CFL 2023 season

Yes, sounds good!

Quick Quiz:

Q. How can you tell if a quarterback has great talent and promise?

A. The Saskatchewan Roughriders trade him away.

In this year’s Grey Cup:

Montreal Alouettes: Starting QB: Cody Fajardo (Riders QB, 2019-2022)

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Starting QB: Zach Collaros (Riders QB, 2018-2019)

Surprising fact: this will be the first time the Als and the Bombers have ever met in the Grey Cup. I would have thought they’d met before.

In a nine (or eight) team league even. Wow!
Let’s just forget that little foray south.

Not only that, but they are in different divisions and generally teams from the different divisions meet. Winnipeg has been in the East a couple of times, but one of those times there was no Montreal team.

And for awhile Montreal didn’t have a team.

Still it’s oddly flukey.

Quick question while the thread is still active.

Do teams sometimes strategically take a rouge, vs. allowing themselves to be trapped deep in their own territory near their goal line? I know they will concede one when it doesn’t change the score significantly, but how about just on general principles, figuring starting at your own 40 is worth a point vs. starting at your own 2?

Yes, just like they will take a safety (2 points) to gain field position. Depends on the score and the stage of the game.

See the discussion up at post 32, when the Riders won by one point, when the Elks rookie accidentally conceded a rouge (not yet familiar with the CFL rules). When the game is tight, every point counts. But if the margin is larger, field position may be worth a point.

Here’s the classic CFL rouge weirdness at the end of a game:

www. youtube.com/watch?v=d5BFaykcxGg

Tie game, Als in field goal position. Clock close to zero, 4th Q. Damon Duval is the Als kicker.

Argos put their punter, Prefontaine, into the end zone, not their normal returner.

Als are wide!

Ball lands at end of the endzone, but inbounds.

Argo punter, Prefontaine, punts the ball out.

Duval for the Als fields the ball, punts it back in! (going for a rouge, not a field goal)

Prefontaine attempts to kick it back out, but it’s blocked by the Als, and they push it back in.

Win by a touchdown, not the field goal they were hoping for.

And the Grey Cup has arrived!

Been handed into the custody of two Mounties.

Yep, I’m watching too.

I don’t recall quite so much pre-game … well, stuff, before the big game. Musical acts, all kinds of introductions, the arrival of the Cup in a shiny SUV, an RCAF flypast, a land acknowledgement, and so much more. At this point, I just wanna see some football!

And Tim’s commercials! Doesn’t get more Canadian than that!

Please, let’s not make Tim’s commercials into a drinking game. If there are going to be as many as I think there will be, I’ll be loaded by halftime. :wink:

And we finally get kickoff!

10-7 for Bombers end of 1Q

Nice 35 yard run by Als for TD to end the Q

But Bombers win time-of-possession: 11 minutes.

Well, it’s halftime.

Good effort by the Alouettes to try to run the ball in, in the last minute or so. Looking back now, I’m not sure if trying to run the ball in from the 1-yard-line on 3rd down was the smartest move (maybe take the safe field goal), but I cannot blame the Als for trying it.

Not as many Tim’s commercials as I expected, so I’m still sober. :wink: But the ones that they are showing have me curious. “Non-alcoholic Bailey’s flavoured coffee”? How does that work? The whole point of Bailey’s is that it is Irish whisky and cream. Without the whisky, don’t you have just … well, cream?

But there’s whiskey flavour! Get with the programme! :wink:

Interestingly, the TSN talking heads are now arguing about what I mentioned above: should Montreal have tried for a TD on 3rd and goal from the 1-yard-line? Much disagreement among the panelists.

Never leave points on the field. I’m with Jim Barker.

Yes, that’s my feeling too.

Did we get second-quarter, first half stats? I was in the kitchen for a bit, and wouldn’t have seen if they displayed them.