In Case You Missed It

[Mr Dee]

After Week 7
Bye - Toronto

This is worth mentioning again because it was so very impressive and the story will live on for a long time...

John Hodge
 "An impressive number of Bomber fans in attendance for Wednesday night’s game stuck around through a two-and-a-half hour weather delay (roughly 16,000 by my estimate) to watch a 2-4 team play at home where they have won just seven regular season games in three-plus seasons. 
That type of fan dedication would be the envy of any team in any league, bar none."
"This is the contest future generations of fans will refer to as the Late Game. A massive weather delay, 10:00 PM local kick-off, C.J. Roberts’ pick-six, eight missing starters, the return of Clarence Denmark, Stegall’s Ring of Honour induction, and 34 first-half points? 
That’s the story of the Late Game. 
May its legend live on in Bomberland forever."

?‍?this sounds familiar

Santino Filoso 3 down nation- "Elizondo needs to start drawing up plays that feature vertical routes instead of screens and out routes and don’t back a defence off or push the ball down field." - 

-Here’s a weird stat for Ottawa R-Nation to chew on. With the win, Logan Kilgore becomes the 5th QB to beat the Redblacks in his rookie start. Kilgore joins Dan Lefevour, Jonathan Crompton, Trevor Harris and Mitchell Gale as other rookies who earned their first career wins against Ottawa. 

Herb Zurkowsky
Canadian QB Brandon Bridge, who started the regular-season finale, has been released by the #Als.
Justin Dunk
While Bridge may get another look as a quarterback, there are some CFL personnel men who believe the 6-foot-4, 230 pound Bridge would be a better fit as a wide receiver and would like to develop him at that position.

?‍?I see Popp is still figuring out his SMS and Bridge financing..
CFL sources say the Montreal Alouettes asked Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge to take a pay cut and released him when he refused. Bridge also declined to take a practice roster spot. - Justin Dunk

Andrew Bucholtz
Canadian players are highly valuable to CFL teams, as 21 of the 44 players on the game-day roster have to qualify as "nationals" (previously non-imports), but those players only count as Canadian if they don't play quarterback, where nationality isn't counted.

?‍?So, to summarize, he's not valuable as a National as a QB, BUT, if plays WR say, then he becomes valuable as a NI and can be included as a counter on the roster. Unfortunate rule.

Read Bucholtz's column for more:
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-55-yard-line/brandon-bridge-is-the-latest-canadian-qb-cut-thanks-to-the-cfl-s-roster-rules-211331306.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
He continues..."Not counting quarterbacks is incredibly unfair when compared to players at other positions, and it makes it highly unlikely we'll ever see a Canadian QB"

?‍?Musings...
Where's the Eskimos defence?
Do the Riders have a defence?
Is Ottawa wavering?
Nobody can figure out the Argos.  Or the Alouettes for that matter.
Popp is lucky to have an employer such as R Wetenhall.
Is Calgary as good as their two very close wins?
Is Jennings for real? Gale? Masoli?
The Riders, and ALL their fans were expecting a huge game in Montreal - just not from the Alouettes.
Unfortunately for Montreal, nothing of value could be derived by that victory against Sask play.

?‍?Did you know Scott Milanovich contacted Mike OShea about kicker Lirim hajrullahu?
According to Frank Zicarelli : 
"I just asked him his thoughts,’’ said Milanovich. “Sometimes you call and you don’t expect to get any information. I knew O’Sh would be honest. He just said he really liked the kid and that he had a rough year, he had lost his confidence a bit. Something to that effect because I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but it went something like that."

?‍?Got to be salary/SMS related...
Didier Orméjuste -  
I'm told the Alouettes have been shopping around Vaughn Martin to several teams but so far, they haven't found any takers. @CFL
Rob Vanstone Regina-Leader Post 
?‍?apparently, Martin is now staying with Montreal...

montrealalouettes.com
The Montreal Alouettes announced on Tuesday that international defensive end John Bowman
 signed a contract extension with the club through the 2017 season.

BomberBuzz
-Jamaal Westerman: Six pressures, an unblocked sack, but a QB-stop nonetheless, and ridiculous run-support, Westerman was, once again, the Bombers’ best defensive player; Westerman is unblockable, and his counter/club move claimed victims three times three times to provide severe pressure on QB Mike Reilly.
-Khalil Bass: It’s no coincidence that Bass has had a considerably larger impact on the defense since he’s been allowed to play linebacker rather than basically playing defensive tackle, aligning head-up on an offensive lineman on the line-of-scrimmage on first-down

 

Herb Zurkowsky
QB Greg McGhee, who spent some time in 2015 with the @BCLions, worked out for the #Als on Tuesday.

.??@TSNDaveNaylor @garylawless @CoachOTSuns riders flagged for QB out of position before but never 4 2 many imports. -@mjcurtisw

Justin Dunk 3downnation (prior to games in week 7)
-After posting four consecutive 100-yard receiving games, Adarius Bowman was largely shut down by Winnipeg, recording just three catches for 43 yards.
-Ciante Evans, 23 years old, took the place of veteran cover man Fred Bennett in Calgary’s starting lineup against B.C., and the youngster played very well. He made sure tackles and came down with the crucial interception that led to the Stamps game-tying major. Evans made a strong case to stay on Calgary’s No. 1 defensive unit.
-Saskatchewan Roughriders: A beat up Riders squad got beat down by Montreal. The 38-point loss was the worst defeat suffered by any team through six weeks of the CFL schedule and it’s the largest margin of victory over a Chris Jones-led group.
-Bear Woods, has registered at least five tackles in every game for Montreal and sits second in the CFL with 37 stops. He has one game in hand on Bombers’ linebacker Ian Wild who leads the way with 42.

Tim Baines
Redblacks make call to Bridge Ottawa Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins says Brandon Bridge has “size, athleticism and intelligence.”
We’ve inquired,” said Desjardins. “Whether that’s an option for them, who knows? There’s interest, but they’re also fielding calls from other teams, probably.

Troy Westwood
As per @CFL stats, 25 times already this year QBs have thrown for >300 yards. Last year, all season, QBs eclipsed 300 yards 40 times. #CFL

BlueBombers.com
Winnipeg’s 51.4 per cent conversion rate ranks third in the CFL, behind Edmonton (53.3) and Ottawa (52.0). The Bombers were dramatically better on first down last week (Edmonton) but their average gain of 5.4 yards remains last in the league.

CFL.ca
No longer is that the case, as a 30-23 loss at home to the Bombers on Thursday night has seen Edmonton fall from the top three, where it’s been comfortably situated all season, to sixth in the Nissan Titan Power Rankings.
Edmonton Defence - That unit ranks last in the CFL with only eight sacks and is allowing the second-most yards in the league at 417.8 per game.

-It’s not that the Riders are 1-4, it’s the way they’ve gotten there — their Chris Jones-coached defence ranks seventh in the league with 398.2 yards allowed per game and sits at the bottom of the CFL with eight sacks. The offence, while without Darian Durant the past two and a half games, ranks sixth in total yards (345 yards per game) and second-last in first downs (100).

Game Notes: prior to week 7
- Scoring continued high matching last week's highest weekly average of 56.3 points per game
- Penalties were at their lowest level of the 2016 season at 17.0 per game.
- The 17.0 penalties per game matched the second-lowest weekly total in the last 3 years (2014-16).
- Three of the four games were decided by 7 points or less (two decided by 3 points each).
- 8 out of 24 games in 2016 have been decided by 4 points or less.
- Teams that have trailed at the end of the 3rd Quarter have won 7 of those 21 games (33%)
- Week #6 had the season's FOURTH Overtime game (Calgary 44, BC 41).
- Winnipeg won on the road in Edmonton for the first time since July 2006, a stretch of 9 previous games.
- Two games were won with 4th Quarter scoring drives (Total in 2016: 8 in 24 games).
- Net Offence averaged 747 yards per game, the second-highest week of 2016.
- Parity: Eight clubs now have at least two wins.
- Average scoring to date at 52.3 ppg is 6% above last season (49.2).
The % of offensive plays that are rush attempts has dropped to an all-time league low of just 29.3% (33.5 per game)

Player Highlights:
- Five QBs passed for 300+ yards including rookie Logan Kilgore of Toronto in his first career start.
- BC's Chris Rainey made it five kick return TDs with a 95-yard runback.
- CFL Field Goal kickers made 23-of-25 attempts in Week #6, easily the best week of the year at 92%.
- Matt Nichols of Winnipeg and Logan Kilgore made their first QB starts of 2016 and both won.
- Bo Levi Mitchell pushed his career winning % to .808 at 31-7-1, the highest on record in CFL history. Mitchell threw a TD pass for a 20th consecutive game.
- Turnovers are at just 4.25 per game, the second-lowest average per game in CFL history.
- Edmonton's Mike Reilly passed for 300+ yards for the 8th consecutive game, one off the CFL record of 9 set by Sam Etcheverry in 1956 and tied by Kent Austin in 1991.
Following the normal post-game reviews of our game stats, Montreal’s Bear Woods was credited with 13 def. tackles in the July 25th game at Toronto. That is the season-high for any player in 2016 and tied Chip Cox’s club record of 13 set on Jul 1/12 at Calgary.

