Earlier this month the 2011 CFL schedule was released, and one of the first things that this observer noticed was the rather lame opening week of play. The season opens up on June 30, as the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes begin their defence against the visiting British Columbia Lions. The next day, in a doubleheader, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers travel to Hamilton to battle the Tiger-Cats and then the Calgary Stampeders welcome the Toronto Argonauts to town. Finally, on July 3, the Edmonton Eskimos open up on the road against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

With only one real rivalry game scheduled for the opening week (Edmonton-Saskatchewan), it is hardly an opening schedule to be excited about.

Last season, the CFL seemed to nail the schedule almost perfectly.

The 2010 season opened up on Canada Day, featuring the then-defending Grey Cup champion Alouettes traveling to Saskatchewan. It was a Grey Cup rematch of the year before. As soon as the schedule was released, fans all across the CFL began circling the date on their calendars. That game was arguably the most anticipated season opener in league history. To make things even better, another game (Toronto at Calgary) followed. The Canada Day doubleheader really generated increased exposure for the league and got the season started right.

The CFL had the chance to build off the success of their opening week in 2010 this upcoming season. Having Saskatchewan travel to Montreal for an opening day clash would have generated as much or more excitement than the year before.

Instead, the Lions are visiting Montreal.  When these teams met in Montreal in Week 3 of 2010, the game went to the Alouettes by an unflattering score 16-12. Exciting! It is usually a slower-paced game when the Lions travel to Montreal. If this happens again, it will be a disastrous way to open the season.

In my opinion, there is a really simple formula the CFL should follow when making the schedule. The first game should always be on Canada Day (it is Canada’s league after all), featuring the defending Grey Cup champion at home against the team they beat. It does not necessarily have to be a doubleheader. The opening game would give the defending champs a chance to hang up their banner and it would give the losing team a chance to get some revenge. Plus, it would be a really exciting game.

B.C. vs. Montreal? Really? That's the best the CFL could do?

After the opening game, the league should try to work in as many rivalry games a possible. Of course, some matchups wouldn’t work. Saskatchewan couldn’t face Winnipeg because of Labour Day and the Banjo Bowl. But that would be a rare exception. This year, for example, Toronto could travel to Hamilton and the Eskimos could travel to Calgary, leaving Winnipeg and B.C. to battle. You couldn’t get a more exciting opening week than that. Why scatter the rivalry games all over the place when they could be put together to create a glorious Week 1?

While glancing at the rest of the 2011 CFL schedule, there wasn’t tons more to pick apart. That is, until I got to Labour Day weekend. Three of the games remain the same as usual, but the one glaring difference stood out. Montreal is traveling to Hamilton for the Labour Day Classic, breaking the longstanding tradition of Toronto journeying to Hamilton. Instead, the Argos host B.C. I understand Hamilton-Montreal is an upcoming rivalry, but to break up such a classic Labour Day rivalry like Hamilton-Toronto is simply wrong. Personally, the Hamilton-Toronto game is not the Labour Day Classic I most look forward to, but it is definitely ranked right up there with the Saskatchewan-Winnipeg and Edmonton-Calgary games.

All in all, the 2011 CFL schedule has a very impersonal feel to it. It seems as if the league has disregarded what the fans really want and went with what they felt would be a good schedule.

Don’t be surprised if many fans across the league are going to their calendar and erasing the circle around June 30. The anticipation for the opening game in the CFL is no longer there.

It is a great time to be an eraser salesman in Canada, but not so much a fan of the CFL.

Over the last decade, the Tabbies posted an heavily unflattering record of 61-118-1-3 and posted seasons of one, three (twice), four and five wins. They made the playoffs four times, but only won one game. Bad management decisions, poor coaching and inadequate players doomed Hamilton for much of this period.

Even now, when the Tiger-Cats have taken strides towards improvement after missing the playoffs from 2005-2008, things haven’t got that much better. The Black and Gold recorded a 9-9 record and secured a home playoff game in 09. Things looked good for them, that was until Casey Printers and the British Columbia Lions show came into town as the crossover team, outgunning the Tabbies 34-27 in the East semifinal.

Last season, Hamilton looked poised to advance to the East final as they played host to the inconsistent Toronto Argonauts in the East semifinal. Hamilton proceeded to turn the ball over five times and forgot to bring their running game, dropping an aggravating 16-13 decision.

Need I cite more examples?

Cobourne is coming off back-to-back Grey Cup victories with Montreal. The Tiger-Cats will be looking for him to deliver similar success in Hamilton.

Yes, it has been a time of futility for the Tiger-Cats organization, which has not won the Grey Cup since 1999. Only the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1990) have been lonely longer. Heading into this off-season, one had to wonder what the Tabbies could do to change the image of their organization.

Well, they may have just solved that problem.

The CFL free agency period kicked off last Wednesday, and Hamilton didn’t waste much time in snagging up a major free agent. The team signed former-Montreal Alouettes running back Avon Cobourne.

It is clear this move changes Hamilton’s entire outlook. Their team has, well, smelled recently. Cobourne reeks…. of success. Seriously, if Cobourne released a cologne, it would be called “SUCCESS”.  The West Virginia product won the Grey Cup in 09 and 10 with Montreal, and in 09 was named a league all-star and the Grey Cup’s most outstanding player. Most of the players on Hamilton’s roster can only dream of that kind of success.

You know the Tabbies are hoping Cobourne’s aroma will rub off on his new teammates. Without even looking at the impact he will serve on the field, the Coborune-signing is so important for the mood of Hamilton’s player. They will realize that they have a player in Cobourne who has performed amazingly on the big stage. Thus, they should have confidence in big games this upcoming season. With Cobourne added to the roster, Hamilton added a bit of a winning atmosphere.

Will Cobourne fix Kevin Glenn’s problems on the big stage, the oft-shaky wide receiving core of Hamilton or the inconsistent defence?

No, but having a playmaker of his quality on the team gives the Tiger-Cats a player they can go to in the crunch if others are struggling.

Cobourne will help Hamilton in both the running and passing game. In five CFL seasons, the five-foot-eight, 200 lbs., running back has attempted 593 rushes for 3,301 yards and 27 touchdowns, while maintaining a 5.6-yard average, and has caught 194 passes for 1,714 yards, five touchdowns, with a 8.8-yard average.

Keep in mind, this was while playing for Montreal. Over the years, the Alouettes have had such a potent passing attack led by Anthony Calvillo that they have not had to rely on Cobourne. If Hamilton requires it, Cobourne can take on a heavier workload and carry the offence a bit on his shoulders. He is 31 years old, but there should definitely be a couple of good years left for the new Tabbies running back.

Hamilton has had trouble finding a successful, but more importantly stable, running backs over the last while. DeAndra’ Cobb had rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons for the team, but was inconsistent and often dissapered in big games. Cobourne provides a better option for the Tiger-Cats.

The Tabbies have added more than just Cobourne so far in what has been a busy free agency period for them. The team has signed former-Saskatchewan Roughriders middle linebacker Renauld Williams, offensive lineman Wayne Smith and defensive back Daniel Francis. Daryl Stephenson, a running back who last played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, was also signed.

These others moves aren’t as significant, and the Tiger-Cats have lost a couple of solid players themselves. But the fact that the Tabbies have been aggresive during free agency and picked up one of the prized possessions on the block is a positive sign for an organization sick of losing.

================

While the Alouettes did lose Cobourne, they have still made a splash during the free agency period. Montreal signed 2009 all-star cornerback Dwight Anderson from Calgary, adding some skill and aggressiveness to its secondary. The Alouettes also added former-Bombers running back Yvenson Bernard and Lions safety Tad Crawford.

Edmonton was hardly quite so far during free agency, though there only major move so far has been to bring in promising receiver Chris Bauman, formerly of the Tiger-Cats. From Hamilton, the Green and Gold have also brought offensive lineman Brian Ramsay and defensive tackle Jermaine Reid on board.

The Roughriders have focused mainly on their offensive line when it comes to free agency, adding Alexandre Gauthier and George Hudson, both from Hamilton, to the mix. The Green and White also signed defensive end Tearrius George from Calgary.

They did lose Anderson, but the Stampeders made up for it a bit with the acquistion of Geoff Tisdale, a defensive back from Hamilton. Edmonton linebacker/long snapper Tim St. Pierre was added to the mix also.

In other moves, the Lions added former-Argonauts defensive tackle Eric Taylor, Winnipeg signed defensive end Shawn Mayne from Montreal and the Toronto Argonauts added former-Calgary saftey Wes Lysack.

With Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Ken Miller and Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman being named two of the finalists for the CFL’s head coach of the year award, which are being announced Feb. 25 in Vancouver, one could assume it will be a two-horse race for the award.

But, will all due respect to two talented coaches, the award this year should go to the third and final candidate: Jim Barker.

Vouching for Barker to be recognized above all other coaches is certainly something I would have never imagined doing heading into the season. When Barker was selected to fill Toronto’s head coaching vacancy, I was quite frankly stunned.

Barker and the Argonauts had plenty of reason to smile this season.

In fact, I wrote an article online titled: An open letter to Jim Barker. In this letter, I criticized Barker’s early decision to name Cleo Lemon, a rather inexperienced commodity, as a starter over Dalton Bell, who had outplayed Lemon during the preseason. Furthermore, I went on to criticize the Argonauts for not hiring a proven candidate like Scott Milanovich. I felt the offensive-genius that is Milanovich would help bolster Toronto’s on-life-reserve offence. I also thought the Argonauts were unwise getting rid of stellar rusher and Toronto’s top offensive player from last season, Jamal Robertson.

So naturally, after I laid it all on the line in letter-form, Barker proceeded to lead the Argonauts into the playoffs, Lemon played respectable for most of the season, and Cory Boyd emerged as a dominant running back for the Double Blue.

But seriously, the fact that I, and many other critics, could be proven SO wrong about Barker is reason enough that he should be named the coach of the year. Everyone knew there was a very good shot Miller and Milanovich would lead their team to the Grey Cup, but almost no one even gave Toronto a shot to make the playoffs. Barker, who had posted a 5-13 record during his last head coaching stint in the league, didn’t seem like the main to right the sinking ship.

The Argonauts finished 9-9 this season and earned a berth into the playoffs. This was very good for a team who was trying to rebuild from scratch yet again. Toronto had only won a total of six games in the previous two seasons. Then, the Argonauts strolled into Hamilton and knocked of the Tiger-Cats in the first round of the playoffs. The Double Blue was subsequently destroyed by Montreal in the East Final, but the team already had reason enough to celebrate.

Much of the team’s success this season can be attributed to Barker.

When he joined the Argonauts, one could sense that he knew things wouldn’t change overnight. It was clear that Barker was willing to be patient. After Toronto’s lacklustre Week 1 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, it appeared like the Argonauts were in for another long season. However, there was no evident panic from Barker. Then, Toronto stunned basically everyone by winning three straight, riding the legs of Boyd and a steady defence. In Week 7, the Argonauts beat the Alouettes (with Anthony Calvillo starting) 37-22. It was a huge statement game for Barker and the Argonauts. The team’s rapid pace would slow down in the second half of the season, but Barker patience had paid off – Toronto had made the playoffs in what was deemed a rebuilding year.

Barker’s patience was most evident in how he dealt with Lemon. After controversially being named the starter, Lemon was sour early in the season. Throughout the first several weeks, he rarely threw for over 200 yards and had more interceptions than touchdowns. But Barker remained adamant that Lemon was his starter. Barker realized Lemon was in his first season and might need time to develop. For a coach, especially a coach in his first season with a struggling team, it must be so tempting to change quarterbacks at the first sign of a struggle. Barker didn’t, and Lemon ended posting decent numbers for a young quarterback – 3,4333 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 19 interceptions and a 78.1 rating.

More importantly, by sticking with Lemon, Barker sent a message to his players that he had faith in them. Many people think of Miller or Trestman when discussing player’ coaches, but Barker’s players undoubtedly wanted to play for him. This respect Barker has gained will help the Argonauts keep players and wrangle other ones in.

Now, there is a chance that Toronto will revert back to their struggles next season. Maybe 2010 was nothing more than a Cinderella run. Perhaps Lemon is not the starting quarterback Toronto is looking for.

However, to not acknowledge Barker for a season that was simply magical would be wrong.

Calvillo has still got it.

Quarterback – Anthony Calvillo (Montreal Alouettes): Is the 38-year-old feeling the effects of his age? Not a chance. Calvillo has a league-best 111.7 quarterback rating and a 70% completion percentage. He has thrown for 2,472 yards, 17 touchdowns and a ridiculously low three interceptions.

Running Back – Cory Boyd (Toronto Argonauts): Boyd has been the biggest surprise this season. He is leading the league with 846 yards rushing and also has five touchdowns. He gives the Argonauts the rushing threat they have been lacking for a long time.

Running Back – Joffrey Reynolds (Calgary Stampeders): Reynolds doesn’t have many 100-yard rushing games, but has still had great success. He has 706 yards and four touchdowns while sharing a lot of carries with Jon Cornish.

Receiver – Arland Bruce III (Hamilton Tiger-Cats): “Bruce Almighty” has not disappointed after a slow start. He leads the league with 862 yards and also has five touchdowns. Earlier this season, Bruce tied the record for most catches in a game.

Receiver – Terrence Edwards (Winnipeg Blue Bombers): Edwards has bounced back after a sub-par 2009 campaign with 778 yards. He also has seven touchdown catches.

Receiver – Nik Lewis (Calgary Stampeders): Love him or hate him, Lewis is having success and no one saw that coming. After barely getting 1,000 yards last season, he is easily on pace with 607 yards. After only one receiving touchdown in 2009, Lewis already has five this season.

Receiver – Kerry Watkins (Montreal Alouettes): The consistent outside threat is at it again. With 630 yards and six touchdowns, he is easily on pace for another 1,000-yard season. His stats could drop with Calvillo out.

Receiver – Weston Dressler (Saskatchewan Roughriders): Dressler has been a solid deep-threat, accumulating 664 yards and three touchdowns. He has really stepped up against big teams.

Offensive Tackle – Gene Makowsky (Saskatchewan Roughriders): When Wayne Smith fell to injury, Makowsky was forced to move out to tackle. Despite his age, Makowsky has still been able to handle this move and dominate opposing linemen.

Offensive Guard – Scott Flory (Montreal Alouettes): The play of Montreal’s offensive line has improved as the season has gone on and Flory has been the anchor once again.

Centre – Tim O’Neil (Calgary Stampeders): Playing in place of Rob Lazeo this season, O’Neil has been the leader of a group that is one of the best in the league

Offensive Guard – Brendon Labatte (Winnipeg Blue Bombers): He didn’t do too well as a offensive tackle in the Labour Day Classic, but Labatte has excelled as a guard.

Offensive Tackle – Ben Archibald (Calgary Stampeders): Archibald hasn’t been a surprise on the offensive line for Calgary this season. He was the one player everyone know would be a solid lineman for sure.

Defensive End – Philip Hunt (Winnipeg Blue Bombers): Hunt is emerging as one of the dominant defensive ends in the league. He leads the league with eight sacks.

Patrick leads the league in interceptions.

Defensive Tackle – Jermaine McElveen (Montreal Alouettes): He has taken over for Keron Williams nicely, picking up four sacks and a forced fumble.

Defensive Tackle – Kevin Huntley (Toronto Argonauts): Toronto’s defence has been a big part of its success, and with four sacks, Huntley has done his part.

Defensive End – John Bowman (Montreal Alouettes): With players like John Chick, Stevie Baggs and Rickey Foley gone, Bowman is one of the better defensive ends left with seven sacks.

Linebacker – Kevin Eiben (Toronto Argonauts): Eiben has been one of the best defensive players of the year this season. He leads the league with 57 tackles and has two interceptions.

Linebacker – Jamall Johnson (Hamilton Tiger-Cats): Johnson has been the leader of Hamilton’s front seven. He has 54 tackles, two sacks and an interceptions

Linebacker – Chip Cox (Montreal Alouettes): Cox is another favourite so far to be named defensive player of the year. Cox has been versatile, with 42 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and one touchdown.

Cornerback – Brandon Browner (Calgary Stampeders): Browner has solidified Calgary’s secondary. He leads the team with four interceptions.

Halfback – Chris Thompson (Edmonton Eskimos): Thompson has been a bright spot for the Eskimos in their terrible season so far. He has five interceptions.

Safety – James Patrick (Saskatchewan Roughriders): Patrick has developed into an elite safety. He leads the league with seven interceptions and one touchdown.

Halfback – Lance Frazier (Saskatchewan Roughriders): Frazier has three interceptions on the season and has also added one sack. He also has four forced fumbles.

Cornerback – Dwight Anderson (Calgary Stampeders): Anderson might not be the cleanest player in the league, but he is one of the more effective ones.

Kicker – Paul McCallum (British Columbia Lions): McCallum has only missed one field goal this season and has nailed a 50-yard field goal.

Punter – Burke Dales (Calgary Stampeders): Dales continues to be a consistent punter. He is averaging 45.8 yards and has given Calgary great field position.

