OUT OF THE TUNNEL: A LABOUR DAY WEEKEND LIKE NO OTHER
BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF
It was a Labour Day weekend we haven’t experienced in the CFL for a long time. On one hand it was a return to the true CFL season: large crowds, rivalries, trash talk and a whole bunch of surprises dotted the weekend. On the other hand it didn’t feel like Labour Day weekends past. Some stadiums are not at full capacity as we are all still battling the pandemic, plus this was only game four or five for some teams and there is still a lot of rust to knock off with the play on the field.
It was truly an up and down weekend across the CFL.
DOWN
The Saskatchewan Roughriders offence was showing signs of sputtering in their 23-10 win over the Ottawa Redblacks in week three. No touchdown passes by Cody Fajardo (though he did run one in) on that day and that drought continued on Sunday in a 23-8 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Bomber defence stifled Fajardo and the Rider offence, forcing three interceptions, 276 yards of net offence, one red zone entry and just eight points.
The Riders haven’t thrown a touchdown pass in back-to-back games while Fajardo has thrown four touchdowns and four interceptions through the first four games of 2021. He truly misses his big play receiver in Shaq Evans but there is also a lack of bang plays so far this season. The Riders have one play of over 30 yards, that was in week three to receiver Brayden Lenius.
Next week is a new week and the Riders can bounce back in the Banjo Bowl at IG Field in Winnipeg. If they win it would mark the first time that the road teams have won in the Labour Day Classic/Banjo Bowl matchup since it began in 2004. A Bomber win would be just the third sweep of the back-to-back games since 2004.
UP
The lowly Ottawa Redblacks were the perfect cure for Montreal Alouettes quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. The young quarterback finished an efficient 17-for-25 for 288 yards and four touchdowns in the Als 51-29 thrashing of the Redblacks.
After the game, an emotional Adams Jr. looked like he had a mountain removed from his shoulders. In a postgame interview on TSN you can tell that he loves the CFL and the CFL loves him.
It’s a much better league with Adams Jr. playing well.
DOWN
Adams Jr. was able to bounce back this weekend, Dane Evans played great in Hamilton’s win over Toronto, Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros was very efficient against Saskatchewan and both the Elks’ Trevor Harris and Stampeders’ Jake Maier played well in the Alberta classic so maybe quarterback play has turned the corner.
But if you take away Adams Jr.’s nine touchdowns to two interceptions and Collaros’s seven scores to three picks, the rest of the quarterbacks in the CFL have thrown more total interceptions than touchdowns.
There are a myriad of reasons for this: offences are having a tough time getting going after a full season away from the field; great defences are dominating the way in the CFL; young quarterbacks are still adjusting to new offensive coordinators and no pre-season games to iron out the kinks are contributing factors.
Here’s hoping this turns around and we see the scoreboard light up in the coming weeks.
UP
The most hated Blue Bomber in Saskatchewan had a great game in the Labour Day Classic on Sunday. Running back Andrew Harris had his best game so far in 2021 with 95 yards on the ground (at a 5.3 yard per clip average) and 25 through the air in Winnipeg’s win at Mosaic Stadium.
As Harris goes, so does the Winnipeg offence. If he continues to play well the Bombers will be well on their way to defending their 2019 Grey Cup ring.
UP
TSN’s in-game show. Readers of Out of the Tunnel know we have been hard on the TSN broadcasts but this season continues to be solid.
They did a great job trying to make Labour Day weekend feel special and their on-field broadcasts were good across the board. This, in the face of numerous play callers and analyst combinations rotating almost at a per-game basis.
As the games themselves have been good, there are still a lot of wrinkles to iron out in their panel show.
The old saying in CFL circles is that the season doesn’t truly begin until Labour Day. With no pre-season and just a little over a quarter of the games done, this statement might be truer this season than in any other CFL season before or after this.
This Week in the Prairie Football Conference
A big weekend in the PJFL is led by the biggest rivalry in all of Canadian junior football as the two undefeated teams in Saskatchewan will battle it out at SMF Field in Saskatoon.
(All times local)
Saturday, September 11
Regina Thunder (2-0) at Saskatoon Hilltops (2-0) 7:00pm SMF Field
Sunday, September 12
Winnipeg Rifles (0-2) at Edmonton Wildcats (1-1) 11:00am Emerald Hills Park, Sherwood Park, Alta.
Calgary Colts (0-2) at Edmonton Huskies (1-1) 4:00pm Jasper Place Bowl
Canadian to Watch In The NCAA
Jonathan Sutherland (Rs-Sr)
Safety
University of Alabama
5’11”, 201 lbs.
Ottawa, Ontario
High School – Episcopal (Virginia)
The CFL scouting bureau announced their first watch list for the 2022 draft and without USports playing football in 2020 the top 10 is dominated by players from the NCAA. Eight of the top 10 players all hail from NCAA FBS teams.
We focused on one last week in Illinois safety Sydney Brown and today we give you another in Jonathan Sutherland from Penn State.
Sutherland helped the Nittany Lions knock off Big10 rival Wisconsin 16-10. In that game he had six solo tackles against a predominantly run-first Badger offence. The special teams leader of the Nittany Lions was an academic all Big10 in 2020 and earned a starting role in the secondary in 2021.
(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF/PHOTO: THE SPORTS DOCTOR)
Hey Rider fans, where is offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Stephen McAdoo when you need him? Where? I say where.
Derrick Moncrief was a Mr. Everything Chris Jones player, he’s not going to play under the current regime led by reynolds/oday/dickenson. Mr Moncrief signs on with a team that has a highly legitimate chance of winning the Grey Cup