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CFL Week 5 Recap: The Best Week of the Season
25 Plays8 days ago
The Goal Post is back after a brief hiatus and a CRAZY weekend of CFL Football.
Damien and Patrick start off the show by talking about the Edmonton Elks’ huge first win of the season, which capped off an absolutely insane weekend in the league. BC scraped out a last-second win against Montreal that included a post-game brawl, the Ticats put a 50 burger on the Argos, and the Stampeders won the first annual Stampede Bowl.
The Boys then issue another edition of The Goal Post 3 Stars of the Week - in which there was no shortage of offensive firepower to highlight. Next, they do a major re-shuffle of the CFL power rankings to take into account Week 5 wins and losses, before moving to Week 6.
They quickly preview each game on the Week 6 slate, including moving lines and quick thoughts, before giving out their Week 6 picks - The Podcast is 12-4 to date.
Enjoy!
Intro: 0:00 - 2:23
ELKS 39 REDBLACKS 33: 2:24 - 15:39
LIONS 21 ALOUETTES 20: 15:40 - 26:09
TICATS 51 ARGOS 38: 26:10 - 37:22
STAMPEDERS 37 BLUE BOMBERS 16: 37:23 - 43:31
Three Stars of the Week: 43:32 - 47:00
Power Rankings: 47:01 - 51:31
Week 6 Preview: 51:32 - 58:07
Week 6 Picks: 58:08 - 1:02:05
Recommended
Transcript
Opening and Celebrations
00:00:18
Speaker
All right, welcome back to another episode of The Goalpost. We're coming at you after a short, short hiatus. It's my 25th birthday. It was also Canada Day, taking off Canada Day as all good Canadians should, enjoying the sunshine.
00:00:36
Speaker
But we're back, Patrick. We're back in action after probably the best week of the CFL season so far. Yeah. Happy birthday, Damien. um Happy Canada Day to all our listeners as well. Hope you enjoyed it. Hope you had a great, it was kind of a weird setup on the Tuesday, you know, all going right. You got the Monday and Tuesday off, but it's all good. I hope everyone had a great Canada Day. It was some amazing weather and yeah.
00:01:02
Speaker
The CFL delivered over the past two weeks, including this one. um I always, I don't know about you, how you feel about it, but you know, with the Jays playing that afternoon, Canada day game feels like a nice opportunity. I know it'd be a short week. I know it would be a short week and it's the logistics may not work, but But it just feels like an opportunity to maybe have a CFL nightcap there on Canada Day.
00:01:24
Speaker
um So maybe that was the only thing missing from the CFL. But otherwise, we had points, we had penalties, we had brawls, we had a bit of everything this past week. We really did. Yeah, I was thinking about it. like Maybe you put one team on that week four that would have had a bye week five.
00:01:41
Speaker
Like Saskatchewan, like you put them on the Monday night against somebody who then can then play the Sunday game and make it at least like a six day break. Some somehow I think they got to they got to fit that in next week or next year somehow.
00:01:54
Speaker
Yeah, there's there's just some opportunity there. You know, like there's there's a hunger. People are out all day. They're having fun. Uh, there's just an opportunity there and you know, similar how they're doing it to this next week coming up where there's only three games and multiple teams at bi-weeks.
00:02:07
Speaker
Maybe you do that the week before, and then you just let those two teams that the bi-week, they get a short week and then they get an extended week the week after. So it's almost like a double bi. I'm sure though, those two teams wouldn't be, wouldn't be against that idea.
00:02:22
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I think so too. But, All things said, faint fantastic, fantastic weekend in the CFL. And we're going to go in reverse this time. We usually start on the Thursday game, but we're going to go in reverse because it feels like that is just where we have to start.
Edmonton Elks' First Win
00:02:39
Speaker
And where we start is the Edmonton Elks getting their first win of the season, their first win in June or July season. Since 2022, they beat the Ottawa Red Blacks 39 to 33. Man, this was a fun one. Edmonton was desperate for a win at home or a win of any kind.
00:03:02
Speaker
And they delivered in this one. This was the Edmonton Elks game. Like from from start to finish, really, it felt like everything was clicking for the Elks in the right way. And you could just feel win coming in the air.
00:03:17
Speaker
Yeah, it was. I was listening to the pregame, ah you know, La Police, Mwamba. They just kept saying it feels like the Elks. It feels like the Elks, similar to how we put a must win label on the Argos two weeks ago.
00:03:29
Speaker
Same kind of feeling for the Elks this week at home. You're getting Drew Brown, who you know missed the past couple of weeks, probably wasn't going to be at his best. And you took advantage of that. You came hot out of the gates, touchdown on the first drive. You're feeling so good. You went for two right after, and then you followed up with the second drive with another touchdown, jumped right out to a 15 to three lead.
00:03:52
Speaker
It was just perfect from the Elks, and they executed their game plan perfectly right out of start. Trey Ford, I believe, started, it was at least 11 for 11. I think it was somewhere around that 11th range. He had his first in completion. So he finally, you know, started a game. It wasn't one of those second half late heroics from Trey Ford. We finally got a full four quarters of Trey Ford, even though, even though the Elks seem like they didn't want it to happen.
00:04:21
Speaker
We will get into that later, but that was, there was some weird quarterback ah decisions being made, but yeah, it was, it was Trey Ford. It was execution And I think there's something that kind of surprised me a little bit in this game was just the Elks defense showed up.
00:04:35
Speaker
Finally, it it was something that we hadn't seen up to this point. And they stifled the red blocks early, especially in the first half. And it allowed the Elks to build a big enough lead and they didn't give it up the rest of the game.
00:04:47
Speaker
Yeah, it was. They said it on the broadcast, the Elks defense has had big plays this season. but they've struggled to find big plays in big moments. And that is exactly what happened in this game.
00:05:00
Speaker
When Ottawa was, you know, getting some momentum back, they would always find a big play on defense to shut them down, especially in the fourth quarter. This was just a game where everything seemed to be clicking. Like you said, off the first drive, ah they go and kind of make a drive out of nothing. It looked like it was about to end. Trey Ford scrambles.
00:05:19
Speaker
hit Stephen Dunbar on like a ridiculous, like twisting turnaround catch. Uh, and then Justin ranking goes 45 yards to the house and they just kept pummeling them like the first half here, or at least the first quarter and a half, uh, Edmonton was just driving the ball perfectly. Like you said, Trey Ford starts almost perfect, goes I think, yeah, 10 for 10 or 11 for 11.
00:05:43
Speaker
ah Curly Gittins is getting in the end zone. um And then the end of the second quarter here was pretty fucking wild here, too, because Drew Brown goes leads a 68 yard touchdown drive.
00:05:55
Speaker
Khalil Pimpleton was fantastic in this game. He had three straight catches on that drive. Geno Lewis finishes it with a touchdown against his old team. ah And then. Part of that lead that Edmonton built, that twenty two to three lead in the first quarter and a half, the final you know touchdown of that lead, Javon Leak takes it 94 yards to the house.
00:06:19
Speaker
Exactly what we've come to know Javon Leak as is just a guy who at any moment in and in the game can turn the Jets on and give you a play like that. And then to close the half, Khalil Pimpleton goes band for band with him and and gets a 97 punt return of his own.
