5 things we learned from Week 10

Matthew Cauz

CFL.ca

@mcauz56

Before we get to the five things I’ve learned from this past week of CFL football, I wanted to mention a moment where I learned nothing, but rather I just enjoyed the moment.

Watching the sunset at BMO Field during the Argonauts’ first game back in Toronto was more of a reminder of how pretty a football game can be even if you know the Gardiner Expressway is close by.

THE TORONTO ARGONAUTS ARE STARTING TO GAIN A DEFENSIVE IDENTITY

But wait a minute, didn’t the Calgary Stampeders score 30 points in their loss against Toronto? Technically, you are correct, but on a night where Mike Miller’s team put up over 450 yards of offence, it was the defence that stood out.

Calgary’s first touchdown was set up by a Sam Hicks lost fumble, putting the Stamps at the three-yard line. Another touchdown was the result of an Adrian Greene interception return. Most teams are going to lose when they commit five turnovers, but Toronto’s defence not only kept them in the game, but also helped the Argos lead for much of the night.

The Double Blue produced four sacks, held the Stamps to 249 yards offensively, and ended Vernon Adams Jr.’s streak of pass attempts without an interception, picking off the Calgary quarterback twice. You can argue the pivotal play was Bubba Bolden tackling Dedrick Mills for a one-yard loss on third down, helping set up the game-winning field goal. The Stampeders came into this game leading the league in points scored, but for much of the night their offence looked out of sync.

CHAD KELLY HAS A SHORT MEMORY

We live in a football world where the ultimate mantra is don’t turn the ball over. This is, of course, an intelligent and correct thesis. Teams that win the turnover battle come out victorious the majority of the time. There are, however, some exceptions to the rule.

Chad Kelly is this deep-ball-throwing, unrepentant gunslinger who can beat any defence with his arm strength and vision. The other side of that coin is, wow, can he scare you if you’re a fan of the Argonauts.

In the third quarter, the 2023 MOP threw interceptions on back-to-back drives. The first was returned for a score by Greene and the second was a blind throw into the end zone, hope-my-guy-comes-down-with-the-ball sort of throw. Instead, it was picked off by Benjamin Labrosse for the defensive back’s second pick of the game. Moments like that could hurt the confidence of many quarterbacks, but not Chad. With less than a minute left of a 30-30 game on second-and-10, he delivered a perfect 31-yard, over the shoulder pass to Damonte Coxie right at the sideline, giving Toronto a first down at the Stampeders 12-yard line. Two runs later, Brady Lidster hit the chip shot field goal, giving the home team the 33-30 victory.

Kelly is not for the faint of heart, but wow is he a lot of fun to watch.

TOMMY STEVENS IS REDEFINING WHAT “SHORT” MEANS FOR SHORT YARDAGE

If you see Tommy Stevens jogging into the Saskatchewan Roughriders huddle, just assume you will be watching a third down conversion or a touchdown on the next play.

For his career, he has 21 pass attempts and 41 rushing touchdowns. Against the Ottawa REDBLACKS he showed that “short” is just a state of mind.

Tommy’s first fourth quarter touchdown was the classic one-yard plunge, ending a methodical 12-play drive, and we’ve seen that display of power countless times. However, his second touchdown was on first down, from all the way back at the six-yard line. Why wasn’t Trevor Harris throwing a slant to KeeSean Johnson in this situation? Well, when you have an offensive line this good and a battering ram that effective, blunt force is often the right call. Stevens calmly ran up the gut, giving the Roughriders a 35-14 lead.

Finally, his hat-trick touchdown with less than 90 seconds left showed off his range as a runner. Tommy faked the handoff, juked right by C.J. Reavis and Shadwel Nkuba II as he was racing to his right to the corner of the end zone for a seven-yard score.

The CFL leader in rushing touchdowns is proving that short yardage is not just about being one yard out.

THE MONTREAL ALOUETTES OFFENSIVE LINE DESERVES THE SPOTLIGHT

From a fantasy football perspective, anyone who started a Montreal Alouette won their week after Montreal’s 48-30 light show win over the Edmonton Elks.

Davis Alexander put up four touchdowns and 352 yards, Tyler Snead led the team with 143 receiving yards, Tyson Philpot had three scores, while Travis Theis battered the Elks for an even 100 on the ground.

If there was a world where offensive linemen could get points, we would be talking about Nick Callender, Pier-Olivier Lestage, Cyrille Hogan-Saindon, Donny Ventrelli and Tiger Shanks a whole lot more.

One play that stands out was the Philpot six-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter. Alexander had so long to pass (my unofficial count has it at 5.2 seconds) and he was directing traffic like he was on an airline runway directing planes to the right gate. Edmonton came into the game as the league’s stingiest defence, but rarely made Davis look uncomfortable.

THERE IS PLENTY TO BUILD ON FROM HARRISON FROST’S FIRST START

The overall numbers won’t blow you away. Critics can point to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats offence being shut out in the third quarter, but I give credit to the BC Lions offence playing a dominant version of “keep away” with a seven-minute drive in the quarter.

After a slow start, Harrison displayed plenty of flashes of being able to run Scott Milanovich’s offence. We saw Frost push the ball downfield to Kenny Lawler for 34 yards in the opening frame and then late in the game, he exploited the busted Lions’ coverage finding Myron Mitchell for 46 yards, setting up a Jake Dolegala touchdown plunge that tied the game at 24.

Harrison signed with Hamilton in mid-July, made his first start on the road and came away with just a three-point loss. I understand Tiger-Cats fans are, rightfully so, hoping for a Bo Levi Mitchell return, but they should at least feel cautiously optimistic that Harrison can keep their team afloat.

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