In Week 3 of the CFL season we got extra football. For the first time in the CFL since 1995 more than one overtime game took place on the same day. Some sloppy play and questionable decision making made for some great finishes in week three.
Careless Chris
Chris Jones is known for his aggressive coaching style. It really is his best attribute and his players love him for it. However, when you go to the well too often you’re bound to get in trouble.
In his return to Commonwealth Stadium three very aggressive calls were what decided the game. First, Jones went for it on 3rd and five in the fourth quarter with just over six minutes to go instead of kicking a field goal. With man-to-man coverage and no safety in the middle of the field, the Riders went deep to Jon Chiles for a 20-yard TD to put the Riders within eight. Then with 5:22 left, special teams coordinator Craig Dickenson dialed up an onside kick that Jordan Reaves tapped out of bounds to give Saskatchewan possession again.
That was followed up with a field goal and a six-yard TD catch by Shamawd Chambers, one of the many Riders who Jones brought with him from Edmonton.
But could the fact Jones desperately wanted to beat the team he left in the off-season have impaired his judgement? Instead of kicking a field goal to tie the game in overtime, Jones elected to go for it on 3rd and inches and his team got stuffed. The Riders brought all of Edmonton’s defenders into the box as no receivers used the width of the CFL field to create angles and less congestion up front for a QB sneak.
On the road, why not kick a field goal and elect to try your hand in another OT frame? Especially when you had momentum coming from behind to get back in the game and you’ve struggled in short-yardage situations already this season? Jones’s riverboat gambler mentality is what got Saskatchewan back in the game. But it is also what now keeps the Riders winless and gave Jason Maas, the coach who replaced him, his first career victory.
Ti-Cat turnovers
What a difference a couple weeks makes. In Week 1 the Hamilton Tiger-Cats looked like the best team in the CFL. Ever since they’ve looked like the worst. Much of it is due to coughing up the ball on offence. In the CFL opener Jeremiah Masoli passed for 318 yards on the way to a 42–21 road win over Toronto. In that performance he threw for three TDs and zero interceptions. Since he’s been responsible for seven turnovers and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass.
This week Hamilton as a team turned it over six times against Winnipeg alone. Equally troubling is that Hamilton has already lost two of their nine scheduled home games this season. After starting 9-0 at Tim Horton’s Field the Tabbies are just 2-6 since.
Whitaker big out west
The Toronto Argonauts swept their two-game western road trip. After they beat Saskatchewan in Week 2 they stayed out west for a week of practice and early-season team bonding before beating BC in Week 3.
Their best player on the road trip was Brandon Whitaker. Whitaker’s main job in Scott Milanovich’s offence is that of pass protector, but he has been running the ball hard to help the Argos put games away. Whitaker was instrumental in the fourth quarter during the Argos’ six-minute-long drive that put the game out of reach on Thursday. In the second half alone the Argos RB had nine rushes in the second half for 80 yards and four catches for 19 more. Led by Whitaker, the Argos looked like a composed and efficient unit.
Late in the year we may look back at their early-season bonding trip as a turning point.
All ties aren’t created equal
The Friday tilt between the Ottawa Redblacks and Calgary Stampeders was not a well-played game. Ottawa has more talent than most teams in the league, but at times they beat themselves with undisciplined play. Their overtime affair in Week 3 was a great example. Ottawa was called with roughing-the-passer, face mask and offside penalties down the stretch that allowed Calgary to hang around.
And it wasn’t just on penalties. Newcomer Nic Grigsby’s fumble extended the game and veteran Jermaine Robinson dropped an interception that would have ended it, and the Redblacks let the game slip through their fingers. They had to settle for a tie, which in a vacuum is impressive because it came against a god Calgary team, but feels like a loss because Ottawa was the better team.
Still, though, it needs to be said that Ottawa remains the last unbeaten team in the league. Next up: The red-hot Trevor Harris heads back to Toronto to face his former team while Calgary gets a bye.