Matt Cauz
CFL.ca
I know that I have promised to write at least one column that is under a 1,000 words. Considering I’m a bit of a blowhard and I have a difficult time editing my own work I don’t really see it happening but I will try my best.
So here are my quick thoughts from what I saw this past weekend:
Congratulations to Wally Buono. One of the most driven coaches in CFL history, he richly deserves the title of CFL’s winningest coach. Of course the best part of him setting the record is we no longer have to see shots of Don Matthews lurking in some press box. I was not emotionally prepared on Saturday night to suddenly see Don in HD. He looks like a cross between a James Bond villain and that guy your parents told you not to talk to.
Speaking of Toronto it’s official (non-officially of course) the Argonauts are out of the playoffs. Their only hope was to beat the Lions and for the Tiger-Cats to lose to Calgary. Now you are going to hear a lot of crazy talk from people (mostly from the good people at either TSN or the Argonauts) who are going to convince you that the team still has a chance. Mathematically speaking they are right; if Toronto wins out and gets a whole ton of help they can technically make the playoffs. Technically. Of course there is one little glitch in this plan, the team has not shown the ability to win on a consistent basis. Heck at this point any Argo fan would like to see the team win on even a non-consistent basis.
Hey, did you know that the CFL does not consider a Toronto Argonaut game official until at least one new wide receiver makes his debut. On Saturday it was Jerome Mathis, two weeks ago it was Jason Carter (solid game vs. Hamilton) and before that we’ve seen Chad Lucas, Cory Rodgers … etc. As much as I make fun of the guy I also feel bad for Cody Pickett. There is no way he can feel 100% comfortable dropping back.
Before I move on … am I the only one nervous every time that Buck Pierce drops back? When I hear the numbers five concussions in 11 months I just cringe. I sure hope Buck knows what he is doing.
The two best calls from Week #12 go to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaching staff. Everyone is talking about the 36-yard touchdown pass from third stringer Adam Tafralis to Arland Bruce giving Hamilton a lead they would not relinquish. Not only was it a gutsy call but it was the right one.
The Tiger-Cats were facing the CFL’s highest scoring team and were having enough troubles scoring. More teams should take chances deep on second and short. What made that play so intriguing was that Bruce was actually well covered. Tafralis deserves a ton of credit for recognizing though that it was single coverage and that Arland had a great chance of beating his man on a deep pass. Most third string QB’s would have elected to play it safe, lowered their heads and tried to plow forward for one yard.
But let’s talk about the other pivotal call from Friday night. How many teams would go for it on third down on their own 13 with over two minutes left leading by seven? Not too many, I hope. Even after Tafralis made the first down I still didn’t agree with the call. Hamilton’s D had done a great job hounding Henry Burris into his worst game of the season. If the Ti-Cats hadn’t made the yard then Calgary would have been in an easy position to tie the game. Of course the play worked, Hamilton got a huge win and Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille looks like (and deservingly so) a genius.
I was going to end the column right here but a quick word about the brilliant job turned in by Bellefeuille in 2009. He has deftly handled what could have been a raging QB controversy between Porter and Glenn, Arland Bruce has assimilated smoothly into the Ti-Cat attack and Hamilton is in the driver’s seat for a home playoff game. I don’t know how many people would have predicted this kind of success for him after going 1-7 as the interim coach in 2008 and getting blown out in Week #1 vs. Toronto.
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