Tag Archives: T.J. Rubley

It’s Saturday. There is even more stuff banging around in my head.

Posted on September 12, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Sorry, my head hurts again. Between the Coyotes bankruptcy case in Phoenix, the CFL’s officials’ mistakes in Vancouver and the sad, ugly circus that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have created for themselves, I hit the Advil pretty hard last night.

Let me get this stuff out of my cranium…

1) NHL commissioner Gary Bettman talks like those far-right Republican loons in the United States — lots of confidence and hatred and bluster, but no apparent logic.

On Friday, Mr. Bettman was lamenting comments by Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes, a man who lost approximately $300 million of his own money on a franchise that doesn’t work now and will never work in the future. Moyes suggested he has been treated badly by the NHL.

“I just don’t think I’ve been treated right,” Moyes said. “I gave it a 100 per cent try and I feel betrayed by the NHL. Hockey will not work in the south. Mr. Bettman’s plan is not working out. You got Phoenix, you got Dallas, you Nashville, you got Atlanta you got Tampa Bay all in  trouble. These teams are not working in the south. You have to go north where people love hockey.”

Bettman, of course, responded like a petulant child.

“I’m disappointed in those remarks,” Bettman told Rogers SportsNet. “Considering the NHL has been operating this team for the past year when Mr. Moyes was supposed to be, I find that disappointing.”

Moyes lost about $300 million on that dog of a franchise and the guy who lied to everyone — everyone! — for an entire year about taking over the operation of the team, says he’s “disappointed.”

The illogical hubris of that remark makes me gag.

2) The Canadian Football League said last week that the B.C. Lions’ 19-12 win over the Montreal Alouettes will stand despite the fact that “mistakes were made by officials as the clock wound down.”

“While the errors were unintentional,” said commissioner Mark Cohon,  “the league’s regret at this incident is deep and profound.”

Odd response. Deep and profound sounds good, but it just doesn’t cut it. Cohon has both teams in Montreal this week. Send them out on the field before the main game starts and replay the final minutes (and perhaps overtime) of last week’s game. That will fix the problem.

Or is the real problem that CFL officiating is lousy and now the league has pretty much admitted it’s lousy? That’s not good.

Of course, there is another problem here. With the crossover playoff rule, if the post-season started today, the B.C. Lions would be in and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argos would be out. If those “mistakes” in B.C. cost a team a playoff appearance then, what you have, is a pretty illegitimate league.

(Listen to my complete rant on this issue before the Saskatchewan-Winnipeg game on Sunday at about 2 p.m. CDT. I’ll be on the pre-game show with Roger Currie on 620 CKRM in Regina)

3) The Stefan Lefors quarterback experiment in Winnipeg is over for the season — and it just might be over period.

The 3-6 Bombers put their former starting quarterback on the nine-game injured list on Thursday because of recurring pain in his non-throwing shoulder. He might undergo surgery.

Guess I was wrong. Stefan Lefors wasn’t the second coming T.J. Rubley. Sadly, he wasn’t good enough — or unbreakable enough — to be the second coming of T.J. Rubley.

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“Man, if we’d pissed one drop of offence in those three losses, we’d be 4-0 now. Just one drop.”

Posted on July 27, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

You have to hand it to Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly. His team was dreadful on Friday night in a 19-5 loss to the Toronto Argonauts, but it could always have been worse.

After all, his defence and special teams were good to enough to win. However, his offence was so bad, well… no sense beating a dead horse. That was four days ago. Just check out our previous posts and it’s quite obvious how downright brutal his offensive unit has been.

This morning, however, as he talked about bringing in Michael Bishop as the team’s new No. 1 quarterback, Kelly still had enough personality to laugh a little.

“Man, if we’d pissed one drop of offence in those three losses, we’d be 4-0 now,” Kelly told Tom McGouran and I just before an on-air interview at 92-CITI-FM. “Just one drop.

“But we’ll get this thing right. I know we will. And Michael’s acquisition is the first step.”

You have to hand it to Kelly. He has now proven that his reign as head coach will NOT be Reinebold-esque. After all, when Jeff Reinebold’s Reign of Error was in its wildest throes of lunacy, ol’ Jeff wasn’t changing. He’d made a decision to go with T.J. Rubley and it was going to be T.J. Rubley until Jeff was fired.

And it was.

(Note: Reinebold, who had a tremendous personality and is still a person I like a lot, walked up to me at a Super Bowl five or six years later and the first thing out of his mouth was: “Scotty, T.J. Rubley, what was I thinking?” So he wasn’t completely insane.)

Kelly, meanwhile, has not gone the Reinebold route simply because he’s making a change just four games into his first season as head coach. Stefan Lefors was given every opportunity to succeed, he didn’t and Kelly understands that he has to do what he has to do. He still like Lefors, but he’s realized — as has everyone else — that the kid isn’t the answer. So he went out and got a veteran who, at least, gives the Bombers some hope.

