Labour Day weekend is a special time in the CFL, and this year didn’t disappoint.
Here’s a look at the four games this past weekend.
B.C. @ Toronto
Only in the CFL would you see 25 percent of the teams owned by one owner.
B.C. is finally getting into a groove, winning its last two games, but I’m still not ready to say they are a good team. Their last two victories have come against a struggling Eskimos team and the worst team in the CFL, the Toronto Argonauts. But the addition of Arland Bruce has paid dividends for the Lions.
The only bright spot for the Argos was Chad Owens finally finding the end zone on special teams.
I truly believe it’s time to move on without Cleo Lemon. He has had ample opportunities over the past year and a half.
Jim Barker made a statement by firing his defensive coordinator a few weeks back, but that doesn’t solve their issues on offence. I hope they aren’t pinning their hopes on the return of Steven Jyles – his record really isn’t that impressive.
The Argos better start putting some wins together, otherwise they will be starting their off-season by Halloween.
Winnipeg @ Saskatchewan
This is my favorite match-up on Labour Day weekend. The intensity in the prairies is absolutely insane.
You can throw both teams’ records out the door — this is all about bragging rights and pride. Coming into this game, both teams had opposite records (7-1 and 1-7). Logic would say that the Bombers would crush the Riders.
The outcome was completely different. I would have to say the biggest change for the Riders was the “father” on the sideline, Ken Miller. This team plays hard for that man. I know as a pro athlete you go and play to the best of your abilities every game. But when you have a head coach that you love and respect, you will always dig a little deeper to win. The biggest change Ken Miller made when he took over was handing the play-calling duties over to his QB. That showed his trust in his QB and let the players know that it was their team.
The Bombers’ defence has been great thus far this season, but they can only carry so much weight on their shoulders. It’s time for the offence to step up and match the performance level of their defence.
Montreal @ Hamilton
It’s strange to see these two teams meet on Labour Day.
Hamilton definitely has the Als’ number this season and you have to give credit to the Hamilton defence. On three separate occasions Montreal had the ball in the red zone and came away with two field goals and a turnover on downs. I can’t remember the last time Montreal had a first and goal from the one yard line and couldn’t score on three tries. Wow!
Avon Cobourne had a brilliant game knifing through the heart of the Als’ defence. You could definitely see that Montreal was missing Shea Emry and Eric Wilson.
The most disturbing thing I saw from the Als was their lack of discipline and the amount of penalties they took. This is definitely uncharacteristic of a Marc Trestman team. I’m sure that he will address the issue… again.
Only question is: Are the players listening?
The Als are now in third place in the East, a place they have never been with Trestman as head coach. Let’s see how they respond to the adversity.
Edmonton @ Calgary
The battle of Alberta. This is one of the most intriguing back-to-back series in pro sports, especially with only five days between both games.
It’s no secret that the Eskimos O-line has received plenty of heat over the last few weeks. The benching of Patrick Kabongo made a big statement.
Although Ricky Ray still got hit frequently, the Eskimos got all the right bounces.
Henry Burris’ alter ego reared its ugly head. He turned the ball over far too much and let his emotion get the best of him. At one point, he even gestured to the crowd after hearing boos from the hometown faithful.
As the QB you get all the glory, and all the blame. You can’t pick and choose. When things aren’t going right, he needs to be a stabilizing presence.
The great thing about this back-to-back series is that both teams will get another opportunity to face each other in a mere five days.