Turkeybend Power Rankings Week #3

CFL Talk
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GOBBLE GOBBLE

As we all know we have yet to see Turkeybend this season. I hope everything is alright. For as long as I have been a member Turkeybend has been doing weekly Power Rankings of the teams in the CFL. He always had a Rider bias but his picks were well thought and the argument behind them was always solid. Not to mention he was hilarious! I am going to be posting a Turkeybend Power Rankings each week in hopes that:

  1. Turkeybend gets his ass back to the boards
  2. This is the official Power Rankings thread where everybody can give their rankings.

Having said that...

THE TURKEYBEND WEEK 3 POWER RANKINGS

1. Montreal Alouettes
Week in week out, Anthony Calvillo proves that he is destined to be one of, if not the best quarterback the Canadian Football League has ever seen. Not only did he tie Damon Allen's for most career passing record, he managed to lead his team to a win in hostile Rider territory, no easy task. But Montreal isn't all about Calvillo, they are and continue to be the class of the league. Dynamic receivers such as SJ Green (amazing endzone catch, inches out of bounds, boo) and the rest of the Als have earned this number one spot.

2. Edmonton Eskimos
I am serious, and so is this team. Eskimos at number two when last week I would have put them in one of 6, 7 or 8. Biggest jump of the week and possibly the season, but this club deserves it. They may have been the West Division punching bags last year, but new Head Coach Kavis Reed has this team fired up. Ricky Ray (541 yards offence) and his receivers are putting on a clinic out there! The Edmonton defence held the Tiger Cats to a measly 10 points, in a game where they had everything to prove. Fans of other teams beware: This is a team to watch this year. Eskimos are no longer a free 2 points.

3. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
This was an incredibly tough pick. The defence is the only reason the Bombers are sitting at #3 in my rankings. And what a defence it is! This is a tough group of guys that made an impact in week one in Hamilton and PROVED in week 2 that they are for real. Toronto couldn't get anything going, the rushing game was stuffed (2 3rd and shorts got STUFFED!). Offence clearly needs some work, Buck while his stats aren't pretty, is doing just enough to let the defence win games.

4. Calgary Stampeders
What a game between this team and the BC Lions. A wise man once said 'stats are for losers' but the one one stat the Stampeders wanted was a 'W' and they got one. While they almost got hoodwinked, Henry Burris and Coach Hufnagel led the team to their first victory of 2011. They are #4 because they did look good putting those points on the board, and because you better believe Coach Huf will have this team amped up and ready to go against the Bombers on Thursday.

5. B.C. Lions
My picks between 3-5 are basically interchangable. While this team is posting an 0-2 record, this is not by any means a bad football club. I was skeptical on Travis Lulay last year, but I am a believer now! He may have dropped 2 but they were both comeback close games. If BC can manage to strike first and not try to win by coming back they will be looking pretty. BC Lions should do a tie in with the new Harry Potter movie coming out and change Lulay's name to Ron Weasley. Maybe Don Matthews will make a comeback to play Voldemort? j/k but this is a good football team watch out for them.

6. Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto defence makes me REALLY want to rate this team higher. But they showed that while they are amazing, the offence is still lacking the OOMPH to make this team a true contender. Cory Boyd got held to 14, which is just incredible considering how talented that man is. Lemon, well the jury is still out. I enjoy him and think he has become much more seasoned this year and will improve and don't be surprised if you see the Toronto Argonauts be a huge contender this year. P.S. I know it has already been said but watch out for this D.

7. Saskatchewan Roughriders
In spirit of Turkeybend I was gonna but the Riders at #1 without hesitation.

RIDER PRIDE NATION WIDE!!!! RIDERS ROOL BOMBERS DROOL!!!! :cowboy: :cowboy: :cowboy: :rockin: :rockin: :twisted: :cowboy:

However, the simple fact is the Riders, despite hanging around with MTL for the first half of the game are 0-2... AT HOME. I wouldn't fret too much Rider fans. I know after looking at riderfans.com even one loss and the people want the head coach fired. Calm down, Greg Marshall along with his GM is going to mold this team into a huge winner. It may or may not be this year, but this is a core I would love to have, especially Durant.

8. Atlantic Schooners
After a pretty good article by Matt Cauz of CFL.ca [url]http://www.cfl.ca/article/cauz-can-atlantic-canada-support-a-team[/url] I am going to put the Atlantic Schooners at #8 in the Turkeybend Week #3 Power Rankings. I was out East for the first Touchdown Atlantic, and it was an amazing time. Everybody was a buzz and the TVs were lit up. Perfect place to put a 10th team. Which leads me too...

9. Ottawa Football Club
Atalntic gets the nod above Ottawa and Hamilton because there is actually a game there this year. The same cannot be said for Ivor Wynne or Landsdowne Park. But regardless of the legal wranglings going on in our nations capital, The Ottawa Football Club has inadvertently managed to look better than the Hamilton Tiger Cats. In fact going to court arguing over land, money and historicl buildings is downright sexy when u compare it to...

10. Hamilton Tiger Cats
What the hell happened? Seriously. I know it is only week 2, but this team needs to check itself before it wrecks itself. This is NOT a team that should e 10th on the TB PR, but yet, here we are. High expectations coming into the season, this was the team that was supposed to challenge Montreal (lol). After the Week 1 'controversy' the QB is still complacent, D is letting the big plays in and their fans are getting IRATE on forums. Maybe the club and fans overestimated itself, or maybe this is a reality check.

CHEERS EVERYBODY
Post your personal rankings below! What do you think??? Let's hope for the quick return of the real Turkeybend ASAP.

RIDER PRIDE NATION WIDE!!! :cowboy: :cowboy: :rockin: :rockin: :cowboy: :cowboy: :twisted:
ESKIMOS & ALS DROOL RIDERS ROOL!! :cowboy: :cowboy: :rockin: :cowboy: :twisted:

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I miss Turkey. :lol: Hopefully everything is OK. He's never been this late.

Good rankings. Part of me wants to put Calgary ahead of Winnipeg, but I can't come up with any solid reasons for why. Same with Toronto and BC. I'd like to switch them, but I can't come up with any arguments to support it.

So I'll stick with your rankings. :thup:

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Last week it was power rankings after week 1 and now it's power rankings week #3. What happened to week 2? :wink:

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I mean Power Rankings going into the third week :s

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It must have been tough, considering the title of the thread, not to put the Riders in first. I agree, though. Its just not possible to "turkeybend" the facts enough to justify a top-half rating for Gang Green.

I like the top 3...Montreal remains a powerhouse, Edmonton will continue their run until people start to take them seriously, and Winnipeg is the same team as last year, except that they have figured out how not to lose games by a measly couple of points. Super D in the Peg this year.

I would have rated the Lions lower, possibly at No. 7. Why so low? Because for the last several years, Buono teams don't really start to play until mid-August. Combine that tendency with an 0-2 record, and I just don't see this team being a serious threat for another couple of weeks. They will rise in the rankings, but not for a few games yet.

Also, I disagree with the comment that the Riders GM will mold a winner. He has no history of doing so. The Riders had success with Tillman running the team, and last year largely because of Tillman's legacy players. As those players disburse, I think we will see the true character of a Taman team -- bottom half consistently. You can talk about injuries, but the job of a GM is to provide depth and skill for his coaches, and, aside from receivers, the Riders don't have that. He also needs to find some skill at D-Line, and the secondary is exceedingly weak. Marshall and Hall can only make so much lemonade out of some of the lemons they have been given (Graham! Eubanks! Casper the Friendly Ghost playing all four D-Line spots!)

Overall, great ratings!

I, too, wish for Turkeybend back. (I did the ratings last week, MPDid this week....maybe Chief next week?)

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That’s a thought to have Chief give it a shot, although Turkeybend last year suggested I give it a go too. I’m not too sure; :expressionless:
Could be an Alice Cooper version of “Welcome to My Nightmare” or a Pink Floyd version of " A Momentary Lapse of Reason".
I miss the Turkey.

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wpg wins to garbage games against what will probably turn out to be their two lowest competitors. No way they are 3rd.

mtl
ed
cal
bc
wpg
tor
sask
ham

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WPG is 3rd because they are 2-0. What the hell have the Lions down to be put in front of them??

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if it was just about wins and losses, there would be no point in discussing power rankings at all

The lions lost to two of the top teams by a total of 8 pts. Thats what they did. Head to Head, I will take the lions over the bombers.

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And in those 2 wins WPG's D looked pretty dominate. Many non-Bomber fans are saying maybe the best D in the League. From what I saw of BC's games they looked inconsistant on O, and burnt on D. Head to head I will take the Bombers.

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No way would I dare try to replace the Turkey. He’s one of a kind! :smiley:

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True. I think the Turkeybend just would like to see what others come up with perhaps. From what I’ve seen this year from the posters taking a crack at it have done well. Come on Chief; yourself followed by me and anyone else could be fun. No? I think I’ll listen to “Enter Sandman” by Metallica till the Turkeybend gets here… could be a long wait until Thanksgiving.

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Anyone know if Turkeybend posts at any other forums? Maybe if he knew how much his power rankings are missed he'd come back.

