Morning-After Thoughts (Week 2)

Another week in the books, and the surprises keep coming. Raise your hand if you had Edmonton and Winnipeg at 2-0 (I'm sure most people thought Montreal would be) and Hamilton and Saskatchewan at 0-2. Anyone? Anyone? That's the beauty of sports; when you think you have the answer, the question gets changed.

1. The Argonauts do it again. Just like last year, they catch a team napping on Special Teams and pick up a huge gain on third down. This type of stuff should not happen. Teams know that Mike O'Shea is not afraid to gamble, and Winnipeg was caught not paying attention. That shouldn't happen anymore.
2. I don't know whether Cory Watson is going to be a big-time player or if he is going to tease like so many before him. He has flashes of excellence, but follows it up with flashes of Bauman-esque Ralph-ness.
3. Of all the off-season moves that every team made, perhaps the biggest acquisition was made by Winnipeg when they hired Tim Burke to be their Defensive Coordinator. Winnipeg's Defense has been phenomenal the first two weeks, and Burke has gotten a lot out of a very talented unit.
4. We saw the Cleo Lemon of old this week as the Winnipeg Defense feasted on the second-year Argo pivot, sacking him seven times. Lemon had no chance to get out of his own way, let alone get out of the way of Winnipeg's tremendous Defense.
5. The cure for insomnia could have been that Toronto-Winnipeg matchup. It was dull as dull can be. Aside from Winnipeg's Defense (which I seem to have a giant man crush on), there wasn't much to watch.
6. Those black Calgary helmets? Yeah, no good. Ditch 'em.
7. Am I the only person who thinks that Henry Burris was forcing a lot of passes to Johnny Forzani? Two interceptions were on passes aimed at Forzani. I don't know about you, but he seems to be getting a lot of attention from Burris.
8. BC badly, and I mean badly, needs a running game. The decision to release Jerome Messam (more on him later) looks like a pretty bad one in retrospect. The Lions have not been able to run the football in either game, and Jamal Robertson has been a complete non-factor. When you lose two games by a combined six points, the lack of a running game is a main reason why those losses aren't wins.
9. I know it's extremely early, but I think the next great Canadian Receiver will be Shawn Gore. He fights the dropsies somewhat, but once he conquers that, he'll be a major force.
10. For the second consecutive week, the Lions had some questionable play calling. In Week 1, it was attempting a field goal late in the game when down by seven; this week, it was calling for long passes on second down, when short passes would have allowed for an easier field-goal attempt for Paul McCallum. It was a head-scratching decision by the Lions' Offensive Coordinator.
11. Out of all the cities, I think the panic is at epidemic levels in Saskatchewan. Not only are the Roughriders 0-2, they've lost both at home. They travel to Hamilton next week to take on the other disappointing team this season in a matchup of two very desperate teams. A loss by the Riders and the season could be over.
12. While I respect Damon Allen immensely, I never thought of him as the greatest QB in CFL history, despite holding numerous records. I chalked it up to his longevity more than anything. When Anthony Calvillo passes Damon Allen in the record books, I won't make the same statement. Calvillo, who this week tied the all-time record for TD passes, might be the greatest to ever play the game. He has some competition, but if anyone argues for Calvillo, I won't object.
13. It seems as if the Als are getting nicked up a bit. John Bowman, S.J. Green and Jamel Richardson all left Saturday's game for stretches. But the worst injury was suffered by Running Back Brandon Whitaker. Just watching him take that hit caused me to grimace. I'll be surprised if he doesn't have at least a mild concussion.
14. Jamel Richardson wants to be called Optimus Prime. As a life-long Transformers fan (yes, that includes the three Michael Bay films) I must object. Jamel Richardson might be the best Receiver in football, but he is no Optimus Prime. Until Richardson turns his hands into swords, he will never be in Prime's league. (Please note that this is all said in jest, and I used this simply as a reason to drop a Transformers reference.)
15. Dwight Anderson seems to be one of those players that, when he plays for your team, you love him. You put up with his antics because of the stellar play he puts forth. But when he doesn't, you think he's an insufferable doofus who needs a smack in the mouth. I think that's a fair and accurate statement to make, no?
16. During Training Camp, the BC Lions cut Jerome Messam for various reasons. With their running game in shambles (as outlined above), the Lions could really use him right about now. Messam had his first career 100-yard rushing day against Hamilton. If Messam can keep his head straight, he could be one heckuva weapon for Edmonton.
17. It came up a couple of times during the week, but the saying "YAC yards" really bothers me. YAC stands for Yards After Catch, so saying YAC yards is redundant. It'd be like saying the Canadian Prime Minister of Canada. Just say YAC and be done with it.
18. Fred Stamps had a rather quiet week in Week 1, but he busted out big time against the Tiger-Cats. Stamps seems to always have big games against the Tabbies (especially in Edmonton), so I wasn't surprised to see Stamps go off on Saturday.
19. With the win, the Edmonton Eskimos won their 600th game in franchise history. Congratulations on that achievement.
20. Two road teams and two home teams won. I picked two road teams and two homes teams to win. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong ones, which led to the first 0-4 week of the season for yours truly. That sinks my record to 2-6 for the season. I'm going to have to pick it up considerably if I'm going to get those 50 wins.