The weekend in CFL and AFL action

Starting with the CFL, thanks to the quarterback MASH unit overflowing, we went 1-3 predicting winners and 0-4 betting on the line. Great start, FF! But we're honest when we screw up...and it was under mitigating circumstances! Check out the review of the four weekend games here - you'll see that if it wasn't for Montreal losing BOTH quarterbacks, they probably win against Ottawa...and if Edmonton doesn't lose Mike Reilly for the year, then Toronto may not win (y'know, we take that back. Trevor Harris made his second professional start for the Argos and went 24-27. They would've won regardless...)...and if Saskatchewan doesn't lose star QB Darian Durant in the game, they hold on to beat archrival Winnipeg. So, losing those games stings less than it might otherwise. GREAT Monday morning reviews of the weekend's action from Don Landry and Pat Steinberg for CFL.ca - LOTS of insight in a short read!

Regardless, there were four exciting games up north!

Week 1
Ottawa d. Montreal 20-16 (Game winning drive AND time draining drive by Ottawa!)
Calgary d. Hamilton 24-23 (Rene Paradis kicks winning FG with no time left)
Toronto d. Edmonton 26-11 (Harris dominates Reilly's replacement...)
Winnipeg d. Saskatchewan 30-26 (another game winning drive, this time Winnipeg's)

In the Australian footy league, the biggest story in Round 13 was Richmond's upset at Sydney, pulling away to win by 18 Friday night. Not only did it move the Tigers into the top 8 for the first time in a month, but it allows reigning premier Hawthorn to use their distinctive second half domination over rival Essendon (with some bad blood thrown in from the Hawks' Sam Mitchell!) to jump into the top four for the first time in two months! As those top four get the "double chance" in the playoffs, that's a critical distinction for any team. (Can we please wait to cover the details of the double chance until we reach August?)

The other four games went more or less to form: Fremantle def. Collingwood (but barely, by seven points); Adelaide waited until the fourth quarter to show their dominance over the Brisbane Lions, pulling away by 13 after trailing most of the game; the Western Bulldogs got revenge for the St. Kilda 55-point comeback on May 9, winning by 13; and Carlton proved they're starting to rise from the dead, beating still-deceased Gold Coast 103-69. (Oh, and we got five out of six right last week, missing on Richmond's upset.)

Now THAT'S a novel way to solve a QB controversy!

In the christening game of the Canadian Football League season, Montreal hosted last year's expansion Ottawa REDBLACK club, the only team required to CAPITALIZE its name. They were the biggest favorite of the weekend, and rightly so, with Jonathon Crompton at QB and Central Michigan alum Dan LeFevour pushing him, throwing to a loaded receiving corps against a 2-16 team.

So, the Montreal solution? Get them BOTH injured, and be forced to throw in rookie Brandon Bridge, who threw a game-breaking interception as Ottawa leads the Eastern Division at 1-0, winning 20-16. To Ottawa's credit, pinned back with four minutes to go, ran the clock out against the Alouette defense to seal the win - and they can't blame their quarterback situation for that.

The Alouette play by play man closed his broadcast tonight by asking for tweets from any interested Montreal fans who want to try out for quarterback for next week....and I think he was serious...

The CFL kicks off TONIGHT!

The pointy football's back in play starting tonight! Ottawa visits Montreal in game one of 81, and you can watch this one and many others on ESPN2 this year! You can also get involved in the pick'em game at cfl.ca - it's fun, free, and you can compete against us here at Following Football if you wish! (We're listed under "hesrdc", and our avatar is a sloth with sunglasses, smiling as only a sloth in sunglasses can!). 

There are a bevy of great articles there on www.cfl.ca that you can choose from to preview the 2015 season - we're picking Calgary to repeat, starting with a reprise of their Grey Cup victory over likely eastern-division winners (maybe) Hamilton tomorrow night. There are previews of each division, where Landry and Nye agree with us (with reservations), highlights on each team, and more. 

Remember the basic differences, Yankees - all of which make the Canadian version arguably more fun to watch...

1) The FIELD is 11o yards long (there are TWO 50-yard lines, with a C (center) line in between on 55). It's also about ten yards wider.
2) End zones are twice as deep, and the goal posts are UP FRONT, which makes for some VERY interesting pick maneuvers around it!
3) You only get THREE downs to make ten yards, so you cannot waste any plays!
4) But you can have danged near EVERYBODY in motion at the snap, even going towards the line of scrimmage. (And did I mention you have TWELVE guys on the field per team?)
5) Scoring has a twist: the rouge. Whenever you can stick the ball in the end zone (after a field goal attempt or punt, for example) without the other team being able to get it out, that's one point. So yes, in the CFL you can have those odd scores like 3-1, 7-4, and so forth!
6) Because the defensive line has to be a full yard off the ball (unlike in the US, where you have to stay just the length of the football away), QB sneaks are more successful, pass rushing is different, and all sorts of subtle line-related differences come up. (The biggest one, combined with previous rules, is the dominance of the passing game, even in cold weather.)

Personally, we here at Following Football started following the CFL when they very temporarily (over)expanded into the US, and there were teams all over BOTH countries about twenty years ago or so. (Sacramento was our team of choice.) That experiment was a financial disaster, but the CFL survived and recreated its original purpose.

Busy weekend outside the US - part one!

(And a belated Happy Father's Day to all my fellow dads out there! Remember: being a father means much more than genetics, much more than financial support. Be a dad, not just a father. Give your child - or children - someone they'll look up to for the rest of their lives: a role model to emulate. Never said it was easy - but it's necessary.)

The CFL is gearing up for Week One starting on Thursday night with Ottawa at Montreal - and ESPN has announced they'll be showing about twenty games this season on ESPN2! That will include the playoffs and the Grey Cup championship game! Here are our picks from Following Football ACNC for Week 1 - locate us in CFL Pick'Em and challenge our prognosticating prowess! (Probably won't be too difficult to beat us!)

Thursday: Montreal 33, Ottawa 7.
Friday: Calgary 34, Hamilton 21.
Saturday: Edmonton 31, Toronto 28.
Saturday: Saskatchewan 35, Winnipeg 17.

CFL.ca's Nissan Titan Power Rankings to start the season are pretty close to ours at Following Football... here are both for comparison:

1. Calgary (we have them 1st as well, rated at 48.9)
2. Hamilton (we've got them 5th, barely, 29.9, as the center teams are bunched.)
3. Edmonton (2nd on our list at 38.1; second best record in '14, two big wins preseason)
4. Saskatchewan (agree with 4th, at 30.0)
5. Montreal (7th on our list but we could see them rising)
6. Toronto (optimistic - we have them 6th for now but falling as the season progresses...)
7. BC Lions (they're more concerned with BC's injuries than we are - we have them 3rd!)
8. Winnipeg (agree - 20.6 rating, not a promising line on either side of the ball)
9. Ottawa (easiest pick of the bunch - last at 10.1)

So, the two big differences right now are their bullishness on Hamilton and ours on BC. We'll just see who's right over the next few weeks! Also, check out Pat Steinberg's weekly Monday Morning Quarterback column (Canadian style - not the Peter King version, although he's at least as brilliant a writer!).

As the pre-season ends up north...

...and the end of a few CFL careers come with the final cutdown tomorrow, we take a look at the final exhibition games and the starting Following Football ratings for the CFL:

- Troubled Toronto handles rival Montreal 30-10, to my surprise (the Argonauts don't play in their Rogers Centre home until August, including having to play a "home game" in Ft. McMurray next weekend. Their ownership is changing and the current owner's not likely to spend another dime on the Argos this year...)
-Hamilton over Winnipeg 26-15, posting a 2-0 preseason after two easy games against the two weakest teams after playing Grey Cup last November.
-Edmonton traveled to Vancouver and beat the BC Lions 18-13. They also went 2-0, but defeated two good teams in Saskatchewan and the Lions.
-Speaking of Saskatchewan, their broadcast went live on line tonight, so we watched them compete marvelously against the defenders from Calgary, who showed their class by coming back from being down all game to score the last two TDs and win 37-29.

Calgary certainly deserves the highest rating going into the 2015 season, which starts on Thursday night. Here's our picks for week one, with the FF Elo-style ratings in parentheses...

Thursday, Montreal (29.6) at Ottawa (10.1) - M should win 33-7.
Friday, Hamilton (29.9) at Calgary (48.9) - C should win, 34-21.
Saturday, Edmonton (38.1) "at" Toronto (29.9) - E in a close one, 31-28.
Saturday, Winnipeg (20.1) at Saskatchewan (30.0) - we see S big, 35-17.
(And in an odd-team league, it's the BC Lions (32.9) with the bye to start the season.)

If you're interested in joining me in the CFL Pick'em contest, go to cfl.ca and register before Thursday night! It's free, it's quick (only four games to pick each week), and it'll give you some insight into the Canadian game! Twelve men flying in all directions, three downs, big field - it's a blast!

AFL Week One In Review...

Welcome! Here are the game results from last weekend's Australian Football League games - Week One of the AFL "home-and-away" season:

Richmond 105, Carlton 78 (Season opener in the MCG!)
Melbourne 115, Gold Coast 89 (a big upset but a deserved win!)
Sydney 72, Essendon 60 (in a heavy downpour - Essendon was up 41 in the third)
Collingwood 86, Brisbane 74
Western Bulldogs 97, West Coast Eagles 87 (another upset, but the Eagles' injuries are going to knock 'em down several pegs this season)
GWS 87, St. Kilda 78  (but the Saints played well!)
Adelaide Crows 140, N. Melbourne 63 (the surprise of the round - not that the Crows won, but that they ANNIHILATED the Kangaroos, who never really showed up)
Fremantle 75, Port Adelaide 68 (the GAME of the round - both teams were superb)
Hawthorn 123, Geelong 61 (the showcase of the round: the Hawks are set for a three-peat!)

Here are the records, ladder positions, and ratings following Round One:

Hawthorn Hawks (1-0) #2	87.1
Sydney Swans (1-0) #5	74.5
Port Adelaide Power (0-1) #10	72.1
Adelaide Crows (1-0) #1	70.7
Fremantle Dockers (1-0) #9	69.5
Geelong Cats (0-1) #17	57.9
N Melbourne Kangas (0-1) #18	55.6
West Coast Eagles (0-1) #12	55.6
Richmond Tigers (1-0) #3	55.1
Essendon Bombers (0-1) #13	52.5
Gold Coast Suns (0-1) #15	42.2
Collingwood Magpies (1-0) #6	37.3
Carlton Blues (0-1) #16	36.4
Western Bulldogs (1-0) #7	35.2
GWS Giants (1-0) #8	31.0
Brisbane Lions (0-1) #14	29.9
Melbourne Demons (1-0) #4	26.0
St. Kilda Saints (0-1) #11	11.4