Kick Returner – Macus Thigpen (Hamilton Tiger-Cats): Out of nowhere, Thigpen has emerged as one of the most explosive returners. He has a kick return touchdown, a punt return touchdown and a missed field goal return touchdown.

After all, last season Durant and the Saskatchewan Roughriders didn’t lose a game to the Calgary Stampeders and Durant matched up well against Burris in head-to-head meetings. It was a common opinion that Durant’s stock was rising, while Burris’ stock was on the decline.

This season, however, Burris has shown he is not quite ready to be surpassed by Durant just yet.

After Durant started off strong this season and Burris started off slow, Burris has rebounded nicely and is now outplaying Durant. Calgary’s recent success and Saskatchewan’s recent struggles certainly reflect this.

The change in each team’s fortunes started in Week 4, when the 3-0-0 Riders travelled to Calgary to take on the 2-1-0 Stampeders.

At this point, Durant had gone 62/ 101, for 941 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception on the season, while Burris had gone 71/111, for 788 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions. Durant was not only outplaying Burris, but he was a leading candidate early in the season for the most outstanding player award.

Burris and the Stampeders are outplaying the Riders right now.

As a team, the Riders had already beaten the powerhouse Montreal Alouettes and had earned victories over two West Division foes: the Edmonton Eskimos and the British Columbia Lions. Calgary, on the other hand, had earned their two victories over East Division opponents. In fact, they had not played a West opponent until this point of the season. Because of this reason, many fans felt the Stampeders’ record was deceivingly-high and they would get a wakeup call the hands of the Green and White.

There was a wakeup call in the game, but it was delivered to Saskatchewan instead. Tied at seven going into the second half, Calgary exploded for 33 second half points and stunned the Riders 40-20. Durant threw one touchdown and three interceptions, while Burris tossed four touchdowns and two interceptions.

This was really a turning point in the season so far for both teams. Suddenly, Calgary is red-hot. The team is currently riding a five-game winning streak and sit first place in the West comfortably at 7-1-0. Saskatchewan is stone cold, dropping two of its last four games. Last week, both facing 1-6-0 teams, Calgary easily took care of B.C. while Saskatchewan lost in the dying minutes against the Eskimos.

The rise and fall of each team has had a lot to due with the play of the quarterbacks. Stats-wise, Durant was outperforming earlier in the season. Now, not so much. Burris’ numbers on the season are: 183/281, for 2,226 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Durant’s numbers on the season are: 177/301, for 2,474 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Besides yards and interceptions, Burris is leading Durant in almost all categories. He has more completions, a better completion percentage, more touchdown passes and a better quarterback rating.

Has Burris been perfect? Not exactly. Though his team is on a five-game winning streak, there have been some close calls. But, he is doing what Durant is having trouble doing currently, winning.

The fact that Burris is leading in the league in touchdown passes and has cut down somewhat on the interceptions just show how much he has improved since his early-season struggles. Since Week 4, he is averaging close to 300 passing yards a game. More importantly, he and the Stampeders are doing what they failed to do early in the season, attack opposing defences deep. Some of these deep throws have led to interceptions, but in the process Calgary has become far more explosive on offence. With Ken-Yon Rambo back and Nik Lewis and Romby Bryant playing well, Burris has tons of hot targets to throw the ball to.

Burris has also been using his feet more effectively to buy his receivers time, something Durant was doing well earlier in the season.

Durant has averaged a decent amount of passing yards a game in the last four weeks, but his interception total has skyrocketed. Not all of these interceptions have been his fault, but the fact is it is an area that continues to be a concern for Durant. For all of the beautiful touchdowns he will throw on the run, he is starting to throw just as many interceptions in general. His team has suffered as a result. In their stunning loss to Edmonton last week, Durant deserved most of the blame.

With Saskatchewan playing relatively week foes recently, they haven’t exactly looked impressive. Once again, this has something to do with Durant. Against teams with winning records, Montreal and Calgary, Durant has thrown for over 400 yards a game. Against teams with non-winning records, Edmonton, B.C., Hamilton, he is throwing for less than 250 passing yards a game.

Now, it is too early to right off Durant just yet, but the fact that Burris is outplaying him at all is surprising. Heading into the season, with all of Calgary’s losses and Saskatchewan’s gains, to see Calgary playing so well and Saskatchewan playing so poorly is something no one would have expected.

Saskatchewan is not out the race for first in the West yet. Calgary still has to travel to Saskatchewan twice this season and play the Montreal Alouettes twice. However, if the Riders hope to get match-up against the Stampeders, Durant will need to improve. With similar defences and special teams units, Durant and the offence will need to outshine Calgary’s offence to win in the future.

Durant may be an up-and-coming star, but for now Burris looks content to hold onto his elite quarterback status.

Follow Hamelin’s work on Facebook and Twitter.

Who will the British Columbia Lions start at quarterback in their game against Calgary after their bye week? That decision will be up to head coach/general manager Wally Buono, who is in the unenviable position of trying to fix something that is clearly broken.

You could blame a number of things for BC’s poor start – the drop-off in the run game, the poor run defence, the shaky offensive line, or the struggles of Paris Jackson – but it is pretty clear that the inconsistent play of the quarterbacks has been a major factor in the Lions shocking 1-6-0 start.

"Printers has not played like his 2004-self just yet"

First their is Printers, who was basically named ‘the saviour’ after returning to the Lions last season. This was the man who, in 2004, threw for 35 touchdowns, over 5,000 yards and rushed for 469 yards and nine touchdowns en route to being named the most outstanding player. Though he lost all three of the regular season games he played in 2009, a 34-27 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East semifinal, during which Printers threw for 360 yards and one touchdown, gave fans hope for 2010. Though Montreal devoured BC 56-18 in the East final, fans hoped that Printers could captain the ship in 2010.

Printers, who hasn’t played since Week 3 but could return after the bye week, didn’t exactly dazzle when he was the starter. In the 25-10 victory over Edmonton in Week 1, it was the running game and the defence that secured victory for the Lions. Printers was 20/34 for 218 yards. Nothing spectacular. Before he was injured in BC’s 37-18 loss to Saskatchewan in Week 2, Printers was putting a decent game together statistically, but wasn’t generating many points against the Saskatchewan Roughriders defence. Finally, in the ugly 16-12 loss to Montreal at home in Week 3, Printers completed only 50 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions.

While he may have improved his attitude a bit, Printers has not played like his 2004-self just yet. His running abilities – which have been dazzling in the past – have not been utilized this season. He has been OK in the passing game, but is not dominating like he once did.

So far this season, Printers has gone 50/88 for 591 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Then there is Jarious Jackson, a quarterback who has struggled with inconsistency and, more recently, injuries. The fact that he has never had a quarterback rating over 90 shows that he isn’t a top level quarterback. Throughout his career, Jackson has been battling with quarterbacks like Dave Dickenson, Buck Pierce, Printers and Lulay for playing time.

"The major concern with Jackson has always been his accuracy"

After battling through an injury this season, Jackson saw his first bit of playing time in Week 6, when the Calgary Stampeders defeated BC 27-22. Coming on for an ineffective Lulay, Jackson went 8/17 for 99 yards and one interception. He seemed very interested in testing his arm strength, as he threw deep ball after deep ball, many of these falling harmlessly to the turf. Then, in his first start of the season the next week against Saskatchewan, Jackson did not test the defence deep and threw two interceptions in a 37-13 loss.

The major concern with Jackson has always been his accuracy, especially in the short/mid-range game. While he does throw a decent deep ball, he seems to rely on long throws far too often. Against Saskatchewan, he tried not to rely on the deep game and was highly ineffective. For a quarterback to be successful in this league, he needs to be well-rounded.

So far this season, Jackson has gone 26/48 for 293 yards and three interceptions.

Finally, there is Lulay. Though his career has just begun, the pivot has been compared to former greats Jeff Garcia and Dave Dickenson. In his first start in the CFL last season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Lulay went 13/24 for 177 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, leading the Lions to a 24-21 victory. BC had enough confidence in him to get rid of Pierce this season.

Lulay got a chance to start this season much sooner than he likely expected. Following the injury to Printers, and with Jackson injured, Lulay got a couple of starts. In his first start this season against the Toronto Argonauts, Lulay went 26/40 for 330 yards and two interceptions. Unfortunately, one of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown and cost the Lions the game. The next week, Lulay threw for under 150 yards and two interceptions as BC fell 28-25 to the Eskimos. Before he was pulled in Week 6, Lulay threw for only 159 yards and one interception.

Does Lulay have potential? Sure, but for now that’s all it is. The fact is Lulay is throwing too many interceptions, not enough touchdowns, and has failed to lead the Lions to a victory during his time under centre. Perhaps Lulay needs to mature further before being a starter.

"Does Lulay have potential? Sure, but for now that’s all it is"

So far this season, Lulay has gone 66/109 with 820 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions.

If you look at the total numbers for all three quarterbacks, it is 142/245 for 1,704 yards, three touchdowns and 10 interceptions. I think those numbers pretty much sum up the quarterback situation in BC.

So, who gets the start for the Lions? While none of those options look appealing, Printers will likely get the nod. He was the starter going into the season and Lulay and Jackson have looked brutal in relief. Still, one has to wonder when the Lions will pursue other options at the quarterback position. Kerry Joseph, perhaps?

Of course, the quarterbacks can’t solely be blamed for Lions struggles. The running game, which was so effective in Week 1, has cooled down, the offensive line has allowed 20 sacks and has hung the quarterback out to dry in basically every game, Jackson is on pace for only 732 receiving yards after two consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns and the defence is giving up 139 rushing yards a game.

Still, the quarterback is responsible for helping his team win games. It hasn’t been happening for BC. Buono, who has suffered through quarterback problems for most of his tenure in BC, has got to be scratching his head wondering how to fix the problem under centre.

At 1-6-0, there isn’t a whole lot of time to figure it out.

Hamelin’s work can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

The NFL signed players from the CFL in a frenzied pace. There were some signings that didn’t garner much attention, but some big names were take from the CFL like defensive end John Chick (2009 most outstanding defensive player), returner Larry Taylor (2009 most outstanding special teams player) and running back Martel Mallett (2009 most outstanding rookie).

Naturally, this activity worried some fans. For some, it meant watching their team’s star player or players leave. Others worried that this kind of behaviour would become a trend.

However, it is funny to note that after six weeks of play in the CFL, these big name departures to the NFL have had virtually not affect on their respective CFL clubs.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders were arguably hit the hardest by the NFL in the off-season. The team lost defensive ends Chick and Stevie Baggs as well as starting middle linebacker Renauld Williams.

The Riders were sad to lose Chick to the NFL, but Hawkins and Mullinder have more sacks each than he did at this time last season.

Fans of the Green and White wondered how the Riders could replace the 23 combined sacks of Chick and Baggs. The answer has been ex-NFLer Brent Hawkins and Luc Mullinder.

So far, Hawkins has three sacks and Mullinder has three. Fans may think this is a far cry from the performance of Chick and Baggs, but through six weeks in 2009, Baggs had four sacks and Chick only had two. As a team, the Riders are on pace for 45 sacks. They only had 39 in 2009.

As for Williams, free agent pickup Barrin Simpson has filled in nicely. Through six weeks, Simpson has 30 tackles and is on pace for 90 tackles. Williams had 59 in 2009. When it comes to stopping the run, the Simpson-led defence is allowing 105 yards a game, but this is actually an improvement from 2009 when 124 rushing yards were allowed a game.

