This series of blogs will take a look at some of the best parties of Grey Cup week as we count down to the Vancouver event, November 24th to 27th. In this edition, we take a look at the party that sets the bar for the rest, the always popular Spirit of Edmonton.
If you’re a Grey Cup regular, you know all about the spirit of Edmonton. If you’re a Grey Cup rookie, you soon will. There is one party that all others strive to emulate and that is the fine event put on nightly during Grey Cup week be the fine folks at the Spirit of Edmonton.
The Spirit is the melting pot of CFL fan fellowship, where fans from all teams come to gather and celebrate Grey Cup week. The event promotes the City of Edmonton as a great place to live and do business as well as promoting the CFL and the Grey Cup Championship and the Edmonton Eskimos football club.
Volunteer Coordinator and Web / Social Media representative Neil McCulloch says the Spirit is the benchmark for all other CFL parties for a few simple reasons.
“We treat each guest as a friend, family and with respect. Our hospitality suite offers awesome value to our guests, great entertainment, a friendly CFL environment and no cover charge, ever!”
The spirit was formed in 1974 and started as a typical Grey Cup room party. It has expanded over the years to what it has become today. McCulloch says the there are typically between 150 to 250 volunteers that help with the event depending on what city the event is in.
When asked what surprises the party has in store for Vancouver in 2011, McCulloch wouldn’t spill all the beans, but did indicate social media will have a role, particularly in keeping fans informed about lineups.
“We have a few kept secrets for Vancouver this year but, I can tell you is that our social media will be the way to find out what’s happening prior to and during Grey Cup. Live Twitter and Facebook updates letting people know what entertainment is coming up and letting our guests who are not in our room how long the line-up really is. We are also going to have a new feature in our room, Mojo Photo. Mojo Photo is best described as a “old school” photo both whereby guests can take their pictures in the CFL garb and a few other trinkets, goofy hats etc. as a takeaway with the Spirit logo on framed around their picture. There will be a minimal cost for this as the service is being provided by a 3rd party.”
If there is one drawback to the Spirit, it has become very hard to get into on Friday and Saturday night. So much so that the event has now opened it’s doors two hours earlier on thise nights to allow more people to get to attend. If you want to attend on these nights, you’ll likely have to get in early and be prepared to stand in line. Follow the Spirit on Twitter (@spiritofyeg) for lineup updates and possible wait times!
The Spirit of Edmonton runs nightly during the Grey Cup festival.
Where:
Sheraton Wall Centre – 1088 Burrard Street
Entertainment:
Live bands, cheer teams and various other appearances.
Cash bar, and various food items for purchase.
Schedule:
Thursday: 4:00pm to 1:00am
Friday: 2:00pm to 1:00am
Saturday: 2:00pm to 1:00am
Admission: Free, must be of legal drinking age to enter.
***Footnote***: Due to BC Liquor Laws you will need a ticket to gain access to the Spirit of Edmonton room this year. There are a couple of ways to do this.
http://spiritofedmonton.com/uploads/hospitality-room-invite.pdf
Click on the lick above and scan the QR code on your mobile device, or print the ticket and present it at the door. There is still no cost to enter, but this will be required thanks to our lovely BC governments archaic policy on liquor. Spread the word about this because a lot of people will not know about this.
The BC Lions defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 36-1 Friday Night (Photo Perry Nelson: Edmonton Sun)
The BC Lions knew they had to take care of business tonight against a depleted Edmonton Eskimos squad at Commonwealth Stadium, and take care of business they did. The Lions rolled over the Eskimos picking up their 2nd win of the season. With the win the Lions moved into sole possession of 3rd place in the CFL west and regained the crossover spot from Toronto who also moved to 2-6 the night before.
Defence was the story, picking up four interceptions and 8 sacks on the night. Edmonton had no answer for the BC pass rush and without Ricky Ray had little time to get in sync with a makeshift group of receivers that included former Lions Ryan Grice-Mullen and recent cut Dobson Collins.
While the Eskimos offence was depleted with injuries their defence also struggled badly. Travis Lulay redeemed himself after poor outing against Winnipeg going 22 of 37 for 343 yards, 4 TD’s and one interception. The offence sputtered on it’s first couple of drives, but got rolling on a great 56 yard catch and run effort by Akeem Foster to put the Lions up 7-0. The Lions built up a 20-1 lead by the half with two Paul McCallum field goals and the first touchdown by Arland Bruce as a BC Lion.
Bruce had a great game in his second appearance as a Lion, racking up two touchdowns and 129 yards on 9 catches. Rookie Kierrie Johnson also had a strong game for the Lions. The small but speedy receiver is making the most of his chance to crack the lineup and 6 catches for 84 yards. Johnson would leave the game in the 3rd quarter however with what the team is calling a bruised shoulder.
The most impressive part of the win was the fact the Lions kept their foot on the throats of the Eskimos in the second half, keeping the pressure on Ray and moving the ball. Ray eventually gave way to Kerry Joseph who wasn’t much more effective than his predecessor. The Lions defensive line was in the backfield on almost every play and the secondary played with some swagger (sorry Winnipeg) once again.
The Lions now head into the bye week on a high and can really get themselves back in the playoff picture with string back to back efforts against the Toronto Argonauts.
Quick Hits:
- The Eskimos have given up 18 sacks in the last three games, including eight to the Lions.
- Geroy Simon passed Darren Flutie to move into 3rd place all-time in receiving yards. His 87th touchdown also ties Willie Flemming for the most in Lions history.
- The game balls were awarded to Marco Iannuzi (Special Teams), Jacques Chapdelaine (Offence) and Mike Benevides (Defence).
- Kudos to the Eskimos fans who donated over 109,000 pounds of food for the Purolator Tackle Hunger program, 5,000 more pounds than their Calgary rivals down the highway.
Post game video blog (Lowell Ullrich, The Fifth Quarter)
The Edmonton Eskimos are taking the 2011 CFL Season by storm. A perfect 4-0 record to start the season has everyone talking. Rookie Head Coach Kavis Reed has gotten the very best out of his players, and offensive coordinator Marcus Crandell has helped rejuvenate quarterback Ricky Ray’s career and taken him out of the dark days of Kevin Strasser. While we have only played four weeks in the season, and the Eskimos will eventually lose some games, it still proves one thing when it comes to the CFL, and that is, it’s an unpredictable field.
While Strasser is now off ruining an offence in Oregon City, coaching prep league, former CFL quarterback Marcus Crandell has taken the reigns and ran with them. For the first time since the 2008 season, Ricky Ray looks comfortable back in the pocket and it has showed in his play. Throughout the first four weeks of the season, Ray has thrown for 1,231 yards along with eight touchdowns and just a single interception. An interception he had not thrown until this past week in a 24-19 win over the Calgary Stampeders. It has been a great start to a season that Ray desperately needed to have to show that he is still worth every penny the Eskimos will pay him for.
The Eskimos play host to the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night, and while the Argos haven’t exactly impressed anybody in four weeks, it will provide a test for Ray and the Eskimos offence. In 11 previous meetings against the Argonauts, Ray has thrown for just over 2,700 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, and no multi-touchdown games.
While the Eskimos are the pinnacle team in the Canadian Football League right now, getting equally as much talk is the struggling BC Lions. The Lions are off to statistically their worst start to a season since 1996, although that could still be argued depending on how their next four games go. Last season the team started off the year with a record of 1-7 before winning their second game on Labour Day weekend.
In four weeks, Lions starting running back Jamal Robertson has seen the ball just 21 times on hand-offs out of the backfield. 14 of those 21 hand-offs came in the club’s last game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Robertson accounted for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 39-31 loss to the Tiger-Cats. It’s almost as if running the ball actually worked. But, how could that be possible after only giving a player seven carries in the first three games of the season? Ponder that one.
Other than their Week 3 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos where they scored just 17 points, the BC Lions have had no issues in putting up points on the board. They have scored the third most points in the CFL throughout the first four weeks, trailing the division leading Edmonton Eskimos, as well as the Montreal Alouettes. The issue of course lies in points allowed, where the Lions have given up 136 of them. Still not enough for the top spot in that category however, as the Roughriders have allowed 138 points. But, they have a win. The Lions do not. So, what exactly is the remedy for a BC Lions win in 2011?
Perhaps it’s the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Buck Pierce is coming off quite possibly his very best game as a CFL quarterback after coming from behind to beat the Toronto Argonauts 33-24 last week. Outside of that game, the Bombers have shown no flashes of being a force on offence. However, when you watch the Bombers play, there is something to be concerned about, and that is their outstanding pass rush. While the Lions have had no real issues in protecting Travis Lulay, having allowed just five sacks so far in 2011, they will have to be on their toes on Thursday in Winnipeg. The Bombers possess the league’s leading sack master in Odell Willis, and throughout the first four weeks he is on pace to break an all-time record with 27 sacks.
