This week of CFL action was defined by some woeful offensive football. Thus far Edmonton and Calgary are head and shoulders above the rest of the league with Winnipeg steadily creeping into the elite conversation. Ottawa is running away with the East at this juncture. All because those teams have superior quarterbacking and continuity on offence. The lack of offensive execution was the catalyst for a slew of trades over the past week. Here are my takeaways from a defence-led Week 7 in the CFL.
Must read – Drew Edwards details in the Hamilton Spectator how the Alliance of American Football league has begun stealing players from the CFL.
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Alouettes fans are showing their displeasure bi-lingually these days.
Bye week – BC Lions
Edmonton 44 – Montreal 23
Edmonton QB line – Mike Reilly – 24-32, 415 yards, 4 TDs
Montreal QB line – Vernon Adams – 15-28, 217 yards, 1 interception, 1 rushing TD
ATTENDANCE: 16,654
Vernon Adams Jr. went from being third on the Alouettes depth chart to making his fourth career start after being back with Montreal for just a month. In the end he was just a sacrificial lamb so the recently traded-for Johnny Manziel could get a live look at the tall task he’s up against.
The “We want Johnny” chants came down starting in the third quarter as did boos every time Manziel didn’t take the field to start a drive.
This game was an advertisement on the value of having an experienced QB in the CFL. Reigning MOP Mike Reilly threw three TD passes in first half. Adams Jr. threw for just 96 yards in the first half.
The upset fans didn’t sway Als head coach Mike Sherman. “Believe it or not I didn’t feel any pressure to put Johnny in. I knew what I wasn’t going to do and I wasn’t going to jeopardize his career with one day of practice and put him out there when we really aren’t protecting very well. So it just made logical sense. Once you start listening to the fans it’s not long before you become one.”
Sherman knows you need experience to play the position in the league which is why he didn’t dare put Manziel in the game after having just one full-speed practice with the team. His postgame explanation was as follows: “We practise because we have to learn schemes and techniques and timing and the rhythm. It would be like putting on a Broadway play with one practice. Putting on a Broadway play with one day of rehearsal. It doesn’t work.”
Montreal has a chance to get a leg up on its East opponents and learn from the mistakes made by the team to which they just lost. Making its QB issues even worse, backup Matthew Shiltz was injured on a field goal. The Alouettes have three off-days and then three full days of practice and a walkthrough. Manziel hasn’t played in a regular-season game since December 2015. The upcoming schedule for Montreal is Week 8 versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 3, Week 9 versus the Ottawa Redblacks on Aug. 11, Week 10 versus the Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 18 and Week 11 versus the Toronto Argonauts on Aug. 24. No matter who plays at QB they better be able to produce right away because another month of offensive football like the one we just witnessed and Montreal will be out of the playoff race before it even starts.
Toronto 14 – Winnipeg 40
Toronto QB line – James Franklin 20-31, 236 passing yards, 3 interceptions, 1 rushing TD
Winnipeg QB line – Matt Nichols – 19-28, 253 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 interception
ATTENDANCE: 27,116
The Argonauts are making a change at quarterback after James Franklin struggled once again, being intercepted three times versus the Blue Bombers. Franklin is 1-3 in the four games since he’s taken over as the starter. He’s thrown one touchdown and six interceptions in that span and has thrown an interception in all four games. The Argos have failed to score more than 20 points with Franklin as a starter. The team has been outscored 111-69 in the last month.
In the Argos loss to the Blue Bombers, Winnipeg was plus-6 in the turnover battle. Winnipeg swept the season series with Toronto on the back of the 11 turnovers forced in the two games. For that reason, Marc Trestman is turning his team over to Mcleod Bethel-Thompson who is in his second CFL season and will make his first start versus Ottawa on Thursday. He’s only thrown two CFL passes even though he’s 30 years old. The meritocracy that is pro football has rewarded the journeyman QB a chance to take the stage for the struggling Argos.
Ottawa 21 – Hamilton 15
Ottawa QB line – Trevor Harris – 23-35, 228 yards
Hamilton QB line – Jeremiah Masoli – 26-38, 352 yards, 1 TD, 1 interception
ATTENDANCE: 23,381
Manziel has been removed from the Hamilton QB equation but right now Jeremiah Masoli isn’t the answer. Masoli has thrown an interception in every game this season. Against Ottawa he only had eight yards passing in the second quarter. His TD pass to Jalen Saunders in the fourth quarter was his first TD pass in over 12 quarters. During Hamilton’s three-game losing streak it has a minus-6 turnover ratio and has only scored two offensive touchdowns and 19 second-half points. The Ticats offence needs to get back to its prolific ways before people second-guess the choice made at QB.
Calgary 34 – Saskatchewan 22
Calgary QB line – Bo Levi Mitchell – 18-24, 187 yards, 3 TD, 1 interception
Saskatchewan QB line – Brandon Bridge – 19-29, 147 yards
ATTENDANCE: 33,350
The Roughriders aren’t pushing the ball down the field. Their longest passing play versus Calgary was 17 yards. The only time they pushed it down field was when backup QB David Watford was brought in to run a trick play that wasn’t successful. Either the Riders don’t trust Brandon Bridge, don’t trust their offensive line or both. What makes it more confusing is Bridge’s best attribute is his big arm. Riders fans were booing the conservative play calling.
Chris Jones isn’t flinching: “You better get used to it because we are going to do some more of it. I can tell Edmonton right now. We are going to run the football. We are going to be running sally. We’re going to throw screens,” he said postgame.
Part of the issue is their best offensive big-play threat is playing defence. Duron Carter had one reception for seven yards and three tackles against Calgary. Having offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo’s best weapon playing cornerback hasn’t been a net win for the team. The Riders have to push the ball down the field to loosen up the defence. They need Carter on offence to help dictate coverage and occupy safeties when he’s double-teamed. If the offence stays the same it’ll likely get the same modest results.
