CFL Beat: Week 10

It’s a beautiful beach week in the Netherlands as Maestro’s family orchestra enjoys some time on the North Sea. This week we’re hanging out in scenic Scheveningen, a little seaside neighbourhood of The Hague, as we seek to take a vacation from our vacation. Next week we’ll be well north of Amsterdam deep into areas where foreign tourists don’t usually venture. My German has become OK in the last few years, but my Dutch is still pitiful… am hopeful that the trends of everyone speaking beautiful English will still apply even as we head out of major metropolitan areas. And hey, wouldn’t you know it – CFL+ works great out here in Europe!

In league news this week:

• In the midst of an abysmal 0-7 start, the Ottawa REDBLACKS fired defensive coordinator Will Fields following last week’s loss to Montreal; special teams coordinator Jeff Reinebold will take over DC duties, while Nate Taylor will take over special teams. While the team’s horrid start is not 100% on the defense, their poor play has certainly been a major factor.
• Additionally, the REDBLACKS also released four-time thousand-yard receiver Eugene Lewis and defensive back Shakur Brown following last week’s loss to Montreal; the release of Lewis, who was an East Division All-CFL selection following his strong season last year in Ottawa, is particularly controversial. That said, he was seen in a heated argument on the sidelines with his head coach last week, so perhaps it wasn’t entirely unwarranted…
• Saskatchewan released receiver Jaylen Johnson, who started three games for the team this year; he caught a total of 9 passes for 117 yards, and just recently came back from the one-game injured list.

Onto the games!

WEEK 9 RECAPS

BC 35 vs. Winnipeg 19: The Lions scored a big road win over the Blue Bombers, in the hopes of getting their season turned around after injuries and poor play derailed things early. With star QB Nathan Rourke still out as well as top rusher James Butler, third-string pivot Kaidon Salter and backup RB Zander Horvath carried the offensive load; Horvath had 191 yards and 3 TDs on just 17 carries, while Salter rushed for 160 on ten carries, and threw his first career TD pass to receiver Jermaine Jackson. Winnipeg, also missing their top QB in Zach Collaros, chose to lean hard on star RB Brady Oliveira, who had 107 rushing yards. Unfortunately, with Dru Brown, Collaros’ replacement, knocked out late in the game with a head injury, the Bombers collapsed late allowing BC to complete their comeback.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: BC

Montreal 34 vs. Ottawa 13: As expected, the REDBLACKS were once again garbage. The defense had no answer for Davis Alexander and the Montreal pass game, as the star QB put up 420 yards and three TDs on 22-30 pass attempts; Tyson Philpot hit the 1000-yards-receiving mark in just the eighth game of the year – the fastest a Canadian has ever managed the feat. The REDBLACKS, in addition to being torn up on defense, couldn’t execute in the red zone; Daniel Adeboboye managed a rushing TD from the 1, but with 311 passing yards from Jake Maier, the only other points they could muster were two field goals from Lewis Ward, back in an Ottawa uniform kicking after Brett Lauther ended up on the six-game injured list. Not much to cheer about for this home crowd.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

Calgary 44 vs. Hamilton 20: The Stamps scored five touchdowns on the road, including two defensive scores, en route to a big win that evened their season record back at .500, while the Ti-Cats continue to slide down the standings with no stability at QB right now. Tre Ford was replaced in the third quarter by Harrison Frost after failing to score a TD in his time under centre in this game; Frost did get one in the third quarter, but by then it was too little, too late. With Quincy Vaughn punching in a ball from four yards out to pad the Calgary lead, followed by Derrick Moncrief racking up a pick-six on Frost, the Stampeders pretty well went wire-to-wire with this one.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

Saskatchewan 28 vs. Edmonton 26: The Roughriders got revenge for their loss last week in Regina by taking down the Elks at home in front of a crowd of over 31,000 – one of the largest the Elks have seen in years amidst COVID and poor play. Backup QB Tommy Stevens played hero for Saskatchewan, recording three short-yardage scores to guide the Green & White to a big win. It was a stormy night, but the Riders managed to hold off a late push by the Elks after what had been a back-and-forth game all night; Cody Fajardo threw a TD to TJ Luther with under five minutes to go to cut the Riders’ lead to two points, but they wouldn’t be able to score again.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BYE: Toronto (3-4)

WEEK 10 PREVIEWS

Calgary (4-4) vs. Toronto (3-4), Thursday, August 6th, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN,  CFL+): The Stamps hung 58 points on the Argos the last time these two teams met a month ago. It is therefore puzzling to me that Calgary is technically only half a game up on Toronto from a record perspective, but such is the strength of the West Division. Again, if Calgary can stay healthy, I really like their chances down the stretch, particularly as their D continues to gel. Toronto is a flawed team, particularly on defence, but may end up with second in the East by default due to the injuries that Hamilton is facing and the ineptitude of the REDBLACKS. A head-scratcher once again.

