Never a dull moment in the CFL

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/10/2021 (1419 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was another interesting week in the Canadian Football League –- on and off the field.

On the field, Week 11 saw the 9-1 Winnipeg Blue Bombers become the first team to punch their ticket to the playoffs following a 26-16 win over the Edmonton Elks, who dropped to 2-7. The Montreal Alouettes (5-4) defeated the Ottawa Redblacks (2-8) for the second time in six days, winning by a score of 27-16.

The third and final game saw the Calgary Stampeders (5-5) continue their climb in the West Standings, with Saturday’s 39-10 road win over the B.C. Lions (4-5) putting them in a tie for second place with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-4), who have a game in hand. The Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts (6-3) and Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-5) were all idle this week.

Off the field, once again there is plenty to talk about, so let’s dive into the latest edition of CFL Rundown –- a weekly column that looks back at the week that was in the CFL.

1) In what was a surprise move Thursday, long time sportscaster Rod Black announced his departure from TSN after a decades-long run with the TV sports station. Black has a resume filled with awards, including five Gemini nominations for best sports broadcaster, but even that wasn’t enough to have his contract extended. As is often the case in these situations, Black was likely making a lot of money and with new blood in Dustin Neilson and Marshall Ferguson joining the broadcast team, he was likely too expensive to keep on. Best of luck, Rod, in whatever’s next.

2) While in Edmonton this week, I watched and wondered as Elks general manager Brock Sunderland and quarterback Trevor Harris took a long walk together across Commonwealth Stadium. It seemed like something was up – and turns out there was – as Harris, who was benched Friday against the Bombers, was dealt to the Montreal Alouettes for defensive end Antonio Simmons.

3) Montreal had been rumoured as a potential destination for Harris after QB Vernon Adams Jr. went down in Week 10 with a shoulder injury and was added to the six-game injured list. Matthew Shiltz played well this week in relief of Adams, and the word is Harris will be eased in, backing up Shiltz until he gets hurt or his play declines. Harris isn’t vaccinated so he’ll require a few days of isolation before he can join the team.

4) 3downnation’s Justin Dunk is reporting that the Argonauts are fielding trade calls for QB Nick Arbuckle, adding that Toronto wouldn’t want to trade within the East Division. But I’m not sure where exactly he’d fit in the West other than Edmonton, where head coach Jaime Elizondo has said the team’s future – and now present – pivot is Taylor Cornelius.

5) Former Elks offensive lineman Jacob Ruby issued an apology this week for lying about his vaccination status, which ultimately got him released from Edmonton and banished by the CFL for the remainder of the year. Some have come out and said they hope he signs with a team next year – yeah, count me out of that group.

6) And for a couple reasons. First off, lying about being vaccinated, putting your teammates and their families at risk, not to mention the entire CFL, is unforgivable. The entire 2020 season was wiped out owing to the coronavirus, so it’s not like Ruby didn’t understand the magnitude of what he was doing. Also, he was released in late August and only issued an apology in mid-October. Doesn’t sound all that genuine to me.

7) Pretty cool to see former Calgary Stampeder middle linebacker and overall good guy Alex Singleton sitting third among NFL defenders in total tackles, with 67. Singleton, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, racked up a career-high 15 tackles in a 28-22 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.

8) The CFL announced Hamilton has been awarded the Grey Cup in 2023, in addition to putting on this year’s festivities. A big part of hosting the Grey Cup is to make money and with this year being scaled down owing to COVID-19, it’s only fair they get another shot to boost the bottom line.

9) Capacity for the GC game this year is set at 24,000, with no additional temporary seating being put in Tim Hortons Field. There will still be some of the usual events, including the Grey Cup arrival, CFL Awards, head coaches press conference and the commissioner’s state of the league.

10) The Bombers won this week, but they may have lost running back Andrew Harris. Harris pulled up lame late in the first half just prior to scoring a touchdown and didn’t play the final two quarters. It’s unclear what his status will be for this week, but you know Winnipeg is going to take every precaution with their star back. I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t rushed back, especially since the Bombers have all but wrapped up the West.

11) It also helps when you have someone like Brady Oliveira waiting in the wings. Oliveira entered the game cold and looked no worse for wear, racking up 16 carries for 105 yards – an average of 6.6 yards per carry.

12) Talk about Aaron Grymes missed interception, one that would have easily resulted in a returned touchdown, being a major TSN turning point. He scores that TD, and the Elks are in a good position to win. Instead, Zach Collaros dials up a 48-yard pass on the next play to Rasheed Bailey and shortly thereafter hits Bailey again for a demoralizing score.

13) As bad as it’s been in Edmonton, it’s been a breakout season for receiver and Winnipeg native Shai Ross. Ross, who dazzled with a video during the summer of him flipping in the air and dunking an Oreo into a glass of milk, recorded his fourth touchdown Friday.

14) Redblacks coach Paul LaPolice has earned the offensive guru title often attached to his name, but he’s not immune when it comes to some questionable play calling. How else do you explain calling just seven run plays when it’s pouring rain and you have an inexperienced QB running the offence? There weren’t even enough short passes, stuff that has become LaPo’s bread and butter, to make up for it.

15) Even more puzzling was putting in backup Taryn Christon when he did to run the offence. It was still raining; Ottawa was down nine points and were starting on their own 2. I get Caleb Evans had thrown his third interception on the series before, but Christion had yet to complete a pass in his CFL career. Two series later, following an attempt to recover a botched snap, Christon injured himself, was carried off the field and is likely to miss the remainder of the season.

16) The Alouettes registered an eye-popping 10 sacks against the Redblacks. That averaged out to a sack for every six offensive plays by Ottawa. That’ll happen when you’ve run a different looking O-line in all 10 games this season, especially coming off a stretch of three games in 11 days.

17) The Stampeders have quietly turned around their season and could take over sole possession of second place with a win over the Roughriders next week. Crazy to think where they were a month ago, seemingly out of it and with some considerable issues at QB.

18) About the QB position, that’s the best game we’ve seen this year from Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell, who finished 22-for-32 passing for 270 yards and a touchdown. When asked after the game how he felt he played, Mitchell responded: “I didn’t throw a pick. Let’s fu—– go!”

19) Coincidentally, it was also the worst we’ve seen this season from Lions QB Michael Reilly, who, you might remember, pretty much played with a broken-down arm in Week 1. This week, Reilly finished 13-for-25 for 145 passing yards and two interceptions.

20) At 36, Reilly can’t run like he used to, and he certainly can’t take the hits like he once could either. And it wasn’t a leaky O-line to blame this night, but a game plan that continues to put Reilly in a position to launch the ball down field rather than meticulously move the chains on shorter passes. And you have no idea if that’s Reilly’s call – which most things are – or that of Lions OC Jordan Maksymic.

21) You might not find a better kickoff return touchdown than what saw from Calgary’s Roc Thomas to open the second half. Thomas weaved his way through several would-be tacklers, registering 101 yards on the score. It completely flipped the game on its head, putting the Stampeders up 23-6, and took all the air from the Lions’ sails.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca twitter: @jeffkhamilton