CFL Week 9 Recap: Nobody's Perfect

Somewhere, Cedric Gyles is popping the champagne.

Who is Cedric Gyles, you ask? Cedric Gyles is the last surviving member of the 1948 Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders squad, the only unbeaten team in the league's history. They were not perfect, there was a tie in that run to the championship, but the team finished with a goose egg in that center column. Why would Gyles be popping the champagne? Because the Toronto Argonauts are no longer unbeaten.

The Argos went to Calgary to face the Stampeders, and I figured it would be an offensive battle. It was quite low scoring; the Stamps found the end zone first, but the Argos tied it up. However, that's where the positives end with the Boatmen, as they could not figure out any way to handle Calgary's defense. The Stamps only added 13 more points, but it ended up being enough, they continued to shut down Toronto the rest of the way, and ended up winning, 20-7. For the Stampeders, it was a much needed win, as they were in dire straights entering this matchup.

I'll be honest, I'm not surprised Toronto lost. I had a sinking feeling that Calgary would be the team that handed loss #1 to the Boatmen. The Stamps look like that team who could pull off something at the right time, and boy, did they!

Week 9 started with an anticipated Western battle between the BC Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This game would determine first place in the West, and I thought this would be an out-and-out slugfest. It was...if you're the Bombers. I have no idea what the hell happened to BC, but Winnipeg hit them with everything but the kitchen sink, while the Lions fell flat. 50-14. That was the final score. BC was dead before they hit the ground. It was that bad for them.

Saturday's matchup was an Eastern battle between the Montréal Alouettes and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and you just know that they saw what happened in Calgary. The Argos' loss meant that the winner could actually gain ground in the East, an opportunity that hadn't been there all season. The Alouettes had shown that they are Toronto's top rival in the East, and they proved it again that Saturday with at 27-14 victory in Hamilton. As for the remaining East team, the Ottawa Redblacks, they saw Toronto's loss as an opening for them, but unfortunately, they could not capitalize. The Redblacks were defeated by the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 26-24, after both teams had dueling clutch field goals, but it was Saskatchewan's that made the difference.

After nine weeks, here's how things stand. In the West Division, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions have identical 6-2 records, but it's the Bombers who are the first place team via tiebreaker. The Saskatchewan Roughriders improved to 4-4, the Calgary Stampeders improved to 3-5, and the idle Edmonton Elks are still looking for their first win. The Lions and Blue Bombers have now evened the season series, and the rubber match will take place on October 6 in Vancouver. That game could decide who will lock in first place in the West and host this year's Western Final.

In the East Division, the Toronto Argonauts drop to 6-1, while the Montréal Alouettes (the only East team to win in Week 9) improve to 4-3. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Redblacks have identical 3-5 records. Two games now separate the Argos and Als in the standings, and their two remaining head-to-head meetings come in back-to-back weeks: 14 and 15. The East Division's intrigue continues to increase.

Week 10 will begin on Thursday, August 10, and will coincide with the first full week in the NFL preseason. On that day, the Edmonton Elks will look to final end their long home losing streak against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. On Friday, August 11, the Montréal Alouettes will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and on Saturday, August 12, the BC Lions will host the Calgary Stampeders in a West Division battle. On Sunday, August 13, the Ottawa Redblacks and the Toronto Argonauts will face off for the first time this season.

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