2007 CFL season

[GA Russell]

I forgot to mention in post #24 that along with the team stats are the team rosters.

Again, when you go to one roster, you can then easily go to all the others.

In the past, the websites I have found posting the rosters did a poor job of keeping them up to date. However, it looks like the Globe is going to be serious about it this year.

Here's a link to the Ticats roster, which was updated just a few minutes ago:

http://stats.globesports.com/cfl/teamstats...1&Submit=Go

[GA Russell]

Week 3 results:

Toronto Argonauts 48....Calgary Stampeders 15

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4090139.htm

Edmonton Eskimos 19....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 15

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4090321.htm

British Columbia Lions 42....Saskatchewan Roughriders 12

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4090339.htm

Montreal Alouettes 29....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 20

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4090498.htm

I heard the last half of this game. The Ticats brought in rookie QB Timmy Chang for the fourth quarter, and it looks like he has a future in the league.

Anthony Calvillo passed the 50,000 yard mark for career passing.

The Ticats have a rookie kicker named Nick Setta who looks good, particularly as a punter.

I didn't realize that the Ticats recently acquired Thyron Anderson from Sask in a trade. He dropped a number of balls. I don't know what has happened to him, but both the Als and the Riders have given up on him after he was so good for the Als.

*****

Ian Busby's rankings and predictions:

(WITH PREVIOUS WEEK IN BRACKETS)

1. (1) B.C. Lions -- Still strong with two QBs hurt.

2. (2) Saskatchewan -- Turnovers killed good defensive effort.

3. (4) Toronto -- Michael Bishop injury really hurts.

4. (6) Edmonton -- Offence rounding into shape.

5. (3) Winnipeg -- Improving with each outing but not there yet.

6. (7) Montreal -- Takes battle of winless in close outing.

7. (5) Calgary -- Huge questions after two blowouts.

8. (8) Hamilton -- Timmy Chang almost leads them to first win.

---

CRYSTAL BALL

OUR PREDICTIONS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Winnipeg at Montreal: Bombers on the rise have more than Als can offer. Blue Bombers by 4.

Hamilton at B.C.: No matter who starts at pivot, Lions are just a lot better. Lions by 8.

Saskatchewan at Edmonton: Getting first win give Esks confidence. Esks by 6.

Toronto at Calgary: Without Bishop, Argos find Stamps a tougher foe. Stamps by 3.

*****

Both Dave Dickinson (with the usual head injury) and Buck Pierce were injured in the Lions game against the Riders. Dickinson is doubtful for this week.

*****

Argos starting QB Michael Bishop broke his wrist against the Stampeders. The Argos have signed Rocky Butler as the third string QB. They also signed safety Wayne Shaw.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...4344063-cp.html

edit for typos

Edited July 17, 2007 by GA Russell

[B. Clugston]

It's Dickenson's third concussion in 21 months and it's prompted a debate here about his future.

Buck Pierce will start Thursday against Hamilton. He's good enough to start every game and Jarious Jackson is no slouch as backup.

[GA Russell]

BClug, it wouldn't bother me if every pro sports league banned or "retired" every guy upon his third concussion.

I suppose that the number of concussions that would trigger the forced retirement could be open to debate. But it just seems to me that after a while the enterprise isn't sporting anymore if you're going to keep putting guys in there who have had their bell rung over and over again.

[GA Russell]

Week 4 previews:

Winnipeg at Montreal

http://scoreboards.canoe.ca/merge/tsnform..../live/pv588.htm

Hamilton at BC

http://scoreboards.canoe.ca/merge/tsnform..../live/pv589.htm

Toronto at Calgary

http://scoreboards.canoe.ca/merge/tsnform..../live/pv591.htm

Saskatchewan at Edmonton

http://scoreboards.canoe.ca/merge/tsnform..../live/pv590.htm

*****

The Stampeders have gotten clobbered the past two weeks. Anybody have any thoughts on that?

[GA Russell]

Week 4 results:

Winnipeg 20....Montreal 18

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4091877.htm

BC 22....Hamilton 18

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4091899.htm

Edmonton 21....Saskatchewan 20

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4092085.htm

Calgary 33....Toronto 10

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Gam...4358454-cp.html

I listened to the second half of the Ticats game. The good news is that they are getting better every week. The bad news is that the Ticats with their first string quarterback can't beat the Lions with their third string quarterback.

