Article by Duncan Gray
Unpredictability, that's
been the overriding theme of the 2015
CFL season. On any day any team can beat any other team. Montreal's
unexpected win in Hamilton this week was the biggest shock yet for the pundits.
Meantime Saskatchewan, the champions of only two years ago, continue to defy
the trend as they've reached the halfway point of the season without a win.
BREAKING
NEWS
Saskatchewan Roughriders, the champions of only two years ago, have reached the halfway point of the season without a win. Following Sunday's dire performance in Ottawa the move which has been subject of so much speculation finally came. Not only has head coach Corey Chamblin been relieved of his duties, General Manager Brendan Taman has gone too.
Team President Craig Reynolds said “We are not meeting our expectations or our standards on the field and these changes were necessary to move us forward,”.
With immediate effect Assistant GM Jeremy O’Day steps up while Special Teams Coordinator Bob Dyce will act as head coach.
Saskatchewan Roughriders, the champions of only two years ago, have reached the halfway point of the season without a win. Following Sunday's dire performance in Ottawa the move which has been subject of so much speculation finally came. Not only has head coach Corey Chamblin been relieved of his duties, General Manager Brendan Taman has gone too.
Team President Craig Reynolds said “We are not meeting our expectations or our standards on the field and these changes were necessary to move us forward,”.
With immediate effect Assistant GM Jeremy O’Day steps up while Special Teams Coordinator Bob Dyce will act as head coach.
Montreal Alouettes 26 -
23 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Montreal Alouettes, under new head coach Jim Popp, put an end to the TiCats five game win streak and their ten game “never been beaten at Tim Hortons Field” streak in a thrilling match on Thursday night. They succeeded where others have failed with strong defence, they recorded 6 sacks to 1 lost, and by their offence not making mistakes in the face of Hamilton pressure.
Hamilton have been winning by establishing a big first quarter lead. The Alousettes avoided that as the Alouettes QB Rakeem Cato threw a screen pass to Brandon Rutley for a 65 yard touchdown on their opening drive. The Tiger-Cats drew level in the second when Luke Tasker caught an 8 yard Zach Collaros pass and then, what could have swung the game their way, Rakeem Cato was sacked and forced off with a leg injury. However Brandon Banks fumbled away the ensuing punt return and Montreal, with Tanner Marsh replacing Cato, took advantage of the field position. Marsh himself finished the drive by scoring on a 1 yard run. The first half ended with players fighting on the field, which was probably a fitting prelude to the Angelo Mosca no. 68 jersey retiral ceremony during half-time.
It wasn't until the fourth quarter that Hamilton managed to bring the scores level again with a Jeff Matthews 2 yard run but then Tanner Marsh led Montreal on a time consuming drive which earned them the lead back through a Boris Bede field goal. The Tiger-Cats started their final drive with 70 seconds left and got close to field goal range, but their hopes ended when Kyries Hebert intercepted a Collaros pass. To almost everybody's surprise Montreal had a second win against Hamilton. Maybe their sacking of Tom Higgins wasn't a bad move after all.
Highlights
Montreal Alouettes, under new head coach Jim Popp, put an end to the TiCats five game win streak and their ten game “never been beaten at Tim Hortons Field” streak in a thrilling match on Thursday night. They succeeded where others have failed with strong defence, they recorded 6 sacks to 1 lost, and by their offence not making mistakes in the face of Hamilton pressure.
Hamilton have been winning by establishing a big first quarter lead. The Alousettes avoided that as the Alouettes QB Rakeem Cato threw a screen pass to Brandon Rutley for a 65 yard touchdown on their opening drive. The Tiger-Cats drew level in the second when Luke Tasker caught an 8 yard Zach Collaros pass and then, what could have swung the game their way, Rakeem Cato was sacked and forced off with a leg injury. However Brandon Banks fumbled away the ensuing punt return and Montreal, with Tanner Marsh replacing Cato, took advantage of the field position. Marsh himself finished the drive by scoring on a 1 yard run. The first half ended with players fighting on the field, which was probably a fitting prelude to the Angelo Mosca no. 68 jersey retiral ceremony during half-time.
It wasn't until the fourth quarter that Hamilton managed to bring the scores level again with a Jeff Matthews 2 yard run but then Tanner Marsh led Montreal on a time consuming drive which earned them the lead back through a Boris Bede field goal. The Tiger-Cats started their final drive with 70 seconds left and got close to field goal range, but their hopes ended when Kyries Hebert intercepted a Collaros pass. To almost everybody's surprise Montreal had a second win against Hamilton. Maybe their sacking of Tom Higgins wasn't a bad move after all.
Highlights
Toronto Argonauts 15 - 38
Edmonton Eskimos
After being embarrassed in front of their home crowd last week the Eskimos recovered on Friday, there were improvements all round as they saw off Toronto with a fourth quarter surge. James Franklin made his first start at quarterback and made an early impact by scrambling for 18 yards for the opening touchdown. The Edmonton crowd have been calling for Franklin to be made the starter for a while now but he's already being replaced as their favourite. The new star is wide receiver Derel Walker. In his first three games for the Eskimos Walker has made 31 receptions for 472 yards, in this game his seven catches included a 62 yarder in the second quarter and then one from 8 yards in the fourth to record his first touchdown.
