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Catching up on the CFL!
35 Plays1 month ago
he Goal Post is back from Summer Vacation!
Damien and Patrick start off the show by talking about their respective vacations, including 3 stats that defined them. They then move onto recapping an INSANE Week 10 in the CFL, that might’ve been the best week in a while. The Lions won a thriller in Hamilton, Cody Fajardo and the Edmonton Elks got a huge win over the Alouettes, the Argos have to hit the panic button after a brutal loss to the REDBLACKS, while the Stampeders came back against the Blue Bombers.
The Boys then issue another edition of The Goal Post 3 Stars of the Week before doing an update to the CFL power rankings to take into account Week 10 wins and losses, before moving to Week 11.
They quickly preview each game on the Week 11 slate, including moving lines and quick thoughts, before giving out their Week 11 picks - The Podcast is 18-10 (+8 units) to date.
Enjoy!
Intro: 0:00 - 9:43
LIONS 41 TICATS 38: 9:44 - 22:39
ELKS 23 ALOUETTES 22: 22:40- 33:10
REDBLACKS 46 ARGOS 22: 33:11 - 45:32
STAMPEDERS 28 BLUE BOMBERS 27: 45:33 - 55:43
3 Stars of the Week: 55:44 - 59:13
Power Rankings: 59:14 - 1:03:26
Week 11 Preview: 1:03:27 - 1:13:46
The Goal Post is back from Summer Vacation!
Recommended
Transcript
Return from Summer Break
00:00:11
Speaker
All right, welcome back to another episode of the goalpost. The goalpost is back from summer vacation. Patrick and his Reese gallivanting is back.
00:00:25
Speaker
I had some time up north. We're back to talk a little CFL, but enjoyed a little bit of the summer break. Can you blame us? No, we were due for one.
00:00:36
Speaker
And it was only two weeks. It was two weeks and it was a nice two weeks for us both. ah it's It's part of summer. You don't get that much time in Canada. You got enjoy the warm months. And I mean, it has been warm up here and it's ah it's nice. You got to take advantage of it because Lord knows it's going to be gone before you know it. And then it's just going to be back to shoveling the driveway and, you know, holding on for dear life walking on the sidewalk. So,
00:01:00
Speaker
It was nice to get out there and enjoy it. And yeah, it's also even
Recap of Missed CFL Week
00:01:04
Speaker
better to be back. And I mean, the week that we just missed, Damien, was probably the best week in the CFL up to this point in the season.
00:01:12
Speaker
It was a perfect time to come back and it felt ah it felt like they were waiting for us. So it was a good time to jump back into the regular flow of things, CFL football, catching up on everything.
00:01:24
Speaker
um Before we go, like, you you know, they do those three stats articles like what what would be three stats that defined your week in Greece? In Greece.
00:01:35
Speaker
um ah ah copious amounts of Greek salad. um like you can't even I was never a huge Greek salad guy. you know I'm pretty a plain person, as most know. lot of Caesar salad if I'm getting a salad. That's that's what I am.
00:01:50
Speaker
I've maybe had two, three full Greek salads in my life, and I must have had three Greek salads on my first two days in Greece. and I probably put up about double digits total on my my eight days there. so that That was nice to get out there.
00:02:05
Speaker
ah you know, probably the the most tan I've ever gotten in my life, which is you know, I push the limits of what I can do ah in terms of tanning. And I think it is as dark as I can get.
00:02:18
Speaker
And I'm proud of myself for that because usually it's ah it's tough to to shed the golfer's tan, the farmer's tan, whatever you want to call it. And then the third one, hmm, It's tough. You know what?
00:02:30
Speaker
just Just a good time. Just a good time seeing if my good pal get i get married, seeing a lot of old friends people haven't seen in a while. So it was just nice to catch up with a lot of people. And it was it was just a great trip all all the way around.
00:02:43
Speaker
um I guess same question to you ah for your little ah your little getaway up in northern Northern Ontario. How would I put that? I would i would say...
00:02:54
Speaker
i would say Four breakfast balls. That would be my first one. You're playing cottage courses. It's early in the morning. Very rigid swing. a lot of bugs.
00:03:05
Speaker
Very buggy on the course. Can't get away from bugs on like cottage country courses. I find they absolutely eat you alive. Yeah, especially with this humidity that's been going on. Not a lot of rain, and it's just there.
00:03:17
Speaker
The bugs are thriving right now in Ontario, and I'm assuming it's even worse up and cottage country there in northern Ontario. Absolutely. um Crushing steaks. I'm not a huge steak guy.
00:03:29
Speaker
ah It's well known. I'm much more of a seafood guy ah than a steak guy. But we we brought up some huge steaks and I must have had steak four times throughout the week, the the seven days that I was there. so So for me, steaks were on the menu.
00:03:48
Speaker
And that's ah that's out of the ordinary for me. You're officially on Gout Watch. Yeah. am Gout Watch. You are not a stake guy. I was shocked with how many stakes you're sending into our Snap group chat. I thought it was just delayed. I thought was the same picture that was just kind of coming in from, it just didn't send through the next day and it came through again. But you were on a roll for stakes. I mean, I'm sure you're to take quite a bit of a hiatus.
00:04:14
Speaker
if I know you, but Hey, when you're up in, when you're up in cottage country, there's no rules and I'm happy you, uh, you indulged in the, in the, I don't know for me, the, the best, the best meat you can have is a steak.
00:04:26
Speaker
Yeah. it We know, we know you're steak guy, but I, I went the opposite way. And my last one, I'm going to go like the opposite of you and four bottles of sunscreen.
00:04:38
Speaker
I, I, doused myself in sunscreen and still managed to get a little burn some days. ah It was it felt like 40 degrees every day and just pure sunlight.
00:04:49
Speaker
um i don't know how the gene pool works out that I am half Italian and you tan out of the two of us, which kind of rubs me the wrong way. um But I am as pale as it gets. And I wanted to keep it that way.
00:05:03
Speaker
i was on major sunscreen watch. Yeah, I guess I got the the best of the English and Irish tanning ah genetics. i don't I don't know how. It's not even a thing. I don't get it.
00:05:16
Speaker
if i'm i'm I'm in the 1% of ah the English-Irish heritage tanning genetics, I would say. i think I think I might be setting records, but my dad actually has me beat, so he's in the top 0.5%.
CFL Standings Update
00:05:31
Speaker
I day.
00:05:32
Speaker
ah strive to get to where he is one day ridiculous um but yeah luckily yeah was still able uh to catch some cfl games uh on the weekend there and keep up to date with it lot has happened over the last two weeks probably easiest to start with a little bit of a standings recap because this past week you know, a lot change, especially with, you you know, three different Eastern teams losing one of the, the lone survivor, the Ottawa red blacks getting a huge win over the Argos.
00:06:10
Speaker
um But in the East, Hamilton still stays ahead at six and three, But right behind Montreal at five and four Ottawa now at 3-6. And six in Toronto in dead last at 2-7.
00:06:23
Speaker
ah In the West, Saskatchewan, you want to talk about winning a bye week. The fact that they didn't play in Week 10 ended up being... um i don't i actually don't know if it helped or hurt them because a lot of Western teams won. Like Calgary won, BC won, Edmonton won.
00:06:39
Speaker
um But they are still at the top of the mountain in all of the league at 7-1. ah With Calgary shortly behind at six and three, ah Winnipeg at four and four, BC at four and five, and Edmonton at two and six. So bit of a shakeup. um The good teams are still doing good.
00:06:55
Speaker
Like that has not changed. um But we're starting to get a bit of thinning of the herd or or more people rising to the middle of the league. Yeah, Saskatchewan holds hold strong at the top. I mean, seven and one ah through 10 weeks of the of the CFL. yeah They're strong. They're in strong contention. They obviously control their own destiny.
00:07:16
Speaker
And i don't I don't think they're going to come back to the pack. I think teams are going to have to come up. you know I don't think like BC is going to be able to catch them. But because Winnipeg has a game in hand ah you know on you know BC and Calgary, I think they have a chance to get there. But I would kind of set that as the benchmark in the West to, uh, to get up to first, but the playoff races is certainly starting to shape up here. Like Edmonton with a huge win, as you mentioned, they also have a game in hand on BC. So they're going to have to, you you know, when they play each other, they're going find a way to win one.
00:07:49
Speaker
And they're starting to build a little bit of momentum. We'll get into it with Fajardo at quarterback. You're, you're starting to see this team, you know, have some life. And then in the East, you know, Hamilton six wins in a row on, unfortunately comes to an end.
00:08:01
Speaker
For them, ah you know very close with an overtime loss to BC for going for seven wins in a row. ah Montreal loses in just tragic fashion for them, and the Argos do the same. and it's just It's tough because you know for the Argos sitting at 2-7 in the East and in the basement, you know another thing that happened while we were away, Chad Kelly, you know so another added... or Sorry, was...
00:08:27
Speaker
placed again on the six game IL. So he's not going to be back for the foreseeable future when it looked like he was trending in the right direction. And he was, he was supposed to be starting by now.
00:08:38
Speaker
And then that's going to be delayed even further. So the Argos are going to have to, buckle up here because the season is starting to, you know, go get away from them and they need to find a way to get some wins here with our buckle at quarterback and then find a way. Cause Chad, I, I got to think we'll return in the last, you know, say with like four weeks to go something along those lines, maybe a little bit more.
00:09:02
Speaker
So they just have to find a way to stay with Ottawa. They can't let Ottawa get out of sight and then, you know, find a way to get that third place in the East. But The East is looking very competitive and the West is just looking strong as ever.
Saskatchewan's Strong Start
00:09:15
Speaker
And teams are kind of breaking away and Saskatchewan just looks like they're going to keep their foot on the gas here. yeah Like you said, they did have a bye week, but I don't see Saskatchewan slowing down. And like didn't mention Calgary in there, but they just got a huge win over Winnipeg because they dropped that one. They would basically have the same record. Winnipeg has the game in hand. So big win for Calgary as well in week 10.
00:09:35
Speaker
Yeah, lot going on. It's perfect way to put it. The East is competitive, but the West seems to still be rising ah throughout this season. And it all started on Thursday night with what might have been the best game of the CFL season so far.
00:09:50
Speaker
um With BC going into Hamilton, sold out crowd for shy day. um They brought shy Gilgis Alexander back to Hamilton with the Larry O'Brien trophy.
00:10:03
Speaker
Sold out crowd, pep rally basically beforehand, packed, packed house, and it ends with the Lions winning forty one to thirty eight in overtime.
00:10:15
Speaker
That was one thing on this bye week. There was so many games that I looked at and I was like, man,
BC vs. Hamilton Thriller
00:10:20
Speaker
we would have nailed that pick. Like if if I know you and me, we would have picked the over in that game and and it cashed so easily in the second half. But it didn't start that way um because this game started extremely slow in the first half.
00:10:34
Speaker
After the first quarter, Hamilton had five net yards and two minutes of offense and was leading by one. It was ridiculous. they had a Isaiah Wooden got his fourth return of the year. He's having an absolutely incredible season, um but it started super slow. The Lions got two field goals.
00:10:55
Speaker
ah Hamilton couldn't do anything on offense. It pretty much stayed that way until halftime, ah but the second half of this game, just blew wide open on offense.
00:11:06
Speaker
Yeah, 13-7 at half, and it took on an absolute splash play from Eberhardt near the end of the the first half to even get... It looked like it was going to half at 7-6 for the Ticats... Or, sorry, yeah, for the Ticats off the wooden punt return. There was no actual, like...
00:11:23
Speaker
offensive touchdowns in this game. The one touchdown came from special teams until ah Rourke, the Lions, Eberhardt, and Cotty found a way to to get a late touchdown in the first half to give them ah a bit of momentum.
00:11:37
Speaker
And then, like you said, this second half began and it was it was just a different game. Like if you took the the live over at halftime, this thing hit but in maybe the first five minutes of the second half. And it was just, it started with Bo Levi Mitchell,
00:11:52
Speaker
Right out of the gates. First drive. They go down. Massive plays. He's throwing the ball so well. And you can just tell when he gets the confidence going. And I don't know if it was a game plan change or they so like what what happened in the locker room.
00:12:05
Speaker
But both teams just started attacking. I felt like that was kind of the shift in what we saw offensively specifically. it was It was kind of what we've seen from these teams. They just abandoned the run game, right? It was just like, we are throwing the ball down the field and Bolivar Mitchell just quick score just over a minute. They score the second half and then BC kind of just picked it up off that.
00:12:30
Speaker
And for me, it was... you know the the The two quarterbacks, Rourke and and Mitchell, were just struggling. like The pressure was getting home. They weren't really able to evade ah the pressure. There were some sacks or just like they had to throw it away a bunch in the first half where the protection shifted. They were getting a little bit more time in the pocket.
00:12:49
Speaker
which just allowed them to, you know, free themselves up. And they just felt like, it sorry, they looked more like what they were before. And just these two guys who, you know, we already know, we've talked about Bo where he's leading. He's now the favorite for the MOP.
00:13:04
Speaker
And then Rourke, who is currently the highest paid player in the league, They played up to those standards in the second half, and it just turned into an absolute shootout. i got I don't know where how you want to break this down, but it was just... it's It's so hard to because it was all over the place. There was five touchdowns and 36 points scored in the third quarter alone. This is absolutely ridiculous. like They kept going...
00:13:29
Speaker
tit for tat the entirety of the third quarter like you said they open uh Hamilton opens the third quarter with that huge touchdown like a minute in two minutes later BC answers James Butler gets in the end zone then Hamilton goes back to back touchdowns uh to Bridges and Keiondre Smith and then BC finishes the quarter off with a touchdown like it it actually slowed down a lot in the fourth quarter and even into the overtime, there was, ah there was only 20 points scored in the fourth quarter in comparison.
00:14:00
Speaker
um But yeah, it it felt like neither team could really catch their breath in the third quarter. And then by the fourth quarter, they had adjusted again and and the margins became a lot slimmer um where it became, it felt like whoever was the one to make the big play ah in the fourth quarter was going to win this game.
00:14:21
Speaker
And, Yeah, like you almost have to move backwards from the end of the fourth quarter because Hamilton walks off the fourth quarter with a field goal to tie it up and send it into overtime, which one of the most Miss looking makes of all time. Like I was watching this with my dad and we were so certain that he missed that field goal that when the announcer said we're headed to overtime, like we, we thought we had just been like punked.
00:14:51
Speaker
It was ridiculous. Yeah, credit to Rod Smith. I was actually going to say the same thing. It it just looked like he pulled it straight left Leggio off the kick. And Rod Smith, credit to him, he he waited for that signal before he made any judgment because if I was in the booth watching that...
00:15:08
Speaker
I had the same judgment of you where i like, oh, well it was just like a, it was just a wait a second. I thought it missed. It snuck in. He just kicked it so high where it was really hard to tell from the TV screen.
00:15:20
Speaker
But, you know, the refs are right under the goalposts and they were able to tell. ah For me, it was, yeah, like you said, going going back a little bit after that, or sorry, before that. I knew that Hamilton not getting a touchdown on their second last field goal, not the one to send it to overtime, but the one before that, it just left too much time on on the clock for BC.
00:15:43
Speaker
And Nathan Rourke probably had his best drive of the game. ah you know There was the second and 10 where he he of he evades, he evades, goes for the run and you know gets the first down, the third and 12 where game's on the line. like If he doesn't convert there, it's over. He finds McInnes who...
00:16:01
Speaker
you know, had make probably the best game of a season, uh, eight receptions, 159 yards. And it was just, you know, he was a stud and he was relied upon in the most crucial moments.
00:16:12
Speaker
I thought the game was over when he found James Butler in the end zone with 38 seconds left. I did not think that there was gonna enough time for Bo to, you know, bring them down the field and he was able to, but it goes to show in the CFL where,
00:16:26
Speaker
like if there's anything over, it feels like 30 seconds now. Cause this year I feel like it's been a little crazier than normal. The no, no, none of these games are safe. And yeah, Bo just goes down the field.
00:16:38
Speaker
Uh, he gets it. And then in overtime, I guess it was, you know, simply boiled down to the turnover, lost the, lost the tiger cats, the game. Like it was that turnover happened. BC, you know, does what they have to do. Drive down the field.
00:16:51
Speaker
Sean white kicks the 20 yard field goal. And, Kind of an anticlimactic end to like a hell of a game. Yeah, it was a bull you on BC with a huge force fumble in overtime. Tim White kind of doing a little bit too much.
00:17:07
Speaker
ah he He like made a play on a batted ball. And the catch was good enough to stand as it was. Tried to make more of it. He gets stripped. um Dwayne Hendricks jumps on it. And and in CFL overtime, it's a bit weird because they recover that that fumble. And it's not like the, the offense picks up there. It resets into BC's drive. So they start on the 40 or, or the 35, one of the two.
00:17:36
Speaker
So they're basically already in field goal percent, uh, distance after making that play, they didn't really have to do much, uh, and to just kick it in. Um, and Sean white in those situations is money. He's already won a game with a walk-off, uh,
00:17:51
Speaker
earlier in Montreal this season. He finished four for five. Like that is, it that is a known thing is that he is going to make those kicks. But, um, but Overall, just an impressive, impressive game from the Lions. I feel like, you know, a few weeks ago we were talking about, I'm waiting to see one of those games from the Lions. I'm waiting to see them beat either a big Western opponent or to cross over and beat one of the best in the East.
00:18:18
Speaker
And that happened. This was that
Nathan Rourke's Stellar Game
00:18:20
Speaker
game. They had 514 yards of net offense. That Buck Pierce offense was humming. Like if you have James Butler making a one footed catch in the end zone with a minute left, it's probably a good sign that everybody is contributing.
00:18:35
Speaker
um And yeah, to get Nathan Rourke going like he did in that game. And the Tigats put up 366 yards of offense, too. It wasn't like they were scrubs in this game.
00:18:48
Speaker
um But Nathan Rourke was just a level above. This ah offense was humming. They looked great. He went 24 for 40 for 408 yards and two touchdowns.
