Pat Steinberg
CFL.ca
For the second and final week this season, we saw a two-game week in the CFL. You aren’t going to get much more excitement out of a pair of games than we saw this weekend. Both games were very close and came right down to the final minutes. Both also saw first place teams extend their lead on top of the respective divisions.
Making a statement
The Calgary Stampeders looked like they were going to lose sight of the Montreal Alouettes early on in Saturday night’s 38-31 win, a fourth-straight for the Stamps. But once again, the defensive group pulled through for the Red and White.
I know Anthony Calvillo threw for close to 400 yards and Jamel Richardson had a crazy good game at receiver, but the Stamps really locked things down as the game went on, and on some key offensive possessions for the Als.
It was Keon Raymond making the game’s largest play late in the fourth quarter, with a game-changing play for a second consecutive match. Standing at field level for Raymond’s interception, the first thing that came to mind was how unusual it is to see Calvillo throw that kind of pass in the shadow of his own end zone.
First off, throwing too much criticism at Calvillo is silly: quarterbacks throw interceptions once in a while, and it just so happened this one was at the most inopportune time. However, watching the play again, I had to wonder if there was also a little miscommunication on the play, with S.J. Green not anywhere near the ball in the air.
Regardless, knowing how well-oiled the Montreal offensive machine is, seeing it malfunction like that was something completely unexpected.
I was pretty impressed with the adjustment made by the Calgary offensive line between the second and third quarters, because Montreal was getting far too much penetration in the opening 30 minutes. Stamps head coach John Hufnagel called out his line following the win.
“Our offensive line played better in the second half,” Hufnagel said after the game. “The only reason why we were in the game in the first half was because of our quarterback…our offensive line did play better in the second half.”
I talked to guard Dimitri Tsoumpas in the locker room, and he was kind of baffled as to what went on in the first half. There was nothing glaringly wrong with the line necessarily, but the Als got close to quarterback Henry Burris a little too easily. Sometimes adjustments at halftime can be a little overrated, however in this case, it seemed like something tangible was done.
An emotional afternoon
It was a banner game for Stampeders second-year receiver Johnny Forzani, who had a lot to play for on Saturday. He lost a good friend of his earlier in the week, and there’s no doubt that served as primary motivation for his big night. The former Washington State Cougar had 101 yards on sixcatches, along with a pair of touchdowns.
“I talked to his brother (Saturday) morning,” Forzani said. “He said Alex is going to be smiling on that first touchdown you get for him, so I’m just really happy I got to be able to make some plays and it’s really for him.”
From a football perspective, Forzani’s night was a good example of just how dangerous the Calgary aerial attack can be when it’s healthy and hitting on all cylinders. It was Jabari Arthur who had a great game two weeks ago against the Riders, establishing him as another threat on the field.
When defensive schemes have to take into account dangerous outside threats like Arthur and Forzani, it means they can no longer devote all their energy to shutting down Nik Lewis and Ken-Yon Rambo in the slot. That was illustrated in Saturday’s monster games from Forzani and Lewis (121 yards on seven carries).
Confidence rising
There’s really no reason for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to be anything but confident right now, and that swagger we keep hearing about only continues to grow with each passing win. Friday’s 30-27 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats gave us a great example of just how confident the Bombers really are, with some first quarter trickery helping to set the tone.
For me, the flea flicker call that saw Buck Pierce complete his pass just showed me Winnipeg is willing to pull out all the steps each and every week to keep their good thing going.
Speaking of Pierce, the group of receivers he gets to throw to are starting to create some matchup problems of their own. Terrence Edwards is clearly the top receiver on the Bombers, but having Clarence Denmark play strongly makes life much easier for Edwards.
While Toronto and Saskatchewan are having huge issues opening up the field, teams like Winnipeg, Calgary and Montreal have the ability to bust things open using their primary or secondary guys. It’s just another strong facet of Bombers football.
Their style of play was on full display late in the fourth quarter with Kevin Glenn and the Ticats within three points. Winnipeg did a tremendous job of putting pressure on Glenn during his final drive.
I’m sure overall Winnipeg’s defensive unit would have loved to give up a few less points, but just like Calgary’s win over Montreal, the Bombers were very solid at the most important moments.
Comebacks
Glenn’s only mistake was his first quarter pass that was intercepted by Jovon Johnson, resulting in six points for Winnipeg. Give Johnson credit, because he jumped on the route very nicely and showed some nice acceleration upon catching the ball. However, I didn’t really feel that one mistake took away from the exciting battle at quarterback we saw.
Both Pierce and Glenn have had their CFL careers shrouded in uncertainty in recent years, but both guys have done a good job blocking any outside distractions and just doing their job instead. For Glenn, he’s made some really solid decisions since arriving in Hamilton, and despite one poor one on Friday, he’s been very consistent all season long.
Pierce has never battled with poor decision making, instead having to battle injuries more than most pivots we’ve seen in recent memory. Pierce played another full game on Friday, continuing to show off his accurate arm. Not only does he remain precise, but it’s noticeable how much quicker he’s getting the ball away than in years past.
Tale of two cities
Heading into Labour Day, the two “classic” games, if you will, seem to have very different feels to them. On the one hand, you’ve got the Battle of Alberta with Calgary and Edmonton going head to head on Monday.
Even with the Eskimos in the midst of a three-game losing skid, the games at McMahon and Commonwealth will go a long way in deciding first play in the West Division. What’s most encouraging is the fact that we’re likely not going to see similar games as we did a year ago, when the Stamps put up more than 100 points in two games, embarrassing their provincial rivals.
On the other hand, the “Banjo Bowl” has a new tune from the last couple of seasons. The Bombers are far and away better than their Labour Day competitors in the Saskatchewan Roughriders so far, but just how much will the wholesale coaching changes in Regina play their part.
With Ken Miller back on the sidelines, I’m very intrigued to see just how different the Riders will be, if they’re different in any way at all. I’m skeptical a whole lot is going to be different as a direct result of a coaching change, but a matchup between a 1-7 and a 7-1 team actually seems kind of interesting.
Let’s not forget, the Bombers aren’t huge fans of their neighbours to the west, so putting some good points up on them would be very well received.
