CFLjoe

Wrapping it up

2012-11-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

Thanks for everyone and their support and readership over the past few years. CFLjoe was written simply because I love the CFL and I hoped I could help generate increased attention and critical discussion of the game. I always felt that the attention paid to the CFL was simply not enough. Even now, I'm not convinced the CFL gets the respect it deserves from Canadian media. CFLjoe was an attempt to help draw more attention to a great game. As I wrote however, I found people to be incredibly respectful and supportive and in fact, it made writing easy and rewarding.

However, due to time contraints I found that I was increasingly unable to produce my best work. Good analysis takes time. Usually I would watch games twice through, while taking notes before I wrote a blog and as my working life grew, I just simply didn't have the time to do the proper analysis. I coach minor football here in Ottawa and blogging was the perfect way for me to apply what I've learned as a coach into analysis of the CFL.

I will continue to stay involved in CFL writing and you will see my writings here and there. As Ottawa returns to the CFL I'll have a front row seat to the emergence of a CFL community and I'll have a chance to watch a new franchise emerge right in front of me. A rare opportunity that's for sure.

Although the blog is finished, I continue to tweet about the CFL and especially during games. PLEASE follow me on twitter at @CFL_joe you will still get to see all my CFL thoughts. We can also chat during the playoffs, offseason and in to 2013. Twitter is the best place to find me so send me a message over there: @CFL_joe

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you all. Please pay some respect to the people that were incredibly helpful like Rod Pedersen who was always a great supporter.

Cheers

Riders, Alouettes, Bombers and Name that Ottawa Team

2012-10-15T08:41:00.002-04:00

Tim Burke

- I'd like to start this week out a little different and congratulate the city of Ottawa on the final hurdle of approval for the new stadium. Those of you who have heard me on the Sportscage (www.rodpedersen.com) know I now live in Ottawa. This has been a long process in Ottawa because of a group named Friends of Landsdown who sued the city government during the process.

- I won't go into the details of the law-suit, mostly because they are terribly confusing and I don't necessarily understand everything about it but let's just say, the project was seriously delayed for a long time. I will be the first one to tell you it's important for citizens to have a strong voice in projects that go on in their city but obviously I am incredibly happy to see the CFL return to Ottawa.

- It's important that this league we all love continues to grow. In my opinion, 9 teams is just a small step in the right direction. I would like to see 12 in my lifetime. Next city to get a team should probably be Quebec City because they have a suitable facility and then Moncton because of the CFL trial-runs out there. If Moncton receives a franchise we'd only need one more city to make it 12. I think that is entirely do-able. Any ideas for a city in the west? And no, not Saskatoon.

- Many people have said Duane Forde should be the first GM in Ottawa but I would disagree. No one argues with the fact that he is one of the most knowledgeable commentators on the CIS. Even my contacts at Football Canada are amazed by how much he knows. That being said, he's never been a GM before. Being a GM doesn't necessarily mean you know the most but it means you know how to manage people and staff. Ottawa needs some experience in there.

- All that being said, I think Duane Forde would be a great hire as a Canadian Scout and could eventually move in to an assistant GM spot. The Ottawa team needs to win early on and a veteran leader in there could really start it off well.

- Lets just say that Ottawa public is excited about football returning but not necessarily rushing to buy tickets like we saw in Winnipeg with the Jets coming back. It'll take some time for that.

- And then we come to the name of the team. Mark Cohon has already said the team will not be called the Rough Riders or the Riders, which in my opinion is great. Sask Rider fans will of course be happy about that as well but there are many people in Ottawa upset with that fact. They feel that the name has enough history in the city that it needs to return.

- So what should the new team be called? Any ideas? Ottawa....

- And finally, who should be the Quarterback? Who would you take in the dispersal draft? Remeber each team can protect one QB. I'm guessing Montreal will protect McPherson by the time it comes to the 2014 draft and look for Drew Willy, Mike Reilly and no I wouldn't take anyone in Hamilton or formerly from Hamilton. That includes Kevin Glenn or Quinton Porter. Who knows where Winnipeg will be with Joey Elliott and Alex Brink at that point. If McPherson was available I think he'd be a great #1 pick.

- Alright, moving on.

- The season of the Hamilton Ti-Cats continues to be one of the most disappointing in the league. With all the offseason moves, I figured they'd challenge for first place but as one person told me this weekend, picking up yesterday's stars doesn't make you good today. See: Stevie Baggs.

- The team however has laid an egg in games they needed to win, like this weekend. In order to avoid the cross over Hamilton needs to beat out Edmonton on the other side. So with an Edmonton win and a Hamilton loss, it's looking increasingly like we'll see the cross over this year and let's be honest, Edmonton could challenge in the East. Maybe the cross over is a desired place to go.

- Edmonton was helped out with the Hamilton loss but also beating a team in their own division. Don't be surprised to see Edmonton continue to challenge in the West. I say that because Saskatchewan won 5 in a row and then flopped this weekend and Calgary is playing decent football but they aren't invincible.

- The story of the Rider/Edmonton game for me was this: 1st quarter bad special teams, 2 quarter bad pass coverage, 3rd quarter bad penalties (a few pass interference calls that were clearly unfounded.), 4th quarter a little more bad.

- That's a simplified version and not the whole story but there were some phases. I'm hearing lot's of talk about a short week as the reasons the Riders couldn't pull it off but I don't think fans or Chamblin would accept that excuse. The Riders had a chance to clinch the playoff spot and they needed to win.

- The Rider special teams started the game off with a bang. A botched punt return and a dropped punt attempt. Just for zapping the Riders momentum they owed the whole team a TD but it didn't happen.

- At one point I was listening to the Eskimo radio broadcast and even they were saying that some of the Rider pass interference penalties were terrible calls.

- I'm not sure what to say about the Rider defence. They're ranked #2 in the league but it certainly didn't look like it over the weekend. No sacks. End of story. Good pass coverage comes with pressure on the QB and when the QB pressure wasn't happening, coverage fell apart.

- Kerry Joseph has always been mobile but the Rider pass rush made him look unstoppable.

- Once the pass rush failed, they needed pressure from linebackers. But at that point in the game, when they needed that pressure, Richie Hall had already started dropping the linebackers into coverage to stop the pass. So the Riders ended up dropping the linebackers and letting Joseph use his feet. Then, in response, the linebackers were stuck trying to do pass coverage and cover Joseph at the same time. It ended up being a mess for the defence.

- Durant actually didn't get that much time on the field and when he was on the field, the big plays just alluded him and his offence. After two bad interceptions the game just was out of reach. Durant certainly wasn't getting help from the Edmonton defence either that played great. Strong pass rush and great coverage. I was thoroughly impressed with the Edmonton defence.

- With all of the injuries that have gone on in Edmonton, it was great to see their D-line play a great game and really give the Rider O-line a tough time.

- Most of all, Kerry Joseph deserves some respect for all he did these past two weeks. He looks fresh out there. A guy that I assumed would simply hang it up after being released from Edmonton last time around has looked stellar.

- JC Sherritt certainly came back with a bang didn't he? The man set a tone early out there and really showed us that he is the energy in his teams defence. He was hitting hard out there and brought some emotion. Edmonton needs a little emotion and he was on fire. His interception was unreal.

- At least your QB didn't throw 4 interceptions right? Sorry Bomber fans. Joey Elliott, who I think has a great future, looked lost. He seemed to be trying to win this game all on his own and really looked bad out there. 4 interceptions is tough to swallow. He may need a different offensive voice in his head.

- Chris Matthew and Terrance Edwards both had great games and caught over 100 yards each in passing yards but the game almost seemed over before it started.

- If you're Winnipeg, who is your QB next year? Do you risk this same mess happening again or do you go to Elliott full time? Does Pierce get another shot?

- Arash Madani had a great quote on twitter after the Bomber loss and simply said: Clearly this is LaPolice's fault. Through the sarcasm however we see a Winnipeg franchise that's struggling right now and the top leadership, Joe Mack, has it all on his head. His decisions have crafted this team and he's responsible. LaPolice seems like the kind of coach who could have turned this season around. Burke has not shown that sort of inspiration or resolve. Do you think he has?

- Kevin Glenn had the first half of a life time. After one quarter into the game, the TiCats had 16 points up on the board to Winnipeg's 0. It was a dismal, slow start for the Bombers and Kevin Glenn, with Drew Tate prowling the sidelines stepped up huge.

- I'm sure John Huff needed to be convinced Glenn could lead this team and he looked great.

- Jarious Jackson threw 40 pass attempts on Sunday. To me, what continues to stand out in Toronto is the lack of a rushing threat. Riggs only had 5 rush attempts and had 13 yards with those attempts. I knew that Chad Kackert's injury was a loss to the team but it's clear there isn't confidence in Riggs. Why only give him 5 attempts? The Argo's aren't moving the ball without Kackert and have refused to bring back Boyd. Meanwhile, their offence has stalled.

- Montreal is still Montreal but they don't look the same do they? They continually look more and more beatable and it's starting with pressuring Calvillo. I've seen him get hit more this year than in years past.

- I think Trestman is a great CFL coach but I'm not convinced he has a Grey Cup team. I think the winner will be a western team this year.

- It does make me happy that we will see a game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal again this year. Those are fun to watch.

- How about Rod Davis and Kyries Hebert. Both new additions to the defence this year and have earned themselves new contracts I hope. Hebert is one of a kind in the CFL. He is a safety but 6'3" and 222. Safeties generally are two types. There can be the coverage safeties like James Patrick and then the hard hitting safeties like Hebert. Having a guy like Hebert in the backfield is to make the big hit and to make receivers think twice about making a catch. He's fun to watch and ya, he's made some big hits. Craig Butler in Sask may be more like Hebert although not quite as big.

- Rod Davis came over this year from Edmonton and is an all around great linebacker. He has matched his sack total from last year but added 4 interceptions and some fumble recoveries to his name. He's picked up where Chip Cox left off.

- This is when we see a test of Scott Milanovich's coaching ability isn't it? He's a great offensive mind but his team is in a great spot to take a huge step forward. It rests on him to take his offence out of this funk. Then when Toronto becomes a playoff team, how do they respond?

- The same goes for the new Rider coach, Corey Chamblin. His team won 5 in a row and now has a loss. Sometimes pulling your team out of that loss can be difficult. The Riders are at home to a tough Montreal team this week and they'll need a great game.

- So there we have Burke, Milanovich and Chamblin all first year coaches that need to turn things around. I don't care how smart of a football mind you are, coaching is a different skill. Let's watch to see who can pull their team out to finish strong.

- 3 weeks left in the regular season but three weeks that will tell the stories of their season. This is the week that will decide.

- Have a great week everyone.

Big Changes Needed in Hamilton

2012-10-09T08:14:00.000-04:00

CP - Winnipeg Free Press

- First, are you following me on Twitter? @CFL_joe.

- I was joking prior to this weekend that Hamilton is such a bi-polar team they probably will come in this week and completely flop against Edmonton. Remember last week Hamilton played Montreal, Burris had 5 TD passes and Avon Cobourne ran 100+ yards. It was pretty clear that Hamilton had the power to explode on offence.

- So this week it seemed almost inevitable that Hamilton completely flopped against a limping team like Edmonton. After all the talk mid-week about play calling and leadership in Edmonton, Hamilton had the opportunity to walk all over the Eskimos.

- Edmonton was also starting a QB that just turned 39 and they were missing the best linebacker on defence. Fred Stamps, up until this game was also having one of his worst seasons in the CFL. Unfortunately for Hamilton, the mediocre, flip-flop season continues.

- And so even though Edmonton is struggling, the struggles that Hamilton can be even more scary. Hot one week and completely cold the next. Henry Burris is the key to making this team go and so when he comes out and throws 3 interceptions, its certainly tough to get his team going.

- When you're playing a desperate team like Edmonton, you know they'll play their hearts out. So it's very difficult to win after giving the ball away in 3 interceptions and 2 fumbles. Turning the ball over that many times puts their newly appointed starter back on the field for more reps.

- I wanted to see the Hamilton defence make adjustments against a guy like Fred Stamps. One thing you know about the Edmonton Eskimos is that they are struggling and so relying on Fred Stamps seems likely. So please tell me how Stamps picked up 204 yards on 9 catches. I realize he is an elusive guy but maybe he needed some special attention.

- What has happened to the Hamilton defence? Do we blame the coordinator? Do we blame the players. There have been definite times I've seen a lack of effort but other times the players look completely out of position.

- I couldn't tell you if George Cortez will be in Hamilton next year or not but this team needs to make their move now. Changes in attitude and effort should be the first change.

- I continue to be impressed with Kerry Joseph and his ability to move the ball despite his age. He looks like he has new life in his career. Unfortunately for him, he's on a team that may not be going far this year. We've seen great glimpses in Edmonton but we're still learning about this team late in the season.

- Hugh Charles is definitely the man in Edmonton but I would really like to see Messam get a few more carries. He only had 2 carries all game and I think with all the talent these guys have in their backfield, I'd like to see them mix it up a little more. They went from starting all three to now relying just on one guy.

- I was thoroughly impressed with Joey Elliott's start at QB with Winnipeg. He seems more at ease each time he starts. I'd hold on to Joey Elliott if I'm the Bombers. He's a great player and don't worry, he'll keep getting stronger.

- Elliott passed for 3 TDs and almost 70% completion. This was against a Montreal defence that has shown itself to be great this season and he made them look porous and weak.

- Where was the Montreal pass rush? I'm not necessarily talking about sacks but I'm talking about QB pressure. Montreal didn't have it. Where was the coverage on Chris Matthews. The lack of pass rush gave Matthews the opportunity to make some big plays.

- Winnipeg was most successful with Elliott when they moved the pocket and slid Elliott away from the centre of the field and forced Montreal to chase him. Montreal didn't have the guys free to chase the pocket all over the field and it's important to keep that kind of movement up even when Pierce returns.

- Pocket passing is great if you want to play like Anthony Calvillo. If you have a quick release and a strong O-line then great, stay in the pocket. If you're Buck Pierce and you've been injured often, get out of the pocket and move it around. Don't be predictable.

- Speaking of Calvillo, a tough game for the vet. He had Brandon London out there putting his body on the line to make some incredible catches but Calvillo still wasn't on his usual game. 2 interceptions and a lower than ideal completion percentage.

- We saw the Winnipeg defence step up to really overwhelm Calvillo with a great pressure defence. The Montreal O-line seemed to really struggle against a tough defensive challenge. In terms of game planning, this was the most prepared Winnipeg has looked since Tim Burke took over.

- It continues to bother me that we heard from the Bombers organization that Paul LaPolice was let go because he "lost" the room and the Bombers needed discipline. If you ask me, the Bombers look more undisciplined during Tim Burke's time as head coach over when LaPolice was there. There was a drive early in this game where I think a Blue Bomber took a penalty on each play.

- I think some people talk about penalties like a coach simply needs to yell at his players enough or punish them enough and then they won't take penalties. I hate to say it, but a lot of penalties are usually symptomatic of deeper problems and many other factors. LaPolice or Burke can't prevent players from taking a roughing penalty or offside. That is a player's choice.

- Can someone please tell me who this man is on the Argo sideline and how he got past security. Great beard to say the least.

- The Riders really looked strong against a team that needs Ricky Ray. Jarious Jackson impressed me against Winnipeg last week but this week the Riders brought a different blitz each play and Jackson looked frazzled.

- Jackson was under 50% completion and really needed more O-line help. It just wasn't there for him. The Riders only recorded one sack but Jackson was under much more pressure than the previous week. It was a great game for the Rider D-line. Especially as they are still missing Keith Shologan up the middle.

- With all the Chris Jones creativity I was impressed to see Toronto shut down Kory Sheets early in the game but the defence was unable to respond when the Riders began to move the ball.

- Xavier Fulton was discussed a little this weekend by the TSN commentators and named him one of the best offensive tackles in the CFL. I don't know if you give credit to Taman or who but you must know that the Riders traded a 6th round pick to Edmonton in exchange for Fulton and it's paying off big time! Fulton has started every game in that position and he's looked good each game.

- Biggest difference makers for the Riders are Milt Collins and Joe Lobendahn. Ever since these guys joined the team, the defence looks completely different in Saskatchewan. Great pick up for the Riders.

- TSN put up a great stat. In the 7 Rider wins this season they are +13 in turnovers. In their losses they are -11. That's pretty black and white if you ask me. Hold on to the ball and even if you don't pass for 400 yards, hold on to the ball.

- Toronto running back Gerald Riggs showed great heart. He seemed to really want a starting job and fought hard. It was clear Ricky Ray and Chad Kackert were missed but Riggs certainly wasn't lacking in effort.

- The difference between him and Kackert is usually there would be a little more ability from Kackert to turn nothing into something. He has that playmaking ability and is huge weapon out of the backfield. The Argos offence needs a running back that can move out of the backfield to catch passes.

- However, after halftime, the Argo offence fell apart. 10 points in the first half and zero in the second. Where was the response from Toronto? This was a disappointment for a team that has shown heart in the past but seemed flat when they needed a push back on Monday.

- At half-time Dontrelle Inman was asked about the game and he simply said it was physical. Did Saskatchewan out-physical Toronto? Seems like it.

- Are you starting to get a little clearer of a playoff picture? Teams that look good right now: BC, Saskatchewan... who else?

- Calgary is hot and cold. Hamilton isn't consistent. Winnipeg played great on the weekend but can they continue that? Edmonton is going through so many changes, I'm not sure what to believe. Toronto had been doing well but this game was a let down. Montreal is leading the East but played sloppy this weekend. You decide.

- More talk about the new Ottawa franchise. A team will only get to protect one QB on their roster during the expansion draft. Who do you protect? Will Montreal protect Calvillo even though he is so advanced in age and leave Adrian McPherson their long-term project exposed to be picked up.

- In my mind, McPherson is a gem that's been waiting more than his time to start and the Ottawa team could rely on him for many years. That being said, Montreal might want to lock him down if he's their future. He's been their QB in waiting for a long time.

- I highly doubt that Kevin Glenn and Drew Tate will be on the same team next year. They are two starting QBs that may not be ready to settle for a back up role.

- Hamilton and Winnipeg are in a bad place right now and the TiCats have a huge game against the BC Lions this upcoming weekend. A loss could make it tough to deal with the cross-over from the West. Hamilton cannot afford to lose to BC and have a Winnipeg or Edmonton win.

- Saskatchewan can clinch a playoff birth on Saturday if they win against Edmonton. You can bet both teams will be fired up for that game.

- Seems like we can expect Drew Tate to make a return pretty quickly.

- That's it for me. I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and we'll talk soon.

Move over Marcus Crandell

2012-10-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

John Woods/The Canadian Press

- If the Riders had lost to the BC Lions I don't know who would receive the credit/blame. The Riders had every opportunity to close out the Lions but failed to do so. They let the Lions hang around for far too long. Travis Lulay gave up a completely uncharacteristic interception and the Riders picked up no points off it.

- Then again, BC looked great in the 4th quarter. They were down their two best receivers and people like Kierrie Johnson, Marco Iannuzzi and Paris Jackson step up and make the Rider secondary look weak.

- Chris McKenzie was exploited one too many times. McKenzie and Jackson both gave up big plays in the closing minutes of the 4th. Lulay even tried to exploit them again on the last BC series of the game but it didn't have the same result. The Rider secondary played very well but the blips in the 4th quarter almost lost them the game.

- This was one of the most physical games of the season. In case you didn't get the memo... playoffs are coming.

- Buck Pierce, what more can be said. He is never afraid to step in a play hard but after a while you stop thinking it's bad luck but fragile. The Isaac hit on him *was* high but he needs to be able to take a lot more than that.

- If he truly does have another concussion he's got to start thinking about his life after football. Ask Eric Lindros or even Matt Dunigan what headshots can do to your brain.

- Side note: Brandon Isaac is a good player but he's got to be careful or he could find himself on the suspension list. I wouldn't be surprised if he's fined by the league for that hit.

- To those who don't think Buck Pierce gives the Bombers confidence take a look at the results when he played. He gives the Bombers their best chance to win. Yes, yes I know, we ALWAYS say that about Pierce so there isn't much to my argument. It's just not worth arguing anymore.

- BUT the Bombers didn't lose because Buck went out. Tim Burke was brought in to bring discipline to this team but have you seen any more discipline since Paul LaPolice left? The Bombers continue to take way too many penalties and those 7 turnovers didn't help either. With all respect to Tim Burke, I'm not convinced this team is the right fit for him and he may be out after this season.

- Joey Elliott will make a good QB but he put up three interceptions in half a game. He needs more time.

- Sometimes coordinators are better at being coordinators and not head coaches. See Richie Hall. Speaking of Hall, congrats to his defence stepping in and shutting down the #1 offence in the league.

- Travis Lulay had 88 passing yards after 3 quarters. That's all because of a better pass rush and a Rider secondary that came to play.

- Here is my coaching/professionalism vent for the week. If you are a coach, you are required to show a certain level of professionalism. You are the face of the team on the sidelines and the person who is the most authoritative voice out there.

- Mike Benevides needs to up his level of calm and professionalism on the sidelines. During the on-side kick discussion, while the refs were sorting out who had possession the guy looked like a kid in a candy store when yelling at the refs. If you can show me through video evidence that Benevides looked like a head coach in those few minutes, I'll send you a dollar.

- Ya, ya I sound boring. I don't mind.

- Both BC and Winnipeg seemed to forget entirely that they have two of the leagues better running backs. Let's even look at Chad Simpson of the Bombers. For the past few weeks we've talked about Chad Simpson being the player that makes this team go, even when there isn't much working.

- If that's true, why would Simpson only get 7 carries and 1 pass all game. The week before, when the Bombers won, Simpson had 19 carries and 4 catches. Sometimes coaches see run plays not working early on and so they go away from the run game. If you have a player like Simpson, you only need one break for him to pull off something big. Go to your playmaker!

- You could almost see the desire in Jarious Jackson's eyes. He easily rolled him team out to a huge lead and managed the game well after that. He didn't run away with the game in the second half but early on in the game, he was unstoppable. I liked to see him run. The Milanovich offence doesn't often have a running QB involved but Jackson looks like he allowed Milanovich to be a little more creative.

- After the early points from the Argos, I was impressed by the Winnipeg defence. Chad Kackert eventually carried the ball 20 times and they kept him under 90 yards. He's a good running back and they kept him honest.

- The week that Chad Owens was going to break the CFL record and have 3 seasons with 3000 all-purpose yards, he had a dud of a game. He still got the record but it was clear Winnipeg was keying on the boy. He had 2 receptions for a total of 3 yards.

- Toronto seems to have decided that Owens should be the #1 receiver for this team and when they go on to play teams that present a greater challenge they'll need more from all their receivers.

- The Argos' next game is in Saskatchewan. They'll play a team that just shut down the two top teams in the West. The Sask defence is coming in to it's own and so the Argos will need to be clicking on all cylinders with contributions from Inman and Mann, along with Owens and Kackert.

- I think Kavis Reed probably should have made the Chamblin guarantee. Jon Cornish made the Edmonton defence look just plain bad. 180 yards is not acceptable for any running back. It's true the Eskimo defence ran out of gas and was overworked but I give Cornish credit for aiding in that.

- Edmonton has a great defence but they just can't stay on field so much. They need help from their offence to give them some air. Sherritt can't do this all season. The Edmonton season is quickly collapsing.

- Good try by Matt Nichols but Edmonton needs some leadership and someone needs take the reigns and own this team. I was thinking Steven Jyles would lead this team but it looks like Joseph is now #1 with Nichols as #2. What is the future of this team? Is Joseph a long-term plan?

- Kavis Reed is taking over the offensive play calling for the Esks and Crandell will be downgraded to QB coach. I remember when Marcus Crandell left Saskatchewan for that job in Edmonton. People said he was an offensive genius and one of the smartest CFL minds in coaching. That may be true but Reed clearly doesn't think that. I'm not convinced the issues in Edmonton are Crandell's fault. Are you?

- Oh the stories that will come out of that locker room once the season is over.

- Congrats to Henry Burris for playing one of the best games I've seen him play. As we've been saying about Hamilton all season (and for the past couple of seasons) you never know what you're gonna get. One week they'll come out and lay an egg the next week Burris throws 5 TDs with only 4 incompletions. I'm not sure if Burris still *has it* consistently but he sure has it sometimes.

- He has all the weapons around him to do some unreal things and so when that offence does have a big explosion it shouldn't surprise us. It comes as more of a surprise when they don't play well.

- As I was watching the Hamilton/Montreal game, I kept thinking what happened to this Montreal defence. No pass rush and no coverage. Rod Davis is the only guy in that defence pulling his weight. If there is a team in need of a D-line, it's Montreal.

- Chip Cox is still playing well but without the strength around him, it's not working.

- The game of the week for me will be watching BC play Calgary. Travis Lulay is a great QB but he hasn't been himself lately and I'm excited to see BC contain Jon Cornish.

- Gary Etcheverry lost his job this weekend. I once spoke to him and he told me about his desires to be a CIS coach some day. I hope he makes it back in the CIS sometime but I think he'll need to evaluate what went wrong in Ottawa.

- Speaking of Ottawa, looks like the team is good to go for 2014. It's time for the CFL to enter the next phase of it's evolution. 8 teams will turn in to 9 but in my lifetime I'd like to see 12. Yes, 12 in Canada.

- After watching Sunday Night NFL Football you realize the CFL will never get the coverage the NFL gets. But Rod Pedersen brought up an interesting point in his blog I've been thinking about for a while. In the next TV contract, is it time the CFL spreads it's broadcast rights around a little. Still keep TSN as the primary broadcaster but give one game a week to Sportsnet or something!

- I like TSN but sometimes the broadcast effort looks weak at best. I'd like to see a little more attention paid to the game we all love.

- That's enough from me. If you have a game of the week let me know. Any predictions?

Home to Canada and a little preview

2012-09-24T05:07:00.000-04:00

- I appreciate all your kindness in my terrible travel blogging. As you can guess I am very busy but I return home today! I will have a blog posted shortly.

- I'm not saying Joe Lobendahn is saving the Riders season but he certainly is a key piece in that reworked defence. Since he was signed the Riders have looked MUCH stronger and confident. He's a scary guy and provides much needed energy. I'm not sure what his contract length is but if I were the Riders, I'd add at least another year to that contract.

- Best news for the Riders after this weekend? They no longer hold down last place in the West and look to be in decent standing across the league. Other good news, they aren't the TiCats who look as bad as ever and they aren't the streaking Eskimos that have lost 4 in a row.

- You'll remember a few weeks ago I was talking about how important Chad Simpson will be to the Bombers as they go through this season. Well, he's continued to grow and certainly looks stronger each game. His effort this week in the Bomber win is nothing short of amazing. He's is crucial to the Bombers success and if they have any hope of making a playoff push, it starts with him. Not the QB.

- Poor TiCats. Chris Williams, 1 catch for 8 yards. Henry Burris completing less than half his passes and with no TDs and the highest priced Canadian (if not in salary, then in hype) only had 27 yards. It's just not working in Hamilton. To put up such a huge win the week before only to fall desperately short of a solid effort this week is incomprehensible. How do you coach that? George Cortez better find out quickly.

- Obviously quite a bit more to talk about and we'll do so later this week. Thanks for hanging tough everyone. It will be good to be back in Canada.

Forgive my travel

2012-09-16T01:50:00.003-04:00

- Well CFLjoe fans this week just won't work. Again this year I am in India and although it's only for two weeks this time, the internet has been too weak to watch any of the games.

- Certainly by looking at the scores I know it was a good weak of football and so I'm excited to watch. I certainly feel bad for Tim Burke and his rough start to being a head coach. I'm sure he'll learn a lot through this experience.

- I will be back next week strong and ready to roll so in my place please head over to www.rodpedersen.com or www.scratchingpost.thespec.com/ to get your updates.

- Again, sorry to disappoint but it's just how it is when internet it weak at best.

Cheers and see you next week,

CFLjoe

Coaches in the East lacking job security.

2012-09-10T05:30:00.000-04:00

Frank Gunn/Canadian Press

- I guarantee you that Kerry Joseph is appreciating every single snap he's taking as his career makes a brief comeback. He went from the highs of Saskatchewan to the lows of Toronto in the blink of an eye. He's no doubt happy to be back in the CFL.

- You make the call - Is he a better option than Steven Jyles? Who do you want to see there? I'm not convinced there will be QB controversy in Edmonton because Kerry Joseph was brought in to be a back up and there is no point coaching up a QB who is at the tail-end of his career unless you're making a playoff run. I assume Jyles will come back and take hold of the starter position again.

- The early Kevin Glenn passing to Romby Bryant and Johnny Forzani simply was Edmonton playing sloppy sloppy coverage. I don't know what happened to a usually strong secondary but it was all around bad in the first half. TJ Hill took a pass interference penalty to put Calgary on the 2 which makes for an easy TD.

- I'm still not sure why Cary Koch is on punt return for the Eskimos. He has great hands but he's not a returner or he certainly hasn't shown that he is yet.

- I have high hopes for Shamawd Chambers in Edmonton. Shawn Gore is showing promising signs too and if you read this blog you know I like to see all these Canadian receivers that show promise. We need more young Canadians growing in our league. We need more than Andy Fantuz to propel this league forward with Canadian talent.

- It's starting to look like Cory Boyd will be the odd man out in the full backfield in Edmonton. I have no inside info but it's just starting to look that way.

- On that note: What an underwhelming game by the running backs in Edmonton. The team has 3 of the strongest running backs in league and their QB ran for more yards than all three combined. Kerry Joseph is a running QB but where was the run game from the men who should put up those yards? There is something to be said for getting into a rhythm as a running back. Maybe Kavis Reed needs to let one guy lead rather than the constant rotation. If it's Charles, give him more touches.

- Stevie Baggs in Calgary? Funny that when he left Saskatchewan he was highly sought after, now he won't get the same fanfare because he doesn't seem to create the same fear he once did. He isn't the same player and doesn't hold down a job long enough.

- How many bad games does Andy Fantuz need to have before he regrets leaving Saskatchewan. I'm not saying he left for bad reasons or getting in to any of that debate but think of the familiarity he has with Durant and the fact that he'll need to rebuild that all with Burris. He and Burris continue to look out of sync.

- Was this the week the Toronto offence started to take hold? It's been frustrating to see so much potential in that offence turn in to some pretty sloppy play. Ricky Ray seemed to really get into a groove this week. And still, without a TD pass. What gives?

- How is it possible that such a strong QB like Ray cannot put the ball in the endzone. My guess is that the offence is built for a guy like Calvillo that makes a bit quicker decisions in the red-zone whereas Ray isn't quite so decisive.

- If you weren't a Chad Kackert fan last week then surely you are this week. 172 yards rushing, 243 yards in total and 3 touchdowns. He doesn't showboat but quietly goes about his game and really shocked the Hamilton run defence that looks weaker and weaker each week. He's the reason that the Argos can put up 45 points and Ricky Ray throws 0 TD passes.

- The run defence of the Hamilton TiCats continues to simply look sloppy and like their feet is in slush. Slow to the ball. Rey Williams is the staple in the middle but even he doesn't look as sharp. They're missing something and I can't put my finger on it.

- Henry Burris throws another pick six and even though he threw 3 TDs the pick 6 still jumps off the page. That is what makes Hamilton so perplexing. How can they continue to put up decent numbers but now sit on a five game losing streak and lose games that should be won.

- I don't know George Cortez personally but I can say that his media availability gets more humorous as the losses pile up. He isn't a happy man when talking to the media. How long does Cortez have as head coach when his team continues to under perform? Making enemies in the local media won't help.

- The common expression is that the coaches aren't the ones dropping passes and missing blocks. I agree, but I also see a Hamilton team that can't win games. They have some of the best players in the league and the chemistry doesn't seem to be there and neither does the will to win. It's beginning to look like coaching IS an issue and defensive play-calling might be to blame.

- We look at a guy like Kackert and see how he makes up for his teams lack of red-zone ability. We can then look to Calgary and see Jon Cornish pick up 185 yards rushing when his QB only passed for one TD.

- I like Kevin Glenn's emotion and ability to lead a team but he's got to be one of the most hot and cold QBs in the league.

- Joey Elliot went from 64 yards passing to 241 yards passing this weekend. He deserved that bounce back. However, he didn't deserve to be made to look so bad. He's been put in an impossible situation and he had a great bounce back game. He'll keep improving because he has a strong fire to lead.

- Cory Watson is one of my favorite CFL receivers. He's the right amount of physical and makes really good catches. Joey Elliot owes some love to Watson.

- What we saw from the Alouette/BC Lion game was wow BC is good. When BC plays well, the team can move the ball. Lulay only passed for 262 yards but 4 TDs.

- What's amazing about Lulay's game was the fact that he passed to four different receivers to score each of those TDs. With his favorite receiver out of the lineup, he still managed to move the ball pretty easily.

- Want to know what else they did? BC put the ball in the hands of 5 player to run the ball from behind the line of scrimmage and then add Travis Lulay to that mix and you have a team that is slowing down a pass rush and protecting the QB. Shea Emery was the only Alouette to have a sack and during most of the pass plays, Lulay had a lot of time.

- This game also showed us Anthony Calvillo can have off games. He is the must successful QB this league has ever seen but he just wasn't 100% and he couldn't seem to find the open pass.

- The BC Lions kept the Alouettes to low yardage but more specifically SJ Green to 2 catches and Brian Bratton to 1. The Alouettes are a great team but keeping those guys off the field and limiting their catches is certainly a great way to limit that team.

- The commentators were right. The BC Lions had long, time consuming drives and Calvillo was on the bench for a long time. It's no wonder the Alouette defence was tired.

- Remember, Montreal had 10 points in the 1st Quarter and then nothing for the rest of the game. How good is the BC defence when they click? It was scary to see them hold that good of a team.

