First and Goal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2010 (5801 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five storylines around the CFL that jumped out while prepping for the Steven Jyles era in Winnipeg:

1 The arrival of Justin Medlock to the free agent market has led to some speculation on the future of a few kickers in the CFL. Medlock, an import who went 40-of-46 for the Toronto Argonauts in 2009, was cut by the Detroit Lions last month. His spot on the Argos this season has been filled by non-import K Grant Shaw and P Jamie Boreham, leaving Medlock looking for work. So which club, or clubs, might be willing to kick the tires on a new kicker? Look no further than Hamilton, where Sandro DeAngelis is probably re-thinking his decision to sign there. The veteran missed two FGs against the Bombers Friday, and even he had to notice the fans’ displeasure in his work thus far. The boo-birds were loud and relentless. DeAngelis is 4-of-8 this season, including a miserable 2-of-6 at home. He’s said all the right things and is trying to right the ship, but history is not on his side. DeAngelis’ career mark at Ivor Wynne Stadium: 10-of-20. Talk about a potential kicking change in River City has cooled slightly, but Alexis Serna has been under fire thanks to his slow FG start (5-of-9). Medlock and Serna are friends, so it would be a shock if the out-of-work kicker came to Winnipeg for a job.

2 Still wondering how Montreal would bounce back from blowing a big lead against the Roughriders in Week 1? The Als wrapped up their tough, three-game western road jaunt with a 2-1 record, the most recent score a 16-12 win against the B.C. Lions at Empire Stadium Friday. It was the second straight contest where the Als had to come from behind. Have to think that if you asked head coach Marc Trestman if he’d take a winning record after this stretch he’d say ‘Sign me up.’ OK, maybe he wouldn’t. Anyway, now that the toughest part of the schedule is over it only gets easier for the defending champs. Montreal is scheduled to travel west of Winnipeg only one more time this season (Oct. 1 in Calgary). Of course, Als supporters will say that’s simply not true. There’s that little thing called the Grey Cup in Edmonton…

3 Elmers. Honey. Pine tar. Velcro. Those are just a few of the items equipment managers around the league might want to keep in stock moving forward here. Edmonton’s Kelly Campbell has had some highlight reel bobbles already (two bad drops in the end zone, including one at the end of the first half against the Riders that would have been the difference in the final score) and outside of the Twin Ter(r)ences (Edwards and Jeffers-Harris), Winnipeg’s receiving corps has had a few fall to the turf. Final say goes to the Calgary Herald’s Allan Cameron, whose Twitter account was buzzing from the Stamps-Argos game: "(Romby) Bryant makes his first catch. Still has more knockdowns than catches, 2-1."

4 Heritage, tradition, celebrating the past — all that jazz — is nice and everything, but those black and burgundy uniforms (circa 1912) the Riders donned Saturday afternoon should never see the light of day again (they won’t — it was just a one-time deal). The shirts looked like a cheap Stampeders third jersey you’d find in some bargain bin at a dollar store. The Riders must always be green, and if it’s not a law, it should be. Granted, it is the centennial football celebration for the entire province of Saskatchewan, so perhaps we should cut them some slack. As for the multi-coloured diamond pattern pants the coaches were wearing, no thanks. Those Loudmouth (the brand name) pants wore themselves out during the Vancouver Olympics and even then, the Norwegian curlers were a couple years late.

5 The Argos say they aren’t too concerned about the crowd they pulled in for the home opener this past Wednesday, but they should be. Just 20,242 — the smallest crowd in seven years — made it out to watch the Boatmen beat Calgary 27-24 at Rogers Centre. Team president Bob Nicholson said the numbers were where they thought they would be: "We didn’t really expect much more considering that it was a Wednesday night and the way things have gone the last couple of years, with business off 15 to 20 per cent," Nicholson told the Toronto Star.

Fair enough but according to the report, the club sold 5,000 tickets AFTER the Argos beat Winnipeg in Week 2.

You mean the Argos only had 15,000 tickets sold five days before the home opener?

THE HUDDLE RANKINGS

One man’s totally subjective rankings after three weeks of play (last week’s ranking in parentheses):

1. SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (3-0) — QB Darian Durant has thrown seven TD passes and just one pick. (1)

2. MONTREAL ALOUETTES (2-1) — So much for long losing streaks in Edmonton and Vancouver. (2)

3. TORONTO ARGONAUTS (2-1) — This might be as high as the Argos get this season. (5)

4. CALGARY STAMPEDERS (2-1) — QB Henry Burris had four picks in a loss to the Argos. (3)

5. B.C. LIONS (1-2) — Good efforts against the Riders and the Als places them atop the one-win pack. (4)

6. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (1-2) — Crisis averted for now, but that coming schedule is tough. (7)

7. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (1-2) — They’ve lost two straight and the starting QB is hurt. (6)

8. EDMONTON ESKIMOS (0-3) — Not the start the Grey Cup hosts were hoping for. (8)

JUICY NUMBERS

0, 29

The number of points the Eskimos have scored in the fourth quarter, compared to the number of points they’ve given up in the fourth quarter. Look at it this way: By the end of the third, the Eskies have either lost the game already or will blow any lead they had heading into the final 15 minutes.

FYI

Bombers receiver Terrence Edwards leads all CFL pass catchers in yards (316), yards per catch (20.4) and is tied with Montreal’s Kerry Watkins for touchdowns (3)…Couldn’t help but notice that a pair of elite running backs are slow out of the gate. Let’s start with Winnipeg’s Fred Reid. Last season, he rushed 238 times for 1,371 yards. This year, he has 28 carries for 209 yards. Project that ahead, and that’s 168 carries for 1,254 yards. Not a big drop-off there, especially when you measure it against Hamilton’s DeAndra Cobb (who has 31 carries for 112 yards this season). In 2009: 216 chances for 1,217 yards. Projected totals for 2010: 186 carries for just 672 yards… After three games last season, Winnipeg had seven interceptions. LB Courtney Smith has the lone pick for the Bombers in 2010…How about that call from Saskatchewan offensive co-ordinator Doug Berry in the fourth quarter of the Riders 24-20 win over Edmonton Saturday afternoon? That end-around from the nine-yard line, which resulted in a 46-yard gain and instant field position for the Riders, also resulted in a rare sideline laugh from usually uptight Berry…Speaking of the Riders, when do Fantuz Flakes — a breakfast cereal named after receiver Andy Fantuz — hit the grocery shelves?… The winless Eskimos are clinging to a couple things: One, a hope they can get one in the win column against Winnipeg this weekend; and two, what happened in 2003. Back then, Green and Gold struggled out of the gate with a 1-2 record, only to pull it together for a 13-5 season and a Grey Cup championship…Edmonton receivers Fred Stamps and Kelly Campbell have combined for 718 yards from scrimmage after three games…Looks like Ken-Yon Rambo, Calgary’s biggest pass catching weapon, could be ready to go this weekend. Rambo suffered a serious knee injury last summer. Winnipeg is in Calgary July 31…According to the Globe and Mail’s David Naylor, of the 10 highest rated CFL games on TSN last season eight of them involved the Saskatchewan Roughriders. No surprise there. Rider Nation, much like the Montreal Canadiens or Toronto Maple Leafs, stretches across the country. So why wouldn’t the network slot Saturday’s contest in prime time?

SAY WHAT?!

"At times he looked good; at times he looks like he doesn’t have a clue. At times it looks easy and at times it looks unbelievably tough." – B.C. head coach Wally Buono on the inconsistent play of Lions QB Casey Printers through the first three weeks.