The British Columbia Lions were also hit hard by the NFL, losing starting defensive end Ricky Foley and Mallett.

Even without their sack-master Foley, BC is on pace to exceed their sack total of 45 last season by about six sacks.

To replace Mallett, the Lions turned to free agency and brought in Jamal Robertson, who spent 2009 with the Toronto Argonauts.

BC hasn’t experienced a drop off in the running game with Robertson in, who has rushed for 388 yards and five touchdowns so far with a 7.1-yard average. He is on pace for 1,164 yards and about 15 touchdowns. Mallett finished last season with 1,240 yards and six touchdowns. Keep in mind, Robertson is on pace to get 49 less carries this season than Mallett did last season.

The Montreal Alouettes were not affected much by the NFL, but losing Taylor was a concern.

Taylor had been one of the most dazzling returners last season. He had a 20.8-yard kick return average, two punt return touchdowns and a missed field goal return touchdown.

The Alouettes have found their man to replace Taylor in Tim Maypray. Maypray is averaging 22.4 yards on kick returns and already has two missed field goal return touchdowns.

For the Calgary Stampeders, the loss of offensive lineman Dimitri Tsoumpas appeared to be pretty serious.

With two missed field goal return touchdowns, Maypray has replaced Taylor nicely in the return game for Montreal.

Yet without Tsoumpas, who recently returned to Calgary, the offensive line has allowed only 12 sacks (tied with Saskatchewan for the lowest in the league) and have helped the Stampeders average 141 rushing yards a game.

The only other team who had a major loss in the off-season was the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who lost defensive back Jonathan Hefney. Hefney, who was the East Divison most outstanding rookie last season, had 66 tackles and four interceptions in 2009.

This move has not had a very negative affect on Winnipeg’s secondary. After recording 31 interceptions and allowing 271 passing yards a game in 2009, Winnipeg is on pace for 12 interceptions in 2010 and they are currently allowing 278 passing yards a game. The interception total may be low, but the secondary is not doing worse against the pass and that is the important thing.

While some teams in the CFL that lost star players to the NFL are struggling this season, like BC at 1-5-0 and Winnipeg at 2-4-0, it is not due to these losses. Would BC be winning games with Foley? Would Winnipeg be winning games with Hefney? Not likely.

Most teams have not been affected at all by their star players leaving to the NFL. Montreal and Calgary are 5-1-0 and Saskatchewan is 4-2-0.

So, why have teams adapted to their star players leaving for the NFL so well? There is not a clear answer, but it does speak highly of the level of talent available in the CFL and general managers ability to adapt.

So, if a star player on your favourite team bolts to the NFL in the future, just take a deep breath and relax. As we have seen this season, it is not the end of the world.

It is time to add CFL fantasy football to the list.

Since the launch of Fantas-Eh Football (http://fantaseh.ca/), a new CFL fantasy football site, crowds have been flocking to the site.

“Currently, there are a few thousand people registered on the site,” says Matt Brown of Regina, who was behind the creation of the site along with fellow Reginans Aaron Brown, Dan Brown, Aaron Cook and Lee Garinger. “The reaction from the public has been great. We have received many emails from customers thanking us for creating the site. People are having a lot of fun playing Fantas-Eh.”

Fantas-Eh Football follows a similar format to other fantasy football sites with some exceptions. Teams consist of one quarterback (one starter), two running backs (one starter), four wide receivers/slotbacks (three starters), four defensive linemen (two starters), three linebackers (two starters) and four defensive backs (two starters).

Drafting individual defensive players is obviously different from most sites where owners draft group defences. Fantas-Eh Football owners also have the option to draft team quarterbacks as well. Also, due to the unique import rule in the CFL, owners must start one Canadian per week (though that is only the default setting).

Due to some suggestions, Brown says more features may be added to the site next year.

“One of our next priorities after site functionality is to upgrade the site based on our observations and customer suggestions,” he notes. “Many improvements have already been made this year including the online draft and individual player stats during games.”

Brown adds “Our team is constantly working to improve and will release an even better site in 2011. Some upgrades that you may see in 2011 are increased roster limits, additional stat settings, including forced fumbles, fumbles, pass knock downs, special teams etc., a search mechanism in the free agent list and the option to sort the free agent list by point totals.”

Owners can easily set their starting lineup by dragging players onto the screen.

Before the idea for the site came around, the creators of Fantas-Eh Football were simply fans of the CFL who longed for a CFL fantasy football site. After some of their own attempts to run a league on paper “failed miserably” last year, they decided to try and create a site that would not only allow everyone easy access to CFL fantasy football, but look professional.

Mission accomplished.

On the main page, once an owner logs into their league, they can view the standings, talk some smack, customize their team or make a trade. The team management page gives an owner complete control over their team, whether they want to enter trade negotiations or sign a free agent. On the starting lineup page, owners can set their lineup by easily dragging the applicable player to the applicable spot on the screen. Finally, on the game day match-up page, owners can take a look at how their teams is doing in their game and view other scores from around their fantasy league.

On the front page of the entire site, there is all the information potential players need and the site has even added a fantasy column title “Prophet’s Picks” to keep fans informed on the latest fantasy news.

Fantas-Eh Football is not only easy to use, but it is visually appealing.

“Without a high quality site it is unlikely that CFL fantasy football would be taken seriously,” Brown explains. “Clearly, many of our customers are experienced fantasy players and would accept nothing other than a quality site. We have received many compliments on our site design and features. Clearly, our site has become a legitimate entity in the fantasy sports world.

“I still remember seeing components of the site for the first time and I was amazed. I think many of our customers felt the same way when they logged onto Fantas-Eh for the first time! We are very proud of what we have created and feel that Canadians are deserving of a quality fantasy site.”

Cook, a computer programmer, designed the site.

“To put it simply – without Aaron Cook, there would be no Fantas-Eh football,” says Brown. “He is an incredibly intelligent and talented programmer. Aaron has spent countless hours creating the Fantas-Eh site and providing tech support to our customers. One of the best things about Aaron is that he is very good at writing code, yet he still has the ability to build a site that demonstrates creativity and looks incredible. Because there are no other programmers in our group, Aaron has had a massive work load and has handled it very well.”

On the team management page, owners can sign or release players or offer a trade to another team.

One of the major questions facing the creators of the site when they undertook such a large project was: How will they record live stats? The creators of the site made a commitment to watch each game and collect “quickly and accurately”.

“Our stat collection process involves watching all games and then reviewing published statistics to check for discrepancies,” Brown explains. “There have been times when we see something other than what appears in the published statistics, but it is fairly uncommon. Any mistakes we make are generally fixed before the weekly turnover.

“Up until this point, the worst thing about collecting stats was giving up our season tickets for the Saskatchewan home opener against Montreal. Missing one of the most exiting games of all time was a true test of our commitment – and believe me, it was tough!”

If you’d like to give Fantas-Eh Football a try, but would like to give it a test drive before shelling out the $79.99 ($59.99 if you buy during the free trial) for a league, you’re in luck.

“Our free trial is still in effect,” says Brown. “We decided to extend the free trial because we wanted people to have the opportunity to test the product before purchasing it.  We feel very confident in our product and have received numerous emails from customers who look forward to purchasing a league.”

Yet every team, no matter how good, has their weaknesses that can be exploited by opposing teams.

On Saturday the Calgary Stampeders, much like professional scientists, used a near-perfect formula to best the Green and White 40-20, ending the team’s three-game winning streak. In doing so, Calgary jumped into a tie with the Saskatchewan for first in the West Division at 3-1-0.

While some wouldn’t call it a “shocking” upset, the fashion in which Calgary emerged victorious was jaw-dropping. So, what did Calgary do right to pull off the upset?

Put pressure on Darian Durant: Durant is a mobile quarterback. He won’t necessarily take off and scramble a lot during a game – though he is the second-leading rushing quarterback in the league with 162 yards on 17 carries – but Durant does use his mobility in the passing game. If Durant is feeling the pressure he will often escape the pursuing defenders, buying more time for his receivers, before throwing a completion. In Week 1, when the Riders were taking on the Montreal Alouettes, Durant avoided the pressure and threw a beautiful 87-yard touchdown pass to Rob Bagg. So, what is the best way to counterbalance this? Lots of pressure. By bringing the heat on Durant, team’s can force him to stay in the pocket or force a rushed throw and a possible interception. The Stampeders brought a lot of pressure all game long, tallying two sacks. One of these sacks led to a safety and the constant pressure caused Durant to throw three picks. Durant had only thrown one interception in the first three weeks. By pressuring Durant relentlessly, Calgary did not allow him to have time to dictate the game. The defence certainly made Durant look ordinary.

Attacked the defence deep: Saskatchewan hasn’t been the easiest team to run the ball against this season, but they have allowed over 320 passing yards a game. Simply put, teams can have success against the Green and White if they throw the ball. Besides cornerback Omar Morgan and half back Lance Frazier, the Riders field a pretty inexperienced defensive secondary. James Patrick has only been playing safety for two years, cornerback Donovan Alexander has only started for one year and Chris Mackenzie is in his first year as a starter at the half back position. This inexperience has shown early in the season, as Calvillo torched the defence for four touchdowns in Week 1 and Edmonton’s receiver Fred Stamps had over 200 yards in Week 3. Ironically, Calgary had not had many deep passes heading into this game. They had proven to be cautious when it came to attacking defences deep. They weren’t cautious in this game, as Burris challenged Saskatchewan’s defence deep. This didn’t always work – Burris threw two deep interceptions to Patrick – but he also connected with Romby Bryant on a 67-yard touchdown bomb. By throwing these deep passes, Calgary opened up the short game.

Used a well-rounded attack: Saskatchewan has proved this season that one player doesn’t have to carry the team himself. Calgary adopted this mentality, getting numerous players involved in the game. On the ground, Calgary utilized more than just one running back. Joffrey Reynolds had 15 carries, 93 yards and one touchdown while Jon Cornish also chipped in with 77 yards on five carries. This duel-running attack helped Calgary pick up some key first downs without over working Reynolds and opened up the passing games. In the passing game, Burris spread the ball to numerous receivers. Bryant led the way with seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Nik Lewis, whose conditioning has been questioned this season, chipped in with five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. P.K. Sam had a solid game with 46 yards and a touchdown. Even speedster Deon Murphy chipped in with two catches for 25 yards. Calgary was able to move the ball consistently against Saskatchewan because they used multiple targets. In the process, they mirrored what the Riders do so well.

Won the field position battle: With such a talented offence, it is important to make the Riders start their drives as deep as possible. As good as their offence is, it is hard for any team to score when they are starting their drives so deep. Punter Burke Dales helped the Stampeders win the field position battle on this day. He averaged 48.3 yards a punt in the game, pinning the Riders near the goal line a couple of times. The field position battle was very lopsided in the first half, a big reason why the Riders only scored seven points. Murphy also helped out in the return game, averaging 31.5 yards a return. Calgary had ideal conditions to execute their offence, while the Green and White were just fighting to get the ball out of their end.

