Four teams one win away from Grey Cup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/11/2024 (334 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Then there were four.

Following an entertaining weekend of CFL football, with the Ottawa Redblacks and Toronto Argonauts, as well as the B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, duking it out in the Eastern and Western semifinal, respectively, we’re down to the final four teams vying for a trip to the Grey Cup in Vancouver next week.

The Argos weathered an early storm to deliver a convincing 58-38 win over the Redblacks at BMO Field. They’ll now head to Montreal for the East final to take on the Alouettes, who, despite posting a league-best 12-5-1 record, have garnered plenty of skeptics for their inconsistent play over the past month.

The Lions also got off to a solid start against the Riders, only for the wheels to fall off as the game wore on, with Saskatchewan earning a 28-19 decision at Mosaic Stadium to punch their ticket to the West final. Saskatchewan won’t be nearly as comfortable playing in front of a sold-out crowd in Winnipeg, where the Bombers have won six of their previous seven regular season games and are 3-0 in the playoffs dating back to 2021.

I’m not one for predicting winners — it’s a fool’s game at the best of times — that’s not the only reason I’m not going to attempt to peek into the future. In what’s been a theme all season, the parity among the final-four clubs is palpable and I envision two extremely close affairs.

Perhaps my only advice would be to take slow, deep breaths, especially late in the fourth quarter when the game is still very much up for grabs for both sides. It will help calm down the ol’ ticker.

Now, let’s take a look back at the week that was in the three-down loop, and take a glance ahead at what should be a fun and exciting weekend in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.

1) The same issue that plagued the Redblacks all season reared its ugly head against the Argos and that would be a lack of finish. No one was worse than Ottawa in the red zone this season, converting 41 per cent of its trips into touchdowns. The Redblacks picked apart Toronto’s stingy defence with relative ease through the first half, with five of their six possessions through the opening 30 minutes getting into the red zone. Ottawa only left with two TDs, forced to settle for three chip shot field goals from 17, 20 and 17 yards respectively.

2) Meanwhile, the Redblacks defence had no answer for Argos QB Chad Kelly, who finished with a perfect passer rating (158.3) after completing 18 of his 20 passes for 358 yards and four TDs. He also ran twice for 29 yards, including a 15-yard rushing TD. The game really seemed to turn early in the second quarter when Kelly orchestrated two TD drives, with each series lasting fewer than a minute, ending with deep passes of 70 and 41 yards to give Toronto its first lead, 17-16, after trailing 10-0.

3) It was a positive year for the Redblacks, even if it was an underwhelming end. They have their QB of the future in Dru Brown, who played admirably all season in his first year as a starter, posting six games with at least 300 passing yards, including a combined 845 yards in his final two starts. Ottawa also gave its fans a lot to cheer for at home, finally making TD Place a tough spot to play with a 7-1-1 record in 2024. The Redblacks also made the playoffs for the first time since making it to the Grey Cup in 2018.

4) There’s a lot of hype behind the Argos heading into the East final. While Kelly and Toronto’s sack-leading defence won’t be a cakewalk, I don’t understand why people seem to be sleeping on the Alouettes. I get Montreal has struggled in recent weeks, with just two victories in its past seven games, but a lot of those losses came after the Alouettes had already locked up the East. Add in the fact that they’ll have the support of thousands of airhorn carrying fans at Molson Stadium, as well head coach Jason Maas getting the bye week to prepare, and defeating the Alouettes is no easy task.

5) Moving over to the West, QB Vernon Adams Jr. was unable to get the fairy-tale finish in B.C. he had hoped for after regaining the keys to the offence late in the year. Adams and the Lions played well, statistically speaking, but never seemed to have a firm grip on the game at any point. The Riders would eventually pull away in the final 30 minutes, with the Trevor Harris-led offence opening the third quarter with the first of two TDs in the half, while the defence limited Adams’ attack to a pair of field goals. The game was capped off with Adams throwing back-to-back interceptions.

6) It was clear from Adams’ post-game press conference he knew he’d just played his last game for the Lions. With Nathan Rourke firmly entrenched as the No. 1 QB in B.C., we now wait to see which team Adams will end up with next year. And how many others might be following him out the door, including what now feels like an uncertain future for head coach Rick Campbell, who has one year remaining on his contract. Owner Amar Doman doesn’t seem like someone who makes rash decisions, but I wonder how the fact the Lions had set lofty goals in a year they were hosting the Grey Cup might affect his decision making.

7) I have no doubt the Riders will give the Bombers a run for their money. That’s not exactly headline news. After all, all three games between the two prairie rivals this season were decided by a combined 10 points. In fact, Saskatchewan outscored Winnipeg by three points in those games. There are a few factors I see playing a significant role in this one. First, rookie head coach Corey Mace can’t make the moment too big for himself. He’ll have a lot to focus on and he can’t get caught up in the chaos that will come from a packed Princess Auto Stadium. Speaking of home field advantage, it’s real in Winnipeg. While Harris was able to work fairly seamlessly in front of his own crowd, he’ll have a heck of a time communicating through the deafening sounds of enemy territory. Finally, the Bombers will be playing in their sixth consecutive West final and that experience will be key. If the Riders can navigate through that and come out with a win, they’ll be my pick as Grey Cup winners. That’s a massive IF, though.

8) Chris Morris certainly isn’t short on enthusiasm. The new president of the Edmonton Elks was wearing a tan suit jacket, but he may as well have been dressed up like the Kool-Aid Man from the way he burst onto the scene. Morris will be ultimately judged by his actions, but it was great to hear the passion he has for the organization, as well as a desire to turn the franchise around. Morris has set a new deadline, Nov. 24, one week after the Grey Cup to hire a GM and head coach.

9) The buzz is that Ed Hervey is the front-runner for the GM job. Hervey spent 10 years in Edmonton (2007-16), starting as a scout before climbing the ladder all the way to GM and VP of Football Operations by 2015. He then became the GM of the Lions, from 2017 to 2020, before taking over as assistant GM in Hamilton the next year, where he would be promoted to GM at the end of last season. Edmonton wants to have familiar faces running the show and Hervey fits that perfectly.

10) I thought the voters did a good job this year. I don’t see any notable snubs from the East and West finalists. As the president of the Football Reporters of Canada, I get the deciding vote in the event of a tie, so I don’t cast a ballot in this most recent round. I like Bombers running back Brady Oliveira for Most Outstanding Player and Canadian. Mace is also deserving of top head coach.

Enjoy the games and see you next week from Vancouver.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton