Morning-After Thoughts (Week 1)

Each week I'm going to post my thoughts on what transpired on the field during the week. This week, I saw all or most of all four games, but that might not be the case every week. I will do my best to try and provide some insight into every game (should there be fans of other teams that actually read a Hamilton-centric blog), but if I can't and you can, then feel free to add your insight in the comment section. Here are some thoughts I had while watching the action during Week 1:

1. I love the new OT format. The two-point attempts made the Riders-Als game even more exciting. Big thumbs up to the CFL for that change.
2. I hate the new "uncatchable" rule for Pass Interference. There were more than a couple of times where a flag was thrown on a catch that looked to be out of reach for the Receiver.
3. If Buck Pierce stays healthy for a full season, he gives Winnipeg a chance to win a lot of games. All the talk going into the season was that Winnipeg would be a team in transition. With Pierce behind Centre, that transition will be quick.
4. How about that catch by S.J. Green? Tony Champion's catch in the 1989 Grey Cup is still ahead of it, but Green's catch on Thursday was the stuff of legend.
5. How did the New York Jets view DB Bo Smith as more valuable than WR S.J. Green? Ask any Ti-Cat fan what they think about Bo Smith. Word of warning: stand back. Some spit may fly. (Yes, even in a 2010 recap I can find a way to pillory Bo Smith.)
6. This might get me a lot of flack, but I was actually impressed with Cleo Lemon's performance. He in no way looked like the second coming of Doug Flutie, but he wasn't the unmitigated disaster that many had thought he would be. He looked like a rookie, but if Jim Barker has the patience to wait it out, he may have found a pretty decent QB in Cleo Lemon.
7. This might get me some flack as well, but I was also impressed with Casey Printers. Not gaudy numbers by any means, but he was efficient and looks to be on his way to regaining his MOP form from 2004.
8. Sandy Beveridge looks bad. I guess some things stay the same from year to year.
9. Why does Tiger-Cat Offensive Coordinator Mike Gibson refuse to run the football? Cobb's pretty good. To paraphrase Keyshawn Johnson, "Give him the damn ball!"
10. The Saskatchewan-Montreal game was shown on NFL Network in the US, and if that game didn't convince some trepidatious American fans to watch Canadian football, nothing will. The argument that they are strictly "NFL fans" and not "football fans" would be more valid now than it has ever been.
11. Bad call, going for it on 3rd down, Marc Trestman. Next time, kick the field goal. On the road, with a lead and halftime just seconds away, you take the points 11 times out of 10.
12. Ken Miller, say it with me, "Only 12 men on the field at one time." For this to happen to this team in this game is about as inexcusable a mistake as any team could have made during the opening weekend.
13. I have absolutely no idea what to think of the Stampeders. Despite outplaying the Argos, it took a last-minute fumble recovery for a TD for the Stamps to put the game away. I think they could be the most confounding team throughout 2010.
14. Good thing the Stamps drafted Rob Maver. Without him they probably don't defeat the Argonauts.
15. Bad move on Toronto's part in not retaining RB Jamal Robertson. They need a Running Back, and he showed that he still has a lot of gas left in that tank. He had 168 yards; did Toronto's entire offense even have that much?
16. Is there anyone as cool under pressure as Ricky Ray? It seems like nothing ever rattles him. He never gets too high when things are going well and never gets too down when things aren't. I can only imagine how calming a presence he must be in the huddle.
17. Will the TD returns keep up at the rate they are now? Marcus Thigpen of the Tiger-Cats had two returns (kickoff, field goal), Toronto's Chad Owens returned a punt for a TD and the Alouettes' Tim Maypray made fans forget about Larry Taylor when he returned a missed field goal for a major. If 2009 was "The Year of the Running Back," then 2010 may be "The Year of the Kick Returner."
18. Am I the only person sick of commentators calling the "Red Zone" the "Green Zone"?
19. I don't care what the officials say, that Chris Bauman catch was a TD.
20. My first foray into game predictions went about as well as I expected. I went 2-2 (BC, Calgary correct; Hamilton, Montreal incorrect), which wasn't surprising. Like any good football team, I hope to do better than that next week.