Excitement rules with four weeks in the books
I think it’s safe to say there wasn’t a whole lot of dullness in week four of the CFL season. I really enjoyed Saskatchewan’s win over Montreal in a Grey Cup rematch, while Edmonton is separating themselves from the early season pack with how they’re playing on both sides of the ball. Individually, Buck Pierce and Travis Lulay caught my eye at quarterback.
Feels Like the First Time
Sunday’s 27-24 win for the Riders on the road in Montreal was important for countless reasons, not the least of which being win number one of the season. But more importantly, I felt Saskatchewan resembled an all round defensive unit for the first time this year. It looked like the Riders secondary was getting hung out to dry in their prior three blowout losses.
On Sunday, the defensive backfield looked really tight on Montreal’s impressive group of receivers, but tight coverage only lasts so long, and that coverage finally got some help. I know the Riders only finished with one sack to their credit, but I felt their pressure on both Anthony Calvillo and Adrian MacPherson was much stronger than it had been on any other quarterback this season, and of course, it lead directly to the key moment of the game. The Sean Lucas interception in the second quarter looks really good on him, but Dario Romero’s inside pressure forced Calvillo to throw into a Rider-infested area before the Als quarterback had to leave the game.
As for Montreal, all eyes will be on the status of their number one pivot this week. During the second half of the game, however, all eyes were on backup Adrian MacPherson. Despite some ineffective stretches, I continue to be impressed by his evolution in the league. The Als fourth quarter touchdown drive, capped off by a Brian Bratton major, showed all the tools in MacPherson’s possession but it also showed his maturation. Sure, the actual touchdown play was extended by his great athleticism, but MacPherson is showing a real commitment to reading defences and working through his progressions.
I’m a really big fan of his, and I think there’s a very high ceiling for a player with his skill set. The commitment he’s shown during his time in Montreal makes me fairly confident he’ll be able to continue moving towards that ceiling in the coming years.
Looking Out for Number One
To me, Edmonton has separated themselves from the rest of the West Division pack not just by their two game lead atop the division at 4-0, but also by what we’ve seen from them on the field. Whether they’re stringing together ten play scoring drives or frustrating offences for entire halves, the Eskimos can beat another team in every facet of the game, and they’re winning differently every single week. Watching their 24-19 win over Calgary on Saturday, I saw an efficient Edmonton squad and a poised group of players unwilling to lose composure while their opponent rallied late.
Calgary put up just five points in the opening 30 minutes, and while a chunk of that can be attributed to their ongoing inconsistency, a lot of it should be chalked up to schematic issues going against the Eskimos. Rich Stubler knows this league inside and out, and his defence right now really isn’t doing anything new or groundbreaking. Instead, he’s got his unit flying to the football and swarming ball carriers in impressive fashion, and really, there isn’t one player who stands out right now. It was third year defensive end Greg Peach racking up two sacks on Saturday, but it’ll likely be somebody different next week. This is a defensive group playing as one, and they’ve gotten better through their first four games.
Ricky Ray punched in a workmanlike performance against the Stampeders, with the whole efficiency trend carries over when Edmonton has the ball too. Yes, Fred Stamps had ANOTHER stupid good game (the guy is on a different level than everyone else), but it’s not as if Ray torched Stamps for 400 yards or anything close. To illustrate how proficient this Eskimos offence can be, let’s look at the evidence from their runningbacks so far this season. Last week, it was Jerome Messam ramping things up, while this week he was much less of a factor, touching the ball just seven times. Arkee Whitlock enters his first game of the season, and he did just fine, as the running game really didn’t miss a beat: they did their job when called upon, but didn’t light the world on fire.
Then we look at the other end of the spectrum, from the 4-0 Esks to the 0-4 Lions and it’s been really cringe-worthy watching BC play this season. The frustration level among the coaching staff and vets on the team must be extremely high right now thanks to the opportunities they’ve had slip through their fingers at points this season. In their loss to Calgary earlier this season, BC forced five turnovers but converted them into just five points.
Their opening week loss to the Als saw the Lions drive the ball downfield continually only to be turned away from scoring a major. Well, in their 39-31 loss to the Tiger-Cats, Thomas Williams had his opportunity to deliver a defining early season moment for the team, and the ball literally slipped through the DB’s fingers. I don’t want to hate on Williams at all, because that stuff happens to every cover guy, but it really was a microcosm for BC’s season to this point. The Lions have had their chances, but they just haven’t been able to make them count when it mattered most.
Single Points
I’ve been really impressed at times with BC quarterback Travis Lulay, and his stat line wasn’t too bad against Hamilton over the weekend either. I really believe Lulay has a long future in the CFL, and with more time will come more composure when games are really tight. He looked great under pressure in the Lions double overtime loss to the Riders in last year’s West Semifinal, but this year he’s had some issues in converting passes when the pressure is on. A few fourth quarter passes got away from him on Friday night, and floating passes over the heads of receivers at that time can really stall momentum. Again, I think it only comes with time, as it would for any quarterback, but it’s something I’ve noticed at times this year.
The Tiger-Cats have won two straight, and both of those wins have come without Arland Bruce being much of a factor. Bruce was fine on Friday night after missing Hamilton’s game the week before, but it’s been Chris Williams getting the job done as of late. His two touchdown grabs against the Riders a week ago came on just 38 yards receiving total; he topped that with 189 yards against the Lions, adding another six point catch along the way. Williams is a solid red-zone threat, because he evades coverage very, very well and has a nice burst to get that separation from a defender in the end zone.
Buck Pierce had some pretty good games as a member of the BC Lions, but I thought his performance in Winnipeg’s 33-24 win over the Argos was his best yet in the CFL. Pierce, who was knocked out of the Bombers’ loss to Calgary a week before, was none the worse for wear and looked as dialed in as you can be behind centre. Having a strong receiving core will always make you look better, but Pierce made his reads seamlessly time after time after time, and he got the ball away quickly. That was the most important thing for me, and why I was so impressed with his effort. Pierce has had a tendency in the past to hold onto the ball a little long, and it’s cost him with injuries and missed time. That wasn’t the case at all on Saturday, and it’s something that has to be very encouraging to Bombers fans.
