CFL Week 14 Review

Article by Duncan Gray

Calgary Stampeders 25 - 23 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
On Friday night the Blue Bombers found some of the form that they've been missing for the last few weeks and came very close to upsetting the league leaders. Matt Nichols put up his best performance at quarterback for them, throwing for two touchdowns including a spectacular 42 yard effort to Darvin Adams which opened the scoring. It wasn't as if the Stampeders were having an off night, Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 333 yards, including 159 to Marquay McDaniel, while Jon Cornish started to put some good running as he made 94 yards. The Bombers couldn't keep their momentum up in the second half but they had a chance to tie the scores with a field goal attempt from 49 yards with 39 seconds left. Unfortunately Lirim Hajrullahu missed it and the Stamps defence wasted time with the ball in the end zone before conceding a single point. The kick ought not have been so long though, there was a final bit of controversy when it was admitted a five yard procedure penalty on the previous down shouldn't have been called.
Highlights

 

BC Lions 23 - 29 Edmonton Eskimos
The Eskimos kept themselves in the race with Calgary for the West Division but it took a huge comeback to see off a BC team who, just like Winnipeg, were finally showing a bit of form. Jonathon Jennings made a good impression on his first start as QB for the Lions, he threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Bad news for BC however was that they lost running back Andrew Harris to injury before half time. Shaquille Murray-Lawrence came on to replace him and scored his first ever TD as the Lions built a 23-7 lead.  The Eskimos finally woke up late in the third quarter and scored 22 unanswered points to secure their home win. They still needed an interception in their end zone on the last play of the game to make sure though.
Highlights

Toronto Argonauts 35 - 26 Ottawa Redblacks
After three consecutive defeats the Argos reminded everyone that they're not to be written off as contenders as they took a big win in Ottawa on Saturday.  This was a closely fought game throughout but Toronto led from their opening drive and saw off a second half comeback by the Redblacks. It was close though. Highlights included Trevor Harris throwing two touchdowns to Kevin Elliot for Toronto while Henry Burris threw two to Greg Ellingson for Ottawa. Chad Owens scored on an 87 yard punt return for the Argonauts and Damaso Munoz responded by running in an interception from 40 yards for the Redblacks. The result leaves the East Division wide open with these teams tied just one win behind Hamilton. They meet again in less than two weeks, that will be good.
Highlights

 

Montreal Alouettes 21 - 33 Saskatchewan Roughriders
Earlier results in the west gave the Alouettes a chance to advance in the play-off race but they're a team which blows hot and cold. They produced a lacklustre performance on Sunday night and were well beaten by Saskatchewan. The Montreal defence struggled as the Riders ran the ball hard at them, led by Jerome Messam who had 111 yards and a touchdown. It was enough for Messam to move into first place in the chase for this year's rushing title. For once the Saskatchewan defence provided support too, particularly in the shape of Macho Harris who had three interceptions,  the last one of which he took in for a TD. Montreal started with Jonathon Crompton at quarterback but with nothing to show for it replaced him with Rakeem Cato for the second half. Both threw two interceptions but at least Cato managed to make up for one of them. A lineman had batted the pass at the line of scrimmage and managed to catch it, only for Cato to rip the ball from his hands and run with it for the first down! The Roughriders now have a second win of 2015 and, unlikely as it seems, with five games left they're not actually out of the play-off race yet.
Highlights

CFL Week 14 Preview

Article by Duncan Gray

The final third of the season features more Divisional match-ups
BT Sport aren't carrying any of the games live this week, all four will be shown on a delay, see further down the page for details.

In the news this week

 

The big story in the CFL has been yet another season-ending quarterback injury. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats' Zach Collaros went down on Saturday after his knee gave way while trying to avoid a sack in the game against Edmonton. He was back on the sideline later in the game with ice on his knee and there was optimism that the injury wasn't too bad. However a torn ACL has been diagnosed and he'll be out for the rest of the season. Collaros had eclipsed Bo Levi Mitchell as the star QB in the league this season. He was leading most statistical categories and many tipped him to win the Most Outstanding Player award. Kent Austin, the Ticats head coach and general manager, has expressed his confidence in the current back ups and said he won't be trading for an emergency replacement.

There are now only two teams in the CFL who haven't lost their first choice quarterback to injury for a significant length of time this season. Remarkably perhaps, the QBs still standing are 40 year old Henry Burris at Ottawa and Bo Levi Mitchell at Calgary where there have been huge losses among the offensive line that protects him.

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum has been struggling for visitor numbers and closed its doors this week. The fact that it was in the centre of Hamilton, a nice enough city but not a great draw for visitors, probably didn't help. A new building is going to be developed for it, still in Hamilton but  as part of Tim Hortons Field so it will be easier to access for fans. The Tiger-Cats usually sell out the stadium so there are plenty potential visitors about. While the Hall of Fame is closed there are plans for travelling exhibitions of team specific artefacts to visit the various CFL teams and a bigger show to be put on at the Grey Cup.

