Tag Archives: danny maciocia

So here were the scores in Week 2:

Calgary 23 Montreal 19

Edmonton 47 Toronto 28

B.C. 42 Winnipeg 24

Saskatchewan 33 Hamilton 28

Notice a trend?

As we pointed out in yesterday’s item, the West is dominating the East. In the first week of West vs. East crossover football, the Western teams won all four matchups. Two of them were three-touchdown blowouts.

It’s pretty clear what we’ve learned, but let’s go a little deeper.

1. The Saskatchewan Roughriders don’t need Michael Bishop, the Toronto Argos  do. I talked with Joe Aiello on 92-CITI-FM in Winnipeg and with Mike Richards on the FAN 960 in Calgary this week about where Michael Bishop might end up. Earlier in the week, the Toronto Argos put their former No. 1 quarterback on recallable waivers to see if there was any interest in a trade. All of us thought  that with the Riders down to their No. 3 quarterback, Bishop would probably look good in Riderville. Guess not. Darian Durant was outstanding in leading Saskatchewan to a 33-28 win in Hamilton and  after Toronto’s evisceration in Edmonton, it’s pretty obvious the Argos need Bishop more than they want to believe. In fact, the Argos need Bishop more than they need Kerry Joseph.

2. There seems to be less talk about firing Edmonton Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia now. Over the last two weeks, the Eskimos have won 34-31 and 47-28. Things are still shaky in Edmonton despite two home wins, but at least Ricky Ray is once again getting the ball into the end zone. Still, the Esks have a problem on defence. Allowing 34 points to Saskatchewan, 31 to Calgary and 28 to Toronto is, at least, an improvement every week, but if the holes aren’t plugged soon, trips to Toronto and Hamilton over the next two weeks might leave the Esks at 2-3 before they can blink. Unless, of course, the West is so dominant, defences are no longer important.

3. You just gotta love offence – and defence and special teams — and on Friday night, we had a game that actually looked like it took place during the league’s Golden Era of scoring back in the late 80s and early 90s. Behind the brilliance of 22-year-old Tristan Jackson who returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown and then returned a punt for another 61-yard major (oh, so maybe it’s not offence), the Edmonton Eskimos beat the Toronto Argonauts 47-28. After two weeks of 22-16-type scores it was nice to see every aspect of the game of football represented on the scorebord. And it was nice to be excited about a non-Bombers CFL game again.

4. Memo to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Run the freakin’ football. Hamilton’s Jesse Lumsden carried 19 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns before the ‘Cats fell 33-28 to the defending Grey Cup champs — and now 3-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders — in the dying seconds. The Bombers, on the other hand, gave Charles Roberts the ball eight times for 23 yards in a 42-24 shellacking at the hands of the previously 0-2 B.C. Lions (by the way B.C. took a 42-8 lead while the Bombers were ignoring Roberts). In three games, Roberts has a measly 110 rushing yards and the Bombers are 0-3. There is a correlation.

5. Speaking of the Bombers, despite their 42-24 home loss to B.C. this week, it was the first time in seven games (dating back to last year’s Eastern semifinal) that the Bombers offence put up at least 20 points in a game. That’s the good news. The bad news — for Kevin Glenn, at least — is that No. 2 quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie was responsible for 16 of those points. There are some in Winnipeg who think Glenn might be the next Troy Westwood — a well-liked veteran (in the room) who is treated like crap until he’s finally released and then never heard from again. Oh, by the way, after three weeks and an 0-3 record, Glenn is the No. 4 passer (by yardage) in the CFL, ahead of Casey Printers, Jarious Jackson and Kerry Joseph. However, his passer’s rating is a near rock-bottom 67.2.

6. Back to Roberts for just a second. Last year’s rushing champion is now seventh in rushing after three weeks, 252 yards behind leader Jesse Lumsden. Roberts is averaging only nine carries per game and has two touchdowns and no fumbles. He trails a quarterback, Calgary’s Henry Burris, in the rushing race. Despite what head coach Doug Berry would have you believe, the Bombers don’t have a “player” problem, they have a “coach” problem. 

7. My players of the Week: No doubt about it, Geroy Simon and Jason Clermont of the B.C. Lions. In case you needed to be reminded, these guys are big-time receivers who each played a major role in B.C.’s 42-24 shellacking of the Bombers in Winnipeg. Simon caught seven passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns while Clermont caught three passes in traffic for 71 yards. In fact, TSN made a big deal out of a Jason Nugent hit on Clermont on Friday night, but the fact is, Clermont got right back up while Nugent almost didn’t. They’re both big and fast and they have great hands and they’re both part of the reason that, when it’s right, CFL football is wonderful to watch.