00:18:59
Speaker
He was active on the ground. You mentioned that third and 12, like he takes like three, four reads and delivers an absolute dot to a receiver on the run to to convert that. Like I just came away from this game really impressed by the Lions and and not even to get like bogged down in the details. That was like the takeaway for me.
00:19:23
Speaker
Yeah, it was Nathan Rourke lived up to his yeah what what his billing is as the highest paid player in this league. It's it's nice to see, especially coming off a bye week. You got a little bit of extra time to game plan.
00:19:34
Speaker
You're facing a team who's you know, up for, up there was Saskatchewan for hottest team in the league. They're one six in a row. And I believe last time we recorded, I was talking about this Western stretch that Hamilton was going to have.
00:19:48
Speaker
And I was, you know, let's see what they're actually made of. Like they were kind of beating up on Ottawa and Toronto with Arbuckle at quarterback and Montreal with, you know, Beth, Bethel Thompson at quarterback. And i was just like, okay, what, what are they? are they actually a good team or are they just kind of beating up on like backup quarterbacks and teams that just aren't thriving right now?
00:20:09
Speaker
And I came away just as impressed with Hamilton. Like you mentioned over 350 yards on offense, they were there right to the end. They just, they just needed a touchdown when they got a field goal, uh, late in the fourth quarter. And that kind of was a difference, but they also got, you know, the fuel goal to send it into overtime, which I did not see coming.
00:20:27
Speaker
But yeah, Nathan Rourke with his fourth career 400-yard passing game. sorry and he i saw i saw the stats. It was only been five to do it, and Nathan Rourke has four out of the five.
00:20:41
Speaker
And it's just like, okay... yeah and And three of them came in that 2022 season. So it's you're starting to see him just find that form a little bit. And it's impressive when when he's going at his you know his his ceiling, he is probably the best, the most talented quarterback in the league, I think you you can say.
00:20:58
Speaker
But it's we just got to see that every single week now. He can't have an off week next week. We'll get into the preview later. But I got my eye on this to like... keep it going, BC. That's been their problem, right? Like they'll show you show you one thing one week and you go, okay, this this can be a top team in the West.
00:21:15
Speaker
And then they have a letdown game the next. And it's just, they have to avoid that. But came away thoroughly impressed both teams. Impressive for BC to find a way to win and, you know, do what they had to do at the most crucial times in this game.
00:21:27
Speaker
And ah credit to them. And, you know, they had they had to have this game a little bit more than Hamilton just to stay competitive in just a beast of a West division. Yeah, I had those stats pulled up as well that It's stupid stat. It really puts in perspective just how good he was in that 2022 season. like He had three games, Calgary, against Edmonton, and against Toronto in that twenty twenty two season
00:21:58
Speaker
and he also finished that season as one of the only two players who have finished a season with a completion percentage over seventy five percent He had 78.7% of his passes completed in that 2022 year.
00:22:14
Speaker
He's playing on rookie mode. He really was. It's just a monster year. But yeah, we'd love to see get some wind in their sails ah after that game.
Edmonton's Comeback Win
00:22:26
Speaker
And it was really... Really good to see. But yeah, it's not like I came away from that game being like, oh, Hamilton is is done. Hamilton, this stretch is over. They still look like a top two team in the CFL right now.
00:22:39
Speaker
um But moving to Friday night, um where we had another ah another barn burner, much of a slower game, um but still just as good um because the Elks were able to get their second win of the season this time over Montreal.
00:22:57
Speaker
And this was the Cody Fajardo game. This was Cody Fajardo putting his stamp back on this league, showing everybody just how impressive of a quarterback, how calm he can be in the pocket,
00:23:11
Speaker
We talked about completion percentage. He has now started 76.6% of his 107 passing attempts. He leads the CFL in completion percentage entering week 11.
00:23:23
Speaker
And he has just brought a level of calm to this team that has completely worked out in their favor because this game like a lot of Elks games didn't start out great for them.
00:23:35
Speaker
Montreal was up 10 to one after the first quarter. I think there was a point where they could have easily laid down, um but that just didn't happen. They went and went back, scored 10 points in the second quarter and we're only down 13, 11 going into the second half.
00:23:53
Speaker
And the second half was pretty much the same script. Like Edmonton scored no points in the third quarter, but held Montreal to six and then held held Montreal to three points in the fourth quarter while they put up 12 and they walk away with a one point win after Fajardo leads them down the field with almost no time on the clock and, you know, hits ex-Aluet, Keon, Julian Grant for the touchdown that was It seemed to be a pretty cathartic win for Edmonton, especially with those two guys coming back to Montreal.
00:24:25
Speaker
And they got to feel pretty vindicated about that trade for Cody Fajardo, giving away Bethel Thompson. And it's pretty clear who the better quarterback was in this game. Because to me, like you said, Edmonton struggled, especially in the first quarter.
00:24:40
Speaker
And it took them a while to get going in the second ah second quarter. And what flipped this game on on its head was... one of the more boneheaded pick sixes I've seen thrown this season. And it it was with 24 seconds to go in the second quarter, and you are just in control of this game. Your defense is playing lights out. Edmonton just doesn't... Edmonton wasn't able to really just put drives together. they were There was no flow for them on offense.
00:25:07
Speaker
And McLeod just says, I don't know what he could have seen there, but it was just a terrible read. Yeah. Terrell Ford says, thank you very much. Takes it back 87 yards to the house.
00:25:19
Speaker
And Edmonton is back in this game. It it should have been it should have been thirteen to four at half. is like in control. They got the momentum. They're at home. And instead, Edmonton's going into halftime feeling way better about themselves than they should be. And it's because of just a bad decision made by McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
00:25:39
Speaker
And Edmonton, you know, I expected them to kind of carry that momentum immediately into the third quarter. And like you said, there was no points for them. It was cool speaker. at the only touchdown in the in the third quarter.
00:25:50
Speaker
But they found a way again. And it was it was like I said, it was Cody Fajardo driving down late for a walk-off touchdown. And it says something about, you know, this probably was...
00:26:02
Speaker
I mean, you know, depending on who you are, the least entertaining game of the week. And it was a walk-off touchdown one-point win with 20 seconds left in the game. like It was such a good week of football.
00:26:13
Speaker
ah and And yeah, just a huge win for Edmonton. And unfortunately, man... Yeah, it's pretty clear who the starter on the Elks is going forward. It's just not a debate anymore. and It's kind of sad to see. I don't know what they're going to do with Trey Ford. I guess he becomes like a top trade candidate or he becomes the best backup quarterback in the league. and I don't know what it's going to be, but it's pretty clear that Fajardo has the reins for the rest of the season, ah barring anything crazy happening.
00:26:40
Speaker
Yeah, no, you would you would it would be firing material if Mark Killam were to put Trey Ford anywhere near the starting position. ah Cody Fajardo is just still that guy. He's just still got it. He's so calm under pressure.
00:26:54
Speaker
An underrated huge part of this game was that Montreal took a penalty on that final kickoff because Javon Leak fumbled the return and then they ended up at like their own 22.
00:27:09
Speaker
They got don't know if it was a block on the back or a holding call, which made them re-kick it. And instead, the second time, Leak gets a way better, way better return.
00:27:20
Speaker
um And with a minute remaining and needing a touchdown, Fajardo goes four for six for 63 yards, caps it off with a dart to Julian Grant, ah and You know, even though they failed the two point conversion, um the Elks held them on their final snap and and really impressive ah part on the defense for Edmonton, who's kind of needed a bit of a spark to hold them to nine points in the second half.
00:27:47
Speaker
Um, part of that was, you know, Caleb Evans is in the game. McLeod, like that was also weird. Like was sitting there wondering, like, did I miss McLeod get injured?
00:27:58
Speaker
Like, did, did something happen here? And then you're like, no, not really. Like, I think they just benched them after that pick six. Like that part was kind of unsure, but Caleb Evans had a tough time getting any rhythm in that game.
00:28:10
Speaker
And this also makes me think of when, Back when Davis Alexander got injured against the Argos, we were like, Montreal is going to have to dig in deep here to over the next few four five weeks um to stay above water. And this was kind of the perfect example of what can happen where you lose that spark at quarterback. They just had no rhythm in the second half.
00:28:33
Speaker
If it wasn't for Travis Tice, you know, getting an 80 yard punt return in the in the first half, they would have barely had any points on the board going into halftime. So it it things are not looking great in Montreal just in terms of being able to kind of steady the ship and have somebody reliable at quarterback because that just hasn't happened.
00:28:53
Speaker
And next week they got to go play the Lions who are feeling themselves after beating Hamilton like this is a tough tough slog for Montreal. Yeah, it's it's like as I always just said before, like if if it was the MVP instead of MOP, Davis Alexander would be the favorite in my eyes to a team. It's it's crazy that it's... like I don't expect them to be the exact same team without Davis Alexander, but this team falls off a cliff without him at quarterback. They've won one game...
