FIRST AND GOAL

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/02/2010 (5737 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 An unexplored angle in the wake of the Calgary Stampeders jaw-dropping 52-5 spanking of the Edmonton Eskimos on Labour Day and the club’s dominating 8-1 record:

You’ve really got to feel bad for the Stamps’ horse that gallops up and down the sidelines at McMahon Stadium after Calgary touchdowns. Poor beast got a workout in Monday’s win. And pity Karyn Drake, the rider… saddle sores must be awful.

Interestingly, here’s the scary thing about the Stamps’ 8-1 start: this is a team that pulled back the reins in Monday’s win and looks like it still actually has room to improve.

No, really.

"We’ll watch the film and I’m sure there’ll be some concerns," linebacker Juwan Simpson told The Calgary Herald after the 47-point win. "Hey, I’m being serious here. That’s one thing about this coaching staff. They don’t let you get all happy with yourself.

"It’s unattainable, we know, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to be perfect. By the last game of the season — and you know what game I’m talking about — the idea is to be as close as possible."

2 A question worth asking in the wake of the Alberta Labour Day Massacre: is this the worst Eskimo squad of all time?

Wrote Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones of the blowout: ‘In all the years of the once proud flagship franchise, has there ever been such a collection of stumble bums, no-show, no-compete, no pride, no heart quitters than on this 2010 edition?’

Oh, and get this, the Eskimos’ next two opponents are Calgary — again — and the Montreal Alouettes.

"They kicked the hell out of us," said head coach Richie Hall after the Labour Day loss. "Didn’t come to compete. Couldn’t even execute the fundamentals of football. Couldn’t block. Couldn’t catch. Couldn’t throw. Couldn’t tackle. Couldn’t cover. There’s nothing more. We didn’t come out there to compete."

That’s the kind of brutally honest admission, frankly, that gets a guy canned.

3 Hearing some rumblings about the CFL’s plans for an expansion draft for the new Ottawa franchise and how to make the playing field a little more even. Word is the league is tossing around an idea that would see Ottawa field just five Canadian starters and 15 homegrowns in their first year — the rest of the league uses seven starters and 20 — with that number growing gradually over the first three years of the franchise’s existence.

Great idea. Fans in the capital deserve to see a competitive team ASAP, given all the suffering they’ve been through. The Renegades/Rough Riders franchise posted 22 consecutive non-winning seasons prior to folding in 2006. The last time Ottawa fans saw a winning squad? Try the 1979 team that went 8-6-2.

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4 Just for the record, here are the nine Canadians currently on NFL rosters as The League opens up this week: linebacker Cory Greenwood, Kansas City, (Kingston, Ont.); defensive end Vaughn Martin, San Diego, (Toronto); linebacker Jamaal Westerman, New York Jets, (Brampton, Ont.); former Bomber punter Jon Ryan, Seattle, (Regina); long-snapper L.P. Ladouceur, Dallas, (Pointe Claire, Que.); O-lineman Nick Kaczur, New England, (Brantford, Ont.); receiver Nate Burleson, Detroit, (Calgary); safety O.J. Atogwe, St. Louis, (Windsor, Ont.) and, of course, Brandon’s own Israel Idonije, who is back on the Chicago D-line to create havoc.

5 And, finally, Bomber fans should take note: sounds like Otis Floyd, the Ticat linebacker, figures the Bomb Squad will still make the playoffs.

"Everybody used to always brag about the West. I played in the West my whole career, and we always thought the East was very weak. But this year, we’re going to change that. This year, we’re going to make sure the East crosses over. It ain’t going to be us, but… right now, the East is the beast."