CFL: The CFL Thread: Part VI

[Holden Caulfield]

I like to do these weekly CFL previews on some other forums I'm on, so I figured I'd share them here as well. Plus we're coming up on the most interesting week of the season every year, Labour Day.

Ottawa (2-8) at Montreal (4-6) Fri. 7:30PM ET
- The Montreal-Ottawa Labour Day game usually doesn't have as much juice as the other traditional match-ups on this weekend, but that may not be the case this time around. Nick Arbuckle appears to have given the RedBlacks some QB stability and could surprise a very erratic Alouettes club.

Winnipeg (10-1) at Saskatchewan (6-5) Sun. 6PM ET
- They're feeling awfully high and mighty in Saskatchewan despite beating a BC team that was down to their 3rd string QB. I'd love to see the Bombers smack the Riders back to reality, but Labour Day has usually been Winnipeg's kryptonite over the years.

Toronto (5-5) at Hamilton (3-8) Mon. 1 PM ET
- The latest team to have QB questions is the TiCats with Matthew Shiltz expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a wrist injury. Hamilton usually plays really good on Labour Day though, and the Argos really aren't making much of an attempt to pull away from the rest of the pack in the East.

Edmonton (3-8) at Calgary (6-4) Mon. 4:30PM ET
- As a Stampeders fan, I'm legitimately nervous about Labour Day for the first time in several years for two reasons. 1 - Despite the offence playing better with Jake Maier at QB, the defence turned into swiss cheese last week against Winnpeg. 2 - Edmonton has been a somewhat decent road team over the last two seasons, including a win on Labour Day last year.

Bye Week - BC (8-2). Already down Nathan Rourke, Michael O’Connor also got injured last week for the Lions, and their third string QB Antonio Pipkin isn't very good. A deal is reportedly in the works to bring in Vernon Adams Jr. from Montreal, so we'll see if that can help their QB situation.

I almost feel like Labour Day is where the lack of 10th team is the most obvious. You have 3 natural rivalries with prairie teams (WPG-SSK), battle of alberta (EDM-CGY), and battle of (southern) ontario (TOR-HAM) that have games steeped in tradition and mutual "hatred". The MTL-OTT game has potential to continue to develop as a rivalry game, with plenty of french connections in Ott and the obviously closeness of the two cities.

BC really misses out. But a Halifax/Maritimes - BC game would be a great natural selling point of "battle of the coasts". Hell you could even alternate home games for that one if they wanted (or make it straight all 10 teams play home and homes Labour Day-Week After). It's maybe illogical to assume you could develop that rivalry with the distance between the teams, but I think it would make for fun storylines and could give both those teams a chance for a "true" rival.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Ottawa gets themselves back in the playoff race with two straight wins on the road. Hard to believe that Montreal has won a game in Winnipeg but lost at home to Ottawa and Edmonton. Kind of funny that Harris starts to show cracks the week they trade away Adams. I dunno...kind of surprised how little press Adams getting traded has created. Montreal might regret this in the long run. Things sure went south quickly, but I can't say anything Maciocia does could ever surprise me.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Ottawa gets themselves back in the playoff race with two straight wins on the road. Hard to believe that Montreal has won a game in Winnipeg but lost at home to Ottawa and Edmonton. Kind of funny that Harris starts to show cracks the week they trade away Adams. I dunno...kind of surprised how little press Adams getting traded has created. Montreal might regret this in the long run. Things sure went south quickly, but I can't say anything Maciocia does could ever surprise me.

You what'd really be fun? If Ottawa goes a run here and ends up the playoffs, the team likely taking the #3 spot in the East is...Saskatchewan. Marino v Redblacks/Masoli first matchup since the incident in the playoffs? Dream match up for the CFL.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

You what'd really be fun? If Ottawa goes a run here and ends up the playoffs, the team likely taking the #3 spot in the East is...Saskatchewan. Marino v Redblacks/Masoli first matchup since the incident in the playoffs? Dream match up for the CFL.

Yeah, it's as good a possibility as any now. If Toronto were to lose in Hamilton on Monday you could really argue that all four teams still have a chance at the #1 seed, given that they all play each other a lot down the stretch.

