Missed all the action from the Canada Day weekend in the Canadian Football League? Here’s everything you need to know.
Saskatchewan are a tire fire at the moment
Saturday night’s Canada Day clash against the reeling Montreal Alouettes was supposed to be a bounce-back game for the Riders, who were torched a week ago by Ottawa. Sure, star quarterback Zach Collaros was on the six-game injured list, but Canadian Brandon Bridge showed last year that he’s up to being a starting quarterback in this league.
And, after all, they were playing the Als, who many predicted last week after being shredded by Chris Streveler and Winnipeg might not win a single game all season.
Then Saturday night happened, in front of a disbelieving Mosaic Stadium. The green-and-white were terrible losing to the Als 23-17 in a game that won’t be in any danger of being labelled an instant classic. Bridge was horrible, benched in favour of David Watford, who wasn’t that much better in relief.
If you can’t beat a Montreal squad who, frankly, are a horrible football team, what chance are you of beating the likes of Edmonton and Calgary in the loaded Western division? Head coach Chris Jones needs answers quickly, before their season becomes irretrievable. With Collaros out another five weeks – in which time the Riders have Hamilton at home, a bye, Hamilton on the road, Calgary at home and a road trip to Edmonton – it might already be at that point.
The hyped Calgary/Ottawa game was a dud
After week two, when Ottawa scored at will on Saskatchewan and Calgary did the same in the Grey Cup rematch at BMO Field, we figured their Thursday night match-up might be one of those high-scoring shootouts where whichever team had the ball last would win.
Instead, it was largely a defensive grind. Ottawa’s offence never got going, and quarterback Trevor Harris was actually benched late, with Dominique Davis taking over the controls. Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stampeders left it late, coming alive in the last quarter of their 24-14 win. For the second time in three games this season, the Calgary defence has come to the party when the offence has been sluggish.
Hamilton look like the best of the East
A week after Jeremiah Masoli let a very impressive whole-team performance to beat Edmonton in Commonwealth Stadium – something that doesn’t happen very often – the Tiger Cats welcomed Winnipeg into Tim Hortons Field. Where an impressive Ticat defence limited the production of rookie quarterback Chris Streveler and, when Hamilton had the football, easily accounted for the Blue Bomber defence. Masoli had another 300-yard passing night to record a 31-17 victory and, honestly, Johnny Manziel has never been so far from a Canadian Football League starting
Edmonton bounced back
A week after losing at home to Hamilton, I had a feeling the Esks would come out breathing fire. Well, they didn’t. Instead, it was a sluggish opening that saw the Lions take a 12-point lead. But then that Edmonton offence awoke.
Mike Reilly completed just two passes in the first quarter and got going after that, showing everyone – including the under-siege BC defence – exactly why he was the Canadian Football League’s Most Outstanding Player a year ago. He threw for three touchdowns among 326 yards at 75 per cent efficiency. There’s no better exponent of the deep throw in the entire league.
Of note was the performance of former USC Trojan tailback, CJ Gable who had a huge night: 165 yards on 23 carries at 7.2 yards per tote and a touchdown. Combine that ground game with Reilly’s work through the air and the Esks, as we figured pre-season, can be scary-good.
Quarterback issues in Montreal
Lost in the surprising 23-17 win over Saskatchewan on Saturday night was the injury to the Alouettes’ starting quarterback, Drew Willy. The veteran left the game in the third quarter and did not return. Jeff Matthews took over the offensive controls. With no further update on the nature of Willy’s injury, the Als welcome Ottawa to Montreal on Friday night.
Duron Carter is still playing on defence
And my question is: why? It was undeniable a good start for the star wide receiver when playing defensive back last week. He returned an early interception for a touchdown, but it went downhill in a real hurry, and given the offensive issues that Saskatchewan are having, why is head coach Chris Jones persisting with the Carter experiment?
Saturday evening’s performance suggests it isn’t going to work, so why not go out, sign some defensive players and move Carter, easily one of the top ten best receivers in the entire league, back to wide receiver and give whichever quarterback it is going forward for the Riders another target.
I don’t know if it’s an ego thing now, with Jones determined to prove that his move was the right one, or even an ego thing on Carter’s part, but the madness needs to end. Like, yesterday. The Riders need Duron Carter far more on the offensive side of the football than they do on the defensive side. Plain and simple. Hopefully sanity prevails this week.
Chris Streveler crashed back to earth in Hamilton
Rich Stubler’s Tiger Cats defence was always going to be a tough test for the third gamer subbing for Matt Nichols at quarterback in Winnipeg. The Blue Bombers lost 31-17 and Streveler completed just 17 of 30 passes for a meagre 146 yards and no touchdowns. The rookie gets a chance to bounce back against BC next Saturday evening.
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