West’s top spot, extra week off still up for grabs
Four games wrap up the regular season this weekend with only one having any meaning: Calgary faces the Lions in Vancouver. If they win, they finish first, ending a three-game losing streak in the process.
If they lose, the West semifinal will take place on Remembrance Day at McMahon Stadium against the opponent neither team wants to face, the high-flying Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Saskatchewan would await the winner in the West Division final. By beating B.C. 35-16, the Green and White, although tied in points, hold down first place because they won the season series against Calgary.
Even though Roughriders’ starting quarterback Zach Collaros left the game against the Lions Saturday with a suspected concussion, courtesy of a typical dirty hit by Odell Willis, B.C. couldn’t handle Saskatchewan’s outstanding defence and special teams coverage which kept them pinned deep in their own end most of the game. Fourth place B.C. will now contest the East Division semifinal against the Ti-Cats in Hamilton, the winner facing first place Ottawa. Wally Buono’s boys still have a chance to get to the big game in Edmonton.
In order to be well-rested and hopefully healthy, the Lions will likely sit out some stars Saturday, making a Calgary win and first place more likely. The Riders will root, root root for the home team because they may need all the time they can get for Collaros to clear his head.
Because the game means nothing to the Lions, Calgary will be favoured to win. But they are still not playing well and if they think they can just flip a switch and instantly return to form, they’re in a denser fog than the one they played in last Friday.
Case in point: with four minutes left and the outcome still in doubt, Winnipeg gambled twice on third down around their own 20 yard line. The Bombers were not afraid. The Stamps no longer strike fear into opposition hearts. Will they come through Saturday or will Quick Six come up lame the fourth time in a row, something the gelding hasn’t done since 2004. Advice to Dave Dickenson: stop telling everyone how hard they’re trying, how they never stop fighting and GET MAD at them. Wake them up!
By defeating Calgary 29-21 last Friday, Winnipeg clinched third place and eliminated the Edmonton Eskimos. In June I predicted Saskatchewan and Calgary would fight it out for first with the Riders prevailing. I thought B.C. would be last with Winnipeg and Edmonton in the hunt for third. I did not foresee the collapse of the Eskimos. In the year they are hosting the Grey Cup, this has been a bitter disappointment for Edmonton fans everywhere.
Sometimes when a team misses the playoffs, fans will be forgiving, pointing to injuries, especially to the quarterback and bad luck. “But good try, fellas’, we’ll get ‘em next year!” That is not the case in Edmonton where the fans know exactly who to blame for finishing fifth: Jason Maas and a coaching staff that couldn’t adjust to the opposition’s strategy the second half of most games. They had Duke Williams, J.C. Sherritt, Sean Whyte. They had Almondo Sewell and C.J. Gable and most of all they had Mike Reilly at quarterback. You don’t miss the playoffs with that kind of talent.
One reason the Eskimos usually do well is their fans demand it. They are not forgiving, an excellent example being 2004 when Tom Higgins was fired after losing the semifinal to Saskatchewan 14-6. Even though Higgins never missed post-season play and took his Eskimos to the Grey Cup twice, winning once, Edmonton fans couldn’t believe they lost to a team coached by Danny Barrett with Nealon Greene at quarterback. Now they can’t believe they’ve missed the playoffs with Mike Reilly at the helm. I will be surprised if Jason Maas survives.
The hottest team in the league right now is Winnipeg. The last time the Blue Bombers got to the Grey Cup was 2011 when they lost to B.C. They haven’t won the Governor-General’s coveted trophy since 1990 when they edged the Edmonton Eskimos 50-11.
Graham Kelly has covered the CFL for the Medicine Hat News for 46 years. Feedback for this column can be emailed to sports@medicinehatnews.com.