- I would have really like to see more from Brandon Whitaker. One of the best running backs in the league only gets 10 carries and the guy deserves more than that.

- You know what? Tim Burke is a good defensive coordinator. Is he a good coach? Well, two games in we're still waiting to see.

- The blame game:

Kenny Mainor is partially responsible for the loss. After the whistle has been blown, don't throw the QB to the ground. The play was well over and he gave the Riders 15 yards. No it didn't result in more points but it took precious time off the clock.

Tim Burke for throwing his players under the bus when he made the bad call

Allowing Mick Williams to get his hands on the ball to block the field goal attempt with 6 minutes left.

- Let's be honest though, Drew Willy moved that ball into field goal range. He made three big plays to move that ball and he put the team in place to win the game. That's all you ask of a backup QB.

- What I didn't appreciate is Tim Burke throwing his punter under the bus for not landing the punt inside the 10. Burke said "I'm pretty pissed about that". Well Tim, after you admitted you made the wrong call on the field goal, I don't know if you're in the place to be saying that. Yes, Renaud should have made it, but maybe talk to him off camera rather than calling him out.

- Anyway, Tim Burke's post game interview is a gem. I'd suggest you watch it.

- I feel bad for Jovon Johnson being the spokesperson for a defeated team.

- The best news for the Saskatchewan Roughriders after the Banjo Bowl? They have a legit backup QB. Is he ready for the big time? No. But he's a backup that will be a starter in the league. He made some good passes and some mistakes but he'll develop well.

- Does anyone in Saskatchewan like Jock Sanders? They should! He's a great pick up and he's only 5'6". I've noticed that ever since Jock Sanders has emerged as a receiver/returner/running back, the offence has begun to look much stronger.

- The Riders concerns:

Darian Durant's injury

Weston Dressler's possible concussion

No big defensive plays after the first quarter. No sacks, no interceptions.

- Chris McKenzie did have his best game of the year and so did Maze. I really like Joe Lobendahn at linebacker for the Riders. He's adding a missing ingredient in that linebacking core.

- Chad Simpson is one of the biggest bright spots for the Bombers. Whether it's a win or a loss, hold on to him because he makes plays for a team that hasn't caught many breaks this year. As the game progressed, I kept thinking that Chad Simpsons is such a key part of the Bombers going forward. He's a built-in playmaker.

- Gary Crowton is calling better games as the season progresses but I'm not convinced he's calling a CFL game as of yet.

- Rod Smith did a great job calling the Argo/TiCat game. I wouldn't mind seeing more of him.

- Be honest, do you like Matt Dunigan on the colour commentating?

- Will you go see the CFL Train?

- For those who care, we'll be hearing whether or not the CFL will be in Ottawa in 2014 or 2015 in the next few weeks according to Dave Naylor. Things seem to be moving nicely. I'm still eagerly waiting for the 12 team league.

- Follow me on twitter @CFL_joe.

- Please have a great week and stay safe.

Labour Day Wrap Up. Gearing up for the rematch.

2012-09-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

REUTERS

- The real season starts on Labour Day!

- You get the sense that when the conditions are right, Labour Day can be pretty incredible. As Rider fans remember Kerry Joseph and his late game heroics in 2007 against Winnipeg, Kavis Reed hoped to capture a little of that same magic by starting Joseph against Calgary.

- Weren't you cheering for the former all-star a little bit? Nothing against Calgary, Kevin Glenn or Steven Jyles but the man worked pretty hard to come back and so it would be nice to see some magic.

- But then you see Joe Burnett take the ball out of the endzone when he clearly shouldn't have, Nate Coehoorn doesn't get out of bounds, and Cary Koch makes a rare drop. Mistakes that shouldn't have happened all worked against Joseph on his attempt to get into field goal range.

- Kavis Reed looks to be one scary man when he gets mad.

- The TD pass to Fred Stamps must have been a huge relief to Stamps and a massive joy for Joseph. To show people he can still compete in this league must be pretty rewarding for him.

- I'm not sure if Rider fans should be worried about Darian Durant. The reports from Rider staff was pretty certain Durant would be ok but the words from Durant sounded much more uncertain. He admitted his shoulder was in a lot of pain and when asked if he'd play next week he said: "we'll see".

- It's amazing how attitudes turn around when wins come. The entire Rider team seemed to be walking upright and confident. The d-line had more pressure, the secondary was a little more in step and the offence was clicking. Small victories seemed to keep coming until eventually when Winnipeg was completely out of it, Chris Milo pinned the Bombers with a punt on the 1.

- I've always liked Joe Lobendahn and I was surprised to see him leave Winnipeg but even more surprised he was still on the market for the Riders. If he gets comfortable at middle linebacker I guarantee the Rider defence will have a little more punch. He's mean and he's smart and he might be just what the Riders needed.

- They released Barrin Simpson, Maurice Lloyd was released and then Shomari Williams attempted to fill the void. None of those really worked because I think for a middle backer you need a guy whose angry and smart. I'm not sure any of those other linebackers were ferocious enough. Lobendahn might be that guy.

- Do you feel sorry for the Bombers? Was that loss too much to bounce back from? We don't need to talk about LaPolice again because the loss made the newly appointed full-time offensive coordinator AND the defensive head coach look bad. No team should lose that bad. This is a professional league and three reasons come to mind why that blow out might have occurred.

1) The coaches prepared their players so poorly the Riders defence and offence came as a complete surprise to the Bomber players.
2) The Riders played their best game of the season and were really this good all along.
3) The Bomber players didn't care and didn't come to play.

- I think it's a little of all 3 but it really didn't seem like Winnipeg even wanted to play.

- Joey Elliot threw for 61 yards and Winnipeg had zero points. Durant threw for 168 yards and Sask had 52 points.

- Watch Jock Sanders become a bigger and bigger part of the Rider offence. He moves like a running back but is lining up as a slot back. He's another play maker they can use.

- We're unable to really learn too much from such a lopsided win/loss but it seems the Riders really need to win that turnover battle to be successful. Durant was clean with interceptions and they had one of their own. I told you last week that the last time the Riders had an interception, they won. Well this week they picked off a pass and won. BUT like I said, it was such a big margin of victory that interception wasn't really a difference maker.

- I think the Riders miss Rob Bagg much more than they miss Andy Fantuz.

- Speaking of Fantuz, what a rough first half he had. First he dropped a pass, then a tipped pass for interception, an off-side and finally a dropped snap on the point after. Not a good start for one of the most hyped players in the league.

- Thanks Rod Black for spending the entire game telling us the Argos and the TiCats don't like each other. We get it.

- What every team needs is a Chris Williams, Kory Sheets, Chad Owens, Jon Cornish etc. They need a player that can receive the ball, have absolutely nothing in front of him and make a play for positive yards. This weekend we saw Walker and Burris do that for the TiCats and Sheets and Durant do that for the Riders.

- Watching defensive ends try to sack Durant and Burris can sometimes be laughable.

- When Durant and Burris no longer play in the CFL we'll really miss the way those guys can do amazing things to avoid a sack. That's not to say they don't get sacked but they are certainly exciting to watch when they move the pocket.

- I'm still at a loss to explain why the Toronto offence struggles. Scott Milanovich crafted an offence around Anthony Calvillo and Ricky Ray plays a very similar style to him. Ray is not Calvillo but as we know, he's definitely one of the top QBs in the league. Toronto has all the ingredients and we're waiting for them to be consistently good. A big struggle for Toronto is their red zone offence that is last in the league at 30%.

- Toronto fans deserve an exciting offence and unfortunately their offence is boring and inconsistent. I'm waiting for Spencer Watt, Mike Bradwell, Maurice Mann, Jason Barnes, Ken-Yon Rambo to help out. Someone's gotta step up other than Owens and Inman.

- I like Chad Owens but hold on to the ball buddy. There is no way you should have 2 fumbles in a game and almost three. Ok, fine, he made up for it with a one handed catch in the late stages of the game. Congrats to Owens for the 176 yards receiving but again, where is everyone else?

- Is it just me or has the Chris Jones defence been a little less aggressive since he moved to Toronto? It seems to be a little more vanilla than usual.

- One characteristic of a Chris Jones defence is layered blitzes. That means he doesn't just send all the guys at the same time but send them in waves to make things a little more unpredictable and this works well on a scrambling QB like Burris.

- Is Sam Giguere a let down? Not sure if he's catching on at all with the TiCat offence. Seems to have some great talent but he's been invisible this entire season.

- If you're Tim Burke and you finally get a head coaching gig and you take over from someone considered a "players coach" do you make your team run gassers your first week of practice? "Hi guys, I'll be your new coach now lets run until you feel like puking because you took penalties last week. Then we'll be playing our most emotionally charged game of the season." Probably not the best way to convince the players you're the answer to their problems.

- What do you make of Henry Burris this season? I know I have already praised him for his ability to make plays but we need to continue to ask what's going on in Hamilton and whose to blame. Yes, Burris made some big plays to tie the game but do we automatically blame the defence? Is Casey Creehan to blame? - Hamilton is now on a four game losing streak and they are not perfoming up to par. They are also on the bottom of the sack race.

- The Argos stole the game. Hamilton had control going into the 4th quarter but then they completely deflated and let the Argos back in.

- Burris was under 50% passing and if you ask me, that's huge. It's impossible to sustain drives, keep your defence off the field and tire out the opposing defence if you don't complete passes. Burris also threw an interception that resulted in a TD and that responsibility falls solely on him.

- Montreal and Toronto both have allowed more points this year than they've scored. Yet, both teams sit on top of the east division. Over in the West, the Riders are in last place but have scored 60 more points then they've allowed. Football can be an odd game.

- After all the changes we've seen this offseason it still seems that the west is stronger than the east.

- I'm glad to see Jerome Messam back in the CFL. He makes the league better and he's a different style of running back. Although he only had 32 yards he led the Eskimos in rushing. I anticipate him being the main running back in Edmonton before the season is over. Even though Charles is playing great, I think Messam gives them many more options.

- Kevin Glenn's first interception against the Eskimos was puzzling at best. It was a bad pass and to a player thoroughly covered. He only missed 7 passes all game and two of them were bad interceptions. Otherwise, I'd rate him as playing decently well against a tough Edmonton defence.

- The forgotten game of the week was definitely BC and Montreal. Not that it wasn't a good game but it was just so early in the weekend we might have forgotten the battle of first placed teams.

- Arland Bruce isn't attracting much attention on the field but picks his times to come up big for his team. He made some huge catches at the end of the game and saved Lulay when he was in second and long. He seems to slip under the radar when Simon, Gore and Harris.

- Watch out for Shawn Gore. The young Canadian receiver wins my respect.

- How does Anthony Calvillo keep embarrassing so many defences. 8 games in a row with 300 plus yards shows how far ahead he is. The first Alouette TD came less than 3 minutes into the game. That's unreal.

- Montreal had 30 points and Brandon Whitaker had 21 of those. 2 of those in the air and 1 on the ground. Whitaker is increasingly being relied upon to carry that offence and as the season progresses he'll be getting more and more attention.

- For the Alouettes offence to work Whitaker needs to be going along with Green. The wins against Montreal come when you can shut down both of them at the same time and get pressure on Calvillo.

- BC only had one sack and the pressure was limited. Whitaker was well handled rushing the football though and only had 48 yards on the ground. BC's run defence is so quite impressive.

- Their pass defence isn't so bad either. Picking up Shell and Parker in the offseason made them better. -

-Marco Iannuzzi looks like a teenage boy wearing his dad's football helmet. He's averaging almost 13 yards a catch. Not too shabby.

- Things that TSN commentators spoke about all game: The kicker mentorship between McCallum and Sean Whyte. Things CFL fans have absolutely no interest in at all: Mentorships between kickers. I'm sorry but that story line did nothing for me.

- The best part of Labour Day is the fact that the teams play back to back games with the same opponent. Week 2 of Labour Day is always a highlight for me.

- Are you going to see the CFL train?

- Whose records are you most sick of hearing about: Geroy Simon or Anthony Calvillo? Either way, you'll probably be hearing about them for another year because I think they'll both be back next year.

- My predictions for next week: Toronto, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, BC.

- If Winnipeg isn't angry, embarrassed and driven to avenge their loss, another loss might be the end of their season.

- Toronto/Hamilton and Edmonton/Calgary were so close they could really go either way. Kerry Joseph can out dual Kevin Glenn and Glenn can be his own worst enemy.

- BC and Montreal are still the top teams and in a league of inconsistent QBs, they seem to have the two most consistent. That will be another good game.

- My early winner for best Canadian is Jon Cornish. Rookie of the year could be Chevon Walker at this point.

- That's it for me. Remember, you can follow me @cfl_joe. I'll try to not let you down.

Labour Day Monday

2012-09-03T09:31:00.002-04:00

Clearly these Monday games are destroying my Monday blog schedule. But either way, Happy Labour Day and we'll talk tomorrow.

Mack Makes a Mess and in Walk the Riders

2012-08-28T09:45:00.001-04:00

Dave Abel, Toronto Sun

- The news this week is obviously Paul LaPolice being let go from the Bombers. Quite a bit has already been written about this happening and there isn't much I can add other than speak to the future of the Bomber organization.

- If you listened to my appearance on the Sports Cage a few weeks ago you would have heard me say Joe Mack would no doubt move LaPolice before admitted the problems were with the players on the roster.

- Joe Mack knew that if he admitted the players that he brought in under his watch were the problem, the blame would fall on him. But by getting rid of LaPolice he bought himself some time to improve the team and try to fix some of the issues.

- In fact, Joe Mack might even be able to convince his bosses that because he didn't have the chance to do a proper coaching search to bring in Tim Burke, he deserves more time. Whatever the case, Mack is now on watch. Once the coach is dismissed, fan and media attention turns to the GM and the players he brought in. Mack needs to make improvements.

- I like Tim Burke and I think he is a great coordinator. I don't know him in a head coaching role but I know this: He will continue to run the defence and Gary Crowton will continue to run the offence. Burke however said Gary Crowton already was calling plays but this way he'll have complete control of the offence.

- That creates some questions for me. Why wasn't LaPolice calling the plays when he was brought in to revamp the offence and Gary Crowton is in his first year of the CFL?

- The belief is that Mack didn't feel that LaPolice was feared enough to control the dressing room. That means that Tim Burke was basically assigned his job because he can make players fear him a little more. How long will that work for?

- I did think that Winnipeg played one of their better games of the season against BC. There were very few people expecting Joey Elliott to walk into BC, play one of the best defences in the league and come away with a win. Elliott was under 50% passing and the Bombers needed him to be better.

- Was it fair of Mack to judge LaPolice's production on a backup QB?

- Travis Lulay is a QB that you know has some intangibles because he threw 2 interceptions but still was able to put his team in the place to win. He ran for 50 yards in that game, something that kept Winnipeg honest. Lately, Lulay has been throwing less passes and keeping them high percentage. He's not taking many risks.

- I'm not saying we should grade draft picks after half the season but Jabar Westerman, the defensive tackle for the BC Lions, looks better and better each week. He had two sacks against Winnipeg and seems to really be growing as a rookie.

- His job as defensive tackle is to move the middle of the pocket towards the QB. Often the job of the defensive tackle is to draw two O-linemen into covering him at the same time. If he's successful someone else on the D-line should be free to move. It's a thankless job but you know they are doing something good if they are picking up sacks because its really not their job.

- Each year what continues to blow my mind is the dominance of the Montreal Alouettes. Even while they got off to a slow start they've begun a run this season and now look to be just as tough as ever.

- My one question was whether the their new defensive systems would work and surprisingly they are starting to withstand some of the better offences in the league. It was Hamilton this week that was shut down.

- The man is 40 years old and with 1:20 left in the game, when he needed to get his team in field goal range, he was picking the TiCat defence apart like it was nothing. He has the ability to read a defence as fast as anyone and get the ball out of his hands without being touched.

- The reason Calvillo has been so successful is his ability to avoid contact. Not because he's mobile but because he barely has the ball.

- I realize Andy Fantuz was returning from injury but he was nearly invisible against Montreal. Burris has so many weapons at his disposal but at game time he doesn't have them hitting on all cylinders. He has Chris Williams and then a bunch of other guys pulling half their weight. I realize that sounds harsh but quite simply, Burris isn't getting the full value from his players out there.

- Hamilton continues to perplex me as a team. So many weapons but there are missing links that don't come together.

- If you haven't already had a chance to see George Cortez talking to the media, you're missing out. He's condescending, sarcastic, annoyed and it makes for great tv.

- Dwight Anderson had one of his best games as an Alouette and SJ Green is unreal some games isn't he?

- Want to know the last time the Riders have had an interception? The last time they won. Against BC they had 2 and since then there hasn't been any by the Riders. Three options: 1) They aren't playing as well. 2) Opposing teams have figured out they're schemes and are playing against them. 3) The defence is playing differently and not aiming to pick off the ball...but that's unlikely.

- Whether or not the Riders are picking up interceptions, its clear the both sides of the squad haven't been clicking in the same games. When the defence plays well, the offence is poor and vise versa.