00:29:23
Speaker
It was against the Stamps a couple of weeks ago with the Bethel Thompson at quarterback. One game without Davis Alexander, and then they haven't lost any with Davis Alexander at quarterback. And it's just shocking to me that I don't know if it's that Davis Alexander is that good. I don't know if it's the the missing voice. There's not as much confidence in their quarterback, but their defense couldn't play much better in this game.
00:29:46
Speaker
And yeah if if the... What's... if Maltos Diaz hits a point after on that Cole speaker touchdown, we're going overtime in this or, or Edmonton has to make a decision to go for two to win the game or whatever.
00:29:59
Speaker
But it was just some errors on Montreal on the offensive side of the ball and on special teams that really cost them this one loss game. And now like, The standings from when we last recorded to now, Hamilton's got... ah like Hamilton's just but not running away, but they're comfortably in first in the East
Montreal's Performance Issues
00:30:18
Speaker
right now. They got a game and a half on Montreal.
00:30:21
Speaker
And if you're asking me, yeah we'll get into power rankings, but to me, it's pretty clear who the number one team in the East is right now. Obviously, made things can change when Davis Alexander returns.
00:30:32
Speaker
But he hasn't shown that he can stay healthy um this season and kind of in his career. So that's like something that Montreal is going to have to be prepared for. And like I mentioned before, obviously, Davis Alexander, you had to kind of commit to him.
00:30:47
Speaker
as the starting quarterback, but I don't think you had to trade Cody Fajardo because Cody Fajardo came into this season with the Elks prepared to be a backup quarterback. And I'm sure he would have taken a similar role with Montreal.
00:30:59
Speaker
And just imagine the difference in how their season would be going if Cody Fajardo was taken over the reins without Davis Alexander. And then you just, you know, it's I don't know what's going on McLeod. He just looks like a shell of himself this season. His confidence isn't there.
00:31:14
Speaker
The arm, I guess, is, but the decision-making, the game just seems fast for him right now. and that's never a good sign for a quarterback that's aging. ah So yeah, Montreal, I don't know what they're going to do. They're just kind of praying that Davis Alexander comes back quicker than expected.
00:31:28
Speaker
But things got to change and you got to find a way to just win games and your defense couldn't play much better to help you win this one. And you kind of blew it. So you get punched in the mouth by Saskatchewan the week before, 34 to 6.
00:31:40
Speaker
You then lose to Edmonton, who has won one game prior to that. And now you play BC, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Saskatchewan for their next four.
00:31:53
Speaker
Like you're at BC, you're home again against the Blue Bombers, and then you go Hamilton, Saskatchewan, the two best teams in the league. Like this is exactly what we talked about where The game looks fast for McLeod.
00:32:08
Speaker
They seem to not really have a spark on offense. The leadership isn't really there. Like they just look like a rudderless ship right now. And now you have to fly play four quality opponents in a row.
00:32:21
Speaker
um And, you know, three of them being Western opponents. well Meanwhile, your Eastern opponents have a much better chance of kind of stacking up wins during that time period.
00:32:32
Speaker
it is It is gut check time for Montreal to really do something here because, know, Ottawa, as bad as they have looked at points in this season, I truly think winning that game over Toronto, which we will get to
Ottawa's Potential Spark
00:32:46
Speaker
next.
00:32:46
Speaker
has a chance to kind of spark their season um because Drew Brown looks like he is kind of coming around as that quarterback that he can be. um And they have the Blue Bombers, then the Elks, then the Lions. It's a similar stretch for them too.
00:33:03
Speaker
But if they can you know take some of those games, they can gain a lot of traction on Montreal coming up here. um But without further ado, let's just move to that game because The Saturday had some sparks. We had a a back-to-back doubleheader starting with Ottawa going to Toronto.
00:33:24
Speaker
I was at the game. It was 6,000 degrees out. um Luckily, my seats are in the shaded part of BMO, and it was a barn burner to say the least.
00:33:37
Speaker
This game was the Argos season in a nutshell, which I think I've said like three or four times this year already, but they just keep proving they are who we thought they were um because the game starts with an absolutely perfect drive from the Argos, like creative play calling ah gets everyone involved. It's fast moving.
00:33:59
Speaker
um There's no mistakes. they They finish it with a touchdown to DeJuan Brissette. The next drive is a lot of the same. Arbuckle looks great. He has a touchdown pass to Jake Herslow.
00:34:10
Speaker
ah he He starts 10 for 10 for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Cam Judge causes a forced fumble. Jordan Williams returns it 22 to 1 after the first quarter. The Argos' best quarter of the season.
00:34:25
Speaker
And what do they do, Patrick? They follow it up with one of their worst quarters of the season in the second quarter. It 22 to one Damien. And like you mentioned, ah it feels like we've said it before.
00:34:38
Speaker
You know, the Argos have hit rock bottom at least twice this season. ah To me, this is this is different than rock bottom. This is just sound the panic alarm. Like it it is, it is, it doesn't get worse than this. This is just a reality checkable reality check reality checks.
00:34:56
Speaker
And it just started happening. so slowly. ah yeah It wasn't like Ottawa poured it on, picked six, you know ah kick return. it wasn't It didn't happen that quickly.
00:35:07
Speaker
It was just Ottawa, you know the Eugene Lewis. I don't know how that... I don't know if Drew Brown meant to throw it there, but when he just turns around... it was When he threw it, I go, it's going to be intercepted.
00:35:18
Speaker
It somehow goes over the defensive back's head. Eugene Lewis turns around, makes a hell of a grab. His arms are just so long. like it It just landed right there. and That's when I was like, okay. you this This game's not over, but you're still in the driver's seat, Toronto, to do something.
00:35:34
Speaker
And it took them all the way until six seconds left to kick this this field goal. It was just like, where did the offense go? You had all the momentum in the world. You're at home.
00:35:44
Speaker
Like we mentioned, 22-1. in the first quarter and you follow that up with the second quarter losing the second quarter 18 to three it all it was just at halftime they're back in this game it shouldn't have happened that quickly but if you're watching it was just like okay touchdown you know uh toronto punt ah big return.
00:36:05
Speaker
ah Okay. You give up a field goal. Okay. All right. Let's go get some points here. And it just never happened. And I don't know what changed. don't know if Ottawa made the adjustments necessary or Toronto just said, we got this and went into cruise control, but it was just such a collapse. And I mean, I don't know.
00:36:22
Speaker
It's, it's pretty obvious. and it happened right at the start of the second half, but they easily have the worst special teams in the league. It's not even close. It's not even close.
00:36:33
Speaker
it It is not only lost some games. Yeah, it is. It is so bad to watch. And I mean, I could be wrong. I missed a lot of stuff while was in Greece, but I don't think anyone's been fired on that staff. I don't think anyone's been for released.
00:36:47
Speaker
Dinwiddie went on that massive rant earlier in the season. Heads are going to roll like guys are going to be cut. Do something. like Just cut someone. Just pretend that you can fix this problem and someone has to take the fall for it because it it doesn't get worse. like that That's all I got to say. But the special teams was a crucial reason, again, why the Argos blew a 22-1 lead in the first quarter.
00:37:12
Speaker
Yeah, and and in you know the second half, you give up a kick return, and it's the fifth kick return you've given up this year.
00:37:23
Speaker
and And the kick return was like was one thing. Every single return, they were getting yards. like Every single return, they were getting great field position because It seems like nobody can tackle on that unit.
00:37:39
Speaker
it You give up 18 unanswered in the second quarter, and then in the third quarter, Gino Lewis another touchdown. genno lewis gets another touchdown And I think that that was really where the writing was on the wall.
Argos' Defensive Struggles
00:37:55
Speaker
Like this game went back and forth similar to that BC and Hamilton game, but it had a different feel to it.
00:38:02
Speaker
It really did because in that Hamilton BC game, the the feeling was, Oh, you know, it's going to be last possession wins here. Whoever can, you know, really outlast them.
00:38:13
Speaker
I felt like the Argos were going to win that or lose that game as soon as that second quarter happened, basically, because it just, They couldn't stop anything. And as much as you want to say that Arbuckle, you know, they're playing with a backup quarterback.
00:38:28
Speaker
They have scored 42 points, 31 points in back-to-back weeks, 25 points, and then 38 points. And they they are one in four during that time span.
00:38:38
Speaker
The offense is putting up points. This defense is truly awful. Like there is no other way to put it. And you're right. No heads have rolled for it. And I don't know if it's scheming.
00:38:50
Speaker
I don't know if it's personnel. I don't know if it's everything, but I think teams absolutely lick their lips when they see the Argos on the schedule because they know that they're going to put up 30, 40, 50 points on them and it won't be a game.
00:39:08
Speaker
Every time that the offense was able to come back, which to their credit actually did in the second half, like they were able to get something going ah You know, Arbuckle rushes in for a touchdown after Bob Dice accepts one of the stupidest penalties I've ever seen. Like the Argos were going to be on the 16 yard line on third down and they accepted it and gave them second down on the four yard line, which led to a touchdown.
