Berg vs. Ferg: What’s the biggest surprise through Week 2?

Berg vs. Ferg returns for another season on CFL.ca as columnists Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate over some of the league’s most contentious storylines. This week they debate over the biggest surprise in the CFL through two weeks.

‘Expect the unexpected’ can often be heard describing Canadian Football League games, especially early in the season when anything goes.

The first two weeks have brought their fair share of surprises across the league, from the Ticats’ impressive western road swing and the Argos’ early-season struggles to the emergence of rookie quarterback Chris Streveler.

It’s early, and much of the 2018 season has yet to play out, but what’s the biggest surprise through the first handful of games of the season?

Steinberg and Ferguson weigh in with their choices in the latest Berg vs. Ferg.

BERG (1-2): WE KNEW THE TICATS WOULD BE BETTER, BUT…

Pat Steinberg, CFL.ca
@Fan960Steinberg

I came into this season thinking the Hamilton Tiger-Cats would be better than they were in 2017. After all, last year was such a disastrous campaign for the Ticats and I just didn’t think things could be that bad once again. Well, with two weeks of this season in the books, I’m fairly confident Hamilton is a much better team than they were last season. How much better they are, though, is still pretty surprising.

The Tiger-Cats are 1-1 to kick things off in 2018 but could very easily be 2-0; they’ve led in seven of the eight quarters of football they’ve played so far. The biggest reason for this is the play of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, which is actually the least surprising development of the bunch. Masoli finished last season on an impressive run and I was confident he could carry that over into the start of this year.

What has caught me off guard is what we’ve seen from the rest of the Hamilton offence. While it’s just one game, Mercer Timmis wasn’t someone I was expecting to put up totals like he did in Week 2 (133 yards and two touchdowns). Likewise, outside of Luke Tasker, I was somewhat skeptical of the receiving options available to the Ticats. Through two weeks, Tasker has been dangerous, but so has Brandon Banks, Jalen Saunders, and Mike Jones.

Finally, you have to give Hamilton its due on the defensive side of things, too. This is the area I was most unsure about coming into 2018, but Hamilton has been solid thus far, allowing just 49 points through two games. With five turnovers already, the Tiger-Cats have made plays defensively while linebacker Larry Dean is on pace to have another career year in tackles; he has 12 so far.

Yes, I thought Hamilton was going to be better this season compared to where things were one year ago. However, I wasn’t necessarily counting on the Ticats to go through Alberta and play as well as they did against the Stampeders and Eskimos. Hamilton could easily have won in Calgary and was dominant in a visit to Edmonton and this group looks like a transformed group compared to where things were in 2017.

FERG (2-1): STREVELER’S SUCCESS DEFIES EVERYTHING WE KNOW

Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca
@TSN_Marsh

Rookie quarterbacks aren’t supposed to be great. They aren’t even supposed to be good. It’s difficult to be good here early which is part of the magic that protects the CFL from quarterbacks usually swooping in, dominating and leaving before we barley got to know the man behind the arm.

The CFL is a league which consistently recycles talent exposed to the CFL game due to the belief that it takes time to figure things out up here.

THAT is what makes the success of Chris Streveler so rare, and so much fun.

Be honest, three weeks ago had you ever heard the name Chris Streveler? Did you know he could move like this, throw this accurately? Lead a huddle to a road victory?

I certainly didn’t but Streveler has changed all of that through two games, putting up statistics young CFL quarterbacks aren’t supposed to be able to.

One of the best parts about the CFL is early season storylines grabbing your attention. It happens annually with teams jumping out to a quick start or a coach changing the culture of an organization but we rarely see it with a singular player, let alone at one of the most pressure packed positions in all of sports, quarterback.

We are almost always too quick to anoint the next great quarterback but Streveler is making a strong push through two weeks to make you believe. Enjoy the ride, it’s rare and surprising. Thanks to the Bombers defence and special teams this story could just be getting started.

DON’T SIT ON THE FENCE!

While both sides are pretty convincing, someone’s got to take it. Whose argument convinced you the most?

You can vote for this week’s winner both on CFL.ca and Twitter. Meanwhile, continue the conversation by tweeting @Fan960Steinberg and @TSN_Marsh.

The winner will be revealed in the following week’s Berg vs. Ferg.