Football Frenzy, Nov.16

Today is one of those perfect sundays that you only get a few times a year. The weather outside is nasty, and there is a full day of big football games on TV. Laval/Calgary, the Huskies and Western, Giants/Ravens, Steelers/ Chargers, a nightcap featuring Dallas/Washington. Crazy. There's even a Raptors game at 2:00!

I'm settling in to watch Laval and Calgary. I was going to write about how Calgary did not have a chance in this game but Laval beat me to the punch. Laval took the opening kickoff and 3 plays later scored a touchdown.

As always, Laval is scary good. They are a permanent fixure atop the rankings each year and they dominate the best conference in the country. It's enough that they are talented and well coached, but they also have 16000 fans cheering them on at the stadium.

It's fun to see Blake Nill on the sidelines of a big game again, but his youthful team is in way over thier heads. I'll be shocked if Calgary stays within 10 points.

Sidenote, if you ever get a chance to see a game at Laval, take it. It's a blast. The atmosphere is awesome. Thousands of red shirted fans walking around with Budweiser 4 packs in their hands. It's a great experience. Laval just made it 14-0 five minutes into the first quarter. Wow.

When I spoke with Huskies Head Coach Steve Summarah on Operation Wakeup last week, I asked him if the Atlantic and Quebec conferences have talked about making sure that there is a SMU/Laval game every year. It's such a great rivalry, and it's good for both conferences.
In the States, each conference has a revolving schedule fortmat, but they make sure that big rivals plays each other every year, i.e. Ohio State vs Michigan in the Big 10. If the Atlantic/Quebec interlock is going to survive, they can't have Laval and SMU go a couple of years without playing each other. It's not alot of fun for anyone watching Laval beat SMU's weak sisters of the AUS by 50 points in Quebec City every year. Laval is literally scoring a touchdown with every paragraph I write. 21-0 halfway thru first quarter!

On another note, CFL/CIS officials, and TSN/The Score executives really dopped the ball on their scheduling this weekend. The CFL had thier games on Saturday, which was smart. However, the CIS games on Sunday, vs. the NFL! Not smart.
If all parties would have come together and created a full day of canadian football, ideally on Saturday, they would have had something very special. All of the games should have been played yesterday, and here's what the schedule could have looked like.
1:00- Calgary vs Laval
4:00-SMU vs Western
7:00- Edmonton vs Montreal
10:00-BC vs Calgary

That would have been a fun day for canadian football fans.

Huskies/Western

17-12 for Western at this point. The Huskies are getting screwed on goal line plays. Western has scored two touchdowns on controversial calls. The first it appeared that the Western player fumbled just before crossing the goal line. On the seond, it looked like the Mustang runner was stopped shy or just at the goal line. It appears the refs have a quick trigger on the touchdown call. Give Western credit. they are moving the ball and making plays. It's a great game so far. If you're watching the Steelers and Chargers, stop. Watch the Huskies game.

Fishing for the Playoffs
The Dolphins improbable march to the playoffs continued today with an ugly win at home vs the horrible Raiders.

They needed a last second field goal to win 17-15. Sometimes a win is a win. Miami now has 6 of them and are set up nicely for a huge divisional game at home vs the Patriots.Miami blew out New England in week 3 when they unveiled their daunted "Wildcat" offence which has since become the darling of the league.
The Pats are 4-3 since that defeat while the fish have gone 5 and 2. Miami has benefitted from the very easy schedule as a result of going 1-15 last year.
The game vs the Patriots will be huge for both teams as the hunt for a wildcard spot is really heating up with the Colts getting back to their old selves.
The Dolphins have the easiest schedule of all playoff contending teams, includingg a home game vs San Fran, and road games vs. KC and St.Louis. Those 3 teams have a combined record of 6 and 24.

Colts are Back in the Mix
Three weeks ago the Colts were 3-4 and two of their wins were on miracle comebacks vs the Vikings and Texans. They beat the Patriots to get their confidence back. Beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh to get their swagger back. Today they took care of business at home vs the Texans, and now they are back in the AFC playoff chase.

The Colts survived a rash of devestating injuries and a brutal 9 game stretch of tough opponents and are now healthy, 6-4, and have several easy games ahead. They have games vs Cincinatti, Cleveland, and Detroit. Assuming they can sweep those three teams, they'll only need to win one of their remaining games vs Jacksonville, San Diego, and undefeated Tennessee. The Titans game could be especially intriging as it is the last game of the year. The Titans may still be in the hunt for an undefeated season and the Colts may need the win to get a Wildcard spot.

Speaking of Tennessee, they are now 10-0. The remainder of their schedule is as follows;
vs NYJ
at Detroit
vs Cleveland
at Houston
vs Pittsburgh
at Indianapolis

If they can beat the Jets, who are starting to look very tough, they should have clear sailing to 14-0. Then in tough vs Pittsburgh and at the Colts. Should get interesting.

Big D is Back!
Think Tony Romo isn't important to the Cowboys. They were on the verge of self destruction while Romo was injured. Now their on the cusp of beating the Skins in Washington. The next two weeks they play San Fran and Seattle, so they should be 8-4 heading into a brutal stretch run where they play the Giants, Steelers, Ravens, and Eagles! Yikes!