CFL: The CFL thread - Part IV

[Kyle McMahon]

Looks like disaster averted for the Bombers. I feel kinda bad for the brave souls in Calgary braving -25 temperatures to watch the Stampeders mail this one in from the get go. This is the coldest regular season game I can ever remember. Part of me is annoyed that the Eskimos won't be getting a home playoff game, but the wuss in me secretly doesn't mind that I won't have to sit in a frozen Commonwealth next Sunday, as the forecast looks grim for the next week.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

What a relief. 4 results in a row (2 Bomber losses and 2 Esks Wins) that could have clinched it went against them, glad to finally have it. Will be the first playoff game at IGF.

Bombers and Stamps have kind of stumbled into playoffs, but still think it's probably better to cross over. Esks and Riders will probably both be sitting lots of guys tomorrow.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Going through the West is looking less fearsome than it was a couple weeks ago, but I suspect you're right and we'll see guys resting tonight. I do expect an honest effort out of both clubs though, just that neither will be too worried about the scoreboard. If I'm the Esks I'm not risking Mike Reilly's health against an aggressive defense on a frozen Mosaic Stadium.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

MOP nominees are Reilly and Ray...wow

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Reilly being the West nominee stuns me a little. He really had a very poor middle third of the season.

More perplexing though, was the fact that the Bombers nominated Nichols instead of Harris. That's hard to justify IMO, but I guess the team must vote on it and I'm not in the locker room so perhaps behind the scenes stuff gets factored in.

 

[Baxterman]

This whole season, especially the All-Star selections, has been a joke so might as well make the MOP nominees a joke as well

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Given who the individual teams nominated, the finalists aren't too surprising. BC wasn't getting a finalist, they finished last. Sask has no clear MOP, Duron Carter was good but not THAT good. Singleton will get the defensive MOP; it's almost unheard of for a defensive player to get overall MOP. And Winnipeg nominated Nichols instead of Harris for some reason. That basically left Mike Reilly. You can argue for Singleton, but it's like the Hart Trophy in the NHL... defensemen almost never win because they have the Norris. Same deal in the CFL.

Ray was a pretty clear choice from the East. Defensive players (Hebert, Dean) on non-playoff teams certainly weren't going to get the final nomination, so Ellingson was the only other option. Not a bad choice, but a WR isn't beating out a 5500 yard QB on the first place team.

At the end of the day the only real surprise was Harris not being nominated by the Bombers. He'd have been my choice ahead of Reilly, but that wasn't an option.

 

[Baxterman]

I would say Singleton or BLM would have been light years better than Reilly, but it seems after last year sweeping the awards the CFL is now going far against Calgary when it comes to awards and All-Stars.

There wasn't a team close to them this year, especially defensively but still Edm, Winnipeg and TO get more all-stars and Sask gets close to the same.

I think if they are going to give the MOP to Reilly or Ray they should just pass this year and announce no winner because neither guy is close to being deserving unless horrible INTs are a key requirement for winning the award.

But it is just another step in the huge downgrade in the CFL. I shouldn't care so much as I am pretty much down with the league but it is frustrating to see a league I used to love turn into such a gong show.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I would say Singleton or BLM would have been light years better than Reilly, but it seems after last year sweeping the awards the CFL is now going far against Calgary when it comes to awards and All-Stars.

There wasn't a team close to them this year, especially defensively but still Edm, Winnipeg and TO get more all-stars and Sask gets close to the same.

I think if they are going to give the MOP to Reilly or Ray they should just pass this year and announce no winner because neither guy is close to being deserving unless horrible INTs are a key requirement for winning the award.

But it is just another step in the huge downgrade in the CFL. I shouldn't care so much as I am pretty much down with the league but it is frustrating to see a league I used to love turn into such a gong show.

Bo-Levi was not better than Mike Reilly this year. Reilly had 1000 more yards, more TDs, better TD to INT ratio, better QB rating, and dealt with more injuries to his offense, a weaker running game, and a weaker offensive line. Reilly had a weak middle third of the season, but Bo wasn't strong over the last month of the year himself.

But really this is moot anyway. The Stampeders nominated Singleton as their MOP. Bo was never an option, even if people felt he was indeed better than Reilly.

