This year’s Grey Cup match-up a disappointment for Toronto football fans. The East Division-leading Argonauts bowed out in the East Division final, failing to advance to the first Grey Cup held in the city since 1992. After Argos linebacker Kevin Eiben declared that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would not score more than 10 points against his team, it was the Boatmen who failed to put up a double-digit score as Winnipeg took the game 19-9.
The 2007 CFL season may not finish with the happy ending Torontonians were hoping for, but there’s no shortage of suspense as the East’s Bombers and the West Division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders prepare for Sunday’s kickoff. This will be the two prairie teams’ first Grey Cup meeting, and will end the long championship draught for one of them. Loyal and long-suffering Rider fans have not had a championship team since the 1989 Grey Cup, also held in Toronto’s Sky Dome (now the Rogers Centre), when current head coach Kent Austin was their quarterback. The Bombers have not fared much better, their last victory dating back to 1990. Winnipeg kicker Troy Westwood added some nastiness to the rivalry when he called Saskatchewan fans “a bunch of banjo-pickin’ inbreds” earlier this season. Although Riders fans seem to have taken the insult in stride, even embraceding their new nickname, they would surely enjoy taking revenge on the field.
The Roughriders’ 12-6-0 regular season record was good for second place in the West and earned them their first home playoff game since 1988, a 26-24 West Semifinal victory over the Calgary Stampeders. The CFL-leading B.C. Lions, who put together a 14-3-1 record—the best in the franchise’s history—were the favourites to win the West Division final, but the Roughriders upset the Lions 26-17 by capitalizing on B.C.’s turnovers.
Saskatchewan’s success is due in no small part to the West Division nominee for CFL Most Outstanding Player, quarterback Kerry Joseph. Joseph was third in the league in passing yards, touchdown passes, and efficiency rating—4,002, 24 and 97.1, respectively—and his 737 rushing yards led all quarterbacks. The Riders’ QB also rushed for 13 touchdowns, placing him third among all CFL players in total points, and he threw only eight interceptions in 17 regular season games. Wide receivers D.J. Flick and Andy Fantuz, who finished 1-2 on the team in receiving yards and touchdowns, will have to step up to compensate for injuries to wide receiver Matt Dominguez and running back Wes Cates, who was enjoying a career season and finished fourth in league rushing. Rush end Fred Perry, who led the team in sacks, fumble recoveries, and defensive tackles, will need to play a solid game for the Saskatchewan defence. In addition to Fred Perry, the Riders’ defence boasts three other all-stars in linebackers Reggie Hunt, Otis Floyd and Maurice Lloyd and cornerback James Johnson, the only Western all-stars not selected from the Lions.
The Bombers held first place in the East for much of the regular season but struggled near the end, dropping four of six late in the season. The Argos leapfrogged over Winnipeg by defeating the Bombers in the second-last game. In the East Semifinal, Winnipeg beat the Montreal Alouettes by a score of 24-22. The Alouettes lost veteran QB Anthony Calvillo, who left the team to be with his wife after she was diagnosed with cancer. In the East Division final against the hometown Argos, Winnipeg managed to break through the solid Toronto defense—which allowed only 336 points in the regular season and was the major reason for the team’s 10-1 record down the stretch—to win the game 19-9, as Toronto’s offence and once-strong special teams also fell flat.
A Riders-Bombers final was poised to be a match-up of the East and West nominees for Most Outstanding Player, with Joseph taking to the field against Winnipeg QB Kevin Glenn, but instead the Bombers will be forced to go with sophomore backup Ryan Dinwiddie. Eiben fell even further out of favour with Winnipeg fans when he fell on Glenn’s arm and broke it while pouncing on a loose ball during the East Division final. Glenn’s 5,114 passing yards led the league and his 25 TD passes were good for second. Dinwiddie has little CFL experience, but didn’t show it when he replaced Glenn in the fourth quarter of the East final, going 4-4 for 80 yards. In his college days, Dinwiddie set a Boise State record for passing yards, passing efficiency and TDs, and his impressive 168.9 efficiency rating is an NCAA record. Adjusting to a new QB in such an important game will be a challenge, but Dinwiddie could prove to be a pleasant surprise for Bombers fans, and the team will be motivated to win for their injured QB.
The Blue Bombers led the East in CFL all-star selections with 10, 7 on offence and 3 on defence. Running back Charles Roberts and wide receiver Terrence Edwards are key pieces of the Winnipeg offence. Roberts finished second in the league in rushing yards and touchdowns—1379 and 16, respectively— despite missing the final two games of the season with a bruised thigh. His 16 rushing TDs mark the third-highest total in CFL history. Edwards was second in receiving yards with 1280, and caught nine TD passes.
Winnipeg ended the regular season third in the CFL in QB sacks, led by rush end Tom Canada with a team-best 12. Tackle Doug Brown, linebacker Barrin Simpson, and safety Kyries Hebert (who was particularly effective in stopping Toronto’s receivers in the East Division final) are the other cogs in the Winnipeg defence.
This Grey Cup game is of particular importance to Winnipeg slotback Milt Stegall, who would like to add ring to his impressive resume as he is likely to retire at the end of the season. The 13- year veteran broke the CFL touchdown record earlier this season and is second in career receiving yards, but has yet to win the Grey Cup. Saskatchewan and Winnipeg met twice in September, each taking away a victory, although Winnipeg held a 60-46 advantage in scoring. Playing away from home would be an issue for the Bombers, who went 3-5-1 on the road in the regular season, while
Saskatchewan finished 6-3-0 at home and away. The Riders hold a 489 (behind only B.C.) to 415 advantage in regular season points scored, while Winnipeg holds a slight 383-404 edge in points allowed. While both teams finished second in their division, Saskatchewan’s record was better than the East-leading Argos’. Saskatchewan led the league in rushing touchdowns and Winnipeg allowed the fewest, so it should be interesting to see how the two stack up. Most prognosticators seem to be predicting a Saskatchewan victory, but with injuries to key players on both sides and a slight head-tohead advantage for the Bombers, the game is still up for grabs.