Ottawa turning things around under Arbuckle of all people is a development few people saw coming. Had to laugh at him mentioning on the broadcast yesterday that he's starting to figure out how his receivers run their routes...like really, just now? Dude has been there for several weeks.

 

[hockeykicker]

 

[hoglund]

couch O has got to go in Hamilton, he's made too many decisions that have hurt them.Yesterday changing quarterbacis was the turning point of the game, it was close until the interception by 4th string quarterback Morton and it changed the game. They need to make Kahari Jones the new couch and hope the injuries to many key players heal to hope for any chance to make the playoffs.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

couch O has got to go in Hamilton, he's made too many decisions that have hurt them.Yesterday changing quarterbacis was the turning point of the game, it was close until the interception by 4th string quarterback Morton and it changed the game. They need to make Kahari Jones the new couch and hope the injuries to many key players heal to hope for any chance to make the playoffs.

Gotta think your right here. I don't think any coach survives his team going from a pre-season favourite to win the division to arguable the worst team in the CFL during the season. If he had won either of the previous 2 title games the math might be different, but he didn't. I don't even think Steinhauer is a bad coach, but it's just an untenable situation for all involved after the way this season has gone in Hamilton.

 

[sonic92]

CFL seasons usually get very interesting after Labour Day, we'll see if that continues as we hit week 14.

BC (8-2) at Montreal (4-7) Fri. 7:30PM ET - These two teams hooked up on a trade last week with Vernon Adams going from Montreal to Vancouver. That will solidify the Lions QB situation, although they may not need him for this game with how wonky the Alouettes have been this season.

Toronto (6-5) at Ottawa (3-8) Sat. 2PM ET - They have some semblance of hope in the nation's capital as back-to-back wins have the RedBlacks back in the Eastern playoff mix. The Argos have also won their last two, giving them a bit of a lead for first in the East, but they've got the short week here after playing on Monday.

Saskatchewan (6-6) at Winnipeg (11-1) Sat. 5PM ET - Here we go with another edition of the Banjo Bowl. Penalties have been a problem lately in Saskatchewan and the Bombers are one team you cannot have any mistakes against.

Calgary (7-4) at Edmonton (3-9) Sat. 8PM ET - After a shaky first half, Jake Maier played really good in the second half to give Calgary another Labour Day win over Edmonton. Now the Battle of Alberta shifts to Commonwealth Stadium, which has not been home sweet home for the Elks.

Bye Week - Hamilton (3-9). The most unstable QB situation right now is in Hamilton. Both Matt Shiltz and Dane Evans are injured and neither Jamie Newman or Jalen Morton were able to get the job done on Labour Day. If the Tiger-Cats can't fix that soon, we'll have to add another year to their championship drought.

 

[JimmyApples]

The CFL East is brutal. I don’t think there are any ‘good’ teams.

 

[keonsbitterness]

The CFL East is brutal. I don’t think there are any ‘good’ teams.

Yes and no. West has a big lead head-to-head but a lot of them were really close wins. Only Hamilton has a bad point differential, and they've been ravaged by injuries.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

couch O has got to go in Hamilton, he's made too many decisions that have hurt them.Yesterday changing quarterbacis was the turning point of the game, it was close until the interception by 4th string quarterback Morton and it changed the game. They need to make Kahari Jones the new couch and hope the injuries to many key players heal to hope for any chance to make the playoffs.

They just paid big money to keep him around and promoted him. I don't think there's any chance he gets fired, personally.

He's made some questionable decisions, and it's unacceptable that Hamilton has blown that many games where they led in the second half.

But it's not his fault Dane Evans has fumbled away multiple games. The number of turnovers committed by the Ti-Cats is staggering, and with even a "normal bad" turnover ratio they're probably 6-6 instead of 3-9. Bralon Addison coming back and immediately getting a season ending injury was a blow the offense couldn't afford, but even if Schiltz had stayed healthy I think they'd have still made a push for the playoffs.

