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If the theme of the CFL's Week 3 was "nail-biting excitement!", then Week 4's theme must be "proper nail grooming boredom." Week 3 featured seven games decided by three points or less, while Week 4 featured six games decided by twenty-five points or more. Before we get tothe blowouts, let's review the closer games:
[b680eb2f]Arizona[/b680eb2f] (2-2) pulled of the upset at [b680eb2f]Seattle[/b680eb2f] (2-2) by a 21-17 score. One might have expected an upset by the Outlaws to be spearheaded by Freddie Matthias, but that was not the case today. Unheralded RB Randall Coleman was the hero with a 26-113-3TD game. Seattle's two-headed monster of Dever and Liszkiewicz was uncharacteristically off today, and much of the credit for that must go to the Outlaws' defense. They picked off two Dever passes, held him to nearly 50% passing, and kept Liczkiewicz to 3.7 ypc. Good effort.
Good teams are able to find ways to win even when they're outperformed by their opponents, and [b680eb2f]Tampa Bay[/b680eb2f] (4-0) did exactly that in beating [b680eb2f]Memphis (0-3-1)[/b680eb2f] 20-12. The Express outgained the Torpedoes 373-272, but the Torpedoes took advantage of good field position and a crucial fumble on the game's opening kickoff by Stephen "I Suck" Metz. Memphis should turn things around eventually, as their offense is quite good, but they've got to be frustrated with how their season has begun.
Oh, what could have been for [b680eb2f]Boston[/b680eb2f] (3-1)! They came up a TD short in a 31-24 loss to [b680eb2f]Detroit[/b680eb2f] (3-1) at home, but they have only themselves to blame in this one. Specifically, they can blame their head coach, who attempted to convert 4th downs in their own territory twice [i680eb2f]in the first quarter.[/i680eb2f] Detroit, astonishingly, was unable to get points out of either failure, but the loss of field position undoubtedly hurt Boston over the course of the game. Titone did throw for 3 TDs in this one, including a 76 yarder to Roderick Parker in the second quarter.
Ten unanswered fourth quarter points are what provided the winning margin in [b680eb2f]Durham's[/b680eb2f] (2-2) 27-17 win over [b680eb2f]San Antonio[/b680eb2f] (3-1). Based on the stats, this game should've been a blowout, with the Bulldogs outgaining the Stingers 419-177, but the 'dogs kept finding ways to keep this one interesting. Edward Kimber had a solid day with 364 passing yards and 3 TDs, but his one interception was returned for a TD and helped keep the Stingers in the game. Penalties also short-circuited Durham's scoring drives, but in the end they pulled it out.
Now on to the blowouts:
With starting QB Douglas Hartman out for [b680eb2f]Shreveport[/b680eb2f] (2-1-1), many thought this might be a good week for [b680eb2f]Baltimore[/b680eb2f] (1-3) to pull off the upset. Unfortunately for them, Roman Grigg came on and had a career day for the Pride, going 24 of 36 for 288 yds and 2 TDs. Poor Phillip Barbieri has to be wondering when the Mack trucks are going to stop hitting him - this Bomber squad has enough talent on offense to put up some points, but they have collectively fallen flat this year. If the Bombers don't turn things around, one has to wonder if Barbieri will consider hanging it up next offseason.
[b680eb2f]Hartford[/b680eb2f] (3-1) opponents often swear they can hear "Darth Vader's Theme" when the Attack take the field, and I'm sure [b680eb2f]Chicago[/b680eb2f] (0-4) was no different today. In fact, after suffering a 35-10 defeat at the hands of Hartford, Chicago probably felt like Luke Skywalker's severed hand, falling and falling and falling into the inky depths of Bespin's Cloud City (did I take this analogy far enough? No? Well then how about...). James Oberg's 296 yard, 4 TD performance was almost as sexy as Leia Organa in her Jabba The Hutt slave costume...yowza!
Lane Manuel finally worked his way out of the [b680eb2f]Anchorage[/b680eb2f] (1-3) doghouse, but he was clearly rusty in tossing four picks to [b680eb2f]Honolulu's[/b680eb2f] (4-0) secondary in a 42-12 beat-down. Randolph Kranz tossed another 5 TDs today, and is tied for the league lead in TD passes at 14 with Oberg. Honolulu's early run has silenced their critics...for now.
In a battle of teams without their leaders, [b680eb2f]Boise[/b680eb2f] (1-3) topped [b680eb2f]Las Vegas[/b680eb2f] (0-4) by a score of 35-6. Boise's Corey Durant filled in admirably for Branden Lin and chucked three TD passes. Vegas' Luke Alston, on the other hand, finished a miserable 8 for 21 with three INTs. The win gets Boise's season back on track, and with Lin likely to return soon the Ring of Ice had better be on guard.
It was the Marcus Garibaldi show in [b680eb2f]Denver[/b680eb2f] (3-1), as he threw for 3 TDs and ran in another in a 31-0 shutout of reeling [b680eb2f]Sacramento[/b680eb2f] (1-3). Seymore Barre, on the other hand, can't seem to get it together this season. He has an ugly 2TD-5INT ratio and sports a Rating of 53.9. With this season apparently continuing his slump from last year (67.8 Rating), some league insiders are wondering if age is catching up to Barre. Oh, and Butch Fulton continues to underwhelm with a 14-41, one fumble day.
Finally, [b680eb2f]Tucson[/b680eb2f](4-0) took advantage of "Colonel" Hogan's efficient day to beat [b680eb2f]Oregon[/b680eb2f] (1-3) 37-0. Hogan was a remarkable 29 for 33 passing for 286 yds and 3 TDs. Tucson outgained Oregon by 300 yards (429-124), and in doing so set a new club record for total yards allowed. Poor "Angie" Dickenson had a tough day, but was mercifully pulled after completing just 7 of 15 passes for 43 yds and an INT.
Other scores from Week 4:
Huntington Beach (3-1) 17, El Paso (1-3) 14
Fargo (3-1) 20, Long Beach (1-3) 9
Charleston (3-1) 24, New Orleans (1-3) 13
Albany (2-2) 17, New York (1-3) 9
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Ring of Fire Division Champions - 2009, 2011-2026, 2028-33
Western Conference Champions - 2011-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019-2022, 2024, 2025, 2028, 2033
CFL Champions - 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025
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