Didn’t get comfortable: Calgary held a 19-10 lead heading in the fourth quarter. Time to relax? Hardly. Every team knows the Riders are the “comeback kids”, having already won two games from behind this season. You can never be comfortable with a lead against them. Just ask Montreal, who saw a 33-12 lead evaporate in a hurry in Week 1. Instead of being complacent, Calgary worked hard to put the game away. Early in the fourth, Cornish broke of a 50-yard run and Bryant finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown catch. The defence then forced another Durant interception and Reynolds ran the ball into the end zone three plays later, giving the Stampeders a commanding 33-10 lead. The Stampeders even added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. With so many late surges by the Riders in the past, it was surprising to see the team fail to mount any sort of comeback. Credit has to go to Calgary.

While it may have just been one bad game for the Riders, the Stampeders followed a perfect formula to beat the Riders. Will the rest of the league take note? Will the Riders find the road harder going forward? Will Saskatchewan emerge from the loss even better? Only time will tell, but for now the Stampeders will celebrate a huge victory.

Quarterback Henry Burris had just finished his seventh season of professional football. He spent the first two years primarily as a backup quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders, served as the starter for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2000, had a brief stint in the NFL and NFL Europe, then returned to Saskatchewan in 2003.

In 2004, Burris led the Riders to the West Final against the British Columbia Lions. Unfortunately, then-Saskatchewan place kicker Paul McCallum missed an 18-year field goal in overtime and the Green and White went on to lose the game.

That off-season, Burris had a decision to make. He could re-sign with Saskatchewan or pursue another option. Burris shocked the Green and White faithful by signing with the Stampeders. Why Burris decided to leave Saskatchewan is obviously debatable.

Whether or not you are a fan of Burris, though if you live in Saskatchewan you almost certainly hate him, it is clear that his move to Calgary was the best thing that could happen for Calgary, Saskatchewan and the Canadian Football League.

The Stampeders certainly benefited from the move. In the era known as “Before Burris”, Calgary was in a rut. They had missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, winning only 15 games in total. Furthermore, the team needed a stellar quarterback. They had tried to find a quarterback, but players like Ben Sankey, David Corley and, who could forget, Kevin Feterik failed to deliver.

Burris brought a spark to Calgary. He immediately helped the team improve, as they posted a record of 11-7-0 in 2005 and made the playoffs. In fact, since Burris made his decision to come to Calgary, the Stampeders have not missed the playoffs. Burris has led the team to a combined record of 51-37-2.

But, a real star quarterback needs to win a Grey Cup for his team.

After struggling in the playoffs during his first three years with Calgary, Burris finally won the big game in 2008. The team posted 13 wins during the regular season and then beat the British Columbia Lions and Montreal Alouettes in the playoffs.

Statistically, Burris has enjoyed success in Calgary. In his six seasons with the Stampeders, Burris has gone 1,646/2,722 for 23,734 yards, 146 touchdowns and 80 interceptions. Would he have had this same success in Saskatchewan? We’ll never know.

On the same note, Saskatchewan has had its share of success since Burris left. The move did not affect the team’s playoff chances, as the Green and White have not missed the playoffs since Burris left and have posted a record of 52-37-1.

"Whether or not you are a fan of Burris .... it is clear that his move to Calgary was the best thing that could happen for Calgary, Saskatchewan and the Canadian Football League"

But, the big positive for the Riders was the emergence of quarterbacks Kerry Joseph and Darian Durant. Joseph came over from the Ottawa Renegades in 2006 in the dispersal draft. After an average 2006 campaign, Joseph had a breakout year in 2007. He was named the most outstanding player in the league and led the Riders to their first Grey Cup victory since 1989.

Durant began to emerge after Joseph was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in 2008. He had his ups-and-downs in 2008, but showed signs of greatness last season. He was named the West Division most outstanding player and almost led Saskatchewan to a Grey Cup victory. He continues to excel this season.

Would the Riders have won a Grey Cup, or found a star quarterback if Burris had not left? Once again, we will never know, but it is clear that both Calgary and Saskatchewan have done well since the big move.

The fans, both Calgary’s and Saskatchewan’s have also benefited from Burris moving to Calgary.

Since Burris left for Calgary, the Calgary-Saskatchewan rivalry has been kicked up another notch. While the two western opponents always had somewhat of a rivalry, this move really kicked things up a notch.

Burris was immediately despised by almost all Rider fans following his decision. When he returned to Saskatchewan to play against the Riders, fans packed the stadium to boo him. Chants of “Hennnnnnnnnry” continue to explode across Mosaic Stadium every time he returns. Before this move, there wasn’t as much enthusiasm among Rider fans when it came to watching a game against Calgary.

Naturally, with so much hate towards their starting quarterback, Calgary fans began to equally hate the Riders. The fact that more and more fans of the Green and White have packed into McMahon Stadium for every road game hasn’t helped either.

One thing both fans can agree on is that the rivalry has been exciting and a lot of fun. Calgary and Saskatchewan have had some exciting regular season battles and have met three times in the playoffs since 2005. The Riders won all three games.

Finally, the CFL has also benefited from the move. While I don’t have the exact numbers, Saskatchewan-Calgary games have always drawn a lot of hype and large TV audiences. Adding another classic rivalry has helped the CFL increase its fan base.

This week there will be another instalment of this new rivalry, as the Riders travel to Calgary to battle the Stampeders on Saturday. A lot is on the line even though it is only Week 4. At 3-0-0, Saskatchewan will look to prove they are indeed the top dogs in the West. Right behind them at 2-1-0, Calgary will look to prove they will be competing for the top spot in the West.

Who could have known that one small move would kick-start such a big rivalry. While Burris remains with the Stampeders, the rivalry between the two teams will continue to be heated. When he leaves the team, the rivalry will still remain but won’t be the same.

Burris has created one hell of a rivalry.

Three Downs With Jonathan Hamelin appears each week on CFL Daily Dose. Hamelin is an aspiring journalist, who has a freelance contract with the Regina Leader-Post and is a veteran online CFL columnist. His work can be followed on Twitter and Facebook.