00:06:34
Speaker
And all of a sudden, it's a five-point lead only going into half. that was the first That made it the first week in the CFL with four kick return touchdowns since 2004. We'll get to the other two a bit later. But the first half of this game was just fireworks.
00:06:50
Speaker
Yeah, just when you thought Edmonton might just go wire to wire, blow out fashion, you know handle business, and kind of send a message to the rest of the CFL saying, hey, we are we are not going away.
00:07:01
Speaker
ad admit to er sorry Ottawa just finds a way to creep back in. Like I said, started with that Geno Lewis touchdown. Then out of nowhere, you know you're running out the half. You can have a two-score lead going into half. And then Pimpleton takes it 97 yards to the house.
00:07:15
Speaker
The CFL is fun, man. ah It's just something that you never can get too comfortable. Leads evaporate very quickly. And we saw that with Ottawa in this one where they said, hey, we got plenty of time left in this game. Let's find a way to just get some points. And their defense kind of showed up a bit in that second quarter. like The only touchdown they gave up was on special teams, not offensively. So they kind of were able to find a way to slow down Trey Ford.
00:07:42
Speaker
But then it was just, you come out of the second half and it's just like, what what are we going to get here? And then Edmonton, it looked like Edmonton was just going the wrong way, especially when the second quarter ended the way it did. Then you come out of the locker room and...
00:07:58
Speaker
It looked like a touchdown on the field. Trey Ford fumbles it around his own five-yard line. Ottawa picks it up, takes it into the end zone. They review the play. Then they say Ottawa was down on the two or three-yard line.
00:08:12
Speaker
Then Edmonton challenges... And they find a way to get a roughing the passer because his hands hit Trey Ford's face mask. So they just avoided complete disaster there. Only gave up a field goal after that. So it was a four point swing.
00:08:26
Speaker
And then they finally found their rhythm in the second half. But it was in it was kind of worrying to see Edmonton was just, oh no, like they're doing this again. They are they arere cursed in July. They cannot win a football game, but they found a way to you know turn it around.
00:08:39
Speaker
after a couple of speed bumps, but it was ah it was a nice, complete effort out of Edmonton, and it just took a while in the second half to get going. Yeah, they avoided, I would say, like complete disaster, but part of that was kind of this game in a nutshell for Ottawa, because Ottawa finishes the game with 118 penalty yards. They were leading the CFL in penalties per game, which was 10 going into week five, second in penalty yards per game at 82.8,
00:09:09
Speaker
And just every time they had something going for them in this game, a big penalty seemed to happen. Whether was the penalty that got challenged and and you know held up to revert that that touchdown, or in the third quarter, you know they needed a touchdown, they got The Elks turn it over on downs. Ottawa has great field position. They're down 32 to 19 and they red blacks need a touchdown to put pressure on. And then drew Brown and the offensive line can't get on the same page.
00:09:40
Speaker
And almost the entire receiving core is offside. They get a huge penalty 10 yards back, and it just kills any chance at a conversion. And all of a sudden they're settling for a field goal.
00:09:52
Speaker
That just felt like a real turning point in this game. And just the penalties in general held the Red Blacks back in this game. And they seem to have held the Red Blacks back in this game all season long. That same thing happened in week one against Saskatchewan. I think they also had like 120 penalty yards in that game.
00:10:10
Speaker
It's your boy, Bob Dice, man. I don't know. He's got to get the boys under control. They had a ah very similar like offside where like all three receivers were way past the line of scrimmage in the first quarter too. So it wasn't a one-off. It was, we should fix this or at least address it at half.
00:10:25
Speaker
Clearly wasn't addressed. And then it showed up in the worst possible time for them. Another turning point for me in this game, well, first off, it was, you know, we we give Trey Ford our flowers here, but this was also the Justin Rankin game.
00:10:40
Speaker
That 74-yard touchdown run right, you know, near the end of the third quarter, There was no, there was no, like they mentioned on the broadcast, there was no second or third level. He just hit the hole and there was no one behind him.
00:10:52
Speaker
He was gone. 74 yards. he I think he finished the game with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown and then 69 receiving yards and a touchdown. So just doing it on both sides, or sorry, both ends of the offense. And it was just very impressive where, you know, if Trey Ford kind of got in a lull, Justin Rankin was there to help him out and,
00:11:14
Speaker
Let's get into it. I don't understand why Elks, because specifically after that 74-yard touchdown run, they've trot out Cody Fajardo. And I know Trey Ford didn't you know run the ball 74 yards, but you got to think a running quarterback in the game helps set up that hole and just the defense that they face to you know create that touchdown and then...
00:11:36
Speaker
You bring in Cody Fajardo, Trey Ford gets out of rhythm. And it was just Cody Fajardo had two series, I believe, and they're both two and outs. And I just don't understand what was going on there.
00:11:47
Speaker
And they both seem to come at times when Edmonton had momentum in this game. And then all of a sudden you're switching out quarterbacks and both times it seemed to kill the momentum that they had.
00:11:59
Speaker
Listen, I'm not one. to say that if Trey Ford is playing bad, he should stay in the game. By all means, that's why you brought Cody Fajardo into this quarterback room. but Just the time and the place. I know they were saying on the broadcast, La Police was saying that he's done this in games before. It's a set plan kind of thing.
00:12:17
Speaker
But you got to have some sort of feel in this because if this game were to go ass up and the Elks end up losing this game, It's hard not to point to that and to point to coaching as a part of the game that essentially blew it for the Elks. I just don't see the need to make that change to your roster and to your lineup in the middle of when things are going well. Like that was just a complete head scratcher to me.
00:12:43
Speaker
And the weird part was like you mentioned it, it, Trey Ford was having his best game of the season. You had opportunities in the previous three weeks where if you put Cody Fajardo in, no one bats an eye, right? There was opportunities where Trey Ford was not having his best stuff and you could have changed some momentum there, brought in Cody Fajardo to kind of, you know, steady the ship and find a way to complete some passes.
00:13:04
Speaker
but you didn't do it then. And then you finally get Trey Ford. And like we said before, he had a four quarter game here and you just bring them in and it kills momentum. And, you know, thankfully it didn't cost the Elks this game. Otherwise it'd be a much bigger talking point, but yeah, it was just an interesting decision and it was definitely something that was set on pregame.
00:13:26
Speaker
And I guess they felt that there was no need to adjust to it, even though I think you probably should have seeing that Trey Ford had a 158.3 passer rating in this game and two incompletions and just, you know played his best football of the season. So, well, I guess that's going to be something we're going to to keep an eye on for the rest of this season, maybe.
00:13:45
Speaker
It really is. This this was the Trey Ford game we've been waiting for. Like the highs, the lows. This was him finding his middle ground, doing what he does best. 212 yards, two touchdowns.
00:13:58
Speaker
15 for 17. Like you said, perfect passer rating, two rushes for 14 yards, ah second straight game without an interception. Like this is the ground where if Trey Ford plays like this in a game, the Elks have a good chance of winning. So that is something to keep an eye on if they can keep this up.
00:14:17
Speaker
I like them. We'll get to our picks next week, but I like that they're getting BC at home next week, a chance to kind of vault them ah in the standings if they win. um But nevertheless, the Elks hold on ah and win this one. Mark Killam gets his first win as a CFL head coach. Nice Gatorade dump in this one.
00:14:37
Speaker
And I like the trend here. like the The Elks had... much more people in the stands than their home opener this year, whether that was, you know, two days after the Oilers got kicked out of the Stanley Cup final.
00:14:49
Speaker
um But if they keep winning, that is how you get asses back in the seats. That's the one recipe ah that is tried and true is a winning team gets people in the stands.
00:15:00
Speaker
And I like the direction that Edmonton is heading after this game, a huge, huge week for them on a lot of different fronts. Yeah, I mean, winning this game was massive, must win.
00:15:10
Speaker
And if they found a way to lose it in the fashion where they got off to such a hot start, it really could have been a season killer. But they found a way to keep their head above water and they found the rhythm again late in the second half.
00:15:23
Speaker
And it was just a combination of Trey Ford, Justin Rankin and the defense finally stepping up and just keeping you know the opposition out of the end zone. And it was a perfect combination for the Elks.
00:15:35
Speaker
And we'll see if they can kind of ride this momentum for the rest of the season. Absolutely. ah We'll move to another team that was pretty close to must win territory going into the weekend, which is the BC Lions. They had to win this game and they did by the skin of their teeth. Lions 21, Alouettes 20.
00:15:54
Speaker
ah Really interesting game for a few reasons. But of course, the biggest being that it ends on a Sean White walk off field goal with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
00:16:05
Speaker
And I'm glad BC won this game because it felt like one big missed opportunity up until this point. Like that was the general vibe of this game while you were watching. It was like, man, BC is really letting this one get away from them here.
BC Lions' Last-Second Victory
00:16:20
Speaker
ah You know, Davis Alexander is not in the game. You have McLeod Bethel Thompson. You're on the road. This should be a game. where you can kind of scrap out a win. And it really didn't look like that up until the end of the game. Like BC was moving the ball well, but they just couldn't seem to convert when it mattered in this game. They would have a couple big chunk plays, ah splash play, and then all of a sudden it would be a punt or it would be a field goal that they would be settling for.
00:16:47
Speaker
um But they really turned on the Jets late in this game. The big touchdown didn't come until like the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. ah Rourke throws a bomb. to Stanley Berryhill for a 46 yard touchdown, and gorgeous play, a huge touchdown.
00:17:02
Speaker
But then it kind of looked like they were out of this one because Montreal marched it down the field ah and kicks a field goal with like, what was it? 27 seconds left. um But somehow, some way,
00:17:15
Speaker
Again, that prevent defense, all it does is prevent you from winning um because Montreal let up a lot of easy yards on this one. I can't believe BC went for that throw with like three seconds left, but it he gets down on the ground and they kick the field goal. This was a crazy end of the game.
00:17:34
Speaker
the There was a theme in this game for me, and and it was penalties. ah You mentioned it, ah BC was moving the ball pretty well for most of the game, but every time they were you know on the doorstep or they would get that big first down to get into the red zone, it was 10 yards back, penalty, you know second down, repeat, and it was just Throughout the game, they ended up having 11 penalties for 146 yards in this game, which is just not what you're looking for for you know your first game back with Nathan Rourke.
00:18:03
Speaker
yeah They were moving the ball all game, like we've mentioned before. And then when you you have chance to put points on the board, and and what was a low-scoring game? like Points mattered a lot in this one.
00:18:14
Speaker
They just kept shooting themselves in the foot. And then Montreal goes down, kills almost the entire clock. Like you said, kicks that field goal late, really late in the fourth quarter.
00:18:25
Speaker
And what do they do? They take a stupid penalty after kicking the field goal, which pushes them back 15 yards, allows BC to have a shorter field than what they normally would have to go to get this game winning field goal.
00:18:37
Speaker
They execute, you know, like you said, they take advantage of the prevent defense. They get it to a spot where Sean White can make a, not, not a gimme field goal, but an extremely makeable one. He nails it from 43 yards to walk it off.
00:18:50
Speaker
and ah And you're just looking around and just being like, it was mistakes from the lack of discipline on both teams. Uh, somehow BC with almost, you know tripling Montreal's penalty yards finds a way to win this game, but it was penalties for BC that kept them out of the end zone for the first three quarters.
00:19:07
Speaker
And then a stupid penalty from Montreal at the end, which like, I didn't love the penalty, but yeah he gave them two chances to call the same thing. And eventually on the second time, they threw the flag because it's just like this guy is being way too aggressive.
00:19:21
Speaker
They decided to call it. It came back to cost them. And in just another another classic CFL finish where you think the game's sealed, ah no timeouts for BC. They find a way to get enough yardages and they just, they kicked the field goal to win. And it was just penalties for me in this game was the theme of it.
00:19:38
Speaker
Yeah, it really was. And, and just a messy game on both sides of the field in this one, another game where if the lions lose this, it's a way bigger storyline. Like ah there's so many questions they're able to keep their head above water.
00:19:54
Speaker
Hard to stress how much Nathan Rourke matters to this team. Like he, he comes back, he has he Pretty great game. 352 passing yards. Four BC receivers had 40 or more yards.
00:20:07
Speaker
ah And Katoi was just shy. He had 38. So almost five receivers ah with 40 or more yards. And they just kind of got it done by committee in this game. They have they seem to have receiving core that different guys step up when they need to and make big plays. This was a game in general for Montreal that they probably want to forget a bit on offense.
00:20:29
Speaker
Yeah. Starting to feel the effects of Davis Alexander not being on this team ah pretty hard. like you You get um two losses in a row now. Their first home loss, he goes 15-23 for 192 yards.
00:20:44
Speaker
He did have two touchdowns, but he missed a lot of big throws that could have broken this game wide open. um they They were heavy on the ground in this game. I thought that Sean Thomas Erlington run on that last drive was going to seal this game. had that huge loss.
00:20:58
Speaker
huge run near the end in the fourth quarter. um But this similarly felt like a game for Montreal where they missed a lot of opportunities to win this game. And then, like you said, the lack of discipline ended up meaning that they lose the game Yeah, and and Bethel Thompson got absolutely smoked in this game. Caleb Evans had to come in for a couple plays.
00:21:20
Speaker
So I don't think McLeod was 100% healthy when he finished this game. So you know even more emphasis on they need Davis Alexander back, healthy, ready to go because...
00:21:31
Speaker
When he is back, they do look like the most dangerous team in the East. Then you take him out of the equation and it's like this team is very mortal. If you're losers of the BC Lions in the fashion that you just did, you're very beatable. So the quicker Davis Alexander can get back, obviously the better. And on the flip side,
00:21:51
Speaker
I didn't realize this, but they mentioned on the broadcast, you know, Nathan Rourke going into this game had only played once this year and he was still BC's second leading rusher. So not only is he important in the passing game, but he is like doing it on all parts of all offense here for this team. James Butler still really trying to, uh, like just trying to find himself in this offense, like only 41 yards on 12 carries in this game, kept out of the end zone. Nathan Rourke was the one who rushed in for a touchdown in this game and through one.
00:22:20
Speaker
So they really need to get this running game going to take a little bit of pressure off Rourke. But like you said before, Rourke is the guy on this team. And, you know, Jeremiah Masoli, no disrespect. You've done a lot in the CFL and you're a great veteran and, you know, one of the better backups, I guess, you could have.
00:22:37
Speaker
in the league, but you're nothing compared to what Nathan Rourke is. And it's just kind of like, he's the herpy, right? He's the leader of this team. It's nice to see him out there. And he didn't have his greatest game, but he did enough. He came through in the clutch here and he led BC to a good win.
00:22:54
Speaker
Definitely. And then we have one of the best embrace debates every year in the CFL, whenever there's a post-game brawl, immediate debate on whether it's good or bad for the league, which is In itself, a hilarious discussion to have.
00:23:08
Speaker
um But it started Lions D lineman, Kamoko Ture, former second round pick to the NFL. um appeared to like try to enter enter the tunnel to go into the Montreal locker room.
00:23:21
Speaker
ah Isaac Adeyemi-Berglin kind of gets in his way. lot of punches thrown. lot of people getting in the mix in this one. People in uniform, people out of uniform, um which is just so funny because there's so much pearl clutching that goes on after something like this happens. like I got to pull that pull up the Three Down Nation article. the the The fucking headline on this was so funny.
00:23:48
Speaker
BC Lions undercut walk-off win against Alouettes with bad penalties and shameful brawl, which is so good, man. This stuff happens in professional sports. It happens in all professional sports. It happens in the NFL multiple times a year. This one was, you know, not your average brawl. I will say that like people wear a helmets off, squaring up, throwing punches. People were tackled to the ground, punches on the ground.
00:24:13
Speaker
So in that sense, I guess, yeah, it was a step above maybe your, you know, the average scuffle you might see after the game. ah But it's not something that like, it's not I don't think it's good or bad for the league. I think it's something that happened.
00:24:27
Speaker
It draws eyes and you know it creates discourse. So I guess in a weird way, it is good, but I don't think it's a good image for league. But it's it's something that's going to happen. It's not something that you can be like, oh, it's a shameful, it's a disgusting act.
00:24:41
Speaker
you know it's say It's Randy Moss mooting the crowd. Joe Buck is saying... That is, you know, it's, it's just, it's not a huge deal. If it continues to happen, then we may have problems, but I think a lot of it stems from just having the same teams on or the two teams on the same sideline.
00:24:57
Speaker
I think when you're drawing back and forth the entire game, the locker rooms aren't that far apart. ah it just kind of sets up for a little bit of this stuff, especially in the East. I find that, I think that's where it is. The East sidelines, they share them all the time. So i think that could be a problem.
00:25:12
Speaker
Maybe that's your solution if you're the CFL commissioner. Uh, but for the most part, like, It's just something that happened. that that That's how I'm looking at it. It draws some eyes. It creates discourse, but it's not something that I'm going to pearl clutch over like you mentioned or say this is shameful act.
00:25:29
Speaker
And we'll see what comes from it. People are probably going to be suspended. I would assume, especially the first two, probably the first three guys because the Montreal had the third guy in that was out of uniform. I assume he might actually get the heftiest punishment in this one considering he wasn't in uniform, but what we'll see what all comes from it.
00:25:47
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. it's It's neither good nor bad. It's just something that happens in professional football. um But all in all, huge win for the Lions who moved to 2-3 with the win. Avoid falling to one and four Just a giant, giant win for some for a team that hasn't been on the bye week.
00:26:05
Speaker
um But yeah, that was a bit of a crazy end to a Saturday night. We will now move to Friday night with arguably... the craziest game of the week.
00:26:16
Speaker
This was just mental. Ticats 51 Argos 38.
Ticats vs Argos High-Scoring Game
00:26:22
Speaker
thirty eight There was 12 total touchdowns in this game and 83 points.
00:26:29
Speaker
Just mental, just a mental game. I was working this game for the CFL. It was a long night of work because there was just play after play after play that happened in this game.
00:26:40
Speaker
um ah we we can start i feel like you've got to start from the the very beginning of this game. um Again, the Argos at home open with a perfect touchdown drive, similar ah to that Rough Riders game.
00:26:53
Speaker
um They're getting everybody involved. Kevin Mattel has big plays and in the first drive. Kevin Brown finishes it with a short run. And then the Ticats proceed to score on their next three drives, the the first one being 35-yard touchdown.
00:27:09
Speaker
Randy Moss-esque catch from Kenny Lawler going directly over the defender and climbing the ladder. um But that play happens directly after Nick Arbuckle throws an absolute duck and underthrows Ungerer, interception by another former Argo, Deshaun Amos, and then the first play after, they score on it. like Up until that point, the Argos had been playing well on defense.
00:27:33
Speaker
You give Hamilton a short field, and the the wheels just start to roll. Yeah, the Argos are counting down the weeks until Chad Kelly comes back. I think it seems like they have one more. Dinwiddie announced he would be out this past week that just happened, and I think he's out next week. And then we can have the conversation to see if Chad is back.
00:27:53
Speaker
But yeah, like you said, if the Argos kind of kept this mistake free, especially in the first quarter and the first half, They were going to be in this game and they were going to be trading blows. ah and And it was something that like Hamilton gets the momentum and they're a team that's going to ride momentum. And Bo Levi is going to look to sling it deep. And this team is, you know, exactly what Hamilton is this year.
00:28:15
Speaker
Bo Levi is going to do everything in his power to throw the ball to Kenny Lawler. And he did that the entire game. And Kenny Lawler, Not single-handedly, but he was the focal point on offense. 207 yards on six catches and three scores.
00:28:32
Speaker
You think you might want to adjust at some point and say, hey, let's let somebody else beat us. Because not only is this you know something that happened in this game against the Argos, it's all season long.
00:28:43
Speaker
It's what the Ticats are. They brought him in for a reason. He is... you know, the perennial receiver in the CFL. And now you have like a full on gunslinger throwing it to him. Congrats to Bo Levi for going over 40,000 career CFL passing yards. Congratulations to him, but he's going to be slinging it to Kenny Lawler the entire game and teams have to stop it. Like in pregame, this is not a secret.
00:29:07
Speaker
Find a way to stop it. The Argos could not. And they just kind of rode the momentum, like you said, after that interception and just blew the doors off the Argos with points. They really did. Like after that 35-yard touchdown, the Ticats add a field goal, and then the next one is a 79-yard touchdown to Kenny Lawler.
00:29:26
Speaker
Ridiculous play. He has 120 yards and two touchdowns before the first quarter is over. like It's ridiculous. After the game, he's like, I don't know why they don't double me. like He's that good where that's not like a cocky thing to say if you're him, to be like, I have no idea why this team isn't doubling me.
00:29:45
Speaker
And this was a game where when you look back at it, like the Argos put up 38 points on offense. This wasn't a game that fell on the offense as much as they need Chad Kelly back.
00:29:57
Speaker
This was a game where they could not find a stop to save their life. Like there was a couple backbreaking plays in this game. And it was mostly because the defense could not find a way to get a stop.
00:30:09
Speaker
um And I think that One of the backbreaking plays, it and it seems innocuous when you look at the rest of this game, but you go into half down 24 to 13, and then the start of the second half,
00:30:23
Speaker
Hamilton goes down and has like a five minute drive where they march down the entirety of the field and Greg Bell finishes it off with like a four yard run. And that to me was in this game, like a microcosm, like it didn't really matter what was going to happen. If Hamilton could score touchdowns on pretty much every single drive that they wanted to like, even when after that Greg Bell touchdown, Janarian Grant takes it back 96 yards on a kick return. Like Exactly what we've come to know, Janarian Grant, as think the broadcast showed the stat that he averages a kick or punt return every four and a half games, which is a CFL record. It's the best in CFL history at this point.
00:31:05
Speaker
um But even then, like even when they would seem to get some sort of momentum from that, Hamilton goes down and gets another touchdown, like another Kenny Lawler touchdown, 46 yards. Like it was just the recipe for this game. They couldn't stop them.
00:31:22
Speaker
Yeah, it was just no adjustments defensively. ah The entire game and every Kenny Lawler touchdown was a splash play. It wasn't like a a seven yard slant for a touchdown where it's like, oh okay, he he just beat us there, found a hole in the zone.
00:31:36
Speaker
And we we did our best. It was, you are giving up chunk play after chunk play to this team and they're doing whatever they want on offense. They're running the ball, they're throwing it. Like it it was just whatever they want. And the Arcos, like that was a great play with Grant. It was like the reverse flip.
00:31:51
Speaker
Like they're pulling out every trick in their bag to kind of hang out in this game. And then, you know, they're they're still hanging around. They're like Coxy and Mattel. they were They were great this game. you know Both over 70 yards. Both had a receiving touchdown. it was it was um It's impressive to see Mattel kind of get going again. cause he had a like Obviously, we're still early in the season, but he was kind of he was kind of a ghost the first three weeks, but he got going in week four. He's finally going now, so it's nice to see him step up. so I guess there is a bright side for the Argonauts.
00:32:22
Speaker
But man, and and you get a, you start out in the fourth quarter, you give up a quick touchdown, but then you answer it right back the next drive. And then the like there's clear special teams problems for me, for this Argos team.
00:32:36
Speaker
It happened to the Rough Riders. You lost the game specifically because of special teams. And then I'm not saying like, this is the reason they lost, but you know, you get a two and out or even you, you stop them after one first down, you get the ball back quickly. You have plenty of time to find a way to to get some points here and make this a game and maybe get it to overtime, but you give up 86-yard kick return.
00:32:57
Speaker
And like it's just this is something that's been a theme through the first five weeks. So I think it's going to be a trend over the course of the season if nothing changes. But to me, it's just this Argos team, specifically on defense and special teams, has just not been able to make adjustments in-game, and it's cost them at at least two games this season.
00:33:17
Speaker
Yeah, and you know with getting 51 points, Points put up on you. It's hard to like point to that, but it really was because it was 3726 at the end of the third quarter. The Argos started the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive.
00:33:30
Speaker
So it got to I think they went for two on that one and failed, but it was it was like 3732 or something at that point. And you think it's like, OK, you are actually somehow within arm's length of this.
00:33:44
Speaker
And then you kick the ball off and give up an 86 yard touchdown. That was the absolute backbreaker in this game. Isaiah Wooden, that's his second kick return of the season. He looks to be an absolute star in the making.
00:33:57
Speaker
um And they did have a little bright side in this was. Safeway touchdown win first winner in 26 years.
00:34:08
Speaker
ah it It took to get another one. A lot of people were saying it was the first one. Good reporting by third down nation. um It was he was Roy Lister from BC, which I don't know if I would want that announced to everybody that I i just won a million bucks.
00:34:22
Speaker
a million you can do it it's like the lotto max uh lottery when you're winning 50 mil it's like okay maybe put down an alias on that one so he can protect my identity but ah you can do a million especially ah in a circumstance like this yeah but he was announced as the first ever winner that claim was debunked a 60 year old edmonton woman named gail sinclair uh won it back in 99 when gizmo williams and donnie ashley each took a kickoff to the house um but Electric, electric to kick returns in the game to win a million bucks.
00:34:53
Speaker
ah The prize money will be awarded in annual installments of 50 grand spread out over the next 20 years. So that's a pretty nice little retirement bump there.
00:35:03
Speaker
little yeah that grand a year. That's a nice way to kind of get it. I don't know the age of Roy Lester here, but if you're sub 50, that is your retirement plan pretty much. And you can just enjoy whatever you got to do.
00:35:20
Speaker
ah Maybe they have some sort of plan after maybe like 10 years, be like, hey, can I just take the advance here yeah and just get get the rest of it? Because over the next 20 years is a long time, but- I mean, you can't really complain when you win a free million dollars. Yeah, that's awesome. um But, you know, to to close out this game, like I thought Dwayne Ford had a great point on the broadcast.
00:35:40
Speaker
ah He said it right after the kick return, but he said, you know, earlier in this game, I said, that the Argos did not want to get into a track meet with this Ticats team. And that's exactly what happened. And it's exactly part of the reason why the Argos lost it so badly.
00:35:57
Speaker
Again, if you score 38 points, you should probably be able to win that football game. um But the defense just could not find a way to get stops and it ended up killing them. By week could not come at a better time for this Argos team.
00:36:11
Speaker
Give Chad Kelly another week of rest. ah They need a guy like Mayan Williams back who is out for injury. Just a bunch of things seemingly adding up in the wrong way for this Argos team who is now one in four.
00:36:24
Speaker
Yeah, it's not the start they were looking for. i guess you could say you could predict it with Chad not starting, but I don't think anyone saw it starting off this poorly. ah The good thing they have going for them is, you know, you got Ottawa still behind you, at least, you know, Hamilton's only at two and two, Montreal slowly coming back to the pack with Davis alex Alexander out. So there's still plenty of time and you don't have to make up that much ground in the East right now. And Chad Kelly is, you know,
00:36:52
Speaker
hopefully two, three weeks away at most to returning to this Argos team. ah But yeah, it it was Hamilton wanted to play this style of football. Toronto didn't do enough to kind of change the the game style and Hamilton will love to put up to, they'll give up 38 points in any game and they'll find a way to put up 40 or more. Like that's just the way Hamilton plays football.
00:37:14
Speaker
And that's why they're one of our favorite over teams this season. That is right. We'll get to that later with our picks, but hell of a trend for them. um We'll move to the final game of the week back on Thursday, ah the inaugural stampede bowl, hometown Calgary stampede is absolutely demolished.
Calgary Stampeders' Dominance
00:37:33
Speaker
the undefeated blue bombers 37 to 16. Uh, this was a game. Well, actually we'll start with, with the whole like stampede bowl thing. I kind of love this for the CFL. Like, uh, the, one of my favorite accounts on Twitter, sickos committee all over this, because it's like a, it gives it almost like a college football feel, like creating a bowl out of nothing. you get a cool new trophy for it. A a MVP in the game.
00:37:58
Speaker
um something i just kind of loved about this whole new thing. certain like big game feel to it. Stampedes in town. There's tons of people in town. They had a good turnout for this. It's kind of the exact kind of thing that brings new eyes on the league and bring some excitement to what might've been a regular, you know, fifth week game in the CFL.
