Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Masoli out, Campbell on thin ice? (CFL)

As you may have already heard, Hamilton Tiger-Cats QB Jeremiah Masoli suffered a season-ending injury against the Blue Bombers last week, tearing an ACL. The Ticats' season will likely go south from here on in, as that team is mainly built around Masoli, with little depth at the quarterback position. Head coach Orlondo Steinauer has some decisions to make at quarterback, but with mostly inexperienced players to choose from, it doesn't look good.

Campbell could be on the way out. Even though RedBlacks head coach Rick Campbell won a Grey Cup in Ottawa, he might be on his way out. It seems that this season, he is starting to be put on a short leash, and with his recent gaffe in last week's game against the Stampeders, it's no wonder. No matter how decorated a head coach is, the theme in professional football is all about 'What have you done for me lately'.

With his team tanking in the last few weeks, and no consistency on offence, someone will have to eventually take the fall. Rick Campbell has put most of this on himself this season with his own bad decision making and terrible calls. As the CFL season starts to get closer to the halfway mark, expect a change handed down from the RedBlacks' front office. Hell, hiring Kavis Reed (recently let go by the Alouettes) wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

A sinking ship. The Argos seem to get worse and worse as each game of the season comes and goes. They've been outscored, outplayed, and outgunned since the 2019 campaign began, and there looks to be no end in sight. The offence is unorganized and sloppy, the defence is Swiss cheese on a good day, and special teams are a disaster. The post-Ricky Ray era hasn't gotten off to a good start, and something needs to be done, and soon. Waiting until the off-season to make any changes will only serve to damage the team and it's fan base further.

The Argos need a spark, and fast.


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CFL Week 8 predictions! (CFL)

1) Winnipeg @ Toronto

Last week, the Blue Bombers were upset by the Tiger-Cats, getting an early reality check in the process. Expect the Blue Bombers to flat out destroy the directionless Argos in this one.

PICK: Blue Bombers

2) Hamilton @ Saskatchewan

The Ticats lost their starting QB for the season last week, as Jeremiah Masoli tore his ACL. The Roughriders are at home, and riding a two game win streak. Expect it to continue against Hamilton, as the Roughriders will keep their momentum.

PICK: Roughriders

3) Ottawa @ Montreal

All of a sudden, the Alouettes are on a roll, and the RedBlacks can't seem to get anything right. I firmly believe that the Als will pull this one out, with Rick Campbell's job being in jeopardy after this game concludes. Vernon Adams Jr. should have a field day here.

PICK: Alouettes

4) Edmonton @ Calgary

The Battle of Alberta rages on this week. Two decent teams that have been on a roll meet at McMahon Stadium. Identical records notwithstanding, I'm going to have to give the Eskimos a slight advantage, as Calgary's starting QB Mitchell is still out, while Esks QB Harris has been hot as of late. This one will go down to the wire.

PICK: Eskimos

BYE: B.C.

LAST WEEK: 3-1
SEASON: 19-8

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019

CFL Week 7 predictions! (CFL)

1) Calgary @ Ottawa

Neither of these teams have been overly consistent so far this season, with Ottawa being slightly worse. The RedBlacks are coming off a beat down at the hands of the Blue Bombers, and look to ignite their offence with something. Even though this game is in Ottawa, I see the Stamps pulling this one out.

PICK: Stampeders

2) Toronto @ Edmonton

The Eskimos are at home, and Trevor Harris might just have a big day against the Argos. Toronto still hasn't figured out it's direction as of yet, so look for the Esks to capitalize here.

PICK: Eskimos

3) Winnipeg @ Hamilton

The Blue Bombers will play a more quality opponent in the Tiger-Cats, but will still be victorious, as they are running on all cylinders right now, and look to keep crushing the opposition.

PICK: Blue Bombers

4) Saskatchewan @ B.C.

I honestly have no idea anymore what the problem in B.C. is. Nothing they do seems to work, even against weaker teams. The Roughriders should handle the Lions easily this week.

