Jim Lang
CFL.ca
SASKATCHEWAN at EDMONTON
There are some things that just shouldn’t happen. The Riders losing two straight at Mosaic Stadium is right at the top of the list. The Riders haven’t lost two straight at home since week 3 and week 4 of the 2009 season. Now the Riders will have to try and put an end to their mini-losing streak missing two key players. Receiver Rob Bagg and kicker Luca Congi each suffered season ending knee injuries in last week’s loss to the Stampeders.
I asked Ken Miller that in light of all the injuries, if he had asked some of his key players on the Riders to take a much bigger leadership role on the team. “When players go down or out, other players come in and fill in the ranks. “We have a tradition of being united inspire of fallen comrades,” said Miller.
While the injury to Bagg will hurt the Riders, the team still boasts a solid group of receivers like Andy Fantuz, Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf. On top of the injuries, Miller also has to be concerned with the Riders’ run defence. In their back-to-back losses, the Riders have allowed opposing running backs to have back-to-back 100 yard games. Now they are facing an Eskimos team that is coming off a game where they ran wild against the Lions.
The Eskimos playoff hopes got a serious shot in the arm with last week’s win over the BC Lions.
This promises to be an interesting game for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact this will be the first time Eskimos GM Eric Tillman will face his old team since taking over in Edmonton.
Tillman told me a few weeks ago that a greater commitment to the running game has played a big role in the Eskies winning three of their last five games. Assume that what Ricky Ray did last week against the Lions was an anomaly. But what running back Daniel Porter did last week cannot be ignored by the Riders.
There’s another mitigating factor that the Eskimos can use as extra motivation, not only are they in the race for third place in the West; thanks to the Argos, they are also still alive for the crossover in the East.
To that end, I asked Coach Richie Hall if he feels that over the last four games, the Eskimos are finally beginning to play up to their potential.
“I think there are two reasons we seem to have hit our stride. They’re finally starting to play close to their capabilities and they’re playing with desperation; every game now has playoff implications,” Hall said.
In the wild, a desperate animal is a dangerous animal. In professional sports, a desperate team can be a dangerous team. The Eskimos are desperate and they are also building some confidence. They believe they can beat the Riders and they believe they can sneak into the playoffs. Besides, Eric Tillman can tell his new team about JC Watts and the 1981 Ottawa Rough Riders and how after a 5 and 11 season, they made it all the way to the Grey Cup. All you have to do in the CFL is get into the playoffs, because once you are there; history has shown us that anything can happen.
By the time the game kicks off Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium, the temperatures will have dropped to near freezing; fitting weather for a game between two teams who both need a win. In what has been a difficult and emotionally draining season, Richie Hall and the Eskimos still have a very real shot at getting into the post-season. But the only the way their playoff dream will live is with a win over the Riders. The Rider nation won’t like this, but I can see the uber desperate Eskimos pulling out a win in E-town.
MONTREAL AT HAMILTON
Picking the Ticats’ Stevie Baggs as the CFL’s defensive player of the week wasn’t very difficult. Anyone who witnessed the way Baggs had his way with the Argos would agree with the selection. Now with all due respect to Baggs, having that kind of dominant game against the Alouettes will prove to be much more difficult. While Marcel Bellefeuille was happy with the win over the Argos, you could tell that he realizes he had precious little time to savour the victory.
A Ticat win coupled with an Argos loss and Hamilton will clinch home field advantage in the East Semi-Final. The Alouettes main goal from here on in is to maintain their high level of play and not to suffer any serious injuries. The Hamilton defence and their special teams were rock solid in their win over the Argos. The Ticats offence wasn’t great, but then again it didn’t need to be. As if the addition of Baggs wasn’t enough, the Cats also signed former Cincinnati Bengal and Winnipeg Blue Bomber Kyries Hebert this week. Hebert adds depth to the defence and he’s always been an excellent special teams player.
The one thing that has emerged this year for the Tiger-Cats is their ability to throw the ball. The trio of Arland Bruce, Dave Stala and Marquay McDaniel are a big reason the Tabbies are in a position to grab home-field for the East semi-final. But if there has been a dark cloud hanging over the Ticats this year, it’s that they just can’t beat the Alouettes. Twice this year the Ti-Cats have come out on the losing end against the Als and there is a very good chance the Ticats will end up facing the Alouettes again in the East Final. The Als would love nothing better than to beat the Ticats one more time to remind them who the real “Beasts of the East” are.
B.C. at CALGARY
Despite their up and down play of late, the Stampeders find themselves in a position to clinch the West and home field advantage for the West Final with a win over the Lions.
Lions defensive end Brent Johnson didn’t mince any words when he was asked to pick the key reason why they lost to the Eskimos last week, “The defence played like crap.”
Needless to say that Johnson and the B.C. defence spent some extra time preparing for this week’s game against the Stampeders. After watching the film of Ricky Ray shredding them for 135 yards on the ground, the Lions defence better step up their game facing a quarterback like Henry Burris. Speaking of running, the Lions D will also have to be prepared to find a way to slow down Stamps running back Joffrey Reynolds. The Stamps also have a solid young Canadian back that can do a bit of everything in Jon Cornish.
Much like the Eskimos, the Lions are a desperate team. But where the Eskies are at home and playing a beat up Riders team; the Lions are on the road and playing a fairly healthy Stampeders team. The one injury that hurts in Calgary is the loss of defensive lineman Mike Labinjo for the year with a torn triceps. Even with the injury to Labinjo, the bottom line is that the Stamps are a better team than the Lions. The combination of superior talent, home field advantage and a productive running game will prove to be the difference as the Stamps win and lock up first place in the West. Sorry Wally, maybe next year.
TORONTO at WINNIPEG
The look of utter despair etched on Jim Barker’s face after last week’s loss to the Ticats told me all I needed to know about his level of frustration with Cleo Lemon and his struggling offence. The Argos numbers from the game are disturbing; 194 yards of total offence, four interceptions, seven turnovers and no sign of any sustained drives. Barker was adamant that the Argos will only go as far as Lemon will take them. That means Lemon has three more regular season games to get his act together.
The Argos’ lone star player on offence, running back Cory Boyd, was held to 26 yards last week. If the Argos are going to have any chance of beating the Bombers, it goes without saying that they need Boyd to have another 100 yard game. Boyd will be playing in this game with a ten
der ankle, but for the Argos to have a chance to win, they will still need him to have a productive game.
Paul LaPolice and the Bombers are well aware of that fact and will do everything in their power to shut down Boyd and dare Cleo Lemon to beat them with his arm. The entire Argos team has only scored 11 touchdowns through the air this season. Bombers’ receiver Terrence Edwards has scored 12 all by himself. Another concern for Jim Barker and the Argos offence is the ability of the Bombers front seven to get to the quarterback. The Bombers are tied for the league lead with 43 sacks while the Argos have allowed 43 sacks this year. With the Bombers at home and playing for their lives, I don’t see them losing this game.
