A couple of lopsided affairs and two closely contested games highlighted Week 2 in the Canadian Football League. Toronto and Montreal each recorded their first win of the season with impressive showings in their respective home openers. Meanwhile, Winnipeg and Edmonton pulled off comeback victories. In fact, there seems to be something of an early season trend, with home teams posting a 7-1 record.
Just two weeks into the schedule there are so many topics to touch on, but this corner has zeroed in on three of the biggest headlines around the league.
Argos trade for controversial defensive back
On Monday, Toronto made a deal with Saskatchewan to acquire veteran defensive back Dwight Anderson for a conditional draft pick in the 2015 CFL Draft. It was a shocking move considering Anderson was a stable presence in the secondary for the Riders on their way to a Grey Cup championship in 2013. His ball skills were still visible last year when he tied for third in the CFL with five interceptions, but the feeling out in the Prairies is that Anderson has lost a step early in the 2014 campaign.
A young Anderson had all the traits you look for in a defensive halfback in the Canadian game. He was physical, played well in both man and zone coverage, could read pass concepts and jump routes for interceptions, possessed plenty of speed to run and stay close with any receiver and was mentally strong. But the Riders believed his best playing days are behind him; obviously, the Argos don’t quite feel the same way.
Rumours have been making the rounds that Anderson and Riders defensive lineman John Chick had a disagreement during Saskatchewan’s blowout loss to Toronto. Anderson has always been a vocal player and he’s clearly not afraid to back down—teammate or not—from what he believes. If indeed the spat with Chick happened, then that, along with other distractions and trouble Anderson got into in Regina, might have led Saskatchewan to believe his level of play was no longer good enough to outweigh the amount of disruption he was causing the team. Toronto has to be thinking that a new group of teammates will help keep Anderson on his best behaviour. It will be interesting to see whether Anderson can get back to playing at a high level while maintaining good behaviour, or if he’s past his best-before date.
Injury means opportunity for highly touted rookie
Versatile Argos playmaker Andre Durie is likely to be out of action for six weeks after suffering a broken collarbone in Toronto’s Week 2 victory. Durie’s injury is a setback for the team, but it provides an opportunity for first-year pro Anthony Coombs, a player the Argos traded up to select third overall in the 2014 CFL Draft. Coming out of the University of Manitoba, Coombs was compared to Durie, the man he will replace in the Argos lineup, because of his ability to be a dynamic offensive weapon. Coombs rushed for over 1,000 yards and recorded more than 500 yards receiving in his final CIS season. He can carry the football and catch it with ease; he possesses speed—4.52 in the 40—and quickness not often found in a Canadian university running back prospect.
In Week 1, Coombs dressed and returned two kicks and last week Coombs saw his first action on offence after Durie left the game injured. Toronto’s prized rookie showed elusive ability and smoothness on seven offensive touches, six rushes for 52 yards and one catch for 17 more. On Coombs’s longest gain of the game against the Riders, a 28-yard counter run play to the left early in the third quarter, he was patient waiting for his blocks to happen and once he got to the outside, kicked it into another gear. Overall, a very impressive effort.
If you factor in all of Coombs’s special abilities, he has the makings of the next Canadian offensive ratio breaker in the CFL. And a matchup with a tough, experienced Calgary defence in Week 3 should provide a stiff test as Coombs begins a possible ascent to stardom.
Benevides’s blunt assessment
After opening the schedule 0-2, Mike Benevides, BC Lions head coach, was succinct in describing what he thought about his team’s performance so far: “We suck.” Benevides’s comments were obviously meant to send a message to his players, but it’s rare to hear a coach flat-out admit his true feelings.
The No. 1 problem for the Lions to fix: Stop turning the ball over. It starts at quarterback where Kevin Glenn has thrown a league-high six interceptions; no other pivot has thrown more than three. Glenn’s pick-rate has been the leading factor as to why BC has the worst turnover ratio—minus-six—Canada-wide. Furthermore, 25 of the Lions’ 51 points allowed have been a direct result of turnovers.
Glenn is familiar with offensive coordinator Khari Jones and has an understanding of the type of offensive schemes Jones likes to utilize. The pair spent three years (2009–2011) together in Hamilton with Jones calling the plays in 2011 while Glenn was quarterback. So the 35-year-old pivot should be comfortable with the terminology of the offence. Clearly Glenn has been slow to mesh with a new group of players. Combine that with some head-scratching decision-making and off-target throws, and you have a recipe for interceptions.
Plain and simple Glenn has to take better care of the football or the Lions record will continue to suck. Going into a hostile environment in Saskatchewan in Week 3, BC can’t afford to turn the ball over early on and give momentum to the Riders and their raucous home crowd.