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12 Audibles: Return of the Zach
Welcome back to 12 Audibles, our weekly look around the CFL. Here's the soundtrack for this one, based off Zach Collaros' return to practice in Hamilton:
1. The return of the Zach. So he's back up in the game, running things to keep his swing, letting all the people know that he's back to run the show. (Just not quite yet, as it will still be Jeremiah Masoli starting this Friday in Montreal.) Collaros' return to practice Monday came eight months and 20 days after the surgery he had to repair the torn ACL in his right knee, and he's only doing individual drills and light team work so far; the plan's to monitor his knee while slowly increasing his workload, and there's no firm target date for his return yet. The hope is that soon enough, he'll be pumping up the world (or at least the world of Ticat fans), though. What's perhaps particularly interesting are the comments he made about the challenges of watching from the sidelines, as Drew Edwardswrites:
Collaros has been unconditionally supportive of Jeremiah Masoli, who has filled the starting quarterback role during much of his absence. But Collaros acknowledges that watching from the sidelines has been, and will continue to be, difficult.
“I just want to be out there playing, I’m not saying anyone has played poorly — I think Jeremiah has done a great job,” Collaros said.
“But there are things that you see sometimes and you can’t do anything about it and it’s frustrating.”
That leads nicely into a discussion of...
2. The Ticats' struggles. Hamilton entered this season as one of the favourites in the East Division despite Collaros' injury, and their dominant 42-20 win over Toronto in the Argos' home opener suggested that tag was realistic. However, since then, it's been almost all downhill for them. Their 28-3 loss to B.C. in Week Two was terrible on a lot of fronts, and their 28-24 loss to Winnipeg in Week Three wasn't much better. The passing offence in particular has been an issue, especially in that B.C. loss where Masoli completed 26 of 39 passes (66.7 per cent) for 248 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was better against Winnipeg (29 of 39, 74.4 per cent, 367 yards, two touchdowns), but still tossed two interceptions in that game.
Granted, the Ticats' issues are far from all about Masoli. The run defence in particular has been weak, and there have been issues with the pass defence and special teams too. Still, improvement in the passing game will be needed; a performance like Masoli turned in against the Lions won't win many CFL games, and while one like he turned in against the Bombers is pretty decent and could win some games (and that Winnipeg loss had some crazy things go against the Ticats, including Ryan Smith's no-look catch seen around the world), the turnovers are still concerning. Masoli's still the man at the helm for now, and there's reason to think he can do capably in that role, but many Hamilton fans will still be eager for Collaros to fully return. Also interesting on that front is how...
3. Collaros' return prompted other changes. Taking Collaros off the six-game injured list had several other notable implications for the Ticats. For one, that used up a roster spot, so the team had to make a decision about how many QBs they wanted to have around; they wound up shipping Jake Waters to Saskatchewan in exchange for negotiation list rights to B.J. Daniels. That leaves them with Masoli, Jeff Mathews, Collaros and Everett Golson (activated from the practice roster) on the active roster, and Jacory Harris on the six-game injured list. Perhaps even the more notable implication is on the roster salary cap side, though. Clubs can only remove two players from that list early, so Hamilton has now burned one of those slots, and Collaros' (very significant) salary now counts against the cap. Bringing Collaros back early so he can return to practice and start working his way back into the lineup as quickly as possible makes sense, and it's a logical call for the Ticats, but it does take away some of their other flexibility. Another team that will need some roster flexibility this week is Hamilton's opponent Friday...
4. The Montreal Alouettes. Actually, it may be more the Montreal Alouettes Surgical Hospital this week, just without Hot Lips Houlihan. At receiver alone, the Alouettes have lost S.J. Green for the season and Kenny Stafford for six games, plus perhaps Duron Carter for this game (or maybe not; more on that in the next point). They've also lost running back Tyrell Sutton for six games, and as Herb Zurkowsky writes, even quarterback Kevin Glenn has missed two straight practices with eye inflammation. The receiving corps Monday included two regulars (Nik Lewis and Sam Giguere), a guy who was a healthy scratch in their last game (B.J. Cunningham), and two guys activated from the practice squad (Chandler Jones and Corbin Louks). That doesn't bode well. There is potential for the receiver situation to improve at least for this week, though, as...
5. Duron Carter might not be suspended yet. Surprised? I mean, the league announced his suspension and everything shortly after the June 30 incident where he knocked down Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell and was ejected:
This won't be news to long-time followers of the CFL, though, as league-imposed suspensions allow for an appeal procedure, and that appeal procedure is typically lengthy and has often resulted in suspensions being overturned. However, even if his suspension is put off pending appeal, Carter still may not play, thanks to...
