July 20, 2016

CFL.ca Game Notes: A look at Week 5

TORONTO — When, if at all, will the tables turn for the home teams this season?

It’s a question among many to keep in mind heading into Week 5 of play in the CFL, as the 2016 season is headed towards uncharted waters when it comes to visiting team success. So far the visitors are 12-3-1 this season as only Calgary, BC and Edmonton have mounted home wins.

The Bombers, Riders, Eskimos and Argos will look to change that this weekend, with four games taking place Thursday through Monday.

You can bet the urgency will be turned up a notch for Thursday Night Football in Winnipeg, where the Bombers and Stampeders each eye their second win of the season in a game that will help set the pace out of the gate in what’s been a wild, wild CFL West Division as promised.

Mitchell Gale will make his professional debut as a starting quarterback on Friday night as he steps in for the injured Darian Durant, and what a first opponent he’ll go up against — Trevor Harris, Chris Williams and the seemingly-unstoppable Ottawa REDBLACKS.

The action continues on Saturday in the City of Champions, Edmonton, as Mike Reilly looks to continue his record-breaking pace against Jeremiah Masoli and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. With the Ticats heading into a bye and Zach Collaros getting closer and closer, this could be Masoli’s last chance to start before turning over the reins.

Finally, after an off-day on Sunday, Week 5 resumes with a rare Monday night game as the Alouettes and Argos clash at BMO Field. The Argos are 0-2 at BMO this season and own the CFL’s lowest-ranked offence but will look to get things back on track against Kevin Glenn, who’s back at quarterback for the Als in time for a pivotal all-East duel.

Everything you need and more is all right here, as the CFL.ca Game Notes get you primed for what promises to be an exciting Week 5.


Jason Halstead (CFL.ca)

BUY WEEK 5 TICKETS

» Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET: Calgary at Winnipeg
» Friday, 9:00 p.m. ET: Ottawa at Saskatchewan
» Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Hamilton at Edmonton
» Monday, 7:30 p.m. ET: Montreal at Toronto


CFL-WIDE TRENDS

Road warriors: This season has seen visiting clubs dominate like no other year in Canadian Football history. Looking back over the last 70 years to the 1946 season, no other year has seen home teams win so few times across the first 16 games of any season. In Week 4, all four road clubs won – the first road sweep since Week 6 in 2014.

Road warriors 2.0: Of note, three of the four road winners all trailed at the end of the fourth quarter, including BC, Ottawa and Edmonton. Prior to Week 4, only BC in Week 1 among all teams had trailed after 45:00 and come back to win. The Stampeders, Lions and 3 Eskimos are the only teams with home victories thus far.

Third-and-short success: In 2016, CFL clubs have converted 37-of-47 attempts on third down gambles of two yards or less. Edmonton and Ottawa have yet to fail at 7-for-7 and 3-for-3 respectively, while Calgary has been an excellent 9-of-10. Saskatchewan trails the CFL at just 2-of-6 so far. NOTE: This statistic includes plays where first down was achieved by an opponent offside call, or failure came about because of an offensive penalty such as Procedure.

20-point Quarter(s): The game between Saskatchewan and BC last week featured a CFL rarity in that each club recorded a quarter with 20-plus points. It was Saskatchewan’s first 20-plus point quarter since getting 26 in the second Quarter on Sept. 7, 2014 at Winnipeg. It was the first time in almost six years since Oct. 11, 2010 (Winnipeg 47, BC 35) where both teams did it in the same game.


» THE WEEKLY SAY: A question for every team in Week 5

Adam Gagnon (CFL.ca)


WEEK 5 GAME NOTES

Strong off the bye: The Stampeders have had the most success in the CFL coming off the bye since 2002, currently owning a 13-game win streak and an average margin of victory of 15.3 points per game over that stretch. Their last loss when coming off a bye was on July 1, 2005. Among the 13 straight wins have been seven in which they have played away from home after the bye as they will be doing this week at Investors Group Field.

Harris getting touches: Through four games, Harris has more touches than any other CFL player with 43 rushing attempts and 26 receptions. His 4.1 yard average rush is the lowest of his CFL career and he has only three runs of 10-plus yards to date.

Paredes and Medlock: The Calgary and Winnipeg kickers rank first and second in the CFL’s all-time FG% leaders heading into this week’s game (Medlock: 86.4 per cent & Paredes 84.75) per cent. In 2016, however, they are each at just 8-of-12 for a 67 per cent success rate. For Medlock, all four of his misses have been from 47-plus yards and he is 7-of-7 from 46 yards and closer. Paredes is 2-of-4 from 40 or more yards and has missed in the 30-39 yard range twice.

Historical comeback: The REDBLACKS were forced to kick on their first three drives last week but rallied to score on four of their next six possessions to overcome a 13-point Argos lead. It was the largest comeback victory in the 40-game history of the Ottawa REDBLACKS (previous high comeback win: From 11 points down on July 24, 2015 vs Calgary).

League-leading offence: This year the REDBLACKS lead the CFL at 503.8 yards of net offence per game.
They are first club since 1991 to threaten the 1956 Montreal Alouettes’ record mark of 532.6 yards per game. The last CFL club to exceed the 500-yard per game over a whole season was BC in 1991 at 506.5 per game. Only three teams have ever averaged over 500 net yards per game, the other being Montreal in 1955 (518.8 per game).

SSK’s best rankings: The areas where Saskatchewan has been the strongest thus far are in the passing game, third overall at 326 yards per game, and having allowed just four QB Sacks in three games (tied for first in the CFL). They have controlled the ball for 31:54 per game (second), and have yet to throw an interception.

Coming back from 10-plus points down: Edmonton has bucked the trend lately where teams that fall behind by 10 points or more win on average just once every seven times. The Esks have actually tied the all-time CFL record for consecutive 10-point deficits overcome with five in a row. Dating back to last September, starting with the most recent, they’ve rallied back from deficits of 10, 13, 18, 16 and 10.

Reilly vs. Hamilton: This game will be the sixth that Edmonton’s Mike Reilly will start against Hamilton and he is 3-2 to date. His passer rating of 81.4 vs the Ticats is among the lowest against any opponent and he has six TD passes and four interceptions. Jeremiah Masoli has played little against Edmonton, appearing only in reserve on July 14, 2014 (5-of-15 for 118 yards, one TD, one interception).