CFL in the stretch run Plenty still on the line as teams fight for playoff positions By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/10/2022 (700 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We’re in the final stretch of the CFL regular season, with Week 19 proving how fierce things are getting as we inch closer and closer to playoff football.

Just consider: it was the highest scoring week of the year, with an average of 64 points per game, with all four matchups having a one-score margin of victory and decided in the final three minutes. The double-header Friday night alone had a combined nine lead changes.

The Montreal Alouettes (8-8) opened the weekend’s slate of games by rallying in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Ottawa Redblacks (4-12) 10-0 in the final frame to secure a 34-30 victory at TD Place. That set the stage for another nail-biter, with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-10) pulling off a 35-32 win over the Calgary Stampeders (10-6) at McMahon Stadium to keep the Ticats once-faint playoff hopes now very much alive.

The Toronto Argonauts (10-6) padded their lead atop the East Division with a 28-23 victory over the Edmonton Elks (4-13), who had already been eliminated from the post-season The weekend concluded with the B.C. Lions (11-5) edging the West Division-clinching Winnipeg Blue Bombers (14-3), 40-32, to take a tighter hold of second place in the Division behind the Blue and Gold.

Indeed, with just two weeks remaining in the regular season, there promises to be some more exciting football down the stretch. Before we peek too far ahead, let’s take a closer look back at the week that was in the three-down loop in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.

1) It certainly feels, given what’s transpired this week, that the Cody Fajardo era is coming to an end in Riderville. It began on Tuesday, at practice, where Mason Fine replaced Fajardo at QB with the first-team offence. That raised some eyebrows, only for head coach Craig Dickenson to say it was merely a “vet day” for Fajardo and that he would be starting this week against the Stampeders. That tune changed following Wednesday’s workout, as Dickenson finally revealed his plan to give Fine the start, justifying the move as an attempt to “create a spark” for the struggling Roughriders. That prompted Fajardo to release this curious soundbite: “I hope there’s somebody out there that might still want me. I don’t think it’s the end of the Cody Fajardo football book, I think it might just be the end of the chapter.”

2) First off, for Dickenson to call it a vet day for Fajardo on the first practice — following a bye week, no less — is truly embarrassing and I don’t blame Fajardo one bit for being miffed. Equally cringe-worthy, though, was Fajardo’s woe-is-me response to being benched. The Roughriders have lost their last five home games and are 2-9 in their last 11 and are on the brink of missing the playoffs. Fajardo, who has thrown 10 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions over that dismal stretch, simply hasn’t been good enough, even if he has been hamstrung playing in front of a porous offensive line. Rather than throw support behind Fine like most good teammates would do, Fajardo decided to make it about himself, once again proving among the biggest issues in Saskatchewan is a lack of leadership.

3) How’s this for some CFL drama… the Roughriders, who are hosting the Grey Cup next month, no longer control their own fate when it comes to making the playoffs, with Hamilton capable of earning the third seed in the East with back-to-back wins over the lowly Redblacks to close out the regular season. With both teams at 6-10, the Roughriders would need a better record than the Tiger-Cats to earn the East crossover spot, meaning if Saskatchewan is to punch its ticket to the playoffs, it will have to win at least one, if not both of its final two games against Calgary. That also means Dickenson will have to find a way to defeat his brother Dave Dickenson, head coach of the Stampeders. There’s plenty of talk about Craig Dickenson losing his job if Saskatchewan can’t make the playoffs and wouldn’t that be something for his brother to provide the final nail in the coffin.

4) Sticking with Hamilton, the win over Calgary might have been the best game in a season that’s been full of classics, offering up the perfect mix of controversy and resiliency. Up a point with just more than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Tiger-Cats gambled on third-and-one from their own 22-yard line and were stuffed for a turnover on downs. Calgary then chewed up the clock a bit before ending the drive with a touchdown — followed by a failed two-point convert – to take a 32-27 lead. With the game seemingly out of reach, the Tiger-Cats roared back with a one final last-ditch effort, beginning with a significant return from Lawrence Woods on the kickoff. QB Dane Evans then connected with Tim White on a 42-yard bullet, only to find White again a play later in the end zone for the win. The victory was made even more impressive by the fact it was in enemy territory.