Play-Off Watch
Montreal's win over Winnipeg last week lifted them to a 5 & 6 record, better than the West Division's third place BC Lions who've won 4. on the strength of the current rankings that would qualify them for a crossover place in the semi-finals.
East: 1 Hamilton, 2 Ottawa, 3 Toronto
West: 1 Calgary, 2 Edmonton, 3 Montreal

 

This week's TV Schedule   BC Lions at Edmonton Eskimos – recorded Sunday morning September 27, 06:00 hrs – BT Sport ESPN Calgary Stampeders at Winnipeg Blue Bombers - recorded Monday morning September 28, 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Toronto Argonauts at Ottawa Redblacks - recorded Wednesday morning September 30, 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Montreal Alouettes at Saskatchewan Roughriders – recorded Thursday morning October 1, 06:00 hrs – BT Sport ESPN

 

Game of the Week

The competition to win the East Division became closer than ever when Hamilton lost last week. Ottawa Redblacks (7&4) are now just one win behind with a game in hand which they're playing on Saturday night as they host the Toronto Argonauts (6&5). A win for Toronto would see them regain second place from Ottawa and hold the tie-break.
Ottawa have won three games in a row since they lost to Toronto in Week 9 and with their next four all to be played at TD Place they'll be looking to make a run for the Divisional title. The defence is now second only to the Eskimos in the stats tables while the offence is on fire with Henry Burris passing for 477 yards last week to seven different receivers.
In contrast, the Argonauts have lost all three since that week 9 meeting. Their fixtures were against much stronger teams though and they've had the bye week to prepare so let's not write them off. Ricky Ray is still reported to be less than 100% fit so Trevor Harris continues at quarterback, while they're looking to bring in another kicker as Swayze Waters is injured again after being back for only four games. Chasing kicks downfield and making tackles is admirable in a kicker, but perhaps it isn't so wise.

 

 

 

 In the West Division the top two teams face the two who are still chasing play-off places. On Friday the league leading Calgary Stampeders (9&3) are away to Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4&8). Then on Saturday Edmonton Eskimos (8&4) host BC Lions (4&7). Neither the Bombers or the Lions have been showing the form to suggest they'll be able to produce an upset. BC in particular have been reduced to a choice of three rookies at quarterback. Jonathon Jennings will get his first opportunity as starter.

 

The last game of the weekend features Montreal Alouettes (5&6), with Jonathan Crompton restored at quarterback, visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders (1&11). No one believes the Riders when they claim they still have a chance to make the play-offs but it's their the second last home game of the season and the pressure is greater than ever to reward their loyal and enthusiastic fans with a win.

 

Hamilton Tiger-Cats are fortunate that this is their bye week as they plan for the rest of their season without Zach Collaros.

CFL Week 13 Review

Report by Duncan Gray

 

Not unlike the NFL, quarterback injuries continue to make the headlines in Canada,. This week the curse finally reached the Hamilton Tiger-Cats where the loss of Zach Collaros was the turning point of their game.

BC Lions 23 - 35 Calgary Stampeders
The Stampeders kept up their perfect home record on Friday night when two fourth quarter touchdowns in three minutes saw off BC Lions. Calgary had been comfortably ahead at half time as Bo Levi Mitchell had thrown touchdown passes to Jeff Fuller and Tory Harrison. The second came after a fumble by the BC quarterback John Beck on a sack which forced him out of the game with a shoulder injury. The replacement quarterback was John Jennings actually looked like he could improve things for the Lions but in the end he turned the ball over four times, three interceptions and a fumble, as they chased the game. BC's star was Chris Rainey who kept his team in the game just like last week. Firstly he returned the opening kick off of the second half for a touchdown from 103 yards, aided by a well organised blocking wedge, then in the fourth he did it again, this time from a punt also for 103 yards. This had tied the scores but Calgary responded with rushing touchdowns by Bryant Moniz and Jon Cornish on his return from injury to ensure the win.
The Stampeders' Eric Rogers became the first player this season to  reach the 1000 yards receiving mark.
Highlights

 

Edmonton Eskimos 25 - 18 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
This game was the expected hard battle dominated by the defences. Even the Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly who's looked so good since his return was restricted to only 49 passing yards, though he did manage to run for 72. The only player who looked like an attacking force was Ticats' QB Zach Collaros who connected with Terence Tolliver for an early 10 yard touchdown. However, he suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and had to sit out the rest of the game. It's seemed that Hamilton are able to cover for any injury this season but they couldn't stretch as far as a quarterback this time. Collaros' back up Jeff Matthews threw three interceptions, one in the end zone to waste a scoring opportunity and even worse, two which were returned for touchdowns by Otha Foster and Aaron Grymes. The scores were tied inside the final three minutes when the Eskimos forced a fumble from the Tiger-Cats third QB of the day, Jacory Harris, and set up a game winning drive which was finished by Kendial Lawrence running in from 4 yards. The result gives Edmonton revenge for the home defeat by Hamilton in Week 9 and keeps them in contention at the top of the West Division.
Highlights

Ottawa Redblacks 30 - 27 Saskatchewan Rough Riders
In contrast to the earlier game, the second match up of Saturday's double header was a shoot out between two veteran quarterbacks, Henry Burris for Ottawa and Kevin Glenn making his comeback for the Riders. The two combined for over 700 yards of passing and four touchdowns, the most spectacular being a 71 yarder from Glenn to Naaman Roosevelt. The Riders had a nine point lead in the second quarter but with a flurry of scoring after the three minute warning and the scores tied with a minute to go the game came down to who had the last possession. In the end that fell to the Redblacks and when Burris connected with Ernest Jackson on a 53 yard pass it set up Chris Milo for the winning field goal and left Saskatchewan with too little time to respond.
Highlights

