Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 15)
The CFL season is quickly closing down as the last few weeks tick by with plenty more to play for on both sides of the country.
The two divisions could not be more different again as the west is a battle of the best while the east is a battle between teams who never seem to care to win.
The west has a battle between teams that must win to get their chance to play in the playoffs with the best teams in the league all on that side of the country.
The Calgary Stampeders are leading the way on a great run through the league that doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
The rest of the west is just trying to keep pace as the Lions are continuing a great season and the Bombers are trying to hang on to the great run they had in the middle of the season.
Meanwhile, the defending champions are trying to keep up with everyone else as they still have more than enough of a chance to make the playoffs along with the crossover that could come into play with the east being so weak this year.
They are struggling to find a true champion as the east is full of teams that can’t seem to find the wins they need.
Every week when one team seems to be poised to take control everyone loses and the entire division becomes less clear than before.
The REDBLACKS led quickly but have struggled recently while Montreal and Toronto have struggled all year to keep the crossover at bay.
The one team that was supposed to be the easy champion was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who saw their starting quarterback return and bring hope that they were about to take over the east division.
That didn’t happen as the Ti-Cats have been inconsistent at best with Zach Collaros under centre.
Still, they looked like a better team with him starting at quarterback and all they needed was to put everything together and they could have been the true challenger for the Grey Cup.
Then it happened, Collaros went down with what the Ti-Cats are calling an upper-body injury after he was slammed to the ground against Calgary.
He missed the entire second half with the injury and he is questionable to return for the remaining weeks.
There is no clear timetable and no clear injury as a lot is unknown right now but the injury is, unfortunately, familiar for Hamilton fans.
Collaros is quickly becoming what is known as a band-aid and that is not a good thing for his reputation.
Being a band-aid generally, means that the player struggles to stay on the field because he gets injured often.
For Collaros, it has been true ever since he joined the Ti-Cats as the best back-up in the league.
After a successful year under centre for the Toronto Argonauts, he moved down the road to Hamilton to start for the Ti-Cats.
He only played 13 games in that season after he hurt his back on a big hit and he followed that season up with a big knee injury that keeps him out at the end of the 2015 and into the 2016 season.
Now he seems to be sidelined again, although there is no indication of how serious it may be as he could return next week.
Without him the Ti-Cats are nowhere near the team they could be but if he plays quarterback they truly have a chance at winning the east and moving into the Grey Cup.
Once again their season rests on the health of their quarterback in the most frustrating way to end a season and one that is common in Steeltown.
The latest injury is a big question mark for the future of the team as the Ti-Cats have a good team and one of the best QBs in the game but if he can’t stay on the field what use is he?
That could be the question heading forward especially if Collaros ends his season on the sidelines once again as preparing for the future might be a smart thing for Hamilton to do much like any other team dealing with injury plagued players.
Fourth Down:
(More news this week in the CFL)
Cutting a Corps
The Toronto Argonauts have not performed to the level they expected this year and as a result, they are making big changes cutting their three big receivers in Kevin Elliott, Vidal Hazelton, and Tori Gurley as they try to turn their season around before it’s too late
Willy’s Team
The Argonauts made a big change when they traded for Drew Willy especially after a great performance from Dan LeFevour but now he will try to prove if the deal was worth it as he gets the starting role the rest of the way
The First Game
New Mosaic Stadium has not seen its permanent resident yet but it did get a dry run at the new stadium in Regina officially opened with a university game between the Regina Rams and the Saskatchewan Huskies
Week 15:
Edmonton Eskimos 40-26 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
– The Blue Bombers were one of the best teams in the league during a great run but that run is over and they are beginning to struggle to keep up the pace that they had set including their loss to the Eskimos
Calgary Stampeders 36-17 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
– The Stamps continued their run through the entire league winning their 10th straight game this year against the Ti-Cats in a one-sided match where the Ti-Cats lost their starting quarterback, Zach Collaros
BC Lions 40-33 Ottawa REDBLACKS
– Some had this built as a potential Grey Cup preview and it was a good battle between the two teams as the Lions took the win and remained one of the best teams in the league while the REDBLACKS lost a chance to take control of the east
Montreal Alouettes 38-11 Toronto Argonauts
– Both teams are not guaranteed a spot in the playoffs this year and they faced off looking to start a run that could prevent the crossover with the Alouettes coming out on top beating a listless Argos team
Week 16:
Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Ottawa REDBLACKS (Friday, October 7th; 7:00 pm ET)
– The REDBLACKS look to get back on track and try to stay on the top of the east as they take on the Riders who continue to struggle to find some consistency in the season although they do look to end the season on a high note
BC Lions vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Saturday, October 8th; 4:00 pm ET)
– The Lions have been one of the most consistently good teams in the league this year while the Bombers had a big run to move them into playoff contention and after two straight losses are hoping to find their way back to their winning ways
Edmonton Eskimos vs. Montreal Alouettes (Monday, October 10th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The Esks have not been their consistent selves this year but they hope to end their season on a strong run while the Als are trying to do the same and move into a playoff spot with their coaching change working out so far
Calgary Stampeders vs. Toronto Argonauts (Monday, October 10th; 4:00 pm ET)
– The Argonauts made some major changes this week after another poor performance and they hope that those changes can kick things into motion as they try to avoid another loss against the best team in the league
The Sport Addiction 