Introduction | Preseason Week 3 | Week 2
The regular season begins! We’ve seen these teams experimenting and trying out new players, now we see how they play when points are on the line.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES @ WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Played: Thursday June 6
Final Score: MTL 27 – WPG 12
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: MTL-7 WPG-3 | Q2: MTL-7 WPG-2 | Q3: MTL-4 WPG-0 | Q4: MTL-9 WPG-7
Game VOD
Alright, I knew this Montreal defence was scary, but my god are they a frightening bunch. The Alouettes defence absolutely smothered the Bombers, and pulled out some truly remarkable stops. The big highlight of the night was defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy making a beautiful interception in his own endzone to deny Winnipeg a touchdown and hold their lead in the second quarter. Even when Winnipeg was able to put drives together and threaten to score, the Als’ defence held them back and forced them to kick. I certainly don’t want to take anything away from Montreal’s offence, though. Fajardo, Philpot, and the rest of the gang played great football after a bit of a rocky first quarter. If the team is playing this well now, they’re going to be very scary once they’ve settled in and gotten comfortable.
I know I said it last week, but what is going on in Winnipeg? This did not look like the Bombers team that I know and loathe. While Collaros and Oliveira still looked great, the offence really struggled to find a rhythm. A large part of that can be attributed to the aforementioned Montreal defence, but now the special teams are struggling. Winnipeg had a hell of a time trying to return punts, with most returns being under ten yards. More concerning was the performance of kicker Sergio Castillo, who only managed to land one of his three field goal attempts, and also missed the extra point on Winnipeg’s only touchdown. Castillo was a dynamite kicker last season, so this kind of performance is very out of character and deeply worrying. If we count the preseason, the Bombers have now lost three games in a row, all of them blowouts. They need to get their act together fast if they want to be in the Grey Cup conversation this year.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS @ CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Played: Friday June 7
Final Score: HAM 24 – CGY 32
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: HAM-0 CGY-6 | Q2: HAM-7 CGY-13 | Q3: HAM-0 CGY-3 | Q4: HAM-17 CGY-10
Game VOD
Well, Hamilton certainly set the tone for this game by getting a penalty for too many men on the field on the very first play of the game. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell had a lot of trouble getting the ball to his receivers for most of the game. Eventually they figured it out, and managed two touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late. They put together some solid drives, mostly off the back of running back James Butler, but had to settle for field goals as they were repeatedly stopped at the last moment by the Stampeders’ defence. They kept it competitive though, and if they could have gotten the offence rolling earlier, this game looks a lot different. Frustratingly, this team is still taking unnecessary penalties on offence; things like too many men or time count violations. This was a recurring problem last season, and it makes me uneasy as a fan to see the team still playing so undisciplined.
The Stamps continue to look like a very solid team. Like the Cats, they had most success on offence with the run, powered by running back Dedrick Mills. However, Maier had much more luck finding his receivers than Mitchell did. On top of solid offence, the Calgary defence were also playing very well. They repeatedly stuffed Hamilton’s offence, sometimes at the very last moment, and kept points off the board. Calgary also got the only interception of the game courtesy of Mitchell throwing the ball directly into Stampeders defensive back Demerio Houston’s arms. Calgary played solid, well rounded football, and were very much rewarded. We’ll see if they can carry that forward, or if the cracks will start to show when they play better teams.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS @ EDMONTON ELKS
Played: Saturday June 8
Final Score: SSK 29 – EDM 21
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: SSK-7 EDM-3 | Q2: SSK-0 EDM-8 | Q3: SSK-1 EDM-7 | Q4: SSK-21 EDM-3
Game VOD
Saskatchewan came out of the gate strong this game with an early touchdown, but quickly cooled off. They spent all of the second and third quarters doing damage control, only getting a single point across both quarters. In the fourth quarter, however, the Riders looked like a completely different team. They scored twenty-one points while holding the Elks to a measly three. Saskatchewan forced three turnovers, all of which resulted in points. Honestly, the last five minutes of this game is worth a watch. Fumbles on both sides, and a mad scramble from Edmonton that came up just short. Receiver Shawn Bane Jr. was the hero of the night, pulling in all of the Riders touchdowns and putting in just a phenomenal performance. A slightly more dubious honour goes to Riders offensive lineman Logan Ferland for getting himself a penalty I’ve never seen before by fully punching Edmonton’s Leon O’Neal Jr. in the face and earning himself an ejection from the game in the process. If the Riders can get their offence to be a little more consistent and generally play a little more disciplined, they’ll be looking a little more like a playoff team.
Edmonton looked pretty good for most of this game. Unfortunately, they had absolutely rotten luck in the last quarter. Multiple fumbles and interceptions stopped them dead before they could get any momentum going. Moreover, penalties were a constant problem. They didn’t have anything quite as dramatic as Ferland’s right hook, but they did spend a fair amount of the game walking backwards. It would be nice to have a single thing to point to to explain the loss, but there really isn’t any. Edmonton played well for most of the game, and even during that disastrous fourth quarter they got an interception that gave them the chance to tie it up with thirty seconds on the clock. There’s the bones of a good team here. McLeod Bethel Thompson, Geno Lewis, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., there are great players here. They just need to figure out how to make it all work. Hopefully they can figure it out by the time a scary Alouettes team comes to town next week.
BC LIONS @ TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Played: Sunday June 9
Final Score: BC 27 – TOR 35
Points Breakdown by Quarter: Q1: BC-0 TOR-6 | Q2: BC-20 TOR-10 | Q3: BC-4 TOR-10 | Q4: BC-3 TOR-9
Game VOD
BC came out of the gate on this one looking strong. They put together three very quick touchdowns in the second quarter, including one off of a sack immediately after Toronto took possession. Unfortunately, the Argos defence came out in full force after that. On the next possession they intercepted the Lions and turned it into their own touchdown. BC kept the game within two or three points for another quarter and a half, but a costly fumble killed their momentum, and Toronto were able to solidify their lead. BC’s biggest problem was their inability to stop the Argos from blitzing quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Adams was too busy running for his life for most of the second half to make good passes. Even with their problems, they put up very respectable numbers. The Lions rely heavily on the pass, so they need to make sure that pocket holds for long enough for Adams to get the ball away.
I really wasn’t sure how Cameron Dukes was going to fare as Argos quarterback, but he’s proving himself. Toronto’s offence focused on running the ball and making short passes, and that worked out quite well for them. After the initial flurry of BC touchdowns, the Argos started playing great on both sides of the ball. It turns out even after losing the best quarterback and one of the best running backs in the league this is still the team that went sixteen and two last season. Toronto didn’t pull off dramatic or startling plays, but a solid offence complemented by a defence that ate the BC offence alive just pushed the ball down the field and scored points. Sometimes that’s all you need. If you’re planning to watch any of these games in full, make it this one. Exciting back and forth all game, even if the Argos ended up winning.
STANDINGS AT THE END OF WEEK 1
EAST DIVISION
MONTREAL ALOUETTES 1 – 0
TORONTO ARGONAUTS 1 – 0
OTTAWA REDBLACKS 0 – 0
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS 0 – 1
WEST DIVISION
CALGARY STAMPEDERS 1 – 0
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS 1 – 0
EDMONTON ELKS 0 – 1
BC LIONS 0 – 1
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS 0 – 1
NEXT WEEK: WEEK 2
Winnipeg @ Ottawa – Thursday June 13 7:30PM EDT
Montreal @ Edmonton – Friday June 14 9PM EDT
Calgary @ BC – Saturday June 15 7PM EDT
Saskatchewan @ Hamilton – Sunday June 16 7PM EDT