Inside the CFL: CFL playoff picture coming into focus with 1/3 of the season left

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on September 12, 2024.

sports@medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

he Bombers and Lions are in a dead heat, Saskatchewan is stumbling, the Elks are making their move and Quick Six has pulled up lame.

With the final third of the schedule underway it is clear there are four excellent teams, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and B.C., three average clubs, Edmonton. Saskatchewan and Toronto, and two dogs, Calgary and Hamilton.

The playoff picture is coming into focus.

B.C.’s last five games are against Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Montreal. Four of those contests are at home. They could run the table but one loss is more likely, finishing with 22 points.

The Bombers also play the above Eastern teams and have a back-to-back with Edmonton. Three are on the road.

They, too, should win four leaving them tied for first with B.C. Winnipeg won the season series with the Leos and would host the Western Final for the fifth year in a row.

Third place is up for grabs.

The Elks are one point behind the Riders, they are home and away with Winnipeg, home to Saskatchewan and Toronto, away in Calgary. That meeting with the Jolly Green Giants could be crucial.

I’m not convinced the antlered ones are that good, especially on defence. But Calgary, three points out of third, is a train wreck.

After losing the Labour Day game 35-20 to the Elks, Coach Dave Dickenson said, “Frustrating. That was a poor performance … guy’s weren’t ready to play.”

He went on, “You can’t win with 18 yards rushing and 500 yards given up passing … they physically out played us. Our effort was just not enough. We gotta find ways to get better. We have to play them in five days, so an opportunity will be there to play better.

“It’s mind-boggling to me It’s embarrassing. That’s all I can say. It’s embarrassing.”

Quarterback Jake Maier threw four interceptions.

Never a fan favourite, cries for his head reached fever pitch. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Hoping to shake up his offence, Dickenson benched Maier in favour of little known, inexperienced Logan Bonner, a gutsy move that didn’t work out.

The youngster threw five interceptions at Commonwealth in a 37-16 loss, after which his coach remarked, “Right now we are not a good football team … we are doing very little well. There’s a lot of things losing teams do and we did a lot of them.”

In hindsight Dickenson should not have sat his starter and should go back to Maier Saturday when they host Montreal. But the problem isn’t just quarterback.

The Stamps are second last in points given up and last in points scored. Seven may be a lucky number at Casino Regina but not down South Railway at Mosaic Stadium.

They ended their last two seasons on seven game winless streaks. This year, after starting out at 5-1, the Riders haven’t recorded a victory in seven starts, their last win coming July 19th. Five of the six losses (the other game was a 22-22 tie with Ottawa thanks to being robbed by the Command Centre) were by a total of 15 points.

They were swept by the Bombers last week. After the Banjo Bowl quarterback Trevor Harris lamented, “It’s frustrating. It’s a bad taste in our mouth. Winnable game today but you just get tired of saying that.” Coach Corey Mace said, “We’ve got to find a way to get over the hump. With a bye week, it will be good for a little bit of a reset. When they come back they’ll be ready to rock. It’s quite a Western run coming up.”

It starts in Calgary next Friday, then home to Ottawa, up to Edmonton, home to B.C. and the Stamps with another bye week in between.

At this point they control their playoff destiny.

Unlike Calgary that lacks talent, the Roughriders have much to be optimistic about. But adjustments are necessary.

Corey Mace has trouble with clock management and deciding when to challenge a play. There are enough demands on a head coach without also being the defensive co-ordinator. He should shed that role. And, offensive co-ordinator Mark Mueller is just as bad in the red zone as he was with the Stamps.

Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 52 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.