
THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Will it be enough?
That’s the question CFL fans across the country are answering this week as it pertains to the Montreal Alouettes, who will have a different head coach on the sideline in Week 14.
Jacques Chapdelaine gives the Alouettes’ sideline a new look while Jim Popp relinquishes his coaching role to focus more on his duties as a general manager. But can the change spark a mid-season turnaround for an Alouettes team ranking last in the East Division but only two games out of a playoff spot?
Plus, what’s holding back the Edmonton Eskimos? And what kind of impact will the recently-signed Terrell Sinkfield have on the BC Lions?
We ask the tough questions, you answer in The Weekly Say.
Here are nine pressing questions for Week 14:
1. Will the coaching change spark the Alouettes?
The switch from Jim Popp to Jacques Chapdelaine, like any coaching change, has no doubt sent shockwaves through the Alouettes’ room. The question is whether it’s too little too late in a season that hasn’t gone according to plan.
» Popp relinquishes coaching duties; Chapdelaine named interim head coach

Jim Popp departs the Alouettes’ sideline to focus more on his GM duties (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Two weeks ago it was a quarterback change in Montreal, as the Als went from Kevin Glenn under centre to Rakeem Cato before trading away their veteran backup to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. That failed to provide a spark, but maybe the switch to the veteran Chapdelaine won’t.
That’s certainly what the Alouettes are hoping for as they still remain only two games out of a playoff spot in the East with plenty of time to turn their campaign around.
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2. What’s holding back the Edmonton Eskimos?
Currently on the outside looking in at the CFL playoff picture, the Eskimos are in danger of becoming the first team since… themselves in 2006 to win the Grey Cup one year and miss the playoffs the next.
General Manager Ed Hervey knew there would be growing pains, but did anyone expect the Eskimos to drop off this far after a storybook championship-winning campaign a season ago?
Mike Reilly has put up MOP-calibre numbers on one hand, yet on the other, his quarterback rating ranks him middle of the road among pivots while the Eskimos’ turnover ratio was the second-worst in the CFL at minus-six heading into Week 13 action.
Turnovers again haunted the Eskimos in a 26-23 overtime loss to the Riders over the weekend, including an Ed Gainey fumble return touchdown that was ripped out of the hands of Adarius Bowman following what seemed to be a routine catch.
What’s the biggest thing preventing the Eskimos from regaining their 2015 form?
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3. Do Chris Jones’ Riders finally have lift-off?
Exception or the future norm? While Riders fans are still feeling the effects of a euphoric 26-23 overtime win over the Eskimos on Sunday, with those feelings lingers the question of its significance.
Four weeks in a row the Riders have fought to one-possession outcomes as they continue to look like the team Head Coach and General Manager Chris Jones might have envisioned from the start when he left the Eskimos and took control of Saskatchewan’s sideline and front office.
So when it’s all said and done, what does Sunday’s win mean for a Riders team that was, until now, in desperate need of some positive momentum? Was it a one-off or is Jones’ team onto something?
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4. Has Dan LeFevour earned another start?
With Drew Willy waiting in the wings, Dan LeFevour’s second start as an Argo had mixed results. On one hand, LeFevour put up points in a 46-29 loss to the Bombers on Saturday afternoon, throwing four touchdown passes and coming up just shy of a 300-yard outing for what would have been the second straight game.
With that said, LeFevour cooled off considerably in the second half. He couldn’t help the Boatmen pull away after going up by 10 points during the third quarter, while the Bombers seemed to figure out the formula to keep LeFevour from scrambling and making big plays later in the game.
LeFevour has shown plenty of ups and downs in two starts and should get a chance to play himself out of a job — but do the Argos have time for a wait-and-see approach?
Should LeFevour start in Week 14 or should the Argos turn to Willy?
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5. Are you concerned by the recent play of Trevor Harris?
Should the Ottawa REDBLACKS be concerned by the recent play of Trevor Harris?
Harris remains the CFL’s highest-rated passer with a 124.9 efficiency rating, but after surging out of the gate in 2016 has not looked like the same quarterback since returning from injury just a few weeks ago. In his last two games in particular Harris has completed just 44 of his 69 passing attempts — a clip of 64 per cent — while generating only 42 points, well below the team’s average this season.
It’s not to say that Harris should be replaced by Henry Burris — the first-year REDBLACK probably has plenty of rope before things get to that point. Still, with the team having won just two of its last seven games, it doesn’t matter who’s to blame for the team’s recent struggles; Harris will have to elevate his game, starting with a Week 14 clash against his former team.
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6. What impact will Terrell Sinkfield have on the Lions?
As though the Lions didn’t already have one of the league’s better-rounded groups of receivers, Terrell Sinkfield brings something Emmanuel Arceneaux, Bryan Burnham and Shawn Gore don’t quite have: elite speed.
It’s not clear what role Sinkfield will have with the Lions and how quickly he can make an impact, but we do know this: the 25-year-old can out-run just about anyone on a football field and if used the right way should be an immediate big-play threat on the Lions’ offence.
Considering Jennings’ arm strength and the other targets on the Lions’ offence that teams have to be wary of, Sinkfield could help the Lions take the next step as a team.
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7. Should Matt Nichols be in consideration for Most Outstanding Player?
Sometimes, meaningful contributions can’t be measured totally by numbers if at all. For Matt Nichols, most of the numbers are pretty good. They won’t add up to those of Bo Levi Mitchell or Mike Reilly, or even the young gunslinger Jonathon Jennings, but they’re respectable to say the least.
With that said, while Nichols isn’t leading the league in passing yards or touchdowns and the Bomber offence isn’t blowing out opponents or leading the league in points, should the second-year Bomber be considered for Most Outstanding Player?
So far all the talk in that regard has been about Mitchell, whose Stamps are 10-1-1 and have won nine straight games on the way to becoming the first team in the CFL to clinch a playoff spot.
If the Bombers can upset the Stamps in Week 14, Nichols will move to 8-0 as a starter, and compared to the team’s 1-4 record without him in the lineup? It’s hard to argue that any one player has had a greater impact on his team than Nichols.
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8. Is DaVaris Daniels’ catch the play of the year for 2016?
When you think of some of the biggest and best plays in recent memory, Chad Owens’ one-handed catch to beat Ottawa in 2015 comes to mind. S.J. Green’s outstretched grab in overtime against the Riders is another one. Then there was Greg Ellingson’s miracle second-down catch that put the Ottawa REDBLACKS in the Grey Cup last November.
Think of all the best plays in recent memory and DaVaris Daniels’ catch over the weekend would not look out of place.
The Stamps rookie receiver made a juggling one-handed catch at full body extension, arguably etching his name atop the list of 2016’s best plays.
Was Daniels’ catch the best 2016 has had to offer thus far?
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9. How will the Ticats finish their final six games?
Perhaps the CFL’s most enigmatic team in 2016, the Ticats have been difficult to figure out on a week-to-week basis.
Slow starts are something the team has been able to overcome with consistency since Kent Austin took over the team in 2013, but is a late-season surge in the cards this season?
This season has been one of adjustment for Hamilton. Special teams have allowed a blocked punt in four straight games, while the O-line has sometimes struggled to protect the quarterback as the offence adjusts to injuries at the position as well as a first-year offensive coordinator in Stef Ptaszek. That and injuries have led to drastic change in the secondary, where younger players have taken on key roles.
With a favourable schedule down the stretch with four games at Tim Hortons Field and opponents below them in the standings, can the Ticats finally live up to their much-hyped 2016 billing and finish the season on top?
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