CFL Week 3 Preview

Article by Duncan Gray

 

Game of the Week

Last week's Game of the Week choice turned out to be exceptional. Not sure if we can expect quite so much excitement but we're going to stick with the Toronto Argonauts. This week they're at Calgary Stampeders on Monday night.

Toronto weren't a fancied team when the season started but they've beaten Edmonton comfortably and then Saskatchewan in last week's thriller. Calgary meantime suffered the shock defeat of the season so far when they went down to Montreal last week without putting up much of a fight. It's still early in the season, poor performances can come from any team but surely the champions can't play so badly two weeks in a row. Can they upset the Argonauts momentum though? This could develop into a quarterback duel between the established big name, Levi Bo Mitchell, and one of the new sensations, Toronto's Trevor Harris (who's actually the older of the two).

 

 

This week's TV Schedule   Ottawa Redblacks v Edmonton Eskimos - LIVE Friday morning 10 July 0200 hrs – BT Sport ESPN   Saskatchewan Roughriders v BC Lions - LIVE Saturday morning 11 July 0300 hrs – BT Sport ESPN   Montreal Alouettes v Winnipeg Blue Bombers - recorded Saturday afternoon 11 July 1300 hrs – BT Sport ESPN   Toronto Argonauts v Calgary Stampeders - LIVE Tuesday morning 14 July 0200 hrs – BT Sport ESPN

 

 

The other games

 

It's been a dream start to the season for Ottawa who find themselves as the other undefeated team in the league. They'll be stretched this week as they visit Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskimos have had an extra week to recover from their defeat by Toronto to arrange cover for quarterback Mike Reilly whose injury will keep him out for much of the season. 

 

Montreal Alouettes  produced the surprise of the season when they trounced Calgary in Week 2 so their hopes will be high as they travel west. On the other hand Winnipeg Blue Bombers were a team on the receiving end of a trouncing and there's no word yet on whether their quarterback Drew Willy will be recovered from his head knock.

 

BC Lions suffered a disappointment last week, losing at Ottawa in the opening game of their season. Meantime Saskatchewan suffered an even bigger disappointment as their overtime defeat left them having lost two home games. Which one will break their duck?

 

CFL Week Two Review

Article by Duncan Gray

 

Week 2 Review

 

Toronto	42	Saskatchewan	40	Highlights
BC	16	Ottawa	27	Highlights
Calgary	11	Montreal	29	Highlights
Hamilton	52	Winnipeg	26	Highlights

 

 

Who'd have thought it. In Week 2 the four East Division teams completed a clean sweep of wins over teams from the much stronger (at least it was last season) West. And in just two weeks Ottawa REDBLACKS have equalled the number of wins they had in the whole of last season.

 

The big headlines of the weekend weren't about Ottawa though. They came from the Friday night game everyone had the least expectations of. 

After last week's injuries Montreal Alouettes went into their game with number one rated Calgary Stampeders with a choice to make between two rookie quarterbacks. Rather than the Canadian Brandon Bridge they chose to go with Florida native Rakeem Cato. Cato's history is that he played his college football at Marshall where he set several quarterback records. He wasn't taken in the 2015 NFL draft, had a try out with the Cleveland Browns and finally signed with Montreal as a free agent.

On Friday night Cato played the sort of game the phrase "dream debut" was invented for. In his first drive he led Montreal 95 yards, completing five passes out of five, the last one to Samuel Giguere for the touchdown. The Al's defence was going well too, the big name Stampeders offence didn't get going all night, didn't even get on the scoreboard until late in the third quarter. Meantime Cato completed 20 of 25 passes for 241 yards and 3 touchdowns and we had the biggest upset of the season so far.

 

 

On Thursday night it looked like it could be Week 1 all over again as another quarterback was injured. This time the victim was Winnipeg Blue Bombers Drew Willy who suffered a violent helmet to helmet clash while being sacked by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. On the very next play Ti-Cats' Brandon Banks returned a punt all the way, one of five touchdowns scored on offence, defence and special teams before half time. Hamilton maintained their lead through the second half and once again looked impressive.