00:39:32
Speaker
um You know, went to McManus, gets a big sack and the Argos deliver with a great drive. Touchdown to DeVaris Daniels. um But after they settled for that field goal with about two minutes and 50 seconds left,
00:39:47
Speaker
and the Red Blacks go the entire... like After that wasn't a touchdown and it was a field goal, I knew the game was over because you just know that the Red Blacks are going to go the entirety of the field and score a touchdown. Yeah, and and similar how like the the Tiger Cats answered BC Lions drive to go up really late in the game, it just felt like all it it was already deflated. like The balloon had no air left, and it was gone. And it showed.
00:40:13
Speaker
They had no chance of kicking... Uh, they had no chance of coming back in this game after that one. Like they needed a touchdown, had to drive the field. that it was just It was just over. and it just i mean I don't know what the vibe in the stadium was, but I'm sure you were just stunned.
00:40:29
Speaker
ah you said, we shouldn't be, and and you kind of saw it coming at at the end of the second quarter. But to see it act, you you still had hope. um I know you did. i know you still had the hope left in you, and you're like, this can still... i can still and Like I said, the offense fought back.
00:40:43
Speaker
late the It took them a while, but late in the third quarter, started the fourth quarter, they put some touchdowns on the board. They said, okay, we were're We're back. We're we're alive. we We haven't gone anywhere. We're still here.
00:40:54
Speaker
And then it's just, yeah. And then the defense, like you said, it's the defense and special teams have been the worst in the CFL and it is losing them games. You said the stats with how many points this offense has put up and what You're right. The offense been good and Arbuckle has been fine and and it is what it is. And I do think it'd be a little bit better with Chad Kelly, but I'm not looking at Arbuckle like you are the problem.
00:41:17
Speaker
But when it when they put up those points, it feels it feels hard for them. And it just feels so easy for the other teams to just go and put up points on the Argos defense. And it like you said, you mentioned before with the Red Blacks are a team now where you kind of got to keep an eye on them because the Argos are a get right game.
00:41:35
Speaker
Like, Drew Brown just goes out there and you're thinking Drew Brown since that injury has just not been good. Yeah. Oh yeah. He just goes out there cruises for a 26 to 31, 373 yards and five touchdowns.
00:41:49
Speaker
he just He just went out like it was ah like it was a Pop Warner team and said, I'm just going to do whatever I want against this defense. And he did. And he it was a slow start, obviously. But man, when the Red Blacks were their backs against the wall, they just went out there and just said, OK, let's go play
Ottawa's Comeback Against Toronto
00:42:06
Speaker
football.
00:42:06
Speaker
It was almost like they gave them the first quarter to make it a game. Yeah, no kidding. And they looked so much better than them. and And it was just such a far cry from that for the rest of the game. um they They have added like they added Brandon Dozier, who got cut from the Thai cats after Stubblefield returned.
00:42:26
Speaker
So they have that on the defensive side of the ball. They signed Willie drew jr. ah Who spent some time with the Argos last year. He was in the UFL, won a UFL championship. um He's a DB. So they've added two new names to the defense over the past couple of days, which is, you know, an enticing thing to hear.
00:42:45
Speaker
um But, you know, we'll get to it later. They're going into Edmonton and, know, The fact that I don't have confidence in the Argos against this Edmonton team right now, and in fact the opposite, I think that they have a really tough hill to climb ahead of them, really says something about the state of this Argos team.
00:43:07
Speaker
Small silver lining, got to meet Darshan Singh. Shout out. He was in Toronto for the game. Big fan of the pod. um Very active on CFL Twitter. That was fun. um But yeah, it was there were not a lot of positives to bring out of that game. And just a deflating feeling.
00:43:23
Speaker
you know Same thing. Dimwitty comes out and says there's a lot of pretenders in the building. But it just feels... You're right. like it It rings hollow because... You know, they cut Kalon Leiborne, who is who's playing running back for them. And I actually think he was pretty serviceable over his time. He wasn't.
00:43:40
Speaker
Super flashy, but he had some good games, had some good plays. um He was big in that win over Winnipeg a couple weeks ago. ah But it's like, you know, you cut him and you cut ah Canadian fullback Brandon Calver.
00:43:56
Speaker
It's like, were those the pretenders? Like, i't I don't really think so. Like, it's just those comments are confusing and it just adds even more kind of like dread to this Argo season because it just feels like there's no direction. There's no identity.
00:44:09
Speaker
And this team just very bluntly putting it has nothing going for them right now. It's so close to being a lost season. like yeah It is so close. It's it's another... it's it's It's Ottawa goes on a three-game win streak and Toronto loses two more in a row and the season is over.
00:44:29
Speaker
it It's that close. and it's You didn't see it coming. Great Cup champs. and it is just there's They're so flat. Like said, there's just nothing going for them. um Jake Hurstall had a cool hurdle, I guess, if we're looking for positives.
00:44:42
Speaker
yeah That was awesome. I don't know how he cleared them. I don't know how he Right in front of our seats. Yeah. and Defender was standing directly straight up in the air.
00:44:53
Speaker
So that was one of the craziest hurdles I've ever seen in my entire life. it just felt like he jumped too early and he just still cleared him. It was shocking. It was shocking. So yeah, there's, there's some positives for the Argos, but yeah, it's sad. I would like to go on a positive outlook for them next week.
00:45:13
Speaker
But like you said, it's just, they're not giving me a lot of hope right now. And I don't know, something has to change immediately. Like, I don't know, just win a game, win a game and see where that can take you.
00:45:25
Speaker
yeah Yeah. Her slow actually had a fantastic game. that's good absolutely he really stepped up and uh i loved his game um we'll move to the final game of the week on the saturday night where this was a super interesting game almost like kind of mirrored um the red blacks argos game just with less points um stamps come out with a 28 27 last second win over winnipeg and similar to ottawa calgary had a
00:45:55
Speaker
really slow start to this game.
Calgary's Narrow Victory
00:45:58
Speaker
Winnipeg scores first on, on a field goal. ah Calgary botches a punt that leads pretty much directly to another blue bombers touchdown.
00:46:06
Speaker
um And Carlos throws, you know, two bombs on the next drive, one, a 42 yard pass to Olivera. Another one, a huge pass to Jareth Stearns.
00:46:17
Speaker
All of a sudden it is 17, nothing to start the second quarter. Like these games mirrored each other pretty much exactly. It's a way less touchdowns. um Because Calgary finally got a spark.
00:46:28
Speaker
Vernon Adams just hucked an absolute dart to Tevin Jones for 78 yards, which seemed to really, really kickstart things. And then on the defensive side of the ball, they got a huge third and one stop right inside the red zone on Winnipeg. And it was that seemed to be the moment that this game like flipped.
00:46:47
Speaker
Yeah, it it was just Winnipeg stopped scoring touchdowns. And ah like they they got one with 10 seconds left in the in the second quarter. And then it was just the offense disappeared for an entire quarter in the third.
00:47:02
Speaker
And then it would be they I mean, I don't know if we want to get to right now, but Castillo. It was unfortunate how that they lost this game because if he won the game on the 63-yard field goal, that's like a that's in the top 50. When they do the TSN, it's like the top 50 CFL. That's probably in there.
00:47:23
Speaker
63-yarder to win the game is pretty nuts. ah Castillo's just been one of the best kickers in the CFL since he's come into this league. And his longevity is you know very impressive.
00:47:34
Speaker
And he he kind of was their offense after the first quarter in this game. And it's like you said, there was clearly ah bit of a shift in this game after that third and one stop.
00:47:44
Speaker
And i don' I don't know what it was, but it was just it was just Parada started knocking in some field goals. Calgary was moving the ball a bit more. And it was, like like you said, very much the the same as as the Argos and Red Blacks.
00:47:59
Speaker
It was just took them a quarter for the Stamps to wake up. And then they started kicking it into overdrive. And then they find a way. ah It was a field goal fest in the second half. Like you said, it wasn't like the shootout that you know it it you thought it kind of would be with how much offense there was in this game and how much yardage they were picking up on both sides.
00:48:18
Speaker
But it was just... The drama. The drama in this game and all all four of the games. say All four of these games, quick side note, were separated by a total of nine points.
00:48:29
Speaker
Four games, nine points. it's It was a good week for Luke Wilson to put the sword away and stop going at the CFL because you can't argue with the results of this week. It was the best week of the season.
00:48:44
Speaker
Maybe the best week in... I mean, i don't I'm not a his history buff in the CFL. I could definitely sharpen my knowledge on that. But maybe the best week ever in the CFL. I know it's kind of hyperbole, but I'm willing to go there.
00:48:57
Speaker
and And it was just – I didn't see this one coming with Calgary. And, I mean, I don't know where you go. It was just Dedrick Mills, like, with some key pickups on second down. Like, it was just – There seems to be a formula.
00:49:08
Speaker
Yeah, it was slowly happening. It was the same thing. Yeah. It was totally death by 1,000 cuts for Winnipeg because – Calgary, like it it seemed to be the same thing every time. like ah Vernon Adams would have a huge completion to somebody, like whether it was Clark Barnes, whether it was Dominic Rimes.
00:49:30
Speaker
They would go down the field. Dedrick Mills would get to work. They would kick a field goal. The defense would get on the field. They would get a huge sack on Calaros, who they sacked four times this game.
