Pat Steinberg
CFL.ca
Thank goodness for the invention of the PVR, or else this column would be rather useless this week. A weekend spent in Minnesota at the NHL Draft meant no live CFL pre-season action, but watching a ton of action on tape upon my return left me with some pretty interesting thoughts.
A few first team performances, albeit not for a full game, certainly impressed, and for one team it let a group of fans feel a little less uneasy.
An injury in Calgary along with some intriguing battles also highlighted the second week of the pre-season as we get set for RONA Canada Day Kickoff and the start of what promises to be another outstanding regular season.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I know the score ended up lopsided in the other direction, but for the very limited amount of time Montreal’s first team offence was on the field, they seemed to pick up exactly where they left off at Commonwealth Stadium in November.
Anthony Calvillo threw his two passes while S.J. Green scored a major and all we really saw was confirmation that, yes, the Als are still going to be potent offensively.
Running back Brandon Whitaker is the guy now and looked just fine in that role himself, so I don’t think anyone should be worried about any inability to score on Montreal’s side of things.
I also mentioned it last week, but I continue to be very impressed with Adrian McPherson’s maturation at quarterback. Calvillo will say goodbye to the game at some point and if his backup continues to progress, they might have a strong option. He’s reading coverage and cycling through progressions like I’ve never seen him do, which is scary, because it’s not like the athletic talent he relied upon in the past has just disappeared.
I know I got a ton of emails on the road about how relieved Calgary Stampeders fans were after watching their performance against the Eskimos over the weekend. Calgary’s pre-season opener against the B.C. Lions was hard to watch from an offensive standpoint as the Stamps were extremely disjointed and out of sync from the first team all the way down the depth chart.
But with their offensive line looking much, much better, especially in collapsing around quarterback Henry Burris, Calgary was able to roll up some early points in impressive fashion against Edmonton.
The team will still need to work out some kinks defensively, especially in the secondary, but many were worried about the Stamps WITH the ball last week and a lot of those worries were dispelled in Edmonton.
This might be a team that needs to rely on their offence to start the season as some growing pains are worked out on the other side of the ball, which is why Friday’s game was somewhat encouraging.
Speaking of encouraging, I sure am liking what I’m seeing from the B.C. Lions as they marched impressively to a 2-0 pre-season record. Yeah, it’s the preseason and it’s not really an indicator of a whole lot, but on both sides of the ball, the group of Lions that will be seeing the bulk of playing time have been very good.
With the ball, new addition Ben Archibald has been a beast, doing exactly what he was expected to do when coming over from Calgary this winter during free agency.
Travis Lulay has picked up right where he left off last season and overall, the Lions look very strong offensively. But it’s the defensive unit that impresses me even more, especially up front, which was an issue last season.
Watching Korey Banks return his interception for a touchdown in the first quarter, I was more impressed by B.C.’s pass rush and ability to push the Riders back towards Darian Durant, who was eventually forced to throw a bad pass.
BIG RETURNS
We all know Marcus Thigpen is a dynamic returner, so watching him take one to the house in Hamilton’s romp over Montreal wasn’t surprising. But how about B.C.’s Tim Brown and the impression he’s made in two pre-season games himself. The unfortunate way Yonus Davis exited the Lions left a gaping hole at that spot and there didn’t seem to be an easy answer as to who the replacement would be.
I thought perhaps first round Harvard product Marco Iannuzzi might be able to step up and get the job done, but it’s been Brown making the impression thus far. Head Coach Wally Buono cautioned against getting too excited from two pre-season games, but it’s tough to overlook the work Brown has done thus far.
UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES
No one likes to see players go down in the pre-season, whether it be established guys playing their two or three series, or guys trying to crack a roster who have that opportunity taken from them due to something out of their control.
Stampeders quarterback Drew Tate kind of falls somewhere in between those two archetypes, but it’s unfortunate nevertheless. Tate was quickly making everyone across the league take notice of the job he’s done behind Henry Burris, as he was a very nice second option last season. The expectation was maybe to see more from Tate this year, with offensive coordinator Dave Dickenson designing more plays and packages specific to him. That won’t happen after suffering a shoulder injury on Friday.
The only bright spot is the fact Brad Sinopoli will earn a spot on the team at quarterback, which should make this season a great learning experience for him. Even without Tate, receiving mentorship under Burris will be a great opportunity for a Canadian pivot with a lot of potential.
