Metal Sludge Gossip Board

This snuck up on me, with the NHL season ending so late this year.

Let's fire it up boys, the CFL regular season kicks off tonight, with my Als the visitors as the Blue Bombers christen their new stadium in Winnipeg!

SOOOOOOO many question marks this year:

- The Argos will surprise nobody, and have had some losses on defence, can they repeat?

- Can the Alouettes recapture their glory with a new, CFL virgin, coach, and a 40 year old QB with little depth behind him?

- Hamilton got themselves a great, new coach in Kent Austin, but playing their home games in Guelph, while their stadium is refurbished will hurt, no?

- Winnipeg has a beautiful new stadium, and will want to do the community proud, but the team looks just brutal, and that's WITH Buck Pierce healthy.

- The West is wide open - except for Edmonton. The Esks can play D, but QB is a question and their leaderships is always in chaos. The Riders strive to play in the Grey Ciup they are hosting and may very well do it, as they are much improved. Will be curious to see what George Cortez can do as OC. BC is strong, as always, and Calgary aren't slouches, but if they are going to do anything, Drew Tate needs to be healthy and step up.

REGULAR SEASON PREDICTIONS

WEST
BC
Saskatchewan
Calgary
Edmonton

EAST
Toronto
Montreal
Hamilton
Winnipeg

BOLD GREY CUP PREDICTION: Montreal vs Saskatchewan in yet another classic between the two squads

Enjoy!

everything went the way i figured this week with the exception of the bombers not getting shitkicked.

Having seen the magic Kent Austin can work with Quarterbacks, I like Hamilton to rise to the top of the East, even after losing week one. Toronto will still be in the mix, and Montreal are going to quickly see age and coaching inexperience catch up. Winnipeg are an afterthought and might not win 4 games this season.

Hamilton
Toronto
Montreal
Winnipeg

The west is hard to predict, and WOLF's analysis is pretty much spot on. any one of three teams could finish first, but I don't think Edmonton have the quarterbacking or O-line depth to keep pace.
It's not how you start, it's how you finish, and I think if Cornish can stay healthy the Stampeders might finish first, but the playoffs are another story as each of these teams have had success on the road in the WSF and WF in recent years.

Calgary
BC
Saskatchewan (much to Rider Nation's chagrin no home playoff game)
Edmonton

ESF Toronto over Montreal (Sorry WOLF)
EF Hamilton over Toronto

WSF Saskatchewan over BC (sorry KW)
WF Saskatchewan over Calgary

Grey Cup....


Hamilton over Saskatchewan
Kent Austin and Henry Burris tear the hearts out of Rider Nation in front of 50 thousand frozen fans.

Kid-Wicked wrote:everything went the way i figured this week with the exception of the bombers not getting shitkicked.

I was a little surprised Calgary handled BC so easily.

I thought the Als might have a bit of a rough go in Winnipeg. You knew the Bombers were going to be pumped to open their new field. The Bombers also got kind of lucky - the reality is they only had 11 first downs all game. AC was shaky, but he only played 3 series in pre-season and did a good job leading the Als to a 4th quarter comeback.

Als have a new coach, OC and DC, so they aren't going to round into form for a while. I do think rumors of their demise are exaggerated though. AC at QB, Richardson, Green, London, and Bruce catching the passes, and Brandon Whittaker, Jerome Messam, Noel Devine, and Chris Jennings as options for running the ball will make the offence formidable. The big questions will be can the O-line keep AC upright, and can the D catch a cold this year.

In any case, I see 6 of 8 teams able to win the Grey Cup if they get hot at the right time, and that's a GREAT thing. We'll see a lot of exciting football as usual this year.

Any old NFL washups playing in the CFL this year?

ParaDime77 wrote:Any old NFL washups playing in the CFL this year?

Montreal had Dominic Rhodes in training camp, but cut him.

WOLF wrote:

Kid-Wicked wrote:everything went the way i figured this week with the exception of the bombers not getting shitkicked.

I was a little surprised Calgary handled BC so easily.

I thought the Als might have a bit of a rough go in Winnipeg. You knew the Bombers were going to be pumped to open their new field. The Bombers also got kind of lucky - the reality is they only had 11 first downs all game. AC was shaky, but he only played 3 series in pre-season and did a good job leading the Als to a 4th quarter comeback.

Als have a new coach, OC and DC, so they aren't going to round into form for a while. I do think rumors of their demise are exaggerated though. AC at QB, Richardson, Green, London, and Bruce catching the passes, and Brandon Whittaker, Jerome Messam, Noel Devine, and Chris Jennings as options for running the ball will make the offence formidable. The big questions will be can the O-line keep AC upright, and can the D catch a cold this year.

In any case, I see 6 of 8 teams able to win the Grey Cup if they get hot at the right time, and that's a GREAT thing. We'll see a lot of exciting football as usual this year.

lions have the first and second string centers injured right off the bat. calgary was playing for the city washed out by the flood. i figured it was a no brainer.

Kid-Wicked wrote:

WOLF wrote:

Kid-Wicked wrote:everything went the way i figured this week with the exception of the bombers not getting shitkicked.

I was a little surprised Calgary handled BC so easily.

I thought the Als might have a bit of a rough go in Winnipeg. You knew the Bombers were going to be pumped to open their new field. The Bombers also got kind of lucky - the reality is they only had 11 first downs all game. AC was shaky, but he only played 3 series in pre-season and did a good job leading the Als to a 4th quarter comeback.

Als have a new coach, OC and DC, so they aren't going to round into form for a while. I do think rumors of their demise are exaggerated though. AC at QB, Richardson, Green, London, and Bruce catching the passes, and Brandon Whittaker, Jerome Messam, Noel Devine, and Chris Jennings as options for running the ball will make the offence formidable. The big questions will be can the O-line keep AC upright, and can the D catch a cold this year.

In any case, I see 6 of 8 teams able to win the Grey Cup if they get hot at the right time, and that's a GREAT thing. We'll see a lot of exciting football as usual this year.

lions have the first and second string centers injured right off the bat. calgary was playing for the city washed out by the flood. i figured it was a no brainer.

Didn't know about the injuries at Center for the Lions. Wow, that fucks up the timing of the offence. And I hadn't thought of the Stamps motivation factor.

I tell you, the West is going to be a close, three horse race this year. Might come down to who has the extra game against the Esks!

How is a CFL game live? I'm in Toronto now, might check one out.

MurrayFiend wrote:How is a CFL game live? I'm in Toronto now, might check one out.

Good game. A lot of scoring. A lot of passing (as you essentially only have 2 downs to make a first down, in 3 down football). More men in motion. No fair catch, so more exciting special teams plays on kickoffs and punts.

If you're seeing a game for the first time, you'te not going to get all the rules if you only know American football, but you will likely see an exciting game. It's relatively inexpensive too, in places like Toronto, where there are lots of other entertainment options.

Sweet. Yeah, my experience in watching football is strictly NFL and NCAA, but I am certainly up for it. Thanks for the response.

What the fuck just happened to the Als offence? In all my years of following this team, and being a season ticket holder, that is the worst performance I've ever seen. New OC or not, Cavillo, Richardson, Green, London, Bruce, and Whittaker couldn't come up with anything better than what we saw? And the O-line?!

Good gawd, the dynasty might really be over here.

I was impressed by the Riders performance and amused by the Stump Eaters mental errors tonight. Riders have to be at the top of the power rankings this week, right?

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:I was impressed by the Riders performance and amused by the Stump Eaters mental errors tonight. Riders have to be at the top of the power rankings this week, right?

Yes!

Can we borrow George Cortez? I'm seriously depressed. I didn't like this coaching hire from day 1, whereas I immediately had confidence in Marc Trestman the first time I heard him speak.

I am seriously not use to this.

Week 3
Sask over TO. Close one. Game of the week.

Calgary over MTL. Can't take Mtl till i see some improvement in the coaching.

Ham over Wpg The Cats can't be as bad as they've looked, can they?

BC over Edm

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:Week 3
Sask over TO. Close one. Game of the week.

Calgary over MTL. Can't take Mtl till i see some improvement in the coaching.

Ham over Wpg The Cats can't be as bad as they've looked, can they?

BC over Edm

agree on all counts

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:Week 3
Sask over TO. Close one. Game of the week.

Calgary over MTL. Can't take Mtl till i see some improvement in the coaching.

Ham over Wpg The Cats can't be as bad as they've looked, can they?

BC over Edm

TO over Sask - I'm impressed as hell by the Riders, but this is a tough road game and I respect the hell out of the Argos coaching staff (as most of them use to work for us).

Calgary over MTL - This won't be the debacle it was last week, but the Als are clearly going to be a work in progress. Coaches need to learn this isn't the NCAA - its a form of pro football. You need to adjust from week to week and in game. Starting to wish Doug Berry was coach, which is sad...

Ham over Winnipeg - Als made the Bombers look good!

BC over Edm - easily IMO

Week 4
Toronto over Winnipeg - closer than you might think
Calgary over Montreal - Als will eventually figure it out but not this week
BC over Edmonton - I think this will be a good one.
Saskatchewan over Hamilton - Durant will play and the Cats secondary will pay.

4-0 last week!

Cheers

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:Week 4
Toronto over Winnipeg - closer than you might think
Calgary over Montreal - Als will eventually figure it out but not this week
BC over Edmonton - I think this will be a good one.
Saskatchewan over Hamilton - Durant will play and the Cats secondary will pay.

4-0 last week!

Cheers

Winnipeg over Toronto - I think the Bombers will win one at home sooner rather than later.

