STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – BANJO BOWL – It’s a dumb name for a game and, dare I say, wouldn’t be socially acceptable if you were to typecast any other group of people in this way but it’s not high on my list of grievances so carry on.  This game was over in the first half after Andre Proulx and his officiating cohorts botched the major fouls and neglected to toss Andrew Harris and Kenny Lawler for ripping helmets off Rider players.  I’ve watched many a CFL game where bad officiating has ruined an otherwise good product and that’s exactly what happened on Saturday afternoon.

2 – RIDER PROBLEMS – Discipline is a big one.  While we can be upset over Harris and Lawler not getting ejected, the reality is that the Riders never should have been in this fracas to begin with.  There were a couple of other penalties that negated significant gains on offense.  It could be that Winnipeg is just that much better than the rest of the league or it could be that Saskatchewan’s first three games of promise have been, effectively, erased as their warts are clearly showing.  I mentioned the surplus of penalties as a problem back in 2019 and it doesn’t appear to have gotten any better two years later.

3 – QB SHUFFLE – A lot of focus will be put on the offense and the lack of production, but the defense on second on long was very disappointing and there were no big plays on special teams.  The Riders needed a spark from anywhere and just didn’t get it.  This week there will be a lot of attention on Cody Fajardo’s ability to pass protocol to play and if he can’t, how far off is Paxton Lynch, the former Denver Bronco, from getting on the field?  The reality is that Isaac Harker didn’t produce any points so his position as the official back-up should hardly be entrenched.  No, I don’t think the hit on Fajardo was dirty.  It was a play made at high speed and this is football, after all.  Harris and Lawler ripping off helmets wasn’t high speed nor is it part of the game.  

4 – COLLAROS LOOKS GREAT – The year off was a blessing for Winnipeg QB Zach Collaros.  He’s clearly the healthiest he’s ever been in his CFL career.  You have to wonder if it may become a little more commonplace for professional athletes who are always dinged up to just take an entire season off in order to fully recuperate.  I have to admit I felt perhaps the Bombers made a mistake by falling in love with Collaros given the small sample size of success in 2019 but he is paying the team back in spades for having confidence in him long term.

5 –  CHRIS JONES – The Toronto Argonauts have hired the most popular coach in Roughrider history to be a defensive assistant.  Jones was most recently the head coach of a high school team in the States but they’d only played one game and had several others canceled because of Covid.  Here’s what I will say about Jones, and I’ve probably said it before:  he’s excellent at what he does, which is win.  That doesn’t mean it will be done in a way that makes everyone feel good nor will it necessarily be entertaining to watch as a fan.  My only issue with Jones is his image and the other thing I’m really uncertain about is loyalty.  I understand if you don’t look out for yourself nobody else will, but there has to be a balance and I can’t say bolting on your high school team (while good for the career) is something I look at in a favorable way.  If he will do it to them, he will do it to you too.

6 – HILLTOPS/THUNDER – Two years ago I figured there was no better kicker in Canadian junior football than Eric Maximuik of the Regina Thunder. On Saturday night he reaffirmed my belief as Maximuik kicked a 51-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Thunder a 16-13 win over the Saskatoon Hilltops, ending Saskatoon’s four year and 32 game winning streak.  The Hilltops are now 2-and-1 on the season.  They battled back from behind in game one against the Edmonton Huskies and didn’t exactly blow out the Calgary Colts in game two.  One may suggest they are far from a shoe-in to win the PFC.  The Thunder, surely, sniff some blood here.

7 – TOM BRADY – Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all-time.  There can be no debate about that.  I wouldn’t say he’s the most talented or gifted but he’s very darn good and here’s what makes him the greatest – he has never sucked his team for every last dollar, leaving money against the salary cap to improve the team around him.  He also hasn’t gotten enough credit for taking human dumpster fires under his wing and straightened them out a la Antonio Brown.  I also think Rob Gronkowski is a guy who could be led astray rather easily but paired with Brady there is no worry of that.  Heck, Brady even got whatever good there was in Aaron Hernandez for a couple of years.

8 – AARON RODGERS – While Brady is the ultimate team player, Aaron Rodgers is looking like his polar opposite these days.  Rodgers has been my favorite player for quite some time, but that doesn’t mean I commit a blind allegiance to him.  Everybody knows Rodgers is, basically, wasting everybody’s time in Green Bay as he plays out one more year before he forces his way to Denver or some other team.  He’s also squeezing as much money as he can from the team and he demanded they bring back washed up receiver Randall Cobb (no catches until garbage time).  This is why chemistry, morale, and attitude matter.  Rodgers looked like the worst quarterback in the league on Sunday and New Orleans absolutely hammered the Packers in week one.  My guess is that this isn’t an anomaly.  The Packers could still win their division because the competition isn’t stiff but this team is going nowhere and they’d be wise to turn to Jordan Love today as opposed to a year from now so that they don’t end up wasting two years and find out Love can’t actually play.  What we are seeing is true dysfunction unfold in a very public way and even if they were to win the division, what’s the ceiling for this team?  It’s not a Super Bowl.

9 – COLLEGE COACHES – It’s only week one, but if you were to give a report card on Urban Meyer’s short tenure in Jacksonville, he’d get an F.  The Tim Tebow tight-end experiment was an ill-advised publicity stunt and there have been some other warning signs throughout the offseason that this may go poorly.  With a top ten running back, Meyer waited until midway through the second quarter to get James Robinson a touch and it ended up being a tough day at the office for rookie QB Trevor Lawrence against what, should be, the worst team in the league – Houston.  Should Meyer be a failure with the Jaguars, he would have some excellent company amongst NCAA egos who were flops coaching in the NFL – Nick Saban, Chip Kelly, Steve Spurrier, Lane Kiffin, and Bobby Petrino come immediately to mind.  Even Pete Carroll was a disaster his first time through the league.

10 – CHAMPIONSHIPS – I always get a chuckle when people insist on using titles as the single biggest attribute to define greatness.  Was Trent Dilfer better than Dan Marino?  Certainly when talking about Brady and putting him up against the likes of Joe Montana and other NFL quarterback legends, I think you have to defer to the number of championships Brady has won.  But, when you start trying to piece together the other greats I think it’s way too simplistic to look at the number of Super Bowls.  As it turns out, Eli Manning was justified in refusing to play for the Chargers because I think Philip Rivers was a much better quarterback but Eli is the one with the rings.  Doesn’t mean Eli was better.  Good chance if you replace Eli with Rivers on the Giants, Rivers wins two as well.  

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Please follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)