Landry's 5 takeaways from Week 5

07/08/2024 11:30 AM

Hello, Lucky Whitehead. Welcome back to the CFL.

You know what I want, Lucky. You absolutely do. If your return to the great northern league means a return to stylish gameday stadium
arrivals, then you still owe me a night where you ride in on a llama.

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I know you never promised a llama ride but I don't care. I still feel owed. Maybe you couldn't find a llama when you were in Vancouver, I don't know. But I'm sure someone, somewhere in Manitoba has a suitable llama you can borrow for what would be the arrival to top all other arrivals.

Tired of me continually asking for a llama over the last couple of years, Lucky? Well, there's one way to get me to stop and you know what that is.

Llama… llama… llama….

Here are the Week 5 takeaways.

THE GREEN MONSTER HAS ARRIVED

I wondered just how long it would take Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace to get his defence up and hammering on all cylinders, this season.

Just three games, really, to work it all out. In the fourth, a relentless, impressive effort in not just holding off the visiting Toronto Argonauts, but dictating how things were proceeding all night long.

It's in the stats, for sure. But also, the eye test.

Players in seemingly perfect positions all night. Those who were not in the area due to other primary responsibilities were on the scene very quickly. And the front four won the evening against a formidable unit that many believe to be the best offensive line in the CFL.

It was a signature effort, so sign it with a bevy of exclamation marks.

Corey!!!!!

THAT'S ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE

Apparently, the BC Lions had a number of players who were very, very unimpressed by the way they ended their game against Hamilton, giving up a touchdown drive as the seconds drained, turning what could have been a 44-21 win into a 44-28 victory instead.

Head coach Rick Campbell addressed his team afterward.

"If you're gettin' frustrated and pissed off on the sideline about winning a game by 16 points, a smiling Campbell said, "then you're (bleeped) up."

That was followed by some laughter from boys in the room.

But not too much laughter. Things are going well for the BC Lions right now but complacency seems not to be a feeling they are at all interested in.

It's a good sign when your team can still find room to be ticked off at themselves, even in a walkover win as they ride the crest of a wining streak.

WELL THAT MAKES MY JOB SO MUCH EASIER, THANKS

"I think that's my takeaway right now," said Calgary quarterback Jake Maier, in the wake of his team's loss in Montreal.

Well, golly, Jake. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'll just type it out. What is it?

"Fifteen better minutes," was the phrase Maier had used just prior. "We just did not play a good fourth quarter, offensively," added Maier.

There is another takeaway for the Stamps, and Maier did also view the tough loss through the prism of a glass half full.

"It's encouraging that we can play with anyone in this league," he said. "And that's a step in the right direction."

YOU CAN TUNNEL YOUR WAY OUT

A couple of weeks ago, Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira practically begged to be allowed to put his team on his back so he could carry them to daylight after three straight losses.

They didn't, really, and the Blue Bombers lost a fourth straight.

In Week 5, though, Oliveira carried a super-healthy 23 times for 129 yards and caught five short passes for 37 more. And 36 of those yards were after the catch.

Combining Oliveira's love for running and physicality with quarterback Chris Streveler's very similar personality (13 totes for 79 yards) allowed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to tunnel their way out of the darkness of a problematic start to the season.

Ground and pound. Can they keep on doing that?

THEY HAVE A ONE-MAN ZONE BUSTER

'Say, Cody Fajardo is beating the blitz,' thought the Calgary Stampeders, who then called off the dogs and went with less heat and more zone during their game Saturday night.

And it was kinda working pretty good, too, wasn't it?

That is until the Montreal Alouettes made some adjustments and Fajardo went to a weapon that he makes no secret about; he'll use that particular weapon again.

That weapon's name is Walter Fletcher.

"If team's wanna keep playing us in zone coverage," Fajardo told TSN after the Als' 30-26 win, "he's the answer."

Running back Walter "The Answer" Fletcher got loose in the second half, changing the face of the Montreal offence and forcing the Stampeders to pay more attention to where he was at, leading to other guys getting more room. A nice, cascading effect for Montreal.

"When you can throw it underneath to a guy who makes a lot of people miss and gets yards after catch, it makes my job easy," said Fajardo.

AND FINALLY… Quote of the week to TSN's Matt Dunigan, who said of BC receiver Justin McInnis: "It's like trying to tackle a giraffe."