 

There's a definite buzz going around the nation's capital this year. It's the second season of there being a CFL franchise back in town and the team's getting plenty of support. The first home game at TD Place Stadium was a sell out and the Ottawa REDBLACKS didn't disappoint. In a close game they'd fallen behind BC Lions in the third quarter, but on the first play of the fourth Henry Burris threw a 30 yard touchdown pass, caught by Greg Ellingson despite a deflection, and followed it with an 11 yarder to Ernest Jackson on the next drive. And that was the game. The REDBLACKS are one of only two unbeaten teams. They put together a strong all round performance but there are tougher tests to come.

 

The last game of the weekend was so good it eclipsed the Rakeem Cato story. There were big plays for both sides as Toronto Argonauts and Saskatchewan Roughriders played through to overtime. Particularly in the fourth quarter there was an incredible catch by 'Riders wide receiver Ryan Smith followed by a complete reversal on the very next play as Argo's A.J. Jefferson ran back a 100 yard pick six. Toronto's Trevor Harris showed he could withstand pressure, throwing a touchdown pass with 6 seconds to tie the game at 28 all. In overtime it all came down to 2 point conversions. Both teams scored TDs on both their possessions but ultimately it was the Saskatchewan quarterback Kevin Glenn who succumbed to the pressure, failing to connect with his receiver on the final conversion attempt and leaving the win with Toronto.

If you didn't see this one check out the highlights here.

 

 

CFL Week Two Preview

Article by Duncan Gray

 

Game of the Week

Toronto Argonauts v Saskatchewan Roughriders is our pick for this week. The Sunday afternoon kick-off in Regina is giving us a chance of the year to watch a live game on BT Sport/ESPN and still make it to work or school in the morning. (Except those of you whose schools are already on summer holidays of course.)
Week 1 was a good week/bad week for these teams. Toronto had the good week. They won their game against Edmonton, in fact they had the biggest winning margin of the week. Stand-in quarterback Trevor Harris had a fine game and he was well supported by the various new faces around the team. If they perform like that again we'll be looking at them as real contenders.

On the other hand things could have hardly have gone worse for the Roughriders. They lost at home to their great rivals from Winnipeg who they had beaten at Mosaic Stadium eleven times on the trot. Worse still, they also lost their quarterback. Darius Durant is out for the season with an Achilles injury.

So are the Argos favourites for this game? Well maybe not. Unlike last season Saskatchewan have an able back-up QB in Kevin Glenn and they hope to have a couple of players returning from injury. If they can help it they're not going to let visitors win on their field, in front of their fans, certainly not for a second week running. Watch for the crowd shots in the TV coverage, Rider Nation are the wildest fans in the country and the stands will be a sea of green.

Riders Fans

 

 

This week's TV Schedule   Hamilton  Tiger-Cats v Winnipeg Blue Bombers - LIVE Friday morning 3 July 0130 hrs – BT Sport ESPN   Toronto Argonauts v  Saskatchewan Roughriders  - LIVE Sunday evening 5 July 2030 hrs – BT Sport ESPN   BC Lions v Ottawa Redblacks  - recorded Monday afternoon 6 July 1230 hrs - BT Sport ESPN   Calgary Stampeders v Montreal Alouettes - recorded Wednesday afternoon 8 July 1315 hrs  - BT Sport ESPN       For those of you who can't access the BT Sport channels there are online subscriptions available through the Canadian broadcaster TSN. Options include $35 for the full 6 month season of games. Visit http://cfl.officialsatellitetv.com/live.html for more information.

 

Nissan Titan Power Rankings
After their big wins last weekend Toronto and Winnipeg are the big upwards movers in the first update of the CFL's power rankings.

 

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

 

 

The other games

Week 2 starts on Thursday night with Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Winnipeg Blue Bombers, so it's 2nd v 4th from the Power Rankings. The Ti-Cats must be hurting from their last play loss at Calgary last week, even though it was to the top rated team in the league.  The Bombers will be on a high after beating the Roughriders, but did they over perform in the excitement of their rivalry match? Watch out for the running attack of Winnipeg and the kick returns of Hamilton's Brandon Banks.

