CFL.ca Game Notes: A look at Week 8

TORONTO — It’s Week 8 of the Canadian Football League’s 2017 season and teams are closely fighting for position in their respective divisions. Just four points separate first and fourth place in the West while three come between first and third and in the East.

The week starts in Ottawa on Thursday night as the Edmonton Eskimos take on the REDBLACKS. The Esks are still undefeated at 6-0 as Mike Reilly has begun his 2017 campaign in impressive form. Even with injuries at receiver and running back, Edmonton’s offence is still firing on all cylinders. It’ll be up to the REDBLACKS defence to stuff Reilly and co. if they want to get their second win of the year. Mossis Madu will get the start in the backfield and Trevor Harris will need to utilize him, and his receiving corps, in order to get past the Eskimos defence and find a win.

Then things move to Montreal where the Alouettes host the Toronto Argonauts. The game is S.J. Green’s return to his former team – a team he spent 10 years and his entire CFL career with. Ricky Ray is questionable to play after leaving last week’s contest against the Stampeders with an apparent shoulder injury leaving questions surrounding who will be throwing passes to Green. Hot off a bye week, Montreal will be looking to close the gap between themselves and Toronto in the East Division as just two points separate the two squads.

Saturday night football brings us to Hamilton where the Tiger-Cats welcome the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the Donut Box. With a shake up to their coaching staff, the Ticats are hoping to build off their close loss to the Esks last week. Keeping Zach Collaros protected will be key for Hamilton – if he’s scrambling, Winnipeg could take full advantage and add to their league-leading interceptions. The Bombers, on the other hand, are coming off a last-second victory over the REDBLACKS last week and will be looking to continue rolling to gain ground in the West. Running back Andrew Harris continues his dominance out of the backfield – he is third on the Bombers in receiving yards – and the Tiger-Cats will have to keep an eye on him.

And finally, the BC Lions head to Saskatchewan to take on the Roughriders in the final game of the week. Jonathon Jennings could be ready to return to the field this week with Travis Lulay handing back the keys after impressing in the youngsters absence. Chris Williams made an impact in his first game back since undergoing surgery last year on his knee and the Riders will have him, along with the rest of the Lions’ dangerous receiving corps, to contain. The Riders themselves have a pretty stellar group of pass-catchers, including Duron Carter who has become a favourite target of Kevin Glenn. Keeping him in check will be key for the Lions as well as stopping the run – Cameron Marshall is third in the CFL in rushing yards.

Buy Week 8 Tickets

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

THIS WEEK IN THE CFL

HOMECOMING IN MONTREAL

• When Toronto visits Montreal for a key divisional game on Friday it’ll be a homecoming for a Quartet of Argonauts: S.J. Green (10 seasons with Montreal), Jim Popp (21 seasons with Montreal), Marc Trestman (5 seasons with Montreal), and Bear Woods (4 seasons with Montreal).
• Popp led the Alouettes to three Grey Cup championships, eight East Division titles and Grey Cup appearances, ten first-place finishes, and 17 seasons with a record above .500. He led the Alouettes to back-to-back Grey Cup championships in 2009 and 2010.
• Green finished his 10 seasons with the Alouettes with 444 receptions, 6,526 yards and 42 touchdowns. He was a CFL All-Star in 2014 for the club.
• Trestman went 59-31 (including 36-9 in home games) during his tenure as an Alouettes coach, leading to two Grey Cups and four first-place finishes, leading the CFL in scoring on three occasions.
• Woods spent four seasons in Montreal where he was a two-time CFL All-Star and named Montreal’s Most Outstanding defensive player twice. He holds the franchise record for most tackles in a single season with 129.

ANDREW HARRIS THE DUAL-PURPOSE BACK

• Harris has105 touches, 65 carries for 283 yards (4.4 YPC) and 40 receptions for 318 yards (8.0 YPR) for a total 601 yards.
• In his career Harris has recorded 50+ receptions in four of his seven seasons in the CFL. His career-high was in 2012 with BC when he notched 75 receptions.
• Harris’ average of 6.7 receptions per game has him on pace for 120 which would be a record for a running back (minimum 75 carries). On the rushing side, he is on pace for 195 carries and 849 yards. As a receiver, he is on pace for 954 receiving yards.
• No player in CFL history has recorded 1,000+ rushing and receiving yards seasons in a single season. Robert Drummond was closest in 1997 (RUSH 935 yards, REC 798 yards) and 1998 (RUSH 1,134 yards, REC 840 yards). Drummond is the only player to reach 800+ rushing and receiving yards in a season.