5) Hamilton head coach Orlondo Steinauer defended the third-down gamble call from offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell, which isn’t all that surprising, especially on the heels of such an emotional win. Harder to reconcile, though, is the fact Condell lined up Evans in a shotgun formation, with running back Wes Hills 10 yards back from the line of scrimmage at the start of the play. That’s a lot of real estate for things to go wrong and much riskier than a QB sneak. And it’s certainly less defendable if Hamilton doesn’t pull a rabbit out its hat at the end.

6) It’s one of, if not the most significant signings in Bombers history. Winnipeg locked in Zach Collaros to a three-year extension earlier this week, which will keep the Bombers franchise QB in blue and gold through the 2025 season. Collaros has been simply incredible behind centre since taking over late into the 2019 campaign, where he’d become the catalyst to back-to-back Grey Cup wins. The 34-year-old is a mind-boggling 31-4 as a starter in Winnipeg and is a sure-fire lock to be named the league’s most outstanding player for a second straight year, suggesting he’s only getting better with age. It’s amazing to think where the Bombers would be without Collaros, and equally as intriguing to ponder where he might take them in the years to come. It’s also wild to consider it was Fajardo who replaced Collaros in Regina after he suffered a concussion on the third play of the 2019 season.

7) The plan to get Collaros under contract has been in the making since August. The Bombers had a real fear of losing Collaros, understanding there are eight other teams that would want No. 8 on their roster. It was important for GM Kyle Walters to lock in Collaros, so he and his staff could start working on other extensions with key players. There’s something special brewing in Winnipeg, and the way Collaros and others are talking about the future, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more longer-term deals being made in the coming weeks and months.

8) There’s no way Collaros is committing three years if not for the new clause in the league’s collective bargaining agreement that now permits partially guaranteed contracts. Collaros signed for $600,000 per season, and under the new CBA, he is guaranteed up to half his salary for the final year of the deal (so long as he re-signs with his team). In this case, Collaros is being paid $500,000 in salary in 2025 (with the rest paid out through a signing bonus, among other things), and his contract does include the maximum of half that price tag, which he’ll regardless of whether the Bombers choose to release him or not. Continuity has been a major issue for some CFL clubs, especially after the introduction of one-year contracts a few years back, so hopefully this is a shift in the right direction.

9) There’s been a lot of speculation that Collaros wouldn’t have signed a long-term commitment if he wasn’t sure that head coach Mike O’Shea planned to return to Winnipeg once his contract expires by season’s end. I’m not so sure about that. Not because I don’t believe O’Shea will return — the Bombers, including Collaros, do believe he will, even if it might take a bit of work to meet his demands — but because I can’t imagine those two, each cut from the same razor-focused cloth, delving into each other’s contract statuses during a crucial part of the season. If anything, signing the likes of Collaros is showing O’Shea how invested the organization is to building a continued winner, making it extremely difficult to leave a good thing.

10) 3DownNation’s Justin Dunk reported this week that the Bombers are working on a contract extension for defensive end Willie Jefferson. While certainly true, I wouldn’t be expecting any imminent news, as I’m told those conversations have been halted and aren’t likely to start back up again until after the season. My guess is the Bombers will be able to find room for all their stars, though it might take a little bit to hammer out workable numbers under the league’s salary cap.

11) The Redblacks might have lost the game – their 10th straight loss and 22nd in the last 23 games on home turf – but that didn’t stop running back and Ottawa native Jackson Bennett from scoring a big catch afterwards. Bennett, who played his collegiate ball at the University of Ottawa and was making his first CFL start, proposed to his partner on the field afterwards, all of which was caught on video. What a cool moment for an otherwise challenging season in the nation’s capital.

12) Somehow, some way the Redblacks still have a shot at making the playoffs. They would have to win both games against the Tiger-Cats and the Roughriders would have to lose both games to the Stampeders. Amazing, given they’ve won just four games this season.

13) With the loss to Hamilton, Calgary pretty much kissed away any chance of finishing second in the West. For that to happen they’d have to beat the Roughriders twice and hope the Lions somehow lose to the Elks and a Bombers team that certainly won’t have their full lineup in a meaningless regular-season finale.

14) The Bombers took this past week to rest several starters and yet still came within a score of winning. If backup QB Dru Brown plays a little bit tighter, and doesn’t throw a pair of pick-6s, Winnipeg might have stunned the Lions. Even with the interceptions for touchdowns, Brown looked legit, finishing the night 28-for-39 passing for 325 yards and three scores. And he did that in front of an offensive line without tackles Stanley Bryant and Jermarcus Hardrick and guard Patrick Neufeld.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton