Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 4)
In the world of sports, there are plenty of little things that are simply taken as fact without much debate about them.
One of those things is home advantage, one of the biggest myths in all of sport.
Home field advantage is considered one of the biggest aspects of any sport as teams play the season in order to try to get that advantage.
Yes, the main point of the regular season is to play for a chance to earn a spot in the playoffs but eventually, the battle is for positioning.
When teams clinch their spots with time left they continue to fight as they hope to get first place in a division in order to get that home advantage throughout the playoffs.
Getting that is extremely important to teams but it is not necessarily the greatest thing in sports.
It is not that home advantage is bad but simply that it doesn’t make the biggest difference all the time.
Good teams can win both at home and away because they are a good team and winning is about what is on the field not what field you play on.
A team with great players isn’t going to fall apart because they don’t have all of the comforts of home.
In football it is slightly different as the fans at home can have an impact on the game more than many other sports.
They can cheer when the teams are trying to call plays or hear the snap count leading to mistakes and penalties.
Still, though it is not necessarily the biggest factor in winning games as good teams are just good regardless of where they play.
The CFL season has shown this throughout the 2016 season as home teams have not been having a great time.
So far this year road teams have a 12-3-1 record including a fourth week that saw every road team lose their game.
It is strange in some places while others are just doing what they have done for years.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been one team that has shown that home advantage might be a real thing.
Since opening Tim Hortons Field they have been hard pressed to lose a game but last year the polish on the new stadium began to wear off when they lost their final game.
So far this year they have yet to find a win at home going 0-2 in Hamilton. Meanwhile, their rivals from up the QEW have been quite the opposite throughout the last few years.
The Argos have constantly dealt with issues at Rogers Centre, they lost two home games to the Blue Jays last year and have seemed more comfortable on the road.
This year they moved into BMO Field where things were supposed to change but after two games at home, they have yet to find a win in their new stadium.
Instead, they have looked slow and uncreative in their two games at home while in their two road games they looked unstoppable.
With a 2-0 record away from their home the Argos are a poster child for the lack of any evidence proving that home advantage means something.
Although some teams are just slightly better at home than away the CFL may be in for a very different result from every team.
So far the home teams have been in trouble from the start of the season and if the pattern continues there will be a real question about the validity of home advantage.
The battle for home advantage will always be a big story but this year it very well could be a story about not wanting home field.
If home teams keep losing it could be a concern to get that home game.
Although much like home advantage there is no home disadvantage because good teams are good for their players.
That will always be the fact and despite the pattern so far home and away won’t matter in the Grey Cup.
Fourth Down:
(More news this week in the CFL)
Durant Down
Darian Durant is the linchpin for the Roughriders and his absence has hurt the team in the last two years so the panic this week was understandable as he went down again but this time it is not all bad news as his x-rays were negative showing no broken bones
Lewis Sounds Off
Nik Lewis is not used to losing after a long career in Calgary and the losses as a member of the Alouettes are beginning to take their toll as he went off after the latest loss saying that they are playing to win not just to play and he is sick of coming up short
Glenn Back at Practice
The Alouettes are not doing great but their roster is doing worse as they had plenty of injuries for Week four including Kevin Glenn who had eye issues but is now back on the practice field and hoping to lead the team out of this funk
Week 4:
Ottawa REDBLACKS 30-20 Toronto Argonauts
– The Toronto Argonauts had a great road trip looking like they had fixed their issues from their opener but when they returned to their new stadium they fell back into old issues as former Argos QB Trevor Harris made good on his return to Toronto
Edmonton Eskimos 20-16 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
– The Bombers got their first win in Week 3 and they were hoping to bring that momentum to this game but couldn’t get it done as the Eskimos put them away finishing their first game in regulation for the win
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 31-7 Montreal Alouettes
– The Ti-Cats looked rough when they returned home leaving many to just wonder when Zach Collaros was going to return but Jeremiah Masoli righted the ship against the Alouettes with a convincing win
BC Lions 40-27 Saskatchewan Roughriders
– The Lions have had a bit of a QB problem but the young gun, Jonathon Jennings might have just earned the spot for good as he threw for 429 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Lions to another win
Week 5:
Calgary Stampeders vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Thursday, July 21st; 8:30 pm ET)
– The Stamps are back in action as they take on the Bombers who are simply trying to figure things out while Calgary looks to take another win and continue to keep pace with the BC Lions in the West
Ottawa REDBLACKS vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (Friday, July 22nd; 9:00 pm ET)
– The Harris-Williams connection wasn’t its usual self, last week but they will go into Saskatchewan looking to get back on track while Harris just tries to continue his great season as the starter in Ottawa
Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Edmonton Eskimos (Saturday, July 23rd; 7:00 pm ET)
– The Eskimos continue to be one of the stronger teams in the league under Jason Maas but they have struggled to win games in regulation as they look to do just that against the Ti-Cats with Masoli trying to be more consistent
Montreal Alouettes vs. Toronto Argonauts (Monday, July 25th; 7:30 pm ET)
– The Toronto Argos have looked like two different teams this year as they look great away from home and terrible at their new stadium but they will get another chance to turn it around as they get another home game to try to get their first win at BMO Field
The Sport Addiction 