CFL Power Rankings: Rally vaults Stampeders into 1st
Paredes chips in with 5 field goals against Lions
Malcolm Kelly breaks down the balance of power in the Canadian Football League.
1. Calgary Stampeders (Up from 2)
- Overall Record: 3-1-1
- Streak: Unbeaten in 4
- Next: Saskatchewan
Contrasting halves of football is the norm in this year's CFL, and the Stamps' win over B.C. was another case on point. QB Bo Mitchell (29-of-44, 364 yards, 3 TDs, 1 pick) was down and up all night. That's down in the first and third (six points), up in the second and fourth (35 points). One never thought they were in it, really, until inside three minutes when Mitchell hit Greg Wilson for a touchdown and the defence picked the ball right back to help set up the tying TD and two-point convert. A Rene Paredes field goal in overtime won it, and that was altogether right as the kicker went 5-for-5. Missed another convert, however. Nice job running the ball, splitting duties for 103 yards. Special teams have now given up four return TDs to B.C.'s Chris Rainey. Don't they watch film?
2. Ottawa Redblacks (Down from 1)
- Overall record: 3-2-1
- Streak: Lost 2
- Next: Edmonton
Henry Burris, it says here, was not "rusty" in his return from a broken pinky on the throwing hand. He was still hurt and tossing with three fingers. Passes were either short, or when trying to get some of the old zip on the oval, overthrown. Take a ball outside and try it yourself with three fingers. Even with Burris hobbled, the club almost pulled it off against a tough, growing Argos defence. Running backs only came out of the first half with points because a bobbled punt turned into a first down, thanks to a scramble by Zack Medeiros. Second half was much better, but so it was for Toronto when the Ottawa defence couldn't adapt to the Double Blue adjustments and was hurt by losing three DBs to injury. Second loss by a late field goal in two weeks.
3. Toronto Argonauts (Up from 6)
- Overall record: 4-2
- Streak: Won 2
- Next: Bye
For more than 45 years, the Argos failed to grow their own quarterback, relying on trades and free agency to find someone who could play. Under coach Scott Milanovich, they've turned into Quarterback U. Zach Collaros, Trevor Harris and now Logan Kilgore (25-for-42, 322, 1 TD, 2 INT). The latter QB only has one game under his belt, filling in for Ricky Ray, but he showed the poise Milanovich and his team seems to instill. Toronto punted on seven of its first eight drives vs. Ottawa with the ninth a pick. Awful. Kilgore then came up with scores on five of the next seven for the win. He made rookie mistakes but learned from them. The developing defence held powerful Ottawa to 295 net yards. And Lirim Hajrullahu, who was 5-for-5 in field goals, continues to kick superbly.
4. B.C. Lions (Down from 3)
- Overall record: 3-2
- Streak: Lost 1
- Next: At Montreal
Wally Buono's defence was slowly falling apart in Calgary as injuries decimated the lineup in the first half. Five starters went down, and some wag on Twitter suggested they were one away from Wally having to go in to play safety. Don't care who you are, five starters down is going to hurt you on the scoreboard -- Calgary came back to win a game B.C. dominated most of the way. When you are holding on by your nails, you can't have your young QB Jon Jennings, who had been excellent most of the way, toss up a prayer to be picked when he should have eaten it. In overtime, he tried to force one to the end zone pylon that was intercepted for the loss. Bryan Burnham had a great game in relief of Nick Moore (9-for-139).
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Unchanged due to bye)
- Overall record: 3-2
- Streak: Won 2
- Next: At Winnipeg
QB Jeremiah Masoli has brought the Cats to the Zach Collaros handover nicely, and gives coach Kent Austin a capable backup. Now, the No. 1 is expected to return, barring any last minute snag. The new CFL requires a game-ready backup who can do the job when needed; an ever-more common situation these days. What Collaros will look to do is get the Kitties out of the gate quickly in the opening thirty minutes. They've been outscored 63-41 in the first half, and outscored opponents 97-51 in the second. Second quarter alone: outscored 42-17. Brett Maher is six yards a game (net) better than opposing punters head to head — almost 170 extra yards over the first five contests, or a projected 576 for the season. That's more than five extra TDs.
6. Edmonton Eskimos (Down from 4)
- Overall record: 2-3
- Streak: Lost 2
- Next: At Ottawa
There's enough evidence now to state a reasonable opinion on the Edmonton defence. It's lousy. Not irretrievably bad, mind you, as there are still many weeks to make changes and improve. Having allowed four TDs and a pair of threes in the final six drives the week before, the defenders found themselves down 17-0 midway through the second quarter this week after Winnipeg scored on a touchdown and three field goals. That's five majors and five threes in 10 drives. Shocking. After the offence (no great shakes itself right now) fought back to 20-10, somebody called the wrong scheme and Darvin Adams blew by Patrick Watkins for another Peg score. "We've got to be better," said coach Jason Maas. Yes … indeed. Says here they'll work it out and be fine.
7. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Unchanged)
- Overall record: 2-4
- Streak: Won 1
- Next: Hamilton
Can't the Bombers have anything nice? After putting in one of their best efforts in two years and running the Eskimos out of their own park, word came down that receivers Weston Dressler and Darvin Adams may be "significantly" injured. Sport isn't fair, but that's pushing the envelope. Clarence Denmark has been resigned to catch the ball this week. Matt Nichols took over at QB and showed early he was on by dropping a perfect ball over Dressler's shoulder for 39 yards that set up the first score. Have to see what happens now defences have film. Coach Mike O'Shea showed confidence in his offence by going on 3rd and goal a few minutes later, and was rewarded with a major. Winnipeg's defenders were strong all night, keeping Mike Reilly average the entire way.
8. Montreal Alouettes (Up from 9)
- Overall record: 2-3
- Streak: Won 1
- Next: B.C.
Bear Woods sat at his locker after the loss to Toronto and swore the defence would be better. A man of his word. Three points. That's all they allowed against Saskatchewan, and it could have been a shutout. This was an absolute pounding of an inexperienced QB who obviously showed all the Larks needed to see in that one game of film available. Kevin Glenn taped up the sore spots and came out fast with an opening drive TD and another three series later. He was up over 100 yards in the air before the first 15 ended. When the Riders began dropping back in coverage, Montreal took to the ground and to dump passes to running back Brandon Rutley (42 by land, 65 by air, 107 total). No idea what this team is at this point of the season.
9. Saskatchewan Roughriders (Down from 8)
- Overall record: 1-4
- Streak: Lost 1
- Next: At Calgary
Establishing yourself on the road does not include going down two scores before the first quarter is over. Or allowing 41 total points to a club in Montreal that had lost three straight. Or scoring three (trois, tres, drei, se – awful in any language) points before slinking off with their tales between green legs. QB Mitchell Gale tried to go long, but there was nothing there so he was left with dinky little things adding up to 23-for-41, 211 yards and a pick. His first seven series produced six punts and a fumble. Yes, the Riders are now down four starting offensive linemen, but that unit wasn't healthy the week before when Not Just Regina upset Ottawa. Defensively they were terrible against Montreal (386 net allowed, including an average of 5.5 per on first down).