provocative NFL and CFL
analysis
CFL POWER RANKINGS
* WEEK 3 *
1) B.C.
Lions (1) They remain the
only undefeated team in the league, and thus stay atop the rankings for the
third straight week. Aaron
Lockett sparked the Lions attack with his brilliant returns, and DE Brent
Johnson was a terror all night.
But beneath the surface, some disquieting signs are emerging: Dave
Dickenson is running too much and is routinely taking a beating; Antonio
Warren is putting the ball on the ground; and their offensive tackles are
turnstiles. (Next: vs. Toronto)
2) Toronto Argonauts (3) Saskatchewan was
grinding them into the dust Saturday night, until a concatenation of Rider
miscues, mixed with some magic from Damon Allen, left the Boatmen on top. Their
defence gave up far too many completions on underneath routs, to the point
where Rich Stubler looked like he was going to be sick. The Argos will have to get something
out of their comatose rushing attack if they want to avenge their Week 1 loss
to the Lions. (Next: at B.C.)
3) Montreal Alouettes (5) Diminutive Ezra
Landry won the game single-handedly for the Alouettes, although a bit of a
homer decision by the timekeeper kept the game from going into OT and set-up
Damon Duval for the last second field goal. It was an uninspired performance from Calvillo and the
offence, but the defence shut down the Edmonton wideouts for the better part
of the contest and harassed Rickey Ray into inaccuracy all second half. (Next:
Bye)
4) Edmonton Eskimos (2) It started so well
for the Eskimos against Montreal, but undisciplined kick coverage cost them
dearly. As the game wore on,
their offensive line failed to provide Rickey Ray with the same level of
protection that he enjoyed on the opening drives. And their active front four, which had torn things up in
the first two weeks, was more or less contained by the Als O-line. On the bright side, elusive tailback
Ronald McClendon looks like a keeper.
(Next: vs. Winnipeg)
5) Saskatchewan Roughriders (4) The
Riders can take solace in the fact that they dominated the defending champs
for 57 minutes with their time-consuming, dink-and-dunk attack. They just faltered and their veterans
make costly mistakes down the stretch, which shows that they are not an elite
team, yet. Still, this is a very
solid outfit, but mounting injuries might cost them a game or two in the
upcoming weeks. (Next: vs. Hamilton)
6) Ottawa Renegades (6) The Renegades were
very much in it against B.C. The
defensive line, paced by Collier’s superlative 5-sack night, had Dickenson on
the run all nights and bottled up the Lions’ ground attack. Why did they lose? Kick coverage and pass protection. Lockett’s run-back changed the
momentum of the game. And this
is a team with matadors for offensive tackles. Kerry Joseph has the potential to be an elite,
multi-dimensional quarterback, but he’s got to have more time than that with
which the Gades’ offensive line routinely provides him. (Next: vs. Calgary)
7) Calgary Stampeders (7) The Stamps put
forward a sluggish performance against the Bombers, failing to generate an
offensive touchdown. They were
leaning heavily on their kicker Sandro DeAngelis, and on their hard-nosed defense,
led by linebacker Brian Clark.
The weapons are certainly there, but Henry Burris just looks badly out
of sync. If the offense can hit
its stride, the Stamps can make some noise in the West. (Next: at Ottawa)
8) Hamilton Ti-Cats (8) It was a very quiet bye
week in Steeltown and the Ti-Cats’ much-discussed interest in unemployed
pivot Khari Jones did not translate into a signature, which means that the
roiling inconsistency at the quarterback position will carry forward to this
weekend’s contest. The news is
not all bad, however, as top wideout D.J. Flick looks like a solid bet to
return to action. (Next: at Saskatchewan)
9) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9) Here they are,
camped out in the basement again.
The good news is that there’s nowhere to go but up. The bad news? They’re facing an Edmonton team that
is smarting badly after a controversial, last-second loss to the Alouettes. The fact that they utilized Charles Roberts
to a greater extent against Calgary bodes well for the future, but without a
more polished performance from Tee Martin, they will struggle to win games in
the competitive West. (Next: at Edmonton)
