CFL.ca Photo/Geoff Robins
Hello, @JangleSpruce, on Twitter. Sure, there were four teams that we can declare winners from this past week. But the real winners, far as I can tell, are the people who know you and met you for tailgating ahead of the Winnipeg/Edmonton game.
Hold up a sec. You brought maple bacon french toast cupcakes to the tailgate? What?! Giddyup. I don’t like to throw the word “hero” around all willy-nilly but what else can I call you?
You should be a Shaw Top Performer of the Week is all I’m sayin’.
Here are this week’s takeaways.
1. SEND ‘EM, WINNIPEG. SEND ‘EM ALL
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers certainly got aggressive against the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday night. A punt block, four sacks, two forced fumbles, a pick-six, seven turnovers in all… that was an urgent squad doing things in now or never fashion.
Defensive Coordinator Richie Hall loaded up the line and made the Eskies guess who was blitzing and who was not. Sometimes, there was no guesswork at all because they were ALL coming.
If the Bombers were looking for a signature defensive effort to key a sprint to the finish line, they got it.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: Marcus Sayles has emphatically staked his claim in the race for top rookie in the West.
BONUS BONUS TAKEAWAY: Kevin Fogg did everything right. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear that he won the 50/50 pot to boot.
2. HERE’S YOUR PIVOTAL MOMENT, EDMONTON ESKIMOS
Quarterback Mike Reilly said it best for the Edmonton Eskimos, who’d just been diced and sautéed at home by the Blue Bombers.
“Thankfully, September’s over,” he said, grimly, in the locker room aftermath of a 30-3 loss.
“We got knocked down on the mat tonight. If you’re a strong team, you’ll get back up and you’ll start swinging again. We’re gonna swing. I promise you that. We’re gonna swing.”
So the time of reckoning has arrived for the Eskies, early season picks to push the Stampeders for first in the West, but who now find themselves in a fight even to make a crossover playoff spot count.
“We’ve got no choice but to get up and give our damnedest swing that we’ve got,” said Reilly. “And I know it’s a pretty damn big swing.”
Which way are the Eskimos going from here? That’s one of the more intriguing questions ahead in Week 17.
3. DON’T DANCE ON THE TICATS’ LOGO
They don’t like it. They don’t like it at all. Although I suspect what they really, really don’t like is turning a sure victory into a stunning defeat the way they had, against the same opponent, a week before.
The BC Lions dancing on their logo during a walk-through the day before the game? A convenient touchstone for a team already snarling and ticked off due to the events of the previous Saturday, I think.
The Ticats’ lopsided win over the Lions served as a reminder that the team from Vancouver does not travel well, at least not so far this season. It also probably served as a signal that the Ticats are ready to buckle up tight for the stretch run.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: BC fullback David Mackie is a heck of a dancer.
4. COLLAROS IS COMFY
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are rolling a little now and there are lots of reasons for that. Swarming, pressure-packing defence, pure speed on special teams and offence come to mind.
The best news of all might be that quarterback Zach Collaros is looking comfortable in the Sasky offence, after a half season of ups and downs and weeks missed due to injury.
Even if he never again is the swashbuckling slinger we saw in Toronto and Hamilton, it won’t matter as long as he is a reasonable facsimile of his younger, more daring self.
Sunday’s win over Montreal saw Collaros make all the reads and throws as well as the smart decisions NOT to throw when necessary. And with Montreal clawing back into the game in the later stages, he marshalled his offence downfield in a couple of clock-draining drives to secure the win and give the Riders some breathing room in second place.
5. IT COULD BE JAMES FRANKLIN TIME
Is it time to make the switch to James Franklin? (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Nothing against McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who has shown himself to be a tough, capable CFL quarterback over his seven starts this season.
But with the Toronto Argonauts at 3 and 10 and entering the ‘planning for the future’ phase of their 2018 campaign, it might just be time to hand the ball back over to James Franklin for a string of starts.
The Argos know what they have in Bethel-Thompson by now. They can’t really say that about the man they traded for during the off-season. The man they thought might just be the next guy in line when Ricky Ray hangs ’em up. While Franklin’s early starts led Head Coach Marc Trestman to make the switch in the first place, those four outings are far back in the rearview now. Maybe it’s time to see what his observations from the sidelines have taught him.
AND FINALLY…
“Don’t throw away things you want.” Sage advice from Hamilton safety Mike Daly, who scored an interception return touchdown on Saturday and then promptly fired the ball into the stands, only to regret that decision. Happy ending: After a social media campaign on Sunday, Daly was connected with the fan who caught that souvenir, and is to be reunited with the trophy ball soon.
