Landry's 5 takeaways from Week 11

Don Landry

CFL.ca

@CFLLandry

Hello, Ben Major. Yes, that was “pretty odd,” indeed.

A punt flying into the hanging scoreboard at BC Place. Thank you for levity in the moment and let’s hear more of that, could we?

“We have offsetting misconduct penalties – really, folks you should have heard what they were saying to each other. We’ll replay the down and set up a ‘swear jar’ between the benches.”

Here are this week’s takeaways.

INTO THE GREAT WIDE OPEN

With both Saskatchewan and BC losing, the Week 11 results have plunged the West Division into utter chaos and I mean that in a good way.

Everybody’s in it, including the Edmonton Elks, who bring up the rear at present but they are on a three-game winning streak and are merely two points back of third-place Calgary & Winnipeg and only four back of the second-place Lions, five in arrears of the leaders, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The two teams that started hot have cooled, the two teams that started cold have warmed. And in the middle, the Calgary Stampeders, whose identity has flickered from ‘ready to contend’ to ‘what the hell happened?’ all season long.

With traditional OK Tire Labour Day Weekend match-ups looming and tons of divisional games to come afterward, playoff spots are now anyone’s for the taking.

The West Division race is so jam-packed with peril that I hear Tom Cruise wants to try to jump it on a motorcycle.

JEREMIAH IS A BULLDOG

“Man, I could cry just thinking about it…”

Jeremiah Masoli got emotional following the @REDBLACKS win in his first game back! 🥹#CFL pic.twitter.com/HDWTHobqtl

— CFL (@CFL) August 16, 2024

In a sport filled with tough guys, in a league brimming with tenacious personalities, Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli still stands out. Way out.

Ball placement, maneuverability, keeping plays alive and improvising. All Masoli hallmarks and all in sharp evidence during his comeback win on Thursday night as he went 27-for-35 for 254 yards and a touchdown strike in the REDBLACKS’ 31-29 win in Calgary.

All that after his first return from a major injury was derailed in his first game back in 2023, forcing the veteran pivot to go through the pain and frustration and long-term work of rehab once again in order to get back on the field this season.

“I could cry right now. Just so happy about everything,” Masoli told TSN immediately after the game.

Have to admit I choked up a little bit after that interview, when a camera caught Masoli covering his face with his left hand while taking a knee in quiet contemplation of the enormity of the moment.

Welcome back, Jeremiah Masoli. Welcome all the way back.

QUARTERBACKING PICTURE IS PRETTY BRIGHT ALL AROUND

Along with Masoli’s triumphant return, Week 11 showed us that a lot of CFL clubs are in good shape when it comes to quarterback depth.

When Dru Brown gets back in the lineup, The REDBLACKS will have two superb options at QB1.

Saskatchewan is in tremendous shape as well, what with Shea Patterson showing in Trevor Harris’ absence that he is more than capable of providing the Riders with solid offensive leadership if they need him. And Harris was incredibly sharp in his return from injury, throwing for 355 yards and two touchdowns as he completed 31 of 39 attempts. He looked like he’d missed no action at all.

In that same game, the Montreal Alouettes got their injured starter back from injury reserve, but Cody Fajardo didn’t have to take a single snap because Davis Alexander once again looked polished and poised in leading the Als to a fourth straight win.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson seemed to get his mojo back in Edmonton’s big win in Hamilton, meaning that when the Elks’ get injured starter Tre Ford back in the lineup, they too will be on super solid footing at the position.

Zach Collaros entered the bye week off a couple of good performances and looked even better in Sunday night’s win over BC. With Chris Streveler on hand behind him, Winnipeg’s quarterbacking is set.

Who am I forgetting? Oh, yeah. The BC Lions. Despite Nathan Rourke’s rather bumpy homecoming performance, is there anyone out there who does not believe the Lions are in terrific shape with both Rourke and Vernon Adams Jr. on the roster?

HE WILL NOT SHIRK HIS RESPONSIBILITIES

Ever have workplace-related stress dreams? The ones where you can’t seem to do the job you know so well no matter what you try?

Well, Roughriders’ placekicker Brett Lauther had to actually live one of those on Friday night, missing four field goal attempts – two to the right, two to the left – with one of them leading to a 128-yard, fourth quarter touchdown return by Montreal’s James Letcher Jr. That one turned what could have been a 20-13 Saskatchewan lead into a 19-17 Alouettes’ advantage.

We’ve seen plenty of athletes quietly slip out the back door after nights like that. Lauther, to his credit, sat at his locker room stall and answered all questions.

“When you lose like that, you’ve got a responsibility… to be here and face the music,” he said quietly.

“It’s solely on me,” Lauther continued, knowing what the math of four missed field goals meant in a game lost by a score of 27-24.

“We shouldn’t even have been in that situation at the end of the game (his fourth missed attempt). “We should’ve been probably taking knees and winning that football game.”

What a nightmare. An actual living nightmare.

So, spare some empathy for Saskatchewan Roughriders’ kicker Brett Lauther, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders today.

BONUS TAKEAWAY: If I were you, Toronto Argonauts, I would be preparing for a very, very surly Roughriders team at BMO on Thursday night.

THAT LOOKS PAINFUL BUT ULTIMATELY YOU’LL FEEL IT NOT HIM

It’s something I’ve noticed about Brady Oliveira previously and TSN commentator Glen Suitor pointed it out during Sunday night’s game between the Bombers and Lions.

When the Winnipeg running back starts to feel it – really feel it – he gets up after being tackled and he slaps his helmet, furiously, with each hand. The more powerful the run, the more defenders he takes on and defeats, the slap-happier he gets.

Sometimes I worry he might displace a digit when he does that but maybe I should be more concerned about him breaking his helmet.

If Brady Oliveira starts slapping his helmet, a major headache will soon come.

But it will be yours, opposing defences, not his.

AND FINALLY… I’d like it if the Saskatchewan Roughriders would move Rolan Milligan Jr. to corner, please. So we can call it Milligan’s Island.

Landry’s 5 takeaways from Week 11

Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca