High times in Hamilton

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/10/2023 (906 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To those destined for the 110th Grey Cup next month in Hamilton, there’s been a change to your regularly scheduled programming.

If you haven’t heard, Grey Cup week has grown by a day, with teams arriving on Monday rather than Tuesday. As president of the Football Reporters of Canada, I met virtually with the league the other week to go over tentative plans, and it was then the CFL revealed the news.

When I asked what prompted the change, and what were some of the advantages, the league said by adding another day it gives the players a bit more flexibility to fulfill all their duties, including media/fan availabilities, as well as team meetings/practices. Makes sense, even if adding an extra day to an already busy week might, at least for some fans, muddle the mind and further test the liver.

Fans don’t usually come until later in the week, anyways, and so the extra day shouldn’t have a huge effect. The awards are Thursday night and Commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s state of the league address to fans is scheduled for following morning, set for 10 a.m.

For those who haven’t been to a Grey Cup, or might be on the fence, Hamilton puts on a great show, arguably the best I’ve been to over the last nine years. That was evident in 2021, despite a scaled-down event owing to COVID-19, and this year, which includes a Carrie Underwood concert on Friday and a Green Day halftime show, should be even better.

Indeed, Grey Cup week is truly a special time for three-down fans, but, really, it’s a great event for anyone looking for a good time. And to be clear, I am threatening you with a good time.

With that, let’s dig into the top stories from Week 18 in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.

1) It was fitting for the Elks to have their slim playoff hopes extinguished with a 23-point loss to the Argos. Tre Ford is about the only silver lining to the season, and yet the decision to delay starting the Canadian QB by GM/HC Chris Jones was just one of several errors this season. I don’t see the Elks getting much better next season without a major overhaul of some sort, and if I’m the board of directors, I’m looking at all corners of the organization, including whether it’s worth bringing Jones back for a third year.

2) DE Shawn Lemon recorded his eighth sack in just 11 games after signing with Montreal late into the season. His most recent QB takedown was the 100th of his career, making Lemon the 13th player to reach the century mark. I’ll say it again, there’s got to be at least a few teams regretting not signing the reigning West nominee for most outstanding defensive player.

3) Bo Levi Mitchell made his return to the field for the first time since suffering a leg fracture in Week 8, and the Ticats QB looked good in his limited role, completing four of six passes for 129 yards and a TD in one quarter of play. As well as he performed, I couldn’t understand the TSN panel, notably Jim Barker, gushing over the performance. Barker even used “Mitchell” and “promise land” in the same sentence. Let’s first see if he can play a full game like that – something we haven’t seen since 2018 – before the panel gives Mitchell another three-year extension.

4) Weirdly enough, because Mitchell has battled multiple injuries this year, limiting him to just four games, Friday’s tilt against the Lions will be his first start at Tim Hortons Field since being acquired by Hamilton.

5) Saskatchewan still needs to secure a playoff spot, which you would never know watching them stink up the field this past week in a demoralizing loss to Hamilton. The Riders didn’t just play bad, they looked disinterested most of the game, and on a night where they were honouring George Reed following his recent death and the 2013 Grey Cup team. What’s more, thanks to their epic collapse of late, a stretch that’s included five straight losses, the Stampeders still have a shot at making the playoffs at 4-11. The two West clubs meet this week and if Calgary can carve out a victory, it would clinch the season series (the first tiebreaker) and bring it to within two points of the Riders with two games remaining. Since the Saskatchewan would only have one game left to play, the Stamps could ultimately sneak in by winning their final two games.

6) I made the brave move of tuning into the Riders post-game show, on 980 CJME in Regina, and, oh boy, is the fan base fuming. As the show took caller after caller, every single voice called for HC Craig Dickenson’s job. While some might argue now is a bad time to make a coaching change, I’m with the group that believes if the Riders have any chance to turn this around, they need to fire Dickenson. Great person, bad head coach, and keeping him is just delaying the inevitable, which at best is a first-round loss, with the worst-case scenario being a second straight season without playoff football.

7) On the topic of looking disinterested, I present to you the 2023 Ottawa Redblacks. Clearly, the Bob Dyce effect, assuming it ever existed, has officially left town. Might Dyce be next? No chance, me thinks, not with two years remaining on a three-year pact. Hopefully Dyce gets the chance to right the ship in a year the Redblacks are riddled with injuries.

8) There was another ridiculous in-game decision by Dyce, adding to a season full of them. Down by 26 points with 6:35 remaining and facing a third-and-two from Montreal’s 14-yard line, Dyce called on the field goal unit for a 21-yard chip shot. This move had to have been based on saving face by not getting shut out, but it was embarrassing to watch and the equivalent to waving the white flag. And get out of here with the FG making it a three-score game, because if you trust your club to suddenly score three TDs, along with three successful two-point converts, then surely you trust them to get you two yards deeper in enemy territory.

9) What a game it was between the Bombers and Lions, living up to all its hype, including a thrilling comeback from Winnipeg that required OT. This game felt like the Lions Super Bowl and the loss could very well be what costs B.C. the Grey Cup. Winnipeg needs just one win in its next two games or the Lions to lose one of their final two to clinch the division, which would force B.C. to host the West semi-final before travelling to Winnipeg to play in frigid November conditions.

10) This game was supposed to decide the West nominee for the league’s most outstanding player award between Bombers QB Zach Collaros and Lions pivot Vernon Adams Jr. If that’s the case, Collaros gets the nod, as he passed for more yards (389 to 352) and touchdowns (two to one), and, unlike Adams, didn’t disappear as the game wore on. Adams is still a worthy candidate and should still earn some consideration, but on a night where he could have significantly shifted the narrative of being an up-and-down, boom-or-bust QB, Adams couldn’t deliver, mustering just more than 100 offensive yards and 6 points in the second half and OT.

11) Playoff implications for Week 19: Saskatchewan WIN = Saskatchewan secures third place in the West Division and will travel to B.C. or Winnipeg for the West semi-final; B.C. LOSS = Winnipeg claims the West Division title and will host the Western final and the B.C. will finish second and host the Western semi-final at BC Place; Montreal WIN or Hamilton LOSS = Montreal will host the Eastern semi-final.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton