In the meantime I at least have to keep the picks going!  3-1 last week which puts me at 16-12 for the season… 

Friday August 21st

Saskatchewan @ Montreal (Montreal -11 1/2)
My pick: Montreal – The Riders really surprised me with how well they played last week against Hamilton, but that said they get to go against the Als at Montreal so I don’t expect a repeat performance from them in this one.

Winnipeg @ BC (BC -7 1/2)
My pick: BC - Gutsy win for the Lions last week coming from behind and I think they’ll stay on that roll this week against a Bombers team that just looks lost out there.

The recap from TSN.ca

The turning point: The Bombers were actually doing pretty good keeping up with the much deeper talent Als in the first half and still were within striking distance halfway through the third quarter when Bombers QB Mike Bishop fumbled the ball after trying to hurdle a Montreal tackler.  The Alouettes recovered and ten seconds of game clock later Anthony Calvillo found Jamel Richardson for his fourth touchdown pass, making the game 33-12 in favor of Montreal and virtually out of reach.

The game ball goes to: How can the game ball not go to Anthony Calvillo?  23 of 27 passing for 261 yards and an amazing four touchdown passes.  He spread the ball well and used every part of the field in classic Calvillo fashion.  Honorable mention to the Bombers kicker Alexis Serna who was four for five in field goal kicking, hitting from 31, 40, 44 and 30 yards.  He did miss a 46 yard attempt.  Also honorable mention  to Alouettes safety Matthieu Proulx who recovered a fumble off a first quarter kick return and also had an interception and 30 yard run back in the second quarter.

Random game thoughts: In the battle of the two top rushers in the CFL, the Bombers Fred Reid and the Alouettes Avon Cobourne both had 49 yards rushing  …  Reid who earlier this week called out the Alouettes linebackers and defensive line had a fairly unimpressive game himself as the same defense he claimed “wasn’t that good” coming off their shutout of the Argos the previous week.  Many on the Montreal defense mentioned in post game comments that Reid’s words had fired them up to really shut down the run  …  Before he did it in the first quarter of tonight’s game, it had been ten quarters since Calvillo had thrown a touchdown pass  …  Alouettes Kerry Waltkins was the game’s leading recever with 105 yards and one touchdown off of 5 catches  …  Alouettes went a second straight game not allowing a touchdown against.  The last one scored against them was July 30th in Edmonton back in week 5.

Final grades
Alouettes Offense: A
Alouettes Defense: A
Alouettes Special Teams: B+

Bombers Offense: D
Bombers Defense: C+
Bombers Special Teams: B-

The recap from TSN.ca

The turning point: The Lions had struggled on offense all game, starting with Buck Pierce who completed his first two pass attempts before throwing an interception early in the first quarter and getting hit and injured on the INT return.  Jarious Jackson came in and while he did go 10 completions of 16 attemptes passing in the first half, they were mostly small yardage receptions.  Lins third string QB Travis Lulay was brought in at the start of the second half to spark the offense but hardly had a chance to make an impact for being injured himself on a 11 yard run at the 3:47 mark of the 3rd quarter.  Jackson returned and two plays later hit a wide open Paris Jackson for a touchdown to make the score 22-14 and start the Lions on their comeback.

The game ball goes to: The chemestry between the two Jacksons – QB Jarious and WR Paris – is becoming quite something to watch as the two hooked up in the second half for touchdown passes.  Overall in the game Paris Jackson had 6 receptions for 122 yards and easily gets our game ball for this game.  Honorable mention goes to Argos kicker Justin Medlock who had an amazing seven for seven night kicking field goals from 15, 17, 32, 46, 51, 51 and 52 yards.  Argos wideout Chad Lucas also had a great game and was the favorite target of Argos QB Cody Pickett as he had eight receptions for 146 yards.

Random game thoughts: Medlock is now 17 for 18 kicking field goals, his lone miss was last week the last second 57 yard attempt that hit the post against the Bombers  …  Cody Pickett was making the third start of his career and first this season and did fairly well going 25 for 40 for 326 yards and one touchdown pass  …  The Argos have lost nine in a row at home dating back to last season and nine in a row to the Lions dating back to three seasons ago.

Final grades
Lions Offense: B
Lions Defense: B-
Lions Special Teams: C+

Argos Offense: B-
Argos Defense: B
Argos Special Teams: A

The recap from TSN.ca

The turning point: There were about six different turning points in what could easily end up being the CFL’s game of the year – it so far is just that – but the biggest turning point came on the kickoff after the Stampeders touchdown. Sandro DeAngelis pooched a short kickoff that went all of 43 yards.  Eskimos kick returner Tristan Jackson actually muffed the original fielding of the kick, but with the first wave of Stampeders tacklers changing their focus from tackling Jackson to recovering the loose ball.  The shift in focus actually became a huge break for Jackson as he quickly picked up the ball and and scampered quickly for a 35 yard return to the Calgary 43 yard line.  Three plays later Ray lobbed a 23 yard touchdown pass to Fred Stamps for the Eskimos win.

The game ball goes to: There were so many great offensive performances in this game and we’ll go over those in a moment, but we’ll give the game ball to Ricky Ray who walked away tonight as the winning QB.  28 out of 37 passing for 342 yards and three touchdowns!  He also five times for 52 yards, including a great 27 yard touchdown run where he looked like a carbon copy of Henry Burris.  Speaking of Burris, hard to believe his 30 of 45 passing for an eye popping 479 yards and three touchdowns wasn’t enough for a win.  Stamps wideouts Jeremaine Copeland and Nik Lewis had 182 and 132 yards receiving respectively.   Esks running back Arkee Whitlock had 106 yards on nine rushes.  All great performances, but it was Ray’s that stood out.

Random game thoughts: Henry Burris became the Stampeders all-time passing leader in the second quarter, passing Doug Flutie’s mark of 20,551 yards  …  The Eskimos had 2 turnovers in the game while only getting one fumble return putting their turnover ratio at -12 for the season.  They still don’t have a defensive interception this season  …  The Stampeders lead the league in points off of turnovers with 98.  They had 6 points in tonight’s game  …  Stamps had won four of their last seven visits to Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium before tonight’s game  …  Eskimos running back Jessie Lumsden underwent successful shoulder surgery this past Tuesday and will be out for the rest of the season  …  Both teams will play each other two more times this season three weeks from now for the Labour Day classic and rematch the following Friday.

Final grades
Stamps Offense: A
Stamps Defense: C-
Stamps Special Teams: C+

Eskimos Offense: A
Eskimos Defense: C
Eskimos Special Teams: A

Howdy Calgary.

Welcome to the 2009 CFL season.

As is the case every season, you’ll see that your beloved teams have already played a handful of games already and both sit with identical three win and three loss records.  They both took somewhat different paths to get there, but if there is one thing both Stamps and Esks cans can agree on – and trust me, there are only a handful of those – it’s that nothing else mattered up until tonight.

The rest of the CFL probably doesn’t understand what we have going here in Alberta.  Yeah sure, we’ve kept our eye on the games – we’ve probably attended most of them!  Sure games against Saskatchewan and BC are important and they count in the regular season standings just as much, but games featuring the battle of Alberta count a lot more in our hearts.  A win for Edmonton and they will just pile on to that 119-76-3 edge record wise they have over their brothers to the south.  A win for Calgary and it’s one small step closer to evening the score.

No other CFL city has to deal with here in Alberta.  We deal with each other and live amongst ourselves pretty much every day!  Stampeder fans living in Edmonton… Eskimo fans living in Calgary.  We live no more than three hours away from each other (soon to be much less if this high speed train idea ever happens) so after one of our teams wins that game, it’s almost impossible not to hear about it from the winning side and impossible not to hear ‘you got lucky’ coming back as a retort from the losing side.  They don’t understand that most of us are also Flames and Oiler fans, so our hatred for the rival team in the winter just gets transferred over onto the gridiron.

