Thursday, August 3, 2006
Rouge, White & Blue
By Jack B. Bedell,
CFL.ca
One third of the season is in the books, and a few things are starting
to come clear. Montreal is a pretty good second-half team. Winnipeg is
for real and has a virtual lock on second place in the East with
Toronto and Hamilton off to rough starts. And the West is an
old-fashioned dogfight with only B.C. sporting a winning record at 4-3.
The rest, as they say, is yet to be determined.
Taking a little stock on the season to this point, I thought I’d share a few of the questions weighing on my mind so far.
1) Are the new balls squirrelly?
It may be my imagination, but it sure looks like the majority of pivots
in the league are having problems with the new seams on the ball’s
stripes. Kevin Glenn was quoted recently as saying the second
interception he threw this season was caused by the ball taking a
nosedive on him, and that the new balls have a tendency to hold
trajectory more than the old balls.
Anthony Calvillo’s passes to the perimeter look to be sailing on him
quite a bit. Jason Maas is having a hard time finding the range on his
deep throws. And I’ve seen way fewer tight spirals this season. It only
takes a small scuff to make a baseball do strange things, so I have to
believe the new seams have an affect on the way balls are being
delivered this year.
2) What’s stretching the clock?
I haven’t checked the official game logs, but based on my DVR
programming times, the majority of games are going over the three-hour
mark this season. Many opponents of instant replay feared that it would
extend games, but that hasn’t really been the case. Replay reviews have
been pretty efficient and not nearly as numerous as was projected.
Injuries have not occurred at an inordinate rate.
If I had to propose a villain, it would be the penalty flag. The new
plane rule on kick blocking has caused more than its share of delays.
And there seems to be a rise in procedure calls on offence and pass
interference calls on defence. Whether it’s sloppy play or tighter
officiating, the flags are changing the pace of the game significantly.
3) Is the Grey Cup Hangover a reality?
The way the Edmonton Eskimos have started 2006, I’m starting to believe
the Grey Cup Hangover actually exists. With the talent in place on the
Esks’ roster and their championship coaching staff still in tact,
there’s just no excuse for the team’s inability to put points on the
board. If you took a look at Edmonton’s offensive numbers, especially
Ricky Ray’s production, you’d have to think the Esks were leading the
league in scoring, not second to last.
Like Ricky Ray’s passing TD drought at the end of last season, these
red-zone woes are almost inexplicable. The one controllable factor has
been untimely penalties, and that’s a matter of discipline and
coaching. So the question remains, if it’s not the dreaded Cup
Hangover, why are the Esks shooting themselves in the foot in their
score zone?
4) Where has all the patience gone?
Greg Marshall got one rough month in Hamilton before catching the axe,
they were calling for Danny Barrett’s head in Regina until a couple of
wins pulled the ‘Riders out of their hole, the Eskimos’ slump has fans
demanding changes in Titletown, and I can only imagine what the winds
will scream in Calgary if the Stamps don’t start living up to their
‘potential’ soon.
We all started 2006 with great expectations for the season, but it
seems to me those expectations have led to a really palpable impatience
instead of fierce loyalty around the league. It’s only the first third
of the season, and frustration abounds. Whatever happened to the old
truism that the season is a marathon, not a sprint?
5) Who’s going to step up in the West to take control of the division?
With B.C. the only team in the West sporting a winning record at 4-3
and the other three teams within four points of first place, the
division’s a real logjam. Week 8 has the potential to confuse the issue
even more with Edmonton visiting the Lions and the ‘Riders heading into
Calgary. If those games break the right way, the West will tighten
significantly.
Over the last two weeks, the Lions have ridden Joe Smith to impressive
20-plus point victories and look to be headed in the right direction.
Saskatchewan has been up-and-down. And Calgary and Edmonton are on
losing streaks.
With all the talent in the division, the West is bound to be
competitive right down to the wire, but sooner or later one of these
teams is going to have to kick it up a notch to take control. At this
point, my bet’s B.C.
WEEK 8 PICKS DOOMED TO GO WRONG
Last week I went with all road teams, and things were really peachy
until Saskatchewan sent the Stamps home hungry. This week I’m going
with home teams across the board — Montreal, Winnipeg, B.C., and
Calgary. I’ve been a solid 75% on my picks to this point, so I’m
curious to see which team will let me down in Week 8.
UP NEXT
In a rare feat of scheduling luck, I’m in the U.S. Northwest right now
on vacation and will actually be in B.C. Place Friday night to see the
Lions take on the Esks. Friends in Section 17 have set me up with great
seats, so I’ll let you know how the trip goes next week. I’ll also have
a few quotes from a short interview with Dave Dickenson to share.
Until then, take care and enjoy the action. My Tivo’s at home alone this weekend. I really hope it won’t hold a grudge.
Jack B. Bedell is a Professor of English at Southeastern Louisiana
University in Hammond, Louisiana and has followed the CFL for nearly
three decades.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
