THE CANADIAN PRESS
At 4-2, the BC Lions have played some good football in 2017 and look like one of the better teams in the West Division. The only problem they’ve had thus far, though, is the only team they’ve lost to: the Edmonton Eskimos.
The Esks improved to 5-0 with a 37-26 win over the Lions on Friday night and looked good doing so. Mike Reilly was dialed in once again, three receivers went over 100 yards and the defence made life difficult on Travis Lulay, Jeremiah Johnson and the rest of the BC attack. It was all very similar to the Week 1 showdown between the Lions and Eskimos, also won by the latter.
The two losses to Edmonton pose an interesting question: Just how good is BC? Personally, I think very highly of them. They’re my pre-season Grey Cup pick because I think they’re very balanced while still possessing a great deal of explosiveness. But, even with a 4-2 record, the Lions don’t really have a signature win to their credit yet.
RELATED
» Esks’ air raid leads win over Lions
» O’Leary: Mandrusiak takes in 1,000th game
» Ferguson: A trend for every team at the quarter mark
Vidal Hazelton was a mathcup nightmare for the Lions’ defence in Week 6 (The Canadian Press)
Yes, BC racked up a four-game win streak prior to Friday night, but three of those wins came against an inferior East Division, at least as it stands right now. The other win was against a good Winnipeg team, but they haven’t progressed into “big boy” territory just yet. So far, the Lions have lost both games against big time opponents.
BC still has one game remaining against the Eskimos, and that comes in October when the stakes should be even higher. Between now and then, the Lions also play Calgary twice, so they still have a few more benchmark tests ahead of them.
In fact, the next three weeks will be really interesting for the Lions. First, they go home and home with the Riders for the next two games, starting with Saturday’s showdown at BC Place. Saskatchewan is no pushover and has shown it can put up some points the last few weeks. Following that the Lions play the Stampeders for the first time this season and we all know how tough a task they present.
I’m a big fan of this BC group and I think it has a very high ceiling, especially once Jonathon Jennings is back. However, with two losses to Edmonton already, I’m forced to take a little pause for thought on just how highly I think of them. More than anything, I’m just really excited to see them in their remaining marquee showdowns this season.
Six(ty) pack
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are reeling right now. Not only are they the CFL’s only winless team at 0-5, but the Ticats also closed out Week 6 of the season with one of their most one-sided losses in team history. Hamilton’s 60-1 loss in Calgary better serve as an extreme wakeup call; otherwise, some important decisions might need to be made in the near future.
Before we go any further on the Ticats, we’d be remiss to not give some love to the Stampeders. That performance on Saturday night was ridiculous. Jerome Messam was a beast on the ground, rookie receiver Marken Michel had a breakout performance and Calgary was smothering on defence. The Stamps truly were dominant as they set a new team record for margin of victory in a single game.
Andrew Buckley played part of the second half for the Stamps in relief of Bo Levi Mitchell (The Canadian Press)
Okay, now back to Hamilton. Getting a sixty-burger hung on you is bad enough under normal circumstances. It’s even worse when it serves to punctuate this kind of start to the season. The Tiger-Cats are winless and only one of their losses has come by less than double digits. In fact, Hamilton has lost its five games this season by a combined margin of 111 points; prior to Saturday, it was at 52 points in four games.
I’m confident in saying Zach Collaros hasn’t struggled this much since joining the Ticats for the 2014 season. Collaros has been elite when healthy for good chunks of his three seasons in Hamilton but right now he looks like a shadow of what we’ve gotten used to. The quarterback I’ve seen this season is lacking confidence and gaining in frustration.
Two perfect examples were on display at McMahon Stadium on Saturday. Early in the first quarter, Collaros threw to the wide side of the field and was almost picked off by Shaquille Richardson on a play that would have gone for six the other way. It was an ill-advised throw by a quarterback trying to make something happen but luckily it hit the ground harmless.
One quarter later, though, Collaros attempted a similar pass with more catastrophic results. This time, Richardson jumped the route perfectly and returned the interception 47 yards for a Calgary major. The score put Hamilton down 24-0 and I think served as the play that sealed the Ticats’ fate. Maybe it was just me, but following that the Tiger-Cats looked defeated; heck, they were still getting shredded by a second team offence in the second half.
Collaros’s struggles are clearly leading to mounting frustration but it’s something he needs to fight against. With more frustration comes more temptation to force things, and that’s when mistakes like Saturday’s end up happening.
So what does Hamilton do? Well, despite being last in both points for and points against through five games, I don’t think now is the time to make a big front office decision. Firing head coach Kent Austin seems a little hasty and also comes with complications.
First off, I’d give Austin the opportunity to guide the Ticats out of this muck. If they bounce back in Week 7 against Edmonton, it’s a step they can build on. Furthermore, let’s not forget Austin is also Hamilton’s vice president of football operations, so he’s calling the player personnel shots, too.
The thing is, I don’t think the Tiger-Cats are a bad team. I still think they’ve got some really nice pieces and, on paper anyway, should be competitive in the East Division. The fact they sit 0-5 is hard to wrap your head around, especially with how bad they’ve looked for the majority of this season.
For now, Pat Steinberg writes, it’s too early to talk about wholesale changes in Hamilton (Adam Gagnon/CFL.ca)
Hamilton’s saving grace right now is the relative mediocrity of their division to start the season. The East doesn’t have a team above .500, so a couple wins could bring them right back into playoff contention. However, those couple wins, or at least signs of a turnaround, have to come soon.
So, sure, I don’t think now is the time to pull the trigger on a front office shift. If the Tiger-Cats don’t figure things out in a hurry, though, they might be left with no other choice but to make a big move or two.
Like father, like son
Saskatchewan’s Duron Carter put on a show against Toronto on Saturday afternoon. Let’s get this out of the way now: Carter’s second quarter touchdown reception might be the greatest catch I’ve ever seen. I’m not talking this week or this year; I mean at any point watching football at any level, north or south of the border, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that.
For Carter to have the concentration, let alone the athletic ability, to take a ball thrown behind him, bat it down on the backhand with control, and then kneel to make the catch is mind-blowing stuff. The fact it went for six points is just a bonus.
But it’s not like Carter’s backhanded heroics were all he was good for in a big 38-27 win for the Riders. In his biggest performance since joining Saskatchewan, Carter finished the afternoon with nine catches, 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Aside from his circus catch late in the first half, though, two other Carter catches were of the highlight-reel variety. He was a man possessed and showed us why the Riders went out and got him during the off-season.
I know Carter’s time in Montreal ended unceremoniously in 2016 and I know he’s had a reputation of being a distraction in the past. In saying that, though, I was firmly in favour of Saskatchewan picking him up. Carter’s talent is undeniable and the Riders were in need of more bona fide game breakers. Well, Carter 100 per cent fits that bill and if he can keep things focused on football, fans in Saskatchewan are going to continue to be happy he signed there.
Carter’s performance against the Argos certainly had me thinking about how happy his dad must have been watching. For those that don’t know, Duron is the son of eight-time Pro Bowl and Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter. The two gentlemen share some similarities aside from the position they both play.
Before Cris rose to prominence with the Minnesota Vikings, the Philadelphia Eagles cut him after two seasons for off-field reasons. Cris used that as a wakeup call, got things on the right track and the rest is history.
Duron isn’t going to reach the same heights as his father, and that’s fine, but that doesn’t change the fact he’s one of the league’s most talented receivers. If Duron can use his departure from Montreal the same way Cris did his from Philadelphia, we can get used to more shows like what we saw on Saturday.
