Steinberg’s MMQB: It’s playoff time!

Everything is set, the invites have been sent and now we can finally start the 2015 playoff party. After 20 weeks of really good football, we have our first post-season matchups set and they come after what was a really fun finish to the 2015 campaign. So after such a fun regular season, can the playoffs live up to the hype? I have a pretty good feeling they will.

Capital accomplishment

Before we get into this weekend’s matchups, huge congratulations have to go out to the Ottawa REDBLACKS. To be in the situation they are, just one win away from an appearance in the Grey Cup presented by Shaw is remarkable knowing they weren’t even existence two years ago. It’s how they got to this point that impresses me the most though.

Ottawa’s home-and-home set with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the last two weekends showed me a lot. To date, they’re the two most important games the REDBLACKS have played, and they answered the bell and then some. To do that in a pressure packed situation is impressive regardless, but to do it as such a young franchise really is something.

The maneuvers of General Manager Marcel Desjardins look really, really good right now. And I’m not even just talking about what he did this past off-season. Yes, the acquisitions of all those receivers was crucial and played a huge part in the emphatic 44-28 win over the Ticats on Saturday afternoon. But it goes a little deeper than just those moves.

Remember, it was Desjardins who pulled the trigger to sign Henry Burris following his release from Hamilton. Taking defensive lineman Keith Shologan in the expansion draft has paid off in spades. So too has the signing of Damaso Munoz, who chose the REDBLACKS over three other teams upon his return to the CFL last September. So far, there’s not a lot that Desjardins has done that hasn’t ended up in the success column.

The one that stands out most, though, is Burris. I’m not sure even Desjardins thought we’d see from Burris what we’ve seen this year. To me, Burris is the runaway Most Outstanding Player for 2015, because he embodies the very definition of the award. What Burris has done this year at the age of 40 is, in one word, outstanding.

Burris threw for six more touchdowns (SIX) in the team’s most important game ever on Saturday. He led the league in passing yards by almost 1,200 yards. He set a new single season record for completions with 481. He had the highest completion percentage of his career at 70.9 per cent. If these things don’t scream MOP, I don’t know what does.

The Battle of Ontario, part one

So, with Hamilton’s loss to Ottawa on Saturday, it sets up an Eastern Semi-Final showdown between the Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts on Sunday. For the first time in a long, long while we’ll get two all-Ontario showdowns starting with the one we’re used to.

I wrote in the 3-Minute Warning leading up to Week 20 how crucial it was for the Argos to head into the post-season with some momentum. To throw the truck in reverse and go out with a loss to Winnipeg would have been bad for business. Luckily, that didn’t happen, as they closed out their regular season with a fairly convincing 21-11 win over the Bombers.

I’m leaning towards Toronto on Sunday at this point. While the Argos has a fresh, veteran quarterback leading them into Tim Hortons Field, the Tiger-Cats have all kinds of uncertainty at the position. It’s tough for me to bet against Ricky Ray in a situation like this, as I think Toronto has the superior offence here.

Hamilton still has playmakers on the defensive side of the ball and has the edge in that facet of the game, but it’s not a big enough edge to make the difference for me. I think the Argos can keep that Ticats D on the field and win what has the makings of a more of a low-scoring, hard-fought affair.

This time it means something

Despite all my hopes that it might mean something, Saturday’s 28-7 Calgary Stampeders win over the BC Lions ended up meaning almost nothing. Both teams rested a vast array of starters and neither team had any interest in opening the playbook on either side of the ball. Saturday’s affair resembled something more like a pre-season game. That won’t be the case come Sunday afternoon at McMahon Stadium.

By all rights, this is Calgary’s game to lose. The Stampeders are the better team and the discrepancy in records is no fluke. But in a one-game showdown with everything on the line, that doesn’t always mean much.

While I think the Stamps will win this game, there’s something about the Lions that would worry me if I were a fan of the Red and White. BC doesn’t have the same type of robotic efficiency of Calgary’s offensive unit, but it does have explosiveness. In one game, that’s scary.

Jonathon Jennings is a dangerous weapon that is still being understood by opposing defences. He throws the ball well, he is elusive and he has two deadly weapons at his disposal. With Andrew Harris in the backfield and Emmmanuel Arceneaux, the Lions have the ability to run away and hide if things go right for them.

I think the Stamps will grind away at BC’s suspect run defence and win this game. But if Calgary starts sluggish or isn’t dialed in the way the Stamps need to be, the Lions have the playmakers to put a game out of reach. I see the Western Semi-Final being a little higher scoring than the East.

Early winter

A disappointing season is now in the books for both the Alouettes and the Riders. These two teams had seasons that were similar in more ways than just their eventual non-playoff fate. And both have important questions to answer, mainly at the game’s most important position.

Yes, Darian Durant will be healthy come the 2016 season, but he’s played just 11 games the last two seasons. Where is Saskatchewan on Brett Smith right now? I’d personally like to see him number two on the depth chart come next year, but the Riders may have different ideas. Do they go big game hunting this winter?

The questions at quarterback are quite similar in Montreal. Is Jonathan Crompton still viewed as the guy there? I think he’s still their best bet, but with the injury plagued 2015 he had, the Als need to look at other options, too. I get that Replacing Anthony Calvillo fully was impossible, I really do. But the turmoil Montreal has gone through since his retirement is still surprising.