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To rip off my favourite moment from ‘Ted Lasso’, the darts scene from Season One, I love the line “Be curious, not judgmental.” It’s a great way to live your life and will make however you consume social media that much better!
When looking at the Week 10 slate of games I can understand how you would judge the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the Ottawa REDBLACKS as perhaps not the most compelling game. You have an intriguing re-match between Toronto and Calgary plus Tre Ford mania is starting to heat up.
After spending way too long staring at the latest AMSOIL Power Rankings I became more and more intrigued with the opening game for this week. When the season kicked off Ottawa was ranked eighth, now they have jumped all the way to fourth. Saskatchewan has been consistent throughout, spending the first five weeks as the country’s second best team and has been holding on to the bronze position for the past month.
I have so many questions about who these teams are today and more importantly who they can be by the end of the season. In the spirit of curiosity over everything else, here are my top questions I hope can be answered. Full disclosure, I understand there is no way we will get complete answers from one game but at least we will receive partial answers and a sense of what is to come for these two organizations.
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How many return yards can Mario Alford put up in a single game if the Roughriders cut back on the special teams’ penalties?
Watching the replay of Alford’s blazing 101-yard opening kickoff return touchdown against the Edmonton Elks the broadcasters mentioned that his longest return on the year was just 30 yards!
Mario has seen multiple touchdowns called back on a penalty but last week he put up 177 return yards and looked like the fastest player on the field. I’m hoping for an encore performance from both the returner and the unsung players blocking for him. Now as long as they can avoid blocking a REDBLACK from behind.
Has there ever been a bigger disparity between on-field excellence versus a name that doesn’t conjure up the image of athletic excellence more than Kalil Pimpleton?
Admittedly that is a clunky question, but you get my point. The 24-year-old rookie started his CFL career with a bang putting up 153 receiving yards against Edmonton and the last time we saw him Pimpleton he was amassing 289 total yards in Ottawa’s 33-6 beatdown of the Calgary Stampeders. He is putting up “Williams” (Gizmo, Pinball, Chris) like numbers with a name that sounds like he has a three-episode arc in ‘Bridgerton’.
Can Ottawa close the gap on the Montreal Alouettes?
“It does appear that we have a very clear top rung inhabitant in the CFL hierarchy. Right now, there’s not much room to make the case for anyone but the Montreal Alouettes.”
Those words come from Don Landry’s latest 5 Takeaways from Week 9 column and he is of course 100 per cent right. Despite the injury to Cody Fajardo no team has been better in all phases of the game than the defending Grey Cup Champions. But can the REDBLACKS challenge them?
Two weeks ago, Ottawa beat Calgary by 27 points, the largest margin of victory ever for Ottawa on their home turf. I will get to Dru Brown in a moment but one of the biggest differences in this team from a year ago is fewer turnovers. Last season Ottawa quarterbacks served up 18 interceptions against 11 touchdowns thrown. The team’s overall turnover ratio statistics aren’t great, but it is better than 2023. That’s a big reason why I view the ceiling for this group to be higher in addition to an improved defence thanks to the arrival of Adarius Pickett and a formidable defensive line. My big concern is the quality of the opponents they’ve bested is not exactly elite. A win against the 5-3 Roughriders and we all start viewing Ottawa differently.
Can Saskatchewan take advantage of the Vernon Adams Jr. injury?
If Corey Mace’s squad leaves Ottawa with a win they would find themselves once again leading the West Division. Vernon has been on the field with his team but will not suit up against the Elks. It’s no slight to say there is a drop off between the West’s leading passer and Jake Dolegala so now is the time for the Roughriders who are also missing their starting quarterback to win back home field in the playoffs.
Quick side note, I understand the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are 3-6 but that 25-0 win over the Lions was eye opening and makes me wonder if a three-horse race is brewing in the West.
Can Shea Patterson set himself up for a big 2025 payday?
Patterson was thrust into a buzz saw of opponents after the Trevor Harris injury starting against the likes of the Argonauts, Lions, Blue Bombers (better than that record) and Alouettes.
Yes, he came up on the losing end against Edmonton but that was more about the Roughriders rush defence than it was their third-year quarterback. Even his one interception came late in the game with his team trailing 35-24. Patterson was the top CFL Fantasy quarterback for Week 9 and has put up good individual numbers especially considering the circumstances. I’m curious to see how Patterson performs with a constantly changing offensive line that will be without their starting right tackle (Jacob Brammer) and left guard (Ryan Sceviour) with Lorenzo Mauldin IV and Bryce Carter on the other side.
If Patterson keeps the Roughriders on pace with the Lions there will be suitors in a sport always looking for a productive sub-30-year-old quarterback.
Has Ottawa found their franchise quarterback?
Speaking of 27-year-old quarterbacks who are making the most of their opportunity, Dru Brown has given Ottawa the best quarterback play they’ve had since Trevor Harris. The one difference is that Brown is four years younger than Harris was when he came to town. Trevor had three highly productive years but was never able to take the REDBLACKS over the top. The question is can Brown leap Harris and enter into hallowed Henry Burris territory? A win over the Green and White won’t answer that question but Brown is starting to look like what this organization has spent years searching for.
Jeremiah Masoli could never stay healthy; Dustin Crum had his moments but nothing sustainable and Dominique Davis was just not the answer. The last time a quarterback had a better start in our nation’s capital was Tom Clements in 1975. Here’s how long ago that is, I was born in 1975. Yeah, I’m old.
I know that wins and losses are not the best way to measure how effective a quarterback is so how about the fact that over his past three contests Brown is averaging over 350 yards per game while completing 72 per cent of his passes? It is a small sample size for Brown but with every Ottawa win where the passing game plays a decisive role, the decision by general manager Shawn Burke to trade for him just looks wiser and wiser.