 

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 14 - 35 Montreal Alouettes
Another quarterback making a comeback this week was Jonathon Crompton of the Alouettes. Crompton, who's been kept out of the line up since half time in the opening game of the season due to a shoulder injury, threw touchdown passes to Samuel Giguere and S J Green as Montreal easily saw off the Blue Bombers. Also contributing to the party were Stefan Logan who scored on a punt return from 78 yards, kicker Boris Bede who scored 15 points and John Bowman who sacked Matt Nichols twice. Nichols, making his second start at quarterback for the Bombers had a hard time against the solid Als defence and made only 189 yards from 48 attempts. The win puts Montreal in pole position in the race for the last play-off place in November.

CFL Week 13 Preview

Article by Duncan Gray

With the excitement of the big rivalry fortnight behind us it's the time of year for things to get serious in Canada as teams look towards securing play-off places. We're looking forward this week to seeing players on a few teams getting back on the field after early season injuries.
The TV coverage is a bit limited this week. There's only one live game, though Sunday morning could be lost as the overnight games are being shown back to back. The full TV schedule is further down the page.

Play-Off Watch
The CFL play-offs work like this. The Grey Cup is played between the winners of the East and West Divisional Final games. The Divisional Finals are hosted by the team who finishes first in the Division, playing the winners of a semi-final game featuring the second and third finishers.

So currently the teams in position are -

East: 1st Hamilton, 2nd Ottawa, 3rd Toronto
West: 1st Calgary, 2nd Edmonton, 3rd BC
There's a twist though. If the fourth team in one division finishes with a better won/lost record than the third team in the other then a crossover occurs and the higher rated team gets the play off spot. That's how, last season, BC Lions with a 9&9 record got to play in the East semi-final at the expense of Toronto who finished 8&10.

It's never happened  that an East team has crossed over to the West play-offs but this year the Montreal Alouettes are neck and neck with BC and Winnipeg, so it's a distinct possibility.

In the News This Week

The Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris reached a milestone on Sunday as his career total passing reached 58,000 yards. Burris is 40 years of age and, apart from a couple of years in the NFL, he's played in the league since 1997. He's in third place on the all-time list but probably won't catch up with Damon Allen or Anthony Calvillo unless he plays until he's 50.

With the Toronto Blue Jays heading for the MLB play-offs for once the Argonauts are facing their home venue, the Rogers Centre, being unavailable to them. It's been announced that their home fixture against the Redblacks on 6^th October is going to be played in Ottawa. There's a worst case scenario that they might finish the season having managed to play only four games in Toronto with further home fixtures possibly being switched to Hamilton's Tim Hortons Field. The fans must be looking forward to next season, new ownership and a move to BMO Field which they'll be sharing with Toronto's Major League Soccer franchise.

There's more activity in the signing market this week after the NFL's final cuts. Former Winnipeg linebacker and no.1 draft pick Henoc Muamba is reported to have visited several teams since he was cut by the Indianapolis Colts. He's thought to be looking for a team with Grey Cup chances, maybe he'll join his brother in Edmonton. Winnipeg Blue Bombers have traded with the Tiger-Cats to acquire the signing rights to the former Clemson long throwing quarterback Tajh Boyd. He's already been added to their practice squad.

This week's TV Schedule BC Lions at Calgary Stampeders - LIVE Saturday morning September 19, 02:00 hrs – BT Sport 2 repeat: Wednesday morning 06:30 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Edmonton Eskimos at Hamilton Tiger-Cats – recorded Sunday morning September 20, 06:30 hrs – BT Sport ESPN Ottawa Redblacks at Saskatchewan Roughriders – recorded Sunday morning September 20, 09:00 hrs – BT Sport ESPN Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Montreal Alouettes – recorded Thursday morning September 24, 06:00 hrs – BT Sport ESPN

 

Game of the Week

Two heavyweights go head to head on Saturday afternoon as Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8&3) host the Edmonton Eskimos (7&4). The TiCats had a big win in Edmonton three weeks ago but they shouldn't be expecting an easy one here. The Eskimos have regained their confidence with the return of Mike Reilly at quarterback, particularly as he led them to the win over the Stampeders, and they still have the league's best defence. The Hamilton defence isn't to be sniffed at either, though their chase for the record of most touchdowns scored by a defence seems to have stalled lately. Neither team has a great running offence so this could be a classic quarterback battle, Collaros and Reilly against those hot defences. That's got to be worth watching.

Calgary Stampeders (8&3) lost last week in Edmonton and they'll surely be in a mood to make amends on Friday in front of their home fans. BC Lions (4&6) lost their game too, and they did so with an offence that was totally useless. We expect to see star running back Jon Cornish back for the Stampeders after his thumb injury. With Andrew Harris, their rival to Cornish, having produced almost nothing recently the Lions need to find some magic quickly or this one could be ugly.

Another player returning from injury is the Saskatchewan Roughriders' (1&10) quarterback Kevin Glenn who's going to be the starter against the Ottawa Redblacks (6&4) in Regina. There's been a lot of debate this week as to whether this is the right move, a lot of fans have written off the Riders season and would rather see rookie Brett Smith gain more experience. The last meeting of these two was the low point in the Riders season, they got embarrassed and they sacked Corey Chamblin in the aftermath. The Redblacks proved they could win on a trip to the West last week, but who knows how Saskatchewan will play? This might turn out to be a bigger challenge.

