Game 6 - Riders @ Stampeders

[HOOT]

Also that is weak that you get a point for missing a field goal...every time I see that I shake my head

[OzSome]

bad decision on the 3rd and 1 that cost them the game. I don't have any problem with the gamble call but the way they executed the play. I still think Burris could have plunged the ball instead of handing it to Reynolds. I cannot blame Sandro for the missed field goal at the end because it was a long one 54 yards and against the slight wind.

Oh well, at least they managed to get it close but Riders deserved to win that game. Stamps defense played okay today but it still need some more improvement. I don't think we can blame them too much on this lost. The real reason we lost was all the dumb penalties (way too many!!), dropsies (way too many!!) and of course bad play call on the 3rd down gamble at the end. Rookie mistake perhaps??

[Dion]

Brutal effort by the Stamps.

They were dominated in all aspects of the game. Coaches included.

They were damn lucky to be in a position where they could have won the game with a last second field goal.

[jammies]

What a brutal play call on 3 and a half yard - hey Cortez, ever heard of the QUARTERBACK SNEAK? If you're gonna be dumb and give it to Reynolds, at least do a pitch outside and maybe catch the defence all collapsing to the inside, but all you are doing with that play is giving the d-line more time to get penetration and possibly stuff the carrier. That was the game right there, keep the ball and they almost surely had 3 points, they were lucky to get it back and get a try at a field goal but they wouldn't NEED luck if they stopped making stupid mistakes.

Even so, the Stamps are killing themselves with undisciplined play, slow starts and a general inability to make their own breaks. Saskatchewan was lucky to get that TD from Cates, which should have been an incompletion, but you can't score 21 points in the CFL and expect to win. As usual, it took Cortez over half the game to figure out how to get the offence going - and then he f***s it up by just a terrible decision when the game was there to be won.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by OzSome

bad decision on the 3rd and 1 that cost them the game. I don't have any problem with the gamble call but the way they executed the play. I still think Burris could have plunged the ball instead of handing it to Reynolds.

Burris up the middle and it's most likely a 1st down. With the momentum we had a probable victory too.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Also that is weak that you get a point for missing a field goal...every time I see that I shake my head

Then don't watch the CFL. I think it's "weak" that you get 4 downs in the NFL on a tiny little field where it's more important to be big than athletic, but I don't pollute all the NFL threads with my opinion.

edit - I'm going to elaborate on that. The single point on the FG adds strategy to the game in that you can trade the point for field position, and the idea that it is "rewarding failure" is about as insightful as the idea that maybe field goals shouldn't count as points either because you "failed" to get a touchdown. If you get close enough to kick the ball into the endzone, why shouldn't you get a point?

[jam26]

Originally Posted by jammies

edit - I'm going to elaborate on that. The single point on the FG adds strategy to the game in that you can trade the point for field position, and the idea that it is "rewarding failure" is about as insightful as the idea that maybe field goals shouldn't count as points either because you "failed" to get a touchdown. If you get close enough to kick the ball into the endzone, why shouldn't you get a point?

Well said, Jammies

[Log]

Whether you like the missed FG point or not atleast it didn't decide this game. 1 missed FG for each team.

Great game, go Riders!

Go Flames too!

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by jammies

Then don't watch the CFL. I think it's "weak" that you get 4 downs in the NFL on a tiny little field where it's more important to be big than athletic, but I don't pollute all the NFL threads with my opinion.

edit - I'm going to elaborate on that. The single point on the FG adds strategy to the game in that you can trade the point for field position, and the idea that it is "rewarding failure" is about as insightful as the idea that maybe field goals shouldn't count as points either because you "failed" to get a touchdown. If you get close enough to kick the ball into the endzone, why shouldn't you get a point?

Where did I refer to the NFL at all in that post? All the teams play by the same rules so that's cool, I just personally don't like it.

There are some rules I don't like in every sport, including the NFL and NHL.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by HOOT

Where did I refer to the NFL at all in that post? All the teams play by the same rules so that's cool, I just personally don't like it.

There are some rules I don't like in every sport, including the NFL and NHL.

As I recall in the "Why does the CFL suck so bad?" thread, you mentioned that the "real" reason Ricky Williams didn't dominate in the CFL because he was an NFL castoff who was out of shape, and that the quality of CFL play would go up once suspended NFL players had nowhere else to go and had to sign here. So while you didn't specifically mention the NFL just now, I'd say that's a pretty clear historical bias against the CFL in favour of the NFL. If the NFL had the same "rouge" rule, and so did American college football, do you think it would get mentioned so often as a "flaw" in the Canadian game? I'd say not.

As I said, I can't stand watching the NFL, as it is all about grinding out yards on a tiny field dominated by men who must be abnormally big, much as I can't stand watching basketball where the major requirement is that you be tall. Yet I manage not to go into NFL or NBA threads (that I can recall) and tell everyone how moronic this or that aspect of their sport is, because it doesn't add anything to the conversation other than to annoy people. Kind of like how the 10 000th mention of how someone doesn't like the rouge goes over in a CFL thread...

[HOOT]

I will never mention it again. But its just an opinion.

I would rather watch College before either the NFL or CFL...but I am not too sure what that would have to do about a rule I didn't like.

[Bobblehead]

I prefer the single point to kneeling the ball down and getting a free ride to the 20 yard line. Touchbacks are weak. Both games are different enough that they should be enjoyed for what they are. I'm a pretty avid NFL fan, but I'm also a CFL fan. Why not just be a football fan?

[OzSome]

Well, another FRUSTRATING lost for the Stamps and it was all because of the slow start again, penalties and drop balls. I really think this version of Stampeders could do better and could have been in 1st place in their division if they play it smart. It's been 4 out 6 games now that they had a slow start only to play better in the second half. Only 1 of those slow starts ended up in a win (against Montreal), the other 2 games they came back and lead the game with a little more than a minute left and ended up losing a heartbreaker with TD pass from Ricky Ray to Jason Tucker(EDM) and Dinwiddie's last effort TD pass a couple of games ago. Against Saskatchewan, they came close again but due to a bad call on the 3rd and 1 gamble and a missed field goal by Sandro deAngelis (can't blame the guy because that was a long one 54 yards with a slight against it).

Offensively: the Stamps were average. For some reason they abandoned the run again for the first half. sure handed receivers like Brett Raplh(2x), Jeremaine Copeland(3 or 4 times) and Ryan Thelwell(2x) could have been a lot gain yards. Ken Yon Rambo was a non-factor until that one long catch in the 4th quarter. Copeland had one catch at the end. The only consistent receiver among the group is Nik Lewis who has been playing well and had a hot hand and even Reynolds did better in pass receiving. I was surprised Burris did not throw more balls to Lewis. Henry Burris was also average but you can't really blame him too much as he was in constant pressures all day from Sask DLines and LBs. The OLines on the other hand had the worst outings since the rookies started playing. They couldn't hold the Riders DLines and LBs and could not give Burris or Reynolds running lanes. OLines needs to play better next game and so as the receiving unit. Cortez should stay with Reynolds and not abandoned him. I see DejaVu from last season when Stamps just abandoned the runs.

Defensively: Our awesome run defense dissappeared on this game. Wes Cates had a field day running and had over 100 yards. Cates is probably the best player of the game with his running and scoring a TD on a questionable fumble recovery before the half expired. Not sure how that play wasn't reviewed as Dominguez lost the ball before he even took a step and he wasn't in control of the ball at all. Oh well, the Stamps actually stopped playing on that series. On the replay, you will see one DB clapping for his buddies good play instead of going after the ball. Maybe Armour's getting kicked out of the game early was one of the reason for the run defense dissappearing. Makes me wonder why Grootegooed was not put in as MLB instead of using Labinjo. Grootegooed played MLB last season and as I recalled played well. Labinjo is far better playing the DLine as he is a good pressure guy from the line.
Anyways, defensively it was average and they could have been better. I didn't think Crandell played well for Riders so I can't put all the blames on the pass defense. If I have to pick the best player for the defense, I have to pick Julian Battle. He was very aggressive in this game trying to get the ball off the receivers or RB's hand. He made Dominguez coughed up the ball on one play which they recovered the ball.

Special Teams: I may be too harsh on Marcus Howell this season so far BUT can you blame me? Other than his punt return on the 4th quarter when he gained 20- 30 yards thanks to a great block by none other than Nik Lewis, Howell been terrible. He's been predictable so far and it makes you want to turn off or change the channel when it comes time to punt return. His play usually, let the ball sail to the end zone(that's only way we can get a good field position) or run for 2,3 or less than 10 yards. That won't cut it!!! You see Tristan Jackson of Edmonton, Ian Smart of BC and some others go all the way using their speeds. Howell did it before he got injured so why can't he go all the way? Is there a problem with blocking or a guy just plain suck?? Kickoff return(Reynolds, and Summers) seems to be doing well though except when Howell lined up. Punter Burke Dales is okay but he seems to be having problem with time count violations. He seems confused at times and it's been 4 games in a row that a time count violation has been assessed to him. Sandro deAngelis, I can't say anything negative about this guy. The guy is Mr. Automatic. Stampeders seems to pick a good Field goal kicker all the time. Ever since I started cheering for the Stampeders in 80's, i've seen JT Hay, Mark McLoughlin and now Sandro. I would have pick Browner as the best special team player but he was way too aggressive on his two plays and ended up getting a face mask penalties on both occassion. I can't pick anyone on this group.