Hamilton is a team that cycled through coaches and managers to mostly unsatisfactory results for 15 years before Steinauer took over and led them to back to back Grey Cup appearances with an elite W-L record. I just don't think you suddenly fire a guy with those results for one bad year where they lost a bunch of close games due to turnovers. Khari Jones wouldn't be an upgrade IMO. It's extremely frustrating to lose games where coaching decisions are a factor, but I've watched this league long enough to know that it's an unfortunate fact of life that all but the best coaches regularly do dumb shit that costs their team games.

 

[hoglund]

They just paid big money to keep him around and promoted him. I don't think there's any chance he gets fired, personally.

He's made some questionable decisions, and it's unacceptable that Hamilton has blown that many games where they led in the second half.

But it's not his fault Dane Evans has fumbled away multiple games. The number of turnovers committed by the Ti-Cats is staggering, and with even a "normal bad" turnover ratio they're probably 6-6 instead of 3-9. Bralon Addison coming back and immediately getting a season ending injury was a blow the offense couldn't afford, but even if Schiltz had stayed healthy I think they'd have still made a push for the playoffs.

Hamilton is a team that cycled through coaches and managers to mostly unsatisfactory results for 15 years before Steinauer took over and led them to back to back Grey Cup appearances with an elite W-L record. I just don't think you suddenly fire a guy with those results for one bad year where they lost a bunch of close games due to turnovers. Khari Jones wouldn't be an upgrade IMO. It's extremely frustrating to lose games where coaching decisions are a factor, but I've watched this league long enough to know that it's an unfortunate fact of life that all but the best coaches regularly do dumb shit that costs their team games.

What about their old coach Marcel Bellefeuille? I can't remember when he left, but I remember him being pretty good.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

What about their old coach Marcel Bellefeuille? I can't remember when he left, but I remember him being pretty good.

I can't say I remember a whole lot of specifics about Bellefeuille's tenure. They never had a winning record with him as HC though.

Hamilton prior to Steinauer was, to me at least, a perennial under-achiever. Always seemed like they'd field rosters with plenty of talent, only to finish with an 8-10 record or thereabouts in a weak division. Between Lancaster and Steinauer (a long bloody time) I'm not sure they ever had a season with more than 10 wins in all honesty, and that's pretty bad when expansion Ottawa, post-Calvillo Montreal, and ownerless/inconsistent Toronto were the competition in the 2014-2018 span of time.

I think this year you just write off as a bad luck and bad circumstance. Even with everything that had gone wrong up to that point, Shiltz had the offense trending up and the season looked entirely salvageable until he got injured. The big question to me is whether or not Evans is back. His confidence looks totally shattered.

 

[sonic92]

The final third of the CFL season us upon us in week 15.

Edmonton (3-10) at Saskatchewan (6-7) Fri. 9:30PM ET
- I'm sure that lots of that awful tasting Pilsner has been consumed in Saskatchewan recently after the Riders got taken down by the Bombers in back-to-back weeks. The schedule gives them a bottom feeder in Edmonton, but the Elks being on the road means they might accidentally win this one.

Winnipeg (12-1) at Hamilton (3-9) Sat. 4PM ET
- The Bombers return to the scene of last year's Grey Cup triumph and can assure themselves of a home playoff game this season with a win here. With how things have gone in Hamilton recently, the Tiger-Cats need a miracle to even come close in this game.

BC (8-3) at Calgary (8-4) Sat. 7PM ET
- Without a doubt the most intriguing game of the week as the winner here gets the inside track on second in the West and a playoff home game. That probably puts more pressure on the Lions since I don't think the league's only dome team wants to be playing outside in November.

Bye Weeks - Toronto (7-5), Montreal (5-7) and Ottawa (3-9).

 

[Holden Caulfield]

This Elks Riders game is UGLY. Feels like a pre-season game. Some guys with pop like Elks RB Kevin Brown, a couple other flashes here and there, but overall just bad penalties, complete coverage busts and poor play all over the field.

I think we are down to 3 legit challengers for the Grey Cup with a couple of darkhorses. WPG, CGY, TOR all have legitimate chances. If BC can get to average QB play they will put themselves back into the mix and MTL is a toss up each week. Grey Cup being a 1 game playoff means anything can happen though (and has "cough 8-10 Stamps cough").

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Watching Josiah St. John getting beat like a red-headed step child for what feels like the 100th time this year for the hapless Riders Oline got me thinking about how he was a #1 overall pick in the CFL draft. So I started to explore and I wonder if there's ever been as bad a stretch as the below for 1st overall picks...
2016 - SSK - OG/OT Josiah St John
Started with a contract holdout, never got better in his first term as a Rider. Never started as far as I know. Bounced around a bit before landing back in Sask. 6 years in and he's finally getting his first run of starts and he has been beyond brutal.
2017 - WPG - DT Faith Ekakatie
Drafted to be the Jake Thomas replacement (funny thing is Jake Thomas is still going strong). Never developed at all, lasted little more than a year with the Bombers. Only signed for a few weeks with I believe the Als. Never did anything complete bust. Heard he had some commitment issues.
2018 - HAM - WR Mark Chapman
Never signed in CFL, signed with AAF but never reported. Never played any pro football.

Amazing. In those drafted behind #1 overall we have OL Brendan Revenberg, LB Alex Singleton, OL Jason Lauzon-Seguin, LB Cameron Judge, WR Nate Behar, OL Peter Godber, OL Mark Korte among others. Terrible.

It's not just a "CFL draft" thing either as we have #1 picks in other years around it like
2019 - OL Shane Richards (TOR)
2020 - LB Jordan Williams (BC)
2015 - OL Alex Mateas (OTT)
2014 - OL Pierre Lavertu (CGY)

Those guys have been CFL all-stars, quality players.

Just an odd stretch of busts out of the #1 overall spot.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Hamilton with a surprise rout of the Blue Bombers. That, combined with the Riders losing their last "easy" game, keeps things interesting. Saskatchewan looks bad enough/injured enough that they could easily finish 7-11 with their remaining schedule. The odds of Hamilton reaching 7 wins just swung dramatically with this upset win, and Montreal should reach 7 as well unless they really crap the bed. The Riders could find themselves on thin ice by the time they go to Hamilton on October 7th, that game is going to be massive.

 

[Kipper344]

Elks are so sad this season...

 

[sonic92]

Some CFL playoff spots could get clinched here in week 16.

Hamilton (4-9) at Montreal (5-7) Fri. 7:30 PM ET
- Since it's looking like only two playoff teams will come out of the East, this is a big game for getting one of those spots. The Alouettes are only a game and a half up on the Tiger-Cats for that number 2 spot in the east and a home playoff game.

Toronto (7-5) at Ottawa (3-9) Sat. 7PM ET
- An Argo win and a TiCat loss will punch Toronto's ticket to the post-season. The boatmen could very easily pull of their end of the bargain since the RedBlacks have had problems winning at home lately (not as much trouble as Edmonton but I digress)

Calgary (8-5) at BC (9-3) Sat. 10PM ET
- The Lions can clinch their first playoff berth since 2018 if they can win at home against Calgary. The Stampeders could also clinch with a victory themselves, but they'd also need losses from Hamilton and Ottawa for that to happen.

Bye Weeks - Winnipeg (12-2), Saskatchewan (6-8) and Edmonton (4-10).

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Some CFL playoff spots could get clinched here in week 16.

Hamilton (4-9) at Montreal (5-7) Fri. 7:30 PM ET
- Since it's looking like only two playoff teams will come out of the East, this is a big game for getting one of those spots. The Alouettes are only a game and a half up on the Tiger-Cats for that number 2 spot in the east and a home playoff game.

Toronto (7-5) at Ottawa (3-9) Sat. 7PM ET
- An Argo win and a TiCat loss will punch Toronto's ticket to the post-season. The boatmen could very easily pull of their end of the bargain since the RedBlacks have had problems winning at home lately (not as much trouble as Edmonton but I digress)

Calgary (8-5) at BC (9-3) Sat. 10PM ET
- The Lions can clinch their first playoff berth since 2018 if they can win at home against Calgary. The Stampeders could also clinch with a victory themselves, but they'd also need losses from Hamilton and Ottawa for that to happen.

