Morning-After Thoughts (Week 7)

It was Blowout Week in the CFL, save for one game. The Als took apart the Eskimos, the Stamps manhandled the reeling Roughriders, and the Bombers dominated the Lions. But the game of the week, and maybe the game of year, went down to the wire in Hamilton. While the other three games were, for lack of a better word, duds, Hamilton and Toronto gave everyone full bang for their buck. That was a classic CFL game in an otherwise ho-hum seventh week.

1. It seems like every week I start off by congratulating Anthony Calvillo for surpassing another milestone or breaking another record. This week, Calvillo became just the fourth player in pro-football history to throw for over 70,000 yards (Damon Allen, Brett Favre and Warren Moon are the other three) and the first player in CFL history to throw 400 touchdown passes. Big round of applause for both.
2. Jason Barnes has had a great season so far, and he played very well in filling in for the injured Fred Stamps; however, his drop late in the fourth quarter was about as bad as any drop I've ever seen, especially since it was on third down and would have been a touchdown.
3. Calvin McCarty, much like Andre Durie, is one of the most underrated players in the CFL. All McCarty does when he touches the ball is produce.
4. I know when players return to their former home, they are usually booed. But the boos that rained down on Damon Duvall when he returned to Montreal sounded as if Alouette fans hate him like poison.
5. Jason Armstead's back. Who knew? No, seriously, who knew?
6. I like to big-up players who make great individual plays. Jerome Messam's catch in the fourth quarter to keep Edmonton's drive alive was a thing of beauty. He simply refused to be taken down until he got the first down. Very nice play.
7. Accidental pass interference? Really?
8. One thing I saw, and loved, from Larry Taylor this week was when he ran to catch a punt in the air knowing that it would result in a 15-yard penalty for the Riders. I wish more returners would do that.
9. What a difference one off-season makes. I had a feeling that the Riders would fall a bit, but not like this, not 1-6. There are a lot of problems with the Riders, and I don't think there is one thing that can fix it.
10. Hugh Charles had a great game; that is undeniable. Hugh Charles, as everyone knows, likes to do backflips after he scores a touchdown, which is cool. What's not cool is doing three when you're trailing by double digits. I don't mind guys celebrating, but time and place matter. Celebrating when you're getting your butt handed to you is not the smartest thing in the world. There is a right time to celebrate and a wrong time to celebrate. That was the wrong time.
11. Ryan Dinwiddie came in to relieve Darian Durant last night and both Chris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor scoffed at the idea that there was a QB controversy brewing in Saskatchewan. Why? What has Darian Durant done to get unequivocal support? He has 64 TD passes and 57 INTs. That's nearly a 1:1 ratio. That's not good enough. Durant will need to pick up his game or he could be, and maybe should be, riding the bench soon.
12. I know complaining about the refs is easy, but the officiating in the Toronto-Hamilton game was brutal. I have seen a lot of poorly reffed games, but this one ranks right up there.
13. Am I the only one who thinks the light may have gone on for Cleo Lemon? You can blame a lot of people for the Argos' sixth-straight loss, but Lemon is not one of them.
14. I said it before and I'll continue saying it until he finally gets recognized, but Andre Durie is the least talked-about great player in the CFL.
15. If Brandon Rideau plays another 10 years, he might never have a game like he did on Saturday.
16. I finally know what Argos fans feel like. It must have looked odd to them to see Arland Bruce in a Hamilton uniform. Well, it looks odd to me to see him in a BC uniform.
17. Travis Lulay getting pulled probably won't spark any QB controversy in BC, but it was a curious move. I know he hasn't played great, but sometimes you have to let a young QB play through the problems.
18. Jovon Johnson, who I will admit is becoming one of my favourite players to watch, made a heads-up play in tipping the ball to Jonathan Hefney, which allowed Hefney to haul in an interception. That's great teamwork and one of the reasons Winnipeg are where they are right now.
19. I can't wait to see Winnipeg play Montreal. That is going to be one of the best games of the year.
20. Could I say I'm on a roll? A third straight week of batting .750. My only loss was taking a chance on the Lions. But still, 3-1 ain't too shabby. And now my record sits at a very respectable 16-12.