After week eleven, it would seem that the swagger is subdued, while the Riders' are back. The Esks are still under construction after all, the Als serve notice that the reports of their demise are premature and, well, the Argos, are the same ole Argos.
Reviews of the weekend that was below.
Calgary at Edmonton
The Stampeders clearly a tad mad at themselves at having let the Eskimos wander into their home last week and take two points, served up a reminder to their northern cousin's that the path towards Lord Earl Grey's Ceremonial coffee cup may very well yet pass through Calgary.
The Stamps redeemed themselves from their no show of Labour Day, sending the Eskimos down to defeat in a convincing fashion by a score of 30-20 a final total that didn't quite do justice to the control of play and one that suggests that even with last week's victory in their win column, there is still much work to be done in Edmonton before they start planning on a parade.
Despite the largest crowd of the year in the CFL, the majority of which were cheering on the home side, the Esks while putting twenty points up on the board, were the lesser of the two squads for the majority of the game. Ricky Ray's completion ratio returning to August numbers in the first half, though he would be redeemed in the second to have respectable totals, but not enough to secure victory.
Rather it was the on field miscues that proved the most costly as the Stampeders executed their plays with precision, while the Eskimos seemed at times to be making it all up on the fly, not to the best benefit.
Leaving the Esks to bemoan an opportunity lost to grab hold of the Western Division race and reward the over 40,000 who flocked into Commonwealth. There's still much football to be played through the rest of September and into October, but after their Labour Day success, the Esks must be feeling as though they let a valuable moment slip away, a chance to send a message to their southern cousins that the West runs through Northern Alberta, instead it seems as though it will be race right through til the final week of the season.
Edmonton Journal-- Eskimos lose 30-20 to Stampeders
Edmonton Sun-- Put those Grey Cup plans on hold
Calgary Herald-- Stampeders take revenge vs. Eskimos in Labour Day rematch
Calgary Sun-- Stampeders beat Eskimos in replay
Globe and Mail-- Stampeders avenge loss to Eskimos
Toronto at British Columbia
Much has been made of the Lions lack of success at their temporary home of Empire Field, so with one last kick off from the east end stomping grounds, the Lions found themselves in what seems like a guaranteed win night aspect of CFL scheduling, a visit from the woeful Toronto Argonauts.
Good enough it seems to make for a nice little send off present as the Lions head back to their spacious home on False Creek the remade BC Place.
Both teams are owned by David Braley, the Lions the elder of the Braley factions and like any good big brother they seemed to revel in the opportunity to lay a whuppin' on their little bro, rattling off two touchdowns, adding field goals and safeties to the pace of a final of 28 to 6 and sending the Argos back home with Dad to sort it all out.
The Lions seemed to finally get on the same page these past few weeks, Travis Lulay has found renewed confidence as QB and made some long range tosses to a variety of targets non more memorable than a toss to Geroy Simon for a TD, an opportunity once again to show why Simon is one of the best receivers to play the game in the CFL.
Simons grab on a 33 yard toss was his 95th touchdown in the CFL, which moves him into sixth place all time and leaves Simon alone atop the Lion record books. The Lions most likely could have added many more to the book if not for some struggles in the red zone, where passes into the end zone went astray or were picked off.
Still, it was the Argos and with Cleo Lemon no longer around for the pinata routine, there would be more blame to go around on the Argo side of the field. Stephen Jyles return to starting duties showcased a fair bit of rust in the first half and head coach Jim Barker didn't seem to be inclined to park a lot of the blame at the feet of his quarterback. Though we imagine he found other locations to assess responsibility and lack of production.
This is not shaping up to be an impressive season for those that wear the Double Blue, their offence has never really clicked and defensively they still seem very much like a work in progress. For the coach and GM however, unlike the Saskatchewan situation there seemingly won't be anyone coming down from the practice stands to take the reigns, Barker was given the ever popular vote of confidence prior to the Saturday match up.
Suggesting perhaps that the rebuilding job in the land of the Argos will be a two year program as opposed to a one year renovation.
Vancouver Province-- Defence and sunshine make Lions' final game at Empire Field a winner
Vancouver Sun-- Simon scores historic TD as Lions end reign at Empire Field...
Toronto Star-- New quarterback, same old result as Argos fall 28-6 to Lions
Toronto Sun-- Lions chew up Argos
Globe and Mail-- Lions shut down Argonauts
Hamilton at Montreal
All this talk about Montreal's best days being behind them seemingly has begun to wear a little thin in Quebec, the Als taking matters into their own hands on Sunday to put the Tiger Cats back a few steps, Montreal claiming an impressive 43-13 victory over the Cats.
Spurred on by the success of the Cats on Labour Day, more than a few CFL observers had begun to write the epitaph on the Alouettes dynasty years, suggesting that the Als were in their sunset years, a notion that seemingly isn't shared within the walls of the locker room at Moslon Stadium.
Montreal came out with a wee bit of vindication on their minds and administered a rather emphatic statement game, or as the Cats Avon Cobourne might put it, a real ass kickin'.
Anthony Calvillo returned to the form we've become quite accustomed to, passing for 421 yards, throwing touchdown passes with worrisome ease, worrisome that is if you're the defensive co-ordinator of a CFL team looking for ways to shut down the CFL's marquee quarterback.
Defensively the Als shut down the Tiger Cats completely, taking away the Hamilton running game and limiting the Cats to just a shade over 200 yards for the whole game.
Hamilton which scored with ease on Labour Day, couldn't gain any traction through the four quarters, every time they showed a little bit of momentum was quickly shut down by the Als, who were determined to break a two game losing streak and gain back some of the ground they had surrendered in the CFL east.
With Winnipeg stumbling over the last two weeks, the CFL East is once again a wide open opportunity for any of the three teams atop the division to claim first place as their own, the Als on Sunday served notice that they just might want to host that CFL East final in November after all.
Hamilton Spectator-- Ticats humiliated in Montreal
Globe and Mail-- Alouettes clobber Tiger Cats
Toronto Sun-- Als needed 'convincing' win
Canada.com-- This is the team we want to be,' Calvillo says
Saskatchewan at Winnipeg
The talk of Swagger is getting muted in Winnipeg, these days this after two consecutive smack downs at the hands of the Bombers cross border rivals the Roughriders.
Saskatchewan seems to be back in a familiar groove with Ken Miller firmly in control of the tiller, sailing through the Blue Bombers not once but twice, both victories by a wide margin, both revealing cracks in the Blue Bomber approach of late.
The Riders held off an early Bomber surge, Winnipeg jumped out to a 10-0 lead only to see the Riders steel their resolve and get down to work, first chipping away at that lead and then passing the Bombers by for good. Not stopping until the Banjos played that last tune, the Bombers finding themselves out of tune by a score of 45 to 23.
Key to the Rider wins over the two weekends has been the pressure that their defence has put on the Winnipeg offence, in particular Buck Pierce has felt the crush of the oncoming Rider attack, in particular in Sunday's Banjo Bowl, one hit by Rider Safety Craig Butler left him woozy for a short period of time and for some seemed to set the tone for his approach for the remainder of the game.
That hit has in fact had lasting repercussions, the Bombers suggesting that further evaluation would be required before Pierce was cleared to play next.
Beyond the impressive defensive play of the Riders, Darian Durant once again had a stellar game, clearly back in his comfort zone under Miller, the Rider QB connected with his growing arsenal of receivers through the day, in particular two TD passes one to Chris Getzlaf, the other to Weston Dressler stood out, highlight reel tosses that give Rider Nation hope that the good times are back.
But as always it seems that turnovers and penalties played a key role in the Bombers self destruction, five interceptions pointed out to the Saskatchewan secondaries success rate on the day, while the Bombers took far too many penalties for non football infractions, emotions running over the boiling point, at times team mates and coaches were pulling players back from the officials, lest further yardage be marched off in the wrong direction.
It's been two weeks of much of the same theme for Winnipeg, unaccustomed to losing, the reality of it seems to have changed the demeanour of the team, a team that once was boastful over its success on the field appears now to have a little less to say to the media in the wake of their recent setbacks.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, providing they can now return to focus on football, which if the last two weeks provide any lesson on, is something that might have gotten away from them after seven weeks of glowing reviews.
Regina Leader Post-- Turnovers spark Roughriders' turnaround
Winnipeg Sun-- Bombers bowled over
Winnipeg Free Press-- Swaggerville to Swaggernil
Globe and Mail-- Bombers' Pierce hurting after Riders loss
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