Jim Lang
CFL.ca
HAMILTON AT TORONTO (FRIDAY AT 7:30 PM ET)
Years ago, Rich Stubler pulled me aside after a practice and said “Jimmy, you can’t win in the CFL by running the football.” For the most part, Stubler is correct, because the CFL is a passing league.
However, the main reason the Argos are going into Friday’s showdown with the Ti-Cats with a 7-7 record has been the performance of their outstanding running back Cory Boyd. Running behind Rob Murphy and the Argos offensive line, Boyd has been a saviour to the Argos inconsistent offence. By now, everyone in the CFL knows that Jim Barker will try to establish the run with Boyd. So it goes without saying that Ticats defensive coordinator Greg Marshall has been working over time with his troops to make sure they adhere to ironclad gap discipline this week.
I asked Ti-Cats coach Marcel Bellefeuille if the main thrust of their defensive game plan is to focus on shutting down Boyd and trust the secondary to handle the Argos receivers in one-on-one coverage.
“It’s a focus, but not the only focus. Cleo Lemon is throwing better and their passing game has improved. You can’t put too much emphasis on one player or they’ll hurt you in other ways,” said Bellefeuille.
After throwing three touchdowns against the Eskimos, Kevin Glenn will come into this game with a great deal of confidence. It certainly helped Glenn and the entire Ti-Cats offence to have Dave Stala in the line-up for the entire game. Stala may not have the game breaking ability of Arland Bruce, but he’s become an invaluable member of the Tiger-Cats offence.
To that end, I asked Argos coach Jim Barker how confident he was in his secondary matched up against a solid group of Hamilton receivers.
“We have an experienced secondary and they know what Arland Bruce and the rest of those guys can do. Kevin Glenn is an accurate passer but I expect our guys to continue to play at a high level,” he said.
An interesting sidebar to this story is the return of kicker Noel Prefontaine to the Argos. The dilemma for Barker is that while Prefontaine is a good punter, he simply doesn’t have the leg and the range of Jason Medlock when it comes to kicking field goals. So that means the Argos offence will have move that ball deeper down the field to get into Prefontaine’s prime range. That will put more pressure on Cleo Lemon and the offence and that will likely result in more work for Boyd. After the razzle dazzle trickery that the Argos special teams units pulled off in Saskatchewan last week, the Ticats will be expecting anything and everything every time Toronto lines up to punt.
A friend of mine from Windsor said he’s attending his first Argos/Ticats game Friday and asked me what he should expect. I suggested to him that he should sit in the middle of a group of Argo or Ticat fans and enjoy the verbal barrage they will unleash on the opposing team. There will be a definite playoff atmosphere at Rogers Centre because what’s at stake in this game is the inside track to having home field advantage for the East Semi-final. Both teams have identical records. Both teams do some things very well. At the same time both teams have some flaws. This makes for the potential of a very exciting and unpredictable game. Because of the combination of home field advantage and Cory Boyd, I give the Argos a slight edge in what should be a Slobberknocker of a game.
EDMONTON AT B.C. (SATURDAY AT 10:00 PM ET)
Goodbye Casey Printers, it was nice knowing you. In the aftermath of the back breaking pick-six Printers tossed in overtime against the Blue Bombers, Printers was released by the Lions. It was the interception, it was the on-field tantrum, and it was a variety of other reasons that culminated in Buono reaching his breaking point.
Six years ago, Printers had a dream season for a CFL quarterback. Over 5,000 yards passing, 35 touchdowns, he only threw 10 interceptions and to top it all off Printers ran in another nine touchdowns. But as Wally Buono, the BC Lions or any CFL fan will quickly tell you; the 2004 version of Casey Printers is nothing more than a distant memory. There is such a thing as addition by subtraction, and in this case, getting rid of Printers was the best thing the Lions could do.
For Edmonton if the fight between Patrick Kabongo and Walter Curry during practice this week is any indication, the Eskimos are sure to be in a nasty mood for this game. Richie Hall can only hope that Kabongo and Curry work as hard at kicking the crap out of the Lions as they did out of each other at practice.