To grab their first win of the season, the Lions will need to disrupt Buck Pierce early and often and force him into making mistakes and not letting him get into a groove. This game will have some extra emotion in it, after Blue Bombers defensive line and assistant head coach Richard Harris passed away earlier in the week after being rushed to hospital. Harris spent time with the BC Lions as well, holding the team’s defensive line coaching position for four seasons, and coaching under Wally Buono for his final two years with the Lions in 2003 and 2004.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are finally into the win column in 2011. After upsetting the Montreal Alouettes on the road in Week 4, the Riders appear to have kicked off their 2011 season. And just in time too. The Riders now have two games at home against the Calgary Stampeders, with a road game splitting up the two meetings in Vancouver next Friday against the Lions. The good news about being 1-3 for the Riders is that only one of those losses came against a West Division team. That being a loss to the Edmonton Eskimos back in the first week of the season.
Through three games, it was drop back and pass mode for Ricky Ray, Anthony Calvillo and Kevin Glenn, as the three quarterbacks tore up the Riders defence with ease. Finally something changed in the gameplan of defensive coordinator Richie Hall, and they were able to pressure Calvillo into some early bad throws. So much so, that they even knocked the 18 year pivot out of the game, forcing back-up Adrian McPherson to come in for the remainder of the game. While injuries are not fun to see happen, it was a breath of fresh air for the Riders defence to be able to put the heat on a quarterback.
Much like the genius plan for Jamal Robertson to finally see the ball more than three times in a game, it was Darian Durant who kept the Riders offence going at times by using his legs to run the ball. Something that had been a rare feat throughout the first three games played. After rushing for just 40 yards in three weeks, Durant took off seven times in the game, accounting for 71 yards along the way. Again, like Chapdelaine in BC, we aren’t exactly sure what light clicked on in Doug Berry’s head that made it a priority to get Durant moving around. In two years as the team’s starter, Durant ran the ball 140 times for 1,119 yards.
This week, the Riders welcome the bitter rival. Henry Burris and the Calgary Stampeders are in town, and whenever these two teams get together for a game, everyone gets fired up. They have played in the past two West Division Final games, with the Riders being the victors in both games, and the Stamps know that in order to get back to the Grey Cup, they are going to have to shed the demon that has been the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Stamps come into this game struggling on all accounts offensively. Henry Burris has looked off and nowhere near the form that made him the 2010 CFL’s Most Outstanding Player. Running back Joffrey Reynolds has seen the ball just 35 times, which is the second fewest carries for a starting running back, next to the Lions Jamal Robertson. Reynolds has already been vocal about wanting to get the ball more, and infact did this past week against the Eskimos. One more carry than the previous game, a 21-20 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Hey, one is more, right? After carrying the ball 12 times in the opening week loss to the Toronto Argonauts, Reynolds has not had double digits in carries since. He has also not recorded over 50 yards on the ground since that game. It has instead been back-up running back Jon Cornish who has made the early season plays out of the backfield. Cornish has one rushing touchdown to go with two receiving touchdowns, including a highlight reel play against the Eskimos where he avoided tacklers and dove to reach across the goal line for the touchdown.
The Stamps and Riders wrap up Week 5 on Saturday night in Regina.
Follow Tyler Bieber on Twitter @CFLDaily for a wide range of CFL related news.
Travis Lulay and the BC Lions offence couldn’t get on track against the Eskimos
Photo Credit: Canadian Press / Ian Jackson
There is an old saying that says “The defence rests”. Saturday afternoon in Edmonton the Lions defence never got that chance as the Lions fell to the 3-0 Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 33-17.
An inept offence kept the defence on the field for most of the game and it was too much to ask against an Edmonton offence firing on all cylinders to start the season. With the win the Eskimos sit alone at the top of the CFL West division while the Lions are sharing the basement with the equally hurting Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Eskimos set the tone for the game early, methodically marching down the field and in the process using up half the first quarter on a drive that saw Ricky Ray go 7-8. Edmonton failed get a major but opened the scoring on a 20 yard Damon Duval field goal.
The Lions proceeded to go two and out on their first possession, and that would be the story of the first half. With the Lions defence settling down after that first drive they gave the offence the chance to get going by keeping the score close. But fatigue would soon set in.
Last week’s game saw Lulay the victim of drops by his receivers. But on this night he saw his passes bouncing off the turf or thrown over his targets head. The running game was once again not utilized, and the Eskimos defence barely saw the field.
Even when the defence appeared to make a stop, there were penalties that kept drives alive. An Eric Taylor offside penalty kept saw the Eskimos take advantage on the next two plays, with a 17 yard pass to Jason Barnes and then 42 yard pass and run to Fred Stamps for the game’s first touchdown. The Eskimos led 10-0 with the Lions only touching the ball four times.
The Eskimos would add a single on the ensuing kickoff after Tim Brown bobbled the ball in the end zone and the Lions ineptitude on offense continued as two more passes went incomplete with Lulay still looking shaky. Lulay was 1 for 6 for 7 yards in the opening frame.
When the 2nd quarter began, the Lions defence was again trying to do their part, forcing the Eskimos to punt on their first possession of the 2nd quarter. But the offense continued to sputter and after another two and out Edmonton blocked a Paul McCallum punt and things started going from bad to worse for the Lions.
With the Eskimos scrimmaging at the Lions 35, Ray drove the Esks into field goal position and Duval extended the lead to 14-0. The Lions looked to build on their 7 yards of offence but an end around to Shawn Gore went nowhere and Lulay couldn’t connect on a 2nd and 5 forcing the Lions to punt once again. McCallum pinned the Eskimos deep and the Lions defence who had practically been on the field for the whole game were able to get a stop and the Lions had great field position to start at the Eskimo’s 45 after the punt. Lulay completes a 7 yard pass to Geroy Simon but the Lions couldn’t convert on 2nd and 3 after Jamall Robertson was stuffed. BC sent out Paul McCallum to try a 45 yard field goal and he connected to get the Lions on the board, making the score 14-3 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
The fatigue of being on the field for the whole half started to show on the Lions defence. Marcus Henry caught a pass in front of Dante Marsh for a nice gain, before Adarious Bowman went on a 46 yard romp after a missed tackle by David Hyland. The Eskimos punched it into the end zone on the next play with a Ricky Ray pass to Daniel Porter and it was 21-3 Eskimos.
The Lions got their first 1st down of the half with just over 2:00 minutes remaining. The set of plays saw a big completion to Geroy Simon of 38 yards as the Lions looked to get some points before the half. They accomplished that when Lulay found Simon in the end zone with 1:34 remaining and the Lions were amazingly only down by 11.
But with just over a minute left Ray wasn’t satisfied and marched the Eskimos into Lions territory. Once again sloppy tackling was a key by a tired defence. To make matters worse, nose tackle Eric Taylor had to leave with a leg injury and the Lions didn’t have a backup leaving the defensive line thin. The Eskimo drive stalled and a 44 yard Duval field goal sailed wide for a single, making the score 22-10 at the half.
The Lions received to start the 3rd quarter and scrimmaged from inside their 25. A two yard toss to Andrew Harris and a 2nd down conversion to Akeem Foster saw things start more promising for BC. The drive continued with completions to Dobson Collins and Kamau Peterson but stalled on the next two plays, forcing the Lions to punt.
The Eskimos first possession of the 2nd half started at their own 21. Daniel Porter ran for 8 yards to start the drive but the Lions stuffed him in the backfield on 2nd down and the Eskimos had to give the ball back. A great return by Andrew Harris on the punt was nullified by a Rolly Lumbala holding call however and the Lions scrimmaged from their 35 but failed to generate anything more than a first down.
On the next drive Ray scampered for 27 yards. The Lions had the Eskimos facing third and five, but Edmonton caught the Lions sleeping on a fake punt and direct snap to Mathieu Betrand to extend the drive. The move paid off for the Eskimos as even though the drive was stopped again it got them into field goal range. Luckily for the Lions Duval pushed it wide again for another single, extending the lead to 23-10.
The defence had kept the score within a couple of touchdowns and on the Lions next drive they decided to start using Jamall Roberston and it started to pay off. But then the wheels came off as Lulay threw a pass to the sideline that was jumped on by TJ Hill. Lulay did save a touchdown on the play by hustling back to make the tackle on Hill, but the Eskimos were threatening again. After a too many men in the huddle penalty on the Eskimos, Ray ran for a first down then found Jason Barnes to set the Eskimos up first and goal at the five. They only needed one play from Daniel Porter to punch it in, and the Lulay interception proved a costly one, extending the Eskimos lead to 30-10.
That seemed to suck the life out of any momentum the Lions had and the Eskimos added a field goal before Akeem Foster scored a late touchdown to make the final 33-17.
Quick Hits:
- Geroy Simon was one of the lone bright spots on offence for the Lions and surpassed the 14,000 yard mark for his career with a catch in the 4th quarter.
- The Lions rushed the ball just 8 times for 56 yards.
- Ricky Ray has yet to throw an interception in 3 games this season, and was 24 of 33 for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns.
- The Lions next game is Friday July 22nd at 7:00pm against the Hamilton Tiger Cats at Empire Field.
I thought it might be time for some random thoughts after the first two weeks of the CFL season. There have certainly been some surprises to start the year and some events that leave you shaking your head. Feel free to comment below and leave us your musings on the season so far.
The BC Lions 0-2 start is a mild surprise. Not overly shocking considering they played two of the league’s expected contenders to start the year. Both losses were by a close score, although one could argue the Montreal loss result was the Alouettes easing off a bit in the 2nd half. So now once again the Lions find themselves in the hole to start the season and next up is the red hot Edmonton Eskimos. Even the most die hard Eskimos fan can’t say they saw their 2-0 start coming. Granted the Eskimo wins have come against two other struggling teams in Saskatchewan and Hamilton, but they are winning in impressive fashion with a combination of a lethal passing attack and most recently the strong running of former Lion Jerome Messam who will undoubtedly have something to prove when he suits up Saturday.
Speaking of the running game, as anyone seen the BC’s? They seem to have abandoned that part of their game. In game one you could argue that because they got down by 17 so quick they had to go to the air, but in game two the same lack of ground attack existed and when it did it was stuffed. If the Lions are to have success this year they will have to find more balance to their offence or it will be extremely one dimensional.
Things are not all gloomy however. The Lions seem to have found a solid replacement for Yonus Davis in Tim Brown. Brown has all the speed and shifty moves of his predecessor and has some wondering whether he should be getting a bigger role in the offence. It’s never been Buono’s style to use his returner regularly in the offence but Brown will and should be featured in a few packages before the season is done.
Travis Lulay has come as advertised, and if not for several dropped passes against the Stamps would have put up massive numbers after two games. The Montana State quarterback has settled in nicely to the starting role and with more support from his receivers should be just fine.
One of those receivers is Shawn Gore. Gore had a few drops against the Stamps but also had several nice catches as well finishing the game with 96 yards. There is no denying Gore has the talent and desire to star in this league and he seems to be taking advantage of a star tutor in Geroy Simon who told the Province’s Lowell Ullrich, “He’s determined to be a good football player and he definitely has the toughness.”
The Province newspaper is in my opinion the best Lions coverage in the city, bar none. The sports department there is very good at what they do and there is no better football writer in the country right now in my opinion than Lowell Ullrich. So when I saw this cartoon posted by their editorial cartoonist Bob Krieger I was pretty disappointed.
Yes, I get that the intent was to say even an injured player could play running back for the Lions since they never call a running play anyway, but considering that the Lions’ Stanley Franks is facing an injury that may end his career, it was pretty inconsiderate. I was going to blog more on this but the very competent Andrew Bucholtz at Yahoo.ca said everything perfectly in this piece. The cartoon drew the wrath of Franks’ teammate Dante Marsh who told me that at this point he and his teammates are just praying for a full recovery for Franks. Let me add those prayers and best wishes on behalf of BCLionsDen.ca.
If there is comfort to be found with the Lions slow start, it’s the fact that the Saskatchewan Roughriders are also winless after two games. The Lions have been here in the past starting 1-7 last year and clawing back to make the playoffs. The Riders lost both games at home and the natives are restless in Regina. They face Hamilton on the road this week and of they go 0-3 there could be a lot of manure on driveways pretty quick. After this week the Riders face Montreal, Calgary, BC and Calgary again in the next four games.
What can you say about the amazing Anthony Calvillo? The Montreal quarterback is quickly approaching greatest of all-time status, if he isn’t there already. This week, barring a defensive miracle, Calvillo will become the CFL’s all-time leader in touchdowns thrown, surpassing Damon Allen. In his first two games of the year Calvillo has completed 51 of 73 passes for a 69.9 completion percentage a QB rating of 132.9 and has thrown 8 touchdown passes, including five last week against the Riders. Before Calvillo is done he will be the greatest of all-time statistically but fans of the CFL should really savour watching this guy play the game now.
BCLionsDen.ca is thrilled to welcome Tyler Bieber to our group of bloggers. Tyler is a really bright football fan who is a mastermind with stats in addition to possessing a great passion and knowledge of the game. Tyler will be writing a column for the site entitled Eye On The West and after as wild week one to kick off the 2011 CFL season,we present his first contribution
.
It was an opening week unlike any other in the CFL’s West Division. The Edmonton Eskimos were the only team to come up with a win in the opening week, as they beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders in dominating fashion, 42-28. It was the first time since the 2004 season that so few teams in the West won a Week 1 game. Infact, in that 2004 season, none of the West Division teams won a game in the first week.
