It is another week in the CFL where nothing makes sense aside from the Calgary Stampeders blowing another opportunity. Peter Klein has taken on the tough task of trying to place everyone in the right spot in this week's CFL Power Rankings.
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00:00I mean, it's worth it for the song alone, right?
00:14CFL Power Rankings.
00:16I message this to a few people.
00:18I don't know why this was the week that broke me, but this was the week where I just
00:23kind of stared at my phone.
00:24I was like, I don't…
00:26I have no idea.
00:28I feel very good about Montreal, where they're at.
00:31You can probably figure it out.
00:33I feel very good about where Calgary is at.
00:36And after that, not a clue.
00:38You can make a case for almost anybody, anywhere.
00:43And so, yeah, you're right, Conrad.
00:45The only gimme putt is Calgary at 9.
00:47So let's start with that.
00:48Calgary's at 9.
00:49That's another tough loss against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a game where you absolutely
00:54had to have it.
00:55And once again, the defensive line continues to have problems.
00:59They were eaten alive by Armstead, who signed with that team on Tuesday.
01:05And that was… that was rough.
01:07Yeah, Conrad, I bet.
01:08That was a rough one to be in attendance for, I am sure, from a Stamps standpoint.
01:12I would have enjoyed it greatly.
01:14But from a Stamps standpoint, that would have been a frustrating one to work your way through
01:19and to try to enjoy a little bit.
01:23At least the weather was nice, right?
01:24It was better than it was during the day, though.
01:26But anyway, Calgary.
01:27Bad football team.
01:28Defensively, not being able to get any stop when Armstead is running wild there.
01:36And especially fourth quarter, when your defense needs a stop so you can get your offense the
01:41ball back.
01:42And the offense actually moved the ball relatively well in this game, especially on a third and
01:46one quarterback sneak, which drove me insane.
01:50If for no other reason than I always use the, oh, the Riders don't give up any rushing
01:53yards to anyone ever, stat, in the three down best bet, and now I just have to take
02:00that out of the old copy and paste.
02:02But still, Calgary, they were actually moving the ball well.
02:06And so if you, as a Rider fan watching that game, I didn't want the Stamps to get the
02:10ball back.
02:12And so, the Sam Peters defense not being able to get off the field in those crucial times
02:18when everyone in Canada knew that the Riders were going to run the football in those situations
02:23is really concerning.
02:25This team is far too easy to run on.
02:27And offensively, they're able to put it together sometimes, but there's still big plays that
02:32are lacking at certain moments.
02:34And really the only reason they were able to move the football well, and the real reason
02:37why I didn't want to really pull the trigger on them as a best bet this week, is Saskatchewan
02:43has been picked apart lately by a lot of stuff underneath, and that's how Calgary was able
02:47to move the ball.
02:48That's kind of only how Calgary is able to move the ball, is those little chunk plays.
02:53Chunk is a bad way of describing it, because that would indicate that they're getting actually
02:57quite a few yards.
02:58It's the little underneath stuff that they're picking up that is allowing them to move the
03:04ball against Saskatchewan.
03:05They have problems with that against Winnipeg as well, and I would imagine other teams are
03:09going to pick up on that.
03:10So yeah, no, it's abysmal right now.
03:13Conrad, in the chat, yeah, drop plays is a very good way of putting it, Deej, you're
03:18right.
03:19When Mike Rose is your only member of the front four that is above replacement yet level,
03:22yikes.
03:23When Demario Houston is signing, trash.
03:25When Ben Labrosse is your leading tackler, that is a big problem.
03:29That part, very fair, yeah.
03:30And it's just, that was the thing, Conrad, at the beginning of the season, when you looked
03:34at this defense, this looked to be the strength of this team.
03:39I said this yesterday, I do, for the season preview, I go through each team and say, okay,
03:44here are the difference makers on this team.
03:47All of them were on the defensive side.
03:48I think, if I didn't have Bagleton on there, that was a mistake.
03:51But either way, most of them anyway, 75% of them were on the defensive side of the
03:55football.
03:56And none of them have looked very good so far this year.
03:59And that has been a very big problem for this Stan Peters team.
04:03And now it is very apparent that the playoffs aren't going to happen for this group this
04:08year, or at least probably won't happen.
04:10Not that Saskatchewan is going to run away and hide, or anything like that, but just
04:14that this team can't get these wins that they have needed.
04:17Now we get into the murky, I don't know what to do part.
04:20I still have Hamilton at 8.
04:23And that is with the admission that they are playing significantly better football right
04:28now.
04:29And there is a case to have them, I think, quite a bit higher in the power rankings based
04:35off of how well they are playing.
04:36And the big thing for them is that defense coming up with big plays at big times.
04:40They give up quite a few points to Toronto, but that's going to happen.
04:43But overall, this defense is putting up some real numbers with Chris Jones back as the
04:47defensive coordinator.
04:48Bo Levi-Mitchell is protecting the ball well, and is playing at an MOP level.
