CFL: The CFL thread - Part IV

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Rhaegar Targaryen

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Singleton

Singleton is intimidating but playing Harris is down right scary

As a Bomber fan I know all about bad QB's and that Lindley performance is one of the worst I have ever seen. I know it was raining, but he was pathetic. Not quite Akili Smith or Stefan LeFors bad, but damn that was poor. Hope for Ottawa's sake that Tate or Harris come back soon.

I thought he looked alright against Montreal. He looked like he had good potential but was coming in rusty and without taking many reps. I thought after a week of practice he might be better.

Nope. He was awful.
 

Baxterman

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Singleton is intimidating but playing Harris is down right scary

I have never once been worried about playing against Harris. If the Bombers want to lend him to all the Stamps opponents for the rest of the year I am fine with that and am sure our defense will come out on top like they always do when facing Harris.
 

blueandgoldguy

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Reilly gives up INTs like they are candy has led the Esks to a very mediocre record despite having many weapons and being left in games to collect stats.

I don't think Harris is the best back in the West alone the MOP. Messam is a much better runner than he is.

Singleton is playing better than Elimimian when he won MOP as a defender, the Stamps defense has been dominant this year because of Singleton and there are no great offensive players this year.

It is quite obvious you are nothing more than a giant Flames and Stampeders homer with little objectivity or knowledge of the other teams in the league.

Reilly and the Esks have had to deal with more injuries than any other team in the league including many weapons on offense. His interceptions are at 10 which is around league average, his pass completion is at 70%, his yards passing leads the league and his passer rating is an excellent 103.

Harris is a more well-rounded running back then Messam. He has averaged a half yard more per carry - 5.5 yds/carry to 5.0 yrds/carry. Harris also is near the top of the league in receptions with 75, has a total of 637 yards receiving and a 8.5 average - keep in mind most of his catches occur along the line of scrimmage so the majority of his yards gained are after the catch. He is on pace to do something that is pretty rare - have a 1000 yards rushing and a 1000 yards receiving.

In contrast, Messam is more of a one-dimensional threat. Only 24 catches for 148 yards and a 6.2 yards/carry average. He is a good running back and extremely valuable for stamps but not the multi-faceted threat that Harris is.

Singleton better than Elimimian when he won the MVP a few years ago?:laugh: Yeah sure! As good as he has been he is not there yet. The competition with players on the offensive side of the ball is much greater this year anyways then the year Solo won.
 

Kyle McMahon

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I think Reilly was front runner for MVP in mid August, but his play has dropped off too much to be a serious contender by this point. Edmonton would have to run the table at this point for him to win it, and that certainly isn't happening. Looks like it's crossover again for the Esks, which is incredibly disappointing given the 7-0 start. But by the same token, the CFL's asinine playoff format will reward the 4th place Western team with needing to only beat two East teams to get to the Grey Cup, so bring it on I guess.
 

Rhaegar Targaryen

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I have never once been worried about playing against Harris. If the Bombers want to lend him to all the Stamps opponents for the rest of the year I am fine with that and am sure our defense will come out on top like they always do when facing Harris.

The last time the Bombers and Stampeders met, Harris led the game in net yards...
 

blueandgoldguy

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I think Reilly was front runner for MVP in mid August, but his play has dropped off too much to be a serious contender by this point. Edmonton would have to run the table at this point for him to win it, and that certainly isn't happening. Looks like it's crossover again for the Esks, which is incredibly disappointing given the 7-0 start. But by the same token, the CFL's asinine playoff format will reward the 4th place Western team with needing to only beat two East teams to get to the Grey Cup, so bring it on I guess.

They are not going to change the CFL format as having fewer eastern teams qualifying further exacerbate attendance issues there.
 

Kyle McMahon

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They are not going to change the CFL format as having fewer eastern teams qualifying further exacerbate attendance issues there.

The East would still qualify 2 teams almost every year, there's usually at least one bad team in the West. They just wouldn't get to host those playoff games. Which would be better for them and the league anyway since all gate revenue for playoff games in the CFL is evenly split among every team. Any playoff game in the West will draw well besides BC. Only Ottawa is going to bring in more than 25,000 out East.

I'm tired of being in a position where it's beneficial to lose football games in October to lower yourself to 4th place. And it's utterly stupid that for the second year in a row (most likely) a team that won less than half their games will get a one-game win and you're in the Grey Cup match at home against a team that was either even worse or finished 4th in the West. Meanwhile a potential Calgary-Winnipeg game will eliminate a team with 13+ wins. Fans should at least have the possibility of the two best teams playing for the Grey Cup. Not a format that has already guaranteed that a team no better than 4th out of 9 will play for the Cup.
 

Kyle McMahon

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Kevin Glenn produces a whole 0 points in the first half and is sent out for the second half? Come on. Riders offense wasting a great effort from the defense so far.
 

Holden Caulfield

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Kevin Glenn produces a whole 0 points in the first half and is sent out for the second half? Come on. Riders offense wasting a great effort from the defense so far.

Bridge looked pretty decent in the 4th quarter against a damn good Calgary D that was not coasting since certainly was not garbage time.

I would love Bombers to catch Stamps, but I don't see it. Bombers starting to open up a bit of a lead for the home playoff game though which is nice. Next week against Esks is a huge game for both teams.
 

Holden Caulfield

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I've always been a big Glenn fan, but I think he is done. Time to go to Bridge if Sask wants to win the turtle race developing between Esks, Riders, and Lions for the final two playoff spots (with Hamilton starting to chase down maybe).
 

Holden Caulfield

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Well Glenn basically had one drive and won that game. But he won it to buy himself some more time. Too bad Ottawa couldn't hold onto that one.
 

Kyle McMahon

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Wasn't able to watch, but can't believe Ottawa blew that lead. I don't like their chances of winning in BC or Sask...Oct 27 vs Hamilton is gonna be for a playoff spot. 6-11-1 would probably see the Redblacks host the East semi final as long as that one win is against Hamilton.

I don't know why Kevin Glenn is starting over Bridge at this point.

Montreal is a joke at this point. How they ever managed to beat Calgary earlier this year is beyond me. It's going to be pretty funny if the Stamps go 16-1-1 and the single loss was to a Montreal team that is looking like 3-15 material.

I'm not sure how I feel about tonight. I think the Eskimos are going to win because the Bombers never win at Commonwealth. Whether it's actually in Edmonton's best interest to win is another story. Fourth place is a coveted position, third is a death sentence. I guess if they win, they need to win by enough points to take the tie-breaker with the Bombers and go for second place.
 

Holden Caulfield

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Wasn't able to watch, but can't believe Ottawa blew that lead. I don't like their chances of winning in BC or Sask...Oct 27 vs Hamilton is gonna be for a playoff spot. 6-11-1 would probably see the Redblacks host the East semi final as long as that one win is against Hamilton.

I don't know why Kevin Glenn is starting over Bridge at this point.

Montreal is a joke at this point. How they ever managed to beat Calgary earlier this year is beyond me. It's going to be pretty funny if the Stamps go 16-1-1 and the single loss was to a Montreal team that is looking like 3-15 material.

I'm not sure how I feel about tonight. I think the Eskimos are going to win because the Bombers never win at Commonwealth. Whether it's actually in Edmonton's best interest to win is another story. Fourth place is a coveted position, third is a death sentence. I guess if they win, they need to win by enough points to take the tie-breaker with the Bombers and go for second place.

I don't know, if Ottawa gets Harris even just Tate back in I think they are a pretty decent team. I could see them going 3-0 down the stretch with half decent QB play, they almost beat a hot Sask team with Ryan freaking Lindley at QB.

Agreed on Glenn, but I'll take it, I want that turtle race to continue as much as possible below the Bombers.

As for Bombers never winning at Commonwealth...

I was at this game. The silence was deafening and I was going crazy wearing my Milt Jersey haha.
Matt Nichols also started the Bombers turn around last year in Edmonton at a game I was at. I was going expecting a 30 point Esks win with Nichols coming in.

Esks are due for a win though. Coming off the bye and I don't like the Reilly vs the weak Bombers pass D. I think it'll be a shootout though, could see this as a 52-49 type of game. Should be a fun one.
 