They proved to be the storm after the storm. After a slight delay due to a prairie hailstorm, Eskimos Head Coach Kavis Reed said it best when TSN showed his pre-game speech. “No one will see you coming”, said Reed to his team just before kickoff. Certainly none of the 30,000 fans at Mosaic Stadium dawning the green and white could have envisioned a worse start for their Roughriders. Following a two and out on their first possession, the Eskimos rattled off five straight scoring drives, adding three touchdowns and two field goals. They lead 27-10 late in the first half, before Darian Durant found a rhythm with his offence and brought it within seven points at the half.
That was as close as the Riders would get, as the Eskimos outscored them 15-7 in the second half. Eskimos receiver Jason Barnes had two touchdown receptions on his first two catches in the first quarter to really stun the Riders. Ricky Ray had three touchdown passes, and never had to feel overly pressured, thanks in part to his offensive line. The Eskimos allowed just one sack from Riders LB Barrin Simpson, and despite about eight hits in total on Ray, the veteran pivot never batted an eye on the way to the big win.
The Riders were without Chris McKenzie at the halfback position, and Tad Kornegay at the cornerback position, and it showed. John Eubanks replaced McKenzie, and on two occasions was not even close to covering his man for two Edmonton touchdowns. Quarterback Darian Durant was at one point 15/16 passing with a touchdown, but ended up going 12/21 thereafter, with two interceptions. It wasn’t exactly the start that new head coach Greg Marshall had envisioned, and it does not get any easier for the club, as they host the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday. The Eskimos will play in their home opener in Week 2, hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on the second half of a Saturday doubleheader.
The BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes played the first of their season opening/ending series on Thursday, kicking off the 2011 season. It seemed that the Lions played this game as if it was the entire 2010 season combined in one game. A slow start, a bruising start, they then found some momentum, and nearly got a win. The Lions got down quickly, 24-3, and managed to get it to 27-10 at the half. After some key halftime adjustments, the team outscored the Alouettes 16-3 in the second half, coming up one drive short of stealing a win in Montreal, losing 30-26.
Lions quarterback Travis Lulay threw 45 passes in the game, completing 26 of them. They had no time to establish a ground game, as after getting down at the half, Lions running back Jamal Robertson finished with just one carry for 12 yards. Defensive end Keron Williams had a strong game, despite only recording three tackles in the game, he was constantly after Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, accounting for three QB hurries in the game. Hurries are defined as pressuring a quarterback to throw a ball too early, forcing him out of the pocket, or drawing a holding penalty.
When you play the BC Lions, you get the oldest receiver in the game, Geroy Simon. Still one of the top ten receivers in the game, Simon passed the retired Terry Vaughn for fourth place on the all-time receiving yards list with his first reception on Thursday. Simon will chase down Darren Flutie (3rd), Allen Pitts (2nd) and finally Milt Stegall for the all-time record. Simon entered the season just over 1400 yards away from passing Stegall, so it is unlikely that he will make the record in 2011, however if he has games like Week One, where he had 115 yards, he just may do it.
The Calgary Stampeders had Canada Day fireworks. Just… they never came out. The Stamps sat and waited until the fourth quarter to get their offence going, and while they did end up taking the lead late in the game, it was too little too late. After getting down 17-6 on a two yard run by Toronto Argonauts running back Cory Boyd, the Stamps fired off a quick 10 play, 76 yard drive to get the game within three points. After an Argos two and out, the Stamps got the ball back with tremendous field position, and capitalized once again, with a 5 play, 50 yard drive and a 21-17 lead with 4:39 left in the game.
Argonauts quarterback Cleo Lemon battled back on the next drive, getting the team in field goal range, and Noel Prefontaine made it 21-20 with 2:21 to go. The ball back in the hands of Henry Burris for the Stamps, the team went two and out after Argos LB Jordan Younger stopped receiver Arjei Franklin short of a first down. An 8-yard punt return from Byron Parker, followed by 7 play, 38 yard drive by Cleo Lemon set up a chance for Prefontaine from 43 yards. The Argos veteran kicker split the uprights, and that was that for the Stamps. A shocking week one loss at the hands of the Toronto Argonauts, a team that had not won at McMahon Stadium since Canada Day 2005.
You could argue between the Eskimos big win, the Riders big loss, the Stamps stunning loss, and the Lions slow first half which the most shocking performance was in the West, but at the end of the day, just one team sits with a win on the board, and that is the Edmonton Eskimos. It’s only one week, but it’s always good to know that you’re in control, and yes, while the Eskimos will likely have that lead last only a couple of weeks, their win still showed us that in the CFL, anything can happen.
