Matt Cauz
CFL.ca
Before I begin, my apologies for my tardiness with my Monday column. My weekend was the typical Southern Ontario stereotype with my fighting traffic to go hang out at a cottage for 72 hours before fighting traffic to come back home. Needless to say there was no internet access up North beyond a dial-up connection that was robbing my will to live just waiting for it to connect.
Moving on.
First off, I would like to thank the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos for making me look like an idiot. In just mere days they made my “Montreal has the look of an Undefeated Team” article about as obsolete as the phone book.
If I had known I had such powers I would have been better served predicting that Megan Fox would never agree to full frontal nudity in her next four films and that Chris Schultz would never agree to grow his moustache back. (Come on Chris, you know it’s your destiny!)
The loss completely ruins a great storyline that was just starting to get off the ground but on the bright side it was nice to see Ricky Ray look like his old self. The league is better served with a strong pivot in Edmonton.
I promise to keep my predictions for this week to a minimal, instead let’s take a look at the mess that was the Toronto / Winnipeg game. If I had any power in the league I would force the cancellation of their Week 13 rematch. I have no problem sitting at my cottage watching football as friends and family are swimming on the first sunny Saturday since 2007. But not when I have to endure an eight-turnover affair that was only slightly more riveting than the previous week’s 19-5 aesthetic disaster.
Bitterness and pale skin aside there was plenty to take from the game.
Mike Kelly and the entire Blue Bombers coaching staff deserve a ton of credit for putting together a game plan that would give Michael Bishop the best chance to succeed. Kelly played to Bishop’s strengths, having him roll out on almost every pass play allowing him to focus on just half the field.
Bishop has never been a great passer, yes he’s won a ton of games, but he is a sub 50% passer. If Bishop could consistently process more than two progressions on a single pass play than he would be a multiple All Star. The last thing you want to do with a guy like that is force him to drop back and read the whole field. Instead, he rolls out, reads his one or two options, if they’re covered than Michael either takes off or throws the ball away. It was a perfect strategy for the first quarter as the Blue Bombers raced to a 10-0 lead behind Bishop’s legs and Terrence Edwards’ dominance.
Of course this wasn’t going to last, not when the quarterback has only had four days of practice and certainly not when said quarterback in question is as streaky as Allen Iverson. After staking Winnipeg to that double-digit lead, Bishop and the Blue Bombers managed to generate just three points for the remainder of the game.
Like I said, this game was as about impressive as Nicolas Cage’s IMDB profile after 1998 (you really need to see it, just a train wreck of decisions) but what could you expect when both teams offenses were not exactly put into a position to succeed.
As for the Argonauts pivot, I picture the locker room after the loss looking like something out of ‘Good Will Hunting’
Kerry Joseph: I’m so sorry about the loss, it’s all my fault.
Bart Andrus: It’s not your fault
Joseph: But I threw four interceptions
Andrus: It’s not your fault, I never should have let you throw that goofy pass at the end of the half, I almost got you killed out there. You should have just taken a knee instead of tossing that pick.
Joseph: (trying not to sob) But I threw three others.
Andrus: It’s not your fault. One of your passes went right off the hands of Hank Edwards. To be honest I don’t even know who he is. My seven year old would have caught that pass.
Joseph: (Now openly sobbing) But I still forced two throws in tight coverage that were picked off.
Andrus: Yeah you kind of did. Enough of me being sensitive, maybe it was your fault.
Joking aside, as odd as this may sound Kerry Joseph’s four-interception opus may have been his best performance of the season. Joseph and the Argonauts would have come away with the win if it weren’t for that horrible time count violation on the winning field goal. His passing numbers were actually remarkable when you consider that Arland Bruce is now gone, his big play guy (Reggie McNeal) was benched and his steadiest target (Andre Talbot) has missed just about the entire season.
How could any quarterback be effective going into a game with so little experience at wide-out? Chad Lucas had some great moments, but I couldn’t help but think about one play late in the second quarter when Lucas and fellow newcomer Cory Rodgers ran into one another. They had no idea what they were supposed to do, but can you really blame them? They barely had enough practice time to develop any sort of communication or timing with Joseph.
That lack of experience was evident beyond the missed reads or blown patterns. Joseph had more than enough time to throw the ball but far too often he couldn’t find anyone and was forced to scramble. On most completions his wide receivers were usually nailed right away by a host of Blue Bombers ready to make a big hit. This tells me that Toronto’s WR’s could not get open against Winnipeg’s secondary. One of the most underrated elements to a wide receiver’s game is his ability to create separation, to provide a good target for his quarterback. The only time I can recall any true separation was on Chad Lucas’s touchdown catch, but that had as much to do with Joseph’s brilliant double pump than it did with Lucas.
Now I am not saying Joseph is perfect, or is even playing at a high level. He isn’t, but considering the lack of talent around him I didn’t expect him to play any better than he did on Saturday. This team needs about a month with all the new guys before we can pass judgment on what kind of attack Toronto will have.
So what should we expect from these two teams going forward?
For Winnipeg I expect Terrence Edwards to have a massive season. Edwards came in on Saturday with just 134 yards, but with Bishop under centre instead of that trio of mediocrity Winnipeg was serving up to start the season, he exploded for 110 yards and one score. Edwards has been like Robert DeNiro doing inner theatre in Sudbury, yeah he may be great but his talent is being wasted. I believe Bishop turns Edwards into a legit star. He also gives the Blue Bombers their best chance to win and he will be better than what we saw against Toronto, but not that much better.
At this point of his career I think we have seen the best and worst from Michael Bishop, we know what he is. A streaky passer who will win you a lot more games than you may expect but if you’re a Blue Bomber fan don’t expect him to take you to a Grey Cup.
Finally, I couldn’t write this column without at least one outrageous prediction that has no chance of happening. So I say look for Siddeeq Shabazz to set a CFL record for most fumble recoveries and interceptions in a season. That dude is like the Forrest Gump of turnovers, he just always seems to be at the right place at the right time.
As for Toronto, I see them being a much better second half team. If you saw Joseph trying to will his team to a victory late in the game, his crazy 4th quarter straight arm on Barrin Simpson (Hang your head in shame Barrin) than you know that if his wide-outs can learn on the job quickly that Joseph will win a lot of games for Toronto.
By the way, before I finish, (I know I’m near 1400 words) I have to give out a special mention to LT Rob Murphy, the best offensive player on the field for either team. Beyond one play (Gavin Walls’ crazy sack) Murphy was downright dominant. Just go back and watch the pump fake touchdown to Lucas, no way that play happens unless Murphy can hold his block for an extra second.
Watch for the Argonauts to struggle for the next couple weeks as they try to establish their offensive identity. As I said, I see them playing their best ball late, fighting it out with Hamilton for second place in the East. Of course take all my predictions with a large grain of salt.