I went first to The Team 1200's website to listen to the Lions' broadcast of the game, and was surprised that it wasn't on. So I listened to CHML's broadcast. BClug, do you know what Vancouver station is carrying the Lions' games this year?

Dickenson didn't dress. The Lions started Buck Pierce with his sore right hand, and led 9-6 at the half. The Ticats scored two FGs in the third to take a 12-9 lead. Pierce injured his left hip in the third to go along with his hand, so he was taken out in favor of Jarious Jackson. The Lions controlled the fourth quarter. Jason Maas played all the way for Hamilton.

Lions RB Joe Smith was carted off the field very late in the game. They were treating him like he had a head injury even though he briefly sat up. No Dave Dickenson and no Joe Smith might spell trouble for the Lions in the near term. Don't you expect Dickenson to be back for the next game?

*****

This morning's paper had a big article on sports concussions:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/645482.html

*****

Our local paper Saturday morning said that the Riders beat the Eskimos 20-18. Imagine my surprise when I logged onto the internet Saturday night and saw that the Eskimos kicked a late field goal to actually win it 21-20! This morning's Sunday edition repeated the error. I suppose the AP is to blame for that.

edit for spelling

Edited July 23, 2007 by GA Russell

[B. Clugston]

Dickenson is expected back for the Calgary game and there's talk that Jarious Jackson will start. Joe Smith is expected back.

Good thing the Lions kept Jackson. There was talk in the off-season of letting him go so he could try and be a No. 2 with another team.

From tsn.ca:

"The B.C. Lions officially announced that quarterback Gino Guidugli has signed with the team.

A four-year starter at the University of Cincinnati (2001-2004), Guidugli owns virtually all of the school's passing and total offense records. He finished his career with 11,453 yards on 880 of 1556 passes (56.6%) and 78 touchdowns. He also rushed for 208 yards and scored five times on 235 carries.

Guidugli signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans in 2005 and was later released. Most recently, Guidugli was a member of the Green Bay Blizzard of AFL2 and led the club to a playoff berth Friday night with a 193-yard, six touchdown performance on 17 completions."

[GA Russell]

I went first to The Team 1200's website to listen to the Lions' broadcast of the game, and was surprised that it wasn't on. So I listened to CHML's broadcast. BClug, do you know what Vancouver station is carrying the Lions' games this year?

Thanks BClug! I corrected the link on post #25 as per your suggestion.

Edited July 23, 2007 by GA Russell

[B. Clugston]

The Lions are planning on Buck Pierce to start against Calgary. Otis Floyd is stil injured and won't play. Geroy Simon, the CFL's most outstanding player of 2006, has been visibily frustrated with the lack of passes heading his direction. I believe he only had two catches playing against a holographic Hamilton secondary.

[GA Russell]

Here's Ian Busby's take, out today:

RANKINGS

(WITH PREVIOUS WEEK IN BRACKETS)

1. (1) B.C. Lions -- Still unbeaten but quite beat up.

2. (5) Winnipeg -- Starting to get healthier with the soft part of the schedule ahead.

3. (4) Edmonton -- Character comeback over 'Riders.

4. (2) Saskatchewan -- Little mistakes blew 19-point lead.

5. (7) Calgary -- Big plays on offence connected but Argos were depleted in rematch.

6. (3) Toronto -- Argos will struggle without top QB and two best receivers.

7. (6) Montreal -- Red-zone offence couldn't pound through Bombers defence.

8. (8) Hamilton -- Jesse Lumsden is for real.

---

CRYSTAL BALL

OUR PREDICTIONS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Montreal at Toronto -- Return of Arland Bruce helps Damon Allen. Argos by 3.

Hamilton at Winnipeg -- Stegall finally gets record at home. Bombers by 4.

Edmonton at Saskatchewan -- Home-field advantage gets 'Riders on track. 'Riders by 3.

B.C. at Calgary -- Stamps jump on hurting Lions. Calgary by 3.

[GA Russell]

BC announced today that Dave Dickenson will be out indefinitely because of his concussion.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

[B. Clugston]

BC announced today that Dave Dickenson will be out indefinitely because of his concussion.

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

A lot of people are worried for Dave and want him to put his health first. Nobody wants him rushing back.

[GA Russell]

Week 5 previews:

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4093378.htm

USA Today reports this morning that the Lions are two point *underdogs* against the Stamps.

[GA Russell]

Milt Stegall broke the record for career TDs tonight!

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4093741.htm

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

George Reed set the old record with his last TD in 1975. So the record is just a little bit older than Henry Aaron's record, to put it in perspective.

[GA Russell]

Week 5 results:

Montreal Alouettes 26....Toronto Argonauts 13

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Gam...4371533-cp.html

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 36....Hamilton tiger-Cats 18

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4093755.htm

Saskatchewan Roughriders 54....Edmonton Eskimos 14

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4093905.htm

British Columbia Lions 32....Calgary Stampeders 27

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4093962.htm

[GA Russell]

I've seen guys get bad press for having difficult personalities (like Don Matthews) and for off-field behavior (like Lawrence Phillips), but I've never seen anyone in the CFL get such bad press for poor play as the Argos QB Mike McMahon has received. He must have really stunk the two games he played in. Did anyone see him on TV?

*****

Now let's see if this works. Here are the current standings:

East Division

W L T Pts GB PF PA at Home vs DIV Streak

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

3 1 1 7 0.0 142 117 2 - 1 - 0 3 - 0 - 0 2 W

Toronto Argonauts

2 3 0 4 1.8 123 103 1 - 2 - 0 1 - 1 - 0 2 L

Montreal Alouettes

2 3 0 4 1.8 103 101 0 - 2 - 0 2 - 2 - 0 1 W

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

0 5 0 0 3.8 70 154 0 - 2 - 0 0 - 3 - 0 5 L

West Division

W L T Pts GB PF PA at Home vs DIV Streak

BC Lions

5 0 0 10 0.0 149 88 2 - 0 - 0 3 - 0 - 0 5 W

Saskatchewan Roughriders

3 2 0 6 2.0 151 92 2 - 1 - 0 2 - 2 - 0 1 W

Edmonton Eskimos

2 2 1 5 2.3 102 157 1 - 0 - 1 1 - 2 - 0 1 L

Calgary Stampeders

2 3 0 4 3.0 120 148 2 - 1 - 0 0 - 2 - 0 1 L

Edited July 31, 2007 by GA Russell

[B. Clugston]

Jarious Jackson will start for the Lions against Saskatchewan on Thursday. Buck Pierce will back up. The Lions have a lot of injuries in their secondary.

[GA Russell]

BClug, you think this may be the week the Lions lose one?

Yesterday I saw a headline at cfl.ca (which is no longer there for me to give a link) that said that somebody (the Eskimos?) released Val St. Germain. He had a great career, but I guess he is done now. Do you think he will be elected to the Hall of Fame?

[B. Clugston]

BClug, you think this may be the week the Lions lose one?

Yesterday I saw a headline at cfl.ca (which is no longer there for me to give a link) that said that somebody (the Eskimos?) released Val St. Germain. He had a great career, but I guess he is done now. Do you think he will be elected to the Hall of Fame?

Last week was the week the Lions would lose one. They get 254 yards. The Stamps get 525 yards. Yet the Lions won.

I would like Saskatchewan's chances on Thursday. They didn't look good in the earlier game and will want to avenge that loss. Plus, B.C. is pretty beat up. However, I wouldn't rule the Lions out. Should be a good game.

Interestingly, Jarious Jackson has been more inclined to throw long passes down the field than either Pierce or Dickenson.

[GA Russell]

I see that the league's website, cfl.ca, is offering the television broadcasts of its games on the internet again this year.

The price for those outside Canada is $9.95 USD.

"Archived" games are $3.95.

The 2006 Grey Cup game is free. Why they would want to offer that one as a free sample is a mystery to me. That was the most boring Grey Cup game in memory. If I were them I would offer for free the 1996 Grey Cup game, which I went to, with the snow coming down and Doug Flutie scrambling.

http://www4.insinc.com/cfl/

*****

PS - Ian Busby won the 50/50 last week! His take was $19,000+. He said in his column that it was difficult to write about the game because he was so excited to win.

Edited August 1, 2007 by GA Russell

[John Tapscott]

I've seen guys get bad press for having difficult personalities (like Don Matthews) and for off-field behavior (like Lawrence Phillips), but I've never seen anyone in the CFL get such bad press for poor play as the Argos QB Mike McMahon has received. He must have really stunk the two games he played in. Did anyone see him on TV?

*****

I was away on vacation and didn't see the press. But I did see the Argos at Calgary on TV. McMahon was awful, missing receivers constantly, throwing to the wrong receiver, not able to adjust to blitzes, and so on. The reason the press are coming down on him so heavily is because of his oversized ego. He came in and expected to be handed the starting job, because he played in the NFL. His constant whining over his second-strong status has been very annoying. And when he did get a chance to start, he didn't show a thing. I don't know how this guy ever started in the NFL. I can't imagine the Argos winning another game (well maybe against Hamilton) until Michael Bishop returns. McMahon isn't half the QB that Bishop is. And the way the CFL is, a team can stink at the beginning of the year but still make it to the Grey Cup. Part of the Argos problem for the past few years is that they have no consistent running game. That's not such a big problem for Bishop since he can run the ball himself better than any of their running backs (through that's what led to his injury).

Edited August 1, 2007 by John Tapscott

[GA Russell]

Thanks for that info, John. The NFL pays a lot more, so they have the first pick of all the players. (Of course, the NBA with Charlie Ward and MLB with Bo Jackson show who really have the first pick.) So I have met many Torontonians who assume that everyone in the NFL is better than everyone in the CFL. They don't appreciate that they are different games, and that the ability to play American rules football doesn't prove that you have what it takes to play Canadian rules football (and vice versa).

*****

Here's Ian Busby's weekly view:

RANKINGS

(WITH PREVIOUS WEEK IN BRACKETS)

1. (1) B.C. Lions -- Starters dropping all over the place.

2. (2) Winnipeg -- End of record chase takes heat off.

3. (4) Saskatchewan -- Defence causing fits for even the best of QBs.

4. (5) Calgary -- Could be a championship contender if turnovers are cut down.

5. (3) Edmonton -- Everyone gets blown out at times.

6. (7) Montreal -- Fully earned win in Toronto but need to prove worth at home.

7. (6) Toronto -- Finally Allen and Avery get jobs back.

8. (8) Hamilton -- Frustration building but there are positive signs every week.

---

CRYSTAL BALL

OUR PREDICTIONS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Toronto at Montreal -- Als continue to struggle on home turf. Argos by 3.

Saskatchewan at B.C. -- 'Riders get revenge for earlier loss. Roughies by 3.

Winnipeg at Hamilton -- Tabbies finally cut out penalties and get first win. Ticats by 3.

Calgary at Edmonton -- Esks get back to basics in beating provincial rival. Edmonton by 7.

[GA Russell]

Week 6 previews:

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4094727.htm

*****

First Week 6 results:

Montreal Alouettes 29....Toronto Argonauts 27

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4094880.htm

Saskatchewan Roughriders 21....British Columbia Lions 9

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Gam...4389800-cp.html

*****

The Als' Mike Vilimek is out for the season with a torn ligament in his right knee. I'm under the impression that he is the best blocking back in the league, but some of you may have your own favorite.

[B. Clugston]

*****

First Week 6 results:

Montreal Alouettes 29....Toronto Argonauts 27

http://sports.canada.com/default.asp?c=can.../AJN4094880.htm

Saskatchewan Roughriders 21....British Columbia Lions 9

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Gam...4389800-cp.html

Ben Cahoon (!) kicks the winner for Montreal.

Lions only handed the ball off to Joe Smith nine times. They were 2nd and 5 at the 'Riders 6 and Jackson threw two straight incompletee passes (to be fair, there was uncalled blatant pass interference on the latter). Given two chances, you go to think Joe Smith would have made it to the end zone.

[John Tapscott]

My prediction that the Argos will not win another game until Michael Bishop returns is holding fast. Seems that Damon Allen's injury might be career ending. Hard to say this, but this may be a good thing. I loved Damon in his prime, but his prime is way past. He should have retired before the season started. And Pinball's motivational skills are wearing a little thin.