There is a good reason the Eskies are in a foul mood. They realize that only one of these two teams will make the playoffs. Missing the playoffs when you’re hosting the Grey Cup won’t go over very well in a city like Edmonton. There’s an interesting storyline to this game as Derick Armstrong, who was released by the Lions this season, is now a member of the Eskimos. In 2007 and 2008, Armstrong put up big numbers with the Bombers. Now he gets a chance to get a little payback against the team that released him back in August. Other than the Nielson and Chase morning show on the Team 1260, I can’t imagine there is anyone happier in Edmonton right now than Ricky Ray. I never met a quarterback who didn’t love to have more toys to work with and when properly motivated, Armstrong can play. The better team should always win and the Lions are the better team.
WINNIPEG AT MONTREAL (SUNDAY AT 1:00 PM ET)
Ben Cahoon is an amazing example of what a person can do if they really put their mind to it. Generously listed by the Alouettes as being five feet nine inches tall and weighing 185 pounds, Cahoon made CFL history last week when he caught the 1,007th pass of his career. In person and out of his uniform, Cahoon appears much smaller than his listed height and weight. But that never stopped Cahoon from becoming the most productive receiver in the long history of the CFL. One of the highlights of seeing a game at Molson Stadium is the PA announcer informing the capacity crowd that Cahoon just came up with another first down reception.
The Bombers are coming off that emotional overtime win over the Lions. Even with the win, the playoffs are a long shot for the Bombers. Now the Alouettes have already locked up a home playoff game. If the Bombers are lucky, the Als won’t come into the game with the same desperation they have. Of course, Paul LaPolice knows Marc Trestman will find a way to make sure his team is ready play.
Speaking to Als GM Jim Popp this week, he pointed out that Trestman and the Als coaching staff do a good job of stressing the importance of every game and keeping the players focused on getting better every week. Popp said a big reason the Als are having another good season is the team’s philosophy of not going after big name free agents. “Buying players doesn’t win championships,” said Popp.
He also said that when the organization broke down the film of their four losses; they realized that played what he called “passive football’. Popp added that this year, “when the Als play physical football, they win.”
LaPolice and the Bombers don’t have to be reminded just how tough it is to win in Molson Stadium. They also know know that beating a quarterback like Anthony Calvillo is a hell of a lot tougher than beating Casey Printers. At least Bombers fans can take comfort in the fact that LaPolice came to his senses and has already declared that Steven Jyles will get the start against the Als. While I like the fact the Trestman wants his team to focus on getting better, the Bombers are playing for their post seaso
n lives. I like the more desperate team to find a way to win.
CALGARY AT SASKTATCHEWAN (SUNDAY AT 4:00 PM ET)
In the last three games, the Stampeders have been up and down more than Brett Favre’s pants. (I’ve been dying to use that line all week long) From an ugly loss to the Lions, to a huge win over the Alouettes to a brutal loss to the Als, it has been quite a ride for the Stamps the last three weeks.
The Riders had their three game winning streak come to an end last week as they were victim to the Argos combination of trickery and power running game. Suffice to say that Ken Miller and the Riders spent a few extra minutes on their special teams during practice this week. On top of the loss, the Riders thought Derick Armstrong was going to be joining their practice roster, but the Eskimos ended up signing him. That’s the kind of week it has been in the Riders nation.
So on one hand, you have a Stampeders team that even John Hufnagel isn’t quite sure how well they will play from week to week. On the other hand, you have a good Riders team that still has enough flaws to keep Ken Miller reaching for his Costco size bottle of Maalox.
One thing Miller doesn’t have to worry about is receiver Andy Fantuz. When I asked Fantuz to explain the huge numbers he’s putting up this season, he tried to downplay his accomplishment. “You just keep working hard in practice every day and getting as much reps as possible. Basically the more you play the better you get.”
Fantuz is being far too humble. There’s no way the Stamps defence is about to take Fantuz lightly as they devise a game plan to deal with the Riders aerial attack. In his last four games, Fantuz has 538 yards receiving including a 255 yard effort against the Stamps in Week 12. To put those numbers in perspective through 14 games this year, Ben Cahoon has 597 yards. An impact, play making, Canadian receiver is worth his weight in gold in the CFL. The Stampeders law of averages tells me that they should win because it is their turn to play a good game. But I can’t believe the Riders are capable of losing two games in a row at Mosaic Stadium. The Riders will prevail in a tight game.
