Eastern Final, November 20, 2011 Vegas Odds and Comments

[notahomer]

Wow, BC is favoured to win by 8 in Regina! I guess it makes sense but still surprising, IMO. Riders just not so hot this season.

I'll take the Bombers, BC, Montreal, Calgary

[Rammer]

Vegas odds ...

I will take Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and B.C. Going with the odds.

Close, but take Winnipeg over Edmonton, just to help out the Lions a little.

[sj-roc]

Can the lions do the impossible? 5 pts in loss to lions, 3 pts in loss to stamps, 1 pt in loss to smoes. So -1 pts in loss to lions?

This current Rider streak of offensive ineptitude got me looking through league archives to find the last time any CFL team failed to score an aggregate at least 10 points in three consecutive games. I had to go back 45 years ago to 1966 to find the most recent example, when the Alouettes, who finished that year at 7-7, scored 0, 3 and 4 points in three consecutive contests:

66/09/05: Mtl 0 @ Ssk 44
66/09/09: Edm 8 @ Mtl 3
66/09/17: Mtl 4 @ Ham 33

Now let's bear in mind, there have been some mediocre, sad sack teams in this league over the last several decades. You've got the Lions' 3-15 and 5-13 campaigns that flanked the Comrie years. The Tiger-Cats of the 2000's decade, who were often hard pressed to reach even 5 wins, including one campaign of 1-17. The post-Levy Alouettes of the 80s. Ottawa, with no post-70s winning seasons. The Stampeders of the 70s and 80s, who went years at a stretch without reaching the playoffs. Ditto the Green Riders of 77-87. NONE of those weak sisters ever matched what the Riders have just pulled off. This is truly a rare brand of incompetence. All the worse for Ssk, the Als' futility was somewhat mitigated by lower overall scoring of that time:

1966: 16.4 points per game per team
so far in 2011: 25.6 PPGPT

The real concern, then, is that Sunday could be one of those games with "taking them too lightly" written all over it.

[TheLionKing]

The real concern, then, is that Sunday could be one of those games with "taking them too lightly" written all over it.

That's the scary part. Lions need to be ready to play right from the start. Score first and often and don't give the Riders any hope.

[KILLER]

Check out the major choke job the Stamps are doing.

[almo89]

What a brutal display by both the Stamps and Argos. Stamps would have had a come from behind victory, but they manage to take 3 penalties in the last drive to get the Argos into field goal range.

[sj-roc]

Check out the major choke job the Stamps are doing.

The Argos almost embarrassed you there but for that penalty-aided final drive!

Hope the Lions were paying attention to this to understand what a team with nothing to play for is capable of.

[B.C.FAN]

Thank you, Calgary, for a complete meltdown in the final minute, giving up 32 yards in penalties to extend the final drive and allow the Argos to win despite four interceptions thrown by Steven Jyles. It's nice to see Calgary lose on a last-play field goal for two straight weeks.

[korey&dante4ever]

Thank you Argos!!!!

[sj-roc]

Thank you, Calgary, for a complete meltdown in the final minute, giving up 32 yards in penalties to extend the final drive and allow the Argos to win despite four interceptions thrown by Steven Jyles. It's nice to see Calgary lose on a last-play field goal for two straight weeks.

Yeah, looks like Hufnagel's pre-game speech about playing for sixty minutes went over their heads.

[budha]

BC has to be careful that they do not fall into the same trap Calgary did tonight. I think that BC should win the game easily, but I am guessing the vast majority of people thought that Calgary would easily beat Toronto. Themost dangerous team is usually one with their backs against the wall (although last week Saskatchewan was the exception to that rule)

[Belize City Lion]

Huff is start to look less and less like an elite head coach, and more and more like some dude that got free tickets to a CFL game by winning a Bruce Dern look-a-like contest.

[B.C.FAN]

The league went two years without a game being decided by a successful last-play field goal. Now the Stamps have lost two straight games on a last-play field goal. They also won two games earlier this year when their opponents (B.C. and Winnipeg) missed last-play field goals. They're a team that lives dangerously, and their tendency to take big penalties has proved costly.

[TheLionKing]

Henry Burris didn't look particularly happy on the sidelines watching Drew Tate marching the Stamps up and down the field.

[Rammer]

Henry Burris didn't look particularly happy on the sidelines watching Drew Tate marching the Stamps up and down the field.

That has always seemed to be HB's achilles heal in the past, not wanting the pressure of the HC looking at the bench should he not be producing. It will be interesting to see if he can overcome the newest threat from within.