In Week two, the BC Lions have their home opener against the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night, and you can already do the math for yourself. Both teams lost in week one, and so this will be a battle between two teams trying to avoid a 0-2 start to the season. The Saskatchewan Roughriders will host the defending Champion Montreal Alouettes, in a sure test for the green and white. Like either the Stamps or Lions, they could be in danger of a 0-2 start as well. The Eskimos will close out the week hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in what should be an interesting clash. Both teams performed the opposite of how most thought they would in the opening week. The Tiger-Cats were brutal in a home loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and the Eskimos were brilliant in a road win at Saskatchewan.
Each week, I will pick out the top West Division players of the week for Offence, Defence, Canadian, and Special Teams. In Week 1, the top offensive player was Eskimos receiver Jason Barnes. Barnes scored touchdowns on his first two receptions of the game, on the way to a 5 catch, 104 yard performance and the two touchdowns. Defensively, it was Eskimos linebacker Rod Davis who had a sack on the Riders first play of the game, and had four tackles and a forced fumble to boot. Davis terrorized Riders QB Darian Durant, hitting the pivot twice, and adding two hurries. The Top Canadian for week one is a kicker, and that is Lions kicker/punter Paul McCallum. McCallum had four field goals in a loss against Montreal, and had a 44.2 yard punt average with a long of 56 yards. Staying with the Lions, kick returner Tim Brown is the special teams player of the week, with 182 kick and punt return yards, including a 97 yard touchdown.
For more from Tyler, visit his website: http://www.cfldaily.ca and follow him on Twitter @CFLDaily
The BC Lions announced today they have traded running back Jerome Messam to the Edmonton Eskimos in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2013 draft.
Messam was suspended by the Lions last week for undisclosed reasons and reports indicated it was a joint decision between management and his fellow teammates, suggesting he had become a distraction in the dressing room.
In 2010 Messam was invloved in altercation at an Ontario nightclub and plead guilty earlier this year. He received a suspended sentence and a $250 fine. Messam was also involved in a locker-room altercation that resulted in teammate Paris Jackson receiving a cracked jaw last season.
Recent rumblings have the BC Lions toying with the idea of bringing non-import receiver Kamau Peterson to training camp. The big question that has to be asked is how is the health of the 32 year old former Edmonton Eskimo, following surgery to reattach his Achilles tendon 6 months ago?
The Eskimos were obviously wary of the answer to that question, and despite paying Peterson a 20,000 bonus earlier in the off-season, they released him.
We stumbled across this video of Peterson working out 6 months after the procedure and if the evidence is any indication, the Lions might do well to indeed add Peterson to the roster in 2011. Hampered by injuries in 2010, Peterson came into his own as an Eskimo and is a dedicated player who can provide some great leadership.
Take a look and see what you think, but it looks like the surgery has been successful, at least in these controlled workouts.
Jann Shreve for BCLionsDen.ca
I title this after a corny line from an even cornier fighting movie (aptly named Fighting) to segue to a corny CFL melee between the Stampeders and Eskimos.
Now, anybody who saw the game or just the clip can see most of what happened. The news today says that the league will be investigating and is likely to release word Tuesday on any possible disciplinary action. It will take more than one pair of eyes and a couple looks of the game film to fully assess who did what and what punishment will be deemed appropriate by the league in conjunction to whatever separate punishment the team can impose (if any further action is even needed).
For starters, the one who took the pushing up a notch, going to what looked like the aid of Andre Talbot, was Tremayne Kirkland who threw a punch on Brandon Browner. However it is most interesting to me is that only one other person that I’ve talked to about this fight noticed the knee drops that Mike Labinjo was putting on Talbot before he tried to carry him by the face mask like a lunchbox. Watch the clip online, it even pauses the clip to highlight the face mask grab –after the knee drops. Go ahead. Watch it again. I’ll wait.
http://watch.tsn.ca/cfl-news-and-highlights/clip337149#clip337149
There’s no getting around the fact that several players are going to/should miss games as a result. That much can’t be changed, taken back or justified as it’s stance of the league not to condone any unsportsmanlike or objectionable conduct (in referee speak). It’s easy to say that Kirkland should get the bulk of the fines and suspensions but that would be wrong. The officiating offices have a big chance to get this right after taking increasing criticism about how pass interference is being called (or not called). The officials and league offices stand to lose a great deal of credibility if they don’t get this one right.
