DuPont’s 10 Things
1. FALL FRENZY: Things are really picking up as we sit here midway through the week. College football has begun on both sides of the border, the NFL preseason is over and final cuts are being made, and the CFL is as wild as ever… wait… check that… the CFL is as wild as it always is!
That’s the conversation we’ve had on the RP show and this year is no different. Let’s get into it.
2. Montreal – I want to start with the Als. At 10-1 they are off to their best start in 20 years and looking to match the 2004 team that started 12-1. The stretch they are on, going 18-1 back to last year, is the best stretch of games in modern CFL history. Can they keep it going? No reason to think they can’t. They’ve had leads, they’ve overcome deficits, and now they have a healthy Cody Fajardo and Austin Mack is back from the NFL. This team is getting better.
3. Rourke – It looks like Nathan Rourke will start again in this week’s Touchdown Pacific in Victoria, BC. I know that the first two weeks have been less-than-impressive for the Canadian gunslinger but he did improve from the first start to the second. I think he’ll continue that trajectory this week against Ottawa. I’m not panicking yet and I can’t imagine the LIons are either.
4. GOTW (GAME OF THE WEEK) – Where do we start this week? As we get set for the best weekend on the CFL calendar there are a few candidates. Touchdown Pacific is an obvious candidate because of the pomp and circumstance around the event. Add to that the Nathan Rourke intrigue plus Ottawa being the second-best team in the CFL and you have an exciting Saturday.
Saskatchewan/Winnipeg is always a favourite on Labour Day Weekend and this year should be no different. Sask is favoured at home despite being on a slide. RP and I will make our picks on Thursday and I can’t honestly say I know who I’ll take yet.
5. NFL Cuts – We saw Mathieu Betts was waived in Detroit. My first instinct says he’ll land on a practice roster but we’ll wait and see. I know he’ll have a list of CFL teams bidding on his services should he decide to come back to Canada.
Friend of the show and former Saskatchewan Roughrider and UBC Thunderbird Dakoda Shepley was waived in Dallas but news says he’s signing on the practice roster. I don’t expect him back in the CFL anytime soon or at all.
The other NFL cut that’s interesting is CJ Bethard in Jacksonville. It’s an injury designation but we remember him battling for the back-up job a year ago with Nathan Rourke. It’s all about timing. This year, the Jags have Mac Jones as a backup to Trevor Lawrence.
6. US Open – This will be short and sweet. Tuesday was a big day for Canada in New York as all five Canadians were in round 1 action. Sadly, four of them lost and just one remains. Canada’s hope is now squarely on the shoulders of young Gabriel Diallo. I’ll play Thursday in the second round.
7. USports – I had the chance to take in an OUA double-header on Saturday. Had a great visit with CBC’s Mark Lee in Guelph for the early game. He’s a Carleton alumni and they were on the road. Guelph won but we heard all about the Paris Olympics and complemented Mark on an incredible job. Apparently, he’s a big fan of myself and Justin Dunk on Canada West football broadcasts. Nice!
I was excited for the night game to see Laurier QB Taylor Elgersma take on McMaster. I was on the call for this one and left impressed by both the QB and by Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton. It’s a perfect USports venue. As for Elgersma, he’s being touted as the next Canadian QB who could turn pro. He’s getting some attention both north AND south of the border. He’s 6’6″, 220lbs so he has the frame and raw skills to make it happen.
8. Canada West – The conference will open play this week and I’ll make my season television debut a week from Friday when the Saskatchewan Huskies and Regina Rams meet in the Queen City. Looking around the conference as I do my prep tells me it’s going to be another great year. Top-to-bottom I think this conference is as tight as it’s ever been. I’ll still say UBC should be considered the front-runners, and they are. They return pretty much EVERYONE… minus the two studs on the offensive line that are trying to make it in the NFL. Should be a fun year!
9. The Rouge – Tomorrow will mark one week since the Toronto Argonauts beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders on a last-second rough after a missed FG sailed into the end zone bleachers. I’ve been on record long ago saying this needs to be amended. Simple put, any ball that does not touch the field of play or a player in it should be considered a dead ball. No point. A missed FG that ends up in play and not returned out of the endzone would be an earned single point. I actually think this rule will be amended in the offseason. If I was betting on it that’s what I think will happen.
10. Randoms – Remember Chinese Taipei no-hitting Canada to start the Little League World Series? Well, on Sunday, Florida won its first ever LLWS as Chinese Taipei committed a throwing error on what looked like a routine throw to first on the final at bat. The kids were crushed… The Jays are playing some good baseball lately and it’s fun to watch. It’s just enough to get us to all be excited about what they can do next year and we’ll all buy tickets again…. Hard Knocks continues to be great. Watched the latest episode Tuesday night while writing this article. Sadly, the Canadian Eagle was cut by the Bears on Tuesday…
Happy Labour Day weekend!
9. The Rouge.
Yoi need to read what Rob Vanstone has posted on the Rider webpage about the rouge before you start tinkering with rules that will just NFLize the CFL,
Keep the rouge but make the rule that the ball has to land in the endzone and either be fielded or bounce out to score the point. No point if it leaves the field, untouched on the fly.