While Edmonton set a regular-season home-attendance record, jamming 62,517 into Commonwealth Stadium, it would be interesting to know how many people from Saskatchewan contributed to the count.
It never ceases to amaze me the lengths Saskatchewan fans will travel to see their beloved Roughriders.
It was obvious how much of a presence the Rider Priders were in the game against Edmonton.
At crucial points when Edmonton had possession, you could hear how Eskimos’ quarterback Ricky Ray had to battle through the noise.
And speaking of crowds, Hamilton drew slightly more than 22,000 for its game against Montreal.
With its next game on the road in Calgary, the Ticats may find themselves 6-7 when they play again at home.
And what will become of the crowd, given that it will be Thanksgiving and the opponent will be Winnipeg?
THE BOREHAM FACTOR: Give credit to Roughriders’ punter Jamie Boreham. It was his ability to understand the wind conditions and punt on the run, what has been described as a rugby kick, that played a pivotal role throughout their victory over Edmonton.
CATCH OR NO-CATCH: You could argue that the video replay official gave Calgary receiver Nik Lewis the benefit of the doubt on a catch in which he appeared to lose possession after hitting the turf, and then followed that up on the same series by allowing Jeremaine Copeland’s tiptoe-the-linemarker-touchdown to stand up.
But if that’s the case, the video replay official took a touchdown away from B.C. in its controversial win over Montreal.
STANGEST PLAY OF THE WEEK: A Winnipeg receiver fumbles a ball at the Toronto’s one-yard line and a Toronto player touches it, only to be flagged for entering the field of play after being out of bounds. But it doesn’t end there. Toronto head coach Bart Andrus challenges the play, after another play has been run, thus missing out on the challenge.
THE QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL: Both Hamilton and Toronto are trying to develop young quarterbacks, but both Quinton Porter of the Ticats and Cody Pickett of the Argos were both pulled after struggling in losses. So the question is: Do the Ticats stick with Porter or give the ball to veteran Kevin Glenn to start and do the Argo stick with Pickett or give the ball to Kerry Joseph? In the Argos’ case, their season is all but lost and Joseph took the fall for an awful first third of the season. Pickett has done little in the six games he’s started.
POST-GAME HANDSHAKES: Did anyone notice when Edmonton head coach Richie Hall and his Saskatchewan counterpart Ken Miller, who used to be Hall’s boss, met one another after the game at midfield? Hall was smiling despite the loss, while Miller looked glum as though he lost the game. And they had a longer conversation than B.C. head coach Wally Buono did after he lost to his disciple, Calgary head coach John Hufnagel, the day before. The two shook hands and continued on their ways, showing no indication they had worked together for a long time.
FUNNY MOMENT (PART ONE): Winnipeg quarterback Michael Bishop leaves the field ahead of his teammates before the end of the first half for no apparent reason, leaving everyone to speculate he may have some kind of injury. Turned out it was only a pee break.
FUNNY MOMENT (PART TWO): While the newest members of the Football Hall of Fame were being introduced, previous inductee Angelo Mosca stuck his walking cane in a tender area of one of the inductees, who was standing in front of him. Old Ang still likes to have fun after all these years.
FUNNIEST MOMENT (PART THREE): Hamilton fans sarcastically cheer after the lethargic Ticats score their first point of the game against Montreal in the third quarter. But the best (or worst) of it was the song Celebrate Good Times playing over the loudspeaker. I’ve often heard that song played after the Ticats win, so forgive me for not understanding why it was played this time.
PERRY’S POWER RANKINGS:
1. Montreal: Completely annihilated Hamilton and showed a killer instinct in the process, including going into a no-huddle offence in the third quarter with the game totally in its favour. I think the Als wanted to make a statement.
2. Saskatchewan: Pulled off a rare win in Edmonton and did so despite multiple turnovers. This is a team with heart.
3. Calgary: After a truly awful outing in Hamilton, the Stamps rebounded, although their receiving corps still needs to step up their game.
4. Edmonton: Ricky Ray and his receivers are clearly in some kind of funk in the last six quarters.
5. B.C.: Still trying to figure out whether this team will finish third or fourth in the West. When will Geroy Simon become a bigger part of the offence?
6. Hamilton. Simply awful against Montreal in every aspect of the game.
7. Winnipeg: Finally found a way to climb out of the basement and give Mike Kelly a chance to exhale.
8. Officially now the worst team in the league. Will the Toronto media and Argo fans start critiquing Andrus in the same Kelly is in Winnipeg?
