Thursday, July 1, 2010
End of Riders versus Alouettes
Another extra man penalty in overtime to extend the game? At least the Riders ended up winning, although I would have laughed pretty hard if they lost.
End of Regulation, Riders versus Alouettes
An awesome game so far. I have to admit that I thought the Riders were done at several points in the second half. Nice to see former Cat Prechae Rodriguez get a TD. The Riders offence is looking impressive too. Montreal is still Montreal, but I'm not sure they're the 15 and 3 team from last year.
Alouettes, Riders Half Time
Well Calvillo throws an interception but ends up with three TDs in the half. So apparently no rust on him. And he runs for a first down. Saskatchewan's defence started out decently but tailed off as the half went on. Not sure if Montreal is that good or the Riders that bad.
Ticats Season Opener Depth Chart
The depth chart for tomorrow is up already. Apparently I should have paid more attention to training camp, since I was surprised by a few things.
The offensive line is pretty similar, apart from Simeon Rottier at right tackle, with new pickup Ramsay as his backup. Gauthier is the left tackle, Dyakowski at left tackle, Hage at center and Hudson at right guard. Some guy named Dewit is backing up at center, with Morencie backing up Hudson. A veritable festival of non-imports, with nary an import to be seen. With Jimeniz on the nine game injury list, it will probably stay that way. Hopefully Rottier can hold up his side.
For the receivers, not much difference from the end of last year. James and non-import Bauman are the receivers with the slotbacks being McDaniel and non-import Stala. Bruce again is listed as backing up Bauman, like they did last year, which makes no sense, but he'll be out there all the time. Cobb is the running back, with two year man Darcy Brown, out of St. Mary's is actually listed as the starter. I predict a shitload of five receiver sets with Cobb in the backfield. Glenn starts. That's eight Canadian starters on offense. Crazy and good.
On defence, Long and Hickman start as the ends, with Bolden in the middle and non-import Kirk listed as also starting in the middle. McIntyre is listed as a backup, but I assume he'll be in a lot for Kirk.
Linebackers, Knowlton, Floyd and Johnson. Easy.
In the secondary, Bradley and Tisdale are the corners. Dennis and Shivers are the defensive backs, with non-import Beveridge starting over Barker at safety (a bit of a surprise). That's potentially ten Canadian starters, although Kirk and Bauman strike me as not being true starters, no matter what the chart says.
Deangelis kicks and Palardy punts. Hopefully Palardy can do the job.
For Winnipeg, they apparently don't have it listed yet. I'll check and go over it tomorrow if they deign to list it.
The offensive line is pretty similar, apart from Simeon Rottier at right tackle, with new pickup Ramsay as his backup. Gauthier is the left tackle, Dyakowski at left tackle, Hage at center and Hudson at right guard. Some guy named Dewit is backing up at center, with Morencie backing up Hudson. A veritable festival of non-imports, with nary an import to be seen. With Jimeniz on the nine game injury list, it will probably stay that way. Hopefully Rottier can hold up his side.
For the receivers, not much difference from the end of last year. James and non-import Bauman are the receivers with the slotbacks being McDaniel and non-import Stala. Bruce again is listed as backing up Bauman, like they did last year, which makes no sense, but he'll be out there all the time. Cobb is the running back, with two year man Darcy Brown, out of St. Mary's is actually listed as the starter. I predict a shitload of five receiver sets with Cobb in the backfield. Glenn starts. That's eight Canadian starters on offense. Crazy and good.
On defence, Long and Hickman start as the ends, with Bolden in the middle and non-import Kirk listed as also starting in the middle. McIntyre is listed as a backup, but I assume he'll be in a lot for Kirk.
Linebackers, Knowlton, Floyd and Johnson. Easy.
In the secondary, Bradley and Tisdale are the corners. Dennis and Shivers are the defensive backs, with non-import Beveridge starting over Barker at safety (a bit of a surprise). That's potentially ten Canadian starters, although Kirk and Bauman strike me as not being true starters, no matter what the chart says.
Deangelis kicks and Palardy punts. Hopefully Palardy can do the job.
For Winnipeg, they apparently don't have it listed yet. I'll check and go over it tomorrow if they deign to list it.
CFL Preseason Grey Cup Odds
Looking at Bodog, the current Grey Cup odds are:
BC 6/1
Calgary 5/1
Edmonton 7/1
Hamilton 10/1
Montreal 7/4
Saskatchewan 10/3
Toronto 25/1
Winnipeg 22/1
Well the Argos being last is not much of a surprise. The Ticats are listed at sixth, which seems a bit harsh since they are less than even, but probably reflects the overwhelming odds the Alouettes have. The Riders being second is a bit surprising, but some team has to be. Can't really argue with them at this early stage.
BC 6/1
Calgary 5/1
Edmonton 7/1
Hamilton 10/1
Montreal 7/4
Saskatchewan 10/3
Toronto 25/1
Winnipeg 22/1
Well the Argos being last is not much of a surprise. The Ticats are listed at sixth, which seems a bit harsh since they are less than even, but probably reflects the overwhelming odds the Alouettes have. The Riders being second is a bit surprising, but some team has to be. Can't really argue with them at this early stage.
CFL Predictions, Week 1, Part A
Montreal at Saskatchewan,
Last I checked the Als are favoured by three. A rematch of last year's Grey Cup, one would assume the Riders will keep a close eye on the number of players on the field. Calvillo should be relatively fresh coming off the off-season, however the Rider front four is decimated losing John Chick and Stevie Baggs to the NFL. Can the Riders find adequate replacements. I would bet no, although Hamilton as an example last year did OK in that department, in terms of finding new guys who would perform. I still like the Riders' Canadian receivers, and Weston Dressler returning makes them more potent. Picking up Prechae Rodriguez adds some depth, although how much playing time he gets early is a question. Montreal seems to be mostly the same, with the most important loss being Bryan Chiu, their former center to retirement. Until I see otherwise, I'm picking Montreal, even on the road.
Montreal 29, Saskatchewan 19
Toronto at Calgary,
Calgary is favoured by 13 at home, which could well be charitable. With the Argos starting Cleo Lemon (certainly not a fearsome football moniker) at quarterback versus the veteran Henry Burris, things could get smelly for the double blue in a hurry. The Argos do have Chad Lucas and Jermaine Copeland at receiver, so if they actually had a quarterback, they might be able to do something. The Argos sucked at offensive line last year too. Maybe former Ticat Gagne-Marcoux will help, but that's asking a lot of a guy who couldn't beat out an aging George Hudson at guard. Calgary has Romby Bryant and Nik Lewis at receiver, although their offensive line has gone from good to suckitude over one short off-season. There could be some sacks in this game although I don't have a lot of confidence in either defence. Calgary has taken a step down this year, but Toronto is in shambles.
Calgary 24, Toronto 9
Last I checked the Als are favoured by three. A rematch of last year's Grey Cup, one would assume the Riders will keep a close eye on the number of players on the field. Calvillo should be relatively fresh coming off the off-season, however the Rider front four is decimated losing John Chick and Stevie Baggs to the NFL. Can the Riders find adequate replacements. I would bet no, although Hamilton as an example last year did OK in that department, in terms of finding new guys who would perform. I still like the Riders' Canadian receivers, and Weston Dressler returning makes them more potent. Picking up Prechae Rodriguez adds some depth, although how much playing time he gets early is a question. Montreal seems to be mostly the same, with the most important loss being Bryan Chiu, their former center to retirement. Until I see otherwise, I'm picking Montreal, even on the road.
Montreal 29, Saskatchewan 19
Toronto at Calgary,
Calgary is favoured by 13 at home, which could well be charitable. With the Argos starting Cleo Lemon (certainly not a fearsome football moniker) at quarterback versus the veteran Henry Burris, things could get smelly for the double blue in a hurry. The Argos do have Chad Lucas and Jermaine Copeland at receiver, so if they actually had a quarterback, they might be able to do something. The Argos sucked at offensive line last year too. Maybe former Ticat Gagne-Marcoux will help, but that's asking a lot of a guy who couldn't beat out an aging George Hudson at guard. Calgary has Romby Bryant and Nik Lewis at receiver, although their offensive line has gone from good to suckitude over one short off-season. There could be some sacks in this game although I don't have a lot of confidence in either defence. Calgary has taken a step down this year, but Toronto is in shambles.
Calgary 24, Toronto 9
CFL on NFL Network
The NFL network is going to broadcast 14 CFL games this season (starting with the season opener tonight), partially solving the problems the league has been having with getting games shown in the US. No games are shown in August, with most games being on Friday. The Ticats are shown five times, as are Montreal, and Calgary. Toronto gets the short end of the stick with only two games. Apparently even the NFL knows they're going to suck this year. Relations between the CFL and the NFL can't be that bad if this is happening.
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