THE CANADIAN PRESS
With six weeks almost fully in the books, the Canadian Football League has a very defined middle group developing. In a nine team league, I’ve got seven teams grouped very, very closely together with two outliers. On the one end, the Edmonton Eskimos continue to impress defensively and, right now, are a little more impressive than everyone else. The other end of the spectrum doesn’t look anywhere near as good for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and yet, even at 0-6 all is still not lost.
The pace-setters
Edmonton truly has been the most impressive group of 2015 so far. Let’s not forget that this season started rather terribly for the Eskimos. Not only did they lose their Week 1 affair with Toronto fairly convincingly, they also lost their most important and dynamic player. When quarterback Mike Reilly went down the way he did, I thought Edmonton would be able to survive. Instead, at least through the four games they’ve played since, they’ve thrived.
First off, give Matt Nichols some credit. To begin with, he had a difficult task taking over for Reilly so early in the season. But after being pulled in last week’s win over Winnipeg, there were plenty of questions surrounding Nichols once again. Well, he answered them fairly emphatically on Friday night.
Yes, the Eskimos hammered the Riders (more on them later). More importantly, though, Nichols got the opportunity to really let loose. He ended up throwing 39 passes, by far the most he’s thrown this season, and he was efficient. The longest pass Nichols threw on Friday night was 31 yards, which is just fine.
Nichols is never going to be confused for a gunslinger, and he’s never going to be one to consistently stretch the field. He and Reilly are different quarterbacks. The only thing that makes sense for Nichols is to play to his strengths, which is exactly what he did against Saskatchewan. And that was a whole lot easier to do thanks to the guys on the other side of the ball.
Matt Nichols enjoyed his best game of the season on Friday night vs. Saskatchewan.
Plain and simple, the Eskimos boast the CFL’s scariest defence right now. For sure, the last two games they got the benefit of playing against inexperienced pivots in Brett Smith and Brian Brohm, but they still had to make life miserable for them. Smith was out of his league on Friday night, mainly because Edmonton made sure that was the case.
But forget the work the Esks have done against opposing quarterbacks for a second. Care to guess how many 100-yard rushers Edmonton has allowed in five games? I’ll help you out, because it’s just one, and it came in Week 1. Since that time, the Eskimos haven’t allowed more than 100 yards on the ground in a game period, let alone to one guy.
I guess we shouldn’t be overly surprised by this Edmonton defensive group. It was one of the league’s elite units last year, and in year two under Chris Jones it’s taken a step. Marcus Howard and Odell Willis form the league’s most terrifying edge threat, while Pat Watkins can still ball at the age of 32. This group is scary and it’s not going anywhere.
Double-edged sword
I’m not sure what to think of the Calgary Stampeders right now. On the one hand, they’re 4-2 and they keep finding ways to win. On the other hand, they seem more vulnerable than they have in quite a few years. So is this a playoff hardened team gutting out wins, leading us to believe there’s nothing to worry about? Or is this a team far closer to the pack than we’re used to?
Well, this may seem like a cop out, but both answers are kind of right. Plain and simple, the Stamps know how to win football games. They showed that trait again on Saturday night as they erased an early 17-point hole to top the Alouettes 25-22. While that is not a blueprint they wish to repeat on a regular basis, it does speak to Calgary’s resiliency and ability to stay calm. The Stampeders fought back, took the lead, and then impressively shut the door in the fourth quarter.
The veteran core of the Stamps is one that can be trusted, that can’t be disputed. Juwan Simpson, Keon Raymond, Charleston Hughes, Jon Cornish, Rob Cote, and Randy Chevrier have been through pretty much everything in red and white. As long as that group is still present, this team is never going to fall completely by the wayside.
When times got tough for the Stamps, Bo Levi Mitchell responded.
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Yet, all that being said, the Stamps are in a different spot than they’ve been. We said at the outset there is a very defined middle group of seven teams, and Calgary is very much a part of that. Resiliency, timely execution and the ability to stay calm in the face of adversity have helped Calgary get to 4-2. But a combined margin of 10 points in four wins tells you how close things have been to being very different.
The Stampeders have yet to look dominant in six games this season. By the same token, they haven’t been humbled or outclassed in their two losses, either. That’s the mark of a team in the middle of the pack in a league ripe with parity. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being in that pack. It’s just not what we’re used to in Calgary. And I don’t think anyone would be surprised if the Stamps are no longer in that pack when we get to October.
To the wolves
In this week’s 3-Minute Warning, we wished the best of luck to Brett Smith in his pro starting debut. The guy was up against some tough odds. Smith became the third Riders quarterback to start a game this season, as both Darian Durant and Kevin Glenn are on the sidelines with long-term injuries. On top of that, though, Smith was also forced to face the league’s best defence in his debut. The results were predictably lopsided with Saskatchewan taking it on the chin 30-5.
Smith’s start was certainly not ideal, but I also really hope the Riders realize what Friday night was and give him another shot. I honestly don’t believe Smith’s performance against the Eskimos is a true indicator of what he is. Don’t get me wrong, I have no idea what the Wyoming product is all about, either. But I’m not going to judge a guy on one game, especially in circumstances like Friday’s.
But it goes deeper than that. It’s time for the Riders to start thinking big picture. Yes, even at 0-6, they’re not completely dead in the water and a few wins get them right back into the playoff picture. That’s the most important thing, and no one is going to dispute that. But there’s also a larger reality to think about.
This is the second consecutive season that Durant has missed significant time with injury. I’m not saying he’s wearing down or too old or anything of the sort, just pointing out the facts. Durant turns 33 later this month, which suggests he still has lots of time left. But Saskatchewan also needs to start thinking about what next.
Glenn was a great option to bring in for the short term and for this season. But Glenn just turned 36 in June and is not the answer long term. I’m not saying Smith is, either, but at the age of 23, at least there’s still a potential ceiling to be reached. You have to see what you have, and to do that; you have to give him more than a game or two.
Giving Smith a chance doesn’t mean GM Brendan Taman shouldn’t still be expending every resource to bring in more competition at the position. Durant is still the number one guy for the Riders. We also know Glenn is not the guy to take over whenever it’s time for Durant to move on. Is Smith that guy? Maybe, or maybe not, but the answer is not a definitive no. For that reason, he deserves more opportunities in 2015.
Quick hits
When Drew Willy plays entire football games he’s really good. The byproduct of that, funny enough, is that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers usually win in those same situations. That was the case Thursday night as the Bombers moved to 3-3 with an impressive 23-13 win over the BC Lions. Willy has taken noticeable and tangible steps forward after a really good 2014, so now we just hope he finishes more games.
With a QB rating of 113.3, Drew Willy is currently the second-ranked quarterback among starters.
Don’t forget, though, that Winnipeg didn’t allow a touchdown for about 51 straight minutes on Thursday. Yeah, the Lions lit them up on the first possession of the game, but the Bombers got their stuff together in a hurry defensively after that. The result was the most difficult game of Travis Lulay’s return tour and a much needed victory.
Don’t forget Week 6 ends tonight with a marquee matchup in Hamilton. As the Tiger-Cats finally get to have their home opener at Tim Hortons Field, it strikes me that their showdown with Toronto truly is a big one.
The Argos have been the best team in the East so far in 2015. For two straight years, Hamilton has represented the East Division in the Grey Cup with many people thinking that could be the case again in November. I like Toronto because I think the Argos have been the East’s best all round group so far. But will Hamilton show us the form that has had them playing for all the marbles the last two years? Kickoff tonight is just after 7 pm eastern.
