game began again.  Rookie Winnipeg QB Chris Streveler acquitted himself quite nicely over the course of the evening, completing three TDs.  His second, though, seemed to tick off the thunder gods.

Eskimos Head Coach Jason Maas was NOT happy about the delay, but not for the reason you’d think.  After the second delay due to lightning, he came out and had an interview with Sara Orlesky, during which he said that he’d seen lightning for about five minutes before the game was halted a second time.  During those five minutes, the Bombers scored.

When the league’s weather software detects lightning within 17 km of a stadium, it speaks with its league meteorologist (who knew the CFL had one?) and from there, it’s a decision for the game supervisor, head official, or home field security supervisor.  Once the game is stopped, league officials convene a conference call to determine how to move forward.

Now at night, lightning can be seen from as far as 160 km away.  And I do not believe Jason Maas is a meteorologist or can determine how far lightning is from where he’s standing without some sort of measuring equipment.  So I’m going to go out on a limb and say that while Jason Maas saw lightning, it was more than likely farther than 17 km away from Canad Inns Stadium.

It’s on;y the first game of the year, but Mr. Maas appears to be on yet another collision course with the league office.

In total, the lightning delays were nearly three hours (2 hours and 55 minutes), and the game was five hours and fourty minutes long, making it the longest continuous game in CFL.  (The longest game in CFL history?  That would be the Fog Bowl, which was played over the course of two days.)

So after all that?  What actually happened in the game?

The Blue Bombers blew it.

Ahead 30-22 with less than two minute to play, QB Mike Reilly led the Eskimos to a TD followed by a two point conversion to tie the game.

The Bombers then failed to get a first down when they got the ball back.  The field position was in Edmonton’s favour, as the Bombers had to punt and Edmonton returned the ball to Winnipeg’s 52 yard line.  Reilly made one 15 yard completion to Derel Walker yet again, missed the next two throws, and K Sean Whyte had a chance from the 44 yard line to give Edmonton the win.

It was classic Mike Reilly, leading his team to a season opening comeback victory.

For the Winnipeg, it was a tough loss – especially for the fans who stayed until 1 a.m. to watch the end of the game.  But Winnipeg can take some solace in that Streveler managed the game well, going 15/28 with 3 TDs and 2 INTs.  He put his team in a position to win, and his team’s defence couldn’t get the job done.  Seems reminiscent of the West Semi-Final from last ear, not?

FINAL: Edmonton (1-0) 33, Winnipeg (0-1) 20

Toronto at Saskatchewan

First and foremost: look at Charleston Hughes’ Twitter handle.

@sackatchawen

I do not know if the end of the Twitter handle is purposely misspelled, but regardless, it’s a GREAT name.  Especially given Hughes’ epic three sack night.

The Rider defence was absolutely on fire in the first half of Friday night’s game.  I cannot recall such a dominant defensive display.  I cannot recall a player having such an immediate impact as DE Charleston Hughes did.  The leadership he exudes, the energy he brings, and the skill he has have taken a defence that was quite good last year and brought it to another level.

And it’s only Week 1.

Toronto QB Ricky Ray looked out of sorts most of the night.  He was held to a measly 71 yards passing in the first half, and except for one big catch, RB James Wilder, Jr. was also held in check.  The Riders seemed to go into a prevent defense in the 4th quarter, which allowed the Argos to make up some ground and get back in the game.  And then the defense stepped up again.

The other major story line for the Riders was Zach Collaros.

He got off to a rocky start, taking a couple of sacks early, getting a couple of throws knocked down at the line, and even fumbling the ball once.  The offensive line had some trouble keeping the pocket intact, and it looked like it might be a long night.  But near the end of the 1st quarter, Collaros completed a 16 yard pass to WR Duron Carter near the Rider sideline.  Carter was tackled by DB TJ Heath, who threw Carter to the ground even though they were well out of bounds.  15 yards for unnecessary roughness.  Then Heath shoved a Rider while still amid the Rider bench.  15 yards for unnecessary roughness.  The 46 yard play seemed to help Collaros push past the earlier misses and he threw with more and more confidence with each and every throw after that play.  His first TD was a Rider was to WR Naaman Roosevelt, where he threw the ball in a tight window to particular spot.  His timing could not have been better.

The offence struggled a bit in the second half, but with the game on the line in the 4th quarter, Collaros and Company put together a couple of first downs, allowing K Brett Lauther to make a field goal with 17 seconds left to practically seal the game.

The win gave Collaros his first win in his last 13 starts as a QB, and gave the Riders their first season opening win since 2014.  The sigh of relief could be felt right across the province.

FINAL: Toronto (0-1) 19, Saskatchewan (1-0) 27

Hamilton at Calgary

If I told you that Bo Levi Mitchell’s completion percentage in this game was below 50%, you’d likely have thought the Stampeders lost, right?

And Mitchell’s uncharacteristic numbers were only a small part of how the Stampeders gave the Tiger-Cats every opportunity to score an upset win on the road.  The biggest gift to the Tiger-Cats was the fact that the Stampeders were 1-6 in red zone production.

And yet the Tiger-Cats still blew it.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

I wonder if the Tiger-Cats outsmarted themselves in this one.  WR Brandon Banks barely appears on the score sheet.  He had 4 catches for 19 yards.  As RB Alex Green is out for a couple of weeks, the Tiger-Cats should have used Banks more out of the backfield.

The Tiger-Cats also had trouble scoring TDs, even though they had two receivers with over 100 yards receiving on the night.  QB Jeremiah Masoli had the only TD for the Tiger-Cats, and it was a rushing TD.

It was a decent defensive effort by the Tiger-Cats, who were also helped by a Calgary offense that didn’t get it together until the 4th quarter.  But it was ultimately wasted because the Tiger-Cats couldn’t get their stuff together on offense.  Too bad, as the Tiger-Cats haven’t won in Calgary since 2004 and seemed due to end that streak.

FINAL: Hamilton (0-1) 14, Calgary (1-0) 28

Montreal at BC

(Someone needs to tell Lions Special Team Coordinator Jeff Reinebold that CAPS LOCK ON EQUALS YELLING.)

I was a bit mystified in the post-game coverage of this game, as the accolades for Lions QB Jonathon Jennings came rolling in despite the fact that he was playing: (a) Montreal; and (b) didn’t even throw for 200 yards.  Nevertheless, Jennings didn’t turn the ball over, and in the second half he seemed to single-handedly get the Alouettes to the end zone.

As for Montreal, it started off well.  QB Drew Willy threw a couple of deep balls that were right on target.  But the first TD wasn’t exactly textbook, and it all went downhill from there.

As last year, the Alouettes abandoned their running game once they were down.  The Lions did not.  In fact, Jennings ran for 57 yards, which was a big reason why the Lions won.

The player of the game to me was the guy running the Alouettes’ Twitter feed.  I think this tweet after a Lions field goal pretty much summed up the feelings of most Alouettes fans last night:

FINAL: Montreal (0-1) 10, BC (1-0) 22

Nicole

Week 1 Picks

And so it begins.

Welcome to Week 1 of the CFL season!  We survived the long, long off season, the doldrums of training camp, and the hard-to-endure pre-season games, and now it’s time for football that COUNTS.

Now, if I was to make my own power rankings for Week 1, they would slightly differ from those posted above.  My rankings would be as follows:

  • Edmonton Eskimos
  • Calgary Stampeders
  • Toronto Argonauts
  • Ottawa REDBLACKS
  • Saskatchewan Roughriders
  • Winnipeg Blue Bombers
  • Hamilton Tiger-Cats
  • BC Lions
  • Montreal Alouettes

Why?  Calgary has more questions on offence and defence than Edmonton.  Toronto and Ottawa’s QB situations are solid, while both the Riders and Winnipeg are in flux.  The Tiger-Cats need to take down Ottawa or Toronto before they deserve to move up the ladder, and the same with the Lions.  As for Montreal, well, they put a player on their list of cuts this past weekend and less than an hour later announced that the player hadn’t actually been released.

I know, I know.  But when Kavis Reed is in charge, anything can happen. #forensic

One more thing before we get to my weekly picks.  I have yet to make my predictions as to where the teams will stands in their respective divisions at the end of the regular season.  I’ve been avoiding it because I can’t figure out to do with the West Division.  But the time has come, so here goes:

West Division

  1. Edmonton Eskimos
  2. Calgary Stampeders
  3. Saskatchewan Roughriders
  4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
  5. BC Lions

Note: If Winnipeg hadn’t lost its starting quarterback for the first few weeks of the season, I’d likely have placed Winnipeg above Saskatchewan.

East Division

  1. Ottawa REDBLACKS
  2. Toronto Argonauts
  3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
  4. Montreal Alouettes

There.  Now fire away with your comments about how wrong I am.

And with that, let’s take a look at this week’s games.

Edmonton at Winnipeg

This would be a marquee match up if it weren’t for Chris Streveler being the Bombers’ starting QB.  But, Streveler, a University of South Dakota grad, is following in the footsteps of CFL great Anthony Cavillo in one way:

Here’s some footage of Anthony Calvillio from that year:

Streveler will rely heavily on RB Andrew Harris to not only move the ball, but block and get open when plays break down.

While these defences are fairly evenly matched, Edmonton has the advantage since it’s facing a rookie QB.  Therefore, expect Edmonton to get out to any early lead and never look back.

PICK: Edmonton by 9

Toronto at Saskatchewan

Come on.  Zach Collaros is starting.  He’s making $400,000 a year.  Brandon Bridge is not making $400,000 a year.  Like Kevin Glenn last year, Collaros will be given every opportunity to start.  But, like last year, don’t be surprised if Bridge comes into the game if Collaros struggles early on.

The key for the Riders is their offensive line.  If it cannot protect Collaros, it will be a long, long game.

This will be the first outing for Saskatchewan’s revamped defensive line.  I am really looking forward to watching Charleston Hughes, Willie Jefferson, and Zach Evans get after Ricky Ray.  These three need to get after Ray early and often, because if Ricky Ray gets in a rhythm, he’s very hard to stop.

It would also be nice if they kept James Wilder, Jr. in check.

The Argos’ lineup hasn’t changed all that much since last season.  I expect Collaros to continue to show a bit of rust since it’ll be his first regular season action in nearly a year.  Given the changes on offence for the Riders, the defence will need to keep the game close in order for Collaros and Company to have a chance.

PICK: Toronto by 4

Hamilton at Calgary

Let’s recall what happened last year when the Tiger-Cats visited the Calgary Stampeders.

You read that right.  The Tiger-Cats were beaten by a score of 60-1.

Hamilton has a lot to prove this year.  It wants to prove that the latter half of the 2017 season wasn’t a fluke.  It wants to prove that it can compete with the other top teams in the CFL.  And it wants to prove that its decision to largely stand pat in free agency was the right move.

Calgary, on the other hand, wants to prove that it can win the big game, i.e. the Grey Cup.

Hamilton will be looking to put the bad memory of last year’s humiliation behind it, while Calgary will want a fast start to prove that it’s shaken off what happened in the waning minutes of the 2017 Grey Cup game.  From those perspectives, this game has a lot of meaning for both teams.

The fact of the matter is that Calgary’s roster is solid on both sides of the ball, while Hamilton’s just isn’t.  In my opinion, this will come down to: (a) whether or not Hamilton’s offensive line can keep Calgary’s defensive front seven at bay and allow QB Jeremiah Masoli time to set up; and (b) if Hamilton’s defensive backfield can prevent Calgary QB Bo Levi Mitchell from making big plays.  I think Calgary wins both of those battles.

PICK: Calgary by 10

Montreal at BC

Well this quote inspires confidence, doesn’t it?

Like usual, the Kavis Reed-led Alouettes managed to create problems for themselves this week:

SERIOUSLY, KAVIS?!  GOOD. LORD.

This match up doesn’t usually take place until later in the season.  A part of me wonders if the CFL scheduling gods took pity on the Alouettes and decided to get their annual jaunt to the West Coast out of the way as early as possible.  Historically, Montreal has not done very well when it plays BC in BC.  Alternatively, maybe it was a gift to the soon-to-retire Lions GM Wally Buono to help him start off his season on a winning note.  Goodness knows we’re going to hear every single week about this being Buono’s last season.

At this point, Montreal is just looking to be competitive.  Drew Willy will start, and while I don’t think he’s starting QB material anymore, he has the confidence of his boss, which is really all that matters.  Willy faces a revamped BC defensive line, so his offensive line had better be ready.

Lions QB Jonathon Jennings is going to want to put together a solid, clean performance in order to try and put last season’s issues behind him.  He has more than enough weapons with Emmanuel Arceneaux, Bryan Burnham, Jeremiah Johnson, and Chris Rainey.  If the Lions play mistake-free football, they’ll win this game in a walk.

PICK: BC by 12