 4 Overtime games: BC and Calgary played the fourth OT game of the 2016 season last Friday night – the 96th regular season overtime game in CFL history (the O/T rule has been in place since 1986). This year’s 4 OT contests make it halfway to the all-time record of 8 in one season set in 1992 and tied in 2002. There were 5 overtime games in 2015 but just 4 from 2011 to 2014.

 300-yard passers – 25 times in 2016: In 2016 QBs have passed for 300+ yards in a game 25 times, a frequency of more than half of the starts made through 24 games. In all of 2015, there were only 40 games of 300+ yards recorded by CFL QBs. The 25 games of 300+ yards extrapolates out to a pace that could reach 84 or more than twice as many as 2015.

HAMILTON VS WINNIPEG

?‍?Winnipeg - 0 turnovers
?‍?Kevin Fogg's unlucky streak hit 2 during the game, as his punt return for a TD was called back on a penalty, or so-called penalty. That holding call was pretty weak and bordered on a pity call for what the bombers were doing to the Ticats. ?

"The  ceiling is up here??with this team.Everyone in here wants more" -
Euclid Cummings

Aaron Grymes -
Another one ? @MattNichols16 I see you bro
Nate Coehorn -
I ? you @MattNichols16. Keep balling bro. Great to see a humble guy that's a baller getting his chance.

Doug Brown
That was about as close to a perfect first half of football as you can see in a game.

?‍?What about that catch and leap for 11 yds from Chris Normand?

Sacks credits - Hamilton 2 Wpg 4  (2 by J. Cole)
Ian Wild - ho hum - 9 tackles, 1 interception...
Lofler int. 
Roberts int. & TD
Mayo and Denmark stepped up in their rec roles.
Great ST call by MOS - Derek Jones, the fake block, slide out, and rush the kicker for the block.

Justin Dunk 3downnation
Quarterback Dan LeFevour, who has played for the Ticats and Alouettes, was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday, after signing with the Bucs just a few months ago.

?‍?I think those 2 games Masoli has played against the Bombers puts an end to the talk the Bombers would be interested in a trade for him...

Josh Smith 3downnation
The Ticats have been outscored an astounding 91-23 in the first half of their last five games. 

?‍?Worth repeating -
Milt Stegal - "Cincinnati is where I was born, Atlanta is where I live, and Winnipeg is my home.”

Jim Popp - chicanery? That's what herb Zurkowsky asks..
Eyebrows were raised throughout the Canadian Football League when veteran rush-end John Bowman signed a one-year contract extension with the Alouettes, taking him through the 2017 season.
To have him sign another extension before the sixth game of the season, has pay cut written all over it, according to numerous sources, who believe Bowman has now agreed to take less money this season in exchange for a sweet bonus payment next January, which would count against the 2017 salary cap.
“It smells,” said one league source.
Read the spin by Popp....http://montrealgazette.com/sports/football/cfl/the-snap-alouettes-notebook-30?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

John Hodge
Fogg is currently the league leader in punt return average (17.9 yards) despite not being the Bombers’ primary punt returner.

Knox recorded two special teams tackles in his CFL debut and was a big part of the special teams effort that held Brandon Banks to a punt return average of 3.8 yards. Knox was used a gunner on the Bombers punt coverage units, a position typically reserved for defensive backs. Even at 220 pounds, Knox was routinely able to beat Ticat special teamer Giovanni Aprile down the field on punt team.

?‍?Depth - More and more, comments are being made as to the depth on the roster of the WBB.

Hodge, posts this: 
For me, the biggest difference between this Blue Bomber team and its two previous iterations of the Walters/O’Shea era is the quality of depth player they have been able to find. Fogg, Knox, Travis Bond, Jace Davis, Thomas Mayo, Terrence Frederick, and C.J. Roberts have all demonstrated that they can all play in this league, a refreshing change from previous years when incoming American talent was simply not good enough. Things have also improved on the Canadian side of the roster with rookies Michael Couture, Trent Corney, and Taylor Loffler receiving major playing time in Wednesday’s victor

Ed Tait reports:
C.J. Roberts who, with four starts under his belt now, has the third most experience in the secondary in terms of CFL starts after Bruce Johnson (38), Kevin Fogg (7), Terrence Frederick and Taylor Loffler (2).
?‍?Man, that's unreal. All that experience!?

