Lefko on CFL: Week 7 Power Rankings - sportsnet.ca

Previous Power Rankings

TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	2	(6-1-0)	Completely annihilated Edmonton, showing a killer instinct that has been lacking to this point. The Stamps are beginning to resemble the squad that won the Grey Cup two years ago. Ever since coming back from that awful performance against Toronto in the third game of the season, the Stamps have been a powerhouse in all three phases of the game. There is a certain confidence, maybe even cockiness, in this team oozing from players such as receiver Nik Lewis and cornerback Dwight Anderson. Lewis, in particular, has overcome a season of pain due to a wonky knee. But maybe the biggest difference right now is the offensive line, which underwent some personnel changes and seems to be coming together. You can’t underestimate what the return of guard Dmitri Tsoumpas from a failed NFL tryout has meant to this unit.
2	3	(5-2-0)	Good teams find ways to bounce back. The Riders lost to Montreal the previous week in another barnburner for those two teams, but returned home and put the boots to B.C. This was about the defence more than the offence. Second-year defensive lineman Jerrell Freeman led the way with three sacks, while linebackers Barrin Simpson and Mike McCullough added one apiece. Lance Frazier and James Patrick added interceptions. So in a game in which quarterback Darian Durant was not on his game and Weston Dressler did not catch a single pass, you had to be impressed by what the defence, which has given up its fair share of points this year, stood out.
3	4	(5-2-0)	The lineup of people who thought the Argos would be this good must be short indeed. The Argos made a statement about their progress beating the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes, who soundly whipped them 16 days before at Molson Stadium. Head coach Jim Barker has been talking confidently about his team, and it rewarded him with one of the most important victories by the franchise in three years (OK, Barker wasn’t part of the debacles of the past two). The Argos created turnovers on Montreal’s first two series and converted them into touchdowns. Every time the Als inched closer, the Argos found a way to create some distance. Even though Montreal kept running back Chad Boyd intact, the Argos found other ways to manufacture points, including some interesting – dare we call them ballsy? – plays. We’re giving the Argos third spot based on the fact they’ve just beaten the Als. If you’ve beaten the champs, that’s a big deal.
4	1	(5-2-0)	The Als rolled into Toronto on a five-game win streak, including a thorough thrashing of the Argos, but they lacked a focus from the start in their first road game after three tilts at home. The Als made a game of it in the end, but providing the opposition with 14 points off two turnovers in the first two offensive series is clearly unlike the Als. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo was not bothered that much by his finger injury – though he did make some unforced errors – throwing for 450 yards and completing about 75% of his passes. Coach Marc Trestman deliberately has told his team that what happened last year with their Grey Cup victory has no bearing on the present. This offered proof of that. But give the Als credit for making a game of it in the second half.
5	5	(3-4-0)	If the Ticats were only playing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, they’d be doing quite good. Their three victories have all come against the Bombers, and the two teams won’t be facing one another after four games in the first seven weeks. But the fact the Ticats came to Winnipeg and beat the Bombers at home after beating them in Steeltown the week before is a positive. They have a two-game win streak for the first time this season. One interesting aspect of their latest win was the running of feature back DeAndre’ Cobb. He has been used sparingly in the same way this year as last year, but he totaled 86 yards on 22 carries, many of them physical. He touched the ball more times in this game than in any other one this season, largely because Hamilton grabbed the lead early and wanted to dominate the line. Quarterback Kevin Glenn may be on his way to a career season. Hard to believe he was run out of Winnipeg.
6	6	(2-5-0)	Your replacement kicker pulls up lame in the warmup. That, in a nutshell, explains how the Bombers may have been beat before the opening kickoff. They seemed to lack focus and intensity against Hamilton, biting on pass plays on defence, while struggling on offence beginning with starting quarterback Buck Pierce, who returned after three games and looked both rusty and still injured. Backup Steven Jyles gave the team some life and has grabbed the starting spot. Head coach Paul LaPolice made a rookie mistake challenging an incomplete pass that clearly was incomplete and didn’t have a challenge later in the game when he preciously needed it. It was that type of game for the Bombers.
7	8	(1-6-0)	It’s vastly apparent that this team needs the bye week to regroup. Quarterback Casey Printers will likely be returning to start. Backups Travis Lulay and Jarious Jackson, starting his first game of the season and clearly lacking the arm strength to go deep following off-season shoulder surgery, didn’t do the job. General manager/head coach Wally Buono, the winningest head coach in CFL history, has never started with a 1-6 record. What was strange about their loss to Saskatchewan was a decision to abandon the run game, with which they had some success, in favour of a passing attack, which didn’t work. Both Jamal Robertson and backup Yonus Davis combined for 168 yards on 14 carries..
8	8	(1-6-0)	Okay, you’ve fired the general manager and the team has lost its last two and was thoroughly shellacked by Calgary. Similar to the Lions, the Eskimos have a byeweek to assess the situation. The defence, which is co-ordinated by head coach Richie Hall, simply isn’t doing the job. If you fire Hall, who do you bring in to replace him? And he apparently has final say on personnel changes. The offence is stagnating with Kevin Strasser, who replaced Rick Worman last year in what may have been a move generated by the GM, who has since been fired. Is it time to start third-stringer Jared Zabransky, if only to shake things up? Ricky Ray is clearly off his game. If the Eskimos are going to shake up the squad with another move in football operations, they need to do it now. This is one of the worst Eskimo teams in quite some time. The pressure mounts every week because the team is hosting the Grey Cup and barring a miraculous turnaround they won’t be in it. What about bringing back Hugh Campbell? Hey, it was just retro week.

- This week's results:
- CFL probing Stamps-Eskimos
- Stampeders 56, Eskimos 15
- Argonauts 37, Alouettes 22
- Tiger-Cats 39, Bombers 28

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