The Subtle Genius of Kavis Reed

With the sale of the Alouettes pending, and hopefully to someone who has more common sense than apparently the Wetenhalls, if Reed’s departure is going to serve as a cautionary tale, then maybe it hasn’t been a wasted two years. One gets the impression the league may do what it can to tap the brakes on the story, let Reed collect his severence, and turn the page and start anew.

The purge does not stop with Reed. The Als cut Stephan Logan, the seemingly ageless punt returner who seems to have stripped down a gear or two. Logam was said to have been one of Reed’s protected players, so make of that what you will.

One could argue that Reed was merely playing the hand he has been dealt and the Als two game winning streak is something that makes you think the future is perhaps closer than you would think. But this is again the Montreal Alouettes and in a moment of irony, having Joe Mack share the position with Khari Jones must have made the residents of Winnipeg, where dreams go to die, laughing with glee.

Mack’s previous stop in Winnipeg was notable for either the reaches in the draft or Mack’s tone-deaf approach to scouting Canadians. Mack had gone into Winnipeg after a number of years out and his skills were understandably cold.

So to compensate for Mack not being able to identify a Canadian player, it could be argued that Brendan Taman, who at least has had some success in drafting Canadians, come into Montreal to lend a hand. But that may be awhile, if ever, coming to pass.

For ever anxious Rider fans, the Montreal two game winning streak has them thinking that the crossover is maybe not such a sure thing this year. Well, it is week 6 and there is still a lot of season to go. The Riders need to take care of their own business before figuring the math in an eastern crossover.

That business starts Saturday night in Regina as part one of a home and home series with BC. A sweep would essentially bury one team while thrusting the other onto the runway towards playoff success. For BC the 1-4 start is unexpected considering the run BC had gone on to sign Mike Reilly and surround him with what seemed to be an inspired group of free agents.

The problem is with no offensive line, Reilly is being beaten like a pinata and the only good thing on the horizon is the Riders have not shown a consistent defense so far this season.

If the Riders mount a consistent defensive rush against Reilly, they stand a good chance of taking a big step forward toward a cross over spot. If not, they will let BC back into the CFL West race, much as they did in 2011 when the Riders could not take advantage of a BC team that started 0-5 and then turned their season around and won a Grey Cup. It happened before, it can happen again.

But BC may not be doing themselves any favors with Claybrooks saying the players are not executing what the coaches are giving them. Well, maybe after Ed Hervey went and recruited all the players from a fifth place team last year (Edmonton) , it would be expecting a lot for them to be contending for first place.

Claybrooks may be given a pass for trying to be honest, but then again, throwing everyone under the bus is sort of a Kavis Reed move. And just look where that got him. But let it never be said the Lions aren’t looking for answers. They brought in Ryan Lankford, who has looked good to start with a team, but seems to lack the consistency to keep a spot on the roster.

Lankford is here in BC after bowing out in Ottawa and two years in Winnipeg where aside from some kick off and punt returns, Lankford was renowned for clanking the ball off his shoulder pads on pass attempts. But give BC marks for at least trying to get Reilly into better starting field position – just as long as they don’t expect him to contribute on offense.

BC’s offensive line should see Sukh Chungh back in the lineup after having a tricep problem and Joel Figueroa with an ankle injury, but the Riders may want to test the mobility of those players as part of putting Mike Reilly to rest.

Then again Simoni Lawrence got his two game suspension upheld and one of the games will interestingly enough be Hamilton’s visit to Mosaic Stadium in August. The sentence is just for a blatant hit, and being able to uphold the suspension sends a message to the rest of the league that the CFL is serious about trying to enforce player safety and punish players who take liberties with the current reffing.

It also eliminates what I would have suggested for Hamilton’s visit should Lawrence still be on the roster for the Hamilton visit – run every play right at Lawrence until he folded like a cheap suit. With the suspension upheld, hopefully the message gets through.

So let’s take a look at this week’s collection of games starting Thursday night with Toronto at Calgary. For Toronto, this is a nightmare that doesn’t seem to want to end. After winning the Grey Cup in 2017, Cory Chamblin went south to try to jump start his career stateside and Marc Trestman after Ricky Ray went down seemed lost and confused and the team fired him at the end of the season.

So Chamblin comes back and you would think the Argos defense would be improved. Well, the problems still remain there and the Argo quarterbacking is not getting any better. Any hopes that James Franklin might be ready for prime time appear to be premature, whether it is from Franklin’s own work habits or just a lack of cohesion. So it is McLeod Bethel-Thompson at the reins and while he managed to rack up yards in garbage time against Winnipeg, the Argos problems probably extend higher on the food chain.

Chamblin will likely set a record for most consecutive losses, thanks to the football administration salary management system which will make it next to impossible to replace Chamblin and bring in another coach or coaches to fill out the staff. Jim Popp the GM may seem like a good bet to walk the plank with John Murphy on the sidelines ready to finally assume the GM duties he has been sniffing around for years.

My choice would be Bill Manning, president of the Argos. Manning’s only contribution to the CFL has been this CFL 2.0 where Manning sold Randy Ambrosie on this vision that the CFL should be like the English Premier League in soccer and get more European talent on the roster and thus get more interest from the multi-ethnic community in Toronto and who knows, maybe even Europe and Mexico.

But Manning was also responsible for the tone-deaf firing of Trestman who, while it could be argued may have lost a step in the CFL, was also pretty good when he had a quarterback who could execute at a high level. Anthony Calvillo and Ricky Ray are those type of quarterbacks, James Franklin is not in that category.

I’m not sure how the fan interest is in Toronto, but with the league tying itself to the ridiculous football administration cap, the best thing would be to get a capable football administrator running the operations side, get the full magic of the Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment conglomerate on marketing, and maybe they can build interest while righting the good ship Argo.

So what does that have to do with the football game? Well, players like Shawn Lemon didn’t make the trip and Chamblin’s reliance on aging vets has its limits when the production does not match up to what is being paid for it. The Argos are staying out west for the next couple of weeks for apparent team building or dismantling depending on the results of the game.

I would expect Calgary to cruise out to a big lead, then let Toronto get garbage yards and points when the game has been decided. I have to admit to being impressed with Calgary’s coaching staff and how despite the turnover in players and coaches, they come out, do their job and just win, or at least compete.

This game is a blessing for Calgary, and the bounty will come in the form of a 35-20 win that separates Calgary from the bottom of the west, otherwise known as BC and Saskatchewan.

Then we go to the place where dreams go to die, otherwise known as Winnipeg. The Bombers are 4-0 and investigating hotel possibilities in Calgary for Grey Cup. The parade route has been set and the floats are being worked on. Everything is in place for yet another glorious Winnipeg win in the month of July.

Ottawa comes in with the bloom off their Redblack Rose with quarterback Dominique Davis on the shelf and Jonathon Jennings stepping up to the plate for his Redblack start. For Jennings this is a game of redemption where he is desperately trying to prove Ed Hervey wrong about his work habits and he is more than a one trick quarterback for whom the rest of the league knows about the trick and how to stop him.

Addding to Ottawa’s problems is Antoine Pruneau, Seth Coate and Jonathan Rose also on the injury list and for Ottawa, if Jennings doesn’t provide the depth the team needs at quarterback, will Ottawa slip to the bottom of the standings as many thought prior to the season and Ottawa’s 2-0 start? Winnipeg will attempt to add their thoughts to the mess with a 33-23 win and another July Grey Cup win for the glorious Bombers!

Meanwhile in Edmonton, you cannot blame the Eskimo fans for laughing at how Trevor Harris is out-performing Mike Reilly in the wins and stats columns and at a much friendly cap hit than what Reilly has bound BC to. Harris is a rhythm quarterback and while his run has been nice, the law of averages says at some point Harris will get derailed and it will be interesting to see if Edmonton’s other players can step in and handle the challenge.

Matt O’ Donnell on offensive line has been placed on the six game injury list and the Eskimos have brought in J’Michael Deane to the active roster and Kwabena Asare to the practice roster. For Edmonton, the offensive line changes may not mean much with Harris getting the ball out quickly,

For Montreal the trick will be if they can get a balanced running attack and have Vernon Adams Jr. manage the game and even make the odd deep throw to keep Edmonton off balance. Montreal’s defense has been pretty consistent and the interesting thing is how the team reacts after Reed’s departure and the talk of number companies being used to slip money to players.

I would not rule out a Montreal win and would not be surprised, but Montreal has to throw Trevor Harris off his game and it’s no sure thing they can do that – Edmonton wins a close one 30-23.

Finally we have the battle of the nearly basement, where the loser is looking at a long road back to respectability, and that may not come this year. The Riders are coming off a bye week while BC reeks of desperation to try to turn around their season and their lack of protection for Reilly.

The question is whether the Rider defense can get its act together after a disgraceful performance against Calgary where the team seemed more interested in getting out to the airport to start their break than trying to stop Calgary when they had the chance.

That is mental toughness and the question is whether the Lions, made up of a lot of former Eskimos, have the character and toughness to turn things around or whether the Riders have the mental toughness to play defense at a level that won them games last year.

If the Rider pass rush is on, the defensive backfield more solid, then the Riders have a chance to win the first game of the home and home and put pressure on BC. If BC figures out how to get Mike Reilly from point A to B without being buried under the turf, then BC has a chance to salvage its season before inbreeding kicks in and BC faces the prospect that money does not solve all problems if you spend all your money on one player.

The Riders win a narrow one because I am not yet convinced the Riders can play to their potential, but a win is good enough at this point – 28-23.

by Greg Urbanoski

The Subtle Genius of Kavis Reed

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