Standings have a couple of surprises early in CFL season

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This article was published 16/08/2021 (1519 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two weeks into the 2021 Canadian Football League season and already we’re seeing some interesting developments, particularly when it comes to the standings.

The reigning Grey Cup Champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers have picked up right where they left off, winning again this week against the Toronto Argonauts (1-1) to improve to a perfect 2-0. The Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-0) are also atop the West Division and looked much better in a 30-8 beating of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-2) than they did last week in a victory against the B.C. Lions.

Speaking of the Lions (1-1), they rebounded nicely with a 15-9 win over Calgary, which dropped the Stampeders record to a surprising 0-2. The Montreal Alouettes had the bye in Week 1, but you would have hardly known it given the dismantling of the Edmonton Elks (0-2), 30-13, at Commonwealth Stadium Saturday night.

Welcome to the second installment of CFL Rundown – a compilation of news and notes, mixed in with opinions and thoughts from the past week. There’s a lot to get into from Week 2, so let’s get started:

1) After a couple post-touchdown celebrations in Week 1 that saw players jumping into the arms of fans in the stands, the CFL has reached out to all clubs to prevent it from happening again. It’s against the CFL safety protocols and for future offenders, it could cost future draft picks.

2) The two Edmonton players that tested positive for COVID-19 last week were linebacker Brian Walker and O-lineman SirVincent Rogers. Teams always knew players would test positive at points over the season, but there was some collective concern over both players being fully vaccinated. Rogers posted on Twitter about the need for players to get their shots.

 

Elks OL SirVincent Rogers discusses testing positive for covid, and why he’s thankful he got vaccinated.

Full interview: https://t.co/0z8N8CHcMs pic.twitter.com/9CW789Zw3L

— Edmonton Elks (@elks) August 11, 2021

 

3) Getting teams fully vaccinated remains a work in progress. While no clubs have reached the desired 85 per cent threshold for full vaccination of personnel and players, the belief is that will change in the coming days for a few teams. At last glance, Toronto, Edmonton and Saskatchewan were among the lowest vaccinated teams and the concern with the league is that if those who haven’t been vaccinated aren’t convinced by now, after multiple information sessions, then what’s going to change their minds?

4) Well, there is one thing. Effective immediately, those who are fully vaccinated will get to enjoy added freedoms, including no mandatory masks while outdoors, being able to attend some social gatherings, including restaurants with other vaccinated teammates, as well as family and friends. That extends to socializing on road trips. Those who aren’t vaccinated will be stuck in their rooms and won’t be allowed to travel home for the bye week. The hope is this will be enough to convince those still on the fence and haven’t been swayed by medical science.

5) There was talk this week about the potential sale of the Calgary Stampeders, all of which appears to be a bunch of hot air. But it’s also not all that surprising, either, at least the sentiment, as Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation has been eyeing the team’s diminishing bottom line for years now and was one of the clubs that wasn’t exactly all-in to have a COVID-19 shortened season.

6) After sellout or near sellout crowds were seen across Week 1, attendance in Week 2 dropped dramatically, including 8,000 fewer fans in Winnipeg and only 27,076 tickets sold in Regina – the lowest attendance at Mosaic Stadium since it opened in 2017. With only Winnipeg enforcing fans to be fully vaccinated, one must wonder the effect that has on the other province’s willingness to attend large events.

 

7) Then there’s the harsh reality that the CFL is a gate-driven league. With Ontario opting to remain in Stage 3 of its reopening plan, allowing for a maximum capacity of 15,000 people for outdoor sporting events, and Quebec permitting even less, at 13,000, it’s safe to say it’s going to be another significant year in the red. That’s why the XFL plan just won’t go away.

8) Another troubling trend is the lack of or altered CFL coverage happening across the country. There are no travelling beat reporters from Toronto or Hamilton and both team broadcasters are covering road games from a monitor back home. Neither the Toronto Star, nor the Globe and Mail care all that much for the Argos, which isn’t exactly breaking news, but it is too much to have a wire story online?

9) For the love of all things three-down football, can TSN please, please, pretty please, add a graphic that indicates how many timeouts a team has.

