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Hello, BC Lions fans. Need your assistance. Lucky Whitehead tweeted out a call for requests on how he should next show up on game day after roller skating into BC Place last Friday. I asked if he could ride in on a llama and he replied “send me the llama.” So, if there’s anyone in the lower mainland area who can help out with that….
Here are this week’s takeaways.
IT’S TIME FOR THE EASIEST PART OF ANY COACH’S JOB. THE CUTS
“While I wasn’t able to cut everyone I wanted to, I have cut a lot of you.” – Homer Simpson
If any coach has ever come even close to Homer’s brutal, cavalier attitude towards cutting football players, maybe it was Chris Jones over the weekend.
After the Edmonton Elks were blasted by Calgary, 37-7, the general manager and head coach did not much hide his displeasure.
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“For some of the guys that we’re going to have to release, some of the answers that we were getting are way too easy,” Jones said during a post-game scrum.
“We’re going to go to way back when in the playbook and by God, we’re going to be a fundamentally sound football team,” said Jones. “Right now, it doesn’t look like we are.”
“We’ve got to do a better job of doing what the hell we’re supposed to do when we show up in this building,” Jones told CHED Radio listeners.
The football culture change that Jones wants to instill in Edmonton will take more heavy lifting, but judging by Jones’ track record – and his demeanor on Friday night – come it will.
BONUS TAKEAWAY: Edmonton’s additions of defensive backs Treston Decoud and Jalen Collins should help Jones with a defensive sea change. Both played – very well – on a Chris Jones defence last season, in Toronto.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES AND THEIR QUARTERBACKS
The final pre-season games of 2022 gave us a couple of teams that have different sorts of quarterback stories heading into the regular season, even if each of them still has the jury out.
In Montreal, Alouettes’ quarterback Vernon Adams threw three interceptions in his first game back since he last played, back in October. Three interceptions in 12 passes, with 6 completions for 69 yards. All through the off-season, Als’ Head Coach Khari Jones has been insisting that Adams would be his starter in 2022, but is that still the case?
In Vancouver, young Nathan Rourke was also anointed a starter during the off-season, with the Lions. With a solid performance in BC’s win over Saskatchewan, it is all systems go for the 24-year-old while his back-up, Michael O’Connor, looked fab for the second week in a row.
The pre-season has raised more quarterback questions than it has answered, in Montreal. In BC, the opposite appears to be true.
BIG HOLE TO FILL IN WINNIPEG
I’ve told the football gods where to go before. It does seem like a continual thing. Well, I’m telling them where to go again because of the injury to Winnipeg strong side linebacker (SAM) Mercy Maston.
For the second year in a row, Maston has suffered an Achilles injury and he is out for the long haul.
“He did it all at a very high level,” said Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea of Maston, who last played for the Bombers in their run to the Grey Cup in 2019. “Fun guy to be around. Excellent teammate.”
Last year, the Bombers made a July deal with Toronto to land Alden Darby, slotted him in at SAM, and he played so well he was named a CFL West All-Star. But with Darby now in Hamilton, the Blue Bombers have a big question mark at an important, important position.
Is another deal in the works? Or do they have the answer in first year player Donald Rutledge Jr.?
“He’s got real nice physical size, he seems to take in all the information very well,” said O’Shea. “He’s got this leadership quality about him. He can fly around and play good football.”
Whether it’s Rutledge or someone else, the defending champs head into the season looking for an answer to an important question.
THAT’S A TOUGH SECONDARY THEY GOT OVER THERE
Trumaine Washington tied for the league lead in interceptions a year ago as an Edmonton Elk.
His signing in Ottawa was one of a large number of ‘good gets’ that the REDBLACKS secured during free agency, an experienced ball-getter that would improve the Ottawa secondary. And Washington chipped in with a pick in the team’s first pre-season game victory over Toronto. Yet he was in Ottawa’s final cuts, so you know the REDBLACKS have some good, young talent to back up a veteran-laden secondary this season.
Rookie Hakeem Bailey would be one of them. With two interceptions and a knockdown against the Alouettes on Friday night, his timing was impeccable.
In more ways than one.
SOMETIMES IT JUST AIN’T ENOUGH. GO FIGURE
It’s got to be an incredible downer for a player to get the call to turn over their playbook at any time, but it has to be of particular disappointment when you think you’ve done the job.
Calgary quarterback Chase Fourcade put in a good appearance against the Elks, going 4/6 for 55 yards with a 27-yard touchdown pass after he came on in the third quarter, and must’ve slept decently after that effort.
But it was another young quarterback, rookie Tommy Stevens, who survived the cuts as third string pivot despite going 1/8 for 6 yards, while Fourcade was given the bad news that he’d been released. Stevens also rushed the ball six times for 61 yards and a touchdown in the Stamps’ win over Edmonton, so it appears his legs may have gotten him the job, with room to grow in the passing game.
“A quarterback, still, his priority one is throwing the ball,” said head coach Dave Dickenson after he’d admitted that he liked the scrambling aspect that Stevens can bring. “I just gotta do my job and make him a better thrower with our system.”
But will the Stampeders use Stevens’ feet much? Dickenson remained unsure as to whether Calgary will dress two or three quarterbacks when the regular season gets underway.
AND FINALLY… Congratulations to receiver Kiondre Smith on making the Hamilton Ticats roster. Your pops, Adrion, a three-time Grey Cup champion who picked off 45 regular season passes during his career, has got to be super proud. He DID tell you he played in the CFL, didn’t he?
