Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
I would like to apologize to the good people of CFL.ca and TSN.ca. But before I do that I need to come clean: I don’t always watch all the games. The magic of the PVR machine allows me (like many of you) to catch up on what I may have missed. On Friday night I went out to visit my father for dinner; he made homemade hamburgers and told stories about covering the Fog Bowl in 1962 (Watch this, this is crazy).
So when I woke up on Saturday morning and saw “26-26” at the top of the respective screens on both websites I naturally thought someone had screwed up. I mean, a tie? That hasn’t happened since 2009. Well it did on Friday night and I demand answers. I hate ties! Not only is it unsatisfactory for the viewers and spectators but I feel bad for whoever’s job it is to update the weekly standings because they have to add that stupid extra column that now includes a tie.
» Related: Missed opportunities lead to missed points in Ottawa
So what do you do when you get irrationally angry? That’s right, you place blame! Skimming back through the game there are several individuals/moments that were most responsible for this monstrosity. So let’s go back to our nation’s capital and see who caused us to live in a world where the Stampeders are 1-1-1.
1. The Trevor Harris to Chris Williams combination
Wow. Usually when I write a glowing review about a player, they usually take an immediate massive nose dive. Not these two. Instead they hooked up for three touchdowns which of course meant there was no chance for a Calgary blowout. The first score was such a simple play, with Williams going in motion from the slot on the right hand side to releasing out to the left flat and catching a one-yard pass with poor Brandon Smith trying to catch up. Not even the 2014 CFL All-Star had a chance to prevent this touchdown. This play is pretty much unstoppable.
But of course the scoring didn’t end there between these two. In the second quarter Williams decided to abuse another 2014 Western Division All-Star; this time it was Fred Bennett. I gotta tell you, I felt bad for Bennett on this play. Williams catches a simple seven-yard out and is one-on-one with Bennett. Best case scenario for Calgary is an Ottawa first down. Unfortunately for the Stampeders Williams just turns to the outside and runs away from both Bennett and yet another member of the 2014 All-Star team, Jamar Wall, as he turned a seven-yard catch into a 52-yard touchdown.
For those scoring at home, Williams beat three All-Stars for two touchdowns. Of course, Williams wasn’t done, as he gets his hat trick of touchdowns in the fourth quarter after breaking a 13-13 tie where he beats Bennett inside and catches his third touchdown of the game on a well-run slant pattern.
2. Trevor Harris’ greediness
The REDBLACKS have a 13-7 lead; they’ve just picked off Bo Levi Mitchell and are 14 yards away from going up by double digits. I’m not saying this ugly interception that I’m about to describe would have put the game away but it would have made life VERY difficult for the Stampeders who were playing on the road. Instead of Ottawa putting some distance between itself and Calgary, Harris gets greedy. Rolling out to his right he clearly has no open options and instead of just throwing it away he tries to force one to Greg Ellingson that is easily picked off by Tommie Campbell.
Hey Trevor, I get it: you’re on top of the world, the Stampeders had yet to record an interception on the season so you decided to take a chance. But it was the wrong decision as there were a couple defensive backs that could have intercepted that pass. Harris should have thrown the ball away; they still had second down and at worst you have a short field goal. Instead your lust for touchdowns keeps the Stamps in the game that would eventually lead to a dreadful deadlock.
3. Bakari Grant’s late game heroics.
In his first game of the season with his new team, Bakari finished with 89 yards receiving — most of that production coming with his team down a touchdown with under five minutes to play. Grant makes Ottawa DB Abdul Kanneh look foolish on just a ridiculous cutback up the middle of the field, turning a nice 13-15 yard gain into a flip-the-field, 46-yard reception where en route he swats an attempted tackle by Forrest Hightower. Just a fun play all around.
Grant would take a slant pattern for 12 more yards on the next play, setting up a short touchdown catch by Jerome Messam.
4. The Nic Grigsby fumble
Do I really need to say any more? Ottawa is about to go up by seven with just over a minute left, treating fans to a 3-0 start! Instead, a crushing hit by Alex Singleton separates ball from running back and we are heading for a field goal-filled overtime.
5. Jermaine Robinson’s hands
I mean the game is over!!! Calgary with its first possession in overtime after the REDBLACKS had gone up on a Chris Milo 32-yard field goal; Bo Levi Mitchell throws up a duck with the ball softly, gently landing into the waiting arms and chest of Robinson. Instead Robinson drops the easiest ball he will ever see come his way.
The game should have been over; instead Calgary’s Rene Paredes kicks a field goal to tie it at 23.
6. Calgary’s red zone offence
Joe West on Calgary’s second OT possession is wide open over the middle of the field and hauls in a 31 yard catch moving the Stamps to the Ottawa four yard line. At this point Calgary has to score a touchdown, right? With Jerome Messam and that offensive line this is a done deal. Nope!!! Instead Mitchell’s first pass is deflected by LB David Hinds and Bakari Grant does his best Jermaine Robinson impersonation by dropping a sure touchdown on second down. Does anyone want to win this game?
In general the best way to summarize this game was that it was one where both teams were given chances to either run away with a victory or seal a win late and neither team could capitalize. Overtime was filled with mistakes, missed opportunities and four field goals, which is even more galling when you consider that each team started with favourable field position on a night where the elements were not much of a factor.
Oh well, at least it was a memorable game. Oh and whoever came up with the expression “a tie is like kissing your sister” needs some serious help.
