OUT OF THE TUNNEL: WE LOVE A RAINY NIGHT

(BY RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)

History was made Friday night when the Saskatchewan Roughriders used only 42 minutes and 19 seconds to defeat the Montreal Alouettes 17-10. This being the first ever game that was ended early with the CFL’s new weather protocol.

The football gods were talking with Mother Nature and wanted this stinker put to rest (and should have also got together to do the same in the Edmonton Eskimos 16-12 win over the Ottawa Redblacks later that night!).

Neither offences were playing well. All of the scoring was done by the Rider defence with two fumble returns for touchdowns (Earl Okine and Charleston Hughes) and the Alouettes special teams taking one to the house (Shakeir Ryan) in what TSN has dubbed ‘The Year Of The Return’ (more on that later).

One could see this coming on the Alouettes side of things without quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and running back William Stanback in the lineup for the game.

It was a little more humbling, however, for the Rider offence. They had their full lineup ready for this game and had a very hard time moving the football. Cody Fajardo’s feet and arm accounted for all but 17 of the Riders total offensive yards in the football game.

With the way the game was going before it was delayed, and then ended with the weather protocol, it probably wouldn’t have changed much. It was a grimy game that would have ended with neither team breaking 20 points.

If you are Montreal, this hurts. They were just a score away from tying the game and the way things are going in the East Division they will need every game to make the playoffs. If the Alouettes miss the playoffs by just one game this will be the one they look back to as a what could have been.

For Saskatchewan, just say ‘thank you very much’. Players will take the win and make their way home from Montreal to their bye-week destinations of choice, and get ready for the beefy part of the schedule.

We understand why the weather delay protocol is in place but thinking about weather reminded us of the 1962 Grey Cup, otherwise known as the Fog Bowl.

The 50th Grey Cup between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats was played on December 1 and 2 (I wonder if the pushing the schedule up debate was hot 50 years ago?) at old Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

The Bombers had a 28-27 lead with 9:29 left in the fourth quarter as the fog rolled in from Lake Ontario. It was so bad kick returners and receivers couldn’t see the ball in the air.

Officials (led by head referee Paul Dojack) stopped the game and the rest was played the next afternoon. The score held at 28-27 for the Bombers.

The new CFL weather protocol wouldn’t affect a playoff game but what would happen if a severe blizzard hit Calgary half-way through the Grey Cup this November? It would be a sight to see the pure fear on the faces of the CFL front office.

As mentioned earlier, TSN has named 2019 ‘The Year Of The Return’. After eight weeks we saw 14 kicks returned for touchdowns.

Week 9 saw four more:

– Montreal’s Shakeir Ryan took a 101 punt return for a touchdown against Saskatchewan (who has given up four returns for scores this season).

– Winnipeg’s Janarion Grant took two punts to the house in the Bombers win over Calgary (who has also given up four returns for touchdowns this season).

– Hamilton’s Frankie Williams took a kickoff 108 yards for a crucial touchdown in the Ticats come-from-behind victory over the hapless B.C. Lions (B.C. is the third team to give up four returns for touchdowns in 2019).

That makes a whopping 18 kick returns (nine being kickoff returns!) for touchdowns in a historical 2019 for return teams. So, what gives?

Is it coaching? That’s tough to say.

Two of the teams that have given up the four returns for touchdowns either have a former special teams coordinator as their head coach (Craig Dickenson, Saskatchewan) or a long time coach with a ton of special teams coordinator experience (Calgary, Mark Kilam).

The third team who has given up four scores, B.C., has a rookie special teams coordinator, Taylor Altilio, who worked as an assistant for the Stampeders the past few seasons.

Hamilton has a veteran coach and special teams coordinator leading the way in Jeff Reinbold. They lead the CFL with five kick returns for scores and haven’t given up a return for a touchdown this season.

Ottawa is the only other team that hasn’t given up a kick return for a touchdown and that’s via the work done by veteran coach Bob Dyce.

Is this pure randomness?

Most advanced stats throw return touchdowns and defensive touchdowns in the random category and rarely count them in their analytics. This is because over a long period of time they even out.

The problem with this is multifold.

The first is that all the advanced football stats are based around the NFL and NCAA and there is nothing involving the Canadian game.

The second is that nobody is advancing the advanced stats in Canada. No one can because finding a year-by-year final stats pack is nearly impossible for anyone trying to figure out trends and possibilities.

The third is that advanced football stats is the furthest behind of any of the major sports. NBA, NHL, MLB and even soccer have almost figured everything out where football has had a hard time keeping up.

Have the punt cover teams or punters changed?

This is tough because we are not in the special teams rooms across the CFL. There are solid punters in the league but the coverages have been average at best. Both punt and kickoff return averages are way up compared to 2018 so it’s just not the returns for touchdowns making an impact, it’s the added-on long returns that flip the field that has affected games.

One of the best reasons for why there have been so many return touchdowns was brought up in a TSN broadcast this week (don’t ask us which one, we watched all four of them and Friday took a piece of our soul).

With the rule changes that have almost eliminated kick returns in the NFL, and punting that has become so good, it has almost eliminated the punt return game this has seen a slew of high-end returners join the CFL.

Returners are usually on the smallish side and in the NFL if you can’t contribute on either offence or defence, making a team is much more difficult so players like Janarion Grant and Frankie Williams make their way north.

The CFL has always had one or two great returners every year but to have this many is almost uncanny.

This is what makes the CFL game great: it is truly a three unit game and if the ‘Year Of The Return’ continues, more money will be spent on special teams coaches and players.

(By RodPedersen.com Staff/Photo: Lisa Lukye)