PICK: Roughriders

BYE: Montreal

LAST WEEK: 3-1
SEASON: 16-7


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Wednesday, July 17, 2019

CFL Week 6 predictions! (CFL)

1) Toronto @ Calgary

Calgary is at home. Toronto is winless. You do the math.

PICK: Stampeders

2) Ottawa @ Winnipeg

While it's true that the Blue Bombers will eventually have to lose a game or two, it doesn't happen at home this week versus the RedBlacks. Ottawa has been too inconsistent on offence, and they face a stingy Bombers defence that should eat them for lunch.

PICK: Blue Bombers

3) Edmonton @ Montreal

As much as I like Vernon Adams Jr. and what he's done in a short period of time, the Alouettes are most certainly going to come up short against the Eskimos. The Als might make a game of it, but expect the Eskimos to pull away in the second half and get the win.

4) B.C. @ Saskatchewan

This is the most interesting match up of the week, as both teams could potentially be better than their records would show. The Roughriders are still without starting QB Zach Collaros, and the Lions are still sputtering on offence, not giving QB Mike Reilly the support he needs to be effective. Also, both defences aren't that great, so this game might come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes. The Lions will put up a fight than the Argos, but will still come up short by a hair.

PICK: Roughriders

BYE: Hamilton

LAST WEEK: 3-1
SEASON: 13-6


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Sunday, July 14, 2019

Notes from the 2019 CFL season thus far. (CFL)

             Well, we're five weeks into the CFL season, and we here at TTS would like to take this opportunity to critique what has gone down so far. The following are some news and notes from the season thus far.

Toothless Lions. The off season brought a lot of hype with the Lions' acquisition of star quarterback Mike Reilly from the free agency pool. It was expected that the Lions would be instant contenders, what with their stud receiving corps and whatnot. Fast forward to now. The Lions are dead last in the West with a 1-4 record. Reilly has been inconsistent, the defence is horrible, and no one is stepping up to make the big plays. The Lions are almost as big of a mess as the Argos. Almost.

Bombers be rolling. Winnipeg is the class of the league right now, with everything firing on all cylinders. The defence has given up a CFL low of 79 points thus far, and the offence continues to put up the points and find ways to score. QB Matt Nichols is having a great year, and it seems as if the Bombers finally have found the formula needed to take them to the Grey Cup.

Stamped. The Calgary Stampeders are without their star quarterback for six weeks, and it's shown. As good as backup QB Arbuckle is, the Stampeders just aren't the same team without Bo Levi Mitchell at the helm. Their defence isn't broken at this point, but you can see the cracks. The Stamps will have an interesting time trying to keep up with the rival Eskimos in the standings this year.

Don't count out the birds. The Montreal Alouettes may only be sitting at 2-2, but I still believe (as per my predictions for the season) that they will give Hamilton a run for first place in the East and have a good chance at finishing on top. Vernon Adams is turning into a stud at QB, and the rest of the team is finding that groove needed to succeed.

Twitter war! Without going into too much detail (because it's not THAT big of deal), the Argos recently got into a Twitter war with the Blue Bombers, only to get shut down hard. Some people are crying foul because the Bombers made fun of the Argos' attendance. Sorry, but that's not offensive or mean, it's apt. Argos: If you can't take the heat, stay out of the oven!


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Wednesday, July 10, 2019

CFL Week 5 predictions! (CFL)

1) Edmonton @ B.C.

The Eskimos won the first match up against the Lions at home, and I firmly believe they will win again in Vancouver. Even though the Lions did win last week, it was only by one point against a listless Toronto team that they should have beaten by a lot more. Even with Mike Reilly at the helm, the Lions don't seem to firing on all cylinders, and may need a few more weeks to get going.

PICK: Eskimos

2) Toronto @ Winnipeg

This one's not even going to be close. The Bombers should have no trouble manhandling the Argos at home. Expect it to be a slaughter from the get go.

PICK: Blue Bombers

3) Montreal @ Ottawa

This has the potential to be the most interesting match up of the week. Montreal is coming off a surprise beat down of Hamilton, while Ottawa dropped a game at home against the Blue Bombers last week. The Alouettes will be hungry to keep putting up numbers, while the RedBlacks might just have an issue at quarterback.

