Pat Steinberg
CFL.ca Staff
It’s all about defences, good and bad, as we look back at week two of the season.
We’re starting to see some trends emerge after the first two weeks of the CFL season. The first surrounds the offensive firepower of the Montreal Alouettes and a few other offensive notes. However, it was a couple of impressive defensive efforts that really caught my eye as defensive question marks start to emerge in a few other locales.
ON DEFENCE
We talked about Paul LaPolice and his Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week, and I was even more impressed with them during Friday’s 22-16 win over Toronto at home, mostly because of what happened when they didn’t have the football. Winnipeg’s defence allowed Buck Pierce and the Bombers offence to simply manage the 60 minutes while making it almost impossible for the Argos to do the same thing. I certainly believe that Cleo Lemon has matured as a quarterback, but very few guys are going to be able to do much of anything with the type of attack he was under for much of that game.
I saw Odell Willis a ton when he was here in Calgary, and I always came away impressed with his work ethic in practice. He is one of the fiercest competitors out there, so seeing him transform into beast mode like he did for much of that contest was not surprising. With defensive coordinator Tim Burke mixing things up all over the place – dropping Joe Lobendahn in and out of coverage and blitz packages – the Bombers frustrated Toronto in a major way. It also showed some important maturation, as Winnipeg was able to win a close game after losing nine games a year ago by four points or less.
There’s also a lot to like about the Edmonton Eskimos right now, and we’ll get to a few things on the offensive side of the ball later on, but I really liked how balanced they were defensively Saturday night against Hamilton. Even though the score finished 28-10, for all intents and purposes the Eskimos kept the Ti-Cats from scoring a major during any meaningful span of time, which they did in a very simple and effective manner.
While the aforementioned Bombers finished with seven sacks to their credit, the Edmonton front only finished with a pair. But that doesn’t mean Kevin Glenn was comfortable in the pocket by any stretch. In fact, when it came time for the Eskies to protect their lead, they did it by attacking the Hamilton quarterback and forcing him into incomplete passes and less effective throws to his check downs. It also allowed the Edmonton secondary to smother the long passing game. The one word I came away with from Saturday night’s game was “swarm”. That’s exactly what the Eskimos defence did all night long, swarming to the football on almost every play. Hamilton couldn’t get a running attack established because of it, and it’s a blueprint Edmonton won’t be changing anytime soon.
I wouldn’t be overly worried about the Riders offensive attack, because it’s shown some explosive moments in the opening two weeks of the season. However, there are some real concerns starting to rear their heads with Saskatchewan’s defensive front seven. A lack of any significant pass rush allowed Ricky Ray and the Eskimos to light up a pretty good Riders secondary in week one, and the story was very much the same in Montreal’s 39-25 week two romp at Mosaic Stadium.
Barrin Simpson is the only Rider to record a sack, doing so once in each of Saskatchewan’s two games, but going up against quarterbacks like Ray and Anthony Calvillo, a team needs more than just one impact player on any given night. It’s the line that really needs to step up, and I believe they can. I like Montez Murphy as a player, and I think Dario Romero does a decent job opening space up in the interior. But things have got to correct themselves quickly, because an 0-2 Riders start, with both games on home field, is not sitting well in Regina.
EXPLOSIVE
I believe Fred Stamps is the best receiver in the Canadian Football League. I’ve held that belief since the 2009 season, so I didn’t need his 178 yard performance on Saturday to sell me. However, it was perhaps the best example of why he’s such an elite weapon, as the Stamps showed all of what he’s able to bring to the table. His 68 yard touchdown catch was a perfect example of the explosiveness he brings, with the ability to bust a game wide open with one stutter step or head fake.
Just as important, though, were three of Stamps’ less explosive catches on first down. His ability to find open seams is rivaled by very few in this league, and he’s a reliable option for solid first down yardage. Even his six yard reception in the third quarter on first-and-ten got the Eskimos in a better spot. I don’t believe there is a receiver in this league who can combine explosiveness and possession quite like Stamps can.
THIS AND THAT
While Henry Burris and Joffrey Reynolds probably won’t be trying to duplicate their failed fourth quarter handoff anytime soon, at least the two of them can breathe a sigh of relief after coming away on the winning side of their Friday night contest in BC. Seeing Burris responsible for five turnovers isn’t usually the way Calgary likes to win their football games, but the Lions could not convert those turnovers into anywhere near enough points. As this game turned into a shootout in the second half, the Stamps were able to come out on top, but the reality is that there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out.
And maybe it’s just me, but I’m not anywhere close to giving up on the 0-2 Lions. Friday wasn’t Travis Lulay’s best performance, but I still think there is a lot of potential with this team on both sides of the ball. I do believe Lulay can run an offence effectively and I do believe he’s got the line in front of him to get the job done. I talked to Ben Archibald on Thursday and he told me he’s still learning how to block for his quarterback, in the sense that he doesn’t know all of his tendencies just yet. That said, with Archibald anchoring your protection, Lulay is in good hands.