PICK: Calgary

Ottawa (0-7) vs. Saskatchewan (5-2), Friday, August 7th, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): With the REDBLACKS in turmoil and heading out on the road for many of their upcoming games, I don’t really see how this year improves any for them. Saskatchewan remains one of the favourites to win this year’s Grey Cup, and they played an excellent game last week in a blustery, stormy game on the road; a nice treat for them to be able to come back home and potentially feast on these feckless Eastern adversaries. I am curious to see how the D plays under Jeff Reinebold, because they have definitely been bad under Will Fields. I think the Jake Maier experiment at QB needs to wrap itself up soon too.

PICK: Saskatchewan

Edmonton (6-2) vs. Montreal (7-1), Saturday, August 8th, 3:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CFL+): This is a heavyweight battle in this week’s game. Edmonton handed Montreal their only loss of the year back in Week 3, when they took down the Als 39-29 at home; going on the road, they’ll be up against a tough task visiting Molson Stadium this week. That Montreal pass game has truly been phenomenal this year – pundits are talking about Tyson Philpot and his prowess as a thousand-yard man after less than half a season – and rightfully so – but the Alouettes also have Tyler Snead, who’s the second-best receiver in the league this year in terms of overall yards. That’s a talented, talented lineup. As excellent as the Elks have been this year – particularly with Justin Rankin such a versatile weapon as a pass-catching running back – they still aren’t quite able to pull off anything that Davis Alexander is currently doing with his top two targets.

PICK: Montreal

Hamilton (3-5) vs. BC (2-5), Saturday, August 10th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): The Lions scored a big win last week due to the strength of their run game; if star QB Nathan Rourke is out for another week, that’s the identity they absolutely need to lean on in the near future. Hamilton has zero offensive identity right now with Bo Levi Mitchell still recovering from ankle surgery; again, if he’s out for the remainder of the season – which is truly anyone’s guess at this point – then it just seems like a lot of moping going on. Someone needs to stand up and seize that backup QB job, because I don’t like what either of Harrison Frost or Tre Ford have provided the team this year. Do you think they might be kicking themselves a little bit for letting Taylor Powell walk in free agency this past offseason?

PICK: BC

BYE: Saskatchewan (7-1)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Alexander, MTL – 2788
2. Fajardo, EDM – 2577
3. Kelly, TOR – 2323

Passing TDs

1. Adams, Jr., CGY – 21
2. Harris, SSK – 17
3. Kelly, TOR – 17

Rushing Yards

1. Oliveira, WPG – 658
2. Mills, CGY – 628
3. Theis, MTL – 600

Receiving Yards

1. Philpot, MTL – 1023
2. Snead, MTL – 794
3. Schaffer-Baker, SSK – 704

Defensive Tackles

1. Jones, WPG – 50
2. Lee, CGY – 49
3. Pickett, TOR – 44

Sacks

1. Betts, BC – 6
2. Jefferson, WPG – 6
3. Ceresna, WPG – 6

Interceptions

1. Alexander, CGY – 4
2. Labrosse, CGY – 3
3. Katsantonis, HAM – 3

Field Goals

1. Castillo, WPG – 25
2. Blanchard, EDM – 24
3. Maltos Diaz, MTL – 21

PICK POOL

A lot of upsets in last week’s picks… congrats to Mr. Ayo for the score of the week, going .750. It also appears I once again screwed up my own picks by going for Saskatchewan in last week’s article but entering Edmonton in the pool itself. Need to pull our collective socks up here, especially me.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.officepooljunkie.com/picks-pickem.php?Pool=NFA9D4OXO6C2U0A1

CFL FANTASY

In Week 9 matchups, RoughrougesGTD took down Maestrottawa 113-99 to even both team’s records to 5-4; Dejon Brissett and the Stamps’ D and special teams (two defensive TDs) powered Game Time Decision to a big win. Shame! Shame! 

O Spamada continued to hold down first place in the league with a 73-58 win over Superfluous “U”s; Tyson Philpot continues to be an absolute workhorse for Spam, much to the rest of our league’s chagrin.

In the last matchup of the week, Sacre Blew took down BC Dick’s Dead Horse by a score of 78-61 to take both teams to 4-5; I must say that it’s a fortune thing indeed that BC Dick started Zander Horvath, because it would’ve been an absolute bloodbath if he hadn’t. Jalen Philpot and Justin McInnis, you are also co-Bum of the Week, with just a single point between the two of you. Horrendous.

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Enjoy the games, everyone.