- It's not easy to be the QB in Saskatchewan when you're losing. I've been reading some comments from fans and I kept thinking to myself how tough it must be to lead a team when you are the victim of some pretty heavy criticism. That being said, I realize its all part of the job.

- I didn't seem much film from the Rider/Stampeder game this week but Rider receivers must be covered pretty well. Durant seems to make read #1 and 2 and see virtually nothing. Durant's accuray typically isn't too bad and so when he isn't able to pass the ball I'd like to see more of what the receivers are doing.

- Bottom line is that if the receivers are being shut down, Bob Dyce needs to find a way to get them into the open.

- Durant had 72 rushing yards which is huge but was credited with two fumbles which erase his progress. These past few games Durant is doing ok... but doing nothing special. We've been used to seeing Durant make plays and bring his team to victory from behind. These past two years we haven't seen the playmaker Durant.

- The Rider/Calgary game didn't give us too clear of a picture because of that terrible wind. What we did see was a team in Calgary that had a game plan and executed it well. They decided they wanted to run on first down and make short-yardage passes on second down.

- I grade the Calgary defence way higher than Kevin Glenn and his offence that only had three points in the last three quarters.

- 2 things about Jon Cornish. First, he is good and he can do well if he is given room. Second, he always plays well against the Riders. Cornish is a good back and can break the first few tackles to pick up big gains. There are times Cornish will be stopped but can fall forward and pick up another three. He never stops pushing.

- It's no consolation for Rider fans but the good news is that once the Rider defence was yelled at by their coach they only allowed 3 points. After quickly giving up 14 points, the Riders did shut down the Stamp offence. But they were unable to stop Cornish when they needed the ball back. The team didn't get any penetration and gave Calgary no reason to move away from the rushing game.

- Another piece of good news for the Riders... they are playing a Winnipeg team in transition. Labour Day has some increased emotion which is alright with us.

- After watching the games this week I have concluded that wow there have been a lot of roughing the passer penalties this season. Some I would consider to be a little light.

- Do you care about all these commemorative coins the CFL is getting made. Will you get a Grey Cup loonie? I probably won't because I might be tempted to spend it.

- Edmonton seems to continually be suffering from injuries. Fred Stamps, Steven Jyles and their starting tackle Orrin Thompson. Just as they get players back from injury more get hurt. Remember this is a team that is missing pretty much all of their starting d-line... yet still look great.

- Pat Watkins on the Argos continues to impress me. I love the idea of a corner that's 6'5".

- By combining Joseph, Boyd and Charles rushing yards, Edmonton had 156 yards rushing. I like those games where the defence has no idea whose running.

- Although Kerry Joseph threw 2 interceptions, he moved the ball because his coordinators put him in the place to make those plays. The play calls were directly suitable to his skill set. Lots of play action, quick passes and lots of rolling out of the pocket.

- Just for old times sake I wanted to see Joseph have a GREAT game but instead he played ok and yet it was enough because Ricky Ray couldn't really get anything started from his receivers.

- Ricky Ray simply had an off day. 2 Interceptions and a fumble really ruined the day of the Argos. I expect Ray to bounce back from this week but this was a tough loss for Toronto because they can no longer keep up with Montreal in the standings.

- Ricky Ray has found his match with Dontrelle Inman though. They've connected a few times and he seems to adjust well to Ray's passes. He's in his first year and has 29 catches so that's pretty good.

- Toronto has the coaching and I believe players to win but now they just need the consistency. The Toronto defence had moments where they looked great. How about that 3 and 1 run by Kackert for the TD. Beautiful.

- That's all for me today and I'll see you folks on Tuesday. Remember that I'm on twitter at cfl_joe. Go buy some commemorative coins.

Stay tuned for CFLjoe on Tuesday this week!

2012-08-27T08:40:00.000-04:00

With a rare Monday night game happening we'll wait one more day for our weekly CFLjoe! See you on Tuesday

Turnovers. Your best way to predict a loss.

2012-08-20T09:33:00.001-04:00

- The theme of the games this week has been bad penalties and turnovers. Turnovers continue to be the reason for many wins this week. While bad penalties are extending many drives that should have been wrapped up.

- Speaking about turnovers:
Calvillo - 2 interceptions
Jyles - 1 interception
Joseph - 2 interceptions
Burris - 4 fumbles
Glenn - 1 interception
Ray - 1 fumble
Lulay - 1 fumble
Durant - 3 interceptions
Joey Elliott - ZERO interceptions or fumbles. Ball control from the new guy. Every QB this week turned the ball over, except for Elliott.

- The 6 turnover game from Henry Burris and his Ti-Cats was an exercise in terrible football. I am at a loss as to how that team even came close to winning that game when they kept handing the football back to their opponents.

- Henry Burris managed to not throw any interceptions but fumble the ball 4 times. I realize a running QB is an asset in the CFL but at that point its becoming a liability.

- Chad Simpson however, is becoming increasingly important for the Bombers. He certainly is a strong blocker but his 18 carries and 6 catches made Joey Elliott's first start a lot easier. I love watching him play because he is so good at breaking tackles.

- Joey Elliott was 0-1 (or 0-2 I can't quite remember) as a starter before this game. I'm sure there is a stats person out there who knows the last QB to be on his 3rd start and pass for 400+ yards.

- The Bombers finally had a D-line. They were able to get through the TiCat O-line and we all saw the results. Burris was continually flushed out of the pocket, forced to run, and the Bombers were able to get that ball out of his hands.

- Another massive impact from the D-line was holding Chevon Walker to 17 yards rushing. Clearly limiting an explosive guy like that is helpful. The Winnipeg D-line made life tough for the Hamilton O-line that clearly was out muscled this weekend.

- It sure came as a surprise for me to see Elliott get the start. Alex Brink seemed to be doing decent enough but the Winnipeg coaching staff obviously saw it differently. They seemed to think they could get better at the QB position and they were right!

- Another huge difference maker over the past two weeks has been Cory Watson stepping on to the field. After being injured early this year, Cory Watson looks huge on the stat sheet. 105 yards and 10 catches is a massive contribution and he adds another threat to a pretty good group of receivers.

- It was a big weekend for the Muamba brothers. Henoc Muamba had two forced fumbles against Hamilton. While Cauchy Muamba had two interceptions against the Riders. That fourth quarter Cauchy Muamba interception really seemed to spell the end for the Riders. The nail in the coffin so to speak.

- It's hard to really point to a team and blame them for failing to meet expectations because each division is tight and only now do we see BC starting to separate themselves, although its still marginal seperation.

- A team like Hamilton can escape criticism because of the close standings. Division are so tight, they don't really look too far out. That being said, they continue to fall far below expectations. Something that has continually plagued that city. Great team on paper and then missed opportunities.

- On paper, one of the best offences in the league.

- Winnipeg was certainly outplayed by a much flashier offence and a team that looked a lot more crisp but then, inexplicably, that team would fumble the ball and turn it over. Inexplicably fumbling the ball on the goal line and giving up 7 points.

- Hamilton looked to be the better team but just was out of sorts when they needed to hold on to the ball. That gave Elliott and his offence a chance to make some plays.

- Elliott had a rough first quarter but eventually settled in and made some great passes.

- The key to a Winnipeg win? They got the ball back to their offence. They minimized their time on the field by creating turnovers.

- Cory Boyd made an un-flashy start in Edmonton. 2 rushing yards on 2 carries BUT it certainly was interesting to see him in an Edmonton uniform. I'm even more excited for his first game against his old team. Boyd is an emotional guy and seeing him play Toronto, IN Toronto will be fun.

- When I first saw a guy with the last name Anderson, with dreadlocks, running the ball for the Alouettes, I just figured it was Dwight Anderson trying his luck at running back? By the time I realized it was Victor Anderson he had already put up the only 100+ yard game from a running back this week.

- It could be interesting to watch a battle at running back in Montreal when Whitaker is healthy.

- Here we almost halfway through another season and just as we've seen the past few years, the Als are starting to look like the best team in the league. The new defence is starting to sink in and Calvillo is still passing like he is in his early 30's (Although this week he did turn 40). Toronto remains in first because they're winning the season series but they have to keep the foot on the gas to keep Montreal out.

- I don't think I'll have room to talk much about the Argos but how about that defence. They looked great. Chris Jones was having his way out there against his old team.

- Next week, the TiCats and their two game losing streak will walk in to Montreal who are sporting a two game winning streak. BC and Montreal are both on small winning streaks but are making a push to separate themselves as the better teams in the league.

- The end score between Montreal and Edmonton really flattered Edmonton don't you think? They were completely run over the entire game and seemed to show very little life until 14 points in the 4th quarter. Those 14 points hide the fact that at one point it was 38-11.

- Normally a weak Montreal secondary held Jyles to 173 yards with an interception. Montreal hasn't been too promising in their secondary play but looked to make Jyles sweat. I give credit to Kyries Hebert for bringing some confidence to that group. They haven't had many stand out players in the secondary but he's a hard hitter that likes to be around the ball.

- Shea Emery also gets an award for playing lights out intense. He seemed to be hitting pretty hard and it was fun to watch.

- Jyles life wasn't made easy as he took 5 sacks. Edmonton really wanted to put him on his toes and so they changed up their schemes quite a bit and made Jyles second guess his coverages. They didn't just blitz him from the ends but had movement all over.

- Last week I profiled the top 5 things wrong with the Riders and although I would adjust some of those this week, they remain largely the same. It's clear that the Riders are a good team. They should have been 5-0 before they took their first loss. However, I also think that the Riders were the best team in the league early in the season but their progression and improvement has slowed while the rest of the league has caught up and continues to improve.

- No matter how good your team is a 4 game losing streak is tough to swallow. The Riders offensive play-calling, the execution, the lack of big play threats all were troubling for Rider fans. I can't remember the last time I saw the Riders lacking so much big play capability like they did last night.

- The Rider defence did pick up a little this week. That was especially evident from the push they had from a better D-line. They seemed to give Travis Lulay some trouble but Lulay looked strong during this pressure and was still able to make passes.

- Dressler or Getzlaf didn't had much room out there. Sure they made some catches but the longest pass anyone caught was 22 yards and that was Taj Smith.

- Even Kory Sheets was unable to get much in the way of rushing yards.

- Cory Chamblin told the media right after the game that individual units are getting better which I completely agree with. However, the O-line looked lost without Picard and the play calling on offence was hit and miss.

- For the 3rd week in a row Travis Lulay didn't do anything special but he did just enough to move his team down the field and control the ball.

- The Riders won games early this season because they didn't turn the ball over. Travis Lulay is doing a great job keeping the ball in the hands of his offence.

- I agree that Durant has given up some tough interceptions but the BC D-line gave the Riders trouble all night. That D-line combined with one of the best secondaries in the league makes life tough on QBs and their struggling receivers. The D-line pushes really well while the coverage team locks down the receivers.

- The difference, when Lulay was rushed he was able to get out of the pocket and run. When Durant was rushed, he tried to force a pass.

- Rich Stubler is an unassuming coordinator. He isn't on the sidelines and now quietly leads the league in least points allowed.

- What's reassuring the for Stamps, Esks, and Riders is that they all lost and didn't lose much ground on each other.

- If you thought the Calgary/Sask rivalry was intense, imagine this upcoming weekend when the Riders are on a 4 game losing streak and sit at the bottom of the division tied with Calgary. Both teams are scared to take sole possession of last place and need to get back to .500. This is a huge game for these teams.

- Calgary looked pretty sloppy this past week and so they'll need a redeeming game that's for sure.

- That's all for me this week. We'll talk next Monday but I'd love to hear your predictions for the upcoming week. Send them in!

- If you're interested in commentary mid-week or during games follow me on twitter @cfl_joe

Top 5 Things Wrong With the Riders Right Now

2012-08-13T09:11:00.000-04:00

- It's easy to sit down and write a blog when last night, the leagues leading rusher, was released. Let's just say there is quite a bit to talk about regarding that move and the games we saw this past weekend.

- First, it's worth talking about Cory Boyd and his release. If you read CFLjoe regularly you know that I like Boyd's style of play. I liked that he was a bigger back that seemed to power through first and second tackles for a first down. On the outside, we have no idea if players are good teammates or not and so we usually just ignore that.

- However, as hinted at by Milt Stegall, if the leagues leading rusher is released, there has to be more to it. A few things come to mind like salary, new coaching staff, conflicts in the dressing room, or simply not playing the way the new coach would like. Jim Barker really liked Cory Boyd and when Barker coached the Argos, Boyd was the reason for much of his success. Think of how many times the Barker Argos looked hopeless and Boyd (along with Owens) won the game single through sheer will.

- My guess is that Scott Milanovich pushed for this release. There is no reason that Boyd could be benched in favor of Chad Kackert and so I'm going with the reasoning that there is more to this release.

- Now, whether you like it or not, some interesting things are revealed over twitter and so I'll refer to it, at least a little bit. Former teammate of Cory Boyd, Rob Murphy had some revealing comments:

"My thoughts on Cory Boyd? He was a fraud who fooled the media for 2yrs Good player when healthy but not a good teammate Media just ate it up." Later wrote: "He is a fraud.... In every aspect I dealt with him.... Doubt anyone will speak out in season but trust me it is consensus"

- In response, Boyd later wrote: "Honestly it sadden me to see former teammate try to throw you under the Bus... Much LoVe 56... Stay Classy... BaGa"

- Late last night it was reported that Boyd had already found a new home. Perry Lefko reported that he was signed by Edmonton. Earlier in the evening Kavis Reed told reporters they were very happy with Hugh Charles and so this is certainly a move that would give them a strong two back system.

- I doubt Boyd would sign to a deal that wouldn't have him starting.

- If Boyd isn't a good teammate this could have implications for team chemistry but I'm going to believe that Tillman thinks he can mold and control him.

- In the end, we know that Milanovich runs a different offence and Ricky Ray needs protection. If Cory Boyd was criticized for failing to protect Ray then it's time for him to go. Ray has constantly been on the run this year and had no time in the pocket. He plays like Calvillo and we all know Calvillo succeeds when he has protection.

- A Cleo Lemon offence needed Cory Boyd. A Ricky Ray offence needs big play receivers and protection. Interesting night to say the least.

- Generally, bye weeks are pretty slow but this weekend gave us some things to talk about. For the 3rd week in a row, 5 teams have the same record. We have 5 teams sitting at 3-3 while the Bombers still remain at the bottom of the East. It can be frustrating for fans but tight races keep us interested.

- So what went wrong this week for the Riders? Tough time to be a Rider fan, coach, player, etc. I suppose I may be asking the wrong question and instead I should be asking what went right for the Eskimos?

- I think one thing we forget about the Eskimos is that they have a great defence. The D continues to get better each week and despite the fact that the Eskimo offence doesn't look great, the defence is shinning.

- They limit the run very well and their secondary constantly plays well on receivers. They aren't a flashy defence but they carry a lot of the Rich Stubler characteristics. I don't like the term "bend but don't break" but it's a little like that.

- The Riders tried to run on them and they were successful but the rushing yards, in the end, didn't kill them.

- They clamped down on the deep pass that's for sure.

- I have been very surprised by Nate Coehoorn's play this season. I thought he would simply be a ratio player that does not add to the team but in fact it's been quite the opposite. He connects well with Steven Jyles on second down.

- One thing that was clear in this game was that the Riders had a game plan. They seemed to stick to a script early on in the game and that worked well for them. Durant was making very short yardage, high percentage passes. He did not attempt many deep passes and utilized Kory Sheets quite a bit more than usual.

- Here are my top 5 things currently wrongs with the Riders:

1) Defensive Secondary: No shut down corners, not enough interceptions, not physical, busted schemes and constantly missing tackles. Chris McKenzie might have had his worst game as a Rider last week. I wouldn't be surprised to see more changes in the secondary. That being said, the constant changes might be leading to these issues. Getting physical and picking up some interceptions would be a good start.

2) Too many changes at receiver. Hill, Harper, Moss, Smith, Sisco and TJ Harris have all had time there and they need to have a consistent threat, rather than guys on rotation. I've liked Harper and Hill has been good but he ended up a healthy scratch against Edmonton so clearly coaches weren't satisfied with his production. They need some guys to step up and be consistent threats.

3) No late game heroics from D-line. No they are not a bad D-line and no they aren't giving up too many rushing yards but there must be increased pressure on QBs. They need to be flushed out of the pocket and this needs to happen in the 4th quarter when the Riders need a stand. I was impressed with their defensive stand at the end of this weeks game but they'll need more of this. I'm not convinced they are intimidating QBs or running backs.

4) Turnovers at the wrong time. Durant is doing ok at handling interceptions but right now, when he does turnover the ball, it's at exactly the wrong time. Un-timely fumbles and interceptions have plagued the Riders and right now it seems like their ability to win hinges on the turnover battle. They need to win it. The Dressler fumble was a game changer. He doesn't often fumble the ball but that was huge.

5) Not enough big plays. In the past the Riders have been associated with big plays and right now they need some big plays. What was lost in the game this past weekend was Durant passing for over 400 yards. However, no TD passes. This was partly due to strong Edmonton defence but they need some big plays and that just hasn't been happening. Kory Sheets is a player that can turn nothing in to something... they need someone else to also be that threat.

- A quick diagnosis that's incomplete and one-sided. So take it with a grain of salt. I'm just one guy on that.

- If I had a sixth, I would say they are not a physically intimidating team at linebacker. Have you seen any big hits from the Rider linebackers this year? Maybe a few but I'd suggest they don't have the Jerrell Freeman hitter that intimidates people.

- The Calgary/Hamilton game wasn't necessarily pretty to watch. When the winning QB only passes for 141 yards, its tough. Henry Burris passed for a few more yards but was only 50% completions.

- Even though this game was supposed to be a battle between bitter QBs, it was actually pretty boring. Neither QB played very well and Kevin Glenn got the win but in a style very similar to his play with Hamilton.

- I'm sure Hamilton staff watched Glenn and were reassured they did the right thing and I'm sure Calgary staff had the same feelings towards Burris.

- It was good to see Jon Cornish have a bounce back week. TSN talked about it at length and so I won't go into it too much but basically, he got them yards late in the game when they really needed it. He's a good running back and this week made the Hamilton linebackers look a little weak.

- It was great to see Cornish show a second effort after first contact. He picked up great yardage on those second attempts and credit should also go to his O-line that had a bounce back game. He had 217 total yards and to be quite honest, carried his team. Where was the TiCats run support? Is this a game where the linebackers failed? I like Rey Williams but he was caught out of position a few times.

- The reason why Calgary won, they got 7 points when they had the chance to do so. Kevin Glenn might not have played amazing but they had TDs at essential times. Three on the ground and one in the air.

- Alternatively, Chevon Walker had both for the TiCats. Chris Williams had a quiet night and that's a testament to Calgary playing him very well. Burris likes Williams but the passes had to go elsewhere because Calgary did lock him down well.

- Where was Giguere?

- Andy Fantuz was the recipient of a minor head injury after the game against Calgary but it was reported he was already back practicing. That would be something to watch through the season though. He's been taking some tough hits.

- It seems to me that Hamilton's defence ran out of steam in the end. It was a good game for them until the 4th quarter where the looked tired and Calgary was able to move the ball. 14 points for Calgary in the 4th quarter while Burris, who normally looks strong late in games, was unable to move the ball at all.

- I was thoroughly unimpressed with the lack of discipline in each game this weekend. Offsides and procedure calls are incredibly annoying.

- No time to panic for Hamilton however. They are a good team with great players. I expect them to go on another run pretty soon.

- Do you agree with the Bombers choice to go with Joey Elliot next week? This weekend LaPolice told Brink they were moving to Elliot. Definitely tough for Brink to swallow because I'm not convinced offensive issues are his fault. However, its clear that a change would probably spark some reaction from the players.

- I remember seeing good energy and command of the huddle from Elliot and whether or not he solves the Winnipeg issues is yet to be seen but at least a different face in the huddle might get some people motivated.

- LaPolice needs his QB to connect with some of their reliable receivers like Terrance Edwards and then a guy like Kito Poblah step up. Poblah was a big draft pick for the Bombers. He needs to show they made the right decision.

- It was great to be invited back to the Sports Cage this past Wednesday. Radio interviews are newer to me but in the end, it's still just a couple of guys sitting around and talking football.

- On the show we talked about the return of an Ottawa team. Lots of talk is centering around the GM position and the idea that Ottawa needs to be competitive right away. The fans in Ottawa have been burned by poor ownership and bad teams in the past and the league wants to make sure this version sticks.

- The name Duane Forde is being passed around for a GM spot. I understand why. He knows CIS football like no one else. He is a smart guy and seems to be well liked around the league. That being said, I don't think the first GM in Ottawa will be Forde. He has never been a GM and has no experience in a football office.

- Make Forde your CIS scout but I doubt he'll get the GM job.

- One highly unlikely name that I keep hearing is Jim Popp. I would have passed it off as stupid except for the fact, I've heard it multiple times. Who knows.. but I doubt it.

- Did you know Duane Forde is married to Sherri Forde, the TSN reporter? Who knew? I had no idea!

- This has become quite a long post but like I said, lots to talk about. Big week coming up. Lots of teams have unanswered questions and so I'm excited to see that unfold.

- If you're interested, follow me on twitter @CFL_joe. Have a great week everyone.

Joe Mack and Paul LaPolice. Whose to blame?

2012-08-07T09:08:00.003-04:00

Ben Nelms/Reuters

- I hope everyone had a good holiday Monday. I also hope for your sake, you were able to have the day off to watch some football and watch the Canadian women play soccer in the Olympics. I'm not normally the biggest soccer fan but it was a great game.

- We only had two games this week but there has been a swath of talk about the latest Bomber loss. A lot of that talk has been around Joe Mack and his inability to find answers for the Bomber losses. Ironically, this is the week Joe Mack is away in NFL camps as the NFL pre-season gets underway.

- When Joe Mack was hired I remember people talking about him like he was a CFL ace. People spoke like it was only a matter of time before the Bombers were the best team in the league. Right now, him and LaPolice have a losing record in that city.

- One of the biggest reason for the Bomber struggles is injuries. I believe there was a point where the Bombers had 9 starters out with injuries. That O-line is very young and has been hit pretty hard.

- Joe Mack was asked if Paul LaPolice's job was safe and he seemed to shrug and say... I guess for now. Mack realizes that if he says Paul LaPolice ISN'T the problem, then its the players he's brought in (or let go) that are the problem.

- Conversely, if Mack fires LaPolice, the next guy to go would be him. Time is running out for that staff.

- In the end, Mack said some elbow grease will do the trick to put the team back on course. I don't disagree but I would also say the team needs to some help. LaPolice needs some players to work with. You'll notice the TiCats and Riders continue to bring in and try different guys. Lets hope for the Bombers sake, they can turn things around.

- Chad Simpson is my early favorite for rookie of the year. He is really the only guy making plays for the Bombers at this point.

- As much as we constantly complain about Buck Pierce's injuries, he still gives the Bombers the best chance to win. Alex Brink will have a series of greatness and then a series that looks just terrible.

- This week he actually didn't have a bad game. He passed for 311 yards and 2 TDs. Clearly, he's starting to understand how he needs to play to win games but unfortunately for the Bombers the Alouette offence also began to find its confidence and Anthony Calvillo had time in the pocket.

- This season has been a tough start for Anthony because he hasn't had the O-line strength we normally see from Montreal but instead he's been under pressure all season.

- Probably the biggest reason Calvillo was able to finally pass the way he did was the strength of his two biggest playmakers. A solid run game from Whitaker and then big yards from Richardson and Green. We always talk about the importance of a run game to reduce pressure on the QB and finally that happened.

- Whitacker had a big game. 116 yards on the ground and then 6 catches for 64 yards. The Bombers were forced to chase the guy around all game which gave a lot more time to Calvillo.

- I like watching the Argos begin to understand Chris Jones' defence. They are swarming to the ball and they are begin to make plays. Unfortunately for them, they are still missing a few pieces.

- What did I tell you about Ejiro Kuale. He looks great. He made a great run stop in the 3rd quarter on Andrew Harris and then the next series had a great pressure on Travis Lulay. I think he's getting better each game. I think he'll be a leader on the defence, which they sorely need.

- I'm glad that I picked the Argos field goal kicker in my fantasy pool. I'm not sure Ricky Ray has the time he needs or the receivers he needs to make scores in the red zone. Once the ball is in the red zone, Ray seems unable to get 7. The Argos will become a threat if they can score on their red-zone plays.

- Their red zone running has been quite poor.

- Notice how the Argos played the crossing route. Any time Shawn Gore ran the crossing route they had a guy waiting to pop him. He was nailed twice and then BC was forced to move away from the route. The Riders needed to do that two weeks in a row but instead had no answer.

- The penalties on BC and Toronto were killing me. Its tough to watch the refs throw flags on every second play. I think there was just over 27 penalties in that game. Tough to watch.

- Chad Owens seemed to have some good fire this week and thank goodness. I'm not a fan of him being the leading receiver on his team but I do appreciate that he has a fire. He wants the ball and Ray is able to find him more and more.

- Why does it seem like Ricky Ray is running for his life on every play? Give the guy some protection and he'll make some passes for you. Instead, one of the better pocket passers in the league is being rushed on every pass.

- All that being said, Ray gave up a fumble and THREE interceptions. Ricky Ray was not having a good night. If the Argos are going to win with low scores they have to win the turnover battle.

- Ironic that I write how well Jon Cornish is doing and then he has a few tough weeks. This past week I wrote about how much I like Andrew Harris and he had a really tough game against a good Toronto defence.

- In the end it was a good defensive win for BC. The offence, except for a few bigger plays, really didn't have too much.

- Kevin Glenn can say whatever he wants about this next game but lets face it, it's big for him. He was sent away from Hamilton for Henry Burris and he has been handed the starter job in Calgary. The man will really want to show Hamilton what they're missing. He never was able to get Hamilton the big wins and was stuck being mediocre. He'll want to prove he wasn't the problem in Hamilton.

- Conversely, if you think Henry Burris gets pumped up to play Saskatchewan, imagine his thought process going to play in Calgary. He's really starting to click with his new team and he'll be eager to show his old team that he still has a lot left.

- Calgary fans are a little worried after they were unable to run at all or score a TD last week. The last time Calgary played they were able to get 26 yards from Coker and -1 from Cornish.

- I don't expect a repeat of that but Calgary needs to sort out that run game pretty soon. Cornish needs to get back on track.

- This is going to be a great game. I expect a Hamilton win. Their receivers are producing too well and they have too many targets at receiver. Fantuz is only a small piece in the receiver puzzle but he's enough of a distraction that Chris Williams and Onrea Jones are getting some nice yardage.

- Saskatchewan needs a win. To calm the team and fans. The two losses have been bad enough that they really need a solid win over Edmonton to show themselves they are still the team that went 3-0.

- What needs to change for the Riders? Well Richie Halls defence needs to move from a resistance defence to a shut down defence. They need to have players on the field that are feared for their speed and powerful hitting. They needed players to make key interceptions and players to generate turnovers.

- I think above all Hall needs to have a defence that is a little less predictable. It seems teams are able to figure out Hall's defence quickly and by the 4th quarter has a free pass to the endzone. Increase the unpredictability of the defence and I think there will be some success.

- I am also waiting for a linebacker to step up as a playmaker and a defensive end to start generating more sacks/pressure.

- What do we see from Edmonton? Well a team that I'm not ready to let off the hook. Clearly a team that has some great things. A good, strong defence with a tough defensive line makes them fun to watch. BUT we are still waiting to see if Steven Jyles can click in Edmonton and if Fred Stamps will continue to be a force.

- Remember this Edmonton team lost a big game to Winnipeg the other week and they went into the bye week just as deflated as the Riders. Make no mistake that each team needs this win badly.

- Now that BC has 4 wins these teams need to keep pace and it should be hard fought.

- Hugh Charles and Kory Sheets will get to square off. Two under utilized running backs with teams that desperately need some yards. Pressure in Saskatchewan is mounting to see Sheets used more and rightfully so, he makes people miss. Hugh Charles has always been strong but he'll need to be relied upon a little more as the season continues.

- I think Jyles has some great stuff but I'm still waiting to see how things unfold.

- The winner of this game will win the turnover battle. Both teams can't afford to give up the ball.

- Congrats to Stevie Baggs for getting an NFL try-out

- That's what's been on my mind this week friends. I hope you have a great week and check out the twitter to see my thoughts throughout the week. @cfl_joe

- See you next Monday.

Don't Blame the QB for the Rider Collapse

2012-07-30T07:48:00.002-04:00

Andy Clark , REUTERS

- Happy Monday everyone. Many of us were watching sports all weekend thanks to some great football and the Olympics going on. I know that I consider myself a big Olympics fan because I like seeing our country united and competing together.

- We had a really great CFL weekend though and that deserves our attention. Each game had some special magic and surprise. Win or lose, I really enjoyed the football this weekend.

- Last week we had 5 out of the 8 teams at 2-2. After this weekend, we have 5 out of the 8 teams at 3-2. I am really enjoying the parity in the league. Anyone can win any game.

- Obviously Rider fans are justified to think they should be at 5-0 but they aren't and we'll discuss them later.

- Imagine being Montreal and sitting on a two game losing streak but unlike the Riders, look to be completely unable to establish a rhythm. Although Marc Trestman secured his extension before all this went down, they have some serious structural issues to sort out.

- Imagine Calgary, that came off the high of a big win over Montreal but then staging a complete flop against BC.

- One trend we're noticing this year is teams giving their feature running back about 12 to 15 touches a game and then more in the passing game. It's the idea that you should be dishing the ball off to your best playmaker as much as possible.

- My definition of a playmaker is a guy who can take a play that looks to be going no where and make something out of it. Whether its 5 yards or 50.

- This week I'd look at Andrew Harris, Chevon Walker and Chad Simpson who were put in the position to make plays and stretch the defence. If you want to tire out the opponents d-line and linebackers, get them chasing a slippery running back all around the field.

- I think Chad Simpson is a revelation for the Bombers. This guy is single handedly making plays when no one else on the Bombers can. I really like his ability to avoid the first tackle. He is fast and tough and seems to have good hands as a receiver.

- Paul LaPolice must be thanking his lucky stars for him.

- The Edmonton pass coverage was poor at best this weekend.

- Now, I have nothing against Gary Crowton as a coach. He is very experienced and has a great resume. He was even the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 1999. However, rumor has it that Paul LaPolice had virtually no say in who would become his new offensive coordinator.

- You'll also remember when Bart Andrus first came into the league, he was widely criticized for not bringing in coordinators with CFL experience. I realize this situation is a little different but why now do the Bombers bring in a coordinator with no CFL experience?

- This of course could be no big deal. It all depends on the play calling relationship between LaPolice and Crowton. If LaPolice is in a mentorship and play calling role then I suppose that's fine. I would question their relationship however if Crowton is calling plays this early in his CFL career.

- Winnipeg's pre-snap waggle is pretty simplified and I don't know if I put that on Crowton or if its just a Winnipeg style. I'm sure it will evolve as the season progresses.

- All that being said, Winnipeg got a huge win this week and the sold out crowd had a good show. Alex Brink wasn't amazing but you had the sense he was doing enough to win.

- It was tough to see him throw two interceptions the way he did. He forced two throws just as he was getting hit. Early on in the game he had a terrible time picking up blitzes and sense where they were coming from. Unfortunately for Edmonton, they didn't generate enough off those turnovers.

- Should we talk about Steven Jyles? How do you like his play so far this season? To be completely honest, he didn't play bad this week. 2 fumbles at bad times killed him. 244 yards passing isn't terrible but as a QB in his position, he's got to take control of the ball.

- What's unfortunate for Steven Jyles is that he didn't just lose to the Bombers but he also lost to Alex Brink who is a young QB working with a struggling Winnipeg team. Fair or not, Edmonton fans will see Jyles is in the shadow of Ray until he gets more success under his belt.

- The emergence of Fred Stamps is welcome.

- 7 catches for Cory Watson and Terrance Edwards is huge for Brink. It seems he really missed Watson. They made some good catches in tight places.

- I really like Chad Owens but it worries me when the bulk of the Toronto passing yards go to Owens. Toronto needs more catches from other receivers. Its not as though Inman and Durie aren't getting yards but the more *catches* made by other receivers, the less attention a defence can give to one player. Owens may not be as effective if he's the returner and primary receiver.

- Ejiro Kuale is emerging into one of my favorite linebackers. He looks unreal fast and powerful. Chris Jones and his defence is lucky to have him. It was this week we finally began to see Chris Jones' defence get into it's groove. He made Anthony Calvillo's life pretty tough by bringing a lot of pressure.

- The best way to play against Anthony Calvillo. Bring pressure. The Montreal O-line needs some work.

- For the second week in a row the Riders and the Richie Hall defence has been introduced to the crossing route. Nik Lewis killed the Riders with it last week and this past weekend Chris Williams played it to perfection.

- Richie Hall is coming under some heat for this second fourth quarter collapse and in my mind, rightfully so. I don't wish to blame him for the collapse but I simply think he needs to find a solution. If opposition offences have figured out the defence, Hall needs a solution and fast.

- You can blame Durant for the costly fumble late in the game but really that should only account for 7 points in the collapse. There is another 11 points left out there. Additionally, 34 points is enough to get a win. It's time for Chamblin to step up and fix the Rider schemes.

- Durant had one of his better games this weekend but he needs 4th quarter defence.

- He also need play calls that put the ball in the hands of Kory Sheets.

- I'm waiting for more from Odell Willis.

- We cannot forget to give credit to Henry Burris in the "collapse". His best football comes against his former team and he stood up at the end and led his team to an incredible comeback. The difference between Burris and many other QBs so far this year is that Burris is passing for TDs when he gets in the red zone.

- If Chris Williams is the primary target there must be a great emphasis on preventing him from catching the ball 9 times. That's not necessarily easy to do but I would have liked to see him being jammed off the line of scrimmage a little more.

- Duane Forde was absolutely right when he critiqued the Riders late game offence for attempting to move the ball too far at once when they just needed a field goal. Late game play calling was an issue on both sides of the ball for the Riders.

- Rider fans however don't need to worry too much. They sit in first place and they are playing good football. They have the right coaching staff in place to get the wins and they will come.

- Last weekend I thought that Jon Cornish was just having two tough weeks at running back but this week really showed that there is trouble in the Calgary run game. The O-line and running backs are struggling. They aren't on the same page.

- Cornish already aired his frustration and his inability to run the ball, in fact blaming the O-line for their troubles. Of course he's since apologized to his O-line but he voiced his frustration by saying either you have running gaps or you don't. Calgary didn't have them.

- If Calgary hopes to take pressure off their new QB there needs to be some run game.

- Cornish can be a great running back in this league because he's elusive and he has the ability to make people miss on the first tackle. I'm waiting for him to have another break out game.

- Do you think Kevin Glenn stays in at QB when Drew Tate returns?

- The Edmonton Eskimos have only allowed 79 points this season. Next is BC at 110. Next is Saskatchewan at 113. Montreal and Hamilton sit at the bottom of that list.

- Saskatchewan and Calgary will certainly be ready for a bye week.

- Travis Lulay and his arm found its form. Only 7 incompletions and 315 yards with 3 TDs. He moved the ball around to all his receivers and was very effective. Calgary didn't really have a solution to the BC offence.

- Shawn Gore is one of my favorite young Canadian receivers. He is smart and plays the ball very well. 7 catches after battling injuries is a very good game. I think Shawn Gore is going to do great things in the CFL.

- Andrew Harris is scary good isn't he? Great thing to see Canadian players get touches like that and become playmakers for their teams. That seems to be the theme this weekend. Get the ball into the hands of your playmakers.

- On the other side of Canadian things, Johnny Forzani needs to stop dropping the ball. This is becoming a bad trend. He'll be on the sidelines pretty soon if he doesn't start holding on.

- Travis Lulay ran for 41 yards. I think when your running back is picking up decent yards and your QB runs for 41 yards, you're doing enough to ease up your passing game. Brink ran for 57 yards. Durant and Glenn would be better served to run a little more.

- I hope you enjoyed watching this weekend like I did. We need more sell-outs in the CFL. The crowds for the Rider game and the Bomber game were fantastic. Come on CFL fans, pack those stadiums.

- My two Olympic vents: Brian Williams is incredibly under-used in the TSN broadcast.

- AND empty seats at Olympic events are terrible. That is why Vancouver was considered such a success. The rumor is that tickets were sold to companies who gave tickets away to their business partners who clearly aren't interested in going. Meanwhile people who are interested in going can't because the events are "sold out".

- I want to thank Rod Pedersen and the Sportscage folks for letting me spend some time talking CFL with them on Wednesday. It was a pleasure!

- Remember you can follow me on twitter for some tweets during the games and random thoughts through the week @CFL_joe.

Costly Interceptions and Drops By the Vets

2012-07-23T04:30:00.000-04:00

Photo - www.cfl.ca

- One thing I noticed this week is that the two cities with the fan base hardest on their starting QB, are two teams that sit at 3-1. Sure each QB could be playing a little better but in the end putting up big yards doesn't necessarily get you wins. Steven Jyles and Darian Durant are not perfect QBs but they are getting wins.

- Conversely, Lulay and Calvillo both passed for 360 yards and didn't get the win. Which do you prefer?

- Oddly enough Chris Matthews of the Bombers is the leading receiver in the CFL but his team has yet to win. Yards only matter in the right context.

- Low and behold Travis Lulay looked great but still didn't get the win. Some people on TSN and some on twitter were saying he looked average. Well he passed for 360 yards which is pretty good.

- Sometimes it erks me how quickly TSN will anoint certain players as "good" or "struggling" or "bad" or "top 50" etc. So to avoid falling into that same pattern lets say Lulay hasn't looked strong the past two games but could easily rebound next week. He has shown the ability to move the ball and I won't write him off yet.

- I know I've been guilty of saying players are good or bad without exercising proper patience. Adarius Bowman being one of those people.

- I re-tweeted an article this past weekend about the trade between the Riders and Ti-Cats for Prechae Rodriguez and what turned out to be Chris Williams. This trade simply shows the importance of player evaluation and just how difficult it is in the CFL. The Riders could bring in dozens of players each year that look like Chris Williams but who knew he would be THIS good. Prechae Rodriguez looked like a steal during the time of the trade. Now he's not even in league while Chris Williams is a game changer last year and this year (so far).

- Another example is Chris Bauman who, in my opinion, is not worth a first round, first pick overall pick while Rob Bagg was an un-drafted free agent. Strange.

- A side note: Chris Williams don't you ever dog it to the endzone like that again. I'm sure George Cortez was not pleased with Williams walking backwards into the endzone and I should mention Williams has already apologized to Reed. I have no time for players like that but I'd be surprised if he did that again.

- This weekend, I think Shea Emery played one of his better games of his career. He put up decent numbers but he certainly seemed to be in on every play. He doesn't always get much credit for his play but this weekend he was fun to watch.

- Calvillo looks pretty fragile out there. Each time he gets hit he looks to be in pain. And have you noticed he's getting hit more this year than in previous years. I think the Alouettes better increase the amount of protection he gets or else it could be a long season.

- Who would have thought we would see Getzlaf and Dressler drop a pass in the same game. Two of the leagues best lost focus when they were getting push back from Calgary. Jamel Richardson, SJ Green and Fred Stamps also had drops which is unexpected. Even the best make mistakes.

- What did we learn from the Calgary/Saskatchewan game? Kevin Glenn is a QB that can win games. He also has weapons around him that can rise up when they need to. It seems like Calgary has the ability to win games but they looked pretty bad in the early going.

- We also learned that the Riders have some weaknesses that would benefit from some improvements early in the season. I don't necessarily blame Durant but I do blame his offences inability to make plays late in the game. They needed first downs, they needed to use crosser routes more and they needed receivers making tough catches.

- Richie Hall took some blame. In a post game interview he said he made play-calling mistakes and said "maybe I tried to get too cute". Hall is a veteran coordinator and he can't have games he lets slip away.

- However, one of the things I like about football is that the coaches have such a drastic influence on games. That being said, Hall can't lose anymore games.

- Odell Willis looked to be completely and 100% out of gas in the fourth quarter.

- Of course, lets give credit to Nik Lewis for being the play makers he is. I am always curious why teams don't key on him a little more, especially on second down. Maybe I'm being naive but I don't know why he isn't receiving twice the coverage he gets. He always seems to be open but maybe that's a testament to how good he is.

- Watching Winnipeg/Toronto was pretty painful. I like both teams but wo those teams are not doing well.

- Toronto is getting better from week to week. Ricky Ray seems to be playing in the new offensive system a little better with receivers making some plays for him. I also saw an O-line that looked a little stronger for him.

-Alex Brink certainly has his work cut out for him. He's starting this week and so he better improve over his 9 for 34 with two interceptions. That is scary bad for Paul LaPolice.

- What a game for Joe Burnett with Edmonton. Aside from the two great interceptions, he had some pass coverage that was very strong. He looked like he was in Lulay's head that's for sure.

- And what about Travis Lulay? He was on the Edmonton 5 or 6 essentially lost the game for his team. Trying to force a pass threw it right in to double coverage and took 3 or 7 points away from BC and gave 7 to Edmonton.

- That sounds harsh but up until that play his team had the game in the bag.

- I'm sure the Bombers are pretty excited to finally be home. After the useless start with 4 road games the Bombers need a home game pretty bad. They also need to clear up some injuries. Losing Ian Logan at safety is a killer. Someone help this team.

- Dave Stala is a ghost out there hey? It seems that "new" Canadian airforce is taking off without him.

- Calvillo, Lulay and Durant all threw key interceptions this week. Interesting stuff.

- It's great to see 3 teams in the East at 2-2. I like to see all the East teams fighting it out. In fact 5-8 teams are 2-2 and that's darn good for the league when anyone can win any game.

- Andrew Harris of the BC Lions was fun to watch this week don't you think? He picked up 65 yards on the ground but did it with great second effort. To top it off, he also picked up 120 yards in the air. Unfortunately, he fumbled the ball which was a momentum shifter. He has great wheels though and he's Canadian. Great for the CFL to have two starting Canadian tailbacks.

- Henry Burris deserves credit for a near perfect game at QB. The vet was 27 for 30 and picked up 4 TD passes on 360 yards. He was efficient and slick. Williams and Fantuz received the bulk of his passses but those numbers are pretty darn impressive. He clearly has his receivers he likes and what's scary is thinking how he'll play when he's comfortable with all those guys.

- Hugh Charles is in a good place. He is playing for a team that wants to rely on the run game when the QB can't carry them. He had 20 carries at running back and had 120 yards. When he was in Saskatchewan he was on a team that didn't need to run as much. Edmonton is a good fit.

- I won't anoint Shamawd Chambers with too much of a title right now but he does look good for the Eskimos. He is fast and appears to have good hands. He could be a well needed spark plug for a team that needs playmakers. I like when Canadian receivers look good out there.

- Kavis Reed has never hid his emotions on the sidelines. This weekend he was yelling at players, coaches, refs or anyone that would listen. Every play was visualized through his face. All joking aside, I think at some point that could get dangerous. Players need to see a coach who is confident and sure of himself. Too much up and down could hurt him.

- Did you see the Khalif Mitchell arm bar? How many games do you think he deserves? Any? 1, 2, 3, 4? Do you believe him when he says it was unintentional?

- I don't appreciate that sort of play intentional or not but I will say this: There was fire in each one of the games. Lots of hard hits and speed. It was good football in 3 of 4 games and really good contact in all.

- Mike Benevides' BC Lions have now lost 2 in a row and now play a pretty pumped up Calgary team. This is a test week for that team. It's also a test for a Calgary team that is looking to continue their groove.

- I think around the CFL we gave BC credit that they'd continue where the left off last year but this is a big week for them. Its a big test for Benevides ability to break his teams out of a negative streak. Players play, but coaches set the tone and I'm interested to see the coaching staff get their players up for this coming week.

- BC needs to start generating turnovers... they gave up the ball 3 times this weekend and forced 0.

- The same test comes for Corey Chamblin. Can he turn his team around after a demoralizing loss. I'm sure he'll be saying "finish" all week.

- I'm expecting more out of Jordan Sisco. He's been on the practice roster for quite some time and so its come time to show his worth.

- How would you rate the officiating so far this season? Better than last year? Worse?

- If Saskatchewan doesn't sell out this weeks game featuring the return of Burris, Fantuz, Jim Daley, and Rey Williams, I will be shocked. This is going to be the game of the week. The Riders haven't sold out a game so far this year and so I'm thinking this one might be it.

- Remember to follow me on twitter @cfl_joe. I'm slowly getting followers and I usually tweet my thoughts during the game. If that's not your thing, its ok, I understand. Have a good week.

Thoughts on a Weird Week 3

2012-07-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

Dan Riedlhuber/REUTERS

- To be honest, there were some instances this weekend that made me cringe. The Edmonton/Winnipeg game was definitely cringe worthy. The turnovers. The poor execution. The inability of starting QBs to stay healthy. Just all around it was a tough game to watch.

- The bad news for Edmonton is despite the fact they won, the road there was pretty rough. Probably the best quote I read this weekend was on twitter and it said "Steven Jyles is determined to get Winnipeg back into the game whether they like it or not." Obviously this comment came after Jyles inexplicably threw another interception to the Winnipeg defence.

- In my opinion, it appeared that Jyles was forcing to ball on many throws and I can't help but think he was trying to silence his critics. Maybe trying a little too hard. He needs to play a little more within himself.

- Each of the three Winnipeg QBs that had playing time threw an interception but the third stringer, Joey Elliot, was the only one to throw a TD pass. Do you start your QB, Buck Pierce whose in a walking boot, Alex Brink, who only threw 75 yards or Joey Elliot the least experienced of the bunch? And oh yah, its a short week and you play on Wednesday. LaPolice might have some tough questions to answer.

- If I was LaPolice, and I'm not, I might start Elliott to be honest. It was reported that Brink was practicing with the first team offence on Sunday.

- What do you think Wally Buono says every time Buck Pierce gets injured?

- Bomber fans, you're allowed to be a little nervous. That being said, its only week 4.

- Terrence Edwards is the veteran of these receivers but he's not leading this offence. I'm not really sure what the spark plug in this offence is but they should certainly find it quickly. The O-line is a big source of the issues and playing a good D-line like Edmonton certainly didn't help. Buck Pierce can play well if he's protected.

- Good for Adarius Bowman to be in the stands watching his team. He'll need to keep that up to stay connected to the team during his long rehab.

- I realize Montreal came up with a big come from behind win this weekend but Brandon Whitaker needs some help. There is no way a running back should ever finish the day with negative yards. He is a huge part in keeping Calvillo upright and if he struggles, pass rushers will target Calvillo even more.

- Montreal's prized QB took a few hits this weekend and was slow getting up. They need to be careful.

- At least Calgary had 18 rush attempts by multiple running backs while Montreal only had 4. I suppose Calgary's d-line gets some credit for that.

- It's clear that Montreal still isn't playing to their highest potential but they're getting closer.

- Calgary has a tough week ahead too. Hearing that Drew Tate is out for the year, Kevin Glenn must now take ownership of a team he really let down late in the game. Throwing an interception to the wide side of the field, when you don't need to pass the ball, is tough to justify. Then, failing to manage the clock as he moved his team into field goal range was also poor play.

- Just a side note: The CFL needs to sort out these clock issues.

- Another side note: If I'm your coach and we lose by one point as there is some debate whether or not the game is over, I better not seeing you laughing and shaking hands with the other team. Nik Lewis was the only one still in game mode.

- Glenn isn't a terrible QB but he'll really need to work hard to re-earn the trust of his players. They are in last place in the West and now will face a confident bunch in Saskatchewan. Glenn will have his hands full.

- Did you see Kerry Joseph's stats from this weekend. 3 for 3, 102 yards and 2 TDs. Wo!

- Steven Jyles is lucky he is backed by one of the best defences in the league. He threw two interceptions, fumbled once and had some poor, inaccurate passes but still his team sits in second place. If Jyles is the man, he better step up and give his team some confidence. Fred Stamps is not being put in situations where he can make plays.

- It was nice to see the ball spread around to people like Koch, Stamps, Chambers, Collins, Coehoorn, and Carr. They have some weapons but we'll see how the QBs do at getting the ball to them.

- I'll leave it up to you to decide if the Stampeders can win without Tate. The offence certainly changes without him. Less QB running, more pocket passing. Tate said on Sunday that he plans to come back before the season is done. Fine, but will Calgary be in too deep a hole by then?

- What impressed me most about Darian Durant vs. Travis Lulay was the way Durant managed the game. Yes, Lulay had 345 yards but his completion percentage was low and he had two interceptions. Durant killed the clock, didn't turn the ball over, and put his team in the place to succeed. Last year, Durant wouldn't have been able to get those tough yards.

- Speaking of tough yards, Kory Sheets had a fantastic game. He played one of the best d-lines in the league but really got tough yards when he needed them. At the end of the game, he killed massive amounts of time by running for 5 yard chunks rather than 2 yard chunks.

- Don't ask me about the Drew Willy to Neil Hughes hand off. In my opinion, a really weird play call.

- The Marco Iannuzzi catch really was odd. Chamblin didn't have a challenge flag and the ref who made the call was much too far away to have seen anything. The other ref was to Iannuzzi's back and so he couldn't make the call. I suppose in that case they give the receiver the benefit of the doubt.

- Do you want evidence that both teams' O-lines played well? One sack by the two teams that led the league in sacks. That makes for an exciting game.

- I suppose another reason for only one sack being recorded is Lulay and Durant, two of the most elusive QBs in the league.

- Another elusive QB, Henry Burris is certainly coming in to form. Well sort of. He wasn't clean but he was running and throwing TDs pretty well. His team certainly looked to be producing a little better. Obviously they get a big boost from Chris Williams making plays.

- What a deflating way to end a half. Missed FG for a TD. Williams is a play maker that's for sure.

- How fun is it to watch Cory Boyd when he wants to pull the team to victory no matter what. He finally looked special again. Unfortunately for Toronto, there are some issues that prevented them from winning. 6 or 7 red-zone appearances with only 2 TDs. Ricky Ray has the ability to put the ball in the end zone but he needs receivers making plays for him.

- Jason Barnes was picked to be the man when he was brought over from Edmonton. We're still waiting to see that happen. Especially because of his familiarity with Ray, I'm surprised he's struggling. One catch this weekend for 9 yards.

- When Henry Burris averages almost 10 yards a run you know he is in his zone. When your QB can almost guarantee a first down each time he runs, that sets up so many things for your offence to do. Burris is losing his passing accuracy as he ages but his feet might propel him through this year.

