Malcolm Kelly breaks down the balance of power in the Canadian Football League.
1. Calgary Stampeders (unchanged)
- Overall record: 6-1-1
- Streak: Unbeaten in 7
- Next: Hamilton
A blowout week featured Calgary's dismantling of B.C. on the road, which was a nice comeback from the dull as dishwater victory at Saskatchewan last week. That kind of sentence shows where the White Stallions are right now — win ugly, win pretty, either way a win. Quarterback Bo Mitchell shook off the blahs and went 28-for-38 passing with 340 yards, a pair of touchdowns and 37:45 of possession. Playing pitch and catch most of the night, he used 10 different receivers, tossed Rob Cote his 100th career catch, went 3-for-3 passing in the red zone and was never threatened by the opposition rush. Calgary's defence allowed just 12 first downs, three field goals and shut out a pretty good offence the entire second half. Five of the Lions' last six drives were three and out. Stamps win season series 2-1.
2. Ottawa Redblacks (unchanged)
- Overall record: 4-3- 1
- Streak: Lost 1
- Next: B.C.
That was remarkable, though the remarks Ottawa fans were likely making when leaving the stadium Friday night wouldn't be appropriate here. Coming off a 13-day layoff, the running backs were simply horrid in Ottawa's 43-19 loss to Montreal (of all teams to be humiliated by). Tackling was bad, there were too many penalties on special teams, cornerbacks were taken advantage of by the Larks' long-ball offence and the offensive line may be hiding under the table during film screenings this week. Quarterback Henry Burris (21-of-31 passing for 322 yards with two touchdowns and one interception) had his problems, but many were caused by the six times he was sacked, the leaky protection and hurries caused by the rumbling rush. Ottawa gave the ball away six times and discombobulated. It will be a fascinating week ahead in the nation's capital.
3. B.C. Lions (unchanged)
- Overall record: 5-3
- Streak: Lost 1
- Next: At Ottawa
The headline writer for Vancouver's Province nailed this one: "Flat-Lioned." Billed as a another possible shootout similar to Week 6's overtime thriller, only the Stamps showed up ready for the OK Corral. The Leos spent the first half trading field goals for touchdowns — that never works — and the second half watching the visitors pull away to a 28-point win. Quarterback Jon Jennings was 10-for-22 passing for 153 yards before being yanked early in the fourth quarter (to boos from the 21,000 faithful — that was awfully harsh). Accumulating only 221 net yards will lose every time. Chris Rainey fumbled the opening kick of the second half and Calgary scored again two plays later. Coach Wally Buono said his team had "no emotion and no intensity" and you can bet they'll be chatting about that at practice.
4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (unchanged)
- Overall record: 4-4
- Streak: Won 3
- Next: At Montreal
Back to work go the Bombers after a week of hanging out at home where they all could happily report three straight wins and a league wondering if Big Blue is really breaking out this time. Is it real? The Winnipeg Sun pointed out this is all happening with some key offensive figures sill injured — Weston Dressler, Ryan Smith and Jeff Keeping. So, the depth is there. The switch to Matt Nichols at quarterback turned things around, as did the ability to spring running back Andrew Harris, who has two 100-yard games in recent weeks in a league that simply isn't running much anymore. Coach Mike O'Shea told us after the win at Toronto that he wasn't that thrilled about having a bye just when momentum is on his side, but understood the players need rest. Now they need to keep winning.
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (up from 6)
- Overall record: 4-4
- Streak: Won 1
- Next: At Calgary
Zach's back, and the music has started again in Hamilton. Playing bass ... a suddenly inspired defence that was stung by the way it's performed lately. Collaros, in his second start after missing nearly a year due to injury, hit all the right notes by going 23-for-30 passing for 381 yards with five touchdowns along with a quarterback rating that was off the charts. Terrence Toliver was his best receiver (five receptions for 139 yards), but everyone was into the groove. The tonal quality of this one was easy to pick up — the defenders were playing for lineman John Chick, who was cut by new Saskatchewan boss Chris Jones back in January for being too expensive. Chick had two sacks, the team had four and roared through the Rider line all night, hurrying the quarterback time after time. It was a jazzy performance that needs an encore as soon as this week.
6. Edmonton Eskimos (up from 7)
- Overall record: 4-4
- Streak: Won 2
- Next: Saskatchewan
That's the Eskimos we grew accustomed to last year. Recognizing a struggling defence, Mike Reilly came out and ... threw a pick-six on his first pass. That was no matter as everything was golden after that. The pivot went 26-of-31 passing for 362 yards with three touchdowns in a pasting of the Double Blue on the road. Jason Maas, the rookie head coach, heaped praise on Reilly for his ability to shake off the rough start and just move on — marching 76 yards on nine plays for a score the next time he touched the ball. As the defence feasted on a confused rookie quarterback, Reilly picked up the points needed. The most impressive moment of the afternoon came after Toronto scored to make it close near the end of the half, and in just 90 seconds the offence, helped by a three and out, scored 10 points to put this away.
7. Toronto Argonauts (down from 5)
- Overall record: 4-4
- Streak: Lost 2
- Next: Bye
We are convinced the ghosts of those terrible 1970s Argo teams are haunting BMO Field. The Double Blue are now 1-4 at their new home, playing some bad football in front of a small fanbase looking for reasons to buy tickets. The injured Ricky Ray is a factor, of course, but backup quarterback Logan Kilgore has taken unreliable to the next level, tossing nine interceptions in just three starts. He was 7-for-14 passing for 41 yards and tossed two bad picks this week before being pulled halfway through the third quarter. The defence has played two bad games in a row, giving up 472 yards net to Edmonton on a day when they couldn't have stopped a stuffed duck won at the Crown and Anchor on the CNE midway. There's word Ray may return after the bye to face B.C., which can't happen fast enough.
8. Montreal Alouettes (unchanged)
- Overall record: 3-5
- Streak: Won 1
- Next: Winnipeg
It's funny how this team has come together since coach and general manager Jim Popp yelled at them in the room two weeks ago. The Skylarks played their best game in two years this week, pounding the Redblacks by 24 points on the road. Quarterback Kevin Glenn shrugged off his 37 years of age and five sacks by tossing five big scores, including two to Duron Carter. They took advantage of Ottawa errors — the first score of the game came off a long punt return by Stefan Logan caused by awful tackling and the second major after the defence (seven sacks on the night) caused a fumble on one of them. It went like that all game with big plays coming after turnovers. The only big mistake made by the defence was allowing a 61-yard hail mary pass to close the half. The special teams still need to tackle better. Montreal needs to build momentum.
9. Saskatchewan Roughriders (unchanged)
- Overall record: 1-7
- Streak: Lost 4
- Next: At Edmonton
One must come to the conclusion that this is a really bad football team. Where to start in a 53-7 loss? Play-by-play man Chris Cuthbert said "wide open" in regards to Hamilton receptions so many times that we were wondering if this was a new defensive scheme by the Riders — lull the Cats into a false sense of security. How can this secondary be worse than last year's secondary? Astonishing. Poor Darian Durant's confidence looks about shot as he threw four interceptions, bringing his season mark to ... four. There's no one to throw to, no protection and no running game, so he's forcing it badly looking for something ... anything. What's hard to work out is how a defence that did pretty well in two games with Calgary came up with this effort for a coach known as a defensive guru?
CFL Power Rankings: Argonauts can't steady the ship at home
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