 

On Friday night Calgary Stampeders play Montreal Alouettes at the Percival Molson Memorial Stadium. There's a crisis at Montreal after their top two quarterbacks were injured last week and it's not clear yet who will play in this game. Could Brandon Bridge be the first Canadian to start a game at QB for twenty years? The Stampeders found a way to beat the best the East Division has to offer last week so they'll come into town with a lot of confidence.

 

Making it four inter-divisional games out of four this week, BC Lions start their season on Saturday with the 2200 mile cross country trip to Ottawa for their game against the Redblacks. With quarterback Travis Lulay now recovered from the shoulder injury that kept him out much of last season the Lions will be looking for a strong start to their campaign. However the Redblacks showed in Week 1 that they're not the pushovers they were last season. Ottawa's defence knocked out two Montreal quarterbacks last week, BC's offensive line better be sure they can protect Lulay.

 

CFL Week One review

Article by Duncan Gray

 

Some say that the preseason in the CFL usually lasts until Week 4 and it's only after then that teams are settled in their line ups and ready to play. Was this reflected in this year's Week 1 games? Certainly they were unpredictable. Only one of the teams which started as favourites won, and that was on the last play of their game. As for rosters, serious injuries to starting players have already thrown several teams plans into disarray.

Montreal had the honour of hosting the opening game of season and things started well for them as they powered down the field and scored their first touchdown on the opening drive. However rookie kicker Boris Bede promptly recorded a miss on the first ever of the new 32 yard extra point attempts. By the second half injuries had reduced the Alouettes to their third string quarterback Brandon Bridge, another rookie. He became the first Canadian to play at QB in the league since 2010. Down the stretch he threw two interceptions in the decisive period that saw Ottawa take their first lead and go on to win. Let's not blame Bridge for the loss though. After all, the ultra-experienced Redblack Henry Burris threw three interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.
It was a great opening result for Ottawa. They showed plenty enterprise and hard hitting and must surely be in for a better second season than their first. Meantime Montreal have lost QB Dan LeFevour for the season.

 

Another quarterback also throwing three interceptions, one for a pick six, was the man who has been rated as the best player in the league, Calgary Stampeders' Levi Bo Mitchell. The rematch of last years Grey Cup match with Hamilton was, incredibly, even closer than the big game itself. This game demonstrated how the CFL rules  make it difficult for teams to run out the clock and set up thrilling finishes.
Despite the number of players they have out injured, the Tiger-Cats had a lead for much of the game but they couldn't hold on as, when it came to the desperate last 44 seconds final drive for the Stampeders, it was Mitchell who showed why he's number one. He completed three passes in the drive, including one on 3rd and 17, to set up the fifty yard field goal which gave Calgary their one point victory. Hamilton were very unlucky to lose and there was nothing to suggest they shouldn't be favourites to take the East Division again. At least there wasn't until Toronto put up their fine performance. 

 

 

Another team to lose their quarterback to injury was Edmonton Eskimos. Mike Reilly, who has a history of leg problems, suffered a left knee injury in the fourth quarter of their game at Fort McMurray and has been listed as 'out indefinitely'. By the time that happened the Eskimos were already heading towards defeat by Toronto, themselves without their first choice quarterback Ricky Ray but nevertheless showing strengths on both sides of the ball. Trevor Harris proved to be a worthy stand in for Ray as he passed for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns from 24 of 27 passes. If he keeps up that standard there will be an interesting decision to be made in Toronto when Ray gets back to full fitness.

 

The most devastating quarterback injury of the weekend was still to come though. Darian Durant, making his comeback for Saskatchewan Roughriders after being out since last September, went down following a seemingly innocuous contact with a Winnipeg lineman. A ruptured Achilles tendon has been diagnosed and he'll be out for the rest of the season. Losing at home to their great rivals was a bad day for the Riders and the sympathy for Durant which has come from around the country won't be much consolation to them.
Meantime it was an encouraging start to the season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who achieved their win through the performance of their running backs Paris Cotton and Cameron Marshall. If quarterbacks keep going down at this rate maybe the running game will be the key to success this year.