Montreal Alouettes (4&6), coming off the bye week, will have Jonathan Crompton starting at QB on Sunday. He's been out since sustaining a shoulder injury in the opening game of the season and his comeback is timely as Rakeem Cato isn't available. Crompton came into the team at this stage last year and rescued what had been a very poor campaign up to then. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4&7) will play with renewed hope after their Banjo Bowl win. Quarterback Matt Nichols will have to do without their leading receiver as Nick Moore has been sidelined with a shoulder injury for at least one game.

Toronto Argonauts are on the bye this week. By another week Ricky Ray might well be fit to return to action. That will be another interesting quarterback decision to be made.

Could a British player make the CFL?

Article by Duncan Gray

While I was listening to Sky's “Inside the Huddle” podcast last week the subject of Lawrence Okoye being cut from the  San Francisco 49ers roster was discussed. Jeff Reinebold suggested that if Okoye doesn't get a try out with another NFL team then he should try for a place in Canada. As they pointed out, the CFL is the only other full time professional football league. Every hair on Coach Reinebold's head knows more about football and the CFL than I do so I'm sure he's right about Okoye, who is an exceptional athlete. But for other British players, the best playing here in the National Leagues, would it be possible to fulfil the dream of playing football for a living by going to Canada?

 

How much lower is the standard of play in Canada compared to the NFL?

Because all of the big money is in the NFL, that's where all of the best players are. A few of the top CFL players try to use it as a stepping stone to the NFL but the gap between the two leagues is bigger now than it used to be. This year defensive back  Delvin Breaux has moved successfully from Hamilton Tiger-Cats to New Orleans Saints. Offensive lineman Brett Jones, the CFL rookie of the year two years ago, could have made the New York Giants roster if injury hadn't intervened. The days of big name stars like Joe Theisman, Warren Moon or Doug Flutie emerging from the CFL are long gone.

 

Crossing the border the other way, scores of Americans try out for the CFL every year. Some (remember Ricky Williams?) have NFL playing experience. Most discover that they're not good enough or they can't make the transformation to Canadian rules. For a few who've been rejected by the NFL, maybe coaches just didn't like their body type, it turns out that they're talents are better suited to the Canadian rules and they thrive. The standard of player is lower than the NFL, but it's still very high.

 

How much could you earn from playing in Canada?

It' s a living, but you won't get rich. The salary cap for a whole CFL team is only $5million per year, the average yearly salary for players is about $80,000, the minimum for a rookie is $50,000. Obviously a few stars make top dollar but even Jon Cornish, the CFL's most valuable Canadian player for the last three years, works in a bank in Calgary in the off season.

 

So, can it be done?

One British player who tried out for the CFL was Ryan Hunter who retired from playing quarterback for East Kilbride Pirates last year. Ryan was known as one of the best, certainly one of the fastest athletes in the British game. He could have been a success in several sports but he wanted to persevere as a defensive back in American Football. Unfortunately, just as he was ready to try to make the pros the obvious way in closed. The Scottish Claymores folded in 2004, then the whole NFL Europe set up with it's roster places reserved for home grown players was shut down in 2007. Ryan travelled to Canada in 2008 and took part in a CFL Combine in Toronto. After long sessions of sprinting, jumping and swerving he reckons he was the best defensive back there but there was no interest in signing him. He didn't even get an invite to any club's training camp.

 

The reason why there was no interest in Ryan and, sadly, the reason why CFL teams won't be giving chances to British players is that the league has an import ratio. It works like this. CFL teams have an active roster of 44 players. 21 of them must be national players, i.e. Canadians. The remainder are classed as international, meaning from anywhere that's not Canada. So all of those American players who haven't made it in the NFL are chasing only about 200 places on Canadian teams.

 

That sounds a bit unfair.
Maybe, but for Canada it's a no-brainer. The CFL can't compete with the size of it's southern neighbour. For every good Canadian player there are at least twenty Americans available of the same standard or better. The reasoning for the import ratio is that if they don't reserve places for a number of Canadians then their teams would be swamped by American players. If there was little chance for Canadians to progress into a professional game it would have a bad effect on the school and college games in Canada and the whole sport in the country would go downhill.

 

Any British player who wants to try getting into the CFL will be competing directly with all the Americans for a limited number of spots. It's not even a fair competition. Beyond a few of the very best Canadians, like Jon Cornish, Andrew Harris or Andy Fantuz, coaches will assume that the Americans are the better players and choose them first. They generally are best of course. Their value is such that no General Manager will take the risk of using an import spot on a non-American who has less high level playing experience and might fail. Any British hopeful who's an outstanding enough talent to overcome that obstacle might as well be trying out for the NFL anyway.

 

All of the CFL's imports are from the States then?

There's always an exception of course. The one non-American international player currently playing in the CFL that I can think of is Boris Bede, the rookie kicker with the Montreal Alouettes, who's French. He got in through a route that's familiar from British born NFL kickers like Mick Luckhurst and Lawrence Tynes, move to North America when young and play through the high school and college system. Bede is an outstanding player who's been on pace to set a new field goal reliability record in his rookie season.