00:49:44
Speaker
Then Vernon Adams would get on the field, throw another bomb. Dedrick Mills would would continue to be efficient on the ground, set up another field goal. like It was the same story for like most of Calgary's drives for the second half.
00:50:00
Speaker
Mills finished with 18 carries for 105 yards. like it felt like he was getting 10 yards a carry. I'm surprised that wasn't 180 yards. um But yeah, it was really the same thing every time. like Defense would get a sack. Winnipeg would punt.
00:50:14
Speaker
ah Vernon Adams would throw a huge pass or two on a drive. Dedrick Mills would get them into field goal range. They would kick a field goal. um And it pretty much followed that up until the end of the game where, you know, Rene Paredes also had a great game, but he missed the field goal with three minutes and 30 seconds left.
00:50:32
Speaker
Sets up Winnipeg to drive for a field goal. Castillo nails that 63 yarder with a minute and five left. um But then Calgary just did the same thing. They had huge, Huge catches by Dominique Grimes, by Brooks, ah and and Paredes hits a 40-yard field goal with time expiring.
00:50:48
Speaker
And to still be missing pieces like Damian Alford and Adrian Green and still come out with another win over Winnipeg, Calgary just absolutely owns Winnipeg this season, um was a massive, massive game for them.
00:51:03
Speaker
And it's impressive for this Calgary team because they're just finding ways to win. it would have been great if they could have beat Montreal that way, the game that Vernon Adams wasn't in. But, you know, with PJ Walker at quarterback, they they were really limited in what they could do.
00:51:19
Speaker
This seems to be hopefully just a little speed bump in their season where now that Vernon Adams is back, it's very clear he's the heartbeat of this team. and It's very clear they are super dangerous as long as he's at quarterback.
00:51:33
Speaker
Yeah, and I mean, it didn't like you said, it it was it was a formula on offense, but it didn't really feel like VA had one of his better games this year, and he just quietly went 17-24, 300 yards, and two touchdowns with no interceptions. It's just him, like I i may have said this before, well maybe not, the biggest improvement for me is just his is lack of turnovers. Like he's just so much more efficient with the ball than he's been in the past couple years, and it's Him not making mistakes in this game was a big reason why they won. And a lot of it also was that Winnipeg's offense just kind of fell asleep in the second half. I'm not really sure what happened. Maybe I should be giving more credit to the Stamps defense for stepping up and figuring out how to stop Caleros, who I thought was going to, you know,
00:52:20
Speaker
go for records in his first game back from injury, but, you know, they figured out how to stop him. And then it was just a crucial win for the Stamps. because Like you said, there were, there was a little bit of a speed bump on their season, but if they, if they lost this game to Winnipeg, then you're looking at ah Calgary and Winnipeg each having five wins.
00:52:40
Speaker
Winnipeg's got the game in hand. Caleros is now healthy and it's just, you know, does that turn into a spiral? do do you, you know, yeah, Calgary was one of the worst teams in the league last year. And now it's kind of like, okay, is it just a bit of a facade? Did they just get it to a hot start? You know, are they coming back to reality here?
00:53:00
Speaker
But I think the reality is that the stamps are a top three team in the West and they are a contender. It's, it's to me, it's, I think they're going to be able to go on a run, like you said, the speed bump.
00:53:11
Speaker
And now they're going to kind of use that as as like some adversity. Adversity is good for this team that is still kind of learning how to win a little bit, especially because I know its there was a lot of roster turnover from last year, but it's still that same team and the same coach. So it's nice for them to get the win.
00:53:28
Speaker
Paredes kind of taking care of them. And we'll just see if the Stamps can just keep it riding and see if they can catch Saskatchewan because no one has really shown that they can. And, uh, clearly the stamps have the best chance to do that in the West.
00:53:41
Speaker
Yeah. I, it's so early, but I already want to see the CFL playoffs. Like I think the Western playoffs could be such a banger. Like it, I want a a Western final in Saskatchewan, Calgary and Saskatchewan so badly. like That game could be amazing. BC could can cause some havoc in the playoffs.
00:54:02
Speaker
Winnipeg you know can always is always liable to upset somebody, and them playing the upset role is super interesting given their past five years. like it's It's seriously shaping up to be an amazing playoff, certainly in the West, but also probably in the East.
00:54:18
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the the playoffs have shown in the CFL that anyone can win. Anyone can win if you just get in because, I don't know, like that the parity between the teams this year, well, if you look at the standings, it may look drastic in some measures, but...
00:54:36
Speaker
All the teams are pretty close, except for I would say the two teams in the bottom. But you can even talk talk me into Ottawa, like you said, going on a bit of a run here, starting to become a competitive team in the East and giving Hamilton and Montreal trouble.
00:54:49
Speaker
you I mean, this is going way out, way out of left field. But with Fajardo and the Elks, you know, they got the Argos coming up. They start putting some wins together. BC keeps just going.
00:55:01
Speaker
Jekyll and Hyde one week on, one week off. And all yeah all of a sudden, Edmonton grabs like a last playoff spot something. I don't know. But to me that, you know, the season is well underway up until this point, but I still feel like there's a lot of stuff that can kind of
Competitive CFL Season
00:55:16
Speaker
change.
00:55:16
Speaker
And I'm not, I don't think the teams in the basement are fully done yet. i Like I said, the Argos are close. The Argos are the closest team to being done, but I just don't think it's it's fully over yet. And I just think there's so much stuff that can happen, especially in a league like the CFL.
00:55:34
Speaker
Absolutely. Well put. ah That'll do it for our week 10 recap. Crazy week in in the CFL, and it just makes me more excited for next week. Three stars of the week are going to be tough for this.
00:55:49
Speaker
Like, it there there could have been 10 stars of the week with some of the performances in this one. my I'm torn between two here, and I'll lay it out for you. Like, quarterbacks dominated dominated this week.
00:56:04
Speaker
The two that like my eye gets drawn to is Drew Brown going 26 for 31, 373 yards and five fucking touchdowns. That is where, and but you know, it's hard not to.
00:56:15
Speaker
But then in leading a huge comeback to like hey the fact that like they won the game. is Yeah, I like Drew Brown a lot. And the only thing that's holding me back a bit is how bad the Argos defense looked.
00:56:28
Speaker
And then Nathan Rourke going 24 for 40, 408 yards, two touchdowns. He was surgical to end that game. I think the only the only real difference here is Nathan Rourke had a brutal interception ah near the end of that game that could have lost BC that game.
00:56:48
Speaker
Yes. Which think gives Drew Brown maybe a bit of an edge and also three more touchdowns. i yeah i think drew brown I think Nathan Rourke has been on here a couple of times. and Drew Brown needs to need some so momentum. you know He needs a confidence boost. I think we've got to give him the benefit of the doubt here. Five touchdowns leading a crazy comeback. I know you know Rourke led ah ah an awesome drive down the field. couple of conversions on second and third down that were huge to put his team to give his team a chance.
00:57:17
Speaker
to win the game and then, you know, won it ah eventually in, in overtime, but i still feel like the defense was the biggest reason why they won in overtime. Uh, so yeah, I, I like Drew Brown as, as one. in that And then Nathan Rourke, a very close second.
00:57:31
Speaker
Yeah, I like that. um And then three, do we do we do we go off of a quarterback and you know maybe a Canadian receiver that was crucial down the stretch for the Lions here, ah Justin McInnes?
00:57:46
Speaker
He was like the guy that when BC was starting to... you know Things were not getting away from them, but it was clear that Hamilton was starting to get the momentum, sold out crowd at home.
00:57:58
Speaker
ah you know The Lions defense made some crucial stops to hold them to field goals. But when the when the times got tough, Rourke relied on McInnes, finished with eight receptions, just shy of 160 yards, 159.
00:58:11
Speaker
And he was kind of the guy, and especially on that third. The third and 12 is what you look to in that game, especially Rourke evading all the pressure. Like you said, not first, second, third look.
00:58:23
Speaker
And then McInnes is the guy, you know, turns takes it for, i think it was over 20 yards. It was just, he was the guy that kind of won the game. And he was the guy that Rourke, you know, relied upon to help them win this game. And he is, he's my third star of the week. I don't know. There's the honorable mention could just be the CFL.
00:58:42
Speaker
Yeah. The league. How a week for the CFL. believe I could be up there. ah Cody Fajardo could be up there. Vernon Adams Jr. Could be up there. Sneaky Brady Olivera, dude, 12 carries for 68 yards, nine receptions for a hundred yards.
00:58:59
Speaker
Like that is a hell of a stat line. Shocking that he didn't find the end zone. Um, but yeah, it was a hell of a week for some individual performances in the CFL.
Power Rankings Update
00:59:10
Speaker
You're right. Honorable mention is just the CFL, um, power rankings, Patrick.
00:59:16
Speaker
I know where to start. Yeah. These have some work to do because these haven't been updated in a bit. It was Calgary, Saskatchewan, Hamilton, Montreal, Winnipeg, BC, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa.
00:59:30
Speaker
And I think we're on the same page where this is really rock bottom because s Toronto is last in these power rankings. And we've been trying so hard to not do it.
