Kickers give microchips the boot

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This article was published 12/06/2024 (645 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — There’s nothing more CFL than a controversy brewing after just one game.

This has nothing to do with Montreal Alouettes D-lineman Shawn Lemon — who is free to play while his appeal for gambling on CFL games goes through the appropriate channels — registering the first sack of the 2024 season.

It has to do with microchips being inserted inside footballs, something that has kickers around the league kicking up a fuss over what they say messes with their accuracy.

The CFL started testing chipped balls last season to bring viewers enhanced stats such as the speed of a pass or runner, as part of the league’s relationship with Genius Sports.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Sergio Castillo started the fire when he roped in a few reporters following a disappointing performance in a season-opening loss to the Alouettes last Thursday.

Castillo made just one of his three field goals that night, while also missing his lone attempt at a convert. It was a rare sort of outing from a player coming off a career-best 90 per cent success rate in 2023.

Anyone who knows Castillo knows he’s not one to complain or make excuses.

So, when he started on a rant about how he’s barely converted 60 per cent of his kicks with chipped balls during training camp, and how despite hitting the balls clean against Montreal they still took on a life of their own once mid-air, it was worth listening to.

It turned into a full-blown controversy a short time later when several other kickers took to social media to give support to Castillo and voice their own similar concerns about the chipped balls.

Saskatchewan Roughriders kicker Brett Lauther, who is a vice-president of the CFL Players Association, went as far as to say the league promised kickers they wouldn’t have to use the chipped balls, only to reverse the decision at the last minute. It was a move Lauther said would eventually cost someone their livelihood if left unchanged.

The CFL certainly got the message.

In a statement from Randy Ambrosie the next day, the commissioner said teams will no longer be mandated to use chipped balls when kicking, but denied the chips have any effects on performance.

The decision, Ambrosie said, was out of respect for the kickers in the league who didn’t feel comfortable using the modified balls, adding the CFL would revisit its mandated usage again ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Just the latest example of there never being a boring week in the Crazy Football League. Now, let’s dive into the rest of the top stories across the league in the latest edition of CFL Rundown:

1. I predicted last week that the Bombers would take a step back this season after being such a dominant force in recent years.

I’m not putting too much stock into their Week 1 loss to Montreal, but it was a reminder to the Blue and Gold that they’re in for a fight this year.

Or maybe we’re just getting another taste of what happened last season, when Winnipeg rebounded from an embarrassing Week 3 home defeat to the B.C. Lions, only to go 8-0 on their own turf the rest of the year.

2. You never want to see anyone get hurt in this game, let alone suffer a season-ending injury.

That said, it’s tough to ignore the instant karma delivered to Alouettes linebacker Reggie Stubblefield, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL. The injury occurred a short time after Stubblefield was seen wrenching the ankle of Chris Streveler well after the Bombers pivot had fallen to the turf on a short-yardage run.

It was a dirty play and Streveler was incensed afterwards, still huffing and puffing on the sideline by the time Stubblefield was carted to Montreal’s locker room. Stubblefield later took to social media to say he wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt Streveler, but video replay tells another story.

3. It was weeks into training camp and I was short on story ideas.

Whenever that happens, I often request to speak with Kenny Lawler, knowing he’ll say something headline worthy, and the Bombers star receiver didn’t disappoint.

He told me he doesn’t publicly state his goals but said this year he envisioned his season to be “record breaking,” meaning more than 2,000 receiving yards and close to two dozen TDs.

Unfortunately for Lawler, he won’t be rewriting the record book this season after suffering a fractured arm against Montreal. That’s a tough go for a man who missed the first six games last season due to a driving under the influence charge.

4. The Edmonton Elks were up to their old tricks again, gift-wrapping another victory to the Saskatchewan Roughriders via a fourth-quarter collapse.

Up 21-8, it was Turnover City for the Elks, who coughed up the ball and the lead en route to a 29-21 loss. The same thing happened in Week 1 last year, again in Week 5 and once more during the pre-season this year, with Edmonton letting a fourth-quarter lead slip through their fingers against Saskatchewan.

It was a costly loss for Chris Jones, who is on a short leash after two playoff-less seasons at the Elks helm. Losing games you should be winning is especially damning in a competitive West Division.

5. There was a lot of hype around the Riders signing running back A.J. Ouellette, but so far it’s been pretty underwhelming.

The 28-year-old rushed 18 times against the Elks for 40 yards, averaging a dismal 1.8 yards per run.

It’s a small sample size, to be sure, but Ouellette wasn’t exactly dominant in the pre-season either, with six carries for 18 yards against Winnipeg’s backups. This is the first year when Ouellette is the undisputed No. 1 guy and there’s more tape on him than ever after Andrew Harris went down last season.

The Riders will definitely want to see better production, especially from a guy who has been wielding Thor’s hammer in every interview he’s done the last two months.

6. I’m on record saying the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are misguided by putting their eggs in the Bo Levi Mitchell’s basket this year as their starting QB.

The veteran pivot, despite being past his prime, looked pretty solid in his return to Calgary, where he dominated the league for a decade. As good as Bo looked, what was the most intriguing development to come out of Steeltown this week was the signing of another QB.

The Ticats have added Taulia Tagovailoa to their practice roster, and if the name sounds familiar, that’s because he’s the brother of Miami Dolphins’ star Tua. Taulia spent the last four seasons at the University of Maryland, where he finished as the all-time passing leader in the Big Ten Conference, eclipsing the likes of Drew Brees. If he’s anything like his brother, the future could be bright in Hamilton.

7. No one gave the Toronto Argonauts a shot against the B.C. Lions, a club many have suggested will be Grey Cup champs this year.

The Argos did what they’ve done a lot with Ryan Dinwiddie manning the sidelines: win. There aren’t a lot of teams that can lose their No. 1 QB, not to mention the reigning MOP, and survive.

Few teams, however, can identify talent the way the Argos can.

How else do you explain Argos assistant GM John Murphy surviving scandal after scandal? That’s because he’s more valuable to the on-field product than Pinball Clemons is as GM.

8. What was Lions head coach Rick Campbell thinking in giving Vernon Adams short-yardage duties?

It makes zero sense to have your star pivot diving head-first into a pile of bodies to gain a yard or two. Adams always seems banged up and he was nursing his hand at times during the game. Without Adams, the Lions don’t have a chance at winning the Grey Cup on home turf this year.

Same criticism goes to Mike O’Shea, who despite being dominated by the Alouettes late in the fourth Q, left Zach Collaros in to finish the game. O’Shea doesn’t believe in “garbage time” but an injury to Collaros and he can toss this season on the trash heap.

9. My biggest takeaway from Week 1 is this season feels like it’s up for grabs. I don’t know if there’s a clear-cut top team, like the Bombers have been the last few years. The West still looks a lot better than the East, but my gut is telling me we’re in for a lot of surprises this season.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jeffkhamilton