Tuesday Morning QB (Week 7)
Teams in the CFL have now seen the first part of the season come and go and with that came some adjustments in each team. All teams have made small adjustments in the last two weeks as they get their byes to help new players adjust. None of these moves were very big though until this past week when the Toronto Argonauts dropped a bomb on the CFL. The Toronto Argonauts decided to release CFL leading rusher and offensive star Cory Boyd. Boyd had been the one constant on the Argonaut offence during a tumultuous few seasons. As QBs have come and gone in Toronto Cory Boyd has remained the linchpin to their offence. He has also remained among the top rushers in the league in almost every year, last year injuries ended his hopes of a rushing title. This year though the Argonauts added a proven CFL QB in Ricky Ray and a former offensive coordinator who had led the Montreal Alouettes to one of the best offences in the league in new head coach Scott Milanovich. With these changes Cory Boyd became less of a factor in the offence and instead became more of a receiver. The job change did not sit too well with Boyd as he made it clear that he preferred to work out of the backfield and not as a receiver. This may have been the start of a problem in the locker room as Boyd had a habit of making his feelings known to the public. Another reason may have been his lack of production as of late as he has struggled to get back to his early season numbers. The Argonauts stated that they were simply looking for a change at running back in this new offence leaving a lot for interpretation. Was Boyd a cancer in the locker room? Was Boyd simply not wanting to be a part of this offence? Was Boyd really looking that bad on the field? These questions may never be answered as the locker room remains tight-lipped in Toronto and Boyd has not come out to state that he did not want to be a part of the team. On the field Milanovich claimed numbers can lie pretty easily essentially stating that Boyd’s numbers were deceiving. The numbers were deceiving but the fact that he played some good defences with a less than average line may have been the reason for his slow down. In the end the Argonauts have seen this play before as two years ago an outspoken Arland Bruce III rubbed the Argonauts the wrong way, specifically head coach Bart Andrus, and was released. Then Bruce went on the Tiger-Cats where he ripped apart the Argonauts on a regular basis and from there moved on to the B.C. Lions to help them in a massive comeback last year to win the Grey Cup. The Argonauts will now have to deal with another decision that has many scratching their heads as they have gotten rid of a proven gamebreaker once again. Now they will move on with Chad Kackert, unproven yet promising, who runs in the same way as Boyd but is more willing to get involved in the passing game. Cory Boyd will move on to Edmonton where he looks to fill the shoes of Jerome Messam that have yet to be filled this year. There are a lot of questions in this deal and two concentrate around the future as many wonder if the Argonauts made the smart decision. Will the Argonauts offence finally get going without Boyd or will Boyd turn things around in Edmonton and continue to lead the league. One thing is for sure Boyd will have some extra motivation on August 27th when the Eskimos travel to Toronto to take on Boyd’s former team.
Four Quarters
(Four Quick Thoughts on Week 7)
The East Remains Tight
The Eastern Division in the CFL is now an extremely tight race as it seems that no team wants to take the lead with Week 7 ending in another first place tie with all three top teams losing in the last two weeks
Stamps Still Fighting
The Stamps are down their starting QB but that has not stopped them from fighting their way into the race for the West as they were able to pull out a win against the Tiger-Cats to stay in the hunt for the WEst
Riders Still need work
The Riders came out to a great start in the 2012 season as they looked like the best team in the league but since then the offence has slowed and the defence has remained average as they still need a lot of work
Can Jyles Lead the Eskies
The Eskimos have proven to be a surprise team in the CFL this year but the major question is whether or not Stephen Jyles can lead the Eskies offence while their defence remains strong he took one step this week with his best game yet
CFL Players of the Week:
Offensive POW:
Jon Cornish, RB (Calgary Stampeders)
20 rsh
170 yds
1 TD
1 F
Defensive POW:
JC Sherritt, LB (Edmonton Eskimos)
7 tkl
0 sck
1 INT
0 FF
Special Teams POW:
Larry Taylor, KR (Calgary Stampeders)
4 KR
84 yds
8 PR
88 yds
0 TD
Canadian POW:
Jon Cornish, RB (Calgary Stampeders)
20 rsh
170 yds
1 TD
1 F
CFL Standings:
Eastern Division:
1. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6)
2. Toronto Argonauts (6)
3. Montreal Alouettes (6)
4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2)
Western Division:
1. Edmonton Eskimos (8)
2. B.C. Lions (8)
3. Calgary Stampeders (6)
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (6)
Scores:
Calgary Stampeders 31 – 20 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
– The Hamilton Tiger-Cats seemed to be rolling with an offence that looked to be clicking but they could not get past the Stamps who despite losing their starting QB at the beginning of the season continue to fight it out
Edmonton Eskimos 28 – 20 Saskatchewan Roughriders
– The Eskimos are a hard team to figure out as at some points they look terrible where other times they look great week 7 was a time where they looked good as their defence played typically well and Stephen Jyles had his best game of the season
Next Week:
Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (August 16th; 8:00 pm EDT)
– The Hamilton Tiger-Cats take their budding offence to Winnipeg as they looking to recover from a loss in week seven while the Blue Bombers look to get one more win with a new QB under centre as Joey Elliott takes over the offence
Montreal Alouettes vs. Edmonton Eskimos (August 17th; 9:00 pm EDT)
– The Montreal Alouettes have not been the same team and a lot has to do with their defence that struggles to stop anyone meanwhile the Eskimos ride their defence to wins and with a new RB in the offence, hope to match the defensive performance
Toronto Argonauts vs. Calgary Stampeders (August 18th; 7:00 pm EDT)
– The last time these two teams met the Toronto Argonauts put Drew Tate out of the game and out for the season as the Stamps starting QB would not return now the Stamps look to get revenge by beating the Argonauts n their second meeting
Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. B.C. Lions (August 19th; 7:00 pm EDT)
– The Roughriders looked to be one of the best teams in the league early in the season but they have quickly faded while the Lions had a small stumble but have proven to be the best team in the CFL as they face off in a Western division matchup
The Sport Addiction 