Joe's Take

CFL Insider's columnist Joe Pritchard offers his take on all of week 2's action.

I've had better weeks, thanks. First, let me convey my apologies to Saskatchewan Roughriders fans for vastly underrating their team. They have a lot of talent, and so far, Kent Austin is doing a good job. I call them like I see them, even when it's painful. Another kudos has to go to CFL.ca, as their CFL broadband highlight packages are a great way to refresh my memory if it's been a few days since I've seen a game.

This week wasn't one of the best when we're talking about competitive football, with only the Bombers-Als game being in doubt into the fourth quarter. We've found a few answers, but we're stuck with a whole lot more questions. Let's begin, shall we?

Starting from the top, Winnipeg overcame a revitalized Montreal team, clawing back from a 13-0 deficit at the end of the first quarter, and taking control in the second, with 22 points of their own. Montreal blanketed Milt Stegall all night, as no one wanted to be the one that was beaten for the record, and shown numerous times over the years on highlights, and become the answer to their own trivia question. Anthony Calvillo continues to be less sharp than we're used to, and Robert Edwards couldn't get going at all for Montreal. Winnipeg is the more polished team right now, and it showed in the end result. I think a game in October or November between these two squads will be one to mark on the calendar as one to make sure to watch.

I had some doubts about this next one, even with Edmonton, who struggled on defence in week one, going on the road to Vancouver and the BC Lions. Common sense dictates picking the Lions, but my gut was telling me to go with Ricky Ray and what I thought was a high-powered offence for the Eskimos. I'm glad I went with my head, because even in their struggles, the Lions came out easily on top. Ray had some troubles trying to make things happen, as three interceptions attest to. Barron Miles continues to be a special teams dynamo for the Lions, and you had better believe the Roughriders will spend an inordinate amount of time in the film room and on special teams work this week to keep him from changing the game on one play like he's done so well lately. Dave Dickenson was still a little more erratic than we are used to, but he's winning ballgames without his best stuff. That's a mark of a champion right there.

I have no idea what I was thinking, giving Hamilton so much credit, and thinking they could make things a game. Once again, they showed up with things still not under control, and while the broadcasters and even owner Bob Young continued to talk about "having everyone pull in one direction to achieve the best results," it was obvious that there wasn't much pulling going on, unless you mean at quarterback. Jason Maas was benched for a second straight game, this time earlier, as Timmy Chang came in during the second quarter. Chang was no miracle worker either, but no one expected him to be at this point. I don't think anyone buys Charlie Taaffe's explanations that he's going to continue to use Maas as the starter. It's clear that things aren't working, and Maas is going to be going down with the ship, fair or not. On the other hand, Michael Bishop was given a plum assignment in his first start this year, getting to show off against a Hamilton defence that is lacking playmakers and continuity. That's a recipe for disaster right there. Bob Young's statements about this team winning a lot of games this year seem hollower and hollower with each passing quarter. One thing I will not do, though, is put down his enthusiasm and his ability to get things done. This might take time, but I have the utmost confidence that we will see a winning team in Hamilton sooner rather than later. It's just not happening now, though.

The last game of the week, Calgary at Saskatchewan, was pretty ugly, unless you're a Riders fan, of course. Saskatchewan's defence wasn't given enough credit this year, because they've held two of the more dangerous teams in the league to 7 and 8 points, respectively, and most of the 7 weren't their fault to begin with. Wes Cates looked like he leapt up and grabbed the Riders' running back position, and Kerry Joseph looked as locked in as I've seen him, save for some struggles in the latter portions of the first and early second. On Calgary's side, it looked like once the momentum slipped away from them, they got agitated and upset, punctuated by the ejection of Tearrius George. There was no way for the Stamps to stem the tide of Riders in the backfield after a certain point, and even the insertion of Akili Smith behind centre did no good for the Stamps.

All right, on to next week.

Calgary goes on the road to face Toronto, and quite honestly, I don't know what to expect. Is Michael Bishop for real? Was Calgary's collapse last week a fluke, or indicative of a weak team chemistry? Can Bashir Levingston break this one open with a special teams play? Is Henry Burris going to be comfortable in the pocket after being left out to dry last week? I'm thinking we'll have more positive answers for Toronto, as the Argos win going away, 29-16.

Edmonton then gets Winnipeg on Friday Night Football, and I think the big question will not be "Will Milt Stegall get the record?", but it will be "When will Milt Stegall get the record?" I have mid 2nd quarter on a broken coverage, and I have the Blue Bombers circling the wagons and making this one a laugher late, putting up big points against the Esks again, and winning 41-23, as Ricky Ray won't be able to match week one's pace.

Following that is probably the best matchup of the week, as the king of the jungle Lions go to Regina to face a 2-0 Riders team. I'm going to do something surprising here and take the Riders, as the defence gets to Dave Dickenson just enough to let the Riders outscore the Lions 26-21. Call it a gut feeling.

Finally, Montreal goes to Hamilton, and any suggestions that the Als and Ti-Cats are on the same level with one another are absurd. Montreal's just a bit slow out of the gate, and they'll get a nice boost with a hefty 32-13 win.

Catch you all next week, when we uncover more clues as to where the CFL treasure is buried this year.