- Congrats to the Toronto O-line for keeping the Hamilton D-line and linebackers off Ricky Ray. He had decent time to pass and Cory Boyd ripping up the yardage probably helped too. Penalties and turnovers cost the Argos.

- I like Chevon Walker. He is fast and seems to have really good feet. He had 66 rush yards and 3 catches. Whether he takes up big yardage or not, he's really forcing linebackers to chase him around and that's a good thing. Running sideline to sideline is the best way to drain the energy of a front seven.

- Is it just me or are kickers missing more field goals this year than in previous years. Prefontaine has missed 5 field goals already this year but missed a total of 8 all last season. McCallum missed only 3 all of last year and he's already missed 3. Just some fun facts for you. Dave Naylor said the Toronto is bringing in Swayze Waters for kicking duties. He was on Edmonton's practice roster last year. Tough to be Prefontaine right now.

- What happened to the Mike O'Shea special teams dominance?

- I'm sure Toronto's pretty excited to see a hobbling Winnipeg team come to play them at home. No I am not a fan of Wednesday games but the match up excites me. Both teams are angry and eager to win.

- Hamilton will have a fun time against Montreal. This is a timely game that will really show which team is ready to take hold of the East. Burris will have to be a bit cleaner but his supporting cast is getting better. That may be the game of the week if you ask me. I'm excited to see this unfold.

- Montreal, although not clicking 100%, is in need of a clean win over a division rival.

- This weekend, when asked whether or not he was excited for the new stadium in Sask, a twitter user simply tweeted, "ya, if I'm still alive by that time." I know, I know it takes a while to build a stadium, but 2017 is a long way off. That being said, no matter how long it takes, its good to see the CFL upgrading its facilities. I love this league and new investments in the league are a good thing.

- Follow me on twitter. I'm actually doing well at posting regularly: @cfl_joe

A little update

2012-07-10T08:55:00.000-04:00

- I don't know if you saw that Bowman is done for the season. Tough break for Edmonton and Eric Tillman. I've never been a huge fan of Bowman but he really stepped up when they needed him. Greg Carr is obviously the guy that should be filling his shoes but he only has four catches so far this year.

- Apparently, Carr hurt his ankle late in the game and so its unclear if he'll be good to go.

- Winnipeg is in some trouble this year. They need to start getting so moral wins. Tim Burke, who I think is a very bright defensive mind, said that the Bombers defence is missing some swagger. Well when you trade away/release some of your most passionate personalities that's bound to happen.

- I also like Shawn Gore quite a bit. He's certainly a valuable asset for the Lions and I'm sure there are some teams around the league kicking themselves for not drafting him higher.

- Follow me on twitter @cfl_joe

Changing of the Guard

2012-07-09T11:28:00.001-04:00

- Those of you who read CFLjoe regularly know that I am a big fan of Cory Boyd. However as of late Boyd has been injury prone and not as productive as he usually is. No doubt its due to the fact he isn't a surprise anymore. People know he's coming so they prepare for him. His offence still needs him! He had a decent week though so I'll go easy on him.

- I know that Ricky Ray has some offensive weapons but I'm not convinced he has enough. I'm not convinced Jason Barnes is enough of a big play receiver to put Toronto in first place. Spencer Watt doesn't do a lot for me either. Obviously Chad Owens had been a play maker over the past few years but I don't know if he has done much to blow me away this year.

- Dontrelle Inman made two great catches but I'm more convinced that's through poor pass coverage rather than overwhelming skill. Regardless, Ray will need a big play receiver that can change games. He needs Toronto's version of a Fred Stamps. Any way, this is a wait and see point of the season.

- What Toronto fans should excited about is the ability of Ricky Ray to make the game winning play. In the past they haven't had the QB who can manage the end of games whether its for a game winning TD or holding on to a lead. Toronto fans should be excited about what they saw this past weekend.

- Either way, you'll have to acknowledge that Calgary/Toronto was a good game and Ricky Ray is getting in to form.

- Chris Jones and his defence still needs a little more tightening. He's clearly a great coordinator but they haven't been shutting teams down.

- Not many teams have the luxury of throwing in Kevin Glenn once their starter goes down. I realize he threw an interception but lets be honest, he's a veteran QB that still has some game left. Calgary may need him to be on top form or else this could be a rough year with their starter hurt for multiple weeks.

- With Drew Tate out, how many games can Kevin Glenn win?

- Nik Lewis looks pretty strong this year don't you think?

- I know the offence in Montreal has similar aspects to the Scott Milanovich era but it doesn't seem to have the same pop it once did.

- I realize I'm saying this the week Calvillo passed for 443 yards but I also blame that number on a poor Winnipeg week on defence.

- Offensively speaking, Hamilton fans can breathe a sigh of relief. They showed resilience and bounce back against a pretty good team. Burris actually made the BC defence look pretty poor and he dramatically out-passed Travis Lulay. Burris had 359 yards and 4 TDs while Lulay only had 159. We blame the Hamilton loss on turnovers.

- I wrote earlier this season that BC's defence was a little bit of a question mark for me. They certainly didn't close out their game in style. One thing they did do was generate turnovers. 3 forced fumbles and 1 interception can be pretty tiring on the Hamilton defence.

- Brandon Whitaker will be Anthony Calvillo's best friend this year. Calvillo looks like he'll be under the threat of a heavy pass rush this year and Whitaker will keep the D-line honest and take a lot of pressure of Calvillo.

- With nearly 100 yards rushing and 137 yards receiving, Whitaker will force linebackers to leave the box and follow him into the flat or downfield. Calvillo, as he ages, will need more protection and its important he gets it.

- Its interesting to see Montreal back in their dominating form but I'm interested to see whether or not that carries on through the season. It's my personal belief that the league has caught up the Montreal and although Calvillo is still amazing, his surrounding cast doesn't dominate the rest of the league. As I mentioned, play calling is a big question for me this year. Both on offence and defence.

- Buck Pierce certainly had more protection and a better all around game but they need a run game. 52 yards on the ground won't be enough. I wouldn't be surprised to see a change at running back if that number doesn't go up.

- I think Clarence Denmark needs to start upping his game. Last year he seemed to be the first or second option for Pierce but this year he doesn't seem to be on his radar.

- Should Esk fans be worried about the way their team was completely and utterly shut out on Sunday?

- This game certainly wasn't fall out of your seat exciting but lets be honest defence can be fun. 10 sacks in a game is too much but can make for some good watching. I like to see defensive games every now and then.

- Mark Nelson is clearly a smart coach and has really solidified a defence that looks like they'll need to carry the Eskimo team. There isn't much room for mistakes when your offence can only score 1 point in a game. The Riders have a good offence but Edmonton looked solid on defence.

- Darian Durant had 4 receivers with 4 catches. This is an improvement from the Weston Dressler show.

- Craig Butler received such little fanfare when he was drafted last year with the Riders. However, he is going to be around for a while.

- Who do give credit for the 116 yards passing by the Eskimos. Was it great defence or a big reason to worry in Edmonton? Durant wasn't on his passing game but he controlled what he needed to control. I liked the second half for Durant. First half was a little boring. 3 and outs need to stop for the Riders.

- Every team that won this week, won the turnover battle. Interceptions and fumbles kill drives and momentum.

- Have you noticed that George Cortez is not very slick with the media? Rod Pedersen pointed this out on his Monday morning blog and it's certainly clear that he needs to be a little softer. The media CAN be your friend. Don't get them on your bad side. Especially when you're losing.

- I knew picking Prefontaine in my fantasy football pool was a good idea. It looks like he'll be doing a lot of kicking at the start of the season. Unfortunately he's missing a little too much. Toronto would have won in week 1#C if Prefontaine was a little more accurate. They would have beat Calgary a little more soundly if he was on his game in week 2. Lets see on week 3.

- All around the week had some good football. There is a changing of the guard but it seems to be in a different form than we thought.

- Please keep in mind I am on twitter and tweeting regularly now! @cfl_joe

The Weak East? Or the Strong West?

2012-07-02T10:30:00.000-04:00

Amber Bracken, Edmonton Sun

- What I enjoy about weeks like this is the simple idea that there can be upsets. To be honest with you, I didn't expect Calgary to win the way that they did, I didn't expect Edmonton to look so solid against Toronto and I was surprised to see Saskatchewan run away with the game.

- I think the first game of the week showed some exciting stuff for Rider fans and scary things for Ti-Cat fans. Drew Edwards of the Scratching Post tweeted after the Riders scored their first TD that it wasn't the fact the Riders got a touch down but the way the Riders picked the Ti-Cat defence apart. Where was the stud defensive back?

- This game has to be a big wake up call for Hamilton. What else is a big fear? All their big receiving weapons with few results. Burris didn't play bad, had 281 yards but no TD passes. Either the Sask secondary was solid or he wasn't confident throwing deep. The one time he did try a deep pass, it was intercepted.

- I think Rider fans should be excited to see Durant run. He rushed 5 times for 33 yards and that seems to be a magic number. If the O-line can continue to give Durant protection, we'll see more of that production.

- Kory Sheets is a keeper. Cornish, Walker and Sheets had the best rushing yards this week. Edmonton and Winnipeg weren't too impressive.

- Chris Williams and Weston Dressler can make magic happen. Both those guys were lights out for their respective QBs and played great. I love watching fast receivers that never had a shot in the NFL but are amazing to watch.

- Where was Fantuz?

- I wanted to see more from the Riders D-line. Willis and Hawkins brought pressure but didn't break free of their blocks too often.

- I wasn't blown away by the Rider pass rush but the Hamilton pass rush looked even weaker. That being said, Rey Williams is still scary good.

- This was the week we saw the TSN top 50 for all it is, a list of players that played well last year. Montreal had 3 players in the top 5 and they came out and played flat.

- Believe me, I'm saying all this acknowledging its week one and things change quickly. What happened this past weekend means nothing for next weekend.

- You may remember that last week I predicted Winnipeg to finish near the bottom of the East. Even this offseason I have been telling some friends of mine who cheer for the Bombers to not expect a lot. This week's game might make me look smart but really...it was bad for Winnipeg fans.

- The O-line was unable to give Buck Pierce time. When he did have time, his passes were poor and quite frankly he looked lost out there. Their starting running back had 5 rush attempts for 4 yards.

- Bob Irving the CJOB reporter for the Bombers said on his twitter that Buck Pierce was walking with a cane and he guessed he will miss one or two games. That's unconfirmed by the team.

- On a positive note, Bryant Turner matched his sack total in one game from all of last season. I think Winnipeg has a starter at defensive tackle that will excel as a starter. Winnipeg has some work to do though.

- BC looked to be in the same place they were during the pre-season. Lulay looks confident and doesn't make many mistakes. I'm still curious to see BC's defence develop. I don't know if they have the people to dominate defensively but that remains to be seen. The probably do have the best d-line in the league that's for sure.

- Does Ricky Ray have the weapons in place to win? It seems like he didn't have any time in the pocket and Cory Boyd didn't get enough on the ground. I have to constantly bring it back to O-line but did they give Boyd enough?

- Penalties were also so painful to watch. Sometimes these early games just are terrible to watch with all the offsides.

- I like JC Sherritt and Ted Laurent on Edmonton. Sherritt is a 5'8" player that is everywhere.

- For all the criticism Jyles took in the offseason, he held his own and played well enough to win. He managed the ball and completed the passes he needed to. Good for him. Lets remember that when he was in Winnipeg he didn't play bad. He really did some good things there. Toronto was a disaster but its tough to thrive in Toronto. This is a good test for him.

- When will people stop trying to arm tackle Nik Lewis. He is clearly a big guy and it gets curious to watch people miss tackles against him because they put their arm out to stop him. He has good hands, doesn't run like a 240 pound player and makes plays for his team. What else can you ask for?

- Aside from Cornish and Lewis does Calgary have any explosive playmakers?

- Not many times will we see Anthony Calvillo pass so poorly and literally have virtually nothing to pass to as he went back to pass. Two interceptions makes Calvillo look average. The Calgary front seven looked much better than expected and in fact, so did their secondary. All around Calgary looked well oiled.

- This was our first look at the Jeff Reinebold defence and his reemergence in the CFL. It was tough to watch. Calgary made it look easy. Drew Tate is still a young QB but didn't look inexperienced out there compared to his opponent.

- Before this week I was more concerned about the QB situation in Calgary than in Hamilton but now has it changed for you? Has Burris lost a step? Is this the growing pains of learning a new offence or is he losing his touch?

- Interesting fact, Montreal has lost their last 5 games when you count last year. Obviously its a completely different team from season to season but the Montreal offence, schemes, playbook is largely the same. Maybe the league is ready for a new dominant team in the East.

- I still expect Hamilton to start playing like a top team in the league. They have too many weapons to sit at the bottom.

- I certainly didn't think the West would dominate this week. All the games were lopsided and if not by score, then by play.

- A lot of the talk going in to this week was the experience at QB in the East and the youth in the West. Turns out, it didn't really matter.

- Of course this is week one and means very little. Next week is just another piece of the puzzle.

- If you know me, I like talking about coaching and whose running what teams. As we start to see more games we can talk about who made smart moves for coaches in the offseason.

- This coming weekend, Montreal plays Winnipeg and Edmonton plays Saskatchewan. Those two games will help to show us where they are at. Divisional play helps show a little more. Especially when everyone in the West is 1-0.

Gearing Up For Week 1

2012-06-25T10:17:00.003-04:00

Emily Scott/Richard Hirschmann

- I know every off season is technically the same length but this one felt especially long.

- I also know that most CFLjoe readers are in the loop and don't necessarily need a re-cap of the offseason happenings and so I'll go right in to it.

- Pre-season is a funny beast. CFL fans seem to be on the fence whether it means anything or not. However, I've noticed increased attention to it and therefore, placing more and more weight on pre-season wins and losses. This is especially true in Saskatchewan where losing a pre-season game is a tough pill to swallow. Rider fans should also remember that Montreal lost both preseason games and there is minimal panic in that city.

- One thing the pre-season did point out to me was the importance of a good O-line. You could tell which QBs had time and those that didn't. The BC O-line was solid and I give them credit for a lot of BC's success last year. You will remember, I was hard on Saskatchewan's O-line last year and in turn this year, we only see one returning member in Chris Best.

- Toronto will be the most unpredictable team early this year. They have some of the best young coaches in the league, a franchise QB, a solid running back, a special teams player that makes magic happen and new energy... BUT we didn't see Ricky Ray excel early in the pre-season, the defence looked OK and quite frankly, its Toronto... I've been expecting better seasons from them for a while now.

- Montreal was nearly dismantled this offseason don't you think? Calvillo seemed to consider retirement, Jim Popp was considered for a GM job in the NFL, Marc Trestman was almost taken by the NFL, then of course they lost Scott Milanovich to Toronto. In one offseason they could have lost the people that made them the most feared teams in the league for a decade.

- Watch Bobby Dyce with the Riders this year. This guy was in Winnipeg for a while and came to Saskatchewan in 2010. Some would say his time in Winnipeg was not successful, he was also the passing game coordinator in Saskatchewan last year when the team really struggled to pass the ball. Now he is promoted to offensive coordinator and so this is his real test. He's moving from position coach to coordinator and he's calling the shots. This will be his system and so the pressure is on him.

- When the Head Coach in Sask is a defensive guy, expect a lot of pressure to be placed on Dyce. I guess that is why the acquisition of Khari Jones for QB coach was so crucial.

- Winnipeg might have a tough time this year. It looks like Hamilton is stacked offensively, Montreal is Montreal and Toronto may be rebounding. This offseason Winnipeg lost a substantial amount of their big names and Canadian big names at that. They are going to rely on guys like Kito Poblah and Henoc Muamba to change their ratio. Another blow to their ratio was losing first round draft pick Tyson Pencer to the 9-game injured list.

- Buck Pierce needs a solid O-line to protect him. With a changing of the guard up front watch for some growing pains with Buck and his new O-line.

- Sam Giguere looks like the real deal doesn't he? He certainly made some good catches in the pre-season and looks fast as heck. He impressed me more than Fantuz to be honest with you. I was also impressed with the chemistry between him and Henry Burris. I think what teams should be most afraid of is that Giguere looks excited to play. After hanging out on a practice roster for how ever many years, he's finally back in meaningful games.

- The one thing I am cautious of with Hamilton is the protection of Henry Burris. Again, I'm bringing up the O-line because I think Burris was on and off when he doesn't have good protection. He was also interception prone the last few years and so this is a big test year for him. Does he still have it. He certainly wants to prove it. He looked pretty driven.

- Does Hamilton have a pass rush?

- Does anyone have a pass rush? There were a few bright lights during pre-season play but most of the CFLs top pass rushers have left the league and so its always exciting to see who steps up.

- Who will win between Richie Hall and Corey Chamblin? One man plays aggressive defensive schemes while Hall is famous for his passive defence. In fact, they seem to be almost the exact opposite in philosophy.

- Both philosophies have their strengths and weaknesses but lets be honest, the Riders need a defensive identity and they need it fast. Personally, I am not a fan of Hall's style of defence but we'll see if Chamblin steps in and veto's some pass coverages.