 

Just to illustrate how dominant the American player is in Canada consider the one position that's exempt from the import ratio rule, the quarterback. While teams have to develop Canadian players at every other position they don't have to for QBs, and generally they don't even try. There are three players nominated as quarterbacks on each team's roster. Out of all those there's currently only one who's Canadian, that's Montreal's rookie Brandon Bridge who earned the nickname “Air Canada” while playing his college football in the US. He started the season as the Alouettes' third string but he found himself playing for most of the second half of the opening game as the two players ahead of him were forced out through injury. This made Bridge the first Canadian to play QB in the CFL since 2010. Canadian fans hoped that he'd start the following week but he was beaten to the starting spot by the American Rakeem Cato. For the last time a Canadian started at quarterback or threw a touchdown pass you have to go all the way back to 1996. Another Canadian QB who at least got onto a roster in the last few years was Brad Sinopoli who was the third string in Calgary. He's starring on the Ottawa Redblacks offence now, but only because he's switched positions and become a wide receiver.

 

Anyway, to get back to the original question, could a player from the British game make it into the CFL?

No, I really don't think so.  Not unless he can find a way to qualify for Canadian passport....

 

CFL Week 12 Review

Article by Duncan Gray

It's been another exciting week in the CFL. Two of the three rivalry rematches from last week finished with the result reversed while the Redblacks became the first team from Ottawa to win in Vancouver for 25 years.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats 35 - 27 Toronto Argonauts
The Tiger-Cats completed their three game season sweep over Toronto on Friday night and established a clear two game lead in the East Division. The game was a lot closer than the two previous meetings of the Southern Ontario rivals. This time the Argos found a way to match up in most departments. Trevor Harris passed for 257 yards and two touchdowns, Zach Collaros threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, Toronto had 96 rushing yards and two TDs, Hamilton had 106 yards and one TD. The difference was perhaps down to penalties. Hamilton were never behind in the game and established their lead in the second quarter while the Argonauts were giving away field position by drawing flags. The game stayed close enough for one of Toronto's habitual late come backs but the Ticats held firm and a last play attempt by Harris to keep the game alive by throwing the ball into the end zone was batted away.
The result has given Hamilton a two game lead at the top of the East Division.
Highlights

 

Saskatchewan Roughriders 7 - 22 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Fortunes were reversed from the previous week as the Bombers found some form and overcame Saskatchewan in the Banjo Bowl game at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg. The Riders had plenty chances in the first half as Winnipeg turned the ball over five times but they only managed to take advantage once as Brett Smith connected with Rob Bagg in the end zone. This came after they'd taken over the ball on the Bombers 26 yard line. In the second half it was all Winnipeg, led by their two recent signings, running back Chevon Walker and Matt Nichols at quarterback. Nichols connected with Julian Feoli-Gudino who fought his way ahead to score from 38 yards at the third quarter ended. Then in the fourth, as the constant Winnipeg pressure was getting to Riders QB Brett Smith, linebacker Khalil Bass grabbed an interception and ran it in from 59 yards out. Having a confident Nichols at quarterback brought a big boost to the Bombers as they snapped a four game losing streak. If they can keep up this up then they'll be back in the play-off race.
Highlights

 

Calgary Stampeders 16 - 27 Edmonton Eskimos
Fortunes were reversed at Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, on Saturday night too as the Eskimos put an end to a 12 game losing streak to Calgary and got themselves back to one game off the top of the West Division. A change at quarterback was key here too as Mike Reilly made his first start for Edmonton since he was injured in week 1. On a night of foul weather Reilly completed 22 of 40 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns, two to Adarius Bowman and one to Kenny Stafford. Both these receivers made over 100 yards on the night as did running back Shakir Bell. For the Stampeders Eric Rogers made a couple of spectacular catches, one of them involved trapping the ball between his knees, but they couldn't make the breaks to stay with Edmonton on the night.
Highlights

 

Ottawa Redblacks 31 - 18 BC Lions
The Redblacks proved they're capable of winning away from home as they comfortably defeated the Lions in BC Place on Sunday night. BC, without Travis Lulay at quarterback, struggled to generate any offence all night and it was remarkable that they actually led by 18-14 at half time. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, Henry Burris still doesn't seem able to throw touchdown passes, the Redblacks had to settle for field goals on five occasions, and secondly the remarkable kick and punt returning of BC's Chris Rainey. Twice he gave his team red zone possession which they converted to touchdowns, his best was a run of 98 yards which was only stopped at the one yard line. Ottawa dominated through the second half with their no huddle offence though and pulled away to a well deserved win thanks to two rushing touchdowns by Jeremiah Johnson.
These are concerning times for BC. With Travis Lulay out for 3 to 6 weeks his back up, John Beck, was ineffective while their running game produced only nine yards for the whole game. Five of those were Beck's.
Highlights

 

 

CFL Week 12 Preview

Article by Duncan Gray

This week we have the rematches of the three big rivalry games from Labour Day weekend. The three home teams were all successful last week, setting this week's games up nicely.

BT Sport are only showing two live games although the Toronto game is on first thing on the following morning and that's just about as good.

 

In the News This Week

 

The venues for the next two championship games have been decided. In 2016 the Grey Cup will be hosted by Toronto. The 2017 game will be played in Ottawa as part of the nation's capital's year-long celebration of Canada's 150^th birthday.

