Peter Power/CFL.ca
Hello, Mike Miller. Bravo, my good man. Now the all-time leader in special teams tackles, getting number 191 on Saturday, in Toronto. And the number of total sorties it took to get to that number? God only knows.
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There are two things that most amaze me in life right now; Your longevity and elite performance in the woodchipper of special teams, and Kenan Thompson’s run of eighteen straight seasons as an MVP cast member on Saturday Night Live. And to think you first arrived in the CFL as an undrafted free agent. I mean, What up with that?
Here are this week’s takeaways.
IT’S ARBUCKLE’S TEAM NOW
It’s not like things were perfect on the Argos’ offence on Saturday, nor was their quarterback perfect.
However, Nick Arbuckle’s debut as the Toronto starter erased any doubt one may have had about whether the 27-year-old was really destined to be a QB1 in this league.
With a strong arm (his back-footed bomb to rookie receiver Dejon Brissett was a jaw-dropper) and commanding presence, Arbuckle showed us all the “it” stuff we’d previously glimpsed in his injury fill-in run for Bo Levi Mitchell, in Calgary. Sometimes that stuff can disappear in a puff, after an impressive debut. If you were questioning whether it might not do the same for Arbuckle – especially after a cancelled season scuttled the possibility of a continuation of football momentum – you can probably stop doing that.
In a messy game, Arbuckle persevered through a ferocious Winnipeg pass rush and dug in to make late, clutch throws to help the Argonauts salt away a win over the defending champs.
In McLeod Bethel-Thompson, the Argos have a very, very good “in case of” quarterback in their midst.
In Arbuckle, they have their cornerstone.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: D.J. Foster gets this week’s “Spockie” Award for person or play that most made me raise an eyebrow.
JAKE MAIER APPEARS TO BE A GOLDFISH
When Stampeders’ coach Dave Dickenson decided not to go with Michael O’Connor as the Calgary starter on Friday night, I felt disappointed, as I was eagerly awaiting a chance to see what O’Connor could do in a games-long, starting quarterback arc.
And when Jake Maier threw two early interceptions as the visiting Montreal Alouettes opened a big, early lead, I did start to think “well, we’re gonna see O’Connor soon.”
But the 24-year-old Maier, in his first CFL start, illustrated that he is a goldfish.
A goldfish, I have come to learn, has a very, very short memory and coaches love players to be goldfish when it comes to feeling down about their failures. Know the dismay, feel it, learn from it, sure. But then let go of it and move on.
Maier did that after those interceptions and got stronger, more confident as the game went on. He showed his emotional resiliency in emerging from that early disappointment. And he showed that resiliency again, early in the second half, when Montreal started to blow up the pocket, stunning the young quarterback for awhile.
After getting used to the temperature of that boiling water, Maier kicked it up a notch again, firing quick-hit passes and moving his feet to build a new pocket, when needed.
He looked a bit like – oh, what’s the name of that guy who filled in for Bo Levi Mitchell in 2019? I think he got traded to Ottawa….
BONUS TAKEAWAY: Markeith Ambles all day, man. All freaking day. Ambles was Maier’s lifeboat each time the young QB was facing adversity. Markeith Ambles deserves a lot more credit than he usually gets.
WELL, DUH
“In order to get the Edmonton Elks’ offence moving forward, they should get receiver Greg Ellingson more involved.” – Captain Obvious, August 15, 2021.
Edmonton’s sputtering offence, stalling time and again on the way to two losses to open the season, just needed an injection of the clutch-clutch-clutchiest receiver the CFL has had over the last five or six seasons.
In Edmonton’s 21-16 win over the BC Lions, Ellingson was targeted ten times, catching nine for 148 yards, including three second down conversion receptions.
Hey, lookie there. You get Ellingson involved and quarterback Trevor Harris completes 26 of 31 passes, for just shy of 300 yards.
Just because a takeaway can be written by Captain Obvious, doesn’t mean it ain’t a valid takeaway, you know. (Mental note: see if you can get Rashida Jones to sing a takeaway to the tune of “All By Myself” at some point this season)
BONUS TAKEAWAY: “Handing the ball to James Wilder is a good thing to do.” – Captain Obvious, digging even deeper for quality, in-depth analysis.
WHAT’S THE AIRPORT CODE FOR MOSAIC STADIUM?
Those Roughriders are really, really flying around, so far this season.
Fans there have been talking about the present-day receiving corps in glowing terms, comparing these pass-catchers to the antics of the famed “Canadian Air Force” days of Fantuz, Bagg, Clermont and Getzlaf. There is great anticipation that the offence is forming into a scourge for opposing defences.
But I’m more impressed with the aeronautic acrobatics of Saskatchewan’s secondary, truth be told. Those guys are closing on receivers like the aliens in “A Quiet Place.” And they are ELEVATING.
The highlight in Saturday night’s win over Ottawa had to be veteran Ed Gainey’s late-game interception, a twisting, leaping beauty on a Matt Nichols bomb down the sideline. I’m not sure what has more hang time; A Jon Ryan punt or Ed Gainey on that pick.
If this keeps up, the government of Saskatchewan will need to foot the bill for an air traffic control centre in the media box.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: It’s a joy to watch Kyran Moore play. Even more joyful to watch him being interviewed. That dude seems to have gratitude on his mind and love in his heart. Gonna call him Kyran Tyler Moore, ’cause that guy can turn the world on with his smile.
I KNOW WHAT THE THEME WILL BE AT MONTREAL’S PRACTICES THIS WEEK
Turns out there’s a non-dancing side to Khari Jones.
If Montreal’s upbeat, positive-reinforcement head coach has a long fuse, it’s still a fuse, you know. And if you keep lighting that sucker after it fizzles out, eventually you’re gonna get to the alter-ego part of Khari Jones, the one that puts away the carrot and pulls out a big stick.
During the fourth quarter of the Alouettes’ loss in Calgary, Jones could very clearly be seen boiling over in frustration with yet another undisciplined penalty call against his team.
In the post-game media conference, he was glum.
“A little embarrassing at times,” he said. “I was very disappointed,” he also said. And “That can’t be the kind of team we are.”
Sixteen penalties for 149 yards, the Als had against them. Eight for roughing. One of them was for – wait for it – lining up offside when the Stampeders were goal-to-go on the one-yard line. (This ain’t gonna be a season-long thing, is it CFL defences?)
Two more flags were declined by Calgary so it could have been even worse.
So there you have, it, Alouettes. This week’s pizza and 80’s dance party is cancelled, replaced by push-ups, laps and a stern, folded-arm talking to. Get ready to meet Jhari Kones.
AND FINALLY… I love that the Roughriders had Andrew Lauderdale at left tackle on Saturday night. If he becomes a star, securing the backside of the pocket for Cody Fajardo on a weekly basis, you think I’m not gonna call him “Fort Lauderdale”?
