Tag Archives: Ricky Ray

CFL Picks Week 7. Can the Green Riders repeat against Stamps at home?

Posted on August 7, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

It’s Week 7 in the CFL and it could very well be another CFL “Homer Weekend.”

 

There are two things we know about the Canadian Football League: The West usually beats the East and home teams almost always win.

 

Granted, home teams have a record of 15-9 this season, but on four occasions Western teams beat Eastern teams in the Eastern team’s buildings. That means when you take the Western factor out of the equation, home teams have a 15-5 record. Now that’s significant.

 

This week there are no crossover games. The West does not have a holiday playing the East. That means, despite the records of the competing teams, the ones at home should have an advantage. 

 

In fact, something tells me that even though some visiting teams are prohibitive favourites, that might not matter this week.

 

Here’s a look at the games for Week 7… think home teams. 

 

Toronto Argonauts (3-3) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-5)

 

Thursday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

There is absolutely no reason to take the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this week. They are 1-5 (and lucky to be 1-5). They can’t figure out whether Richie Williams or Casey Printers should be the quarterback and their best player, Jesse Lumsden, is always hurt. And the smartest football man in Hamilton, Mike McCarthy, is in the Steel City, selling cars. How bad are the Ticats? How’s this? The top two tacklers in the CFL are Ticats. Trouble is they’re both defensive backs which means they can’t cover. Still, Hamilton is playing against Toronto, and as the Bombers proved in a 19-11 loss at Rogers Centre last week, Toronto isn’t that good — especially on offence. If the ‘Cats are going to win another game, this is it.

Pick: Hamilton

Calgary Stampeders (3-3) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-0)

Thursday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN

There is no sane reason to think the Saskatchewan Roughriders have a hope in this one. The Riders will likely go with Marcus Crandell at quarterback this week and despite a strong start, he wasn’t that good in Calgary last week. The Riders are also without receivers Matt Dominguez (who could be done) and Andy Fantuz (who won’t be back until October). This team is banged up and unbeaten and that means they’re ripe to take a beating. But then again, they’re playing at the friendly confines of Mosaic Stadium, they’re playing against a team with the worst defensive secondary in the CFL and they have the best defence in the CFL. Defence wins championships and until somebody can figure out a way to beat that defence, I’ll go with the home team.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Montreal Alouettes (3-3) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-5)

Friday, 6:30 p.m. CT, TSN

This is a very interesting inter-conference game for those, like me, who bet home teams first. Montreal is 3-3 and their only three losses have come at the hands of Western Conference teams. The Als have already beaten Winnipeg once — 42-24 — and they have one of the two best quarterbacks in the league in Anthony Calvillo. The Alouettes are better in every sense of the word and Winnipeg is banged up. There is no possible way the Bombers can win this game. So I’m taking the home team. For no other reason than it’s the CFL East.

Pick: Winnipeg

Edmonton Eskimos (4-2) at B.C. Lions (3-3) 

Friday, 9:30 p.m. CT, TSN

The Eskimos have Ricky Ray while the B.C. Lions have Jarious Jackson and Buck Pierce. Ray is proving he can lead the Eskimos to victory without having to worry about Danny Maciocia. Jarious Jackson and Buck Pierce are having trouble winning without Dave Dickenson. Neither is a starter and neither one looks like a starter and that’s why Edmonton should win this game. But they won’t. The Eskimos are playing in a dome. B.C. is at home and in the CFL, home teams win.

Pick: B.C. Lions

Last Week: 4-0

Season: 13-3

Comments Off

Posted in Blog, CFL

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Week 6 in the CFL is over. Saskatchewan still unbeaten, Winnipeg and Hamilton still awful.

Posted on August 4, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

Saskatchewan will find a way to win, Winnipeg and Hamilton will find a way to flush it down the toilet and home teams win a lot more than they lose.

 

On the one hand, through the first six weeks of the season, we’ve learned that the Western Conference is significantly better than the East. On the other, we’ve also learned that home teams will win most of the time. In fact, if you’ve done nothing but select home teams this season, you’re 15-9 through the first six weeks — 10-2 over the last three weeks.

 

So here’s the deal, when picking winners on your Pro Line tickets, take Western teams to beat Eastern teams first. However, if the teams are playing within their conferences, always take the home team. With the exception of Saskatchewan’s 22-21 squeaker in Calgary, it worked this week. (By the way, we went 4-0 this week, but we’ll brag about that on Thursday).