 

With the final cuts having been made to NFL pre-season rosters it's the time of year when CFL teams pick up some of the Canadian players who've been released. The first big signing has been the Eskimo's taking offensive lineman Matthew O'Donnell from Cincinatti Bengals.

 

There were more coaching changes at the Montreal Alouettes this week after the loss to BC. Offensive coordinator Turk Schonert was fired. This was the move that was expected before head coach Tom Higgins got the push last month. Former star QB but rookie coach Anthony Calvillo is obviously a favourite of Jim Popp. Along with Ryan Dinwiddie, Calvillo is now co-offensive co-ordinator and will be doing the play calling.
Another coach to lose his job this week was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers special teams co-ordinator Pat Tracey. Head Coach Mike O'Shea plans to cover those duties himself for the rest of the season.

 

 

The Roughriders first win of the season was enough to leapfrog them over the Blue Bombers at the bottom of the Nissan Titan Power Rankings. Hamilton have been given the top spot ahead of Calgary, that must have been a tricky choice.

 

1	Hamilton Tiger-Cats	Last week 2
2	Calgary Stampeders	1
3	Edmonton Eskimos	3
4	Toronto Argonauts	4
5	Ottawa REDBLACKS	5
6	BC Lions	6
7	Montreal Alouettes	7
8	Saskatchewan Roughriders	9
9	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	8

 

 

 

This week's TV Schedule   Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Toronto Argonauts – recorded Saturday morning September 12, 07:30 hrs – BT Sport ESPN Saskatchewan Roughriders at Winnipeg Blue Bombers - LIVE Saturday night, September 12, 23:30 hrs – BT Sport 1 repeat: Tuesday morning 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Ottawa Redblacks at BC Lions - LIVE Sunday evening September 13, 21:00 hrs – BT Sport 2 repeat: Thursday morning 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Calgary Stampeders at Edmonton Eskimos – recorded Wednesday morning September 16, 0630 hrs – BT Sport ESPN repeat: Wednesday evening 19:30 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN

 

Game of the Week

Even though it's being played between the worst two teams in the league we'll go with the Banjo Bowl as this week's choice. The Prairie rivalry between Saskatchewan Roughriders (1 & 9 ) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers ( 3 & 7 ) is as fierce as any and this game is the most established of the post Labour Day rematches.

The game got the “Banjo Bowl“ title in 2004 after the Blue Bombers kicker Troy Westwood stirred things up by describing the people of Regina as "a bunch of banjo-pickin' inbreds". Later he didn't really apologise, saying “the vast majority of the people in Saskatchewan have no idea how to play the banjo”.

The Riders  were clearly the better team last week, they won easily on the surge of confidence that comes from a change of head coach. But that one win hasn't proved much. The return game, in front of the Winnipeg fans rather than their own, may well be a different matter. History tells us that this series usually ends up tied.
On the other hand, the Blue Bombers need to improve dramatically. If they lose this then they'll only be one game ahead of Saskatchewan. In the continuing absence of their no.1 quarterback Drew Willy, newly signed Matt Nichols is expected to start behind centre. Even on little more than a week's preparation Nichols ought to be an improvement on Brian Brohm.

The result might be decided by which team manages to cut down on the number of penalties they give away. Both were bad last week, the Riders in particular had two touchdowns called back. In the atmosphere of the Banjo Bowl though, restraint won't be easy.

 

The other games

Looking at the standings it appears that four teams, the four whose games are further down this page, should qualify for the play-offs. The two mentioned up the page don't look likely to make it so that leaves three teams chasing the last two places. Ottawa Redblacks ( 5 & 4 ) are visiting BC Lions ( 4 & 5 ) on Sunday. The Redblacks beat BC 27-16 with a big last quarter comeback earlier in the season and they hammered the Roughriders on their last outing. However four of their five wins have been at home. They don't travel well and Vancouver's as far from home as they can get.

The Lions levelled their series with the Alouettes, the third team in this race, on the road last weekend in Montreal. That was a fine result considering quarterback Travis Lulay came out of the game in the first quarter. Their home form hasn't been great though and John Beck will be playing in place of Lulay again. Their star running back Andrew Harris has been kept quiet by big defences recently, BC need him to step up now.

 

Calgary Stampeders ( 8 & 2 ) are on a huge run of form. They've won five straight and last weekend's result has given them a two game lead in the West Division. Edmonton Eskimos ( 6 & 4 ) need to take advantage of their home field to stay in touch. The omens aren't good, Calgary have won the last 12 meetings between these two and their last nine straight games at Commonwealth Stadium.  The Eskimos have been bringing in players to strengthen the O line this week and the reappearance of Mike Reilly at quarterback late in the game brought a bit of confidence. There's been no news out of Calgary except that it will be another week before Jon Cornish is ready to return. With both defences playing so strongly expect this one to be close again.

 

The other return rivalry game features the top two in the East Division. Hamilton Tiger-Cats ( 7 & 3 ) completely overran the Toronto Argonauts (6 & 4 ) on Labour day. This is very much a local derby so expect masses of Ticats fans to travel to the Rogers Centre on Friday night and heap more pressure on the home team. The short preparation period between the games won't help the Argos either. They'll need to improve in just about every aspect of the game.

 

CFL Week 11 Review

Article by Duncan Gray

The local derby games of Labour day weekend brought wins for the three home teams with Hamilton and Calgary taking the lead in their Divisions and Saskatchewan finally taking their first victory of the year. Expect more hard fought games next week when they play return fixtures.

BC Lions 25 - 16 Montreal Alouettes
After two wins on the road the Alouettes were a major disappointment on Thursday as BC Lions gained revenge for their home defeat of two weeks ago. In particular it was a bad night for Montreal's quarterback Tanner Marsh who was substituting for Rakeem Cato. In the first half he fumbled once and was intercepted twice, turnovers which led to 17 points for BC. To make matters worse he threw another interception to begin the third quarter which Eric Fraser ran back for a touchdown. The Montreal defence responded with a pick six of their own but any chance of a comeback was snuffed out as Marsh was intercepted twice more before the end.
The Lions night had started badly as Travis Lulay had to come off in the first quarter with a leg injury. Back up QB John Beck had a solid if unspectacular performance, he threw for 112 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He had plenty of support from running back Andrew Harris. 65 yards from 21 carries doesn't sound that good but he made a lot of first downs.
BC now have a 4&5 record, Montreal are 4&6. Since we've reached Labour Day we can start to look at post season prospects. As things stand, these two are in direct competition for the last play-off place.
Highlights
Congratulations to Montreal slotback Nik Lewis. An 18 yard reception during the 4^th quarter was enough to move him into the top 10 all time list of career receiving yards.

 

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 19 - 37 Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Roughriders finally came good at Mosaic on Sunday as newly promoted head coach Bob Dyce's team saw off their age old Prairie rivals. It didn't start well for them though as a bad snap gave the ball to the Bombers 20 yards out and led to Brian Brohm scoring on a quarterback sneak. In the second quarter Saskatchewan had the wind at their backs and Nic Demski brought the scores level with a 60 yard punt return. All the scoring was going to the team with the wind and this continued through the third as the Riders stretched to a 12 point lead thanks to a Brett Smith 27 yard pass to Ryan Smith. Saskatchewan took control of the game in the fourth quarter as Brett Smith connected for a TD against the wind  to Rob Bagg. Winnipeg pulled a score back through Cameron Marshall but the game was completed as Saskatchewan's Tyron Brackenridge ran a fumble back 22 yards.
Dyce has made several changes to the Riders, the most obvious is that running back Jerome Messam is back in favour. He contributed 107 yards to the offence. However, to go on to have any sort of a meaningful season they still need to prove that they can win outside of the fevered atmosphere of the big local derby against a Winnipeg team reduced to starting Brian Brohm at quarterback.
Highlights

 

Toronto Argonauts 12 - 42 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Whatever sorcery it was that Montreal Alouettes used to upset the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton last week, it had worn off by the time Toronto came into town for the 45th Labour Day Classic. The Argonauts actually opened the scoring with a single scored on a Swayze Waters punt, but by half time they were losing by 27-1. The Tiger-Cats had scored on every possession, Zach Collaros had already thrown for 288 yards and touchdowns to Terrence Toliver, Tiquan Underwood and Terrell Sinkfield. It looked too easy, Hamilton receivers were continually finding open space while on defence their secondary never gave the Argos a free yard. The atmosphere of the big game was getting to players and penalties after fighting broke out, followed by a Collaros fumble finally gave the Argos field position which they could convert into a touchdown. Vidal Hazelton made the catch. However the Ticats ran in two more TDs late in the fourth to complete the rout and take a lead in the East Division table.
Highlights

 

Edmonton Eskimos 7 - 16 Calgary Stampeders
The Stampeders won the Battle of Alberta for the 12^th straight time thanks to the only touchdown of the game, scored just before half time on a Bo Levi Mitchell pass to Greg Wilson. This was a game with defences firmly on top, particularly Calgary's. James Franklin was making only his second start at quarterback for the Eskimos and he was kept very much under control. Edmonton made a change for the fourth quarter as Mike Reilly replaced Franklin and for a while it looked like it might make a great story. Reilly was only reactivated from injured reserve this week after suffering a torn posterior cruciate ligament in Week 1 and hadn't been expected to play. There was breath held every time he scrambled but he immediately started to connect with Adarius Bowman and create problems for Calgary. His first drive resulted in a field goal to bring the Esks within reach of the lead but in the end he couldn't quite put a drive together to make the difference. Finally a 45 yard Stampeders field goal by Rene Paredes completed the scoring and ensured they won.
Highlights

CFL Week 11 Preview - Labour Day Weekend

Article by Duncan Gray

This is always a big occasion in the CFL. Half the season's gone and things will only get more serious from now on. By tradition, the three big rivalry games are played this weekend and they're followed by reverse fixtures next week. BT Sport are showing all four games live, split between three channels, We're really looking forward to the Monday night treat as the two games featuring the Division leaders are on back to back starting at 6pm.

