Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 11)
The CFL season has reached an extremely important point as Labour Day is coming and in this league that is the turning point.
The CFL has always valued Labour Day as one of the most important days in the regular season because it marks a weekend where things are all the more important.
Labour Day marks a time for the CFL where things get a little more serious with only a few months left in the season,
The running joke is that nothing really matters until Labour Day but it isn’t entirely untrue as seasons can be won and lost after Labour Day.
Although the rest of the season is important with teams getting a good base for their playoff runs that truly begin at Labour Day.
Some teams can get so far ahead that Labour Day is just the start of a countdown until they clinch a spot in the playoffs.
A team like Calgary seems like a pretty good shot at making the playoffs only losing one game before their rivalry game against Edmonton and with nine games left they don’t have too many wins to go until they get their spot.
Other teams like Montreal are heading into Labour Day weekend on the other side of things as they are having a tough year.
With only two wins and eight games remaining in the season, they will need to make one special comeback in order to find their way to the playoffs.
Every other team is in the hunt though and with just about half of the season left for most, there is a lot to play for heading into Labour Day.
The league made sure of that this year as well with most teams having a division-heavy schedule in this second half.
Most of the teams have been going at it between the divisions with west and east games highlighting the first 10 weeks of the season.
Labour Day weekend will count as some of the first games against their own divisions making this second half so much more important.
No matter the success or failures in the first half everything will come together when teams play each other in their own divisions.
When teams play their own divisions they are making up more ground or losing more ground to their divisional rivals.
Taking a win against a team in the division gains a lot more ground than getting a win and hoping the other team fails to take their own win.
The way that the schedule is built this year makes a lot of games in the second half so much more important.
That is what Labour Day will be and this year as teams get into the biggest part of their season in hopes of finding a way to the playoffs.
In the east, the battle seems to be a three-horse race with the Toronto Argonauts having a lot of work to do to make their way to the playoffs.
Hamilton and Ottawa have proven to be the teams to beat in the east and with the pattern, over the last few years, it seems like they are the favourites to represent the east in the playoffs.
The last two years have seen a western team take the third spot and so there are really only two spots to take for eastern teams.
With Montreal beginning to figure things out but still struggling the Ti-Cats, REDBLACKS and Argos will all fight for those two spots.
Toronto will have a lot riding on the second half as they will play Hamilton three times in the second half while also having two more games against Montreal and another matchup against Ottawa.
Those games will be extremely important for the east as all of them will go along way to determine the playoffs.
In the west, the Eskimos are still looking to challenge their rivals and the next two weeks are going to make a lot of difference.
The Stamps and Esks will face off in the Labour Day Classic and the rematch in what could solidify Calgary’s spot or give Edmonton a serious chance at unseating their rivals.
Saskatchewan and Winnipeg will be fighting for the last spot down the stretch and like other great rivals they are going to take their shots in the next two weeks.
The loser could end up in the east for the playoffs while BC can take a run and take one of those spots in what promises to be an interesting end to the season.
The playoffs are not that far away with half of the season over and Labour Day coming the season is about to get a lot more serious and every game is getting more important.
Fourth Down
Finding a Home
It was one of the more shocking moves in the past couple of years as the Saskatchewan Roughriders walked away from one of the most talented players in the league. Duron Carter was cut after doing just about everything for the Riders including moving to defensive back. He was cut a few weeks ago and his future was in question as Carter stated that he might be done with football altogether. That was the case though as the bidding war began and the winners of the prize were the Argonauts. It is going to be an interesting match as Carter is one of the biggest personalities in the league and he will now play for a coach that prefers players to shut up and play, making this must-watch TV for the second half.
A Decision to Make
The Montreal Alouettes have not had it easy this season as they continue to struggle on the field. That was supposed to change when the Alouettes signed Johnny Manziel as they had supposedly found their starting QB. Manziel struggled in his first two starts but did show signs of improvement before he was sidelined with a concussion. That gave an opportunity to Antonio Pipkin who has been pretty good with his chance including last week when he guided the Alouettes to a win over the Argonauts. With Manziel returning to practice the Alouettes now have a decision to make as both quarterbacks split reps in what seems to be a fight to earn the starting role.
A New Era in Celebrations
The CFL made another midseason adjustment to their rules as Randy Ambrosie continues to make adjustments as he sees fit. The league announced the players would now be able to celebrate using props as long as those props are not hidden on the player or in the goalpost. The restriction continues to limit players in terms of demeaning celebrations or celebrations simulating weapons. The fact is though, celebrations are about to be taken to another level as the league looks to give a little more freedom to their players. In a league with so many unique personalities, there is a lot more freedom to express those personalities and be unique like the league they are playing in.
The Sport Addiction 