I've already written a fair bit about the more prominent aspects of Toronto's win over Hamilton in the East Division semi-final and Saskatchewan's victory over B.C., as well as the weekend's top players, so this edition of Monday's Point After will take a bit of a different form than normal. What I want to focus on today is an underrated element of the CFL this year that played a key part in both games, but hasn't fully been discussed. That would be the running game. Let's explore how it affected both semi-final matchups.
Toronto 16, Hamilton 13:
There's a lot you could talk about as the story of this game, including Toronto's defensive effort and Hamilton's special-teams miscues, or the Tiger-Cats coming up short as home favourites for the second-straight year. However, there's a case to be made that the ground game decided this one. I think Bruce Arthur and Stephen Brunt both nailed it; the Argos may be partly lucky, and they certainly got some breaks Sunday, but they're a better team than they sometimes appear, and that doesn't always get enough attention because their identity doesn't come from their quarterback.
I've questioned Cleo Lemon's continued starting role before, and I stand by that. He certainly hasn't been the crucial factor in most of their victories, and yesterday's performance was another forgettable one from him; he completed an impressive 22 of 29 passes, but only threw for 134 yards and a touchdown and threw one of the easiest end-zone interceptions I've seen this year. It was a fowl so lame that even the dog from Duck Hunt might opt not to retrieve it. No, it wasn't Lemon that won the Argonauts this game, and that's a rarity in a pass-heavy league where quarterbacks are usually the story.
Toronto's running game was the key to what little offence they were able to generate Sunday. Running back Cory Boyd (pictured above stretching for more yards against Stevie Baggs in the fourth quarter) was not in his typical world-beating form, but his end-of-the-day stats were quite impressive considering just how much of the Hamilton defensive game plan was focused on stopping him. He picked up 93 yards on 19 carries for a very respectable average of 4.89 yards per carry, and added a further 39 yards on eight receptions. Against the Tiger-Cats' fearsome linebacking corps of Markeith Knowlton (the East nominee for defensive player of the year), Otis Floyd and Jamall Johnson, that isn't bad at all.
Perhaps even more important to the outcome was Toronto's rushing defence, though. Yes, Kevin Glenn threw for 315 yards against the Argonauts (although he was picked off twice), but Toronto completely annihilated the Hamilton running game. DeAndra Cobb showed off his inconsistency in spectacular fashion, rushing eight times for a grand total of six yards. Marcus Thigpen only added 13 more yards on two carries (one of which went for 10 yards), and Quinton Porter gained six yards on three scrambles. That's a total of 25 rushing yards on 13 carries, and it gets even worse if you include the 11 yards Arland Bruce lost on an end-around. Hamilton simply couldn't move the sticks on the ground, and that caused Glenn to force some passes, leading to incompletions and interceptions. The Tiger-Cats' inability to run the ball wasn't the entire story of the game, but it's at least several pivotal chapters.
Saskatchewan 41, B.C. 38: Much of the earlier analysis of this shootout focused on the spectacular quarterbacking performances of Travis Lulay and Darian Durant and the defensive performance of Lance Frazier, but the rushing game was also a crucial element here.
For B.C., Jamal Robertson was once again incredibly efficient, picking up 75 yards on just 11 carries (an average of 6.8 yards per carry). Lulay also scrambled five times for 39 yards and a touchdown, which gives the Lions a total of 114 yards on 16 regular rushing plays (an average of 7.1 yards per carry). Jarious Jackson also picked up eight yards on three short-yardage plays; if you factor those in, the Lions' average drops slightly to a still-very-strong 6.4 yards per carry.
With those kind of numbers, it's a little surprising the Lions didn't run the ball more against a suspect Riders' rushing defence that was missing star linebacker Barrin Simpson. The Lions were able to move the ball through the air, with Lulay throwing for 357 yards on the day, but more rushing plays might have let them kill some clock in the second half and forestall Saskatchewan's late-game comeback.
The rushing game was also important to the Riders' success. Wes Cates was solid if not spectacular on the ground, picking up 65 yards and a (controversial) overtime touchdown on 15 attempts. That's a 4.3 yards-per-carry average, which isn't great (and is well below Cates' 5.2 yards-per-carry average on the year), but it's noteworthy that the Riders stuck with the run game despite some trials, particularly early on. By doing so, they forced B.C. to worry about defending it, and opened up some opportunities for play-action passes and fakes from Durant. Saskatchewan didn't win this game because of their rushing attack, but it was an important part of the offensive balance that eventually led them to success.
Denise Richards Jennifer Sky Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton
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