00:38:18
Speaker
Things like this put asses in seats, and that's exactly what the CFL needs. ah you know Huge to take advantage of the Stampede being in town, Calgary at home against a you know ah a team like the Blue Bombers, like ah just a staple in the CFL over the past 10 years.
00:38:34
Speaker
So you know hat hat tip to the commissioner, smart play here, good vibe to it. Everything was fun. like A lot of clips came out of it. Heenock was racing a cow.
00:38:45
Speaker
like it Just a lot of stuff like that. heat there Everyone was having fun. Just seemed like a good vibe in the air. And then, you know, for the, for the home fans at Calgary, like you got a hell of an effort, probably their best performance this season.
00:38:58
Speaker
Uh, you know, finally, Winnipeg looks like a mortal team and not like they were going to run the table and go undefeated and, you know, straight back to it representing the West in the great cup for yet again, get another year.
00:39:11
Speaker
So yeah, it was, it was perfect to have a lot of fans there. And finally, like the the stamps, the stamps might be back. Like, I think we're, we're approaching that. They're now four and or sorry, three and one.
00:39:22
Speaker
And, uh, yeah, it was just impressive how they've kind of flipped the switch from what was a forgettable season last year. Yeah, it really was. And they started right off the bat in this game, like Vernon Adams, 43 yard touchdown pass, the Clark Barnes gets that first touchdown pass, uh, as a stampeder and really lights this game kind of up with that.
00:39:43
Speaker
Um, You know, they get a rouge, they get a field goal, and then they get a 30-yard pick six from Damon Webb, 15-3 in the first quarter, just rolling. And then they keep it going in the second quarter. First overall pick, Damian Alford gets the end zone.
00:39:58
Speaker
And that drive was kind of a perfect little nutshell of this game. Winnipeg, i it literally looked like they sent 11 guys on a blitz on second down. VA quickly tosses one up to Tevin Jones, 30-yard jump ball down the sideline. Dedrick Mills follows that with a 21-yard run.
00:40:17
Speaker
Then Alfred gets his first CFL touchdown, and all of a sudden they're up in this game. And that really felt like that was kind of the... I don't know, like the the the end to this game almost, because then they added Dedrick Mills got another touchdown in this one. He now leads the CFL with five, and it was a six play 84 yard drive like there.
00:40:41
Speaker
There really wasn't a lot of points to talk about for Winnipeg in this game. It was just all Calgary. Dominance. Dominance on both sides of the ball. All three. like There were some you know special teams plays in there as well that contributed to the scoreboard.
00:40:55
Speaker
but yeah Winnipeg, 16 points were on the board for them. They scored their only touchdown with 228 left in the fourth quarter when the game was well, well out of reach. like It was impressive. They Calgary held them to two field goals in the first half, one in the third quarter, and then they gave up that touchdown late. It was just, Winnipeg could do nothing. And then, yeah, the pick six as well from Damon Webb.
00:41:18
Speaker
it was dominance from Calgary. And it was just, it we didn't seem like, like it was, they, it was, this seemed just like another game for them. Like that was kind of the most impressive party. It just seemed business as usual, where they said, this is a big game.
00:41:32
Speaker
We're hosting ah the blue bombers coming into town. We could use a win. And they went out there and just start to finish and just clean like VA only 18 attempts to have, you know, no interceptions, two touchdowns, Dedrick mills, just taking the load again. Like 18 carries, 93 yards. He gets in the end zone again. So it's just a nice combination and a balanced ah offense here from Calgary.
00:41:55
Speaker
And then the defense doing what they did, just shutting down Zach Caleros and this the Bombers, who have been the team to beat in the West for the past five years. So it was just an impressive effort.
00:42:06
Speaker
I think it's kind of maybe the worst we've seen Winnipeg look in a long time, since a couple of the great cups, you know, that the Thiagos have shut them out a bit. But yeah, it was it was a dominant performance from the Calgary Stampeders in this, and yeah know We'll get more into it next week, but they have a huge game coming up next week with a lot on the line this early in the season. so It was impressive to see the Stamps get this done. I'm just not 100% sold on this as a top team, but they're slowly proving me wrong throughout the throughout this season
00:42:38
Speaker
Yeah, they they get 100 yards in pick sixes in this game, a 31 yard in the 30 yard pick six in the first half and then a 70 yard pix this pick six in the second half.
00:42:50
Speaker
Kolaros was throwing bad balls everywhere. It seemed like the only positive in this game was Brady Olivera returning from injury at 61 yards on 13 carries 51 yards on six catches.
00:43:02
Speaker
um But the offense looked out of rhythm. The defense looked uncharacteristically easy to score on um just all stamps in this game. And it was like you said, seem business as usual. This team might be super legit. Big one for Calgary next week as well.
00:43:18
Speaker
um I think if they win that game and they go to like four and one, it it is next week. They'll be first in the West. We'll be first in the West. And that will be a massive, massive game for them.
00:43:30
Speaker
um We'll move out of recaps now into three stars of the week, which, man, there could be 10 stars of the week ah if we really got down to it there. i think this that being said, there are three that are like a head and shoulders above the rest.
00:43:47
Speaker
And I think it has to start with Kenny Lawler. He has six catches on seven targets, 207 yards, which I think was a single game high for him in his career and three touchdowns to match. He was just unstoppable. He might, he might be the single best player in the CFL right now.
00:44:07
Speaker
Yeah. This is not going to slow down either. I know, I know we've said like, it should be easy for teams to figure out how to stop this, but how they haven't through the first five weeks of the season shows me that this is going to continue.
00:44:20
Speaker
Teams have to start doubling him or otherwise he will be on the three stars of the week every single week, it seems. ah For number two, I mentioned it before, the Justin Rankin game ah kind of flipped the game on it, to or at least you know gave calgary the or sorry gave Edmonton the breathing room they needed with that 74-yard touchdown run. he finished with 12 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and then four receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown in the air.
00:44:46
Speaker
ah Just a complete game from Justin Rankin and just really helped Trey Ford find his groove in that game and just kind of got Edmonton out of a couple lulls that they fell into in that game. Yeah, real coming out party for him.
00:44:58
Speaker
Like it was it was kind of showing in the first couple of weeks like this guy is really talented. um But a game like this in in kind of the what was on the line in this game to to come out and have a performance like that.
00:45:12
Speaker
Just absolutely incredible. Huge, huge game from him. And then the third one, I have another tie cat here, Bo Levi Mitchell, 19 for 24, 332 yards, five touchdowns, and he goes over 40,000 career passing yards. Only the 11th player in CFL history to do it.
00:45:32
Speaker
Just crazy. Yeah, he's he's a timeless or an ageless wonder, I should say. It's it's something that he's going to continue to do. It seems like he he might be... He'll never lose that arm, it seems. You know what i mean? He's just going throwing that ball until he's 50.
00:45:46
Speaker
And when you get when you bring in a receiver like Kenny Lawler to help him out... it makes life a lot easier for him. We'll do an honorary mention here just to push a bit of a narrative this season, Damian. I'll help you out.
