Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 12)
The CFL is rarely a league that makes a lot of headlines in the sports world as they do not have a lot of off field issues. The biggest reason for this is that the CFL is full of players looking to prove something to the football world. The majority of players that make up the CFL are those players who were passed over the NFL because they did not match the idea of a football player. They were often too small or not fast enough for NFL teams because people in the NFL don’t believe they can be effective. So they go Canada where they try to prove everyone wrong and show that they are more than serviceable players. This type of attitude makes many of these players in the CFL wary of doing anything off of the field that may jeopardize their standing in football. Many spend their time just working to get a bigger payday in the NFL or to simply to play the game they love before they are not able to because their body won’t let them. That is not to say that CFL players don’t do things that a lot of other players do but with a lack of focus on the Canadian league they are rarely recognized or make headlines. A combination of all of these things makes the CFL fairly drama free when it comes to things outside of football. The CFL is not drama free though as there are the odd controversies that having nothing to do with football. This is what would happen to the Saskatchewan Roughriders this week as they would see the news off of the field make the headlines. This week three Saskatchewan Roughrider players would be arrested for aggravated assault. The charges stemmed from an incident outside of a Regina night club that left one man with serious injuries. Taj Smith, Dwight Anderson, and Eron Riley were all arrested and charged this week with aggravated assault and all were released with conditions to keep the peace and stay away from alcohol. The three players would rock the Roughriders who were in the middle of their best season in years. The timing could not have been worse though as the Riders had begun to slow down in recent weeks and the last thing they needed was three players being stupid off of the field. They needed focus to try to continue to win and keep the top spot in the West but instead they would act selfishly and hurt someone in the process. All three players have yet to be found guilty but their actions off of the field whether they led to someone being hurt or were just enough to get someone angry and press charges they were still selfish and unnecessary. The dysfunction would run into the week as well with the distracted Riders losing their second game in a row for the first time all season and would lose their hold on the Western division. The Roughriders are in trouble on and off the field right now as their season has gone from a great one to a complete mess. The on field play has not completely fallen apart but they are not the dominant team they were at the start of the season. Meanwhile off the field the players are acting for themselves and seemingly losing focus from what they are in Regina to do. The Riders need to figure things out both on and off the field and when a decision on the players is made in court the proper decision should be made by the team. The Riders are headed down a path that they do not want to find themselves. They need to climb back out of this small hole that they have created as there is plenty of time to get back to the top of the division and back to being Grey Cup favorites. If they can get the team on the same page in the coming weeks and stop them from collapsing at the end of the year the Riders could be back on track but it needs to happen now before it’s too late.
Fourth Down:
(Everything else about Week 12)
Great Timing
The B.C. Lions would trade for Buck Pierce last week in a major move that turned out to be one of the smarter moves of the year after Travis Lulay went down with a shoulder injury this week that may see Pierce step under centre in the near future
First in
The Calgary Stampeders would finally take over the top spot in the west after chasing the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the entire season and they would get the first playoff spot in the CFL for their efforts
Moving West
This week the CFL would make it official as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will move to the West Division next year when the Ottawa Redblacks join the league and the Eastern Division created an uneven balance and room for another Eastern team
CFL Standings:
Eastern Division:
1. Toronto Argonauts (14)
2. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10)
3. Montreal Alouettes (8)
4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4)
Western Division:
1. x-Calgary Stampeders (18)
2. Saskatchewan Roughriders (16)
3. B.C Lions (14)
4. Edmonton Eskimos (4)
x-Clinched Playoff spot
Scores:
Calgary Stampeders 26 – 22 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
– The Stamps wanted this win as they are looking to be the hottest team heading into the playoffs and behind their youngest arm in Bo Levi Mitchell would get the win over the Tabies and take over the West Division lead
Edmonton Eskimos 25 – 7 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
– In a matchup of the two worst teams in the CFL the Eskimos would finally respond to their GM’s criticism beating the Blue Bombers who had nothing going on offence and could not get their second win in a row
Toronto Argonauts 31 – 29 Saskatchewan Roughriders
– The Argonauts continue to find ways to win even if they do not have their best games as they would come back from a slow start to beat the Roughriders who would lose their second game in a row
B.C. Lions 36 – 14 Montreal Alouettes
– Montreal continues to fall short this year as they would get dominated by the Lions but it did not come without a price as starting QB Travis Lulay would go down with a shoulder injury leaving a gap under centre
Next Week:
Edmonton Eskimos vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Friday September 20th; 8:00 pm ET)
– The Bombers are looking for revenge as they hope to recapture that winning feeling they had from the Banjo Bowl and beat the Edmonton Eskimos who are looking to stay out of the hot seat after GM Ed Hervey called them out a few weeks ago
Montreal Alouettes vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Saturday September 21st; 4:00 pm ET)
– The Als are really struggling as Tanner Marsh has not had the ability to win games for them but he will be back under centre looking for the win against the Ti-Cats who hope to get back to winning and back to their climb up the Eastern Division ladder
Toronto Argonauts vs. Calgary Stampeders (Saturday September 21st; 7:30 pm ET)
– The Argos keep finding ways to win with Zach Collaros under centre as he will take the East leading Boatmen into Calgary to take on the West leading Stampeders in a matchup of the best teams in the CFL
B.C. Lions vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (Sunday September 22nd; 4:30 pm ET)
– The BC Lions are hoping that Travis Lulay can play but if not the job will go to Thomas DeMarco as Buck Pierce continues to learn the offence and they will take on the Riders who are hoping to end their losing streak
The Sport Addiction 