Matt Cauz
CFL.ca
Say this about the final week of the regular season, it was far more interesting than anyone could have imagined. I think many of us were bracing for back-ups all over the field with teams just trying to play it safe.
Let’s start with Hamilton and Saskatchewan; both teams brushed aside the conventional wisdom of resting your star players when you have nothing to play for. This move worked brilliantly for Saskatchewan, but wasn’t so hot for Hamilton, depending on your feelings about momentum. Personally I think momentum is often an overrated term that must be judged on a case by case basis.
The Roughriders needed that kind of game. They had not won since October 2nd and all the storylines coming into this weekend centered on their crumbling confidence while questions about negativity seeping into the locker-room were all over the place.
You knew this was an important win considering it had no playoff implications yet players like Lance Frazier were calling their 31-23 victory as the “biggest win” of the season.
It sure looked like Saskatchewan regained some of their swagger and more importantly it was good to see Darian Durant put together four solid quarters.
Listen, I like rooting for Durant. The guy is young with a great deal of talent and a ton of weapons around him. I had expected him to take the mantle of Alpha Dog QB for 2010 but his inconsistent play means he’ll have to wait at least one more year to wrestle the title away from Anthony Calvillo. That said, Durant looked great against Edmonton accounting for 361 yards of total offence and more importantly, he did not turn the ball over.
Then there is the flip side of going for a win and building momentum heading into the playoffs … the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. At first I couldn’t understand why Marcel Bellefeuille had Kevin Glenn playing at all. The Tiger-Cats were not dealing with the same sort of slump issues that had been plaguing the Roughriders. Sure they had lost ugly to Calgary last week, but prior to that stinker they had beaten their previous three opponents by a combined score of 106-17. So it couldn’t have been a momentum issue.
The obvious answer must be that Bellefeuille wanted to keep his players sharp heading into the playoffs. I was hoping that it was more about revenge since the Lions had beaten Hamilton last year in the first round of the playoffs. Why not return the favour a year later?
Whatever the reasons, the plan worked great for the first half with Glenn picking apart the Lions secondary for three touchdowns and Maurice Mann just abusing cornerbacks and safeties alike. Then came the second half filled with dropped passes, mistakes and Glenn throwing either behind his intended target or too high.
The guy I feel for the worst for is Marquay McDaniel who had a poor overall game, got injured in the second half and fell just six yards short of a 1,000 yards on the season. Of course if Hamilton jumps out to a 14-0 lead on the Argonauts next week then all this momentum talk can be thrown out the window.
Now with all of that said, please allow me to join the thousands of other CFL fans in congratulating Wally Buono and the Lions for making it into the playoffs after a 1-7 start.
Travis Lulay took a beating all game and still managed to throw for over 400 yards and generate just enough points in the second half for the come from behind win. A textbook gutty performance for Lulay and the entire team.
Before moving on to a little playoff speculation, I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to the weekend’s officials. How did they manage to keep their poppies on for the entire game? They were running all over the field dodging 300 pound bodies, yet every time I saw them make a call their poppies were right where it had to be. Just amazing. I’ve lost about 12 poppies in the past week and have several puncture wounds due to the common practice of poor poppy placement. Good on the CFL’s other team.
Moving on to quick predictions:
Toronto @ Hamilton – Sunday, November 14th at 1pm ET
Hamilton may have won all three games during the regular season but Toronto had a good chance of winning either of the first two meetings. In fact, overall Hamilton only out gained Toronto by 30 yards in those three contests combined.
The biggest key for why Hamilton won, and I hope you’re sitting down because this may shock you, was turnovers. Hey clichés like the importance of winning the turnover battle are repeated over and over again for a reason. They almost always are true. The Argonauts committed 12 turnovers compared to just four by Hamilton in the season series.
The other major factor was Hamilton’s ability to control Cory Boyd who averaged just 53 yards a game against the Tabbies.
The best thing going Toronto’s way is they have absolutely nothing to lose. They can play this game pressure free. Just making the playoffs is like free money for the Argonauts given their past two seasons.
Hamilton, on the other hand, has a great deal of expectations on them and certainly don’t want to be eliminated for the second year in a row at home in the Eastern Semi-Final.
I expect a tight game till late in the third quarter when Kevin Glenn’s brilliance will eventually take over. Markeith Knowlton, Jamall Johnson and Otis Floyd will again do just enough to shut down Boyd.
I like Hamilton to win 28-20.
B.C. @ Saskatchewan – Sunday, November 14th at 4:30pm ET
The last time these teams met B.C. was in the middle of their late season resurgence and beat Saskatchewan 23-17. But in that game it was the Roughriders that dominated the score sheet by outgaining the Lions 413 to 268 yards. Saskatchewan had 11 more first downs and won the time of possession battle. The problem was Darian Durant, who turned the ball over four times. Throw in a brilliant 88 yard punt return by Yonus Davis and you can see how the Lions came away with the victory.
I see a more focused Durant this time around and Saskatchewan wins by a larger margin than you might expect. This is nothing against the Lions; I just can’t see them having much left in the tank after all the energy they have expended to simply get to this point.
I like Saskatchewan to win 34-23.