00:45:58
Speaker
ah Vernon Adams Jr., ah one of us has a MOP ticket with his name on it. Off to a pretty good start, especially if they can find a way to win next week here. ah he was just... you you was just steady did what he had to do here 13 of 18 222 yards two touchdowns no interceptions which is a key for va a and uh i mean you know dedrick mills is kind of in the same vein as kenny lawler like you could throw him on here every single week he's over 80 yards he's always in the end zone uh so yeah the those are the honorary mentions and just the the three stars of the week a lot of offense a lot of points this week absolutely another one
00:46:36
Speaker
even though it was a low scoring game. Sean Thomas Erlington had an absolute banger of a game. 11 carries, 76 yards, one reception for 22 yards and a touchdown. He was a huge factor. It's kind of all Montreal had in that game.
00:46:49
Speaker
um So he was, he was huge in that game. I i also think, you know, the performance Nathan Rourke had, even though he had the interception, another guy that could probably be up here every single week.
00:47:00
Speaker
We will now go to our power rankings re-rack, which we haven't done, obviously, since after week three, because we took week four off. A lot has changed since then.
00:47:12
Speaker
i think that this is an example of another team winning the bye week. The Saskatchewan Rough Riders having the bye week when they did, they easily go to number one because they are the only undefeated team left in the CFL.
Saskatchewan Rough Riders Rise to the Top
00:47:27
Speaker
While Montreal is getting the shit kicked out of them, like... um You know, Edmonton is taking down another East team. Winnipeg loses to Calgary like a lot happened in this week that without really doing anything, Saskatchewan goes up to number one.
00:47:45
Speaker
Yeah, that to me, that was the easy one. There was a lot of kind of moving and shaking. ah But for for this one, it's Saskia's number one. Like you said, last undefeated team. You got to recognize that.
00:47:57
Speaker
And a big one for them coming up next week. ah Number two is interesting. I think you could maybe throw the stamps after kind of overthrowing the Blue Bombers. You really could. And the fact that you beat the Blue Bombers and Montreal's lost two in a row like they are the second team in this power ranking. They are power ranking. So and we don't know how this is going to finish the year. We're not saying Calgary is the second best team.
00:48:21
Speaker
You know, they're they're going to be in the West final right now. But as of this moment, they appear to be the second best team in the in the West, and in the league, in the league. Absolutely. And then I think because they beat Winnipeg, I think Winnipeg still stays at three.
00:48:34
Speaker
Agreed. Agreed with that. um Now, now it's kind of a bit of a... a ah it's It's a little chaotic. I think you can kind of give Montreal the benefit of the doubt because I know they have lost two games, but it is without their starting quarterback.
00:48:48
Speaker
ah They are still first in the East. ah So I think Montreal does have a lot of good things going for them, even though the past two weeks have not been good. Yeah, I agree. I do think that like if you wanted to really get crazy, you could throw Hamilton here.
00:49:02
Speaker
that's That was the other team. To me, I was between the two. bc hasn't really done enough for me to like put them above either of those two. ah i think maybe Montreal-Hamilton.
00:49:13
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We won't go too crazy. Montreal at four here. Montreal dropping a couple spots. Yeah. because my Because Hamilton also beat Montreal with a backup quarterback, beat Toronto with a backup quarterback.
00:49:27
Speaker
yep yeah that makes sense to me and then now you know rork's backed is is this ah is this a bc stays in the sixth spot i think so that was a huge win for them and i think bc stays put there and then seven eight nine oh actually actually yeah yeah yeah yeah and now we have the final three And I don't know what to do with these three teams.
00:49:54
Speaker
Neither do I, man. Like Toronto and Edmonton and Ottawa, all one in four. Toronto beat Ottawa. One of these teams lost with their starting quarterback this past week.
00:50:08
Speaker
Yeah. That's something you want to take into consideration to differentiate the three. i actually think given the state of the vibes right now in Ottawa, they are last in this power rank.
00:50:19
Speaker
I agree. To to me, it's it's vibes and they lost the game with their starting quarterback. Toronto, it has looked not good. I'm well aware of that, but they at least put up 38 points this week and Nick Arbuckle will not be starting ah in the second half of this season.
00:50:35
Speaker
So I think, yeah, I think Ottawa's last. And then it's, it's are we throwing Edmonton up three so two spots, I guess it would be, for winning their first game of the season?
00:50:50
Speaker
I think so. I think the way that the Argos got 51 put on their heads. like If Edmonton and and Toronto were to play next week, Edmonton's favored in that game.
00:51:01
Speaker
I agree. that That is a good point. Yeah, I'm i'm fine with that. Toronto at 8, Edmonton at 7, Ottawa at 9. So we have Saskatchewan, Calgary, Winnipeg at the top 3, Montreal, Hamilton, BC at the 4-6, and then Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa.
00:51:17
Speaker
Wow, what a shakeup. A lot of movement, a lot of movement. I guess that that'll happen after we took ah a one week break. So chaos in the CFL, though, it does keep you on your toes from a week to week basis.
00:51:31
Speaker
Absolutely. We'll move into some quick thoughts on week six here, starting with a massive, massive game, like we mentioned. Calgary going to Saskatchewan to take on the Rough Riders.
00:51:44
Speaker
ah The two top teams in the West going at it. ah Saskatchewan favored by four and a half in this one. And like we said, this could be like a changing of the guards games. Like if if Calgary goes in and wins this game and takes top spot in the West, that is a real, real shake up from what this team was last year.
00:52:06
Speaker
it It brings Saskatchewan down to earth as a team that looks beatable. A lot on the line in this game. Uh, game of the year in the CFL so far for me, I'm putting, I'm putting my stamp on it. Uh, I just pulled up the odds here. It's already moved a point in, uh, the stamps direction. It is now three and a half.
00:52:25
Speaker
Uh, the Rough Riders are favored from, so that's going to be a line to keep an eye on. Clearly there's a little bit of money coming in on the stamps. Uh, and why not? i mean, I know they're on the road here. Rough Riders coming off a buy. So like they, they definitely have the,
00:52:40
Speaker
have some things in their favor for this game. But Calgary's riding a lot of momentum. If they can kind of put out that same defensive effort that we saw them against Winnipeg and the the the offense just stays mistake-free, which they've kind of been on a roll of being mistake-free, not doing anything crazy, they can find a way to kind of just make this game close, take it into the fourth quarter.
00:53:02
Speaker
And when it's a close game in the fourth quarter in the CFL, Your guess is just as good as mine ah of what's going to happen. So that's kind of the blueprint for Calgary here. And then for the rough riders, just kind of keep doing what you're doing, and right? There's reason to correct a 4-0 team.
00:53:16
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. This is really interesting to see how this game turns out. starts out early on the Thursday night, um or it might be Friday actually. But yeah, a lot on the line. Yeah, Friday at 9 o'clock.
00:53:28
Speaker
Yeah. Nice late one for your Friday night. Um, but yeah, wow. Lot on the line that yeah I totally agree. And in currently this is the game of the year going into it. Um, on the Saturday, red blacks, tough to have to come back, uh, and go back to the, to Hamilton, a team that just put up 51 opened at three and a half for the tiger cats. It is now moved to four for the tiger cats. Four and a half, four and a half, four and a half. Hey,
00:53:58
Speaker
Yeah. Favored by four and a half. So it's gone a a whole point towards Hamilton. God damn it, man. We're going to do our picks in a second here. But like those are two games where I would have loved the initial number. They're just movement.
