What was Steinauer thinking?

What was Steinauer thinking?

Often considered the Wild, Wild West for how talented the group is, the CFL’s usually dominant division finds itself in uncharted territory through the first eight weeks of the season.

With the Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-4), Edmonton Elks (0-8) and Calgary Stampeders (2-5) all losing again last week, and the B.C. Lions (6-1) once again winning, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-2) also keeping pace while on a bye week, the West Division is looking more and more like a two-horse race.

After the week’s slate of games kicked off with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-4) edging the Ottawa Redblacks (3-4), 16-12, at TD Place on Friday, the Roughriders opened Saturday’s double-header with a third straight defeat, falling 31-13 to the Toronto Argonauts (6-0) in the annual Touchdown Atlantic game in Halifax. The Lions then showed no mercy to the Elks, shutting out Edmonton for a second time this season in a 27-0 triumph at Commonwealth Stadium.

Things wrapped up Sunday with the Stampeders dropping a 25-18 decision at Molson Stadium to the Montreal Alouettes (3-3), who are now in sole possession of second in the East, behind the CFL-leading Argonauts. It was the second consecutive loss for Calgary and its fourth in the last five games.

That leaves the Lions and Bombers with some breathing room on the competition, making their matchup Thursday at IG Field all the more enticing. There’s still plenty of football to be played this season, but given how the divisions are currently operating, could this be the first time in league history that an East club crosses over to the West?

It’s certainly possible and makes for an intriguing storyline to keep an eye on in the coming weeks and months. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look back at what was a busy Week 8 in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.

1) I’m always curious why a coach makes life harder than it should be, and that certainly was the case with Redblacks Offensive co-ordinator Khari Jones against the Ticats. Ottawa’s play calling seemed predictable for most of the evening, including far too many run-pass options, but it was a specific play on Ottawa’s final drive that left me scratching my head. Facing a second-and-two from the Ticats’ four-yard line with just over 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, with a chance to win the game, the Redblacks opted to hand the ball to a cold Ante Milanovic-Litre for a run up the middle instead of bringing out their short-yardage team. It was Milanovic-Litre’s second rushing attempt in the game and the play felt way more complicated than it needed to be, especially when you have a short-yardage QB in Tyrrell Pigrome who is averaging nearly three yards a sneak. Milanovic-Litre was stuffed for no gain and then QB Dustin Crum had his third-down pass tipped at the line by Casey Sayles, ending any chance of a comeback.

2) That wasn’t even the worst play call of the game. That goes to Ticats head coach Orlondo Steinauer and his unfathomable decision to leave Bo Levi Mitchell in for the game’s final series, only to see his starting QB fracture his leg. With Hamilton on their own two-yard line, facing a first-and-10 with 20 seconds remaining, there wasn’t enough room to kneel down twice to end the game. So rather than bringing in his short-yardage QB — or any pivot not named Mitchell — to dive into the pile for one play, before kneeling to victory, Steinauer left Mitchell in and a defender rolled up on his leg.

3) There are some defending Steinauer, calling the play a freak accident and suggesting any criticism is the benefit of hindsight. That’s pure bologna. Mitchell has a long injury history and if that wasn’t enough, he was literally in his first game back after injuring his right leg in a Week 2 loss to Toronto.

4) Hamilton DB Kenneth George Jr. also deserves blame. After Sayles got a piece of the ball to give the Ticats possession, George was flagged for objectionable conduct for mouthing off to Ottawa’s bench. The result of the penalty was half the distance to the goal line, moving the ball from the four- to the two-yard line. If George just kept his mouth shut, the Ticats could have kneeled out for the victory.

5) Mitchell underwent surgery and the timetable for the 33-year-old to return is said to be six weeks. That’s definitely not the worst-case scenario, but what exactly do the Ticats think they’re going to get when Mitchell returns? He was coming off his best game of the year, which included more than 350 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also threw an eye-popping five interceptions. Mitchell’s play was already on a steady decline and there’s no reason to think he’ll come back better or stronger. I wish him all the best, but this feels like the end, just months into a three-year contract with Hamilton.

6) The Argonauts keep rolling. It’s the first time since 1935 they’ve started a season 6-0, with the chance to set a new franchise record with a win over the Stamps this week.

7) Congratulations to Andrew Harris, who surpassed childhood idol and former Bomber great, Charles Roberts, to move into fifth all-time in CFL rushing with 10,287 yards.

8) The Roughriders will be sticking with Mason Fine for another week, according to head coach Craig Dickenson, meaning there’s no QB controversy just yet. Fine has shown an ability to toss the ball — combining for 580 passing yards in two starts — but has yet to lead to the offence to a TD and has thrown four interceptions. To make matters worse for Fine, backup Jake Dolegala came into the game for the final three minutes and completed four of his five passes for 100 yards, including a 31-yard TD to Shawn Bane Jr. If the leash wasn’t short before…

9) We’ve spilled a lot of ink talking about the dumpster fire that is the Edmonton Elks, and yet things only got worse over the weekend. The Elks are officially the sole owners of the record for the longest home losing streak among North American professional sports teams, with the loss to B.C. marking their 21st straight defeat. It’s just sad now.

10) It was quite the feat by B.C. No other team in league history, at least in the modern era, has shutout a team twice in one season. And you have to go back to the 1970 Calgary Stampeders to find the last CFL club to record two shutouts in one year.

11) The loss was somewhat of a breaking point, with some changes being made just as the Elks were departing for their bye week. GM/HC/DC Chris Jones managed to come out unscathed, keeping all his titles despite clearly being overwhelmed with his roles. Instead, Jarious Jackson has been promoted to OC, replacing Stephen McAdoo, who was demoted to an advisory role, where he’ll aid Jones with the defence. Jones also announced that Taylor Cornelius will no longer be the starting QB, resulting in Jarret Doege and Tre Ford getting “a solid look.” Cornelius will now handle short yardage.

12) It was the first time since 2014 that the Alouettes earned a win without scoring an offensive TD. There were a combined 12 field goals in the game, with both kickers going a perfect six-for-six. The only TD in the game was a pick-six by Montreal DB Kabion Ento.

13) You don’t see very often a coach calling out his players for not prioritizing their health, but that’s exactly what Calgary’s Dave Dickenson did after the loss to Montreal. The Stamps have been dealing with injuries all year, and a clearly frustrated Dickenson, after hearing a couple more players had tweaked some muscles, said: “As a team, we’re not really showing that we’re taking care of our bodies.” Ouch.

14) Speaking of things that don’t happen often, there was a voided trade this past week. Hamilton dealt DL Ja’Gared Davis to the Stampeders, but the trade was reversed after Davis failed a physical owing to a torn meniscus. That means Davis had to fly back to Hamilton and Calgary got its 2024 sixth-round draft pick back.

15) Paul LaPolice has been doing CFL colour commentary on TSN for two weeks and is already the best of the bunch. And that’s no offence to the rest of the group. LaPo is a natural — easy to listen to, calm demeanour and extremely informative. He wants to coach again and will be looking for an OC job once the Redblacks stop paying him after this year. If he doesn’t get one, he’s found his calling in the booth.

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Twitter: @jeffkhamilton