Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 10)
It is a pivotal week in the CFL season as Labour Day is up next and in Canadian football, Labour Day is the do-or-die moment in every season.
There is a long-standing tradition with Labour Day as the weekend has become the second biggest weekend in the league, behind Grey Cup.
The biggest rivalries in the league are all on that weekend and for some of them, it can be the biggest game of their year.
Labour Day has a special place in the CFL thanks to the big games that make it a massive weekend for the league.
It is far from just the games that make the weekend a special one in the league though as Labour Day marks a certain point in the season.
This is the time that teams need to get everything together and truly start to play the best that they can play.
Although the regular season has been running for 10 full weeks the saying goes that the season doesn’t truly start until Labour Day.
That is the moment where there is no going back and where every stumble becomes more magnified than ever.
Teams need to be good all season but the first ten weeks have some sense of forgiveness as teams can make mistakes and still recover.
After Labour Day that forgiveness begins to get shorter with every passing week and mistakes get a lot tougher to recover from.
It is not as simple as playing for the next week as that idea becomes a lot harder when things get closer to the playoffs.
Labour Day is the weekend when decisions have to be made in order to change things for those teams that are struggling.
If a team is having a tough time competing it is widely known that Labour Day is the time where they need to make their move in order to start competing.
That is exactly what is happening now as a few teams are heading into the Labour Day weekend with some big changes.
One is on the west coast where the BC Lions have struggled to find consistency all year with the major issue being under centre.
Jonathan Jennings has been considered one of the top young quarterbacks in the league as the Lions were on the rise thanks to his ability to run and throw the ball.
He has always struggled with his decision-making though and has put the team in bad situations with his inaccuracy.
This year it has become a bigger problem and that has led to an even bigger issue with the team as a real QB controversy has been brewing all year.
Travis Lulay was once the MOP but was resigned to the backup role behind Jennings until an injury gave him his shot this week.
The Lions have gone back and forth on who should start but following Week 10 head coach Wally Buono seems to have made his decision.
After the game, Buono said that he was leaning towards starting Lulay and benching Jennings.
Lulay will get the start on Labour Day weekend and if he is successful it can be expected that the rest of the year will rest on the veteran’s arm.
In the east, another decision was made although many had seen it coming long before as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats changed coaches.
The Ti-Cats have not done well this year as they have yet to win a game and when they brought in June Jones as a consultant people saw the writing on the walls.
This past week Kent Austin stepped down from his head coaching duties and named Jones as the head coach.
Austin will stay as the Vice President of Football Operations but he made the change at the point when they needed to make a change.
There is still time for the Ti-Cats to make the playoffs but like every year the real chance comes after Labour Day.
They may be winless but this change of coaches could be the change they need to make a run at the playoffs in the second half.
Most importantly for them, they will start that attempt against their biggest rivals in the Labour Day Classic which will set the tone for the second half.
Labour Day is coming and for more than just the Lions or the Ti-Cats, it is going to be a statement weekend.
This is the time when mistakes are magnified and the issues for every team become more important to solve.
The second half is about to start and the changes made now are going to define the rest of the season.
Fourth Down
Top Spot for Lewis
Nik Lewis has been making his way up the rankings for the top pass catchers in the CFL and this week he finally put his name on the top of the list. Despite a loss to the Blue Bombers, Lewis caught his 1,030th pass moving past Geroy Simon as the league’s all-time leader. Lewis will continue to add to the record in what is becoming more likely his final season in the CFL.
Richardson Stays
He was once one of the biggest names in college football as Trent Richardson was a can’t miss prospect in the NFL. His time in the NFL was short-lived though as injuries sunk his career and made him a bust in the eyes of many. He was looking for a way back though and the Saskatchewan Roughriders were willing to give him that way. They began talks with the running back but things were broken off when neither side could agree on the length of the contract.
Eskimos Still Hurting
The Edmonton Eskimos have been one of the top teams in the league all year but they have also been one of the teams with the biggest injury list. That list got a little bigger this week when the Eskimos announced that Jean-Simon Roy, Ryan King and Marcus Howard will all miss the rest of the season. The Esks are still going strong with their great start but things have to be concerning with their injury list getting pretty full.
The Sport Addiction 