What a difference a week makes.
Calgary @ Edmonton
After Calgary’s 35-7 loss at home against the Eskimos in Week 10, the Stamps needed to win badly to avoid a season sweep by Edmonton.
This was the battle for first place in the West.
It was a fairly tight game, with both teams trading numerous field goals.
The biggest difference for the Stamps was Burris protecting the ball. The Stamps had a great balance on offence, spreading the ball around to all the receivers, and handing it off to Reynolds and Cornish.
We will now have to wait until the playoffs to possibly see these two teams meet again.
Toronto @ B.C.
This was the last game at Empire Field before the Lions move back to the newly renovated B.C. Place.
B.C. is finally getting on a roll winning four of their last five games.
Yes, their opponent was the Argos…. But a win is a win.
It was fitting to see Geroy Simon break the franchise’s all time touchdown record (88) in the last game at Empire Field.
It was the second straight game that the B.C. defense held Toronto’s offence out of the end zone.
In the past two weeks, the only touchdown the Argos were able to score was off a kick return by Chad Owens.
This was the first game for Argos new starting quarterback Steven Jyles. It definitely looked like he hasn’t played football in a long time.
He struggled with his accuracy and timing with his receivers; as well as looking quite nervous in the pocket.
Hopefully, the Argos can pull out some wins; otherwise they may as well start getting ready for next season.
Hamilton @ Montreal
It’s about time the Alouettes woke up. They played like a completely different team than what we saw in Hamilton during Week 10.
The Als played with discipline and focus throughout the full 60 minutes. Calvillo and the offense were laser sharp and as a result, they put up huge numbers.
The defence did a great job against the run as they held Avon Cobourne to two yards on five carries.
When the defence can make the other team one dimensional, it becomes so much easier for the defensive line to focus on getting a great pass rush without worrying about the run game.
The credit has to go to Montreal’s offence because they came out and established a huge lead, forcing Hamilton to play catch-up all game long.
Montreal’s secondary has been decimated with injuries this year. They lost Dwight Anderson at the midway point of the game. The back-ups did a great job replacing him.
Hopefully, the injured players get healthy soon because they are starting to run out of defensive backs.
Saskatchewan @ Winnipeg
I really thought Winnipeg would get after the Riders’ offence this week. I was wrong…again.
Ken Miller has his troops playing and believing in each other.
This team is starting to remind me of the last two seasons in which they represented the West in the Grey Cup.
The best way to stop a great pass rush is to have a balanced offense. Durant did a great job using his feet to get away from pressure. Wes Cates also showed that when he gets the ball, he can still be very productive.
After much criticism about the Rider defence, they came out and showed what they are capable of.
Buck Pierce had a rough day. He got hit regularly and I was surprised that he was able to pick himself up off the turf every time. I’m sure that played a huge role in him throwing five interceptions.
The return of Andy Fantuz definitely helped give the team a big spark.
There will be plenty of questions regarding the entire Bomber team. As I said last week, the defence can only win so many games. At some point the offence will need to step up. Unfortunately, they single-handedly lost the game.