00:54:10
Speaker
A lot of movement in CFL, ah especially early in the week. Like we're recording on Monday this week. It's usually Tuesdays for us. Uh, so yeah, it's just, it's crazy to see how much the lines move and how much they're going to move from when we record to when it's kickoff. Uh, like Toronto was favored against Hamilton last week up until about Thursday night.
00:54:31
Speaker
And then Hamilton closes a four and a half point favorite. So it the movement in the CFL lines is pretty chaotic. Uh, you expecting in this game? yeah Yeah, I the thing I'm looking for is for the Red Blacks to get off the mat in this game.
00:54:45
Speaker
Like Drew Brown is now had a week in the offense. I thought we didn't even mention it, but losing Devontae Dedman in that game against the Elks is a tough, tough loss for them. You do still have a great returner in Khalil Pimpleton, but he's real dynamic player.
00:54:59
Speaker
ah So I'm looking for the Red Blacks to get off the mat. And then for Hamilton is like, is this the new norm? Like, is this a roster that has the talent to kick the shit out of anybody on any given week, especially a weaker East point opponent?
00:55:14
Speaker
ah Yeah, first I'm kind of in the same vein. i would like Ottawa's defense to show some pride. It has not been a good start to the year for them defensively. ah You know, we we mentioned it earlier, a lot of penalties ah last week. So that's something they need to clean up.
00:55:31
Speaker
And yeah, can can you just find a way to stop what is obviously going to happen for Hamilton with just looking for Kenny Lawler all day long? And then, you know, if you can do that, you'll be in a pretty good spot because, you know, I'm assuming we're both on the same page, like 53 and a half. This looks like there's going to be a lot of points in this one back and forth affair.
00:55:51
Speaker
ah So yeah, can Drew Brown kind of settle in, get off to a good start and kind of keep Ottawa in this and not let Hamilton kind of run away with it in the first half? Yeah, absolutely. ah Last game of the week here, Lions favored by four and a half going on the road to Edmonton. This is a battle to get out of the basement of the West Division.
00:56:12
Speaker
um Both teams only, you know, and well, if Edmonton wins, they'll both have two wins. um But this is still a game where both teams need a win badly.
00:56:22
Speaker
If you're BC, you want to create some sort of momentum and and get two wins in a row here. Same goes for Edmonton. This is a really interesting game to end the week off on.
00:56:34
Speaker
um You get a full week if you're Edmonton to reset here. You're still at home. you get a full week of practice at home. ah For Edmonton in this game, I'm looking for much of the same.
00:56:46
Speaker
like I want that Trey Ford game again. i want that type of dynamic ah offense where they're switching shit up, not at quarterback, but switching stuff up in their game plan and keeping things fresh.
00:56:57
Speaker
And for BC, you're just really looking for a lot less mistakes because the way this Edmonton defense played last week, if BC plays that kind of game, I get the feeling that Edmonton will swallow. them up.
00:57:10
Speaker
Yeah. Uh, hard to disagree with what you just said. It's two teams coming off massive wins, right? So it's, it's, can you, can both these teams avoid the letdown? Uh, you know, it's, it was basically must win labels for both these teams last week. It was probably a bigger one for Edmonton than it was BC, but yeah, Edmonton stopped toying with the quarterbacks. If Trey Ford's not having a game, then go for Fajardo and let Fajardo ride for the rest the game. Don't be, you know, going back and forth and then BC, uh,
00:57:38
Speaker
Find a way to get some running game going here. ah Edmonton is coming off a good defensive game, so it might be tougher than you know what they were the first three weeks. ah But yeah, this is something where let's see which team can ride the momentum of last week and find a way to kind of put something together and get back in the fight in what's a pretty top heavy West division right now.
00:57:57
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. Very excited. Great. Like, ah oh, this is a week that will really pack a punch, like three games that should be really good ones, especially on paper going in lot at stake.
Week 6 CFL Game Picks and Analysis
00:58:09
Speaker
That'll move us right into our week six picks. We were eight and four. We went four and oh in week four, and we are now 12 and four up eight units on the season. Patrick,
00:58:23
Speaker
Doing really well. We've only got three games to pick from this week. I feel like I can speak for both of us with this first pick. You already kind of mentioned it. It's over 53 and a half in the Ticats Red Blacks game.
00:58:37
Speaker
Ottawa has gone over this number in three out of five games. The two games they didn't go over this number. Their backup quarterback was in. You now have Drew Brown behind the helm.
00:58:48
Speaker
Hamilton has gone over this number in two out of four games. In the two games they didn't, it was a 51 and a 52 total points in both games. So you're right there anyways, almost going over this number four games in a row. So I think that that is like the most clear pick in this week.
00:59:05
Speaker
Yeah, love it. that like That is the one that kind of jumps off the page of me with only three games this week. It's it's a tougher week to pick, right? You get one less game and it's your options are just limited.
00:59:19
Speaker
I'm going to go with the Elks plus four and a half. I think that's, I'm going to side with them right the momentum, staying at home. We saw the offense look a lot cleaner. Uh, Justin Rankin was getting involved. they There was just nice to see the defense, you know, stepped up. Javon Leak was getting it done with special teams.
00:59:36
Speaker
I'm not saying they're going to win this game, but four and a half points is enough for me to feel comfortable to take the Elks here. Yeah, i agree. Um, I am going to go out on a limb here.
00:59:48
Speaker
I feel like we're going to have to for these next two picks. Yeah. um Stampeders, three and a half. I would have loved it at four plus four and a half. I would have loved it, but I will still take it with the hook at three and a half.
01:00:03
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I, I, there's none of these picks that are going to be picked that I love, you know what i mean? So it's all kind of feeling a bit of a guessing game here. think I got to go with the total just cause I have no real feel for these side, at like the side and the other game, Hamilton four and a half, like same, same kind of vibe. I would have liked that at three and a half would have loved it at two and a half if it if it was ever at that number.
01:00:29
Speaker
hu it's it's interesting because BC has not been an over team this year. no Edmonton can be explosive and is a backdoor over team. So that's a total that scares me.
01:00:42
Speaker
I might go with the over in the Stamps Rough Riders, man. i think I think it's good enough offenses, um but Calgary's defense scares me from last week. But I think Saskatchewan's playing with such... Trevor Harris is playing.
01:00:54
Speaker
and Can we confirm that? he had a bye week, concussion. Yeah, he's got to be. Right? Because if we get... No, he's got to be playing because I do not want the, you know what, go it go with what your gut says, over 51 and a half, Stamps Rough Riders. ah I don't love it. I kind of like the first two picks a lot, and then the other two, it's all feel for us with a limited game week here. But, you know, we we've we've put enough in the bank already, 12 and four, where we we can have a two and two week and we'll be all right.
01:01:27
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. yeah ah that That was kind of where my head was going next, was two ah offenses that seemed to be humming ah in that Saskatchewan and Calgary game. lot on the line here for week six. Going to be some great, great football. Was an exciting week five. Lots to talk about.
01:01:45
Speaker
We'll just keep this train rolling. I think that does it for us this week at the goalpost. Until next week, Patrick, I'll see you. See you, Damien. She talks crazy talking.
01:01:59
Speaker
She talks crazy dumb She talks crazy dumb