BC 38  VS MONTREAL 18

6 sacks BC 2 Westerman (the other one) 2 Bryant Turner Jr.
J Jennings 27-32 331yds
B Burnham 5-89 that guy can catch..
K Hebert 9 tackles and flying out there
D Carter 7-115 0 TDs. AND, according to Herb Zerkowsky, "On two occasions, receiver Duron Carter was seen berating Bede. One became so animated, Carter had to be restrained by special teams co-ordinator Kavis Reed. 
Carter, denies he had to be restrained.

Sask 15 @ Calgary 35

Rob Bagg 4 rec for 135 yds Greg Jones 13 tackles 1 int.
?‍?No Collins this game. It was all Durant and Baggs. Not enough.
?‍?Calgary - Mitchell, Messam and McDaniel did all the damage.
?‍? I tried like hell to count, and keep track of the National ratio count of the Riders players, but I kept getting distracted by all the green on the field. Hard on the eyes.

Murray McCormick - Regina Leader Post
Thursday’s result meant the Riders have allowed a league-high 214 points in six games, an average of 35.8 per game. 
-"You can look statistically when you give up 400 yards of offence and the points we gave up … we have to play better defensively and we have to put two halves together,’’ Chris Jones said.

?‍?Zero sacks allowed by Calgary...

John Mark 3-4  FGs for Sask.
?‍?Montreal's Jim Popp probably now has, his phone number...

CFL News
RT .@AdamSchefter
49ers WR Eric Rogers, a coveted former #CFL star signed this offseason, torn his ACL on Thursday, per Chip Kelly.

Gary Lawless
Rival #cfl GM on film of #bombers vs. #ticats - "as good a performance as we've seen in #cfl this year. Gameplan, coaching, execution."

Kirk Penton Toronto Sun
Ricky Ray has missed 29 of 72 regular-season games, or close to 40%. 24 wins and 24 losses. BUT 18-12 without him.

?‍?Hey didn't the video reviews, in the last few games, go much faster? I think they definitely did.

?‍?So, is this true, from The Insider? - 
"Our commissioner dresses like a millionaire. I like that. He makes our league look classy. This may surprise you coming from a coach, but I wish he would put in a dress code for us. When we have head coaches like (Mike) O’Shea and co-ordinators like (Rich) Stubler wearing shorts on game day, it makes us look like an amateur league"..

?‍?I wonder who said this?
"Changing the ratio on the offensive line may have saved Winnipeg’s season. I hope they run the ball all night on Hamilton. I want to see (Kent) Austin’s head explode when his offence can’t get on the field"
And this:
"Edmonton’s secondary is crap. I’m glad we’re playing them"

?‍?What's Jeremy Masoli's favourite breakfast pastry? C'mon, you know it...

Scott Billeck
Interesting #Bombers note: 
They averaged 19.6 pts per game under Willy, lowest in the league. Under Nichols? 33.5 ppg, or tops in the #CFL.

Herb Zurkowsky - Montreal Gazette
Glenn was sacked six times as left side of the offensive line struggled again.

-The Als worked out three kickers — Hugh O’Neill, Brett Lauther and Drew Basil — recently and one of them will probably be activated next Thursday when the Als play at Edmonton.

Matthew Scianitti 
Trevor Harris is off underwater treadmill&already back running outside 3 wks after what appeared to be a gruesome leg injury #RedBlacks #CFL

?‍?Hmm..
BC Lions
"Guys just came to play. We're a great team."
@JJ_Jennings10 on big win in Montreal? ?

Ted Goveia
Nice to see former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Running Back Cameron Marshall in camp with the Seahawks--#CFL Scouting

Edmonton vs Ottawa   - ?‍?also known as: the Henry Burris me me me game
Burris 'shoved' 341 yds into 26/39 player of the game
 penalties 13 Edm.106   14 Ott 204 yds including 4 RTP
Ellingson 121 yds on 6 catches
Ottawa only had 2 sacks, but oh, so many hits..
?‍?Reilly was doing his best impersonation of rocky Balboa..keeps getting hit...keeps getting up.

Gord Holder Ottawa Citizen
"So all the people talking junk out there, you can take that and shove it. All right? That’s all I have to say.”
TSN commentators Milt Stegall, Matt Dunigan and Chris Schultz, all former CFL players, responded during the broadcast by saying Burris had the right to his opinion, but, as a professional athlete, he would have to take criticism along with the plaudits offered during his lengthy career. 

?‍?- Henry Burris, has twice received the CFL’s most outstanding player award, including last year, but it's not the only fame he's achieved.
He is also noted for being Henry-Hank, - and
for that infamous pic of him wearing a bra.
Now, "take that talk and shove it"
?‍?Burris did nothing to disavow his whiny reputation with that pre-planned verbal attack on the TSN crew. On the contrary, he enhanced it. 
?‍?O Henry - caramel centre, chocolate covering, and more nuts than ever...

