Game Thread - Week 10 - Montreal at Edmonton - Saturday August 18th

[jerrym]

With Pipkin in his first start ever likely replacing the concussed Manziel , Montreal has even less of a chance of winning than usual, if that's possible.

[jerrym]

Here's the Alouettes' depth chart:

https://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.ne...5783E495C4.png

[jerrym]

Depth chart day!

Here is how we will line-up this Saturday when we take on the Montreal Alouettes! #OneEmpire

📈👇 pic.twitter.com/fsxIsRtgw8

— Edmonton Eskimos (@EdmontonEsks) August 17, 2018

[jerrym]

A sign of the times in the age of global warming: the smoke from BC wildfires in Edmonton was so bad this week that practices were moved indoors twice because of the health effects on players exerting themselves while breathing smoky air. Furthermore, whether the game is played on Saturday will be a game-time decision based on smoke conditions.

https://edmontonsun.com/sports/footb...-time-decision

[jerrym]

Thanks to changing weather conditions, the game will be going ahead.

The Edmonton Eskimos and the Canadian Football League are pleased to advise our fans that tonight’s game at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium is going ahead as scheduled at 7 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET). A favourable weather forecast, featuring winds of 20 to 30 kilometres per hour, and ongoing measurement of the air quality in Edmonton, including readings taken at the stadium itself, indicate the situation caused this week by smoke from wildfires is steadily improving.

https://www.cfl.ca/2018/08/17/eskimo...-10-home-game/

[OV Argo]

I was quite impressed by the Als young QB Pipkin - threw some nice strikes, including a beauty deep pass (that was dropped by Graham), plus showed good mobility and some poise - not a raw rookie as he was with them some last year, plus TC this year; but easily better than most of the other Als QBs this year (Vernon Adams was as good but not better IMO) - both those guys showed way more than Manzier - who will of course be anointed starter there for some time.

[jerrym]

I agree that Pipkin impressed in his first start and had several what otherwise would have been impactful passes dropped. However, the Montreal defence looked even worse than usual, if that's possible, giving up 560 yards overall, with Reilly basically doing whatever he liked against them.

Hopefully, the Argos will not take the Als for granted in their next game as letting a big underdog off the floor early is the one way to breathe confidence and a strong effort into them.

[OV Argo]

I agree that Pipkin impressed in his first start and had several what otherwise would have been impactful passes dropped. However, the Montreal defence looked even worse than usual, if that's possible, giving up 560 yards overall, with Reilly basically doing whatever he liked against them.

Hopefully, the Argos will not take the Als for granted in their next game as letting a big underdog off the floor early is the one way to breathe confidence and a strong effort into them.

The Als defence is not, IMO, near as bad as some think or maybe going just by stats like yards allowed, or ... Points: They are on the field way too much because of a very weak offence; Stubler is a bend but don't break DC type who often gives up lots of yards. The Als D had something like 5 takeaways in that loss to Ottawa - that kept them in the game tlll they lost on the final possession; they also sacked and hit Reilly hard numerous times last game. Their D has some top notch talent - likes DBs Tommy Campbell & Dozier, and linebackers Muamba & Ackie; Chip Cox is a vet leader, who may not be what he once was but can still make plays (and not playing much at the start of the season till somebody got it that they didn't have bettter); vet DE Bowman was injured last game and they have been going with a bunch of young & inexperienced D-lineman, and that is a bit of weak spot, as is not having a strong or experienced safety - the imports they have been using have been total non-impact there.

The Als D has a few holes personnel wise - which is the same with most CFL teams IMO; Stubler is a vet DC and maybe a lot of CFL offences are wise to most of his tricks? But the Als D is not near the problem that their woeful offence is - with a revolving door of not good enough QBs, and iffy to useless receivers getting handed playing time.