Tuesday 7 August 2012

Five Things I Learned... In Week 6

I hate bye weeks. Hate them. Only two games this week and one was on Friday and the other was on Monday. Next week isn't much better, with again just two games, with one of a Thursday and the other on a Friday. But that's it and then we are back to four games a week until the playoffs.

(1) Classy move by Jovon Johnson
It was an extremely classy move by Winnipeg's Jovon Johnson to take three Bombers fans out to dinner last week. Johnson treated the three fans to a free dinner after answering trivia questions posted by Johnson on Twitter. Johnson has taken a lot of flak for some of the things he's said this year, but this was a class act by him and he should be commended for it.

(2) Horrendous reffing in the Lions-Argos game
Two not-even-borderline offside calls wiped one touchdown off the board and allowed for another to be scored. The first phantom call was made against BC's Keron Williams and negated a Byron Parker pick six. The second was made against Toronto's Marcus Ball and negated a third-and-goal stuff by the Argos defense. Both calls were brutal and after seeing replays, I fail to see what the refs saw. Not a good day at the ball park for the officials.

(3) Brandon Whitakers nickname should be "The Bomber Killer"
Of Brandon Whitaker's 653 yards from scrimmage, 414 of them have come against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. That means that 63.4 per cent of his total yardage for the season has come in two games against one team. Matt Dunigan is fond of calling Whitaker "Two Way," but I think a more appropriate nickname might be "Bomber Killer."

(4) McCallum's lost it
Last year was a storybook year for Paul McCallum. He set the record for field goal accuracy and was named the league's top special teams player. But this season has been the total opposite for him. All great players inevitably decline and it is starting to look like McCallum held on for one year too long.

(5) My guesses for Players of the Week
Not as easy to pick Players of the Week with only two games, but I think the four players chosen are deserving of the honours.

For Offensive Player, it seems to me like it will come down to two players from Montreal: Jamel Richardson and Anthony Calvillo. Richardson finally played like Richardson and caught four passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Calvillo was Calvillo and put up 368 yards on 17-of-29 passing and two touchdowns. This one is tough, but I think Richardson deserves it this week.

The week's top defensive player was Adam Bighill. Bighill was all over the place on Monday. He finished with a game-high seven tackles, while also picking up a sack and an interception. An all around great performance from BC's man in the middle.

Special teams is once again a tough one. Not a lot of standout special teams performances this week. So I will give the award to Montreal's Sean Whyte. Whyte was a perfect four for four on field goals and had a decent night punting the ball as well. Whyte looked the best of an unspectacular bunch.

Top Canadian might be the biggest no-brainer of the week. BC rookie defensive lineman Jabar Westerman was a beast on Monday evening. He was a disruptive force all game long for the Lions, and picked up a sack and a forced fumble that helped BC beat Toronto. The 2012 second-overall pick lived up to his draft position against the Argos. He was easily the best home-grown talent on any field in Canada this past weekend.

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