?‍?How about that Chris Williams "boot" to JC Sherritt for the TD? 
Lucky bounce or poor effort by Williams?
?‍?How about that was Edmonton's only touchdown?

Farhan Lalji
Walker should have caught 1 of those last 2 passes. 
Not sure how much longer Reilly is going to survive behind that avg #Eskimos O-line
?‍?This is what Maas said after that slugfest and a stitched up Reilly. - "Mike’s perfectly fine.”

Herb Zurkowsky
#Als worked out three kickers and 2 QBs today. One of the pivots was Thomas DeMarco. And one of the kickers was Anthony Alix.

?‍? in case you missed it, the. Hall of fame game between Green Bay and Indianapolis has been canceled - due to poor field conditions. Holy crap! Now that's a fiasco!
Chris Cuthbert:
"If a CFL game had been cancelled for the same reason it would have been labelled as "only in the CFL.""

Justin Dunk -
Canadian pivot Brandon Bridge has been flown in by the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a workout on Monday, per CFL sources.

Michael Scianitti. -
As #Ticats begin preparations for Saturday's trip to BC, hearing Zach Collaros will lead first team offence to start the practice week #CFL

CFL on TSN @CFLonTSN
.@TorontoArgos have added international QB @DanLeFevour13 to their practice roster #CFL #TSN

Bye next week...Ottawa.

 

[Arnold_Palmer]

Quote

D Carter 7-115 0 TDs. AND, according to Herb Zerkowsky, "On two occasions, receiver Duron Carter was seen berating Bede. One became so animated, Carter had to be restrained by special teams co-ordinator Kavis Reed. 

Great player, but complete tool on the field..

[Brandon]

O Henry - caramel centre, chocolate covering, and more nuts than ever..

 

I nearly spit my drink out on that one! 

[Tracker]

Great work, Mr. Dee. Keep it up- please!

[Jpan85]

 

[holoman]

Love this feature Dee.  Thanks!

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Mr Dee said:

"Changing the ratio on the offensive line may have saved Winnipeg’s season. I hope they run the ball all night on Hamilton. I want to see (Kent) Austin’s head explode when his offence can’t get on the field"

well imagine that.....

[Tracker]

7 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

well imagine that.....

I was expecting to see a large mushroom-shaped cloud rising from the Hamilton sidelines before halftime, but Austin seems to have narrowly averted a meltdown.

[bearpants]

Well done Dee... 

Couple quick comments from my own brain (I have a very good brain)... It seems to me that Chris Normand is quietly becoming a pretty good fullback... Does anyone else think the Ottawa running game is much more effective with Winnipegger Kienan Lafrance carrying the rock rather than Nic "first-contact" Grigsby?

[Tracker]

21 minutes ago, bearpants said:

Well done Dee... 

Couple quick comments from my own brain (I have a very good brain)... It seems to me that Chris Normand is quietly becoming a pretty good fullback... Does anyone else think the Ottawa running game is much more effective with Winnipegger Kienan Lafrance carrying the rock rather than Nic "first-contact" Grigsby?

LaFrance has looked...OK but the sample size is way too small.

[Rod Black]

Mr. Dee. Love the effort you've put into what has now become a sought after feature on this forum. Good work and Thank you!

[iso_55]

Great post, Dee. Love it. Just a couple of takes... How the hell does Thomas Demarco keep getting chances? Dan LeFevour cut by the Bucs? Did we not call that?? He was signed to the Argos PR & may be the starting qb for the Argos by season's end.

[Bigblue204]

10 hours ago, iso_55 said:

Great post, Dee. Love it. Just a couple of takes... How the hell does Thomas Demarco keep getting chances? Dan LeFevour cut by the Bucs? Did we not call that?? He was signed to the Argos PR & may be the starting qb for the Argos by season's end.

He'll be the starting QB by next week if everything goes right on friday!!!

[Jimmy Pop]

20 hours ago, bearpants said:

Well done Dee... 

Couple quick comments from my own brain (I have a very good brain)... It seems to me that Chris Normand is quietly becoming a pretty good fullback... Does anyone else think the Ottawa running game is much more effective with Winnipegger Kienan Lafrance carrying the rock rather than Nic "first-contact" Grigsby?

Re-watching the highlights, I loved Normand's leaping plunge forward vs. Ham.  Lots of athleticism there. 

And of course Rod Black announces it as Harris running the ball. D'oh. 

[Dee Urban Hermit]

Thanks Mr Dee, it's a great read! You do a great job putting this together.

[Blueandgold]

Lots of interesting tidbits there! great post Dee.