The best team in the CFL right now is Saskatchewan. After the Riders, BC, Calgary, and, Toronto are all pretty good, at least meeting expectations so far this season.
There’s a pretty crowded sewer in the CFL, though, with Winnipeg, Montreal, Hamilton, and Edmonton all tied for last place with 1-3 records. Knowing that at most two of these teams can be excluded from the playoffs, whose death warrant is already signed? Who is currently the worst team in the CFL?
Montreal Alouettes
Summary
No one knew when Anthony Calvillo would lose his winning edge; he’s defied the odds, including age and thyroid cancer, for a half-decade. 2013 seems to be the year. Montreal, with a new coach, an old quarterback, and a mix of veterans and unproven newbies all over the field, seems set for a difficult season.
Highlights
Montreal opened strong against Winnipeg: 38 points on offence and a win is a good way to start any season. Any doubts about Calvillo’s fitness were quickly laid to rest.
Lowlights
Only a week after a strong opening night, the doubts about Calvillo were back and they haven’t gone away since. Held to 11 points in the rematch against Winnipeg, with well under 200 yards in total offence and two picks thrown, Montreal stopped dead as a contender in the east. The next two games were a home-and-away series against the Stampeders, and despite a 24-point lead after one quarter of play in Calgary, Montreal couldn’t keep it close and dropped to a 1-3 record after the dust had cleared.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Summary
Two games against fellow sewer-dwellers Montreal, split between them; a loss to Hamilton that made Hamilton look pretty good, and a loss to Toronto that made Ricky Ray look like the league’s best QB.
Highlights
The new stadium looks nice.
The Bombers’ defence has been surprisingly strong, despite having Casey Creehan screaming at them as defensive coordinator. The defence was the key in their one win came against Montreal in Week 2, even if Calvillo was playing like he had his 1994 Tiger-Cats jersey on. They did amass some reasonable points in week 1 in their loss to Montreal–three picks from Pierce probably sank their chances more than anything. It’s hard to find a highlight when your best game was a loss, and your lone win was a sordid, grinding affair.
Lowlights
Pre-season games don’t count for much, but their second-string effort against Hamilton was certainly a low point in the CFL overall this year. It wasn’t just the score; the teams in the exhibition games are training hard on both sides of the ball, and to send what might as well have been a half-decent high school team was insulting and counter-productive.
But the real problem in Winnipeg is their anemic offence. Buck Pierce, besides being liable to snap in half like a twig at a moment’s notice, has been ineffective on the ball, with passing yardage averaging a scant 235 yards per game. And that’s not because they’ve gone to the ground game: Chad Simpson had one good play to pad his stats against Hamilton, but otherwise the rush has been weak for Winnipeg.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Summary
Coming off an appalling 6-12 season in 2012, and going into a season of homelessness while the venerable Ivor Wynne Stadium is replaced, the Tiger-Cats have many worries on their minds early in this season. Losing the opener to Toronto and the home opener to Edmonton, as well as a huge number of early-season injuries, have put the Cats in dire straits already.
Highlights
Last year, Hamilton was a last-place team with a quarterback who led the league in passing yards and touchdowns; this year started in similar form, with a high-scoring loss away to Toronto and a well-controlled win against Winnipeg at home. Both games showed the Cats at their current best: offensive-minded with many lethal weapons to choose from.
Lowlights
Ticats fans didn’t think it could get much worse than the 16 straight points Edmonton scored to start off the “home” opener at the University of Guelph. Then they went to Saskatchewan, with 20 players on their injury list. They racked up a laughable 16 rushing yards on 8 running plays, had three drive-killing turnovers in the first half, and had an abysmal defence from end to end in the second half. Worst of all, the result: shut out in a 37-0 loss. The last time the team was shut out, they went on to a 4-14 season. This year is not promising for Hamilton.
Edmonton Eskimos
Summary
Expectations weren’t high for the Eskimos going into the season. Mike Reilly looked fine as Travis Lulay’s backup in the last three years, but a starting job is a different thing. The offence would be looking to Fred Stamps for another monster year to even contend against the tough opposition in the west.
Highlights
Edmonton burst into the Tiger-cats’ temporary home in Guelph with a 16-point lead in the first 9 minutes that the Cats would never threaten. A cloudburst of biblical proportions was handled well by Reilly and they held on for a 30-20 win that flattered the Hamilton side. This was a breakout game for Hugh Charles as well, with 119 yards of rushing and a couple of solid kick returns.
Lowlights
The confidence from the eastern road trip dissolved quickly when Edmonton hosted BC in the following week. After a tight first half–the Eskimos held on to a 3-1 lead after two quarters–Travis Lulay made the most of his opportunities in the second half, and the Lions’ defence shut out Edmonton to end with a 17-3 win for BC. Fred Stamps hasn’t played since week 2, and while Hugh Charles has kept up his good form it’s not enough to salvage much from the Esks’ otherwise poor work on the field.
The Verdict
Montreal has the potential to take a game or two, and if Calvillo wakes up, they still have the potential to get into the middle of the pack. In the East, they could even get a home playoff game.
Winnipeg’s defence is looking strong, and that can help them score wins off their weaker opponents. That’s sometimes enough in the CFL for a third place spot.
Hamilton remains the most frustrating sewer-dweller, with sustained brilliance one game and hideous play the next. But a few injured starters back in the lineup could really change the team’s fortunes.
Edmonton has the weakest quarterback in the league and has played a total of one excellent quarter of football. But there just aren’t enough weak teams in the league to give them games like their one win so far.
Therefore, the Edmonton Eskimos are hereby adjudged to be the worst team in the CFL.
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