CFL football is BACK!
What a glorious phrase.
Week one of the CFL season had some incredible games, players, plays and all around great CFL football to talk about. Let's look at the Power Rankings after week one!
1: MONTREAL ALOUETTES
To come into the house of the best team in the CFL for the past five years, with all of their top ranked players and beat them outright, 27-12, is no small feat. The Alouettes had their way with the Bombers all game and let everybody know why they are the Grey Cup champs. A big game was had by Tyson Philpot, who had two touchdowns and 141 yards.
2: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
PLAN THE GREY CUP PARADE!!!
-Every Riders fan after they win in week one against the Elks.
Seriously, though, the Riders pulled off a spectacular come-from-behind victory against the Elks on Saturday. It was messy and ugly, sure, but the Riders found a way to get the W. Under Craig Dickenson, that game might have been over after the Elks went on top for the first time. But with Corey Mace's new leadership, the Riders rallied a 29-21 win. Trevor Harris and Shawn Bane Jr. both had big games, with Trevor throwing for 305 yards and three touchdowns, and Bane was the recipient of all three strikes, with a 125 yard performance.
3: TORONTO ARGONAUTS
What a game on Sunday! Cameron Dukes and the Argos managed to sneak a 35-27 win past the BC Lions to start 1-0. A great effort by the Argos D-Line gave Vernon Adams Jr. practically zero time in the pocket, while Dukes threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Kadeem Carey had a big game as well, as his O-Line opened many holes for him to get downfield.
4: CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Jake Maier and the Stampeders spoiled Bo Levi Mitchell's return to Calgary on Friday with a 32-24 victory. The Stamps overall played well enough to win, however they got lucky with how many balls the TiCat receivers dropped. If one or two of those balls got hauled in, the score may have been drastically different. Jake Maier threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns in the winning effort.
5: BC LIONS
They were so close to winning that game. In fact, it was very winnable. The performance from their O-Line shot them in the foot, however. Vernon Adams Jr. had next to zero time in the pocket on most dropbacks, and when he was met in the backfield by opposing rushers, he fumbled the ball often. If this team has Grey Cup aspirations, the O-Line needs to be better. On the contrary, VA had a big game despite his pass protection, throwing for 363 yards and two touchdowns.
6: WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Yes, they were against the Grey Cup champs, but they were so favoured to win this game. Especially at IG Fiel- err.. um.. Princess Auto Stadium, where they have been so dominant in past seasons. Now, with losing Kenny Lawler long term to injury, Zach Collaros making some.. interesting decisions with the ball and practicing with Adam Bighill just one game through the 6-game injured period that he's supposed to be on... it surprisingly doesn't look great in the foreseeable future for the Blue and Gold.
7: HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Drops, drops, drops.
That was the story in Hamilton's game against Calgary this week. Bo Levi Mitchell was solid in the pocket, throwing for an even 300 yards, but his receivers couldn't bring the ball down on many throws, the most egregious of which was a drop from Tim White, who was paid upwards of $220,000 to stay in Hamilton. The secondary was also not a strong suit, as they let 32 points past them in the losing effort. Hamilton has a good base, they just need to clean it up.
8: EDMONTON ELKS
Oh, Edmonton.
The Elks snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday after blowing a 21-8 lead in the fourth quarter. The Elks are just going to find ways to do some "Elksing" in the words of Joel Gasson. In front of all the legends for the 75th anniversary party, it was not a good look for the Elks. McLeod Bethel-Thompson had a solid game, however. Hergy Mayala caught two touchdown passes! Real talk though, I really hope the Elks can turn it around. Hopefully they get some more attendance into Commonwealth, because it's looked bare over the past few seasons. Hopefully they find an owner that can turn it around.
9: OTTAWA REDBLACKS
They didn't play! They can't really rank anywhere on Power Rankings until they've played.
GAME OF THE WEEK: SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS AT EDMONTON ELKS
This game was either great or terrible depending on how you look at it. The Riders surmounted a huge 13-point deficit in the fourth with some really exciting football to take the win over the Elks. Whether you look at the game as two teams finding their footing and attempting to make the playoffs, or as a new head coach leading his team to a victory that seemed impossible just a year ago, there were many storylines at play that turned into an exciting, entertaining CFL football game.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: SHAWN BANE JR.
Shawn Bane Jr. scored THREE touchdowns on Saturday, all thrown by Trevor Harris. The (now) 29 year old's birthday was Sunday the 9th, so he gave a gift to Rider fans everywhere by giving them a victory and three touchdowns.
PLAY OF THE WEEK: THE FLEA FLICKER
Holy smokes, did I ever lose my mind when I saw that play. A flea flicker touchdown? In this economy? Jason Maas' squad keeps drawing up interesting and exciting plays for his offense to run, and if they keep running plays like that, I'm here for it all season.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT WEEK
When the RedBlacks open their season next week, is it time to push the panic button if the Bombers lose?
Can Edmonton overcome the mighty Alouettes and former head coach Jason Maas, or will they keep "Elksing"?
Is Calgary a worthy opponent for the Grey-Cup-or-bust BC Lions?
Will Corey Mace continue his winning ways against Hamilton?
All of this and more will be found out in the next week of CFL action.
By Bruce Chimirri-Olson
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