00:59:41
Speaker
yeah We've been creating, we put them at eight. we've when They've been close to nine a couple of times, but we've we've said, no, you know Chad Kelly will be back. It'll change. It'll change. No, this it's it's gone on too long and reality has now set in and they are they are definitely nine. And I think we can i think we know one as well.
01:00:01
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. It's the schedule. The writers, the boys in green, I think they, you know, only having one loss this season is just still so impressive. I know they've played one less game than a bunch of teams, but just it's there.
01:00:13
Speaker
Acknowledge them. Like they are the team at the top. ah Where do you want to go from here? ah it's interesting because Calgary and Hamilton have the same record, right?
01:00:26
Speaker
want to say they're both six and three. um They are both six and three.
01:00:33
Speaker
It's interesting because i think Hamilton, i know we do week to week. Like it's not like it's the, you know, the standings recap, but I think Hamilton losing that last second game this is tough. because Hamilton ripped off six wins in a row and they lose one. Yeah.
01:00:54
Speaker
to yeah To me, they are, they are the second best team in the CFL right now. I got no problem with that. It's tough to be it's tough to like drop them after a loss like that in the run that they've been on.
01:01:06
Speaker
you know We'll get to it soon. Big test for them next week on the road. ah This is just like the stretch that's going to maybe determine their season and just what they are as a team.
01:01:16
Speaker
and you know Obviously, they kind of took care of the the Elks the week before. you know, you, you put up a hell of a fight against BC just come up short, but I mean, I'm not going to knock you too hard. And then I guess that leaves Calgary at, at, at a three.
01:01:31
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I think so. Um, I think, This is interesting, man, because the middle gets real murky. that's Actually, we can go back to the bottom because I think Ottawa is firmly seventh right now. And the Elks eighth?
01:01:50
Speaker
Yeah. You could even put Ottawa or Montreal right now, but I think that's... Yes, you could. I think we throw the Elks eight, it but they can easily get out of eight. like it the The difference from eight to six is not that far right now.
01:02:05
Speaker
No, it's not. um It's not at all.
01:02:12
Speaker
I would do my, you let's let's let's make a statement. I think we could put Ottawa at six and Montreal at seven. As of right now, I think Ottawa would be favored over Montreal. Neutral site.
01:02:24
Speaker
in church Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas. our Varsity Stadium in Toronto. ah Okay, then yeah, it's ah it BC and Winnipeg right now.
CFL Playoffs Anticipation
01:02:38
Speaker
ah BC's hotter than Winnipeg. Yeah. Whipers beat the Argos. like it was they they They lost to the Argos, beat the Argos, lost to Calgary.
01:02:52
Speaker
Yeah. i mean i haveve no I think these two two are interchangeable, so I'm not going to disagree with you either way. Yeah, I'm fine with BC at four and Winnipeg at five. Yeah, and BC's just got to prove that they can do it you know multiple weeks in a row now.
01:03:07
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, which goes Saskatchewan, Hamilton, Calgary at the top, BC, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto. Power rankings. that That surely won't upset anybody.
01:03:20
Speaker
lot of movement after two weeks. lot of movement. A lot of movement. Going be a lot of arrows on the graphic. um Moving into week 11, some quick thoughts, ah some preview.
01:03:32
Speaker
ah We'll get to our picks and then we'll get out of here. um Red Blacks starting the week on Thursday night at the Blue Bombers. Blue Bombers favored by six and a half points.
01:03:43
Speaker
Initial thought, Blue Bombers at home, certainly a point bump. It's no secret they get a lot of juice from playing in front of that home crowd. This is a real test for Ottawa.
01:03:57
Speaker
I would have thought it would have been maybe a smaller spread just considering how good Ottawa looked on offense and how kind of janky, um what how janky Winnipeg's offense looked and how janky their secondary also looks right now.
01:04:12
Speaker
Like that was a weird game for that. um But yeah, what are your initial thoughts on this game? Well, I would just say that your instincts were correct. it's ah It's just moved to five and a half right now for Winnipeg. So we we'll see if it stays there or wherever. But you know like you said, you expect a little a smaller spread.
01:04:30
Speaker
It's already moved towards the red blocks after the opening. I think it's not going to move too far off this. I feel like this is the number Ottawa still has to prove that they can like play up to these teams. like you know how much How much weight are you putting into a win over the ninth team in our power rankings? I know the comeback was awesome. It was on the road, and and it was nice, and they looked great offensively, but...
01:04:56
Speaker
We just went on massive rants about how bad this defense is, how bad the special teams is. just There's a lot of holes in the Argos, and the Red Blacks took advantage of them, and they had to. But can they do it against a proven team, a team that's you know built a lot better on all three facets of the ball?
01:05:15
Speaker
I don't know. It's it's a it's a game where you know I'm probably going to stay away from this one. This is just going to be the Red Blacks have to prove it to me that you can like you know play up to the team and you know potentially become a playoff threat going forward in the in this in the season.
01:05:31
Speaker
Yeah, yeah i think ah like this is a game where you know Mike O'Shea going up against Bob Dice, I think one of the things we always harp on the Red Blacks on is coaching, where this is a game where you have to coach Your coaching has to give you an edge in this game.
01:05:46
Speaker
If you're the Red Blacks, you can't make easy mistakes against Winnipeg because they have made a brand on punishing teams who do that. I think if Ottawa comes out with the right game plan and is moving fast on ah offense, is taking care of their P's and Q's on defense, they have a real chance to win this game.
01:06:06
Speaker
um But if you have a a classic sloppy Red Blacks effort in this game, Winnipeg will cover the spread and probably crush them. Yeah, what what Drew Brown is going to show up in this game?
01:06:18
Speaker
You know mean? It's like, I know you're feel you you know you got some some mojo going on after a five-touchdown game, but I've seen you do that week one, and then you returned after your injury, and you were just a shell of that guy. And it came out last week against a not-so-good team.
01:06:34
Speaker
Is he going to carry the mojo? I don't know. I don't know what to do with the red blocks right now, but I'm just kind of, I'm just watching from afar. I'm dumb. ja I got my eye on them. um Moving to the Friday night.
01:06:47
Speaker
Argos at Elks in Edmonton. The Argos opened up as I wish we recorded on like Sunday. The Argos opened up as one and a half point favorites in this game. And it has moved up.
01:07:01
Speaker
all the way to Elks two and a half. I don't know who was set in that line, but the fact that the Argos opened this game as favorites is ridiculous.
01:07:11
Speaker
um Edmonton is riding hot after a big win over Montreal. Fajardo looks fantastic. Fajardo, I think, is going to love playing this Argos defense.
01:07:24
Speaker
They're at home. Like I said earlier, this is an uphill battle for the Argos in this game, and I expect this spread to probably move even further. Yeah, hard to disagree with that. Obviously, Fajardo is very familiar with playing the Argos with his time with the Alouettes.
01:07:43
Speaker
He's had some great games against the Argos as well, so it's hard not to think that you know they're going to keep building off this win. They're at home. And he's just going to feel comfortable back there. Like Cam Cameron judges is another bright spot. You mentioned to me, I like the forced fumble that led into a touchdown.
01:08:03
Speaker
Like he's kind of a bright spot. Obviously went to McManus is a staple back there. But the pass rush is not great, and he's going to have time to kind of do what he wants. Curly Ginnis Jr. is slowly coming back into form.
01:08:16
Speaker
yeah I don't know. To me, this is Elks are starting to build some momentum, and the Argos, we've we've we've sounded the panic button. ah The alarms are ringing.
01:08:27
Speaker
It's below rock bottom. And they have to somehow, I don't know if they're going to do it this game, but they have to somehow like just dig themselves up, pick them up, get off the ground and just, I would like to, I don't think it will, but I would like to see this game go under for the sake that the Argos maybe had a decent defensive game.
01:08:48
Speaker
Yeah, I would love that. Yeah, who knows? Maybe the Argos surprise us here um and pull a win out. But yeah, I expect Edmonton to keep rolling in this one. Who knows? Could be wrong.
Hamilton vs. Saskatchewan Preview
01:09:00
Speaker
Mentioned this game earlier on the Saturday. Ticats at Rough Riders. Saskatchewan opened as three-point favorites.
01:09:11
Speaker
Is it still at three? Three and a half now. Interesting. Three is my least favorite spread in all of football. Yeah. So you have the hook now either way, um which is always a delight to see for betters.
01:09:25
Speaker
um But yeah, this is a ah this is a prove it game for Hamilton. As weird as that sounds, after winning six in a row, um you know, you're facing the best team in the CFL, the team with the best record.
01:09:38
Speaker
You're on the road. Yes, Saskatchewan, Mosaic, hard place to play. um But if you're Hamilton, you got to cover this game. You know, yeah I don't think it's it's a prove it game in the sense that if they lose similar to B.C. where you're like, oh, I'm out on Hamilton. But ah this game's got to be close if you want to prove that you can hang around with Saskatchewan.
01:10:00
Speaker
Yeah, I had similar thoughts on this game. Hamilton doesn't have to win it. ah like They're rightfully underdogs in this game. And you know it's if you lose in the similar fashion to BC, it's like, okay, I just know you're a contender at least. I don't need you to go out there and win against the number one team in the West.
01:10:17
Speaker
Save that if you get to the Grey Cup and you play them. That's the game you have to win. This one, just keep it tight. Show that you're not you know fraudulent for beating up on some weak Eastern teams.
01:10:29
Speaker
ah And yeah, it's going tough. The Riders, like you said, at home, they're off a bye as well. And I mean... I don't know. It's just something that Hamilton's going to have to keep it going. This is the toughest stretch of their season, probably.
01:10:42
Speaker
And can they find a way to maybe steal one out here? Like, you know, it's to me, this unfortunately, like, i mean, not unfortunate, but this has the makings of a massive letdown game for the Tiger Cats.
01:10:56
Speaker
Like the way they just lost to the Lions. You're getting the riders off a bye. You're going on the road. It's got a lot of makings of ah of a letdown game for the Tiger Cats for me.
01:11:07
Speaker
But if they can can, even if they lose like four, you know, yeah and i know you said you have to cover, but if you lose by one score, I can kind of tip my cap and say, you're in this game, you're playing football. But to me, I lean the riders in this one.
01:11:22
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. They've certainly got a lot stacked against them. Like you like you said, Riders are off the buy. Hamilton on the road, coming off a tough loss at home to a sold out crowd.
01:11:33
Speaker
ah Yeah, so a lot riding in the favor of Saskatchewan. But Ticats, if you want to make some noise, you know you go out, you keep this game close, or you really want to make some noise, you win it.
01:11:44
Speaker
um Going to the last game of the week, Montreal going all the way out west to BC. The Lions opened as four and a half point favorites. Still at four and a half.
01:11:56
Speaker
Yep. Yep. Still four and a half. that That seems about right for this number. I think that BC is riding hot after a big win against Hamilton. They're at home. Montreal is is kind of in the dumps.
01:12:08
Speaker
I'm actually surprised that maybe it wasn't a tiny bit bigger, but I feel like whenever they're a bit confused about a spread, it always lands at like this four and a half number and creeps up to like six by it by the time game time happens.
01:12:22
Speaker
I agree. I agree. I'm a little surprised. I thought it was going to be a bigger spread. Like what we just saw from BC and Nathan Rourke last week and what we saw from Montreal and Not that it's a quarterback controversy, but you know you're going back and forth between Caleb Evans and McLeod Bethel Thompson, who are neither... Combined, they might not be as good as Nathan Rourke at his best. So, BC at home. i This one, to me, feels like this can, like you said, can move to 6.5, 7, maybe, by game time.
01:12:54
Speaker
um that I don't know. It's one that... I'm definitely looking at. And just because, like we mentioned, man, the Alouettes without Davis Alexander should scare nobody.
01:13:06
Speaker
And they've proven that. And it's just to me, BC, like we said, though, BC has struggled to put two two weeks in a row
BC Lions' Playoff Chances
01:13:12
Speaker
together. There's a reason they're four and five this year. At their best, they look great. And at their worst...
01:13:17
Speaker
it's like this team is not a playoff team. I don't know what's going on. So this is just another, not to prove it, but BC, man, can you finally put some weeks together? Maybe you go on a run. Maybe you firmly put yourself in playoff position in the West.
01:13:31
Speaker
And I mean, there's no better team right now. Maybe, you know, obviously the Argos and stuff, but in the East, this is probably the second worst team in the East right now but they with Davis Alexander. So you got a good opportunity to kind of put some wins together here.
01:13:45
Speaker
Absolutely.
Hosts' Successful Picks Review
01:13:46
Speaker
um With that, we will move into our week 11 picks. We were 15 and nine. We went three and one.
01:13:56
Speaker
We are now 18 and 10. Patrick up eight units on the season looking for another good week. Don't mind the board this week. It's definitely a bit more challenging than some weeks in the past.
01:14:09
Speaker
um How about you lead us off here um with what you were just mentioning? You might you might want to take. Yeah, I'll just go with it. I'm not going overthink it. might be a little bit of a chalk play, but like we've said before, and we'll say it again, i don't know if there are rat lines in the CFL, so I'm going with the Lions, minus four and a half.
01:14:26
Speaker
ah It's something that I can live with if it loses. It's just like this should hit. It's not a lock, but it's just like if I'm going off of what i've the eye test and what I'm seeing, to me, this has the Lions possibly by two scores.
01:14:42
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. I
Betting on Bombers' Home Game
01:14:43
Speaker
don't hate that at all. Um, agree with you that if it loses, you can live with that. I think I'm actually on a similar vein in that in taking the bombers five and a half.
01:14:54
Speaker
I think I am fine if this game, if they don't cover this game, because that is a number that I'm comfortable taking the bombers at. And I think this, the bombers are a rope-a-dope team. Like they will look bad one week and then go back home in front of a packed princess auto stadium and demolish a team.
01:15:14
Speaker
So i it's, it's a pick that I can feel comfortable with, especially against the red blacks. Yeah, and like we said,
Game Over/Under Predictions
01:15:21
Speaker
we still don't know what the Red Blacks actually are. you know Nice win last week for sure, but we still don't know if you're... like Winnipeg's a big test for them, and I just don't know if they're ready for it yet. I don't mind that pick at all.
01:15:34
Speaker
I'm going to go with just like the... What's the name for it? you you You look at it's it's the first thing stink pick when you look at the board and you see this number and it's going to be the over in the Argos Elks, 53 and a half.
01:15:48
Speaker
I think, like we've mentioned, the Argos offense is good. The Argos defense is very bad. And Cody Fajardo has brought some life to this Elks team where I think they can actually score some points.
01:15:59
Speaker
And, you know, I was thinking about maybe taking a side in this game, but I think I like the over in this game. Yeah, yeah, I i do too. i had that circled for sure. um Tough last pick here because I could go a couple different ways with it here.
01:16:16
Speaker
um This one is like my gut feeling. yeah I don't think there's a whole lot of data to back this up, but I am expecting an under in the Ticats Rough Riders game. The total is at 53 and a half.
01:16:30
Speaker
I know that sounds insane given that there was 80 something points in that game between them and BC. um but Saskatchewan has a tough defense.
01:16:40
Speaker
um Saskatchewan, when they played last, it was a bit of a rock fight and it went under. under I think Saskatchewan won that game like 26-23 or something. um So I'm going to side on the fact that these are two really good teams and points are going to be a lot harder to come by in this matchup.
01:17:01
Speaker
ah One, especially for the Ticats on the road. um And two, um the Ticats defense can look suspect at times, but I think for a big game like this, they can get up for it.
01:17:13
Speaker
I don't know. I hate taking unders, but that one called out to me. I don't mind it at all. I really don't. It's so like I said, I kind of think that it has some makings of a letdown game for Hamilton. So if their offense is not up to their standards or even gets off to a slow start, 53 and a half is a lot of points.
01:17:31
Speaker
ah The riders just have an ability to just go for long drives, kill clock. So I don't mind that at all. And, you know, maybe maybe we got to take more unders. Maybe that's the recipe for success here going forward.
01:17:42
Speaker
um How badly did you want to take the Elks? Oh, so badly. So the Argos better win because we did it. The Argos, this is the week to win because we out of respect.
01:17:54
Speaker
I mean, if we're looking at sides, that might be the the set like that. but That one jumps off the board as the Argos. All right, man, we'll we'll see when the week just because we didn't take the Elks.
01:18:05
Speaker
Yeah. if you want to swap one of these picks, the backup honorable mention pick is Elks two and a half. um It was 28-23 the last time the Ticats and Rough Riders played. So um that is that is where my head was at. That was a a pretty hard-fought game, and that was at home for Hamilton.
01:18:24
Speaker
Yeah, but no like it. it's why Why not us? got to trust us. we're We're up eight units. you got to trust us. Sometimes you just go off field for a pick, and it's worked out for us up until up until this point in the season.
01:18:37
Speaker
Yep. Pays to listen to the pod. um
NFL and College Football Preview
01:18:39
Speaker
Without further ado, that'll do it for us at the goalpost this week. We had a lot to get into. This was a long one, um but I feel like we're we're back up to speed now and we're ready to hit the ground running.
01:18:50
Speaker
It'll be a big next month, I would say, for the goalpost. We're going to start mixing in our NFL preview. I'm sure that'll come at some point in the next few weeks. College football will be starting back up. We will have three leagues going at the same time.
01:19:06
Speaker
It'll be a lot to juggle, but man, is it going to be fun. If anyone can do it, it's us, Damo. We can balance it. And, you know, vacation time's over for us. So we'll be back to the grind. And yeah, excited for... There's nothing better when all three of them are going.
01:19:22
Speaker
Because you're just like, it's just football and sensory overload. And, you know, if you got... You can keep up with all three with the boys here on the goalpost. So yeah, I'm i'm excited to ah get into it. We're a couple weeks away. But yeah, keep an eye out for the NFL and probably the college football preview going forward.
01:19:40
Speaker
Yep, sounds good. Until next week, Patrick, I'll see you. See you, Damien.