TrueBlue4ever

I tried that Argo QB logic last week. I'd advise against it again. Plus, Riders at home on Canada Day, and their defence did not get as decimated by player turnover as their offence, despite losing Chris Jones. Until they actually show better, the Argos may be a pick to avoid as an underdog.

Is gets so infuriating to see GMs sweat the salary cap and make giveaway trades at the draft (the Marleau-and-a-first-rounder-for-a-sixth-rounder trade being the most egregious example) to open up cap space, and then go and do stupid things like throw $7.5 million at a Tyler Myers, 7 x $7 million at Kevin Hayes, 8 x $11.5 million at Erik Karlsson, or 8 x $9 million at Jeff Skinner a week later in the great free agency arms race. No wonder an RFA like Trouba can hold out, then dictate terms and teams of a trade where the Jets get pennies on the dollar, or why a Morrissey, Laine, or Connor would opt to sign a bridge deal. GMs can't get out of their own way and control costs.

Well, power to Myers if he can land that contract. Maybe Vancouver spending that much on him means that they can't afford Tanev as well, and we have a better shot at retaining him. Now with Beaulieu and Morrow as UFAs, I suspect we make a bigger push to keep Chariot.

Andrew Harris

Week 2 rankings for me: 1 Edmonton (2) - Another strong offensive performance, coupled with relentless defensive pressure in the win over B.C. Losing Reilly to free agency may be the best thing that happened to them. 2. Hamilton (3) - Absolute beat down of Toronto shows us the team we all expected to roll over the East. Offence, defence, and special teams all chipped in the a score. 3. Winnipeg (1) - Through no fault of their own, they slip 2 spots because of the performances of the teams that played this past week. 4. Ottawa (5) - So maybe this Davis guy actually can play QB. We shall see as teams amass some game film on him. 5. Calgary (6) - Through no credit of their own, move up one spot because to the performances of the teams that played this past week. 6. Montreal (8) - See Calgary comments. Copy and paste. 7. Saskatchewan (9) - Scored about 35 more points than I thought they would given their QB situation, but their defence was a shell of its 2018 self. Still, up 2 spots since their losses have both been on the road. 8. BC (4) - Until they figure out how to run the ball, it is open season on Mike Reilly on every snap as teams pin their ears back and blitz all the time. Last week was chicken wing Carter, this week was Burnham drops, this receiving corps (not to mention the o-line) plays a lot softer than their quarterback. 9. Toronto (7) - So maybe this guy Franklin actually can’t play quarterback. Tempted to rank them 10th behind the unnamed Halifax team after that historic debacle at home.

13.

Please. They're clearly going to be called the Ex-Rays.

Tough week. Ottawa is worse than the win they pulled off in Calgary, but maybe better than their pre-season predictions. Davis has to play much better against a tough Rider D, but Powell aside at RB, Sask may have no offence with the weak QB crop they'll be fielding. Powell`s return to Ottawa may motivate, but the RedBlack run defence was very solid last week. Tiebreaker goes to the home team, Taking Ottawa, even though I think Davis won`t last the year as the starter in the capital. Hamilton did not look great last week on offence, not sure if it was just a one game blip or if they need to iron out a few more kinks. Toronto is the great unknown, but I like the idea of Franklin and Derel Walker together, and maybe James Wilder returns to 2017 form. Again, home field (such as it is) is the intangible tiebreaker for me. Taking a flyer ion the Argos. Edmonton looked great offensively, you could not have predicted a better start for Harris. And yet they were tied with the Alouettes of all teams with 2 minutes left. Harris can`t possibly play that well again, can he? And Mike Reilly returns "home" to face a much weaker defence than he stared down last week.The homecoming is the X factor in what could be an offensive shootout (I hope - Reilly is my Lock of the Week) Almost prepared to go 0-3 this week.

Going to try Mike Reilly again.

I'm already feeling the pressure. That's a high bar to clear.

I'm just there to sub in when you take off on your "holidays".

Why? It won't be me writing it.

I'd have: 1. Winnipeg - Most convincing win of the 4 winners last week, and on the road to boot, plus the expectation going into the game about their prospects. Expectations met for one week anyway. 2. Edmonton - Despite letting the Als back into the game in the 4th, a dominant offensive display that masks any defensive deficiencies for now. 3. Hamilton - Would place them lower but for the fact that they won the game, and played fairly decent defence. But the game was close because of their dumb penalties, and their offence looked bogged down all night. Given how many Rider players (and QBs specifically) they knocked out of the game, not an overly impressive win. 4. BC - Had some flashes, and briefly seemed to get it together in the 3rd quarter, but still need to gel. But aside from the putrid running game, looked less sloppy than the Stamps or RedBlacks, so put them ahead. 5. Ottawa - Really had no business winning the game, and Davis made some god-awful plays. But credit the defence for their turnovers that kept them close, and Davis for his resiliency (and # TDs). Not at all sold on them, but hey, you beat Calgary in Calgary, however you do it, and you can't really be ranked any lower than this. 6. Calgary - Flat out gave away this game. 4 INTs including a pick-6 should never lead to a loss, but they shut down in the 2nd half and made some very un-Stampeder-like mistakes. Missed passes and bad giveaways, probably could put them ahead of Ottawa, but can't reward a loss with a higher ranking. 7 .Toronto - No game is better than the performance the Als or Riders put forward. 8. Montreal - Ok, so they erased a 17 point deficit, but their defence was terrible. Still, the offence they generated gives them more hope than they had a week ago, so going forward they have to feel better than Saskatchewan feels today. 9. Saskatchewan - Without the dumb roughing penalties the Cats gave them, they may not have moved downfield at all. Maybe not quite that bad, but still went through 3 QBs and only put up 17 points. Have to be concerned going forward given what injuries they suffered.

Me.

Scapegoat update after game 1: Nichols - Low yardage, high QB rating, and showed nice touch on a couple of long passes. But the best part of his game was his escapability in the red zone. Looks like the knee problems from last year are not a factor, and his scrambling led to the Adams and Wolitarsky (#2) TDs. Will always be on the list due to the nature of the position, but slides down the depth chart with a solid game (management). Hecht - Another serving of crow, anyone? Even if you take away the 2 INTs, his chicken dance to Duron Carter should remove him from any scapegoat consideration for a while. Demski - Fairly uninvolved game for one of our key Canadian offensive weapons. And ball security reared its ugly head again with a fumble that luckily rolled out of bounds. But wins gloss over many flaws, so he is off the hook for now. Couture - Some good protection, but even better run blocking from the interior of the line. Whole o-line is in the good books for now. Wilson - 3 tackles, no glaring mistakes, only the injury seems notable from this game for him, although I wasn't tracking him specifically to make a full analysis. Any new candidates? Fenner got beaten badly on a TD pass, but redeemed himself immediately with the blocked convert return.. Cover teams may need some work, not sure who missed their assignment on the kick return TD. Whitehead did very little offensively to show off his speed and was not out on the return team.

Or who work the fry station at McDonald’s and live in their mom’s basement.

Do you mean Trevor Harris? Because Andrew is off this week.

As opposed to you, who waited zero games to trash him?

My name is Yogi, and I approved this message.

He'll be back. Needs that Halifax jersey to round out the set once they join as an expansion franchise.

I had honestly thought about starting a new thread on "who is the scapegoat this year?" and debated the good taste of it, but given the history of this forum I think the topic is ripe for debate. And great moniker for the award! Who will join the previous luminaries who have won, like Dave Donaldson, Kito Poblah, Kerwin Bell, Brock Ralph, Sean Salisbury, Doug Brown (write-in candidate from Nasty Nate), Kevin Glenn, Kamau Peterson, and Hall of Fame member Troy Westwood? Coaches exempt from consideration, since every one of them since Bud Grant, save for Mike Riley, is an automatic target no matter what. This year's contenders: Matt Nichols - the starting QB in Winnipeg is always going to be on the short list until they win a Cup or break a yardage record. Almost should be a separate category for them like coaches. Just a reminder, Streveler is 1-3 as a starter, Nichols is 30-14. Hecht - hilarious that the guy he replaced in Loffler (a 3-time CFL all-star mind you) got trashed fairly regularly when he played here the last couple of seasons for not being able to cover, and yet we've downgraded? Maybe safety just isn't that important a position if a scrub like Loffler can be so inconsistent and lousy yet still be the best in the league. Nic Demski - Just a gut feeling here. Had a couple of big games last year where he looked like a future star, but also some inconsistency and trouble securing the ball at times. With Dressler gone fans may expect the local kid (who had never come close to 500 receiving yards before last season) to step up, and if he doesn't come close to 1000 they may turn. I think Wolitarsky will get more of a pass than him for the time being. Michael Couture - If the o-line struggles, people will look to the replacements for Goosen and Cheung for the scapegoat, and I think as the rookie Grey will get more of a pass. Maybe Neufeld if he stays hurt or comes back playing worse because of an undisclosed injury. Kyrie Wilson - AKAChip write-in candidate. Any others?

Cactus: That BC player Mee-fee Cola....how do you say it? Bob Irving: Meffi Koloamatangi. Cactus: Right, Murphy Koala-mangy. Iirving: No, Koloamatangi. Cactus: Right, ColourmyTV, that it? Irving: No, it’s a tricky one for sure. I practiced all week on that one. Let’s just call him Meffi, Jack. Cactus: Well, suffice to say, Mr. Murphy Jack made an impact on today’s game... And then he’d call him Jack Murphy every time after that.

No, crossover team must have a better record to advance to playoffs, regardless of head-to-head results.

I, as always, will keep my posts short and to the point.