Jack B. Bedell
CFL.ca
NOTHING LIKE A LITTLE HOME COOKING
It took three furious comebacks and a serious blowout to pull it off, but all four home teams came away with victories in Week 4. A month into the season already, that’s the first home sweep, and it was impressive across the board.
The home wins couldn’t have come at better times for B.C. and Toronto, with the Lions honouring the memory of Bobby Ackles and the Argos desperately in need of some offensive production to keep their season afloat. For the Stamps and Roughriders, it was simply a matter of two great teams keeping their rolls on.
COMEBACKS ‘R’ US
For a league that prides itself on excitement and 60 minutes of possibility in every game, the CFL really outdid itself in Week 4.
Three out of the four tilts featured numerous second-half lead changes and unbelievable fourth-quarter heroics that left us all out of breath.
The Lions erased an 18-11 fourth-quarter deficit largely thanks to dominant second-half performances by team leaders on both sides of the ball. Jarious Jackson put up 300 yards of passing in the final two frames, over 100 of them going to Geroy Simon, whose adjustment on Jackson’s 47-yard bomb for the capping major was simply incredible.
B.C.’s defence really slammed the door on Winnipeg’s chances of holding on to the game with four sacks and three picks. Korey Banks piled up two of the sacks and two of the INTs, taking one to the house, and the Lions’ defensive line nullified the Bombers’ ground game, pitching a shutout in the fourth to seal the W.
Out in Regina, the Roughriders and Alouettes threw down in an old-fashioned shootout that saw the ‘Riders turn an eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead in the final three minutes.
Darian Durant and Anthony Calvillo combined for over 700 yards passing and seven TDs, in a tilt that amazingly did not feature a 100-yard receiver. Lead changes and offensive counterpunches came fast and furious the entire game, until a couple of special teams snafus by Als’ return man Jason Armstead gave the game to Gang Green.
The first of Armstead’s gaffes was one of the strangest special teams plays I’ve witnessed in years. With his team up by two points and only a couple of minutes left in the game, Armstead lined up short to return what he expected to be an on-sides attempt. When the kickoff boomed over his head, he had to retreat Willie Mays style to make a phenomenal play on the ball, but then inexplicably took a knee on the Als’ 11-yard line with dozens of yards of field position in front of him.
Buried in their own end, the Als’ gave up a tipped-ball pick that led to the ‘Riders’ go-ahead TD, and then Armstead coughed away any chance of an Als’ rebuttal when he fumbled the ensuing kick, setting up the Luca Congi field goal that capped the scoring.
Incredible game, inexplicable plays. A definite Game of the Year candidate.
The comeback performance of the weekend has to go to Kerry Joseph, though. Under some serious pressure to get the offence going for the Argos, Joseph put up 343 yards through the air and another 118 on the ground along the way to clawing Toronto to a home win.
Down three points with less than three minutes remaining, Joseph put together a 109-yard winning drive that may have saved the Argos’ season. The drive was an incredible display of field generalship, with Joseph taking whatever the Eskimos’ defence gave him.
Joseph ran when he had to, and worked the ball to rookie receivers who would have normally been his third or fourth options, all the way down the field. Fittingly, Joseph called his own number to pull off the comeback, taking it in himself on a 12-yard QB draw.
It was the kind of performance that made me think Joseph should trade the 4 on his chest for a big “S.”
STAMPED OUT
The one home squad that didn’t need a comeback was the Calgary Stampeders. Fueled by another strong performance by Henry Burris and a suffocating defence, the Stamps romped to a 43-16 win over the Hamilton Ticats.
On offence, Calgary was nearly unstoppable. Burris passed for 345 yards, both Nik Lewis and Ken-Yon Rambo posted 100-yard efforts, and Joffrey Reynolds was a hair away from the century mark himself. At points, the Staps’ O looked like they were running skeleton drills against an overmatched Ticats’ D, and once the score turned ugly, Hamilton had no answer.
Defensive Coordinator Chris Jones’ unit deserves a little praise, too. The Stamps’ D put great pressure on Casey Printers all night from a variety of angles, piling up three picks and a couple of sacks, and generally making it impossible for the Ticats to find any offensive rhythm.
As TSN analyst Matt Dunigan says, Burris is starting to “stack” stellar performances, and Calgary is rounding into one of the most balanced teams in the league. In the ultra-competitive West, they’ll need to be to get where they want to go.
RWB’S PRIMETIME PERFORMERS
1) Kerry Joseph
2) Darian Durant
3) Anthony Calvillo
4) Wes Cates
5) Henry Burris
6) Nik Lewis
7) Tristan Jackson
8) Jarious Jackson
9) Geroy Simon
10) Jason Armstead…..NOT!
WEEK 5 PREDICTIONS DOOMED TO GO WRONG
Even with the Argonauts pulling off the East’s first victory of the year against the West this past week, I’m not bucking the trend with my picks. I’m going Wild West until proven wrong—Calgary, Edmonton, B.C., and Saskatchewan.
UP NEXT
Check back early next week for my take on all the week 5 action, and to see if I’m eating any humble pie after dissing the East in my picks.
Until then, take care. And please don’t take a knee while you’re still on the clock at work this week!
Jack B. Bedell is a Professor of English at Southeastern Louisiana
University in Hammond, Louisiana and has followed the CFL for nearly
three decades.
