Monday, July 23, 2012

Twelve Men Review -- Week Four (ending July21)

A few surprises were delivered in week number four as the league's two undefeated teams suffered their first loss on the season with both Saskatchewan and the British Columbia Lions tasting defeat, both at the hands of Albertans.

Week four also heralded the return to form of Henry Burris, the Ticats QB who was seeking to find a groove in Steel town found it over the weekend as Hamilton served notice that the pre season anticipations for their team may very well be merited.

And in Manitoba the concern continues on as the Blue Bombers skid continued on into late July.

The reviews of the week follow

Winnipeg at Toronto

The Argonauts got off to a sluggish start but as they say it's all how you finish and the Argos finished in style with Ricky Ray hitting his stride with just over two minutes to go to lead the Argos to a 25-22 come from behind victory.

The Bombers were on pace to break their losing skid as the fourth quarter was winding down, incredibly so considering the anemic offence generated, QB Alex Brink was but 9 for 34 passing for 195 yards on the day, the pressure of the Argo defence had him scrambling for most of the game, sacked three times and tossing interceptions twice, the Bombers still had hope with less than two minutes to go.

However, a third down gamble failed and by the time the Blue and Gold had the ball back, there was less than 35 seconds to go and many yards to make up.

The Argos with victory in their sights, knuckled down and held the Bombers to negligible yards and no further points, bringing their record to 2 and 2 in the East.

While it wasn't a particularly pretty victory, the Argos once again saw the promise that Ricky Ray will bring to their offence this season,  Ray tossed three TD passes on the way to the victory providing solid execution and confidence.

For Winnipeg it was another game with questions at the QB position, with Buck Pierce injured the Bombers turned to Alex Brink to take the helm but he struggled to get the Bombers moving, unable to take advantage of the Bombers defensive squad which kept them in the game and provided for field position.

For the next week at any rate Brink will be the go to guy, head coach Paul LaPolice suggesting that the weight of the Blue Bombers troubles shouldn't fall completely on his quarterback's shoulders.

The previews and reviews of the Argos/Bombers game can be found here.

Saskatchewan at Calgary

The dreams of the undefeated season came to an end for the Rider Nation this week, the Riders falling to a remarkable come from behind victory by the Calgary Stampeders.

The Riders appeared set to cruise to their fourth victory on the year, effectively scoring almost at will in the first three quarters, Darian Durant looking very much in control of his game the Riders defence making life as difficult as possible for Kevin Glenn and his offence.

In the end the game turned into a CFL shoot em out, where no lead is safe and a 17 point lead at that.

The Stamps battled back to tie things up at 38 each sending the game into an Overtime frame, where Rene Parades delivered the final knock out blow for the Stamps.

Calgary benefited nicely from the Kevin Glenn to Nik Lewis combination which provided for three touchdowns on the night, Larry Taylor also was on the receiving end of a Glenn TD pass to round out the majors, leaving the Stamps Parades to finish off the scoring with four filed goals including the most important one in OT.

For Saskatchewan beyond the defensive slips that allowed the Stamps back in the game, the key part of their loss came from missed opportunities where they couldn't turn field position into points or had to settle for field goals over majors.

Still a 41-38 barn burner is some pretty good entertainment, though the Riders probably are hoping that the lost three points don't come back to haunt them in late November.

A review of the Stamps/Riders game can be found here

Edmonton at British Columbia

The Eskimos can knock off one more item from their 2012 bucket list, after knocking off the BC Lions at home in BC Place, the first Eskimo victory in the newly renovated yard since the Lions moved back in last year.

The Eskimos took advantage of the Lions hospitality, a key moment being cornerback Joe Burneet's electrifying 108 yard interception return for the Esks, turning a strong Lions drive into a six point deficit   in less than ten seconds.

The pick six came off the hands of Geroy Simon the normally sure handed Lions receiver who was playing with a dislocated finger, a factor which perhaps provided for the string of events that led to the Eskimos score.

Still, lucky bounce or not, Burnett clearly was in his zone, making two picks off the Lions Travis Lulay and he was just inches away from making it a third, leading some to wonder why Lulay would keep testing Burnett's side of the field.

The Eskimos also benefited from a solid game by starter Steven Jyles, who took advantage of the good field position provided to him to lead the Esks down field, testing the Lions defensive squad regularly.

While he may not have answered all the questions of the Eskimo fan base with his performance, positive results tend to quiet down the torch bearing mobs, if nothing else with his win and the success he had in   Vancouver, Jyles may have bought himself (and by extension his General Manager) some time to see if he can find his form in Green and Gold.

The Lions defensive squad held its own, surrendering a few points but denying the Eskimos a larger margin of victory. The shortcomings on the day were with the offence, which had the opportunity to put points on the board, but let them slip away through turnovers and dropped passes.

Those big turnovers proved to be the story of the game, a string of events that toppled the Lions from the ranks of the undefeated in 2012.

A full review of the Lions/Eskimos game can be found here.


Montreal at Hamilton

On a Steeltown Saturday night, the Ticats faithful found the promise of Henry Burris, the Ticat starter had his best game since joining the Tabbies earlier this year and perhaps had the best game of the last few years as he connected regularly with a string of receivers that seem to be on the cusp of providing for bad dreams for CFL defensive backs.

Burris tossed for touchdown passes with a completion ratio of 27 of 30, racking up aerial yardage to a total of 360 yards, the kind of numbers that we saw back in his high performance days in Calgary. If it's an indication that he's back on track then Hamilton is going to be very happy with their off season acquisition.

Another positive thing for the Cats is the continued impact that Chris Williams has on the squad, though he learned a valuable lesson about finish on Saturday, after a bit of showboating cost him what would have been a spectacular return for a touchdown.  Hauled down on the one yard line, Williams was denied another highlight reel run, a faux pas for which he was quite apologetic over to his team mates.

The only cloud on an otherwise impressive day for the Cats was a third period setback which allowed the Alouettes back into the game, providing Anthony Calvillo with field position and opportunity is never a wise defensive strategy and for a few moments there it appeared that the wily Als veteran was going to lead yet another of his comebacks.

The Also clawed away at the 31-10 half time lead and through the third closed the gap to 32-24, however the fourth once again belonged to the Cats, the defensive side returning to form to finally limit the Alouette gains, the Cats offence once again adding to the cushion that eventually became the 39-24 victory.

Cats head coach George Cotez will look to correct some of the lapses that allowed the Als to mount their attempted comeback, but overall, considering the concern that was percolating in the early part of the season, the coach and his staff must be pleased at how the Cats are coming together.

The reviews of the Cats/Als game can be found here.



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