- Chamblin was in Calgary when Chris Jones was running some very aggressive stuff. We'll see who wins.

- Who do you think will win between Wally Buono and Mike Benevides. Things are going well now but if some adversity comes, can Benevides keep Buono from trying to control too much? Can Buono resist hovering over his new coach?

- Kerry Joseph looked better than I expected.

- Ken-Yon Rambo might land in Toronto. Would you sign him? Toronto needs a big play threat but is Rambo that guy? He hasn't been 100% for a few years now.

- I'm predicting the West in this order:
BC, Saskatchewan, Calgary, Edmonton

- The East in this order:
Hamilton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg

- Now with that said, I expect to be wrong. Not all the pre-season were televised and... lets be honest, it was preseason. But I think BC is already in top form. Hamilton looks to be quite confident and strong. I like their receivers. Its their defence I am unsure about.

- With Ray and Burris in the East, Calvillo will have much more competition for wins.

- To be honest, I almost didn't come back this year to write. Things are busy but it was too hard to say goodbye to CFLjoe. After some deliberation I decided to write this year but only once a week. I figured its better to write once a week rather than not at all. I hope you understand. Check each Monday morning for the CFLjoe blog. If the week is particularly interesting there will be a Friday blog as well. Oh and also you can now access the blog just by typing www.cfljoe.com.

Cheers everyone

See You on June 25th 2012!!

2012-01-11T11:13:00.002-05:00

In the meantime, feel free to leave any comments on offseason happenings and I'll be sure to respond.
Have a great winter everyone.

- CFLjoe

Wrapping up a Good CFL Season and Looking Ahead

2011-11-29T05:22:00.002-05:00

- First and foremost I want to thank all the CFLjoe readers for their loyal readership this year. Its been a very fun year and although 7 of the 8 teams were not happy with this years outcome but it was good to see people still reading in large numbers late into the season. I get a kick out of writing and so its always a treat.

- Ok down to business. The CFL and TSN did very well on Sunday. An average audience of 4.6 million and peaked at 11 million. That's pretty impressive. Although viewership in Quebec went from 1.1 million in 2010 to 225,000 this year. That's frustrating for the league. Remember the Riders vs. the Alouettes drew 6.1 million.

- I was talking to a CFL fan (and I mean that in the truest way, this guy is a CFL FAN), and he was not impressed with the broadcast. He even went so far as saying that if that was the best play from the best two teams we should be disappointed. I even agree with some aspects of what he said.

- When Calvillo is not playing we aren't going to see passing that we're used to in Grey Cup games. Buck Pierce and Travis Lulay are both running passers that didn't even run a whole lot and so we didn't see an amazing offensive output.

- I think the TSN broadcast has progressively got better each year but this year we didn't see a big change. The broadcast quality didn't make the big jump we're used to. I noticed this when there was a challenge by Paul LaPolice and there seemed to be no additional camera angles.

- Now, all that aside, I really did enjoy watching the game. It wasn't as close as we would have liked but we still saw some great play.

- One thing I've noticed over the years is the giant leap in defensive play but not the big leap in offensive play. I feel as though the defences around the league really tightened over the years but we are still waiting for the offence to catch up.

- This off season we have a few good stories to follow. Toronto and Saskatchewan have already started the process and Scott Milanovich looks to be the first mover. Rumor was he didn't impress in Saskatchewan last year and perhaps the money was right in Toronto this year.

- If he goes to Toronto then where does Montreal look for an offensive coordinator? Maybe Trestman will just take both duties or maybe they will look internally. What we do know is that in two years Montreal lost two key coordinators in Milanovich and Tim Burke (to Winnipeg last year).

- If the tentative Toronto deal doesn't stand with Milanovich, who should they look to?

- Montreal may be falling into the same trap as Saskatchewan. Failing to keep their young talent. See: Kavis Reed, Marcus Crandell, Paul LaPolice.

- So then we look to the Saskatchewan Roughriders and their re-vamp. They need a completely new coaching staff aside from their special teams coach. Rumor has it they are looking at Tim Burke, Corey Chamblin, Dave Dickenson and obviously some BC coaches as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Taman talked to both BC coordinators.

- Word is that Corey Chamblin has the head start in the process but my problem with Chamblin is the fact that he probably has one some of the most notable defensive personnel in the league and his team struggled to get above .500. I know, I know its a team game but look at Winnipeg and the success they had with perhaps a poorer offence than what Hamilton had.

- If Chamblin goes, who gets the defensive coordinator job in Hamilton? Would they take back Greg Marshall? This would be the second year in a row the Riders took the defensive coordinator from Hamilton.

- Will we see an influx of coaching from NCAA? Will Gary Etcheverry make a comeback?

- Next, I'm sure we'll see Wally Buono retire. There is no better time to end your career but I am no mind reader.

- I'm not sure what the relationship is between Jamie Barresi and Paul LaPolice. Barresi is the offensive coordinator but LaPolice calls the plays. I wasn't a big fan of Winnipeg's play calling this year and so I wonder where that will go.

- Will Tim Burke be fighting for a Head Coaching position somewhere?

- Obviously Henry Burris will go somewhere but I have no insight as to where he will go. Either he goes to Toronto or ... where? If he wants to start, the only realistic place he can go is Toronto but like I've said before, if he goes there for a year that will make contract negotiations with Steven Jyles awkward. Jyles needs a contract extension and so he'll want to start. He's at that age. Also, if Burris goes there he may play one year and then leave Toronto still without a full-time starter the year after that. Its not a long-term plan.

- Monday Night Football showed highlights of the Grey Cup and that makes me happy.

- When news first came out that Mark Cohon needed his contract renewed it seemed like a mere formality. Now we heard from Brian Williams that he is being considered for a positions elsewhere.

- The Winnipeg Free Press had this to say: "He's great at the kissing babies end of things and from the outside we look great as a league right now and for the most part that's accurate," a league executive told the Free Press on the condition of anonymity. "Look, I would say a deal will get done but (Cohon) wants big money. A big raise. He's not going to get that unless league revenues increase. The league cheques to the teams haven't grown. His deal should be incentive laden based on what he delivers to the teams."

- So I think we see there are some good stories and some not so good stories. Cohon's big project for the off season will be getting TV numbers up, continue to grow attendance and obviously, fix Toronto.

- I want to end on this thought: No matter what the ratings, no matter what the attendance, the CFL is a superior product to the NFL. The rules are better, the players are exciting and the players are more accessible. Our ball is bigger, our field is bigger and our fans are more passionate. The CFL gives a chance for Canadians to play, and it gives a chance for us to see special players like Chad Owens, Cory Boyd, Anthony Calvillo, Jamel Richardson, Stevie Baggs, Weston Dressler, Jerome Messam, Travis Lulay, Darian Durant, Jon Cornish, Justin Hickman, Solomon Elimimian, Chris Williams, Jerrell Freeman, and so on... I could go on.

- Its been a pleasure blogging for you this year and I hope to meet again next year.

- CFLjoe will return on Monday, June 25th 2012. Please leave a comment any time during the off season and I'll respond.

Another Ring for Wally - More Heart-Break for LaPo

2011-11-28T05:13:00.001-05:00

Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS

- So it turns out defence wins championships but its not enough if the offence doesn't show up. BC's momentum was just too much. Their offence was clicking and even though Winnipeg's defence was good, it wasn't perfect.

- Lulay didn't play amazing but it was good enough to get the win. He moved the ball when he needed to. Last week I wrote that Kierre Johnson may be a key player in this game and his TD was really the deflating one that sealed the loss.

- How happy are you to be Arland Bruce and Tad Kornegay right now? Traded away only to be picked up by teams that used them really well.

- If you want to see the emotion of a win see Khalif Mitchell's interview: http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/22591

- I gave the Winnipeg offence more credit than what we saw. It turns out that Buck Pierce wasn't given an opportunity to be a play maker. He didn't have a chance to make any magic happen with his legs and was unable to move the pocket.

- I also would accuse Paul LaPolice of being conservative in his play calling. Many of his play calls were low risk and low reward. When he pushed the ball at the end in really paid off but it would have been nice to see them play more aggressively early on.

- LaPolice said the Bombers weren't making plays and also said his team didn't get enough first downs. That's clear and it kept Winnipeg out of it early. There was no way that Winnipeg could even compete because they lacked the ability continue a drive. That put them down early and made it seem like they had no offence. Too many two and outs.

- That being said, Paul LaPolice is a great coach and I can imagine him taking his team to this same place again the next few years.

- Anton McKenzie played one of his best games as a Lion. His interception was big but it was the fact that he was in on almost every play. He hustled hard and his desire to win really showed.

- Rumor has it that yardsticks were missing and the police escorted BC staff to pick up the yard sticks from a local high school. Pretty funny how you can have everything organized and forget something as simple as that for the biggest game of the year.

- Already a lot has been made of Odell Willis dropping the pitch interception and its maybe that his head just wasn't in the game. He was virtually invisible aside from 3 or 4 plays where he put a hit on Lulay. Lots of talk. Not a lot of production.

- Pierce on the other hand had a rough game. He was only 19 for 37 and tried to pass too much while in the pocket. There was no run game and so Pierce was forced to pass from the middle of the field in the pocket and that resulted in incompletions. Pierce is not a pocket passer and so keeping him there was a bad idea. He needed to roll out more but he didn't seem to do that.

- Sportsnet reported that Greg Carr watched the entire cup presentation ceremony to the BC Lions because he said he wanted to know what it feels like. He said he wanted to think about the feeling when he was training in the offseason.

- Its double shock for Doug Brown. He lost his third Grey Cup final game and now won't be able to attempt that again. Even though he still has that fire, he won't be able to get that ring he always wanted. So not only did he lose, but he is also saying goodbye to the game. Tough loss for a great guy.

- There was over 54, 000 people in attendance and to be honest, I think every CFL game deserves that big of a crowd. What a good product we saw this weekend.

- Do you remember last week when I wrote about Clarence Denmark needing to make an impact for Winnipeg? Well he had no catches. Where did he go? He needed to be the play maker we saw early in the season. He was a non-factor and that hurt Winnipeg.

- Jamie Boreham used to be on of my favorite punters but I would say that Boreham was almost a hindrance in this game for Winnipeg. He punted so poorly early in the game that he continually gave BC great field position.

- Teams don't practice on-side kicks very often but Boreham's kick wasn't long enough and didn't even give Winnipeg a chance to recover it.

- I was surprised by the amount of zone coverage Tim Burke and his Bombers played in this game. Typically Burke plays aggressive man coverage and I felt like I continually saw his guys giving up big plays when they were in zone.

- But we all knew from the start that Winnipeg's strength was by getting pressure up front by their D-line. When that didn't happen in this game, the rest of Winnipeg's defence wasn't effective.

- So as the old saying goes, this game was won in the trenches. It was won by the BC O-line. Congrats to them for holding off Vega, Willis, and Brown pretty much all game.

- Was Winnipeg outcoached? Maybe. But I be more inclined to say that they were out game planned. BC was moving the ball in a way Winnipeg seemed unable to stop. Buono and his coordinators seemed to have an answer to all of Winnipeg's moves.

- In the end it was Bruce and Simon, the veterans, that came through for Lulay. They made the tough catches when he needed them and they made it difficult on the Winnipeg defence to know who to cover. I was also impressed by Paris Jackson. He made some good catches.

- This Grey Cup will be remembered for the inability of Buck Pierce to lead his offence down the field. Early on they just didn't score enough.

- I would have liked to see more QB pressure from both of these teams but that is just how it goes sometimes. Winnipeg just wasn't in the game from the start which is unfortunate.

- Wally Buono has nothing left to do but retire as head coach and take on the GM duties full-time. What else does he have to accomplish as a coach? He knows how to bring in CFL talent and he'll keep BC talented for a while.

- Andrew Harris only had 65 yards rushing but he only had 10 attempts. He did well with the touches he had. There weren't many Canadian stand outs in this game and so Harris played well enough to deserve this.

- Did you get a chance to see the CIS game? It was a great game. I watched it from start to finish and there are some great future CFL players coming out of both of those teams.

- The good thing about Grey Cup week is that we get to see the Grey Cup. The bad thing is that football is over for another year. There is not games next week. Its a sad night.

- TSN did some good coverage this weekend and there are many story lines we'll be watching this off season. I'll talk a bit about those tomorrow. Have a great Monday and please let me know your thoughts on the game.

Grey Cup Preview # 5 - A little wrap up

2011-11-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

- And here we are... the last CFLjoe post before the Grey Cup. I hope you are all pepped up. As Canadian Football fans you also must watch the Vanier Cup because this year, I think it will be a good one.

- Players sneak in to the league every year and will sparkle for a game. It happens every year but players that stick around are players that succeed when a whole teams is keying on them. Chris Garrett will have an entire defence watching him and the true test to determine if he is skilled enough will be the level of his success this week.

- Obviously, he is a good player but after you rush for 190+ yards, you will attract more attention. Lets see what Garrett can make of his show at it.

- Take a look at Odell Willis. Have you seen him lately? Teams are now putting a tight end, fullback, running back or another linemen on him. He is seeing double teams all game and he's been pretty silent this second half of the season.

- Buck Pierce is not the best passer in the league and this year he's not as good as Travis Lulay. The Bomber defence is so good they will keep Winnipeg in it all game. What would really throw a wrench into the BC plans is if Winnipeg has a long time of possession on offence and control the ball.

- Winnipeg cannot give Lulay any extra touches of the ball and so Pierce will need to get his first downs, he will need to not throw interceptions and they need to limit their two and outs.

- If you are BC, the more time Lulay has with the ball the better. He is a play maker and he clearly can move his offence. Winnipeg's defence will be tough and so the more chances you have to beat them the better.

- I think its tempting for the Lions to slip in to their heavy pass offence. They need to strive for a little more balance than usual. The last time they played Winnipeg, their run game was a disaster. Running early will perhaps keep Winnipeg guessing because playing a pass only offence is just what the Bombers want.

- I don't think Winnipeg is afraid of the BC run offence right now and I know the Lions would love to surprise them with some strength in the run game. Everyone knows Lulay is a passer and likes to run himself but it would really throw off the Bombers if BC dominated with a run game.

- Just like I promised yesterday after we ran out of space. Key players for Winnipeg:

Chris Garrett: Obviously we've been talking about this guy since Fred Reid went down. Like I said above, he could really tilt the fortunes of the Bombers if he can still make his plays and draw attention away from the receivers and Pierce.

Odell Willis: He's been quiet the latter part of the season but a big game from him could really hamper what Lulay and the offence are trying to set up.

Clarence Denmark: He was held to 30 yards against Hamilton and Winnipeg will need him to step up this game. He had 4 catches but they weren't difference makers. Winnipeg's offence may need help against a tight BC defence and so Denmark will need to step up.

Jovon Johnson: Led the CFL in interceptions. We all know the defence will have to pull the majority of the weight in this game and Lulay would love to pass away on the Winnipeg defence. Johnson needs at least one interception. You all know he's also a punt returner. Johnson can be the shift in field position that Winnipeg needs to set up Buck Pierce. A good kick return can put you in field goal position even if your offence is a bust. Johnson will have a double role in changing the game for Winnipeg.

Obby Khan: Obby and his whole O-line will have to work hard to keep Pierce protected and spring the run game. The BC pass rush seems to get better and better each week and so Khan's O-line needs to have one of their best games. As we saw yesterday, Winnipeg was tied for giving up the most sacks. That can't happen on Sunday.

- What are your Grey Cup plans?

- You might be asking why aren't the CFL awards televised and I'd wholeheartedly agree with you. This is the night we honor the best in the league and its not even broadcast on TV.

- Chris Williams wins rookie of the year? Of course he should. Does he get a bonus from the TiCats? I wonder if those guys have salary issues. It seems they have some pretty big names there and now the rookie of the year. I'm a little surprised Jovon Johnson won defender of the year over Freeman but its hard to dispute his teams results.

- Clearly the fight for top Canadian between Messam and Cornish will be hotly debated and it should be. These guys both had great seasons and were fun to watch. They will raise the level of Canadian talent we have coming in to the league and that helps everyone out.

- Do you think Travis Lulay deserves MOP? I think essentially Calvillo lost this in the last part of the season. Lulay had a terrible start but was able to bring his team to the top. If you ask who is the "Most Valuable" to their team then of course its Lulay. His team would be no where without him. Calvillo dropped his production late in the season and perhaps that is why he didn't win.

- I imagine Wally Buono will retire as a head coach if the Lions win the Cup.

- You know what I like about the CFL? The game isn't over with 1:40 left on the clock. With a 40 second play clock and 4 downs a team can take the knee and kill a lot of time. I love the CFL for its unpredictablity right until the end. I hope the Grey Cup game goes right until the end.

- This game on paper looks great and if the teams play well it will be really fun. I'm going to watch a lot of football this weekend and I hope you leave your predictions here. Please leave a word on where you're watching the game and who will win.

- Happy Grey Cup everyone!