04:52All of this is to say that Hamilton maybe should be a little bit higher.
04:56At 7 I have Ottawa, which seems very low for Ottawa, but that, it's just, it's a few tough
05:04performances in a row that have kind of knocked them back.
05:06But I can't, I can't right now put them behind Hamilton, even though Hamilton just beat them
05:12a couple of weeks ago.
05:14Just because of what Ottawa was able to do, that this one's a full report card type of
05:18a thing, I just can't put Ottawa back there.
05:21But there's major concerns with Ottawa.
05:22The offense has started, it feels like teams are figuring them out a little bit.
05:27And defensively, they just lost their second leading tackler, I believe, I believe second,
05:32Adarius Pickett, and he was just a beast in all forms of defense.
05:37And that has been very limiting for them.
05:39And so that is, I think, a problem that could continue to rear its ugly head going forward.
05:45At 6, it's Saskatchewan.
05:48And again, you can make a case for Ottawa ahead of Saskatchewan, you can make a case
05:51for Hamilton, quite frankly, ahead of Saskatchewan right now, based off of what has happened
05:56in the last month, but the Riders have been in a lot of these games, and they were finally
06:01able to get over the hump, and actually pick up a win in one, in a very good fashion here,
06:07over the Calgary Stampede, well, very good's maybe a bit of a stretch, but in good fashion,
06:11against the Calgary Stampeders, and work their way back into a playoff spot, and realistically,
06:15three points out of top spot in the West, but one point out of a home playoff game for
06:21the West semi-final, which wouldn't have thought possible a few weeks ago.
06:25So I do think they are kind of turning things around here at the right time.
06:29At 5, it's BC.
06:31With the talent this team has, you could make a case for them at 1.
06:34With how they played in their last game, you could make a case for them down at 8.
06:37That is where all of this kind of swings around for the BC Lions.
06:42Nathan Rorick is going to be the starting quarterback.
06:45I do think that's probably the right call, and I do think that there is probably a short-ish
06:52leash with Vernon Adams and how well he played throughout the year.
06:55Nathan Rorick needs to get it figured out.
06:57And to his credit, it did seem like he was going to and then had a bad game against Toronto.
07:02And Toronto's defense hasn't looked great all the time, but they do have some talented
07:06players that can give you some problems.
07:08At 4, it's Edmonton.
07:10This is one where you kind of have to have them there, right?
07:12Like, I don't, even with a loss to Winnipeg, it's tough to drop them too far down given
07:17the run that they are on lately.
07:20Losing to the number one team in the West is going to happen.
07:24Straightforward, exciting, this team is heading in an exciting direction now with Chris Jones
07:28no longer in charge of anything there.
07:32Toronto at 3, again they're coming off of a couple of tough losses, and so it is tough
07:37to have them this high up.
07:39I still think that they are a very talented football team, and I still think it does kind
07:43of all come together.
07:44Although, this would be the one that I'm probably, like, you could make a very good case for
07:49Toronto ahead of them.
07:50I would say season-long you would have a good case of putting BC ahead of them, but Toronto
07:54just beat BC a couple of weeks ago, so it's a difficult thing to kind of maneuver.
07:58At 2, it's Winnipeg.
08:00You can't have them very much further down than 2, I don't think.
08:04They are number one in the West, they are winning a bunch of these games.
08:06I still am not super impressed by everything I've seen with them, but I do think that
08:12this is still a good football team and deserves to be up here.
08:15And at number one, it's Montreal.
08:17They get back in the win column over the Ottawa Red Blacks this week, and it just, it feels
08:23like they are the most complete team in the Canadian Football League right now.
08:26A couple more from the chat.
08:28Question.
08:29Is Dave wearing too many hats?
08:30Yes.
08:31Is it time for Mark Killam to finally get his shot?
08:34I, that part I don't know about necessarily, um, with Mark Killam.
08:38I do, like, I do think that he deserves somewhat of an opportunity.
08:42But I do also think that Dave Dickinson, the coach, is still a good coach.
08:48I just, like, he has had most of his, he has had all of his success as a coach.
08:53As a general manager, it hasn't really worked out.
08:55And so, I think if you are going to take a hat away from him, which yes, absolutely it's
08:59too many.
09:00I do think that, let someone else worry about the roster.
09:03Dave Dickinson is actually a very good coach.
09:06Let him do that, and don't have all of his time be taken up figuring out how he can try
09:10to fill out this roster on a week-in-week-out basis.
09:14I think he has to just be in charge of game planning, and you need someone else to look
09:17after the roster.
09:19Which might be tricky, because of the whole cap thing that the CFL does for staff, but
09:26this is the way it goes right now.
09:29The coaching hat is the easiest to remove, though, unfortunately.
09:31No, and that's fair, because you do have the straight-line fill-in right of Mark Killam
09:37to get there.
09:38And there's actually, there's a few very worthy candidates, right?
