OUT OF THE TUNNEL: BOMBER SUPREMACY & RIDER NEEDS

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

A very weird rollercoaster 2021 season has ended with an incredibly weird yet wildly entertaining mid-December Grey Cup game that saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers win back-to-back championships for the first time in 6 decades. 

Let’s all be honest with each other, that first half was atrocious. Maybe it was the wind, nerves, bad execution or bad play calling, or some combination of them all but it was just a bad half of football. For as bad as it was, the second half was the complete polar opposite. Thrilling, well played, great coaching and entertaining.

It was looking like Hamilton was going to win their first Grey Cup since 1999. Late in the third quarter Hamilton head coach Orlondo Steinhauer called a timeout to force Winnipeg to punt into the wind deep in their own territory. They gave up the safety and had to kick into the wind.

From there, Hamilton executed two great run plays to drive the ball into Blue Bomber territory. But in one of the many turning points, Winnipeg stiffened and stopped Hamilton on second and goal to force a field goal and 22-10 lead early in the fourth.

The Blue Bomber offence finally woke up and scored a touchdown and a pair of field goals to go along with two Sergio Castillo kickoff singles for the 25-22 lead.

The second big turning point was when Tim White for some unbeknownst reason gave up the single to give Winnipeg the three-point lead; which is the biggest rouge of the game.

This is because Jeremiah Masoli (who replaced an injured Dane Evans early in the fourth quarter) was able to drive the ball down the field and into the wind to set up the game tying field goal. It would have been the game winner if not for that single.

So, to overtime it went and the Ticats finally broke. Winnipeg easily scored on their first possession and picked up the two-point convert. The game ended with an incredible interception by Kyrie Wilson with a lot of help from a scoop assist from Winston Rose.

The majority of the 26,324 fans were crushed. They had a chance to see their hometown Tabbies win the Grey Cup but after all of the fighting it ended with a thud.

Zach Collaros was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player but we here at Out of the Tunnel would have voted for Masoli given how well he played replacing Evans, getting Hamilton the lead and then the game-tying drive in the fourth.

We got what we hoped for when we wrote that the CFL needed a great playoff to wash the gross taste the regular season left in our mouth. It did. The four playoff games leading up to the Grey Cup were great and in the end, the 108^th Grey Cup will be one we will remember for a while

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are the true kings of the CFL, on the field and off. They have taken the mantle of the league’s top team and ran with it. The Bombers are the first back-to-back champs since Montreal did it in 2009-10 and they did it in style in 2021.

After the holiday season is over we can shift our attention to a very short and very important off-season. But let’s get an early start with the team where the most hand wringing will be, the 2022 Grey Cup host Saskatchewan Roughriders.

For the third season in a row, their playoff drive ended with a loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In all three losses the Bombers managed to expose so many of the Rider weaknesses. These weaknesses need to be addressed if they want to be in the Grey Cup next November at Mosaic Stadium.

We will now spend almost 1,000 words talking about current players that need to step up and changes that need to be made but all of it is up in the air.

First to some of the needs of the Green and White: 

Quarterback is set. Cody Fajardo took a step back from his incredible 2019 season where he was the top quarterback in the CFL. There are a lot of excuses to be made for the lack of success: short pre-season, bad offensive line, new offensive coordinator and injuries.

Fajardo expressed that this was the most trying season he has ever participated in. The biggest lesson he may have learned is something that every quarterback ahead of him has gone through. It doesn’t matter if you are Ron Lancaster, Kent Austin, Darian Durant or Cody Fajardo, to be the quarterback of the Saskatchewan Roughriders your biggest asset is to have thick skin.

Rider fans are passionate and will express their incredible displeasure at the first sign of weakness. If Fajardo learns how to cope and rebound on the field, he may go down as one of the favourite players in franchise history.

As for the backups, the potential battle between Mason Fine and Isaac Harker next spring will be something to watch.

The receiving core has the potential to be the best in the CFL. A return of the duo of Shaq Evans and Duke Williams will make them the best one-two punch in the CFL and toss in all of the great Canadian receivers, this is a group the Riders just need to bring back en masse.

One thing that would be a great addition is a game breaking player that is usually of a smaller build like a Lucky Whitehead or Brandon Banks. This would help make the horizontal game not only better by getting the ball into the hands of a speedster but also in the return game.

The same can be said about the group of running backs. The trio of William Powell, Jamal Morrow and Kienan LaFrance are solid and would be a nice piece back for this team.

Now to the biggest disappointment this season, the offensive line. The loss of Dakoda Shepley was expected but with future Hall of Famer Brendon LaBatte sitting out that was a tremendous loss. However, this could also be a blessing in disguise.

To return after two seasons would be an incredible surprise for the soon-to-be 36-year-old so finding his replacement came a bit earlier and expedited a complete rebuild of the line.

The need is for two solid American tackles. Then leave the middle for a pair of young guards and Dan Clark and this would be a solid step for this unit.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage the defensive line had a lot of highs and lows. The highs were the play of defensive ends A.C. Leonard and Jonathan Woodard and the play of the interior was solid at times. But without Garrett Marino in the playoffs, the one-two punch of him and Micah Johnson the defensive line got pushed around by both the Stampeders and Blue Bombers offensive lines.

Finding another stout American run-stopper would be an upgrade.

The linebackers were one of the surprises of the defence, especially the play of Canadian Micah Teitz. The third year product of the Calgary Dinos had a standout season with the Riders with 64 tackles and three sacks. With a standout Canadian at linebacker the only real need is a player that is great in coverage but also a banger that plays on the edge.

This can also be solved in the secondary.

The defensive backs are the best cover group in the CFL. There is little debate about this. One thing that is missing is a little bit of grit. Find a banger at half and this secondary would be complete.

General manager, Jeremy O’Day has done a great job building the Canadian depth. This means the hard part is done. Now it’s time to find some dynamic Americans that can put this team over the edge and into the Grey Cup.

Like we said in the beginning, this is all best-case scenarios. Like the rest of the CFL, almost 80-per-cent of the starting roster will be potential free agents in February. Toss in another round of collective bargaining for a new deal between the players and the CFL, and it will be a very difficult off-season for O’Day and the rest of his staff. Not to mention the CFL as a whole.

Canadian Player to Watch in the NCAA

Sidy Sow (Jr.)
Guard
Eastern Michigan
6’5”, 334lbs.
Bromont, Quebec
High School – J-H Leclerc-Champlain Lennoxville 

CFL teams have been drooling over offensive lineman Sidy Sow since he started 11 games at tackle for Eastern Michigan in 2019. Since that season the 335-pound product of Quebec has blossomed into one of the top linemen in the MAC.

His performance this season for the 7-5 Eagles garnered Sow first team all-MAC honours and a berth into the LendingTree Bowl on December 18.

Sow is currently a super-junior with the 2020 season not counting against his eligibility and red-shirting as a freshman in 2017. Because he has played four collegiate seasons he is eligible for the 2022 CFL draft but would still have to officially announce his entry into the NFL draft.

Either way, Sow will be a solid addition to any CFL offensive line and has NFL potential.

(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF/PHOTO: CFL)