SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (2-1) AT WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (3-0)
DATE & TIME: Thursday, July 10th, 8:30 p.m (et)
GAME NOTES: The Roughriders are bemoaning the one that got away. Last Saturday, they lost a 32-31 heartbreaker to the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes in front of their home-town Taylor Field crowd.
The Riders led 7-0 after 15 minutes, 20-4 at the half, and 30-18 at the three-quarters pole, then saw the Als stage a furious comeback, outscoring the Riders 14-1 in the final quarter. Yet, the game came down to one play at the end. Paul McCallum had the chance to win the game for Saskatchewan. Trailing 32-30, he missed a 35-yard field goal on the last play of the game that went for a single, and that was it.
Quarterback Nealon Greene ran for one touchdown and threw two TD passes to Travis Moore, who is becoming the go-to receiver that he was in Calgary. On the night, Greene completed 12-of-21 passes for 181 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a right shoulder injury. Also injured were running back Sedrick Shaw, who injured the MCL in his right knee on the game?s opening kickoff, DB Darnell Edwards and safety Jason Mallett. RB/SB Corey Holmes, who has missed the last two games with turf toe, is still doubtful. Getting the start in at running back is Robert Sanford, a Western Michigan product who spent most of the 2002 season on the practice roster of the Chicago Bears.
Moore had six catches for 120 yards in the game and the top ground gainer was Simon Baffoe, who replaced Shaw. Baffoe picked up 48 yards on 9 carries.
The Blue Bombers head into this one with nine days of rest after their last game, a hard-fought 14-12 Canada Day holiday win over Edmonton on a very hot Winnipeg afternoon.
The 86-degree heat and strong 30 mph winds combined to keep both teams' offensive production lower than they?d have liked. The Blue Bombers, trailing 12-6 in the fourth, got a 19 yard TD pass from Khari Jones to Milt Stegall -- the only TD of the game -- for the winning points. By his standards, Jones didn't have a great game, completing just 15 passes on 30 attempts for 208 yards. However, when the wind is blowing on the prairies, a ground game is essential, and Winnipeg?s Charles Roberts delivered. Roberts got the bulk of the work, with huge fullback Mike Sellers out because of an injury. Roberts carried 18 times for 95 yards, many of them in key situations.
Defensively, Winnipeg came up big when they had to, stopping Edmonton deep in their territory on a first quarter third-and-short gamble, and in the second with an end-zone interception.
The numbers: in the last ten regular season games, Winnipeg has won 9, including both games last year. In perhaps a more telling statistic, Saskatchewan hasn't won in Winnipeg since 1994.
Keys to the game: comes down to one question. Saskatchewan prides itself on its running attack -- leading the league last season -- and so far this year, they again are tops, averaging 149 yards per game. The Blue Bombers pride themselves on stopping the run, third-best in the CFL so far with just 81 yards allowed. If the Riders can?t get their running attack going, especially with Greene still nursing a sore throwing shoulder, it plays into Winnipeg?s hands. And, I shudder to see what their pressure defense will do to a QB who can?t escape the rush. Most of Winnipeg?s injured players will be back, while Saskatchewan may be without their starting QB, running back, kick returner, a cornerback (Omar Morgan) and a safety. The Riders are hurting both mentally and physically after the loss to Montreal, and the pain will continue after this one.
Sports Network predicted outcome: Winnipeg 31, Saskatchewan 16
CALGARY STAMPEDERS (1-2) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (0-3)
DATE & TIME: Friday, July 11th, 8 p.m. (et)
GAME NOTES: The Stampeders got the monkey off their back, proved a point, and celebrated Canada Day last Tuesday when they played the Ottawa Renegades at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.
The Stamps beat Ottawa 32-12 for their first win of the year. The starting QB in the game was Kevin Feterik, the son of the owner Mike Feterik. The BYU grad was in a tough situation for the last two seasons, as he constantly read and heard that he is only on the roster because of bloodlines. However, many people forget that Feterik was already a Stampeder before his father took over the team. And, Feterik left the Cougars as their fifth all-time career passing yardage leader.
In the win over Ottawa, Feterik not only completed 12 of 24 passes for 229 yards, with no TD?s and one interception, he also scored a TD on a 12 yard flea-flicker pass from fullback Scott Deibert in the fourth quarter. Feterik also ran 10 times for 54 yards, and showed his toughness, absorbing several huge hits and three sacks from the Renegade defenders.
It wasn?t all good news for Calgary, though. Running back Lawrence Phillips, who scored a TD on a beautiful 28-yard run, broke his left hand just before halftime and is expected to be out anywhere between 6-12 weeks. Until that point, Phillips had six carries for 65 yards, his best outing since becoming a Stampeder. His spot will be taken by former University of Oregon grad Saladin McCullough, who played for head coach Jim Barker with the XFL?s LA Extreme. And, one new addition to the roster is another QB. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer backup Scott Milanovich, who also played for Barker with the Extreme, will be the third-string pivot, for now. Milanovich backed up Tommy Maddox in LA. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Milanovich spent the past season as quarterback coach with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe. At the University of Maryland, he broke Boomer Esiason?s completions record.
Defensively, Calgary held Ottawa to just 12 first downs, forced three turnovers and had three sacks, two by DT Joe Fleming, who, after a year off, is having a great year so far. Heading into this week?s action, Fleming leads the CFL with five sacks.
As far as the Tiger-Cats go, it was case of better, but not good enough. They lost 37-20 to Edmonton in front of a sparse crowd at Ivor Wynne Stadium last week. Once again, incumbent quarterback Danny McManus did not dress due to a knee sprain suffered in Hamilton?s second pre-game. Pete Gonzalez, the University of Pittsburgh product, got the start and fared a little better. He completed just 5 of 15 passes for 71 yards, but at least ran the ball when he had to, four times for 16 yards and one touchdown. In the second half, after he suffered a rib injury, he was replaced by Reggie Slack, who was good on 8 of 16 passes for 60 yards, with one major and one interception. Slack, who went through a contract dispute with Toronto before joining Hamilton after McManus went down, stunned Tiger-Cat head coach Ron Lancaster one day after the game, announcing that he was retiring.
Also hurt in the loss to Edmonton was kicker Paul Osbaldiston, who re-injured the quad muscle in his kicking leg. That's the same leg he hurt last year. It?s not known how many games he?ll miss. And, it's not known yet who will take his place.
The offensive numbers weren?t too impressive in the loss to Edmonton -- net offence of 149 yards, including 65 yards rushing, and five sacks allowed. Roster-wise, Hamilton also lost MLB Scott Coe to a hamstring injury. He?ll miss this one, to be replaced by Marcus Spencer, who normally plays DB. Released after the game was offensive tackle Jerry Crafts. His spot will be taken by Chase Raynock, a University of Maryland product who was released by BC Lions.
The numbers: last year, both teams won at home. Over the last 10 regular- season games, each club has won five. Hamilton has won four in a row at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Keys to the game: where do we begin? Hamilton fans are facing the prospect of watching either a backup quarterback with bruised ribs or the starter playing his first game this year after getting just 28 plays in two pre-season games. Add to that a starting left tackle who was released by another team because he wasn?t getting the job done protecting the quarterback's blind side, a kicking situation that at this writing hasn?t been finalized yet, and a defensive back starting at middle linebacker. They?re going up against one of the best front fours in the league, a team that has fast kick returners and nine days' rest. The Tiger-Cats played Edmonton, who was playing its fourth game in 15 days and admitted to me afterwards that it had no gas in the tank after the first quarter, yet, were outscored 20-10 in the second half. The last time a CFL team went winless in a season was in 1949, when Hamilton went 0-12. After this one, Hamilton goes on the road to play in Edmonton, then Saskatchewan. Be afraid, Tiger-Cat fans, be very afraid.
Sports Network predicted outcome: Calgary 35, Hamilton 16
