Lefko on CFL: Week 15 Power Rankings - sportsnet.ca

Previous Power Rankings

TW	LW	Team	Our Take
1	2		Absolutely dominant effort in all phases of the game at home against Calgary, to rebound from a humbling loss to the Stamps the week before. This was a game the Als needed to feel good about themselves, and it’s harder to think of a greater all-around effort in the rematch. My Sportsnet.ca colleague Jim Lang, who is a huge fan of Anwar Stewart, must have been loving the effort by the veteran rush end, who was all over the Stamps offence. Rookie kicker Colt David did a great job replacing injured kicker Damon Duval. The record-setting catch by Ben Cahoon and the ceremony/celebration afterward was touching.
2	1		Talk about a reversal of form. The Stamps self-destructed from the opening series on offence and never got in sync until well into the third quarter, by which time they were down 40-4. Quarterback Henry Burris was simply awful – what was he thinking throwing a pass out of the end zone near the end of the first half – his second brutal effort in the last three games. The week before, he was Good Hank. This time he was Bad Hank. He briefly made some decent plays in the third quarter, but by then the game was out of reach. He wasn’t alone in his poor play. The offence just didn’t seem mentally alert. The defence was equally disappointing with sloppy coverage and tackling. The Stamps ruined a chance to distance themselves from the Roughriders. Clearly this was a wakeup call for the Stamps.
3	3		Lost their perfect record at home with a subpar performance against Toronto, which they throttled the previous week. The offence never got into any kind of rhythm, frustrated by a defence that in some ways resembled the Roughriders’ complicated defence. But more than that, the Roughriders were fooled by special teams plays. You have to wonder if Darian Durant’s ankle injury was a factor going into the game, and whether mentally or physically it played a factor in his performance. He was absolutely amazing the previous week, much like Burris.
4	7		The Argos have been terribly unproductive since the first third of the season, but beating one of the better teams in the league, which hadn’t lost at home all season, should give them reason to hold their heads up. The offence played smashmouth football with running back Cory Boyd, the defence dominated with some interesting looks that befuddled the Riders’ offence, and the special teams, co-ordinated by Mike O’Shea, executed some interesting fakes. Say this about the Argos: their offence needs to be much better in the passing game, but the rest of their game isn’t too bad. If Cleo Lemon could ever have a Good Hank kind of game, the Argos could play with any team in the league. Then again, Lemon is still a work in progress.
5	5		Dominated Edmonton, to basically erase the humbling defeat the week before in E-town. Hamilton’s defence was all over the Eskimos’ offence, essentially chasing quarterback Ricky Ray out of the game. On offence, receiver Arland Bruce became a factor, something which had been missing in recent weeks. The Ticats need to decide whether they are going to go full throttle with a passing game or run the ball sparingly to mix it up. When they decide to run the ball with purpose, it takes Bruce out of the game and he is their best playmaker. It’s an interest conundrum, but Coach Lefko says get the ball in Bruce’s hands quickly to try to set a tempo and then mix in the running game. We’ll see on Friday against Toronto, if Marcel Bellefeuille heads Coach Lefko’s game plan.
6	8		What an incredible turnaround by the Bombers, to come back from a terrible third quarter to reverse their form and beat the B.C. Lions in overtime. The victory saved head coach Paul LaPolice, from what would have been a major thrashing from the fans and the media for starting quarterback Alex Brink. Brink simply couldn’t get the job done, either through nervousness or lack of reps. Putting in Steven Jyles, saved the Bombers from being eliminated from qualifying for the playoffs. As it is, they are a longshot. It’s mind-boggling why LaPolice simply didn’t stay with Steven Jyles as his starter, considering the quarterback received little support from his receiving corps, who dropped passes with frequency. Not surprisingly, some of those receivers are not in the starting lineup. Greg Carr has been a tremendous find, while Terence Jeffers-Harris is again showing why he could have been a rookie of the year candidate, if he hadn’t hurt an ankle and missed numerous games.
7	4		What a collapse. The Lions totally blew an opportunity to virtually guarantee themselves a playoff spot with undisciplined play. Davis Sanchez totally lost it in the game, but he wasn’t alone. The Lions had the game in the bag late in the fourth quarter, if defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell hadn’t taken a stupid penalty for fighting and getting kicked out of the game. It ruined what was a physically strong game by running back Jamal Robertson, but the loss also highlighted again problems with the quarterbacking because of injuries and inconsistency. Casey Printers had a terrible game in relief of Travis Lulay. What’s happened to Printers, who played so strongly last year when vaulted into the number one role? Yes he’s been hurt this year, but he’s been making some mistakes that are reminiscent of his play in Hamilton. General manager/head coach Wally Buono needs to address several issues with the Lions in a hurry. This was a game they shouldn’t have lost. On the plus side, kicker/punter Sean Whyte did a good job subbing for the injured Paul McCallum.
8	6		The euphoria in E-Town is over, after the Eskimos’ two-game win streak was snapped with a loss in Hamilton. Quarterback Ricky Ray was chased from the game, after what had been his best game of the season. He was incapable of stretching the field. He had trouble hooking up with receiver Fred Stamps, who was a major target the week before. Ray frequently threw short passes to fullback Mathieu Bertrand, who had trouble all game holding on to the ball. What I couldn’t understand is, why did the Eskimos repeatedly line up Bertrand as a wideout, when he is most effective providing blocking? It made absolutely no sense. The loss of Jason Barnes, with a ruptured spleen was physical and emotional blow for the Eskimos. Meanwhile, the defence was shredded by Hamilton pivot Kevin Glenn. Small wonder, new Eskimo general manager Eric Tillman has already begun the rebuilding process with a trade.

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