Sure you could argue Toronto and Montreal could have the same rivalry, but who is really making the six hour commute between the two cities?  Could Toronto and Hamilton have the same rivalry?  Perhaps, but lets be honest once hockey season hits half of those TiCat fans probably turn into Leafs supporters – I mean Harold Ballard at one point did own both teams and unlike the Leafs, won a championship with the TiCats!

Winnipeg / Saskatchewan?!  Pffft…  Child please!  Riders v Blue Bombers has been manufactured and spurred on by some kicker’s comments about a banjo – which I might add is a truly noble and worthy musical instrument and not deserving of the ridicule it has gotten from this rivalry.

No other rivalry matches the battle of Alberta.  Yes I am from Alberta, so I am biased…  Sue me.  But I dare you to find me examples of more intense battles between to cities and two teams!

Yes I have a “Argos Suck” button that a friend got for me six years ago when he went to Toronto to show me just how deep feelings run in that rivalry…  The only thing I can say to that is that if Eskimo and Stampeder fans were allowed to say what they truly think of their rivals there wouldn’t be a button big enough to hold all the words.

One of my favorite moments on the Stamps CFL Traditions DVD I have (a great series by the way if you don’t own it, you should find it!) is Gizmo Williams telling stories about how even old grandmas would be yelling obscenities at him!

It’s been like this for years, nay, decades now.  The CFL season started six weeks ago, the real season for Esks and Stamps fans alike starts tonight!

Enjoy the game football fans!

But now isn’t the time to get cocky…  Lets go over week seven and see if I can’t have another solid week:

Thursday August 13th

Calgary @ Edmonton (Edmonton -1)
My pick: Edmonton – It pains me to pick this way as a Stampeders fan, but the Esks are at home and feelin pretty good about themselves despite the tough loss last week.  Their offense was pretty darn good save for two Ricky Ray interceptions and the defense while still needing work is showing signs of becoming a very capable shut down unit (witness the fact that they had held DeAndra’ Cobb to just 40 yards rushing into the 4th quarter).  Meanwhile the Stamps are coming off a win but a little unsure of themselves coming off a second straight week of giving up second half leads.  Add to that they are on the natural grass – something that more than one Stampeder has opined about – and you have a perfect storm of a less than focused team going up against a focused one at home.

Friday August 14th

BC @ Toronto (BC -3)
My pick: BC - Law of averages says at some point the Argos are going to win at home.  They can’t possibly go the next ten seasons without a home win – not even the U of T Varsity Blues were capable of that!  Do the finally do it then this week?  In a word, no.  Cody Pickett will get the start for the Argos in the hopes of jump starting something – anything – on the offensive side of the ball.  Defensive wise the Argos did ok against the Alouettes last week, but the constant failures of an offense puts too much pressure on a defense and they eventually cracked.  BC will do the same thing to them here as long as Buck Pierce has a patient game, keeps using the short passes and waits for the Argos to stumble upon themselves, something they are sure to do at some point.

Saturday August 15th

Montreal @ Winnipeg (Montreal -8)
My pick: Montreal - Just when the Blue Bombers thought they had something positive to build off of last week – and they did – now they get to come home and face the best team in the CFL so far.  The Bombers offensive line will have to be as great as they were last week to give themselves a chance at winning this one because if the Bombers can’t run to open up the passing game for Mike Bishop, then it’ll be a long night for them and their defense as well as we know Montreal will put up numbers offensively.  This game may end up being a tight contest if the Winnipeg players have great nights on the field, so what the game may come down to is the coaching of Mike Kelly and if he can push the right buttons to guide a scrappy, but less talented Blue Bombers team to an upset win…  I just don’t see that happening though.

Sunday August 16th

Hamilton @ Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan -5 1/2)
My pick: Hamilton - Again the TiCats get no love from the odds makers!!  Personaly, I think the “aura” of Taylor Field (I refuse to call it that other name..) is somewhat overrated and I think that’s what has factored into most people taking Saskatchewan here as the home side.  I haven’t been that impressed with what I’ve seen from the Riders the last three weeks.  I think they let the Eskimos get back into their game in week 4, I think they got lucky against a less than focused team in week 6 and I think they mailed in parts of their game last week against BC.  Their QB situation still isn’t completly settled and they are fighting tough injuries again as their top reciever Andy Fantuz again looks doubtful for Sunday’s game.  Meanwhile the Cats are playing the part of a locomotive on offense – slowly gaining speed, but once they get full steam they will be tough to stop – TiCats D needs to play a little better to start Sunday’s game than they did to start last week’s game.  If they do that and get out to an early lead, they’ll be golden… and hopefully cement thier status as a top level CFL team this season.

We start in Toronto where Argos head coach Bart Andrus sticks by his call to get rid of Arland Bruce despite the recent struggles on offense:

The Argos, who beat Winnipeg when Bruce was suspended, have lost two in a row and have looked completely lost on offense.  “We won one with Arland and lost a couple without Arland,” Andrus said. “I’m convinced we can win games without Arland. It’s not even a thought.”

- Toronto Sun:  Better off without Bruce? Andrus still thinks so

More links after the jump…

Mike Beamish of the Vancouver Sun features a story about Lions rookie guard Daren Heerspink who lives in Lynden, Washington and commutes daily to practices:

“Coming up is never a problem,” Heerspink says. “The longest I’ve waited is five minutes. It’s different going back. I’ve had to wait an hour several times. Mondays are bad. And Thursdays and Fridays when there’s a long weekend in B.C. Then, it’s a real wait.”

- The Vancouver Sun: Border man stands on guard for B.C. Lions

*****

Long time Esks beat writer Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun looks forward to a critical stretch of games for the green and gold:

“This next stretch, with all these games against Calgary and Saskatchewan, sets us up for the season. You can make a run for first, or you can be battling for a playoff spot,” said the quarterback (Esks Ricky Ray).

- Edmonton Sun: Next six will make or break the Edmonton Eskimos

*****

Henry Burris is starting to close in on some Stampeder records set by all-time CFL great Doug Flutie:

Henry Burris suddenly finds himself on the verge of doing something neither Willie Pless nor Bobby Jurasin, Elfrid Payton, Mike O’Shea, Jearld Bayliss or O. J. Brigance could seem to during those four touchstone years out at McMahon Stadium, 1992-95.  Catch Doug Flutie.- Calgary Herald: Smilin’ Hank chasing Flutie

*****

Out in Regina, the Roughriders take missed call in Friday’s game in stride and start to move on:

“They’re not going to give us any points, which is unfortunate for us,” Saskatchewan head coach Ken Miller said with a chuckle after his team’s practice Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium.

- Regina Leader-Post: Life goes on for Roughriders after CFL admits to officiating mistake

*****

The Winnipeg Sun’s Paul Friesen takes a look so far at the work of Bombers head coach Mike Kelly and some of the ‘rookie mistakes’ he’s made:

The latest blatant example: Kelly’s failure to call a timeout at the end of the first half of Saturday’s 31-23 loss in Calgary. Slipped his mind, apparently, costing the Bombers a field goal that would have come in mighty handy.

- Winnipeg Sun: Blue coach green

*****

Ti-Cats beat writer Drew Edwards covers the TiCat golf tournament on Tuesday:

I saw some pretty ugly golf swings out there – mostly from Ticat players. While some play on a regular basis – Chris Bauman looks pretty good – most aren’t regular patrons of the links.

- The Scratching Post: Fore and two

*****

Tuesday Diamond Ferri got into a scuffle with running back Avon Cobourne and was sent home from practice:

Fights during football practice, while uncommon, aren’t totally unusual as testosterone prevails. Nothing much is generally made of it. But this marked the first time in his two seasons as the Als’ head coach that Trestman has reacted in such a manner.

- Montreal Gazette: Diamond Ferri kicked out of Alouettes practice

1 – Montreal - (last week: #1) – Best record in the CFL of course should get top spot in any power ranking.  Tremendous game against the Argonauts, but it’s important to remember it was against just the Argos.

2 – Hamilton - (last week #2) – We may as well get used to seeing Hamilton up this high.  They proved they have enough grit and charachter to be able to win tight contests like they did against Edmonton.

3 – Calgary - (last week #3) – Still at three, but barely.  Saturday’s win didn’t feel like much of a win due to the fact they played so poorly in the second half.  They’ll need a full game effort against the Eskimos on Thursday.

4 – Edmonton - (last week #4) – Huge game for them this week against Calgary, the result of which should tell us what kind of team this will be for the season.  They looked really good on the road in Hamilton last week and could have easily won that game.

5 – Winnipeg - (last week #6) – Despite the fact they lost their third game in the last four, that second half of football in Calgary proved there is reason for hope in Winnipeg.  Unfortunately they have to play Montreal this week so those good feelings they may have had about a promising run game and solid defense may evaporate quickly.

6 – B.C. - (last week #7) – A huge win and an even bigger weight off their shoulders…  Even better for them this week is the fact they get to face Toronto.  If ever there was a time to make a charge for top spot in the west, now is that time.

7 – Saskatchewan - (last week #5) – Ok, from 5 to 7 is a pretty dramatic drop, but lets look at the last three weeks shall we?   Lost to the Eskimos after giving up a 20 point lead, beat the Stampeders only after the Stamps choked away the win on bad play calling and then last week failed to take advantage of three early turnovers by the Lions and ended up losing that game.  Things aren’t looking that rosey in Riderville.

8 – Toronto - (last week #8) – The good news for Argo fans…  It can’t possibly get any worse for your team.  A shutout is the CFL’s version of Haley’s Comet, it only comes by once in a while and when it does people can’t help but stop and stare and wonder how in the hell it ever happened.  The sad part is, an Argos home win is getting to be as rare as a CFL shutout and sadly we don’t see that changing this week against the Lions.
]]> http://cflthreeminute.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/3mw-week-6-power-rankings/feed/ 0 Art http://cflthreeminute.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/they-learned-this-week-ticats-starting-to-be-scary-good/ http://cflthreeminute.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/they-learned-this-week-ticats-starting-to-be-scary-good/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:30:10 +0000 Art http://cflthreeminute.wordpress.com/?p=105 ]]> After each week we recap the week that was in the CFL with a key lesson each team did (or at least I would hope they did) learn from the week that was…

BC - They still need to work on moving the ball just one yard forward.  – Another goal line offensive stand and another blown play as Lions QB Jarious Jackson threw up an INT early in the first quarter.  This was the third game in a row that the Lions have been on the goal line with three cracks at getting the ball into the end zone and yet walk away with nothing.  Jackson isn’t the answer for that kind of play.  The sooner Wally Buno realizes that, the better.

Calgary - Mike Bishop isn’t *that* good a QB. -  I’d kinda like to know what Stamps defensive coordinator Chris Jones was thinking by flaring his two defensive ends wider than normal against the Bombers.  Sure it was probably done in an effort to contain the scrambling ability of  Winnipeg QB Mike Bishop, but it left the defensive line way too venerable to the run as was demonstrated in the second half by Fred Reid and the Bombers offensive line.  Chances are, unless you’re playing the Eskimos, you’re going to be facing a mobile QB, so Jones would be wise not to make such a dramatic shift to his line next time.

Edmonton - You were beat by a good Tiger Cats team, no need to panic.  – I’m sure the fact the Eskimos opened up with a 12 point lead and blew it shortly after the second quarter started is a bit concerning, but the Eskimos could have easily walked away with the win had it not been for a couple of breaks that went Hamilton’s way.  Ricky Ray was very good and the two INTs he threw up were a result of him being hit.  They had a nice mix of running and passing in the game…  Prefontane was automatic…  Maybe the only area they need to work on is defense, but that will come in time as their young secondary gets better.

Hamilton – We may only be seeing just the beginning of a dominant TiCats offense.  – They have one of the best duos in the CFL with Arland Bruce and Prechae Rodrieguez…  Add DeAndra’ Cobb out of the backfield and Dave Stala as a third wide out option for QB Quinton Porter to throw to and you have the makings of a very scary offense that will be hard to stop.

Montreal – It’s not going to be as easy as it was against Toronto  - So how does a team that had it’s perfect run ended last week respond?  By having a nearly perfect game the next week!  Calvillo was five yards away from 400 passing, three Als wide outs had 80+ yards receiving, seven sacks on defense and of course the shutout – the first in the CFL in three seasons.  All of it would be impressive as hell if it wasn’t for the fact it came against Toronto.  Do that against Hamilton or Calgary or… well hell, any of the six other CFL teams, and then we’d be impressed!

Saskatchewan – Wes Cates isn’t quite 100% yet. – 11 carries for 38 yards.  That was the line for Cates on Friday night against the Lions.  Steven Jyles only had three rushes and yet still managed to out run him by 36 yards.  Now granted the Lions D was flying in that game and running against them was a huge chore, but you have to believe that Cates isn’t quite 100% yet.

Toronto – The offense this year isn’t any better than it was last year, in fact it may be worse!  – The Argos only have one offensive touchdown in their last two games.  The lone bright spot for the team has been the play of running back Jamal Robertson, but with no pass game and a bad offensive line that allowed seven sacks against Montreal there is no way he can carry the offense.  Unlike last year they don’t have a go-to weapon like Arland Bruce at wide out..  Speaking of Bruce, maybe he had a point about the coach needing to get the QB back on track huh?

Winnipeg - Fred Reid should really get the ball more in the first quarter.  – Reid only had four touches of the ball in the first half and rattled off runs of 4, 2, 8 and 3 yards.  Now part of that was due to the fact the Bombers were 2 and out in the first five drives they had, but can you imagine what would have been for that team has Reid been given a chance to run with the ball a little more in the first half?

Well, actually it is.

In the 2009 CFL rule book, under kicking article five the rules are clearly stated for a “dribbled” ball like what happened near the end of the first half in the Roughriders / Lions game:

A dribbled ball occurs when the ball is kicked while not in possession or control of a player, i.e. a loose ball following a fumble, a blocked kick, a kickoff or a kick from
scrimmage. Such a dribbled ball may be touched by the kicker or an onside player without penalty.

If touched by an offside player:  PENALTY: Ball awarded to opponent at point ball touched, or option.

Replays it clearly showed Lions Safety Jason Arakgi was on the Saskatchewan 51 yard line the moment linebacker James Yurichuk kicked the ball forward at the 49 yard line.  Arakgi then sprinted forward and was the first person to touch the ball at the Saskatchewan 31 yard line.  By rule the ball should have been blown dead because Arakgi was 2 yards offside and it should have been Riders ball 1st and 10.  Instead the call was missed – and maybe even more importantly it was not challenged by Riders coach Ken Miller – and the play stood as it was, a touchdown for the Lions.

The CFL had reportedly called both teams Saturday afternoon to acknowledge that the correct call was missed and it was discussed at length on TSN’s broadcast at halftime of the Bombers/Stampeders game, but the CFL has yet to release an official statement – maybe in hopes that if they don’t bring much attention to it, it’ll blow over.  Although truth be told the CFL and the officials should get a pass for missing that call simply based on the fact it was a very chaotic play and no one that night seemed to catch the small detail of an offside player.

While the Riders and their fans won’t come out and say that it was that blown call that led to their loss, it sure would have changed the complection of the game had it been called correctly.  And much like the horse collar tackle on the Staps Ken-Yon Rambo wasn’t called by officials when it happened, you can be sure the CFL will be paying much closer attention to detail if this kind of situation happens again.