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The Esks trounced two formerly highly-regarded teams, while the Als barely beat BC. Unless we’re padding the power ratings from past glories:

  1. Edmonton - two big wins
  2. Montreal - almost lost to B.C.
  3. Winnipeg - beat Toronto
  4. Toronto - beat Calgary
  5. Calgary - beat B.C.
  6. B.C. - almost beat Montreal
  7. Sask - not in either game
  8. Ham - not even close
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cbc.ca has posted theirs:

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/story/2011/07/11/sp-cfl-power-rankings-week2.html]http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/story ... week2.html[/url]

They picked:

1. MONTREAL ALOUETTES [Unchanged]
Overall record: 2-0
Streak: Two wins

Anyone else notice that play late in the game where two of Anthony Calvillo’s receivers went offside? He calmly called them back, reset everybody and started the play all over again before the play clock ran out. No panic. That’s leadership. Five Calvillo touchdown passes tied him with Damon Allen for first overall all time. Not much of a running game, but why run if you don’t have to?

2. EDMONTON ESKIMOS [Up from 3]
Overall record: 2-0
Streak: Two wins

Hands up everyone who thought the Eskimos would look this good two games in? Liars. Fun though, isn’t it? Ricky Ray has thrown for 672 yards so far, the defence is terrific, and Kavis Reed seems to have everyone on the same page. On that subject, a note to Jerome Messam, who talked his way out of B.C. last month. Shhhhh. Don’t say anything. Just take the 17 carries, 104 yards in rushing and two touchdowns, smile nice and move on.

3. WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS [Up from 4]
Overall record: 2-0
Streak: Two wins

So, the offence isn’t that hot right now. Who cares? This nice start has been because of that most famous of all Blue and Gold traits from days past - defence. The Bombers beat the snot out of the Argos this week, picking up seven sacks and pounding Toronto stars Chad Owens and Cory Boyd into submission. And the defensive backfield is making sure anything that does leak through is taken care of. Work has to be done making the attack a little more creative. You don’t have to run Fred Reid on first down all the time.

4. CALGARY STAMPEDERS [Up from 6]
Overall record: 1-1
Streak: One win

Had to hang on for a win against B.C., but this was better than week one, certainly. Henry Burris is still finding himself, throwing for three touchdowns and three interceptions (plus losing a fumble), and the faster Bad Henry can be replaced by Smilin’ Hank, the better. Landan Talley’s 150 yards in kick returns, four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown show his late season stats in 2010 weren’t a fluke.

5. B.C. LIONS [Unchanged]
Overall record: 0-2
Streak: Two losses

A pair of defeats to perhaps the best two teams in the league by a total of six points. Wally Buono seems to have something here. The Lions are giving up too much on defence, but let’s see how they fare against the average teams in the CFL. On offence, a running game would be nice. When your quarterback runs for 28 yards and it’s double what the guys who are paid to carry the ball get, there’s a problem to straighten out. Still, B.C. has looked awfully good for an 0-2 team.

6. TORONTO ARGONAUTS [Down from 2]
Overall record: 1-1
Streak: One loss

Best thing to do after a mess like the one in Winnipeg is watch the video, figure out what went wrong and then bury it somewhere no one will ever find it. Like the vault at Gringotts. Most troubling here is the way the Bombers overwhelmed the Toronto offensive line, a unit that must be strong if the Argos are going to reach their potential. Seven sacks are simply unacceptable. Can’t imagine Chad Owens dropping the ball three times in one game again.

7. SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS [Unchanged]
Overall record: 0-2
Streak: Two losses

Here’s a number that should scare the bejeesus out of Rider fans: 81. That’s the number of points the Green and White have given up in just two games. Quarterbacks Ricky Ray and Anthony Calvillo have burned the defence for 713 yards passing and eight touchdowns through the air. Sure, loss two was to Montreal. But Edmonton? The Riders, by the way, are 1-6 in their last seven regular-season games going back to 2010.

8. HAMILTON TIGER-CATS [Unchanged]
Overall record: 0-2
Streak: Two losses

How have the Cats managed to turn one of the CFL’s best quarterbacks last year into the stumbling boob he looks like right now? Four interceptions in two games. Arland Bruce (1,303 yards last year) can’t seem to get open. The offence can’t finish drives. And that defence, the one that gave up over 300 yards to Edmonton in the first half this week? Not nearly enough Tiger, far too much Kitty Cat. Still time to work things out, but given the sudden parity in the CFL, they’d better not wait long.

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That’s going to start an argument. :lol:

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mine looks the exact same, cept for the Cats being 10th :lol: although I cant disagree with it :lol:

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Calgary lost to Toronto, but Calgary is one of the two top teams and Toronto is going to turn out to be one of the two lowest competitors. Makes perfect sense.

Remember the Bombers last year? Yeah, losing to everyone by 4 points or less doesn’t do you any good.

It’s not the offense rankings. It’s the power rankings. Lulay is probably my favourite QB in the league, but if his receivers don’t know how to catch a ball they aren’t going anywhere against what, so far, has been the league’s best defense.

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An argument? That some members of the media are idiots? I don’t think so - we know that.