Another week in books and it was filled with mostly some exciting action. The first three games were excellent, with each being better than the one before it. Unfortunately, the league didn't go four for four thanks to a terrible game played in Regina. But it was a good week of football action and another week where I learned some things.
(1) Drew Tate's injury
Probably the biggest development of the week was the injury to Calgary QB Drew Tate. It is not yet known how long Tate will be out, but he missed six weeks last season when he injured his non-throwing shoulder. With Tate out, Kevin Glenn becomes the team's starting quarterback. Glenn will keep them afloat for however long Tate is out. Glenn nearly led the Stamps back after getting thrust into the game, so now that he'll be given starter's reps in practice, he'll be fully capable of guiding the Stamps to a few victories while Tate heals up.
(2) I really don't like the second helmets
This trend of having alternate helmets needs to stop. Calgary's black ones are hideous; Saskatchewan's white ones were worse; and Edmonton's green ones, while better than the other two, just don't do it for me. Teams should stick with one helmet and one helmet only. I don't understand why this trend began, but it can't come to an end sooner.
(3) The Matthews-Edwards combo looks like a good one
Perhaps the most exciting 1-2 receiver combination in the CFL this season has been Winnipeg's Terrence Edwards and Chris Matthews. We all knew what Edwards was capable of, but Matthews has been a revelation. Against Montreal, the two combined for 14 catches, 257 yards and one touchdown (scored by Matthews). Many blasted the Bombers when they let Greg Carr leave for Edmonton, but with the emergeance of Matthews, it looks like they made the correct decision.
(4) Jamel Richardson's rough start
Staying with receivers, has anyone noticed how invisible last year's leading receiver, Jamel Richardson, has been? Seven catches for 99 yards in two games? That's it. He's behind 16 other players in receiving yards and two of those players are running backs. I have faith that Richardson will break out of his slump, but this still must be concerning.
(5) Whitaker wants his title back
Last week I said that Jon Cornish might be the best running back in the CFL, which would mean he would take that title from Brandon Whitaker. Well, it appears Whitaker is not ready to relinquish that title just yet. He had an excellent games against the Blue Bombers, picking up 235 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. A great game that might be enough to earn him top offensive player honours this week.
(6) Weekend of the returner
What a weekend for returnmen. Four types of kicks returned for touchdowns by four different players, but the two standouts were Tim Brown and Larry Taylor. Brown got it started against Hamilton with his 296 combined return yards, which was highlighted by his 81 yard punt return touchdownd. Less than 24 hours later, Larry Taylor went off on the Toronto Argonauts, totalling 441 combined yards, the second highest combined yardage in league history. His 125-yard missed goal return was a sight to behold. After a lacklustre year for returners in 2011, it is nice to see the returnmen do some damage early in 2012.
(7) Argos need a new kicker
Despite his game-winning field goal, I think it might be time that the Argos gave serious consideration to parting ways with kicker Noel Prefontaine. I know his six-for-eight performance against the Stamps might indicate otherwise, but he has been very erratic and not very reliable so far this season. He has been a very good kicker for a very long time, but he doesn't look to have the oompf that he has in past years.
(8) Edmonton's offense is terrible
Scoring 20 points in two games, including one point in Week 2, is not the way the Edmonton Eskimos wanted to start the season. They have quarterback problems, sure, but they also have protection problems. I don't care who the quarterback is, they can't produce if they can't get comfortable in the pocket. Jyles and Joseph couldn't get comfortable and the Eskimos put up one of the worst offensive performances I have ever seen.
(9) Saskatchewan's defense is pretty good
While Edmonton couldn't move the ball at all, the Saskatchewan defense is looking mighty good after two games. They have given up a mere 17 points over eight qaurters of football. I don't care who you play, holding a team to one point is extremely impressive. After a terrible 2011, the Riders are looking like the bounce-back team of 2012.
(10) The Eskimo-Rider game was one of the worst I've ever watched
After the week started with three excellent games, the Riders and Eskimos decided to try to set football bak a generation by playing some of the worst football I have ever seen. The first touchdown of the game wasn't score until after the three minute warning in the second half. Neither team scored at all in the third quarter and the score, prior to the touchdown, was 7-1 in favour of Saskatchewan. Those eight combined points came on a field goal, three singles and a conceded safety. It is one of the worst games I have ever watched. I hope to never see a game this bad for the rest of my life, but I'll settle for the rest of the season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The one thing I learned after reading the above article is that the "10 things I learned" article was quite negative.
ReplyDeleteI know things are looking bad in Tabbie town right now, but don't be so glum!
Negative? Points 3, 5, 6 and 9 were all positive. Point No. 1 was rather neutral, though slightly positive since I said the Stamps are fine with Glenn. The other five were varying degrees of negative, sure, but I don't think they were overly negative. But I'll try to be happier next week.
Delete