PICK: Alouettes

4) Calgary @ Hamilton

I didn't give the Stampeders a chance last week, and they burned me. The Tiger-Cats have the better record and are at home, but after getting stunned by Montreal last week, they might just be the biggest posers in the CFL right now. Calgary should win a close one here.

PICK: Stampeders

BYE: Saskatchewan

LAST WEEK: 2-2
SEASON: 10-5


Agree or disagree with these picks? Leave a comment below!

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

CFL Week 4 predictions! (CFL)

1) Hamilton @ Montreal

If you thought the last game between these two was uneven, wait until this game finishes. Home field advantage for the Alouettes (such as it is right now) won't mean a thing, as the Ticats should be able to easily dispatch a listless Alouette team and run up the score again in the process.

PICK: Tiger-Cats

2) Winnipeg @ Ottawa

The class of the West versus the class of the East. Someone is going to lose this one, and it will be the RedBlacks, at home. The Winnipeg defence is just too good, allowing no touchdowns against the Eskimos last week. The same scenario will likely play out in Ottawa this week.

PICK: Blue Bombers

3) B.C. @ Toronto

Both teams are winless. The Lions have lost games they could have won, while the Argos have gotten steamrolled by everyone thus far. Mike Reilly will bounce back and have himself a much needed game against a Toronto team that looks lost at best. I'd like to say there's light at the end of the tunnel for the Argos, but it's just not true as of yet.

PICK: Lions

4) Calgary @ Saskatchewan

This game could potentially go either way, but it won't. Calgary will be missing starting QB Bo Levi Mitchell, which will affect the offence. The Roughriders are coming off a home beatdown of the Argonauts, and look to keep on rolling. The home crowd will help the Roughriders win a close one over the Stampeders this week.

PICK: Roughriders

BYE: Edmonton

LAST WEEK: 3-1
SEASON: 8-3

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Monday, July 1, 2019

Ticats up, Lions down. (CFL)

          We're almost through three whole weeks of the 2019 CFL season, and there are already some interesting story lines throughout the league. I have always been of the opinion that the first three weeks are not enough to critique a team, as there is still lots of time to mount a turnaround and right the ship. That being said, a few teams have had an alarming start, and it may translate poorly for the rest of the season, or a huge flip-flop might be in order.

1) The swing of the Hammer. The Tiger-Cats have started 3-0 this year, and many people (mostly from Hamilton, but some from around the league) have already anointed them as the team to beat, or the early Grey Cup favourite. Personally, I'm not buying it, as they haven't beaten a team with substance as of yet.

Hamilton has wins against a Saskatchewan squad that lost their franchise quarterback and have little else to step up, the Toronto Argos, who are in a rebuild and are struggling to find their identity in the post-Ricky Ray era, and a woeful Alouettes team that currently has no direction. The Tiger-Cats don't have a real test until Week 5 when they play Calgary.

2) Toothless Lions. When B.C. acquired Mike Reilly through free agency, I figured they would start the season at least 2-1, due to their already existing weapons that Reilly would help make even more fearsome. The opposite has happened, with the Lions winless through three weeks. Their defence isn't keeping them in the game, and the offence is just not putting up enough points to get the job done. Even though the season is still young, there must be some kind of urgency in B.C. right now to fix what ails them. Otherwise, it'll be another long year for the Lions.

3) The 25-yard objectionable conduct penalty is stupid. In the first game of the season, Roughriders' QB Zach Collaros was knocked out of a game by the Ticats' Simoni Lawrence. I still maintain it wasn't the most vicious hit I've seen, and it wasn't helmet to helmet. While I agree that there needs to be penalties, 25 yards on the whole team is too much. If anything, the CFL should have maintained the 15-yard penalty, but if the hit is deemed malicious, then the player responsible should be ejected immediately and suspended a game. This whole 25-yard thing is a little too much, and it takes away from the game.


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