Last week’s action provided a bit of hope for fans of the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos, many of whom may have been facing the 2007 season with a bit of trepidation after some stumbles out of the gate.
The surprise of the week was the ability of the Hamilton Tiger Cats to run through a previously pretty solid BC Lions defence. Jesse Lumsden made frequent statements through the night as he bulled his way through the line and galloped for maximum yardage, while Quarterback Jason Maas threw for over 200 yards all to no avail in the standings. While the Lions were beat up and probably ripe for take down, the Cats couldn’t in the end put the points on the scoreboard and at the end of play were still without a win in 2007.
For Lions fans there was the knowledge that depth at QB is going to be a strength for the Leos this year, Dave Dickenson didn’t even dress for the game still feeling the effects of a concussion, Buck Pierce who started had to leave the game with tender ribs, leaving the controls to Jarious Jackson who directed the Lions on to victory. As its unknown how long Dickenson will be out, the fact the Leos can find success with both of the understudies must bring a bit of confidence to the defending champs.
For Hamilton, the solid effort in Vancouver should give the team some enthusiasm for the weeks to come. They came close last week to sending a message that all is not lost for the Steel City. With a bit of finish and more of Lumsden’s rumbling they may very well start climbing the standings through the summer.
In Calgary, after two horrible weeks on the road, the Stamps turned things around with a vengeance against the Toronto Argonauts. The Stamps dominated their game last week against an injury depleted Argo squad. The McMahon Stadium crowd saw none of the misplays, mental errors or poor judgment calls of the previous two weeks, instead a confident looking team that controlled the play from the very opening of the game and didn’t let up until the final gun went off. It was a total Jekyll and Hyde act for the Stamps who could do nothing right in the previous 120 minutes of football, but found they could do nothing wrong against the double blue. It was the kind of performance that Stamps fans had been expecting and was a long overdue performance of control, one that Stamps fans will hope continues on through the season.
Finally the Eskimos rewarded their fans for their patience with a remarkable come from behind win over the Roughriders. Saskatchewan which had what appeared to be an insurmountable lead at half time, collapsed completely in the second half. Allowing Ricky Ray to get his offence back into the game and showing Eskimo fans that the games aren’t over until the last play has been run. What appeared to be a potentially embarrassing disaster quickly righted itself much to the delight of the Eskimo faithful, who have become used to the Esks defeating the Riders in Edmonton. While the final margin of victory was only one point, it still provided proof that the Esks won’t fold when faced with a setback early on, something that might come in handy a little later in the year, say in November.
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