MILESTONES

• Nik Lewis (1,011) is now seven receptions shy of sole possession of second on the all-time receptions list. He needs six catches to tie Ben Cahoon (1,017) and 18 to catch Geroy Simon (1,029).
• With a 26-yard completion to Cameron Marshall in the second half of Saturday’s game, Glenn moved past Ron Lancaster into sixth place on the CFL’s all-time passing list. With 50,613 passing yards in his career, the next person to pass is Danny McManus with 53,255.
• Roy Finch’s 103-yard punt return on Thursday was the second-longest in Calgary franchise history. With 514 punt return yards in five games he is on pace for 1,131 return yards which would be eighth highest all-time. His current 17.7 yards per punt return would be the best in a season, eclipsing the record of 16.8 yards per punt (Leon Bright 1980 and Larry Highbaugh 1975).
• Darian Durant needs 62 yards to pass Tom Burgess (30,308) and join the Top 15 all-time. Durant needs 135 yards to pass Sam Etcheverry (30,381) for 14^th.
• Thus far we have had 125 players make their CFL debut in 2017. Across the league we have had 305 players make at least one start; Hamilton and Ottawa have had the most with 38 each. Winnipeg has the fewest with 29.

HIGH QB RATINGS

• Net offence this season is currently at 756 yards per game – the second-highest since 1991.
• Quarterback efficiency rating has grown four years in a row and is currently at an all-time high of 100.6. The interception rate in the CFL (2%) is the lowest it’s ever been in the CFL at one in every 49 pass attempts. The rate in the 1990s was double– 4%.
• Three QBs have a rating over 90 (using the CFL’s new Quarterback Rating System known as QUAR, out of 100). Travis Lulay sits at 94.9, Mike Reilly at 94.5 and Bo Levi Mitchell at 90.5.
• League-wide QUAR rating is 79.8, compared to 68.6 last season.
• This season, games are averaging 624 passing yards per game – a 30% increase from 2014.

S.J. Green will be making his long awaited return to Montreal after spending 10 years with the Alouettes (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

WEEK 8 GAME NOTES

Close Games: The REDBLACKS are the ONLY team in CFL history to have each of their first seven games in a season all decided by five points or fewer. The only two teams to come close are Montreal in 2017 and Hamilton in 1999, with their first six games decided by seven points or fewer.

West is Best: West Division teams have won nine straight games against East Division opponents.

50th Start: Zach Collaros makes his 50^th career CFL start this week; his career record is 24-25. He is a perfect 3-0 versus Winnipeg all-time. Last week Collaros passed for a season-high three touchdown passes against Edmonton.

Low Two-and-Outs: Two-and-Out rate has declined every year since 2014 and by 37% since 2013. This season the average for Two-and-Outs are 7.9 per game, or 29% of drives.

Run the Ball: Despite rushing yards and attempts at a historic low, Edmonton has had three different running backs rush for 100+ yards in a single game three times this season: John White (104 yards vs. BC), Travon Van (103 yards vs. OTT) and LaDarius Perkins (105 yards vs. HAM).

Special, special teamer: REDBLACKS First-year player Keelan Johnson leads the league with 12 special teams tackles.

Undefeated: Edmonton becomes the 16^th team in CFL history to begin the season 6-0. It’s the third-time Edmonton has managed this feat, and this week they’re looking to become the 13^th team ever to begin the season 7-0. The last team to start 7-0 was Montreal in 2006, coached by Don Matthews. In the 2000s only two other teams started a season with seven wins in a row: BC in 2005 (11-0) and Montreal in 2002 (8-0).

Canadian Content: Toronto native and Saskatchewan Roughrider QB Brandon Bridge completed all six of his passes, including two touchdowns, on Saturday night. He became the second Canadian QB to throw a TD pass this season (Andrew Buckley being the first). The last time a pair of Canadian pivots passed for touchdowns in a season was in 1996: Giulio Caravatta and Larry Jusdanis.

Ellingson Making Catches: Ottawa receiver Greg Ellingson is averaging 100.3 yards per game, something that has been done just four times in the last 20 years: Adarius Bowman (2016, 103.6), Jamel Richardson (2011, 104.5), Geroy Simon (2006, 103.1) and Milt Stegall (2002, 105.3).

Streak Ended: Ricky Ray’s streak of 300+ passing yard games came to an end at six games. The record in a season is 14, set by Doug Flutie in 1991.

Bye Week: Teams following a bye week this season are 2-3. Montreal comes off a Week 7 bye this week versus Toronto. Last season they were 1-1 off their bye weeks.

Home Sweet Home: Home teams have bounced back compared to last year. Through 29 games, Home teams are 18-10-1 (.638). Compared to last year after 29 games, home teams were 11-17-1 (.397).