Based on the footage that aired, and granted I was just a TV viewer, but looked at the fight again and again, Mike Labinjo (even though he’s ordinarily a good guy who just happened to have lost his head this one time) should be dealt the biggest punishment. Talbot didn’t stand a chance against him no matter to what extent he may or may not have started it and he could have been been badly hurt. Kirkland should be equally fined for the punch but I can’t justify him getting punished more than Labinjo. Kirkland got tossed from the game, Labinjo did not. The rest of the guys involved, in the clip anyways, only appear to be pushing, I saw no deliberate kicks so I would even say (with my Commissioner cap on), that the rest of the guys involved get one to three games suspension, max. It gets the message across that fighting won’t be tolerated and at the same time won’t cost guys significant time.
So far this season, the players have been well behaved. Even reputed hot head Rob Murphy hasn’t managed go get into trouble on the field and in 2008 he tried to twist Jason Goss’ head off like a beer cap. No pressure on those conducting the investigation but recent issues in the CFL such as the Ti-Cats becoming the Quebec City Tigre-Chats and the vacant GM spot in Edmonton and their struggles on field, not to mention B.C’s trouble winning and monitoring player tweets, it’s important they get this one exactly right.
Lightning never strikes twice? Tell that to the BC Lions who for the second straight game saw a win slip away in the fourth quarter against a team that they really could have buried in the CFL West. Instead, they now share a 1-4 record with the Edmonton Eskimos, and with the next four games on their schedules against CFL powers, have dug themselves a pretty deep hole.
This game was as sloppy as the rain-soaked turf at Commonwealth Stadium as the Edmonton Eskimos eked out a 28-25 win over the BC Lions as the Lions were again victimized late.
Late turnovers were the killer again, with Travis Lulay picked off by the Esk’s Chris Thompson on another ill-advised throw just before the three-minute warning completing a momentum shift. On the Lions’ ensuing possession, Lulay lost the ball on a questionable fumble, the ball being ruled to have come out of his hand before his arm started forward in a throwing motion. This thwarted a burgeoning drive which had seen the Lions go 55 yards in five plays and position themselves at least well enough for Paul McCallum to attempt a game tying field goal in the final minute.
As with the other losses, there were bright spots in this, with Yonas Davis ripping off an 88-yard kickoff return keyed by a Jason Arakgi block after the Lions forced Edmonton to concede a safety, lifting the Lions to a 25-21 edge with under eight minutes to play. Davis Sanchez had a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown very similar to the one BC gave up late against the Argos last week.
Sanchez was by far the defensive player of the game for the Lions, with the touchdown off of the interception and a game-high nine tackles. The running game was improved again, racking up 163 yards on nineteen carries, with Jamal Robertson accounting for 84 of those on eight carries, among them a sixty-nine yard gallop which keyed a ninety-nine yard, five play drive culminating in Lulay finding pay dirt from nine yards away just in time for an electrical storm to knock out power in the stadium and lead to an early halftime observance/weather delay lasting forty minutes, leaving the Lions with a 10-6 advantage.
Unfortunately for the Lions, the power came back on, and both the lights and the Eskimos proved resurgent. After emerging from the locker room, the balance of the first half ended harmlessly, with Noel Prefontaine attempting and missing a 49-yard field goal.
The power was back on for Edmonton, though. Their first possession of the third quarter culminated in a Prefontaine FG from thirty-five yards. Lulay’s first of two interceptions to Thompson gave the Eskimos the ball back at the BC 42, and three plays later Ricky Ray found Kelly Campbell in the end zone for the major to put the Lions down 16-10 at the nine minute mark of the third, and the tide had again turned against the visitors.
The Lions would sputter deep in their own end of the field and concede two more points after a two-and-out from their own seven. Edmonton was unable to sustain offence either, setting the stage for Sanchez’ pick-six to open the final frame. The two-point conversion attempt would fail, with Paris Jackson catching Lulay’s toss but being ruled down after falling at the two.
Prefontaine would tally another three, making it 21-16 early in the fourth, but it was clear that Edmonton was finding their wheels at the same time the Lions were struggling mightily to keep theirs from all coming off.
Paul McCallum saw his consecutive field goal streak snapped, missing wide right from forty-five yards at 9:50 of the fourth, and it was just one more ominous sign that things weren’t going to end on a positive note for the Lions.
The Lions now face the monumental task of digging themselves out of this deep hole. Their next four games are against CFL powerhouses and if they continue to falter, this season could be over by the midway point.
Quick Hits:
The win by the Eskimos was their 100th all-time versus the Lions with 53 of them at Commonwealth Stadium.
Quotable:
“You’re in field goal range. If it’s not there, you’ve got to be smarter. You’ve got to take a quick look and throw it. If you don’t…” – Wally Buono
“The reality of our offence is, we make too many mistakes and our quarterback is too inconsistent.” – Wally Buono
