Matt Cauz
CFL.ca
I’m tired of talking about the Argonauts and since I’ve been accused of an Eastern bias I have no comment about Hamilton’s win over Toronto. No real surprise how this game played out for both teams.
The only highlight that sticks out was the goose egg put up by the Wendy’s Kick for a Million contestant Steven Olsen. I’m not sure what was more embarrassing, the Argonauts passing offense or the fact that Olsen couldn’t nail a 20 yarder. I almost felt bad for Olsen considering the deer in headlights look he was sporting throughout the contest, but he still got $30,000 despite going 0/4 on the night. I guess that’s Wendy’s version of the single point.
The best part was Wendy’s unveiling the laziest and most uninspired mascot since the Syracuse Orange, the Frosty Mascot! Now for those of you who missed it the Frosty Mascot is just a dude in jeans with a giant novelty sized frosty on his head. I’m betting that he would have at least made one field goal and he’s delicious to boot.
Ten Thoughts from the Edmonton / Calgary Game:
(1) Can you give the Comeback Player of the Year Award to a rookie? If so I’d give it to Arkee Whitlock who has rebounded from his infamous debut game (29 yards rushing, multiple dropped passes and a fumble) to a 1,000 yard rusher. He only ended up with 71 yards on eight carries but his 35-yard run early in the first quarter again illustrated the burst and vision that Whitlock possess. The run that got him over the 1,000 yard mark, a nifty 20 yarder had three separate but equally impressive cut backs.
(2) Can Mark Cohon please outlaw Ricky Ray from running the QB sneak? I ask the commissioner all the time for stuff that he never grants, why not this one little favour? It would spare all fans those three seconds of mediocrity. Ricky running up the middle is like watching David Wells jogging out of the bullpen; it’s ugly and devoid of even a trace amount of athleticism.
(3) I knew he led the Eskimos in receptions and yards in the game (plus he leads the CFL in yards) but Fred Stamps hurt his team early on by not falling forward on his reception on 2nd and three with just under three minutes to go in the first quarter. He had a good chance of converting, but Stamps tried to make a big play and was tackled by Dwight Anderson. Instead of a first down in the red zone Edmonton had to settle for a short field goal.
(4) Romby Bryant dominated the Eskimos secondary in just about every conceivable way. His first catch at the end of the 1st quarter was a nice display of concentration as Bryant managed to collect the Henry Burris pass and get his feet in bounds. He bounced off of Kelly Malveaux for an extra 10 yards on his next reception and then he followed that up two plays later by hurdling Randee Drew on his way to a 40-yard gain. That play led to Burris finding Rob Cote wide open for a six yard score.
I’m going to take a wild guess and say that just about every Blue Bombers fan is wondering why Winnipeg traded Bryant away. Yes he (1,168 yards, 9 TD as a rookie) was suffering from a sophomore slump (232 yards and no scores in 11 games) but after watching him torch Edmonton I can’t help but think that Winnipeg was just a bit hasty in trading away such a talented young wide out. By the way, over his last three games Bryant has racked up 352 yards.
(5) It was an evening of peaks and valleys for Jeff Pilon. His valleys were filled with penalties (three) and an inability to keep pass rushers away from Burris. He allowed a Kai Ellis sack after Edmonton came with just a three man rush. In fact Burris was under a lot of pressure throughout the game. Pilon did redeem himself with the key blocks on both the Cote TD catch and the Joffrey Reynolds 13-yard touchdown run. The Reynolds touchdown must have been especially satisfying since it came at the expense of Ellis.
(6) Calgary’s win is even more impressive when you consider that WR Nik Lewis didn’t record a single catch until 13:34 of the 3rd quarter and that between Lewis and Jeremaine Copeland they could only muster six catches for 74 yards.
(7) I didn’t think it would happen but I finally saw an emotional moment from Edmonton offensive coordinator Kevin Strasser. Of course who could blame him after he was forced to watch his offense waste a 39-yard return by Byron Parker by going 2-and-out for about the 34th time?
(8) Listening to Ritchie Hall speak can be a bit jarring. The man looks so intimidating yet he is so soft spoken. He reminds me of Bruce Smith.
(9) Edmonton’s offense won’t scare anyone with Ricky Ray throwing all those short passes. 40 passes for just 239 yards reminds me of a good day for Cody Pickett. I’m curious to see if Jason Maas will get any playing time over the final two weeks.