 

And that’s the good news for the 1-5 Blue Bombers. Their next two games are at home — against Montreal and Hamilton — and by the end of August, they could very well by 3-5 and back in the hunt. Montreal, however, plays two straight games on the road and just like Winnipeg, they could very easily be 3-5 by Labour Day.

 

While Winnipeg head coach Doug Berry whined about everybody else but himself, while the entire province of Saskatchewan praised the Riders defence for its 6-0 record and while the Edmonton Eskimos looked to injured Jason Tucker for the extra jump they needed to beat B.C., we learned a lot about the CFL through the first 1/3 of the season.

 

Let’s look closer…

 

1. An issue was made by Doug Berry this week that his running game hasn’t been very good. He made the point a day after his all-star runningback Charles Roberts had his best game of the season, carrying only 11 times for 66 yards. Berry even hinted that Fred Reid might start on Friday night against Montreal. What a maroon. This year, Roberts has carried 64 times for 263 yards. Last year, after six weeks, he had carried 81 times for 509 yards. Berry, who prides himself in the number of people he can throw under the bus, blamed Roberts — unbelievable — for the lack of production in the running game. Roberts carried the ball 262 times last year (in 2006, he carried it 303 times). He is currently on pace to carry it 192 times this year. Doug Berry has no clue.

 

2. So why is Saskatchewan 6-0 despite the fact that the team has had to use three different quarterbacks over six weeks? Defence. Sure it’s a cliche, but Saskatchewan has the best defence in the CFL and that’s why they’re unbeaten. The Riders are No. 1 in points allowed (131), fewest per game (21.6), total yards allowed (1,627), average yards allowed (325), average gain per pass allowed (7.0), lowest percentage of passes completed against (59 per cent). Winnipeg and Hamilton, by the way, battle for last place in most defensive categories. Anyone surprised?

 

3. Choosing the all-star quarterbacks this season shouldn’t be hard. Anthony Calvillo looks like a 27-year-old (he’s 36) while Ricky Ray might be putting together the best year of his career. The fact that Montreal (3-3 with three straight losses to Western teams) is first in the East and Edmonton (4-2) is second in the West, says a lot about the importance of the quarterback position to a team’s success. Not surprisingly, Hamilton and Winnipeg have struggled at QB all year, but that might be the fault of Doug Berry and Charlie Taafe, not the guys taking the snaps.  

 

4. Here is an interesting stat. The leading tackler in the CFL is Hamilton’s  Rontarius Robinson. Now, on the one hand, the leading tackler should be praised for his hard-hitting approach to the game. On the other hand, however, Robinson is a defensive back. At 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, he’s a tough guy, really hard-nosed. He also can’t cover. In six games, he’s made 66 tackles. Giving him credit for stopping the sweep on occasion, it still means that nearly 66 passes have been caught around him. No. 2 in tackles? Another Hamilton DB named Markeith Knowlton with 62. When two defensive backs combine for a league leading 128 tackles in six weeks, no wonder you’re 1-5.  

 

5. Here’s why the CFL is getting better as a league every year. It’s a news release from the league’s director of officiating, Tom Higgins, that was sent out on Sunday afternoon:

 

The Canadian Football League announced Sunday that it has conducted a supplementary review of a player ejection made during last night’s game between the Calgary Stampeders and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Calgary. During the game, Calgary linebacker JoJuan Armour was ejected from the game for making contact with a CFL official during the course of play.  Upon review of video footage, it was determined that the contact between Mr. Armour and the official directly resulted from prior contact between Mr. Armour and a Saskatchewan Roughrider player.  The ejection of the player was unwarranted.  CFL Director of Officiating Tom Higgins stated, “We sincerely regret that this officiating error was made and cost Mr. Armour the opportunity to play during last night’s game. Our officials are professionals and do a tremendous job, but when a call is missed we take it very seriously and have an internal review system to deal with it appropriately”.Mr. Armour will be eligible to play in this week’s rematch between Calgary and Saskatchewan in Regina on Thursday.

Everyone knows that officials aren’t infallible. They makes mistakes just like players. Higgins reviewed the tape and instead of blindly supporting the officials, he made the correct decision. That’s s step in the right direction. 

Comments Off

Posted in Blog, CFL

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Week 5 Picks. Does the West Really Own the East?

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

It’s Week 5 in the CFL and this is the one fact we know, the one thing of which we are certain: The West leads the East in crossover games 7-1.

 

There is little doubt that the West plays more exciting football — right  across the board. Teams in the West aren’t as predictable. They try to do things that Canadian football coaches have been doing for years, but the growing number of American coaches working as offensive co-ordinators in the league haven’t actually grasped yet (whose idea was the two-yard out pattern on second and nine?). They run offences with verve and style and they are much more fun to watch.

 

So this week, after going 4-0 last week, we are going to stick with our theory: When in doubt, take the Western Conference team.

 

Calgary Stampeders (3-1) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (0-4)

Thursday, 7 p.m. CT, TSN

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have decided to promote No. 2 quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie to No. 1 while Kevin Glenn has been benched. Dinwiddie will be an improvement if the offensive co-ordinator gives him a game plan. If indeed, Dinwiddie does the job, we might never hear from Kevin Glenn again. However, the Blue’s offensive line is banged-up and very young. On defence, middle linebacker Barrin Simpson, the heart and soul of the D, is out for the year with a torn pectoral tendon and the defensive secondary has been porous all year. Calgary, meanwhile, has the hottest offence in the game and if Henry Burris doesn’t have a handful of brain farts, Calgary should coast.

Pick: Calgary

Edmonton Eskimos (2-2) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-3)

Friday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are living proof that even if they fall to 0-5, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won’t be out of the playoff hunt in the East. If Jesse Lumsden, the best runningback in the CFL, plays this week, the Tiger-Cats should win. If he doesn’t, Edmonton will go to 3-2. The Eskimos lost to a spectacular Kerry Joseph performance in the final minute in Toronto last week. Ricky Ray and Co. will be just as good in Hamilton this week.  

Pick: Edmonton

Montreal Alouettes (2-2) at B.C. Lions (2-2)

Friday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN

This could be the closest game of Week 5. Montreal was tremendous in Saskatchewan last week, only to lose late to the best team in the CFL. Anthony Calvillo is good indoors and he’ll be good again this week. On the other side, this is the week Jarious Jackson will have to prove he’s a No. 1 CFL quarterback. After all, when you have Jason Clermont and Geroy Simon catching footballs, you’d better he good.

Pick: B.C.

Toronto Argonauts (2-2) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-0) 

Sunday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

Kerry Joseph makes his first return to Regina since the 2007 Grey Cup parade, but it might not make much difference for Toronto. Last week’s 41-33 Saskatchewan victory over the Montreal Alouettes was one of the finest performances in one of the great football games played in the CFL in a long time. Running back Wes Cates was absolutely sensational, carrying 15 times for 107 yards and catching five pasases for 88 yards. Saskatchewan, thanks to head coach Ken Miller, has one of the most balanced offences in the game and will likely remain undefeated through Week 5 — no matter who happens to play quarterback.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Last Week: 4-0

Season: 6-2

Comments Off

Posted in Blog, CFL

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CFL Picks Week 4: After going 2-2, we now understand the dominant nature of the Western Conference…

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

Last week, there was absolutely no doubt about it, the West is the best.

 

In Week 3, the Western Conference won every game played during the first week of crossover play, two of them by three touchdowns — B.C. whipped Winnipeg 42-24 while Edmonton blasted Toronto 47-28. Meanwhile, Calgary beat Montreal while Saskatchewan went into Hamilton and improved to 3-0.

 

This week, we won’t be fooled again… oh, no.

 

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-2) at Calgary Stampeders (2-1)

Thursday, 8 p.m. CT, TSN

The Stampeders did a wonderful job shutting down Anthony Calvillo and the Al’s last week. After falling behind 11-0 through the first 15 minutes, the Stampeders defence made Calvillo look like the Calvillo we expected before the season began — slow and old. In the end, the Stamps won 23-19 and proved they could win on the road. If the can shut down the best running game in the CFL — Jesse Lumsden and Trey Smith — they could blow Hamilton right out of McMahon Stadium. In fact, if they shut down Lumsden, this will be a massacre.

Pick: Calgary

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (0-3) at B.C. Lions (1-2)

Friday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN

Wow, it’s getting ugly in Winnipeg. The Bombers didn’t get better in the off-season and, in fact, with the loss of Kyries Hebert and Juran Bolden, the defensive secondary got worse — much worse! B.C. took advantage of that shaky secondary last week en route to a 42-24 shellacking of the Bombers in Winnipeg, a score that flattered the Bombers. Now, Winnipeg is trying to decide if Kevin Glenn or Ryan Dinwiddie is the No. 1 quarterback. B.C. could put a nail in Winnipeg’s coffin after just four weeks. All they have to do is use Geroy Simon and Jason Clermont the way they used them last week.

Pick: B.C.

Montreal Alouettes (2-1) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-0)

Saturday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

Nobdy thought Saskatchewan would be the best team in the CFL after Week 3, but then again everybody was focused on offence, not on defence. Even with No. 3 Derian Durant at quarterback, coach Ken Miller’s offence is good enough to score 30 points a game. The defence, meanwhile, is as good as the defence that won the 2007 Grey Cup. If they chase Calvillo around like Calgary did for three quarters last week, this one will be ugly.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Edmonton Eskimos (2-1) at Toronto Argonauts (1-2)

Sunday, 3 p.m. CT, TSN

We’ll find out this week if Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray is for real. In other words, if Ray can continue to get the ball into the end zone. Ray has been absolutely outstanding for the past two weeks and when you throw in the amazing play of 22-year-old defensive back/kick returner Tristan Jackson last week, you’ll find a team that can score from anywhere at any time. However, one wonders if the Argos haven’t figured out their quarterbacking mess. If they have, Toronto will be tough at home. If they haven’t, they’ll get their butts handed to them for the second straight week.

Pick: Toronto

Last Week: 2-2

Season: 2-2

Comments Off

Posted in Blog, MLB

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Week 3 in the CFL: So what did we learn this week?

Posted on July 13, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

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.

 

Comments Off

Posted in Blog, CFL

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Back by (un?)popular demand. Here are our weekly CFL picks.

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

Week 3

 

OK, so nobody really demanded this, but since Joe and I don’t have as much time on 92-CITI-FM as we’d like in order to explain ourselves, I’ll explain myself here…

 

And then I’ll probably do some more “‘splainin” on Sunday.

 

Week 3 starts Thursday night with Calgary at Montreal and Toronto at Edmonton.

 

Calgary Stampeders (1-1) at Montreal Alouettes (2-0)

Thursday, 6 p.m. CDT, TSN

The Alouettes proved quite clearly that scoring isn’t a problem when they put up 33 in Hamilton in their opener and 38 at home against Winnipeg in Week 2. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo has tossed six TD passes in two weeks and get this: Calvillo has only seven fewer rushing yards than Winnipeg’s Charles Roberts (Roberts has 87, Calvillo has 80). Calgary has a nice team, but they proved last week, they don’t play very well — at least not defensively — on the road.

Pick: Montreal

Toronto Argonauts (1-1) at Edmonton Eskimos (1-1)

Thursday, 9 p.m. CDT, TSN

Argos head coach Rich Stubler did what Winnipeg head coach Doug Berry won’t do. He told offensive co-ordinator Steve Buratto to allow quarterback Kerry Joseph to call his own plays. Of course, in his zeal to make Michael Bishop happy, Stubler also told the Toronto media that Bishop would play in Edmonton (Note: 24 hours later, Toronto put Bishop on waivers, suggesting the Argos were going to trade him). The Eskimos meanwhile, got an absolutely brilliant performance from offensive player of the week, Ricky Ray, in last week’s 34-31 win over Calgary and looked like a team that feels comfortable in its own backyard.

Pick: Edmonton

B.C. Lions (0-2) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (0-2)

Friday, 7 p.m. CDT, TSN

Obviously, Canadian football writers aren’t that bright because almost all of them picked B.C. and Winnipeg to challenge for the title in their respective conferences. Now, two weeks in, and they’re both 0-2 and are barely challenging themselves in practice. Winnipeg will be without Milt Stegall, Dominic Picard and Matt Sheridan. B.C. will be with both Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson. Not sure which team is worse off. 

Pick: Winnipeg

Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-0) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-1)

Saturday, 3 p.m. CDT, TSN

My goodness the Green Riders look good, especially on defence. So many people — inlcuding me — believed that the Bombers had the best front-seven in the league, but it just might be the Riders. Offensively, Saskatchewan has some serious injury problems, but this defence might just be good enough to carry the defending Grey Cup champs. However, this week, they have to stop runningback Jesse Lumsden, the top Canadian last week after blistering the Argos for 189 yards and two TDs. Still, the Ti-Cats have not beaten the Riders in regulation since Aug. 1, 2002.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Comments Off

Posted in Blog, CFL

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,