Morning-After Thoughts (Week 2)

Another week is down in the 2010 CFL Season. A lot of good games with some surprising results. It's still very early in the season, so it's a bit too soon to be making grand proclamations, but that's not going to stop me, now is it? Of course not. Here are some of the things I noticed from Week 2 action:

1. Saskatchewan just looks awesome. Offensively and defensively, this team is clicking on all levels. They are going to be a very scary team to play this year. Maybe they really are using last year's Grey Cup loss as motivation.
2. Two wins by the Stamps and I still have no idea if they are that good or just that lucky. To them it doesn't matter; 2-0 is 2-0. But as a fan, I don't know if this is a team that can win the Grey Cup or if they will fall off the face of the earth later in the year. C'mon Calgary, give me something to work with here.
3. Another solid game for Cleo Lemon. He impresses me more each and every week. He was smarter this week than he was last week. He seems to be learning the Canadian game, and learning it quickly.
4. Rob Maver, right now, is the Calgary Stampeders' MVP. Without him, the Stamps might be 0-2, not 2-0.
5. Kudos to Jim Barker (or whoever) for calling that quick kick play. Smart, heads-up play.
6. Why did the Cats not try to punt for a single on the final play of the game? Palardy hit a 79-yard punt earlier in the game going in the same direction, so why not tell him to go out there and boom one again? It would have been smarter than attempting an almost impossible field goal.
7. Another bad week for the Bombers' kick coverage. Last week it was Marcus Thigpen; this week it was Chad Owens. If the Bombers want to win consistently, they need to fix this problem. In the long run, it's going to cost them.
8. The "Year of the Returner" continued in Week 2 with Chad Owens of the Argonauts and Marcus Thigpen of the Tiger-Cats returning kicks for TDs in their respective games. The return game is thriving in the CFL.
9. Typical terrible job by Andre Proulx and his crew. This guy is the worst ref in the CFL, bar none. How he keeps his job is beyond my comprehension. Arland Bruce gets completely mugged, twice, yet no flag was thrown.
10. On the other side of the coin, it's nice to know that there is at least one refereeing crew that knows what Pass Interference looks like. Now, if someone could please send the tape of the Als-Esks game to Andre Proulx's crew, I'd greatly appreciate it.
11. After getting absolutely abused during the first half, the DBs for Montreal really stepped up in the second half, helping Montreal turn the game around.
12. For anyone who wants to see how to block down field, check out Dave Stala's block on the second Marcus Thigpen TD. An absolutely phenomenal, textbook example of how to block properly.
13. The Tiger-Cats continue to have the worst goal-line offense in the CFL. Three shots from inside the two-yard line to score a TD and they get nothing? That's unacceptable, and Tiger-Cat fans have had to put up with it year after year after year. I don't know what they can do, but they need to do something to fix that problem.
14. The Esks' Offense has about the same problem as Hamilton's. Edmonton went up and down the field against the Als, but couldn't move as soon as they got inside the 5-yard line. They settled for field goals too often. They need to punch those in if they want to win games. The Esks left way too many points on the field against Montreal, and it's the main reason why they lost.
15. Two HUGE drops by Fred Stamps and Kelly Campbell. Guys, you gotta catch those passes. Those are the types of plays that make the difference between winning and losing.
16. How many uniform combinations do the BC Lions have? Seriously, it seems as if they wear a new uniform every week!
17. Where the hell is Avon Cobourne? The guy seems to have disappeared. While you're looking, could you see if DeAndra' Cobb is with him?
18. No disrespect to Travis Lulay, but the Lions are a better team with Casey Printers on the field. If he misses any amount of time, the Leos are in trouble.
19. Mark Restelli's injury was as gruesome an injury as I've ever seen. I hope he has a full and speedy recovery.
20. Simply put, I suck at picking games. Last week I went 2-2; this week... 1-3. Montreal's win was the only thing that kept me from going an ignominious 0-4 in Week 2. That puts me at 3-5 for the season. Hopefully Week 3 will be a bit better.