Tuesday Takes – Week 1

Tuesday Takes – Week 1

Published: Tuesday, Jun 13th 2023, 2:06pm

By Alex Dormuth (@RealAlexD)

 

Week 1 of the CFL season is in the books, so that means it’s time to overreact on the season based on 4 games!

 

VAJ for MOP

I hope this is the year we FINALLY see Vernon Adams Jr. hit that potential we always knew was there. He looked fantastic against the Stamps, he has a very good roster around him in BC and with the brilliant Jordan Maksymic calling plays for the Lions, VA will be in the discussion for MOP at the end of the year. It’s only one week, but the Lions look like the only ones that can take down the Bombers in the West.

 

Jake Maier ain’t it

I said it last year and I’m saying it now, the new Maier in Calgary isn’t a franchise QB. Is he better than Bo Levi Mitchell? Simply put, no. He’s an average at best guy that looked terrible most of their season opener against Calgary. He needs to change that immediately or things will get UGLY in Cowtown. A strong showing in Ottawa this week is a MUST.

 

Dormuth’s Dandy – Dalke Delivers

On the opening kickoff against the Elks, Jayden Dalke set the tone for the Riders defense with a great play to shed his blocker and lay a big hit on Kyran Moore. Then a few plays later, he hit Geno Lewis over the middle. Dalke got an interception at the end of the first half and later in the game, he was a huge part of the goal line stand that secured the win for the Riders. This guy can flat out ball and he’s going to be instrumental in their success this season. A lot of fans weren’t sold on him as the starting Safety in Riderville, but there is no denying that he brought the heat in week one. He’s going to be a CFL stud for a long time!

 

Kudos to teams with new upper management

Attendance in Edmonton was excellent! Montreal had over 20,000 for their home opener and the BC Lions are going to likely have the biggest crowd of the year again for their home opener this week. All 3 teams have the newest Owners/Presidents in the league. All of them did a wonderful job at being innovative with their ticket sales and getting butts in seats. The new blood in the CFL is exactly what the league needed… hopefully the casual fans see it that way too and come out to stadiums across Canada.

 

CFL stats page not so Genius

This is my PSA for the CFL… if you want to get into sports betting, making fantasy football a thing in your league, HAVE A STATS PAGE THAT ACTUALLY WORKS! During every game this past week, the league was behind on stats, the score, absolutely everything. It was a mess. In fact, the box score for the Riders and Elks STILL has an error with a Taylor Cornelius passing stat. This partnership with Genius Sports is not looking too smart right now. You had a hard date to have everything figured out and you failed. Fix it now, this is pretty basic stuff.