The Argonauts were kept quiet all night as the Edmonton defence were back on form. Their highlight was a Trevor Harris 29 yard pass to Diontae Spencer. It set up a one yard touchdown run for their short yardage QB Adrian McPherson, who also ran in a one yarder which kept the scores close after three quarters. All of Toronto's wins this season have involved fourth quarter comebacks but they weren't given the chance this time as the Eskimos blew them away with three late touchdowns. Kendial Lawrence returned a 65-yard punt for the first, Walker's was the second then, after Aaron Grymes intercepted Harris, Jordan Lynch ran in the third.
Highlights
After being embarrassed in front of their home crowd last week the Eskimos recovered on Friday, there were improvements all round as they saw off Toronto with a fourth quarter surge. James Franklin made his first start at quarterback and made an early impact by scrambling for 18 yards for the opening touchdown. The Edmonton crowd have been calling for Franklin to be made the starter for a while now but he's already being replaced as their favourite. The new star is wide receiver Derel Walker. In his first three games for the Eskimos Walker has made 31 receptions for 472 yards, in this game his seven catches included a 62 yarder in the second quarter and then one from 8 yards in the fourth to record his first touchdown.
The Argonauts were kept quiet all night as the Edmonton defence were back on form. Their highlight was a Trevor Harris 29 yard pass to Diontae Spencer. It set up a one yard touchdown run for their short yardage QB Adrian McPherson, who also ran in a one yarder which kept the scores close after three quarters. All of Toronto's wins this season have involved fourth quarter comebacks but they weren't given the chance this time as the Eskimos blew them away with three late touchdowns. Kendial Lawrence returned a 65-yard punt for the first, Walker's was the second then, after Aaron Grymes intercepted Harris, Jordan Lynch ran in the third.
Highlights
Calgary Stampeders 36 - 8
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Blue Bombers are another team trying to settle on a quarterback while their number one is out injured. Robert Marve didn't have a good day on his second start, but that has as much to do with a defensive line which allows more sacks than any other and a Calgary team that's starting to hit the form which made them last year's champions. Marve threw a bad pass which was intercepted in the first quarter, leading to the opening Stampeders touchdown. That was the difference between the teams at half time as both defences were well on top. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, Marve started the third by throwing a pick six to Jamar Wall. Two more Calgary TDs followed on a short run by Bryant Moniz and then a juggling catch by Jeff Fuller, and the game was out of sight. The Bombers brought out their ex NFL quarterback Brian Brohm to finish the game but it's clear what the Winnipeg crowd thinks of him. He only completed one out of five passes and was roundly booed on every incompletion.
Highlights
The Blue Bombers are another team trying to settle on a quarterback while their number one is out injured. Robert Marve didn't have a good day on his second start, but that has as much to do with a defensive line which allows more sacks than any other and a Calgary team that's starting to hit the form which made them last year's champions. Marve threw a bad pass which was intercepted in the first quarter, leading to the opening Stampeders touchdown. That was the difference between the teams at half time as both defences were well on top. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, Marve started the third by throwing a pick six to Jamar Wall. Two more Calgary TDs followed on a short run by Bryant Moniz and then a juggling catch by Jeff Fuller, and the game was out of sight. The Bombers brought out their ex NFL quarterback Brian Brohm to finish the game but it's clear what the Winnipeg crowd thinks of him. He only completed one out of five passes and was roundly booed on every incompletion.
Highlights
Saskatchewan Roughriders
at Ottawa Redblacks
The Roughriders are another team with quarterback woes. With their top two passers out injured, rookie Brett Smith has been playing for the last couple of weeks. After Ottawa started this one by scoring touchdowns on their opening two possessions Smith took advantage of good field position from a blocked bunt, rushed for a gain when it looked like yards would be lost, threw a difficult touchdown pass to Naaman Roosevelt and then ran in the two point conversion himself. However on the next drive, again with good field position after an Ottawa fumble, he made a rookie mistake and threw an interception into the end zone. It was enough for Head Coach Corey Chamblin to hit the panic button and bench him in favour of the more experienced Tino Sunseri. The change didn't work, there was no more scoring for Saskatchewan until they managed a field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Home advantage is good for the Redblacks, they've only lost once in front of their fans this year and they put on a strong performance on Sunday to end their two game losing streak. The defence snuffed out the 'Riders attack and made a team record ten sacks while running back Jeremiah Johnston justified the team's faith in him by scoring three touchdowns.
Highlights
The Roughriders are another team with quarterback woes. With their top two passers out injured, rookie Brett Smith has been playing for the last couple of weeks. After Ottawa started this one by scoring touchdowns on their opening two possessions Smith took advantage of good field position from a blocked bunt, rushed for a gain when it looked like yards would be lost, threw a difficult touchdown pass to Naaman Roosevelt and then ran in the two point conversion himself. However on the next drive, again with good field position after an Ottawa fumble, he made a rookie mistake and threw an interception into the end zone. It was enough for Head Coach Corey Chamblin to hit the panic button and bench him in favour of the more experienced Tino Sunseri. The change didn't work, there was no more scoring for Saskatchewan until they managed a field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Home advantage is good for the Redblacks, they've only lost once in front of their fans this year and they put on a strong performance on Sunday to end their two game losing streak. The defence snuffed out the 'Riders attack and made a team record ten sacks while running back Jeremiah Johnston justified the team's faith in him by scoring three touchdowns.
Highlights
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