“Michael is a great guy and he will fit in very well in the locker room,” Kelly said this morning. “And he should be ready to play quickly. When he was in Toronto and went through that outstanding 11-1 stretch with the Argos, the terminology and philosophy was the same.

“Charlie Carpenter, our line coach, was in Toronto at that time and it turns out that Michael didn’t have to make a big adjustment as we watched film on Sunday night. He knows the terminology and the way we run the offence. He also has the strongest arm in the CFL and that can’t hurt.”

Of course, if Bishop has all this upside, why wasn’t he working in the league?

“I was very much surprised he was out of work and available to us,” said Kelly who has conveniently  ignored Bishop’s follies in Regina last year. “He has an exceptional arm and can make plays with his feet. He has the skill set to be a very successful quarterback in Winnipeg.”

In fairness to many of  the Bomber players, the team played well on defence and on special teams during that offensive debacle on Friday night. And as Meatloaf said, “two out of three ain’t bad.”

“True,” said Kelly, “but we’ll be looking at the dashboard lights as we drive out of town if we don’t get the offence turned around.”

Good for him. Even in the darkest of times, a man has to keep his sense of humour.

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The Quarterback Expert Needs a Quarterback.

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Here in Winnipeg, the mainstream media doesn’t spend a lot of time between games talking about football.

Sadly, most media people in my hometown want to talk about silliness. Things like fake spies and the coach’s involvement in cheating that isn’t cheating because no cheating took place (got that?) or what somebody might have to said to somebody about somebody seems to be much more important than actually looking at the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to see why the team is 1-2.

That’s where we come in.

Saturday, in a dreadful football game (absolutely freakin’ dreadful), the Hamilton Tiger-Cats beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-13 in what was, quite frankly, a very sad day for the Bomber offence.

Starting quarterback Stefan LeFors completed seven-of-19 passes for a measly 99 yards and no TDs. Bryan Randall came off the bench to complete two passes-on five attempts, no TDs and one interception. Head coach Mike Kelly has long claimed to be an expert when it comes to judging quarterbacks. He needs to put on his thinking cap. Sooner, not later.

On Saturday, the Bombers were OK defensively. They gave up a couple of late touchdowns, but those guys were on the field a long time. This was a game that was dominated by the Hamilton offence in the second half and the Bomber D didn’t have much left in the tank at the end.

That’s because the offence did nothing. The O-line isn’t bad when it comes to run blocking, but young QBs like LeFors and Randall need a lot more time to throw. For the most part on Saturday, they had little or no time to throw. And when it’s tough to throw spirals anyway — as it is for both those guys — they need a LOT of time to throw.

Back in the spring I worried that this football team might resemble the Jeff Reinebold mess back in the late 90s. I don’t feel that way anymore, but I do worry about one thing.

Stefan LeFors is very close to becoming the next T.J. Rubley.

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Kevin Glenn off to Toronto??

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Reports out of Toronto on Friday morning suggested that the man who has led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for five seasons, Kevin Glenn, will be Argo bound. 

The Argos claim they have an interest in the Blue Bombers quarterback who is now, officially on the trade block. Argos GM Adam Rita has always admired Glenn (Glenn was an Argo for a few minutes in May of 2004 when the Bombers acquired him in a deal with Toronto) and would like to have him in Toronto this spring to challenge Kerry Joseph for the starting job. 

 

On Thursday, Bombers head coach Mike Kelly told Tom, Joe and the Coach on 92-CITI-FM that he expects lefty Stefan LeFors and veteran Ryan Dinwiddie to battle for the Bombers’ No. 1 job at training camp in June. Kelly also said that there was no possible way a Kevin Glenn-for-Casey Printers deal would ever be made.

 

“Casey Printers is not coming to Winnipeg.” Kelly said bluntly.

 

So that leaves Toronto, one of the two places Glenn told Kelly he’d like to play. 

 

The LeFors/Dinwiddie move will either be brilliant or the second coming of T.J. Rubley. However, to be fair, Coach Kelly is a quarterback expert and Bomber fans should probably give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

One of the many reasons Kelly was brought to Winnipeg was his ability to judge the talent of and subsequently work with, quarterbacks. He knows what he wants and like many Bomber fans, that’s not Kevin Glenn. 

 

Don’t forget, rivercitysportsblog,com will be at the Super Bowl all next week and will be blogging live daily. 

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It’s Week 11 in the CFL. Time to take this Weekly Picks thing seriously again.

Posted on September 5, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

Last week, we threw all of our theories out the window and, as a result, we burned big time for that one bad decision.

 

Taking Winnipeg to win the Labour Day Classic in Regina was a dreadful mistake. It reminded me of the last time I ran into the old Bomber coach, Jeff Reinebold. It was at the last Super Bowl in Tampa and Jeff walked up to me with a big smile on his face and said: “T.J. Rubley!???!! Scotty, what was I thinking?”