Overall: Bad penalties, dropped balls, bad plays and bad coaching decision on the gamble cause us a game. The game started with a questionable and bad call by the official. The Stampeders stopped the Riders in two defensive plays. So, it should be Riders punting the ball BUT wait..... there was a flag on the play. The official called a penalty on JoJuan Armour for abusing the official and the Riders got the first down again. On the replay, we can't really see Riders OLine pushing Armour, which ended up losing his balance and hit an official. Armour stopped running and came back to the official to see if he is okay. On the way to the official, you can see Armour hitting the OLine with his hand then talked to the official. I can understand Armour's frustration as he was probably so pumped up playing against the Riders but lost that priveleges when he got kicked out. That was a brutal call and the league should do something about it. It won't help Armour now but might help in the future.
Bad penalties by Dwight Anderson which ended up Riders getting a field goal. Instead of stopping the play and Riders punting, they had a first down because of stupid penalty piling on by Anderson. Then Anderson another one when he pushed the receiver out of bounced. The guy doesn't even have a chance of catching the ball. I believed a few plays after, the Riders scored again. Stampeders had 11 penalties in a game compare to 4-5 for the Riders. Whatever happenned to discipline in the first game of the season?
As I mentioned on offensive section, receivers were dropping sure catches ball. I can see it if the receivers dropping the balls are rookies but we have guys like Copeland, Ralph and Thelwell dropping balls like it was a live grenades or something. If those balls were caught, we could have gained at least 100 more yards and probably scored on a few occassions.
I still believe in coaching staff especially Hufnagel and Cortez but the 3rd and 1 gamble was a bit puzzling to me. Riders defense has been great all game so why not let Burris plunged the ball instead of going backward and give the ball to Reynolds. Instead of trying to gain a yard, Reynolds has to carry the ball 2 more yards. It was a great stop by the two LBs on the Riders. Better luck next time.

Next game is going to be Thursday at the Riders Nation stadium. I really think the Stamps can beat the Riders if they play smart and not wait until the second half for both the offense and defense to start playing.

[calf]

The CFL admits the officials screwed up when JoJuan Armour was ejected from the game

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=2452...=topStory_main

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by calf

The CFL admits the officials screwed up when JoJuan Armour was ejected from the game

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=2452...=topStory_main

I saw that, good of them to admit it, be better if they had refs that were remotely close with keeping up with the speed of the game.

For decades Football Canada, Football Alberta and just about every jurisdiction in Canada has struggled at recruiting officials, and generally all they get are people who never played or coached. Officiating ruined the CFL for me about a decade ago and makes it an inferior product, I'm not sure what the solution is, but I hope Higgins can figure it out.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

I saw that, good of them to admit it, be better if they had refs that were remotely close with keeping up with the speed of the game.

For decades Football Canada, Football Alberta and just about every jurisdiction in Canada has struggled at recruiting officials, and generally all they get are people who never played or coached. Officiating ruined the CFL for me about a decade ago and makes it an inferior product, I'm not sure what the solution is, but I hope Higgins can figure it out.

I'm not sure this incident was an officiating issue. It was a common sense issue.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I'm not sure this incident was an officiating issue. It was a common sense issue.

What's the difference? It's both.

[OzSome]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

I saw that, good of them to admit it, be better if they had refs that were remotely close with keeping up with the speed of the game.

For decades Football Canada, Football Alberta and just about every jurisdiction in Canada has struggled at recruiting officials, and generally all they get are people who never played or coached. Officiating ruined the CFL for me about a decade ago and makes it an inferior product, I'm not sure what the solution is, but I hope Higgins can figure it out.

Yeah, that's probably why the league doesn't discipline an official because they are afraid they might lose the guy. That is not a good excuse though because the league is saying screw up as much as you want we don't care.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by OzSome

Yeah, that's probably why the league doesn't discipline an official because they are afraid they might lose the guy. That is not a good excuse though because the league is saying screw up as much as you want we don't care.

They don't discipline the official or they don't publicize it?

Big difference.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by calculoso

They don't discipline the official or they don't publicize it?

Big difference.

ya I think you are right on that one, it's a whole different decision to be public with how you manage the officials.