 

 

 

This week's TV Schedule   BC Lions at Montreal Alouettes - LIVE Friday morning September 4, 00:30 hrs – BT Sport 1 repeat: Monday morning 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Saskatchewan Roughriders - LIVE Sunday evening, September 6, 21:00 hrs – BT Sport ESPN repeat: Wednesday morning 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Toronto Argonauts at Hamilton Tiger-Cats – LIVE Monday evening September 7, 18:00 hrs – BT Sport 2 repeat: Thursday morning 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN Edmonton Eskimos at Calgary Stampeders – LIVE Monday evening September 7, 21:30 hrs – BT Sport 2 repeat: Friday morning 06:00 hrs –  BT Sport ESPN

 

In the news this week:

 

What's the favourite joke in Winnipeg currently?

Knock Knock.
Who's there?

Owen.
Owen who?
The 0 & 9 start to the season for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the highest profile team in the CFL, has finally led to the second head coach sacking in two weeks. This time it wasn't a surprise, fans have been calling for Corey Chamblin's sacking for weeks now. The threat to Chamblin actually seemed to have blown over, as if everyone was past caring, but the abject performance of the team on Sunday, and particularly the inexplicable decision to bench QB Brett Smith in favour of Tino Sunseri, brought things to a head.

So what went wrong in Regina? After all, in 2013 when Chablin was in his second year with the 'Riders he led them to the Grey Cup and won the Coach of the Year Award. Since then he's moved to take more control of the team for himself, for this season he forced wholesale coaching changes and took on the defensive co-ordinator role himself. Obviously it hasn't gone well. Chamblin's attitude has tended to arrogance rather than humility, he's been criticising players rather than shouldering some blame himself, so there isn't a great deal of sympathy out there for him losing his job.

Meantime the lack of depth in the squad has been exposed by the events of the season and to complete the clear out General Manager and Vice President of Football Operations Brendan Taman has been relieved of his duties too.
Interim appointments until the end of the season have been made, long time 'Riders player and fan favourite Jeremy O’Day has been promoted from Assistant GM  and the man given the job of producing wins is Bob Dyce who Chamblin had demoted from Offence to Special Teams Co-ordinator.

 

It's an ill wind that blows no one any good. In one of the charity schemes associated with the CFL, Purolator makes a donation to the foodbanks of each team's home city every time their defence records a  quarterback sack. The disadvantaged of Ottawa did well out of the hapless Roughriders on Sunday as the Redblacks got to the QB no less that ten times. Edmonton Eskimos lead the table, they have 29 sacks already this year.

 

There have been a few more games of late with big winning margins, there were three wins by over 20 points last week, but the CFL have produced a statistic that says the proportion of games decided in the last three minutes is still 63%.

 

Game Previews

It's the weekend of the Labour Day Classics, we won't nominate a single game of the week this time.

The week starts on Thursday with one game that isn't a local rivalry. BC Lions, after a bye week, make the long trip east to face Montreal Alouettes.
Montreal are on a roll. Through the strength of their defence they've won their last two games on the road, firstly at BC and then at Hamilton. QB Rakeem Cato came off during the last game with a hip injury and it's not clear if he'll be fit enough to play. At least they have an able replacement in Tanner Marsh. The Lions were held to only 32 yards rushing the last time the teams met. They'll be hoping to have come up with a game plan that'll make a difference during their extra week off.
This might not have the spice of the other three local rivalry games but BC wide receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux has certainly stoked it up with his comments: “Montreal isn’t good. They’re not talented whatsoever. I don’t respect nobody on their side of the ball.” Good luck Manny, you might just need it.

 

Saskatchewan Roughriders season got off to a bad start as they lost their home game to Winnipeg Blue Bombers and it hasn't improved since. So will the coaching change spur them to their first win of the season? Coach Dyce immediately made it clear that, no messing about, they'll be going with Brett Smith at quarterback and emphasised the point by cutting Tino Sunseri from the squad. Perhaps running back Jerome Messam, who's been underused, will get more of the ball now.
Winnipeg are a struggling team too. They've lost their last three games, last week against Calgary they made only 175 yards total offence. Moves this week to strengthen the offence included signing quarterback Matt Nichols in a trade from Edmonton and running back Chevon Walker from Ottawa. Nichols probably won't be prepared for this game so Robert Marve will start at QB again. Look for potential rookie of the year, linebacker Khalil Bass starring for the Bombers.

 

The joint leaders of the East Division were both beaten last week so the stakes are high for the first of the Monday games. Toronto Argonauts  must have been encouraged to see that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were finally beaten in their home stadium but last week they struggled against the Eskimos defence that the TiCats had ripped apart. Meantime after their shock loss Hamilton have yet more injury worries. Four defensive players, three of them starters, were added to the six week injured reserve list. The biggest loss will be defensive end Eric Norwood who's just been named as one of the league's Performers of the Month for August. Hamilton are still favourites on home turf but they're much less of a sure thing now.

 

The final Labour Day Classic of the weekend could be the most interesting. Calgary Stampeders have a one game lead over Edmonton Eskimos as the two sides dominate the West Division. Calgary have scored no less than 118 points in their last three games but those were against weaker defences than the Eskimos will bring. With their patched up offensive line and Jon Cornish still not available, the Stampeders running game didn't contribute much last week. This game will be a challenge for them.
For Edmonton, rookie quarterback James Franklin's first start last week was a triumph. In fact Franklin, Kendial Lawrence and Derel Walker made it a clean sweep of Esks players in the Shaw Top Performers of the Week awards. However, Calgary Head Coach John Hufnagel has a reputation for making life really hard for opposing rookie quarterbacks, so watch out.