Week 2 in the CFL: Now that the old four-game pre-season is over, do the offences start to pick it up?

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

Back in the day, long before TSN saved the Canadian Football League with its slick, entertaining Friday Night Football package, a package that made the league young and hip (like that word, kids?) again, each CFL team played four pre-season games. Just like the NFL.

 

By the end of this four-week stretch, teams were pretty good. Especially the offences. Granted, it didn’t do the clubs much good at the gate and ultimately, that’s why the final two exhibition games were eliminated and the schedule went from four pre-season and 16 regular season games to two pre-season and 18 regular season games. Teams still lost money. Just not as much.

 

So Week 2 in the 2008 CFL schedule ended Friday night and what we got for the first two weeks of the schedule was, pretty much, two extra pre-season games.

 

So if you were coaching, what did you learn?

 

1. Toronto is still trying to figure out who its No. 1 quarterback is. After losing 32-13 at home to Hamilton, a team that lost 33-10 to Montreal at  Ivor Wynne Stadium a week earlier, one wonders if Kerry Joseph is the answer. Interestingly, a day after the loss, the National Post reported that head coach Rich Stubler kind of laid the blame at the feet of offensive co-ordinator Steve Buratto. The Argos have scored 36 points in their first two games and that’s not much considering all the offensive weapons they possess. Maybe Joseph is done and its time to get serious about Michael Bishop again.

 

2. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are probably better than anyone — including themselves — thought. If Jesse Lumsden stays healthy and the offensive line continues to run-block the way it did in that 32-13 win over Toronto on Thursday, the Ti-Cats should be a threat in the East. 

 

3.  Montreal is clearly the best team in the East, Anthony Calvillo is obviously healthy again and head coach Marc Trestman is not having any problem with the Canadian game. The Alouettes two-touchdown blistering of Winnipeg on Friday night was testimony to a great offence, a pretty fair defence and sharp special teams.

 

4. The Blue Bomber offence isn’t very good. Although the scoreboard will tell the Bombers they lost 38-24 in Montreal, Winnipeg did get an outstanding 80-yard interception return for a touchdown by Javon Johnson. That means the Bombers put up only 17 points on offence. That’s six consecutive games (including two pre-season and two regular season games this year) in which the Bomber offence has not scored 20 points. Of course, this little nugget might have something to do with Winnipeg’s woes: Charles Roberts, six carries, 11 yards, one touchdown. Six carries? No wonder they can’t score. So do you blame Kevin Glenn or Kit Cartwright? We know who Rich Stubler would blame. With back-to-back games against B.C., then Calgary, Toronto and Montreal on the schedule, the Bombers had better pick it up on offence. Of course, in the CFL of 2008, allowing 38 points in a single game is pretty worrisome, too.

 

5. Despite all the gnashing of teeth, despite all the people who worried about the things GM Eric Tillman was doing in the off-season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have now started with a 34-14 home win over Edmonton and a 26-16 road win in B.C. The Riders lost Kerry Joseph and Kent Austin and they still have a legitimate Grey Cup contender. It’s called defence. No team has yet to score 20 points against them.

 

6. The combination of Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson in B.C. is not as good as the mainstream media might have you believe. The Lions have yet to score 20 points in a game this season.

 

7. The best game of the week was that 34-31 seesaw battle in Edmonton between the Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders. One senses it won’t be that close when the two teams return to Calgary, but nonethless, Thursday night’s matchup was a dandy. 

 

8. There are still too many teams in the CFL that can’t put up 20 points in a game. There are too many weak, unimaginative offences. Of course, the final “pre-season” game was this past weak. The 16-game schedule starts this coming Thursday night. One would expect the offences are now ready to go

Posted By: Scott Taylor on July 5, 2008.
*Views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of River City Sports.

Related posts:

  1. What we learned in two days: Hamilton, B.C. and Winnipeg aren’t as good as we thought and the CFL is dull.
  2. Winnipeg’s new football stadium: Why are we starting over to build consensus when everyone already agreed?
  3. Troy Westwood is gone: Don’t cut somebody unless you have someone around who can replace him.
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  • http://anthonyhamilton.morelyrics.co.uk/2008/07/05/week-2-in-the-cfl-now-that-the-old-four-game-pre-season-is-over-do-the-offences-start-to-pick-it-up/ Anthony Hamilton » Week 2 in the CFL: Now that the old four-game pre-season is over, do the offences start to pick it up?

    [...] Week 2 in the CFL: Now that the old four-game pre-season is over, do the offences start to pick it u… Week 2 in the CFL: Now that the old four-game pre-season is over, do the offences start to pick it up? Back in the day, long before TSN saved the Canadian Football League with its slick, entertaining Friday Night Football package, a package that made the league young and hip (like that word, kids?) again, each CFL team played four pre-season games. Just like the NFL.   By the end of this four-week stretch, teams were pretty good. Especially the offences. Granted, it didn’t do the clubs much [...]