10) I’ve received a few emails from fans, and have started to play close attention to it, but are there more commercials this year than before? Feels like at times I’m watching an NFL game.

11) For a second straight week, the B.C. Lions have fumbled with their depth chart at quarterback, with the supposed backup ultimately starting the game. I’m not nearly as miffed about it as others, as I don’t think B.C. was trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes, but my feeling is the CFL needs to set clearer guidelines around injury reports and depth charts.

 

12) Week 1 Michael Reilly looked completely different in Week 2, as the league’s highest-paid player went from a noodle arm to a gunslinger, passing for 342 yards in the win over the Stamps. I’ll take a shot of whatever Reilly’s getting, then maybe I could finish a few renos around my place.

13) After going 4-for-8 on field goals in two games, and not being trusted to kick from a couple modest distances in the win over Calgary, the Lions have released kicker Takeru Yamasaki. Yamasaki was selected in the third round of the most recent Global Draft, and had peformed well during a stint with The Spring League in 2020. But with no CFL experience, it was a big gamble that ultimately didn’t pay off.

14) Something has looked off with Bo Levi Mitchell this season, which explains the news Monday morning that the Stamps quarterback is expected to miss some time with a leg injury. Mitchell has never opened a season 0-2, and rarely loses at home, making this stretch, arguably, the most adversity he’s faced over his career. And that’s an incredible thought.

15) As it currently stands, quarterback Michael O’Connor will get the start in Week 3 for Calgary against the Alouettes, making him the second Canadian-born pivot to start a game this season after Nathan Rourke opened for the Lions in Week 1.

16) With Mitchell out for the foreseeable future, and the Stamps 0-2, with both losses at home, could this be the season of mediocrity for Calgary that CFL fans have been praying for over the last decade?

17) The Bombers have been the most convincing team through two games, and should top all power rankings heading into this week. The offence has been stable, special teams improved, but it’s the defence allowing a combined 13 points in two games that should scare the rest of the league.

 

Could watch these highlights all day.

Highlights » https://t.co/set2iHmcFX#ForTheW pic.twitter.com/fMwAgPM8vx

— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 14, 2021

 

18) With McLeod Bethel-Thompson proving once again how inconsistent he can be from week to week, expect Nick Arbuckle to take over the rest of the way. The Argos offence looked good in the brief time Arbuckle was in and they have the weapons to be a force over time.

19) Tough to watch Argos receiver Juwan Brescacin grabbing his knee in pain near the end of Friday’s game. He’s had a history of injury, including playing just four games in 2019, and he’s expected to miss significant time here, too. He’s one of the best Canadian receivers in the game; here’s hoping it’s a quick return.

20) For anyone worried about the Als being unable to regain some of their magic from 2019, those concerns were dampened by their dominating win over the Elks. Between Vernon Adams Jr. throwing the ball with precision and extending plays with his legs, and the power of running back William Stanback, we might have a new favourite to come out of the East.

21) The Elks might just prove to be the worst team in the CFL by season’s end. The good news is QB Trevor Harris finally found the end zone in Week 2, even if it came in garbage time. It’s looking like it’ll be a long year in the City of Champions.

22) That was the Alouettes first win in Edmonton since Oct. 5, 2013, with the Als starting QB that day being Josh Neiswander.

23) Check out this stat: it’s the first time the two Alberta-based teams are 0-4 heading into Week 3 since 1966.

24) I’m once again questioning my prediction that the Roughriders will finish middle of the pack in the West and that second-year starter Cody Fajardo will suffer a sophomore slump. That’ll happen when you beat the Ticats by three touchdowns, and while Fajardo passed for a modest 222 passing yards, he rushed for a touchdown and threw for two more. They look good.

25) Fantasy owners might want to jump on Riders receiver Brayden Lenius. He caught all five of his targets for 62 yards, and the 24-year-old looks like he’s going to break out this season. Ditto for Lions’ receiver Lucky Whitehead, who has had back-to-back 100-yard games, and currently leads the CFL with 244 receiving yards – 31 more than teammate Bryan Burnham.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton