Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls

Of course, it wouldn’t be Toronto if something wasn’t quite right, and this week Rogers moved to buy out Bell Canada’s share in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. MLSE is in the business of increasing franchise valuations and these guys own not just the Argos, but the Raptors, Toronto Football Club, Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies. Rogers owns the Toronto Blue Jays.

There are some implications behind this move which include where the Argonauts may play if Rogers/MLSE decides to not allow them to play and spoil their World Cup dates in 2026 at BMO Field. The expansion of CFL viewing to CTV, owned by Bell and which has been cutting by closures, layoffs and the like, might indicate some kind of hook for Bell if they choose to buy the Argos in 2026 when apparently the window opens.

The Argos may find themselves shut out of BMO and the Skydome (upgraded for the Jays) and could find themselves playing in the donut box in Hamilton until their playing facilities are figured out. MLSE doesn’t own BMO Field, but the City does and MLSE operates the facility for the city.

It is curious how Raptor fans seem more upset about this, but with the increase in TV contracts for basketball, maybe the specter of how Rogers tends to squeeze the nickels until they scream out might be a factor here. The Argos have been the tagalong team in the MLSE portfolio and I suspect since the CFL made the decision not to combine with the XFL, MLSE has seen its corporate strategy of increasing the value of the Argos tank and probably use it as a tax write-off.

Add to this the shaky return of Chad (Last Chance) Kelly at quarterback and it is an air of uncertainty around the team that may not mean much this year, but certainly will come into play the next two years.

While Toronto looks ready to make a move against Ottawa and Montreal, the win over BC shows BC’s all-in strategy may be shakier than a buffet table in from of Bombers GM Wide Miller. BC has some fundamental flaws in its team that may come into play if BC fails to finish first because the Lions are not a cold weather team.

Which opens the door for teams like Winnipeg and Edmonton with Edmonton probably being the one team no one wants to play right now in the playoffs. After Winnipeg lost Chris Streveler to a hit from Rider defensive lineman Miles Brown, who was thrown into Streveler by a Winnipeg offensive lineman, Winnipeg has brought in former Rider and Lion Jake Dolegala and former Argo QB Byron Scott to try to fill the third spot.

If Winnipeg loses Collaros, which is likely behind their current offensive line, then Edmonton moves to the front of the line as Grey Cup contenders and the 2011 BC Lions who wallowed in last place before catching fire provides a template for how Edmonton can be 2024 Grey Cup Champions.

Another team that might come into play in the western division race are the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who beat Ottawa 37-21 and are in line to perhaps cross over to the western conference if they get a better record than the third-place western team. The addition of Chris Jones as senior defensive consultant or however Hamilton is skirting the football operations cap, has lit a fire under the Hamilton defense and while Ottawa snuck out the door with one of their best starts since the 1970s, Ottawa has the look of a team that has opened their eyes, seen where they are in the standings, and can’t quite believe they are there, never mind belong there.

This ties in with the 19-19 tie between Montreal and Calgary, where I had thought Calgary might be due for an upset, but again, sloppy play, questionable reffing and a Command Centre that seems to be trying to write an exciting script for games resulted in the tie.

The tie with the best team in the CFL record wise might be seen as a good thing, but lets be honest, Calgary is not a very good team, but all the teams in the west can lay claim to that. Montreal seems to be going through what teams who race to the top of their divisions and then seem to take it easy and give up games they shouldn’t be and fritter their lead away (sound familiar Rider fans?).

I would not be surprised to see Montreal turn to back up quarterback Davis Alexander down the stretch because while Cody Fajardo has had injuries, he is also slipping into an inconsistent level of play that one game, maybe the eastern final, his defense will not be able to pull him out of.

In Calgary the clock seems to be ticking with Dave Dickenson who in juggling both the coach and GM position is finding that sometimes people can’t handle the two levels of responsibility (or three if you are Chris Jones in Edmonton). Calgary seems willing to settle for short passes and running plays to move the ball and hope the other team screws up more times than they do.

Which brings us to the Calgary Saskatchewan game this week. The Riders are coming off their bye week and their return to the practice field saw players like Anthony Lanier and offensive lineman Jacob Bremmer take limited part in practice this week, the Tuesday session being halted for a short time when Mace laid into the team on the field, then took them off the field to read the riot act in the locker room and bring them out for the remaining 15 minutes.

The Riders could easily go from first to worst after this weekend and the feelings of déjà vu among Rider fans have developed to PTSD proportions. A seven-game winless streak has taken the sheen off a 5-1 start, but if the Riders players and coaches can keep their mental focus, they are very much alive in the playoff race.

The Riders signed former Ottawa running back Ryquell Armstead and he has seen a lot of action in practice and was fourth or third in league rushing when he was released by Ottawa for presumably being a Duran Carter type of personality in the locker room.

The other interesting thing was when leaving the stadium on Tuesday to go back to acting at the RCMP, ran into Rider running back AJ Ouellette who has hip problems but seemed to be moving well and said he was going for an MRI. A return by Ouellette in cooler weather and with a relatively healthy hip might be an intangible the Riders need if they make the playoffs.

The Riders offensive line has done amazingly well despite losing six starters and while they don’t seem physical enough to run the ball consistently, they do pass block well but with the temperature being 8C with rain, a dependable running game is a necessity if they hope to beat Calgary because players like Sam Emilius have been battling the ball instead of catching it.

The Riders defensive secondary has been playing a lot of zone defense and that has resulted in opposing quarterbacks nibbling away by throwing to the open spot. One hopes the week off has helped the coaching staff readjust their defensive schemes to allow for more man to man, especially against Calgary to avoid Jake Maier throw the short pass and make the receivers do all the work trying to get yards afterwards.

To me, the big intangible is if the team responds to Mace’s tongue lashings and realize they are in danger of sliding right out of the playoffs and responds with a focused effort. If Armstead dresses, it should indicate the coaches are willing to do what it takes to put in players who can help them break their winless streak and position themselves for a post season run. There are only five games left for the Riders and to quote Bill Murray in Caddyshack, the fooling around is pretty much over.

In Bill I trust – Riders 21-19 over Calgary (because the Riders haven’t blown anyone out yet this year).

Hamilton takes their roadshow to Toronto and here the effect of Chris Jones on the Hamilton defense and in the mind of Chad Kelly will become apparent. Toronto has lost the season series to Hamilton with their Labor Day series sweep but the Montreal tie has put first place in the east back into play and on paper, there is no reason why Toronto cannot pass Ottawa in the standings.

Hamilton is playing desperate football and when you have a team playing at that level, but more importantly playing disciplined desperate football, that is an intangible edge which is hard to argue with. Hamilton may still be in play in the eastern playoff race, but I think a more realistic look would be to the west as the first eastern crossover team.

Toronto had an impressive win against BC, but there is a tendency for teams the week after a big win to take it easy. Maybe the impending buy out by Bell might motivate the Argos from not going to sleep, especially if they are auditioning for a new buyer, but Hamilton has an edge and I find it argue against an intangible like that.

Hamilton will win this one 27-23 in what should be an exciting atmosphere at BMO Field which should give a taste of playoff style football.

Montreal goes to Ottawa in a game between teams who have suffered some disheartening games this past weekend with Ottawa getting dumped by Hamilton 37-21 and suffering the loss of Adarius Pickett on defense for the season. All teams have the philosophy of next man up, but I find it hard to get my head around the concept the Redblacks can find someone who has the physical talent and leadership that Pickett has.

Then you have Montreal who looked like the Montreal Concordes against Calgary and escaped with a tie. Montreal may be taking their hold in the east for granted and I suspect that if Fajardo falters like he did against Calgary, Alexander will be in right away.

Montreal has suffered their own devastating injuries, like Austin Mack at receiver who was a great release valve for Fajardo. They also suffered some interesting turnovers of the type that seem to come from the belief that all they had to do in Calgary was show up and not have to practice ball security.

The Calgary game marked the second straight game Montreal has underperformed and with two teams somewhat reeling and looking to right the ship before the playoffs, here are a few things to consider.

Montreal needs its offense to perform on a consistent basis, taking advantage of the absence of Pickett. Pickett gave Ottawa so many options on defense and his absence is one less headache for the Als. Montreal also must get its focus back on ball security.

Montreal should remember last years eastern final when they took advantage of Toronto turnovers to get to the Grey Cup. Toronto was coming off a 16-2 record, same as the 1989 Edmonton Eskimos who were upset in the western final by the Riders, and if Montreal thinks they have the east sewn up, they may be in for an unpleasant surprise, especially during this season.

The loss of Pickett will hurt Ottawa on the field and off and the question is how well Ottawa can respond. The onus of leadership will fall more heavily on Dru Brown and his play at quarterback and while Ottawa has a good record, they will be feeling the heat from Toronto and Hamilton.

I am going to go with Ottawa and a 21-19 win.

Finally, we have Stony Mountain Blue Bombers going to Edmonton in a very intriguing game, one which may decide who is the team to watch in the west for the playoffs.

Stony Mountain has turned whining and public disinformation to an art form in their series against the Riders and while their protestations against Miles Brown resulted in a fine, Wide Miller’s public comments about the league and Lucky Whitehead saying he will buy beers for the guys who brawled in the stands at the Labor Day game apparently do not warrant a fine, lending credence to the Canadian Mafia label the Bombers love to nurture.

This week the Bombers are facing an Edmonton team who have something the Bombers do not – two quarterbacks capable of exploiting other teams weakness. The Edmonton defense seems to have improved but the thing to watch is the Edmonton offense against the Winnipeg defense.

Edmonton can run and pass much more effectively than the Riders and this combination will be the key to Edmonton winning this game. If Edmonton plays a ball control game, and while I haven’t seen the Edmonton forecast for Saturday, I can’t see it being different than what hits Calgary Friday night, so Edmonton is better built to keep the Bomber offense on the sideline and with AC Leonard returning to the Elk, their pass rush and run contain just got better.

Edmonton is the team no one wants to play in the playoffs, and again, I think about the 2011 BC Lions and the hole they dug themselves before climbing out and winning the Grey Cup. If Edmonton beats Winnipeg decisively, Edmonton will be in position to make a serious run in the west.

I think Larry Thompson, the new owner of the Elk would like that. So, let’s say Edmonton wins 33-19 in front of the biggest crowd in Edmonton this year.

by Greg Urbanoski

Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls

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