Calgary over Montreal - I agree the Als offence will eventually get on track, but of concern now is two big injuries on the O-Line, most notably Scott Flory.

BC over Edmonton - no brainer IMO

Hamilton over Sask - got a funny feeling about this one. Are these Riders for real, or are they they win three in a row, lose four, win three, etc. we've seen in the past?

toronto
bc
calgayry
ham

Wow. That was quite the implosion by the ALS tonight. What the hell happened. It looked like maybe a corner had been turned, and then it looked like Calgary spotted them 24 just for sport.

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:Wow. That was quite the implosion by the ALS tonight. What the hell happened. It looked like maybe a corner had been turned, and then it looked like Calgary spotted them 24 just for sport.

It's coaching my friend. Our NCAA head coach has still not learned that pro football is a chess match, and in-game adjustments need to be made. He changed NOTHING from week 1 to week 2, between the two Winnipeg games, while the Bombers did and won on the Als home turf.

The Als scored on their opening drive last week vs the Stamps. Hufnagel and crew picked up on a couple of things, and we didn't do much afterwards. Yesterday, same thing, a great first quarter on Offense and Defense. Hufnagel does some different things, Hawkins doesn't, and look what happens. This is not the NCAA!

The team is lost on Offense. Guys running wrong routes, etc. It's pure ego on Hawkins' and Miller's part, because the Als' achilles heal last year was D and maybe special teams. Hawkins could have kept Trestman's system, added a couple of things to it, and it would have been fine. You don't IMPOSE your system on Cavillo, Whittaker, Green, Richardson, London, Bruce, etc.

The only silver lining in this whole shit show is that the East is so weak, a team (read: the Als) could finish 8-10, or worse, make the playoffs, be hot at the right time, and make it to the big game, like Toronto last year. If that squad can win it all at 9-9, so can anybody.

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm praying for Doug Berry to take over the Offense.

doe a.c. call his own plays or is it the o.c?

that was hard to watch last night.

Kid-Wicked wrote:doe a.c. call his own plays or is it the o.c?

that was hard to watch last night.

Pre-Trestman, AC called his own plays. Since then it's been Trestman/OC and now its the OC, Mike Miller. I can tell by his body language Cavillo is NOT happy. Trestman was very respectful of him and included him in the decision making process; now things are being imposed on him.

This article by CFL Hall of Fame writer Herb Zurkowsky gives you some small idea of what's going on:

http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2013/0 ... t-calgary/

We're fuckin' playing American/NCAA football here now!

that was a fucked up play. if you're running out of shotgun the guards should pull right, a.c runs the ball with messam trailing him for a pitch out if needed.
shouldn't be hard to get a yard that way.

Another good article by Herb, on the state of the Als:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/f ... story.html

Week 5

Montreal over Edmonton - Home Field Advantage
Calgary over Winnipeg
Saskatchewan over Hamilton
BC over Toronto. Game of the week. On a Tuesday of all days.

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:Week 5

Montreal over Edmonton - Home Field Advantage
Calgary over Winnipeg
Saskatchewan over Hamilton
BC over Toronto. Game of the week. On a Tuesday of all days.

Agreed on all counts, even though I just did get back from the Als game.

Would love to see the Als fire O-coordinator Mike Miller heading into the bye week. 4 trips to the red zone in the 2nd half tonight, 4 field goals, and the Als ALMOST blew the game.

WOLF wrote:

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:Week 5

Montreal over Edmonton - Home Field Advantage
Calgary over Winnipeg
Saskatchewan over Hamilton
BC over Toronto. Game of the week. On a Tuesday of all days.

Agreed on all counts, even though I just did get back from the Als game.

Would love to see the Als fire O-coordinator Mike Miller heading into the bye week. 4 trips to the red zone in the 2nd half tonight, 4 field goals, and the Als ALMOST blew the game.

As weird as it sounds, Montreal's coaching staff actually outcoached Kavis and his band of morons. That final play was hilariously inept.

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:

WOLF wrote:

Fast_Eddie_Schenker wrote:Week 5

Montreal over Edmonton - Home Field Advantage
Calgary over Winnipeg
Saskatchewan over Hamilton
BC over Toronto. Game of the week. On a Tuesday of all days.

Agreed on all counts, even though I just did get back from the Als game.

Would love to see the Als fire O-coordinator Mike Miller heading into the bye week. 4 trips to the red zone in the 2nd half tonight, 4 field goals, and the Als ALMOST blew the game.

As weird as it sounds, Montreal's coaching staff actually outcoached Kavis and his band of morons. That final play was hilariously inept.

Agree with you on that count too. Reed messed up burning a timeout on the punt to the end zone earlier in the quarter, and was totally unprepared to manage the clock and call plays on the Esks last drive. Edmonton was also incredibly undisciplined at key times.

I'll take it.