I’ve been behind on these reviews the past two weeks–somehow they’re more fun to write when we win.  It’s not even like I’m a fairweather fan–if you know me, you know this.  I don’t mind watching a loss, so long as it’s a good loss.  Last game against Edmonton wasn’t one of those–unless it goes on to serve us well in the weeks to come.  Big picture can change everything, you know.

So what needs saying that hasn’t been said in a hundred other places?  Not likely anything, but it’s my blog and I’ll re-hash if I want to.

• I know football is a game of momentum.  But 22-0, and then getting hammered 38-10 afterward–that’s hard to swallow.  I’m sure the players would say it themselves with more force than I ever could as a fan.
• Are Coach Etcheverry’s little tricks just that?  After dominating for sacks in the first two weeks, we’ve hardly Calvillo and Ray the past couple weeks.  Have we lost our edge that quickly?
• I’d take Jamie Boreham first overall in any “punter fantasy league”.  I don’t know if he’s the best punter, but he’s definitely the best hitting punter.
• How much are we missing Makowsky and Johnson and Smith?  The run game has yet to look impressive this season.
• Can Darian Durant be a true starter in this league?  Last year, he had me thinking, “Yes.”  I still think that, but it’s with some hesitation.  I know–patience.  And trust me, I’ve been preaching patience to everyone I hear ripping him.  For his sake and ours, I really hope he has a better week in Calgary, which is not an easy place to have a better week.
• Still on offense, we’ve GOT to get some first downs.  Even the best defense in history would need a break sometimes.  If we’d have won last week, it would have boggled minds around the world when they looked at the first downs, yardage, and time of possession.  We’re not desperate for big plays; we’re just desperate for some plays.  And in a row would be good.
• Dressler is still money in the bank.
• I’d love to see Cates break open a can of something in Calgary.
• Durant didn’t seem to have any trouble hitting Rob Bagg–best receiver of the day by a long shot.
• I love Stu Foord as much as the next fan, but he’s not a starting RB or returner.  Some fans will not like that dose of reality.
• Did you know we haven’t scored a single point in a third quarter yet this season?  One fan was raising a question to me about whether our coaches are making adequate half-time adjustments.  I think I’ll leave that question to answer itself thus far.

I’m hoping for a better showing in Calgary, but I admit that I’d put my money on the Stamps if forced to choose.  Green guys, go prove me and the rest of the doubters wrong.  It’s time to light someone up, and no one lights up better than Henry and his buddies.

Well…

There’s usually some pleasure to saying, “I knew that was going to happen,” but not so much this time.  Let’s review the obvious lessons we’ve learned this week:

• Montreal is currently the team to beat in the CFL, no question.
• Despite the loss, our defense continues to come up with big plays at big times.  Montreal isn’t a turnover-team, but we forced them into a few.
• Sacks are not a given, and the Montreal O-line may be the best there is this year.
• Ben Cahoon’s catch in the fourth quarter (I think) was a thing of beauty.  Yes, I’m speaking of the one that he caught on the other side of the defender’s helmet.
• Darian Durant isn’t Anthony Calvillo, but if he keeps learning, he’ll be all right.
• Wes Cates isn’t 100% yet, but it was nice to have him back in the lineup.

We’ve got 15 games to go to get to begin peaking.  Hopefully, this past game serves us up some significant lessons and valuable experience with which to move forward.

Next week: Let’s welcome Richie Hall back to town… rudely.

I’ve never seen a second quarter like that.  The whole quarter was a thrashing for Toronto.  When we blocked that punt for a TD right near half-time–absolute back-breaker.

Other notes:

• A few more sacks on a mobile QB–I like to see that.
• Stevie Baggs’ spin move on Rob Murphy was a thing of beauty.
• Dressler would look good in a Rider uniform for his entire career, I do believe.
• Hugh Charles is making our time without Wes Cates a lot easier than I was expecting.
• Eric Morris runs hard on returns.  Dare I say, we may be poised to actually put the “special” in special teams this season.

I’ll always take a win, and 2-0 sounds nice.  But…

Montreal will be a test, and my humble prediction is that we’ll be 2-1 when week 3 is finished.

But for now, we’re talking about a win.  Cue the video…

Five fumbles. Three interceptions. One turnover on downs and a blocked punt.

And we won.

That’s why football is better than figure skating and high diving… because you can be far from pretty and still win. All I want to see is I learn (and I mean quickly) how to protect that ball.

That said, I admit that I was expecting a loss to open the season. But amidst the turnovers, I saw some good stuff: An offense that got the job done, a Darian Durant who would have had a very solid game with one or two mistakes taken back, Congi is money again, and feistier defensive line than we’ve seen in a while. Nine sacks. NINE… in a game! There were months last year that we didn’t register nine sacks. Our running game wasn’t anything to brag about, but it was enough to keep BC’s defense honest, and it will climb as Cates and Makowsky return.

Overall, 1-0 looks good in what some of us fear could be a bit of rebuilding year. Keep fighting, boys, and we just might surprise some folks this season.

And in case you missed it, here’s the summary…