One game left in the regular season and still a few question marks.
Things got so bad that I became a very temporary Calgary Stampeder fan on Saturday night after the Saskatchewan Roughriders failed to nail down a home playoff game earlier in the day. That’s a cloak of shame for any self-respecting ’Rider fan.
The CFL weekend kicked off last Friday night when Edmonton beat up on Toronto at home before close friends and family at Commonwealth Stadium. Apparently the most popular Halloween costume in Edmonton was an empty seat. Either that or a rainy night in late October is the new Webster’s Dictionary example under “fair-weather fan”: see Edmonton Eskimos.
The game was important to the Eskimos and they managed to annihilate the Argonauts and keep their playoff hopes alive. The Argonauts looked brutal in this game and mailed this one in to the Eskimos.
Usually the motivation for players on bad teams is future job security. The Argos played like their greatest fear is a job with this team in 2010.
Kerry Joseph has been a disaster since his arrival in Toronto and I doubt whether he would want to be an Argo next year even if he was involved in the choice. The bright spot in the Argonaut season is that it ends this weekend and the pain and humiliation will finally end. I will do everybody a favour and ignore their final game with Montreal in my Friday column.
The Roughriders found Ivor Wynne Stadium unfriendly on Saturday in Hamilton. That was the end of their success on the road but it was probably a wake-up call for the ’Riders. Their offence was missing and presumed on a milk carton somewhere while quarterback Darian Durant confused Halloween with Christmas generosity.
The ’Rider defence had to make a few adjustments due to injury and illness.
Similar adjustments in an airplane would mean film at 11 after the inevitable crash. The ’Riders still have running game and run-stop problems. That is bad news in cold weather football.
B.C. Lions quarterback Casey Printers is still winless since his return from banishment but he is already the best bet for the Lions’ success and he is already one the top pivots in the league. Remember that Michael Bishop and Kerry Joseph are still cashing paycheques in this league as quarterbacks.
Calgary and B.C. put on the best game of the weekend as unlikable Calgary kicker Sandro De Angelo kicked a million-dollar windfall home playoff game for Saskatchewan in a last play Stampeder victory.
The real MOP candidate from the West is Calgary tailback Joffrey Reynolds, despite the hype from Saskatchewan about inconsistent interception king Darian Durant, and Reynolds was the difference in the game against the Lions.
However, the only rational choice for MOP is Alouette quarterback Anthony Calvillo this year. He returned to play against Winnipeg and put on his usual clinic of good reads and great decisions throughout the game. It made for a nice counterbalance to Winnipeg quarterback Michael Bishop, who is “Bizarro Calvillo,” to borrow heavily from Superman comics.
Further to Bizarro world: Me think Bishop is great quarterback. Anyhow, some bold predictions on Friday.
Jim Sutherland is a local freelance writer whose CFL column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at mystarcollectorcar.com