6. Head injuries. Carter's been experiencing headaches this week, and while Montreal GM/HC Jim Popp insists it's not a concussion, that claim deserves some scrutiny. Even if Carter's headaches showed up later (Popp said they developed this past Tuesday, almost a week after the Ottawa game), that has been known to happen with concussions, and Carter took a significant shot to the head from Jermaine Robinson in that game right before the Campbell bump and later said "I don't even know what happened" during the incident. A disorienting concussion might be an argument Carter could use in his defence during his hearing, so it's interesting that Popp's being so adamant this isn't one. (After all, don't the Alouettes benefit if Carter doesn't wind up suspended?) It's possible they want to avoid concussion talk so there isn't skepticism of if they're following the rigorous protocol if he does wind up playing. In any case, this will be interesting to watch ahead of Friday's game. Will Carter play, or won't he? The answer to that question could be a key one this week. There's no doubt about the availability of another team's top receiver, though, as...
7. Chris Williams continues to shine. Three weeks of the season, three selections to the league's top three players of the week for Ottawa WR Chris Williams. Williams had 130 yards and three touchdowns on 10 catches in the Redblacks' 26-26 tie with Calgary Friday (more on that in point #9) and earned the CFL's top player nod. The ranking was somewhat questionable, as third star Adarius Bowman had 141 yards and three touchdowns on just six catches, but there's no question that Williams deserved to be on this list again, and he's having a great season, leading the league in receiving yards (493), receptions (25), and touchdowns (six). That's helping out Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris, who will be a key component in...
8. The Ray-Harris duel. Wednesday sees Harris, who was the Argonauts' backup quarterback (and highly successful starter while Ricky Ray was out) last season, return to Toronto with the Redblacks to face his old team and his old mentor. When he left the Argos, he was but the learner...
Has Harris become the master, though? Well, he's been incredibly successful in relief of Henry Burris, and he threw for 396 yards and three touchdowns last week. Ray also has been improving following a slow start, though, and he was excellent in Toronto's 25-14 road win over B.C. last Thursday, so this might be a duel to watch yet. The Argos have won two in a row and will be looking to put on a better performance at home Wednesday against Ottawa, and the Redblacks will also be looking to improve following...
9. That 26-26 tie. The Ottawa-Calgary tie last Friday was the first CFL tie since a 44-44 one between Calgary and Saskatchewan in 2009, and it understandably produced some complaints from those who like to see their games have definitive endings. However, from this corner, the occasional tie is good for the CFL. For one thing, ending a game after four overtime possessions (two apiece) means that games don't go on absolutely forever, which is a key concern both for player safety and for TV (especially on nights with doubleheaders like Friday, and especially given that CFL games seem to be dragging on in general this year). For another, ties are very rare, especially now that teams are required to go for two if they get a touchdown, so it's not like these are happening all the time. For a third, the idea of a tie is a valuable one for the standings; if teams are so close that they can't be separated after two overtime possessions each, it seems reasonable to give them a point each, and that means we may wind up with playoff seeding or berths decided by something with more merit than tiebreakers like head-to-head record, head-to-head points, or divisional record. For a fourth, this means you have to come up with something exceptional to win in overtime, like...
10. The Eskimos' stop. Edmonton's line piling into the Roughriders and linebacker J.C. Sherritt flying over the top to stop Darian Durant on a 3rd-and-1 quarterback sneak to win last Friday's late game in overtime was one of the most memorable plays of the week, and the perfect way to cap off a remarkable comeback against an improving Rider team. The Eskimos' offence has been very good through their two games, but their defence also came up in the clutch Friday. It's had some issues overall, though, especially in the new-look secondary with so much attrition there, and that may present problems Thursday against...
11. Win-nipeg and Willy. The Blue Bombers' 0-2 start after an offseason of promise put plenty of heat on head coach Mike O'Shea and quarterback Drew Willy in particular, especially given that both losses (and Willy's passing stats in each) were made to look closer than they really were by garbage-time stats. Winnipeg's 28-24 road win in Hamilton last Thursday has certainly relieved some of that pressure, though, and Willy (32 completions on 42 attempts, 76.2 per cent, 279 yards and a touchdown) looked better than he had in the first two games. We'll see if he can keep that up against Edmonton, and if the Bombers can maintain their winning ways; they did get several nice bounces in that one. For now, though, the spotlight on their QB has lessened. A team with more quarterback worries at the moment is out in B.C., where we have to wonder...
12. Will a Lions' QB controversy arise? B.C. victories in Week One and Week Two had a lot to do with the defence and only a little to do with the play of young QB Jon Jennings, and Jennings particularly struggled in the team's 25-14 home loss to Toronto last Thursday (11 for 18, 132 yards, no touchdowns, one interception) and was pulled for veteran Travis Lulay. Lulay was better (12 for 15, 156 yards, one touchdown and one last-second interception), but the team appears set to go back to Jennings Saturday against Saskatchewan. Playing Chris Jones' defence in Regina won't be easy, though, especially with the Riders eager to avenge last week's loss to Edmonton. If Jennings struggles early, will Wally Buono again pull him for Lulay, and will there be a debate about who the Lions' quarterback should be going forward? We'll have to wait and see.
