10 WEEKDAY THINGS FOR REALTY ONE

1 – DEADLINE, SCHMEADLINE: It appeared the 2019 CFL Trade Deadline was going to pass on Wednesday with nary a deal being consummated. And then at a minute before the 3 pm MT cutoff, the Argos and Blue Bombers hooked up in a trade that landed veteran QB Zach Collaros in Winnipeg for a 3rd round pick and a further conditional pick. One measly trade.

2 – WHAT IT MEANS: Really, nothing. Fans and media are poking fun at Bomber coach Mike O’Shea for repeatedly saying they wouldn’t make a trade, and then they did. Big deal. Things change in sports all the time, particularly pro football. As for Collaros, he hasn’t thrown a pass in a game in a calendar year and couldn’t find his way onto the Argos roster even after being cleared to play last month. His head seems as vulnerable as any player I’ve ever seen. If Zach’s pressed into service with the Bombers the rest of the way, I unfortunately can’t see it lasting long. This, to me, was a nothing trade.

3 – OCTOBER 9: Some are snickering at the lack of activity at the Trade Deadline, but there generally never is. It’s a necessary evil because at some point the league needs to draw a line in the sand for trades. It’s a clerical issue. Some have suggested moving it up a month but I ask you, what would that really change? It is what it is.

4 – RIDERS STAND PAT: What a statement it is for the Saskatchewan Roughriders that they didn’t make a trade prior to Wednesday, because they simply don’t need anything. That’s how solid the roster is. There’s starting to be a debate over whether this is Chris Jones’ team or Jeremy O’Day’s. The same could be said about the 1989 Riders (Bill Baker or Al Ford) and the 2007 Riders (Roy Shivers or Eric Tillman). In the end there’s no answer to these questions and it really doesn’t matter. Plus this team hasn’t won a Grey Cup yet so the discussion is moot until they do.

5 – HELLO ESKIMOS?: What, pray tell, is going on in the City of Champions? The Eskimos were sinking like a stone even with Trevor Harris and now that their star QB is potentially done for the season, it seems they barely have a pulse. Me thought the Green & Gold would land QB James Franklin – a former Eskimo – for the stretch run but nothing materialized. If you believe in momentum, BC will win at Edmonton this Saturday and the Lions may wind up being the Story of the Year.

6 – BOATMEN: Sad to see a good football man like Jim Popp get fired in Toronto, but it happens to the best of ’em. His only failing was the inability to replace QB Ricky Ray, but that’s a big one. Especially when he had Cody Fajardo right under his nose, and let him get away. Twice. As for the future in Toronto, I could see head coach Corey Chamblin staying in that role in the new Clemons/Murphy management structure. Corey’s a great coach, smart, and has the silly Football Operations Salary Cap on his side in this situation.

7 – PINBALL: The biggest rib-tickler I read on Twitter all week was people saying Mike “Pinball” Clemons isn’t qualified to be a CFL GM. Was he qualified to go from player-to-coach in back-to-back weeks midway through the 2000 season? He did it flawlessly as the team won 6 of its last 8 games. If you actually think Pinball can’t pull this off successfully, you’ve never met him. 

8 – GAME OF THE WEEK: It’s clearly Saskatchewan at Calgary on Friday night in a battle for 1st place in the CFL West. These two franchises haven’t met this late in the season for first place since 2009 when the Riders won, and captured the pennant at 10-7-1. Imagine that! The Stamps are 58-12 at home since 2012 and 6-2 versus Saskatchewan. It says here Calgary will win Friday night, and eventually capture first place.

9 – MORE: Game Notes from CFL Headquarters tell us the Riders haven’t committed a turnover in three straight games and the last team to do that was the 2016 Toronto Argonauts. … Saskatchewan hasn’t won 9 of 10 games since 1970. … Bo Levi Mitchell is 74-17-2 as starting QB for Calgary, which makes him the winningest QB in CFL history. … Cody Fajardo’s 9-3 record as a rookie is the best in franchise history and that’s saying something when you line up greats like Ron Lancaster, Kent Austin, Darian Durant, et al.

10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: A blog reader pointed out the Regina Pats haven’t won since I wrote at their opening night win “Someone forget to tell the Pats they’re supposed to be bottom-feeders”. Well, now you know. … I’ve decided that the Blue Jays are my regular season MLB team and the NY Yankees are my playoff team. … The NBA preseason is underway. Torontonians say the Raptors’ title win didn’t satisfy them. It just amplified the pressure on the Maple Leafs to end their 52-year drought. … Meaningful hockey will return to Cranbrook, BC after the departure of the WHL’s Ice. The BCHL’s Cranbrook Bucks will begin play in 2020-21, and become the league’s 18th franchise. … The Oilers are unbeaten and showing no signs of slowing down under Tippett/Holland. Told ya. … Meanwhile Brad Tippett’s Pensinsula Panthers BC junior team is 9-1, and leading their league. … From CTV Regina’s Darrell “The Bandit” Romuld on Twitter: “Zach Collaros is now on his 3rd team this season. That’s more teams than snaps he’s taken this year!” … Kudos to the CFL for instituting the Jane Mawby Award for unsung team staff members. Might we suggest Top GM and Top Coordinator trophies too? We will be awarding them on The Rod Pedersen Show regardless.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen