The Rookies

After a hiatus thanks to other work commitments, I’m back with another issue of The Whole 110 Yards, just in time for the start of the CFL playoffs today. I’ll be taking you all the way through the playoffs and will be bringing you on-the-ground coverage from the Grey Cup in Calgary in two weeks. However, we still have two playoff rounds to get through before then. Without further ado, let’s get to the breakdowns of the first round. Start us off, Jim Mora!

East semifinal: B.C. Lions versus Hamilton Tiger-Cats (today, 1 p.m. Eastern, TSN)

Those who have some knowledge of Canadian geography might find this one farfetched, as B.C. is the westernmost province in Canada. However, the Lions are here thanks to the crossover rule; they finished fourth in the CFL’s West Division, but had a better record than the third-place team in the East (the Winnipeg Blue Bombers), so they take Winnipeg’s spot in the Eastern playoffs.

The Lions almost didn’t make the playoffs at all, though. They could have clinched a playoff berth in the West with a win over the Edmonton Eskimos last Friday, but lost quarterbacks Casey Printers (Florida A&M) and Buck Pierce (New Mexico State) to injury and were forced to go to fifth-stringer Zac Champion (Louisiana Tech). Champion was the fifth different quarterback to start for the Lions this year, all thanks to injury. That’s never been done in the NFL according to my research; CFL records are harder to dig up, but I’m presuming that hasn’t happened in three-down football either. In any case, Champion struggled and so did the rest of the team; they lost 45-13 to Edmonton, giving the Eskimos the third Western spot and putting B.C.’s playoff hopes in jeopardy.

In fact, the Lions wouldn’t be in the playoffs if it wasn’t for some help from their feline cousins. Last Sunday saw the Tiger-Cats on the road in Winnipeg. With a win or a tie, Hamilton would clinch the right to host a playoff game against B.C., but a loss would force them to travel to Winnipeg in the first round. The Tiger-Cats got it done, with strong performances from quarterback Kevin Glenn (Illinois State) and running back DeAndra Cobb (Michigan State) leading them to a 39-17 win.

This year has seen quite the turnaround for the Tiger-Cats; Hamilton is making their first playoff appearance in four years. It isn’t the first playoff game at Hamilton’s Ivor Wynne Stadium in that span, though, as the Vanier Cup (the Canadian university football championship) was played several times recently; I was in attendance last year as an editor for The CIS Blog. Still, Hamilton fans have gone a long while without CFL playoffs; it’s nice to see them have a chance to watch them in person again.

This game’s going to be an interesting one. B.C. looks likely to start Printers, who only joined the team a few weeks ago but now will be starting the playoffs against his old team. Thanks to injuries to Pierce, Jarious Jackson (Notre Dame) and Travis Lulay (Montana State), Printers moved up the depth chart rapidly. When he got a chance to start three weeks ago against Saskatchewan, he looked more like the 2004 Printers who earned the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award with the Lions than the Printers who struggled with Hamilton in previous years. He turned in very solid performances against Saskatchewan and Calgary, even if he didn’t come out on the winning side; B.C. lost to the Roughriders in overtime and lost on a last-second field goal against the Stampeders. Still, as I argued last week, quarterbacks should be judged by their play, not their team’s win-loss record, as victories are about much more than just the quarterback. Printers has played well enough that I’d bet he’d be starting even if Pierce and Jackson were healthy; with them still injured, he’s an obvious choice. It will be instructive to see how he does in his return to Hamilton. It won’t be all on Printers, as he’ll need strong performances from his offensive line (without regular centre Angus Reid of SFU) and receivers like Geroy Simon (Maryland) and Paris Jackson. B.C.’s defensive play will also be crucial; look for strong showings from Canadian defensive end Ricky Foley (York), who led the CFL in sacks this year, and 37-year-old safety Barron Miles, who seems to have found the fountain of youth this year; he led the CFL in interceptions this year and holds the all-time interception record with. Still, much of this game will come down to Printers’ performance. If he plays the way he did down the stretch, B.C. has enough talent around him that they could easily take this game, and they might even make a run all the way to the Grey Cup.

Hamilton won’t be a pushover, though. The Tiger-Cats have plenty of talent, including perhaps the best linebacking corps in the league with Otis Floyd and Jamall Johnson. Both are former B.C. Lions, so they’ll be eager to do well against their old team. On offence, expect strong performances from Glenn and Cobb, but we should also see a good showing from wide receiver Arland Bruce III. Bruce was traded to the Tiger-Cats in midseason from their provincial rivals because Toronto Argonauts head coach Bart Andrus famously said “I don’t know if he makes our offence better.” Well, since getting to Hamilton, Bruce has made the Tiger-Cats offence much better; he led the team in receptions and yards this year despite playing only part of the season with them.

Both of these offences have tons of firepower, so this one may come down to who’s able to play better on defence and special teams. Hamilton has the edge in the linebacking corps, which has been one of B.C.’s weaker points this year, but B.C. has a great defensive line anchored by Canadian defensive ends Foley and Brent Johnson and a strong secondary featuring the likes of Miles and Dante Marsh. Both Hamilton’s Nick Setta and B.C.’s Paul McCallum are highly accurate kickers, but Setta has a bit more power. B.C. has a good group of returners, though, including Ryan Grice-Mullen and Michael Bumpus, and they have an excellent cover team led by CFL West Division most outstanding special teams player Jason Arakgi. The edge in defensive and special teams play leads me to go with the Lions in this one.

Pick: B.C.

East Division semifinal: Edmonton Eskimos at Calgary Stampeders (4 p.m. Eastern, TSN)

This should be another good one, as games between these provincial rivals are always heated. These teams have been very competitive this year, as have all of the Western teams: first-place Saskatchewan only finished five points ahead of last-place B.C. Calgary, the defending Grey Cup champions, got off to a slow start, but turned it around in midseason. Edmonton did better out of the gate, but stumbled down the stretch and only clinched a playoff spot in their last game of the season against B.C.

Calgary has a ton of offensive weapons, but they aren’t always able to get them all going. One player who has really turned it on down the stretch, though, is running back Joffrey Reynolds, the West Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player this season. Reynolds got off to a slow start, but finished the season leading the league in rushing yards. The Stampeders also have perhaps the most mobile quarterback in the league in Henry Burris, who led all quarterbacks in rushing yards this year. Burris is an excellent passer as well; he completed 339 of 571 passes (59.4 per cent) for 4831 yards, the second-highest total in the CFL, and threw 22 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He has a stellar receiving corps to work with as well, including slotbacks Nik Lewis and Jermaine Copeland.

Edmonton is a more one-dimensional offence. At times, they’ve shown the ability to run the ball with Arkee Whitlock and Calvin McCarty, but they abandon the run at the slightest provocation. This team lives and dies with quarterback Ricky Ray, which isn’t such a bad thing, as he, Burris and Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo are probably the best quarterbacks in the CFL. Ray isn’t the most mobile guy, but he has a heck of an arm, and he has a talented receiving corps, including the likes of Fred Stamps and Maurice Mann. Ray led the league with 4916 passing yards, completing 401 of 596 attempts (67.3 per cent) for 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He’ll put up numbers today, and this might just turn into a quarterback duel between him and Burris.

Both teams have question marks on defence. Calgary has had some defensive issues all year, and the move to jettison middle linebacker JoJuan Armour (now starting for the B.C. Lions) in midseason hasn’t helped. Edmonton’s always had problems on the defensive side of the ball, and that hasn’t changed this year either, so expect this one to be high-scoring. Calgary does have an edge on special teams, as their kicker is reigning CFL special teams MVP Sandro DeAngelis, who has perhaps the strongest leg in the CFL and excels at both field goals and punts. Edmonton’s Noel Prefontaine is a savvy veteran, though, and he’s proved he can still play at a high level. Neither team has been able to do too much consistently in the return game.

In the end, I think Calgary prevails here. Edmonton is dangerous and will give them a run for their money, but the Stampeders’ balanced offence may prove too much for the Eskimos to handle. Ray and company will put up a good fight, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to compete with the tag team of Burris and Reynolds.

Pick: Calgary

Thanks for reading The Whole 110 Yards! I’ll have a recap of the playoff games (hopefully) Tuesday, and a preview of next weekend’s conference semifinals Saturday. Tune in then for that.