I'm not sure why you're fretting so much over awards and all stars anyway, nobody takes them all that seriously. Singleton, Michel, Finch, and Dickenson are all finalists for awards, so I have no idea why you feel the CFL is "against Calgary". 4 of 7 finalists are from Calgary, 2 from Winnipeg, 1 from Edmonton.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Reilly being the West nominee stuns me a little. He really had a very poor middle third of the season.

More perplexing though, was the fact that the Bombers nominated Nichols instead of Harris. That's hard to justify IMO, but I guess the team must vote on it and I'm not in the locker room so perhaps behind the scenes stuff gets factored in.

Based on what I have seen from journalists covering the Bombers, it appears it is at least partially influenced by them. One of the issues I think is confusing the MOP with the more common NHL variety of MVP. Nichols is certainly the MVP whereas Harris is MOP. Harris has had a historic season for an RB (leading in rushing while setting record for catches for RB), but Nichols is clearly more important to Bombers success. It's a balancing act.

I know from reading many Esks threads that many Esks fans like yourself are not very happy with Reilly(not sure if you specifically but many Esks fans). But in reality you guys are so spoiled for past 2 decades (Ray, Maas, Reilly, Franklin maybe) I think you guys have a hard time understanding how top end QB talent is rare. Reilly is still a top talent and him as MOP is a valid argument.

The good news is that Bombers have shutdown Reilly with a healthy WR corps already this year earlier, so I think Bombers can be effective against EDM. WPG really needs the home playoff win for the much maligned fanbase. We will have 30K+ there braving the cold and snow to cheer on the blue and gold versus the green and yellow, we need the W.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Opinions on Reilly tended to be fairly extreme on the Eskimos thread during the losing streak. Some wanted him straight up traded and Franklin given the ball. My vitriol tended to be mainly towards Maas' QB management. I've always been in favour of using both QBs if opportunity allows for it. Chris Jones has done this well with Glenn and Bridge. Franklin should have at least been inserted into the games where Reilly struggled I felt. It still irks me that a useful player was stapled to the bench for virtually every snap this season.

Just a small note though... Winnipeg hasn't shut down Reilly with a healthy receiving corps. Hazelton was still out in the September game, and left the August game injured at halftime. I think Zylstra was also injured for that August game. I'd be very concerned about this duo from a Bombers perspective. The Eskimos are 10-0 this season when Hazelton plays the full game. This guy reminds me exactly of Adarius Bowman circa 2011, he's going to be a star in this league going forward. Not sure what happened in Toronto, but glad to have him here.

Ultimately I expect a fairly close game. Predicted a 30-24 Eskimos win over in the other thread. I think our offense is peaking at the right time, and unfortunately for Winnipeg, Nichols has come up lame at the worst possible time. I think Harris has a strong game on Sunday, but in the end a healthy Reilly gets it done over a wounded Nichols. Finally having Sean Whyte back in the lineup is a little-spoken-of factor as well. The Milo/O'Neill/Waters carousel routinely cost us several points per game. I just pray that Whyte doesn't re-aggravate his injury in the cold weather.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

I get why Ray and Reilly are nominated, it’s just a little hard to picture either as a deserving MOP winner this season.

Tomorrow’s games should both be good games. I’m hoping Ottawa can take Saskatchewan...there will definitely be a ton of Redblacks fans in Toronto if so.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Riders-Redblacks have come out guns a blazing. Wasn't expecting a shootout between these two, but it looks that way early.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Apparently anything short of murder isn’t pass interference in this Redblacks - Rough riders game

 

[Killahpunk]

Saskatchewan gets a touchdown. 75 yarder! Roughriders leading 28-11 early 3rd quarter.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Ed Gainey could have just ended this game...instead Ottawa dodges a bullet and gets the FG.

As bad as it has been with the turnovers, it's now only 28-14 with tons of time left. Ottawa isn't dead yet.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Saskatchewan deserved that win. Ottawa couldn’t gain any momentum on offense, and was too passive on defense. I liked Ottawa going into the game because of the QB matchup but Harris was struggling at times.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Neither game today was as close as I expected. Pretty convincing Sask and Edmonton wins, but I will say both hinged heavily on one play. Ottawa never recovered from Harris getting picked deep in Rider territory, and Winnipeg was chasing the game throughout the second half after Mike O'Shea decided to call that fake punt on his own 40.

