First and goal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/10/2009 (5843 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five storylines that jumped out while observing the past week of Canadian Football League action:

1

Two words that often get fans and media alike frothing in anticipation of the drama about to unfold: trade deadline.

Oh, wait a minute… that’s the NHL trade deadline.

The CFL’s trade deadline, in case you haven’t heard, is next Wednesday at 3 p.m. and the two words usually associated with it are: non-event. Or: snooze-fest.

That said, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers do have an asset sitting there rotting away in all-star linebacker Barrin Simpson. You likely know his story now, so no sense rehashing it here, but Simpson’s name did come up in head coach Mike Kelly’s media scrum on Tuesday.

"Barrin Simpson isn’t really in my mindset right now. I’m more worried about the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and that’s where I’d like to stay focused," said Kelly.

"The Barrin thing is out of my hands at this point. We’re always looking to improve our football club and to play with guys that want to be here — that’s the most important thing. We’re just going to continue about our business and whatever happens with Barrin, happens."

Word around the CFL is that Simpson has drawn only a few nibbles from other teams, although he was supposed to be included in the trade that sent Riall Johnson and Shawn Mayne to the Montreal Alouettes for quarterback Ricky Santos. And unless the offers improve, the Bombers will continue to keep Simpson on the disabled list and pay his full salary.

Asked to confirm whether they are getting calls about Simpson, Kelly said: "Not really. The only time I think about that name is when you guys (media) bring it up. Otherwise, it’s out of my thought process."

2

The latest Vegas Grey Cup odds for all you gambling types out there who are into this stuff: Montreal (1.66); Calgary (3.25); Saskatchewan (9.5); Edmonton (13.00); B.C. (13.00); Hamilton (23.00); Winnipeg (67.00) and Toronto (601.00). Translation: Montreal and Calgary are heavy favourites and if you bet on the Argos right now, there’s a padded cell waiting for you somewhere.

3

One of the striking images from last weekend was Hamilton head coach Marcel Bellefeuille speaking with disconsolate QB Quinton Porter after the Ticats starting pivot mishandled the dying seconds of their 15-14 loss to Calgary. In case you missed it, Porter was sacked on a critical second-down play and a third-down pass to Dave Stala came up short.

In the immediate aftermath, Porter told Drew Edwards of the Hamilton Spectator: "To be honest, on that particular play, I didn’t know where to go with the ball. I’m not sure what we were trying to do. I guess I have to learn from this — when the time comes and I don’t know what to do, I just have to chuck it out of bounds."

A couple days later, Bellefeuille refused to toss his young gun under the bus, but did say the right play call was there to be executed. Bellefeuille’s next decision — whether Porter starts again or he turns to former Bomber Kevin Glenn for Monday’s second-place showdown in Hamilton — will arguably be the most scrutinized of his head-coaching career.

4

The work of B.C. QB Buck Pierce in last Friday’s win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders earned him CFL player of the week honours — the Bombers’ Jovon Johnson was the top special-teams player — but, more importantly, helped Pierce earn more respect from the men with whom he shares the huddle.

Pierce finished with a torn fingernail, a swollen throwing hand after — as per usual — throwing his body into the fray over and over and over again.

"When I see Buck running, I’m saying to myself, ‘Get down, get down,’" slotback Geroy Simon told the Vancouver Sun. "I don’t want him to take a big shot. But he took a bunch of big shots. He persevered through it and kept getting up. That’s what Buck is, man. He’s a tough, tough quarterback. He pushes forward and doesn’t say much about it. He shows us his leadership, because he’s not going to give up."

"If somebody dared me to ride a steer, I would," said Pierce. "That’s the way I play, that’s the way I lead, that’s the determination that I have. I’m a cowboy."

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

5

And, finally, while we all rave about the work of CFL running backs this year — rushing totals are waaaay up — it’s hardly been a juicy year for CFL quarterbacks.

In fact, it’s generally regarded that there are three elite pivots in this league — Calgary’s Henry Burris, Edmonton’s Ricky Ray and Anthony Calvillo of the Alouettes. But over the last couple of weeks Burris and Ray have — how shall we put this nicely? — sucked.

Thanks to Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post for this nugget: Burris and Calvillo are on pace to throw for 25 TDs this season, a total which would be the second-lowest for a league leader since the CFL adopted an 18-game regular season in 1986 (Burris led the CFL with 23 passing TDs in 2006). By comparison, from 1990-2002 the leading pivot averaged just under 37 TDs.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca