Inside the CFL: Mid-season report card: Riders can still be the best

By None on August 28, 2018.

Labour Day marks the beginning of the second half of the CFL season. It kicks off with the traditional back-to-back matchups, Winnipeg at Saskatchewan, Edmonton in Calgary and Toronto at Hamilton. Montreal is in Ottawa while the B.C. Lions lick their wounds in a bye week.

On June 12, I predicted Saskatchewan would finish first and win it all followed by Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and B.C. I wrote that I would have had Winnipeg higher except for the injury to quarterback Matt Nichols. He returned sooner than expected but hasn’t made much difference.

I didn’t anticipate the three-ring circus in Regina. Finally, Chris Jones ended his puzzling experiment of playing all-Canadian receiver Duron Carter on defence and released him, leaving him free to destroy the morale in another dressing room, this time Toronto. My prediction for Saskatchewan was based on the acquisition of quarterback Zach Collaros. When he went down the team struggled. My friend Dave Carnegy sent me a cartoon urging citizens threatened by a tornado to flee to Mosaic Stadium where there is no chance of a touchdown.

Zach is back and while many of us wanted Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge to succeed as the starter, the Roughrider turnaround is largely due to the play of Collaros, who is more experienced and quicker. Defensively, Nick Marshall is the best rookie to come into the league in years. Former Stamp Charleston Hughes and Willie Jefferson are a devastating duo at defensive end. The interior linemen are mediocre and the offence could use a deep threat. I can’t see them overtaking Calgary for first but they can still sweep the post-season. The Saskatchewan wild card is head coach Jones, Don Quixote in cleats. He makes the strangest decisions at times.

I reminded coach Dave Dickenson that at 8-1, his Stampeders are off to their best start since their undefeated season 70 years ago. He would have none of it. “We’re not even thinking about that,” he proclaimed. Nor should he be. No one is going to be truly impressed with another great Stampeder regular season record unless they win the Grey Cup.

They certainly have the talent to do it. Their defence is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Last Saturday they held Andrew Harris to 13 yards on seven carries. The offence sputters at times before Bo Levi Mitchell finds his groove and goes to work. Against the Bombers he had his first 400 plus yards passing game, despite missing receivers half-a-dozen times. When receiver Eric Rogers returns they’ll be even tougher. They dominate the fourth quarter.

The Eskimos’ record is 6-4 but should be better than that. At times they look unbeatable but then give the game away. Their offence is potent. The defence makes a lot of sacks but also gives up big plays. On both sides of the ball, mental errors and discipline remain a problem. The Eskimos’ coaching staff is too emotional. In a should-win game in Hamilton, the Esks didn’t show up in the first quarter, scored 24 points in the second and disappeared the rest of the way, blowing a 24-10 lead and losing 25-24. They lost to the Lions in similar fashion. That’s coaching. Despite being led by great veterans Mike Reilly and J.C. Sherritt, this team is emotionally immature, a reflection of the coaching staff. To stay in the hunt for first place, they need to sweep the Stamps next week. If they get swept, they’ll fight it out with Winnipeg to host the West semifinal.

The Blue Bombers are as inconsistent as the Eskimos, looking like champs one moment, chumps the next, sometimes during the same game. They lead the league in scoring and rushing but have only one receiver in the top 20. They need a deep threat. Defensively they are solid with Adam Bighill having a monster year at middle linebacker.

Why aren’t the Bombers better? Mistakes. They’re first at turning the ball over in the opposition red zone. They lead in procedure and offside penalties by a huge margin.

B.C. is still not winning the close ones. Their defence is playing well but the receivers have Teflon hands. They’re continual mental errors drive Wally Buono wild.

Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 46 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.

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