 

Reinebold’s deadly choice of quarterback in Winnipeg didn’t quite equal my stupid choice of the Bombers in the Labour Day Classic, but it was a dumb mistake, nonetheless. The Bombers simply don’t win the Labour Day Classic in Regina. Someday, I’ll learn. 

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Bombers can’t win the re-match at home and we’ll talk about that in a second, but first, what a week in the CFL.

 

In Winnipeg, the Bombers traded Charles Roberts in an ugly divorce. It started out ugly when most fans (a truly vast majority of fans) vented to the local newspapers over the trade — Roberts to B.C. for I-travel-to-the-beat-of-my-own-drummer Joe Smith — that it might have been the worst deal in Bomber history, but it got even uglier when Roberts filed a little missive on ourbombers.com which read, in part: “The natural reaction for me would be to be enraged, and ordinarily I would have been considering what I have done for that organization. I am not, however, because of the events leading up to the trade. (Bombers GM) Brendan (Taman) called me into his office about eight o’clock Monday night and, as I got to the stadium, Doug Berry and I pulled into the stadium parking lot at the same time. Once he figured out it was me, he mysteriously pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared. For a man to have publicly claimed that the reason for trading me is because I had lost a step, how come he couldn’t face me? How come he ran off like a coward instead of facing me man-to-man and telling me what he felt?”

 

What a mess. On Friday morning, Smith stiffed a Winnipeg radio show and won a few more fans. He’ll need a good day on Sunday to win over the masses.

 

Meanwhile, Roberts was dealt 13 yards shy of the 10,000 mark which is something that says as much about the state of the Bombers franchise as it does about the trade itself. 

 

In Calgary, the Stamps were licking their wounds after getting drilled by Edmonton at home in Alberta’s version of the Labour Day Classic, but they were even more worried when they learned quarterback Dave Dickenson would be gone for the season with post-concussion syndrome.

 

In Toronto, the Argos revealed that they were in negotiations for former Saskatchewan Roughriders runningback Kenton Keith who was released by the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts last week, a nod to the fact their running game is one of the weakest in the league.

 

And in Saskatchewan, they were working with and hoping for quarterback Michael Bishop, a young man who won his opener as the Riders QB, 19-6 over Winnipeg, but looked horrible doing it.

 

This will be a very interesting week. 

 

Calgary Stampeders (5-4) at Edmonton Eskimos (6-3)

 

Friday, 8 p.m. CT, TSN

 

It’s hard to imagine the Eskimos are going to let the Stamps off the hook after drilling them 37-16 last week in Calgary. Ricky Ray went 26-for-38 for 376 yards and three touchdowns and his offensive line gave him, at times, what seemed like hours, to throw the football. You just have to love Edmonton, with ease, in the re-match. In fact, another performance like last week’s in Calgary and the Eskimos might just grab the mantle as “Best Team in the CFL.” Then again, if ol’ Brain Fart Burris avoids his inevitable brain farts, the Stampeders have enough offence to beat Edmonton. Even on the road.

 

Pick: Edmonton

B.C. Lions (4-5) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-7)

Saturday, 3 p.m. CT, TSN

The Lions should have beaten Montreal on the road last week, but came up short three times at the one. That won’t happen again this week. Especially with Charles Roberts alongside Stefan Logan in the Lions backfield. I would normally take Hamilton — yes, lowly Hamilton — at home against a 4-5 B.C. team, but the way the Lions played last week suggests they are, indeed, better than their record indicates. As well, they’re a good Western team playing a last-place Eastern team and, as a result, should win handily. With a victory, the Lions will bury Hamilton and could pull three full games ahead the two Eastern cellar-dwellers, should Winnipeg implode on Sunday.

Pick: Winnipeg

Toronto Argonauts (4-5) at Montreal Alouettes (6-3)

Sunday, Noon CT, TSN

This one is a no-doubter. Anthony Calvillo, Avon Cobourne, great defence… Montreal by three touchdowns.

 

Pick: Montreal

Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-2) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-7)

Sunday, 2 p.m. CT, TSN

On paper, and after watching last week’s game in Regina, it’s hard to imagine that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a chance against those same Saskatchewan Roughriders in Winnipeg this week. But the key is, “it’s in Winnipeg this week.” Home teams win a lot of games in this league and in Winnipeg’s case, the Bombers are 2-3 at home and 0-4 on the road this season. Is Winnipeg good enough? Probably not. But Winnipeg IS at home and it IS the Banjo Bowl and more often than not, in the CFL, emotion can carry a team a long way. So although the Bombers might not be good enough to win, they can find a way to win. And besides, if they don’t win this week, they can write off the playoffs and they’ll all know exactly what they’re made of.

 

Pick: Winnipeg

Last Week: 1-3

Season: 19-9

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