Kyle McMahon

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I don't know, if Ottawa gets Harris even just Tate back in I think they are a pretty decent team. I could see them going 3-0 down the stretch with half decent QB play, they almost beat a hot Sask team with Ryan freaking Lindley at QB.

I can't see Ottawa winning twice on the road against West teams. I've never seen a team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory so many times in one season though, so maybe they're due to win a couple close ones.

As for Bombers never winning at Commonwealth...

I was at this game. The silence was deafening and I was going crazy wearing my Milt Jersey haha.
Matt Nichols also started the Bombers turn around last year in Edmonton at a game I was at. I was going expecting a 30 point Esks win with Nichols coming in.

Esks are due for a win though. Coming off the bye and I don't like the Reilly vs the weak Bombers pass D. I think it'll be a shootout though, could see this as a 52-49 type of game. Should be a fun one.


If one play could sum up Danny Maciocia's coaching career...

I was there too, that's actually the only game I specifically remember attending and seeing Edmonton lose to Winnipeg. I'm sure I've been to another one or two at some point, but I'd be pretty confident guessing that the Bombers have only won in Edmonton maybe...5 times in the last 20 years? Have to do some digging as I'm now curious.

I do think tonight is going to be a great game though, likely decided on the final possession.
 

Kyle McMahon

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June Jones has the Ti Cats looking better in a lot of ways, but game and clock management is not one of them. What an implosion in the final 10 minutes. How can you shelve the run game with a 14 point lead in the 4th? And it seems he is still reluctant to qb sneak on the 1 yard line. What a choke job.
 

Kyle McMahon

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What a putrid performance from Mike Reilly. Winnipeg outplayed Edmonton most of the night, but this game was still there for the taking with anything resembling decent play at the QB position. Boggles my mind that Jason Maas refuses to let James Franklin take a single snap. All night long drives were killed by Reilly gunning balls two yards behind the receiver over and over again. Even what should have been an easy lob for a TD to McCarty required him to reach back and make a circus catch on a ball that traveled no more than 15 yards. This result helps the Eskimos bid for the crossover, but then again this team is unlikely to beat anyone besides maybe the Alouettes at this point, so what does it matter anyway.
 

Holden Caulfield

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I'd say it was more on the O-Line. Bombers have the least amount of QB pressures in the league but they were all over Reilly, particularly in the first half. Reilly had no time at all to throw. Once he got a bit more time in 2nd half you can see the results with Walker and Zylstra. I don't watch every Esks game but from this one that's what this looked like to me.

As for the Bombers, this was a HUGE win. They now sit 3 games up on both Sask and Edm while holding both tiebreakers. Meaning a 2-3 record rest of the way guarantees them a home playoff game. That would be great for our long suffering franchise.
 

Kyle McMahon

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I thought the O-line was pretty good last night. Edmonton called about 50 designed pass plays versus 17 or 18 designed rushes. It's tough on an O-line to have to pass protect three-quarters of the plays. Lack of creativity from Maas/Welch (OC) contributed as well. Winnipeg was getting a good push pass rushing, so why not call some roll-outs or some screens to counter it? There was virtually none of that. The play-calling has been very vanilla for several weeks now. Reilly's poor accuracy is also contributing to lack of YAC yards even on completions. When a receiver has to stop and reach behind him to make the catch, it allows the defender to make up all the separation.

I'd say 1-2 in the West has been decided now. Winnipeg need only win 2 of 3 home games against Hamilton and BCx2 to clinch 2nd place. They'll almost certainly do so. The Bombers do play Calgary to close out the season. Outside chance that could be a winner-takes-1st-place game, but it would require Winnipeg to run the table (conceivable, they have a soft schedule) and Calgary managing to lose a game between now and then (even a great team has to lay an egg at some point, right?). What is clear, is that these are the league's two best teams. This might be Winnipeg's best team since the 14-4 Khari Jones team from 2001. I'm not sure which species of aliens abducted the real Matt Nicholls and replaced him with a body double that can play QB, but I doubt Bomber fans much care at this point.
 

Holden Caulfield

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CJ Gable traded to Edmonton. Hamilton still has an outside chance to be a playoff team, but it's probably for the best so they can see what they have in Alex Green.
 
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