(10) As I mentioned earlier the one concern I would have as a Calgary fan is the team’s pass protection. Burris had a hand/man in his face for much of the game, including on several occasions when Edmonton only rushed three players. To his credit, Burris was able to produce even with the pressure.
Four players that stood out for me in the BC-Saskatchewan Game:
(1) Casey Printers
First let’s focus on the positives: Considering Casey was working on only one day of real practice, he played a heck of a game, throwing for 339 yards and two touchdowns. I liked the Lions decision to run the ball often on first down to try to create more manageable 2nd down situations for Printers. Of Martell Mallett’s 11 runs, eight were on 1st and 10.
I was curious to see just how Printers would respond early on. Did he still have the arm strength and the scrambling ability that helped him win the 2004 MVP? Well it didn’t take Printers long to flash his 2004 form.
First play … 9:55 in the first, Printers somehow gets away from the Rider rush and throws a perfect 40-yard strike to a wide open Geroy Simon, Printers passes the scrambling test.
Second play … 10:44 of the second, Printers unleashes a tight out pattern to Paris Jackson for an 18-yard gain. It was the kind of throw that could only be made from a quarterback with the strength to throw the ball that far on a rope. Weaker armed quarterbacks see that one get picked off all the time, but the velocity that Printers put on it meant that only Jackson could catch it.
Finally his 29-yad touchdown pass to Michael Bumpus was a thing of beauty. Again Printers was on the run, this time being chased by one of the best in league, Stevie Baggs. Printers managed to put the ball in a spot where only Bumpus could catch it, a considerable achievement considering that Bumpus was double teamed. Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Bumpus made Printers look good, stretching out to make an unbelievable catch.
Now a couple negatives: I’m glad that it looks like Printers has turned his career around, but let’s not forget that he is, for the most part, the author of his own demise. Everywhere he went there were always stories about his negative attitude, about not being the best teammate. I know that Printers wants to put a lot of blame on the “Haters”, on the media, but I think that is a very convenient excuse. I just have a hard time believing that storyline. The media doesn’t hate Casey Printers; most beat reporters don’t have the time or the energy to hate a player. Heck they don’t make enough money to concentrate on just one guy.
Also, Casey why is it that there were always stories about your demeanor wherever you were playing? Do you think that maybe you are somewhat responsible? Do you really think the collective Canadian sports media that covers the CFL decided to get together and choose you as their whipping boy?
By the way, was it odd that teammate Brent Johnson mentions that you have matured and then in the next sentence says; “Now I may be wrong about that.”
Listen I hope this storyline plays out with Printers having a long career, winning multiple Grey Cups in British Columbia and hopefully being at peace with himself and his career. I just hope that somewhere along the way he realizes that he is also at fault for his career missteps over the past several years.
On his overtime interception, well it was a bad decision; I would call it a greedy decision on his part. But the officials easily could have called pass interference as well. Omarr Morgan was all over Geroy Simon, holding him right before the pass was thrown. I was surprised more wasn’t made of it.
All in all a great debut for Casey Printers.
(2) Darian Durant
Durant exhibited a great ability to bounce back from really bad stretches of play. In the first quarter he was just 3-for-7 for 20 yards and one bad interception. His next drive after the pick Durant led the team on a touchdown drive that included a great 60 yard thrown to Rob Bagg with at least one pass rusher coming right at him.
Then late in the fourth quarter Durant was showed another flash of brilliance after serving up a second interception to Barron Miles that was returned for a score. On the ensuing drive Durant went 5-for-5 for 84 yards and touchdown to Johnny Quinn and a two point conversion to Chris Getzlaf. I loved that sort of mental toughness from the quarterback. Saskatchewan can win it all with Durant under centre.
(3) The B.C. Lions offensive line (All right five players rather than one)
Total credit has to go to the B.C. Lions line for their pass protection. Yes Saskatchewan had three sacks but all of them were the result of well time blitzes by Sean Lucas and Eddie Davis. Anytime you can hold John Chick and Stevie Baggs without a sack you know you have done a good job. Printers was not exactly getting rid of the ball quickly, putting even more pressure on the Lions starting five. Go back and watch Printers’ touchdown toss to Emmanuel Arceneaux, Printers was given all day.
(4) Barron Miles
What a game for Miles! His first interception was an excellent display of athleticism as he managed to out jump Jason Clermont. His second pick and subsequent touchdown return came after Durant tried to force the ball to Andy Fantuz.
I would call him a cagey veteran but usually that’s just code for an ageing player who has lost all his speed and has to rely on taking the right angle on every play in addition to copious amounts of film study.
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