That call was a head-scratcher. The Bomber defense had played fine up to that point, the game was 11-10 Eskimos. Even if the fake was successful, you're still on your own 45, approximately. You'd still need another 25 yards to get into scoring position, and if you fail...well, we saw what happened. A needless gamble at that point in the game IMO. Just running a regular play from scrimmage on 3rd and 3 is likely a higher percentage play than a fake punt if you're in a gambling mood anyway.

Tough way to end the season for the Bombers. Everything seemed to be going right for them up until a month ago. That win in Commonwealth at the end of September proved to be the high water mark though, maybe a case of peaking too early. Of course the Nichols injury couldn't have come at a worse time, and I'm sure that was a big factor as well.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Am I the only one who feels Toronto is pretty overrated? I viewed the East Semi-Final as the true East Final. I don’t think Ray/Toronto are good enough to go to the Grey Cup.

However, on the CFL website, they’re listing it as a 48% chance it’s Toronto vs Edmonton, and a 31% chance it’s Toronto vs Calgary.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Am I the only one who feels Toronto is pretty overrated? I viewed the East Semi-Final as the true East Final. I don’t think Ray/Toronto are good enough to go to the Grey Cup.

However, on the CFL website, they’re listing it as a 48% chance it’s Toronto vs Edmonton, and a 31% chance it’s Toronto vs Calgary.

Implying Toronto has a 79% chance of winning? Yeah, that's way too high. Sunday's game is a toss-up IMO. Saskatchewan is better than Toronto in most areas, but I'd still take Ray over the Glenn/Bridge combo and James Wilder has been on a rampage the last month. I think it'll be close, and ultimately a bad call by the command centre will make sure the East is represented in the Grey Cup. Hope I'm wrong though. Kevin Glenn finally getting a shot to start a Grey Cup after all these years would be a nice story.

 

[blueandgoldguy]

Glenn didn't have too much pressure on him to pass the ball as the run game was pretty good. I think Glenn passed less than 30 times. If the run game is stuffed this upcoming Sunday in Toronto, and Glenn has to pass more, I don't like the Riders chances. Then again, they have a wild card with Bridge if Glenn struggles.

 

[Baxterman]

Implying Toronto has a 79% chance of winning? Yeah, that's way too high. Sunday's game is a toss-up IMO. Saskatchewan is better than Toronto in most areas, but I'd still take Ray over the Glenn/Bridge combo and James Wilder has been on a rampage the last month. I think it'll be close, and ultimately a bad call by the command centre will make sure the East is represented in the Grey Cup. Hope I'm wrong though. Kevin Glenn finally getting a shot to start a Grey Cup after all these years would be a nice story.

Not a chance the CFL screws over the Priders.

If there is a bad call (and there will be many) they will definitely be designed to try and gift the Priders the win like they always do.

Argonauts should win easily and the only thing stopping that will be the refs/command centre.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Not a chance the CFL screws over the Priders.

If there is a bad call (and there will be many) they will definitely be designed to try and gift the Priders the win like they always do.

Argonauts should win easily and the only thing stopping that will be the refs/command centre.

Why would any East team beat a West team easily? That seems like the least likely of all results. The CFL has little to gain from an all-West Grey Cup, as it will only fuel more talk of how bad the East is all throughout Grey Cup week. I'll gladly be proven wrong, but if it comes down to a command centre call, I'm putting my money on Toronto benefiting.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Look at the games Toronto won this season - it’s not that impressive.

Their first three wins were against struggling teams that hadn’t won a game yet (Ottawa twice and Hamilton). Then, their next win comes in Week 9 against an awful Montreal team who also beat them the week before. Their next three wins come against Montreal, Hamilton and a slumping, injured Eskimos team. Their final two wins game against the Bombers (impressive), and a BC lions team that had given up.

A win is a win, don’t get me wrong. But Toronto racked up a ton of wins against teams that were not very good, and rarely beat a team that was actually playing well. They lost both games to Saskatchewan, who also had a better record despite having to play better teams more frequently.

 

[WillTheThrill]

Sask vs Cgy Grey cup. Calling it rn.