09:40Like Buck Pierce, out in Winnipeg, was a finalist for the job in Saskatchewan with Corey Mace.
09:45There are a lot of very good coordinators out there that can just fill up right into
09:49that role, and take that opportunity.
09:51Although Killam would be the easiest one next.
09:53So that is the easiest one to figure out, but it is also the one that I think he is
09:58best at.
09:59And so I think if you're going to make a change, it has to be one to put your team
10:03in the best spot, not just because it's the easiest decision that is there to be made.
10:09So I think that's the way it goes.
10:10Also Conrad saying BC dominates the CFL next season with a full offseason of Rorik.
10:14That part I would agree with.
10:15They need to get an offensive line there, and while it's nice to have a MLP candidate
10:21as a backup, I do think that Vernon Adams probably should be moved on, just if nothing
10:25else.
10:26Like I know we don't get giant blockbuster trades in the CFL, and honestly, it might
10:29end up just being like a cut or something like that, but I do think that you need to
10:33try to get at least a bit of a less expensive option as you're a quarterback.
10:38And yeah, Vernon Adams, like Vernon Adams is an upgrade for most of the league, right?
10:43Like it just so happens that BC signed the one guy that could take his spot.
10:48But yeah, like he was on pace to break Doug Flutie records when he was playing well this
10:53season.
10:54So yes, VA, Calgary, uh-huh, Saskatchewan, yes, Edmonton, I mean the Trey Ford thing
11:00is fun, but no question.
11:02Winnipeg, I know Zach Kalaros, institutional, whatever, would change it in a heartbeat.
11:07Toronto, I couldn't run away from Chad Kelly fast enough.
11:10Hamilton, Bo Levi Mitchell is playing very well, but Vernon Adams, quite a bit younger.
11:14Ottawa, know you love Drew Brown, there's no way you can compare them, right?
11:19Like, and Montreal, Cody Fajardo won you a great cup, and was also playing at an MOP
11:23level before he got hurt.
11:24So that one's maybe a bit difficult to do.
11:27But aside from that, you can make a very compelling case for Vernon Adams on basically any team.
11:32And so I do think that there are some holes on this BC team, and whether it is just with
11:36freed up cap space, or with a couple of assets coming back your way in a trade, I do think
11:41that that would be something to do.
11:42But yes, BC already would be the 2025 favorites to win the Grey Cup, and honestly would be
11:49an interesting bet to win the Grey Cup this year.
11:51Like we're talking full offseason for Nathan Rorick, there's only a few games left, but
11:57if he kind of gets them going, like BC, I feel pretty confident they're going to make
12:01the playoffs.
12:02You don't love that they're going to have to go on the road to Winnipeg to win the West
12:06Final, which is how this is kind of looking right now, but I mean, come on.
12:10This guy is so good that I think that there are going to be opportunities for him to kind
12:14of figure out which direction that this BC Lions team can go, because when he is playing
12:19well, they are the undeniable best team in the Canadian Football League.
12:24Alright, some good CFL talk here on the show today.
12:27Let's move into the world of the NHL.
12:29And obviously, we have done the list of the best players in the league.
12:34And I'm not even going to say these are the most important players in the league.
12:37I am just saying that there are a few players who hold the fate of the NHL season in their
12:43hands.
12:44And so today, we're going to rank them.
12:46This is a very big list show.
12:48We are going to look at some of the most, the players who will decide the season in
12:54the NHL.
12:55After I answer Toxic's question, why didn't he get an opportunity in the NFL, you think?
12:59We've kind of talked about this before, but he, he's in a tricky spot, because he's undrafted.
13:05You look at Hard Knocks, and how the Giants were talking about like, Devin Singletary
13:09and those guys.
13:10It's like, oh, well, that's a, I mean, that's a guy you can trust.
13:13They go with names, and they go with pedigree.
13:15And so, for you to get an opportunity over A, a guy who these GMs have heard of, or B,
13:22a guy who these GMs have drafted, you have to be uncommonly good.
13:27And while Nathan Rorick showed a few uncommonly good plays, it's still not enough for a team
13:33to say, oh yeah, this guy who we drafted in the third round, um, no, we're gonna take
13:37the undrafted dude from the Canadian Football League and put him over there.
13:40Or yeah, no, we're like, I know, look, Eddie Dalton is what he is, but we got this guy
13:45off of WAVERS, so here he comes, right?
13:48Like, okay, Jacksonville, quarterback situation isn't great, um, but Mack Jones was a first
13:54round pick.
13:55And so, we're gonna take that opportunity over Nathan Rorick.
13:59The Giants, right?
14:00Like, uh, well, Tommy DeVito, he won a game for us last year, and everyone loved him.
14:03How can we pick this guy over our guy, right?
14:07So there's all of these different, um, things that you have to overcome when you are doing
14:13that.
14:14And I just think it was a bit too much for him to overcome, and now he has a great opportunity
14:18here in the CFL.