FIRST AND GOAL

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/09/2010 (5535 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five storylines that jumped out while observing the past week of Canadian Football League action:

1. We won’t use this space to make some sort of moral judgment on the Edmonton Eskimos’ hiring of Eric Tillman — others can preach and the message boards and call-in shows are certainly afire in the Alberta capital — but say this about the move:

It will have a dramatic impact on the CFL, both short and long term.

in the short term, expect Tillman to sit back and observe — just as he did when taking over the Saskatchewan Roughriders — before making some quick, bold strokes. Already, for example, there is speculation the Esks will throw a lot of money at free-agent defensive end Stevie Baggs in an effort to beef up their pass rush.

In the long term and barring any second-half resurgence — based on what we’ve seen that would constitute a minor miracle — Tillman will likely replace head coach Richie Hall at season’s end and look for experienced help from inside the league.

And put one defensive co-ordinators — Winnipeg’s Kavis Reed — at or near the top of his list.

2. Crazy development over the last couple of days with Ricky Foley, the CFL’s top Canadian last year, first signing with his old squad, the B.C. Lions, before changing his mind and heading to his hometown Argos. This after the Lions issued a press release late Monday trumpeting his return.

“It was a whirlwind two days,” Foley said in a press release. “I could not go wrong with either team, as they are both great organizations, and I have nothing but the highest respect for Wally Buono, Neil McEvoy and the Lions organization. This wasn’t about them. It was about my family. I’m excited to start a new chapter with the Argos, another first-class organization.”

Respect for the Lions? That’s a tough sell on the left coast right now.

Interesting, isn’t it, how the Argos essentially out-bid the Lions — both clubs owned by David Braley — for Foley’s services?

3. Even with the Foley fiasco a lot of CFL observers are now pegging the Lions as one of the squads ready to make a significant second-half run.  Amazing how getting people back from the injured list and from the NFL has the Lions, winners of two straight, suddenly looking formidable.

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“We have a long way to go, but here’s the key: we’re doing it at the right time,” centre Angus Reid told the Vancouver Sun. “In this league, you watch the back nine. The back nine is where everything’s done. As long as you’re getting into the playoffs with momentum, you’re a lot better off than the team that started hot and wowed everyone in the summertime.”

4. What is it about Kevin Glenn and his seeming career-long battle for respect? The Hamilson Tiger-Cats QB gets yanked in teh loss to Montreal by head coach Marcel Bellefeuille despite clearly establishing himself as the Tabbies’ No. 1 pivot.  And not only did the move backfire — Quinton Porter was awful in relief — but now Glenn is pouting.  Probably rightfully so.  After all, he’s mroe than earned the chance to fight through rough patches with his work this year.

“He (Bellefeuille) makes the decisions to put guys in and take them out. I didn’t agree with it, and that’s pretty much it,” Glenn told the Montreal Gazette after the game. “But he makes the decisions. I can’t tell him what to do. I’m a man, just like he is, and I felt a certain way about it, and he made his decision.”

5. And finally, our favourite football league served up one of those “only-in-the-CFL” head-scratchers Tuesday while announcing its player of the week awards. No doubt Argos defensive end Ronald Flemons was superb in B.C.’s win over Toronto — he recorded three sacks — but he’s also the same guy who dropped the football at the Lions’ one-yard line after he scooped up a fumble and was en route to scoring. B.C. recovered in the end zone to wipe out what should have been a gimme TD.

So to sum up, the CFL’s defensive player of the week is a guy on a team that lost 34-16 and who was all over the blooper reel Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Bombers hold the Roughriders to two points and don’t even get an honourable mention in the defensive category. Yeesh.