Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
There’s something to be said for taking care of the things you can control. That’s exactly what the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers did over the weekend.
With wins in Week 20, both the Riders and Bombers ensured their highest possible finish in the West Division standings. And, most importantly, neither team threw it into reverse on the way into the post-season.
Saskatchewan’s regular season is done and now they sit and wait for the final game of 2018 to conclude. With their impressive 35-16 win over the BC Lions on Saturday night, the Riders clinched a home playoff date and also kept their chances alive for top spot in the West Division. When you think about what this team has accomplished the last couple months, I’m not sure there you could have asked much more from them.
Sask did not have a great start to the season, but from Week 10 on, this has been one of the most consistent and dangerous teams in the CFL. Sure, they would have liked something better than a 3-4 start, but the past is the past. All the Riders could do is get things back on track and finish the season strong. They did exactly that.
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Saskatchewan finished the season at a 9-2 clip, including wins in their final two games. In doing so, they’re solidified as one of the CFL’s best defensive groups and they present the threat to score every down. This Riders defence forces turnovers and will finish as a top-five team in both interceptions and forced fumbles.
They’re not just a big-play defence, either. Sask is a top-three team defending both the pass and the run, which really helped their offence grow into a comfort zone. Yes, this offence had some consistency issues, but they look so much more dangerous now than they did in the first half of the season. A three-headed monster at running back and the emergence of Shaq Evans, Jordan Williams-Lambert, and Kyran Moore has really helped in that regard.
Of course, the biggest question right now is the health of quarterback Zach Collaros. He left Saturday’s game and his status remains uncertain for the time being. All of a sudden, the Riders are probably really happy they finish the season with a bye; sitting and watching Week 21 might be crucial in getting Collaros back for their next game.
Then there are the Bombers, who had a difficult test to kick off Week 20. Needing a win to ensure their playoff fates, Winnipeg beat a suddenly-desperate Calgary Stampeders team and did so in impressive fashion.
Led by Matt Nichols and Andrew Harris, the Blue Bombers made big plays when they needed them in the second half. While most of his statistical damage came in the first half, Harris busted off a number of crucial gains in the final two quarters to ensure drives stayed alive, thus keeping Winnipeg’s defence off the field. Knowing he was held to 13 rushing yards in his prior game against Calgary, seeing Harris go off for 86 was impressive.
Nichols was huge in the second half, too. His two biggest plays were both executed in the third quarter: a 50-yard touchdown bomb to Darvin Adams and a 60-yard catch and run hookup with Drew Wolitarsky. Nichols steered an offence that did a great job of keeping the chains moving and keeping a fatigued Stamps defensive unit on the field.
Much like Saskatchewan, the Bombers weren’t able to change what happened in August and September when things went off the rails during a four-game losing skid. All they could do was get things back on track, and they have to the tune of five straight wins, all of them by at least eight points.
The best part might be the fact these two teams are on a somewhat likely collision course to play one another in the Western Semi-Final in a couple weeks. That all rides on Calgary, as their final game of the season against BC will determine how far the Bombers are flying for their playoff showdown.
Rising star
There are two giant bright spots for Montreal Alouettes fans going into the 2019 season: Johnny Manziel and William Stanback. We’ve talked plenty about Manziel throughout this season, so let’s give a little love to Montreal’s budding star tailback.
I’ll give my CFL Fantasy Podcast cohort Jeff Krever a little credit, despite his alarming confidence escalation in recent weeks. To paraphrase, Krever’s point is simple: when Montreal starts printing 2019 tickets, Stanback will be one of the guys on them. It’s tough to argue with him.
Go take a look at Stanback’s numbers since he took the reins as the feature back for the Als. He’s been consistent in the ground game and has shown well catching the ball out of the backfield. Stanback is a big man and impressive between the tackles, but also has deceptive speed. He’s a really important weapon for Montreal going forward.
The most promising part is what might still be, though. Stanback is 24 right now and doesn’t turn 25 until July, which would suggest there’s plenty of gas still in the tank. On top of that, he’ll only have half a season of wear and tear on his body, which should have him fresh for 2019. I think Stanback is in line for a monster sophomore season.
Picking up the pieces
While sitting and watching Week 20 action, the Edmonton Eskimos were eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2013. There’s no doubt how disappointing this result is, especially for a team with so many weapons and so much potential. In saying that, I don’t necessarily believe this team needs a complete overhaul like some are suggesting.
Yes, the Esks struggled mightily down the stretch; with just two wins in their final eight games, Edmonton went from West Division front-runner to a non-playoff team very quickly. I’m not saying the Eskimos shouldn’t do a thorough analysis of what went wrong, I just don’t think blowing it up is the way to go either.
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» Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET: Toronto at Ottawa
» Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET: Winnipeg at Edmonton
» Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Montreal at Hamilton
» Saturday, 10:00 p.m. ET: Calgary at BC
Edmonton still boasts an elite quarterback in Mike Reilly and top end playmakers to build around, which will make them a bounce-back candidate in 2019 automatically. For me, the Eskimos have one crucial off-season priority: ensuring Reilly has more protection next season. Especially down the stretch, Reilly was under far too much pressure, which is a big reason we saw his numbers drop significantly after Labour Day.
If they do that, I’m interested in seeing what Jason Maas can do in a fourth year as head coach. The finish to this season is bitterly disappointing, but the Eskimos were a win away from a Grey Cup in Maas’s first two seasons. I get how pro sports works, but making Maas pay for what happened this season seems premature to me.
Pressure is on
I don’t think anyone saw Calgary needing to go right down to the wire in clinching top spot in the West Division. But, after a third straight loss, that’s exactly the scenario the Stampeders face. If Calgary loses their season finale at BC Place, they’ll relinquish top spot to Saskatchewan. The Stamps will clinch with a win or a tie against the Lions on Saturday night.
This is the biggest regular season game Calgary has played in a long, long time. How they perform with the pressure on will tell us a lot about this group as they head into the post-season. While it’s technically not a “must win” scenario, I think that’s how the Stamps need to approach this game.
A win to finish off the season could go a long way for this group, because I really think it could be a galvanizing moment for them. Thanks to two straight Grey Cup losses, Calgary has faced questions about how they perform with the pressure truly on. This isn’t quite a Grey Cup game, but it’s still a high-stakes game.
From a mental perspective, think about what a win could do for the Stampeders. It would be a big time confidence builder taking a win with so much on the line. And, with all the injuries they’ve had to endure, it would also be a really good example of a team battling through adversity.
A loss isn’t the end of the world, of course; Calgary would still host the Western Semi-Final in that circumstance. But going into the playoffs with four straight losses, and with no extra week of preparation, is anything but ideal.