Bye Weeks - Winnipeg (12-2), Saskatchewan (6-8) and Edmonton (4-10).

I dont know I agree with the bolded. Sask is fading FAST. They are 2-7 in their last 9 games. They have a pissed off Bombers team on the road in Week 17, potentially desperate but rising Ham team in Hamilton in Week 18, and a home and home with a Calgary team that might still be competing for a home playoff date to end in weeks 20 and 21.

Not sure Sask gets more than 7 wins, meaning two of MTL, HAM, OTT just need to get to 7 wins to prevent the crossover. Entirely possible. If Ham and Ott get wins this week, the race is truly on for the final 2 playoff spots (E2 and E3) and East teams have automatic tie breaker advantages.

 

[sonic92]

I'm not entirely sold on Hamilton being able to string some wins together although they do have a favourable schedule with Calgary on Week 19 being the only "hard" game.

Saskatchewan also has a tendency of pulling lucky wins out of their asses in recent years.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

The more I look at the schedule, the more I think a crossover happening or not pretty much hinges on the SSK@HAM game in a couple weeks. If the Riders win that game, the crossover will be near certain. If they lose, there's probably less than a 50% chance of it happening.

One thing that could save the Riders at the end is closing the season against Calgary. If the Stampeders have nothing at stake and the Riders need a win to get in, it's highly likely Dave Dickenson will lay down and let his brother make the playoffs, especially since there's a reasonable chance Craig is getting axed if the Riders miss out.

Such a weird CFL schedule this year, kind of ridiculous that two divisional opponents don't even play one another until the very end. Calgary will have played every other team in the division three or four times after this week.

 

[robertmac43]

Dan Evans looking dynamite again tonight. O-line really putting in some work as well.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I stuck up for Coach O recently, but gotta say last night left me scratching my head. Gambling on 3rd and 2 at midfield with a lead in a low-scoring game is really questionable considering he later kicked a field goal from the 2 yard line. Those two decisions both backfired IMO (yes he took the lead on the FG, but gave up 38 yards worth of field position), and combined with yet another ghastly fumble, it was enough to lose a critical game the Ti-Cats probably should have squeezed out.

Montreal probably punched their ticket to the playoffs with that win. Could be a dangerous team with Stanback possibly returning just in time for cold weather. I doubt Harris has the chops to actually win a Grey Cup against an elite team, but in a flukey bad weather scenario stranger things have happened.

 

[Jeffrey Pedler]

Watching Josiah St. John getting beat like a red-headed step child for what feels like the 100th time this year for the hapless Riders Oline got me thinking about how he was a #1 overall pick in the CFL draft. So I started to explore and I wonder if there's ever been as bad a stretch as the below for 1st overall picks...
2016 - SSK - OG/OT Josiah St John
Started with a contract holdout, never got better in his first term as a Rider. Never started as far as I know. Bounced around a bit before landing back in Sask. 6 years in and he's finally getting his first run of starts and he has been beyond brutal.
2017 - WPG - DT Faith Ekakatie
Drafted to be the Jake Thomas replacement (funny thing is Jake Thomas is still going strong). Never developed at all, lasted little more than a year with the Bombers. Only signed for a few weeks with I believe the Als. Never did anything complete bust. Heard he had some commitment issues.
2018 - HAM - WR Mark Chapman
Never signed in CFL, signed with AAF but never reported. Never played any pro football.

Amazing. In those drafted behind #1 overall we have OL Brendan Revenberg, LB Alex Singleton, OL Jason Lauzon-Seguin, LB Cameron Judge, WR Nate Behar, OL Peter Godber, OL Mark Korte among others. Terrible.

It's not just a "CFL draft" thing either as we have #1 picks in other years around it like
2019 - OL Shane Richards (TOR)
2020 - LB Jordan Williams (BC)
2015 - OL Alex Mateas (OTT)
2014 - OL Pierre Lavertu (CGY)

Those guys have been CFL all-stars, quality players.

Just an odd stretch of busts out of the #1 overall spot.

It is a weird stretch, than you have some guys who go in rounds 5-8 who end up starting.