Early-season growing pains glaring for some clubs in Week 1

Winnipeg Free Press

a day ago

The CFL season is already a week old, but for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the fun is just getting started.
As Week 1 unfolded, the Bombers found themselves as the lone club on the sidelines, a consequence of the CFL's nine-team structure, leaving the Blue and Gold as the odd men out. Winnipeg's last Week 1 bye was back in 2017, well before their current, impressive streak of five straight Grey Cup appearances began.
Inside the locker room, opinions on the early break were decidedly mixed.
'I don't like it, especially with the camp we had, you want to come out and play right away,' said offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld.
'It's a chance to get your body right,' added defensive end Willie Jefferson.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers veteran defensive end Willie Jefferson likes the Week 1 bye week, saying 'it's a chance to get your body right' before the season kicks off.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers veteran defensive end Willie Jefferson likes the Week 1 bye week, saying 'it's a chance to get your body right' before the season kicks off.
'I don't know. It could be a gift and a curse,' said running back Brady Oliveira.
After an intense training camp, sitting idle for Week 1 would undoubtedly feel strange, particularly for those new to the CFL. Many players admitted they enjoyed watching the games, noting that Week 1 can be a bit sloppy. They hoped to capitalize on the added time to dissect film, aiming to avoid those early-season growing pains when they welcome the B.C. Lions to Princess Auto Stadium Thursday night.
While a bit unusual, Week 1 byes are likely here to stay for the foreseeable future, until the CFL can finally secure a 10th team. The league has made this a clear mission in recent years, with significant efforts focused on bringing a franchise to Atlantic Canada, ultimately aiming for a true coast-to-coast presence across the three-down loop.
For now, that might feel like a pipe dream. But much like East Coast weather, if expansion talk is quiet now, just wait fifteen minutes — there's always something new brewing in this beautifully chaotic league.
With that in mind, let's dive into the league's top stories from the week that was in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.
1) The Montreal Alouettes, the top-ranked team in my early season power rankings, certainly didn't disappoint.
Up against a Toronto Argonauts team missing their star quarterback, the Alouettes looked dominant in all three phases.
The Davis Alexander era officially began, and the young pivot looked calm and collected throughout the game.
Christopher Katsarov / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander led Montreal to a dominant season-opening win against the Toronto Argonauts on Friday.
Christopher Katsarov / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander led Montreal to a dominant season-opening win against the Toronto Argonauts on Friday.
Alexander didn't have to do too much, tossing for just over 200 yards in the victory.
When a defence plays that well and special teams are that effective, sometimes a quarterback simply needs to get out of his own way.
2) The Saskatchewan Roughriders earned a convincing win over the visiting Ottawa Redblacks, but at first blush it appeared they suffered the greatest loss on the night.
Running back A.J. Ouellette left the game late in the first quarter with a head injury, immediately casting serious doubt on his status for Week 2.
However, as the Riders returned to practice this week, Ouellette was already working with the first-team offence after clearing concussion protocol.
This is good news for the 29-year-old, who has struggled to stay healthy since arriving in Regina at the start of last season.
Saskatchewan signed free agent Ka'Deem Carey as a backup, so it's certainly something to monitor over the weekend.
3) Heading into the 2025 campaign, one question loomed large on everyone's mind: would Nathan Rourke return to his dominating form from 2022?
Well, if Week 1 was any indication, he's certainly going to do some damage this year.
While the Lions offence had a slow start, Rourke came alive in the second half, leading his team to four straight touchdown drives.
Rourke finished 27-for-36 passing for 324 yards and three touchdowns, along with five runs totalling 54 rushing yards.
Rourke also appears to have found a new favourite target, connecting with Stanley Berryhill III for six catches, 105 yards and two TDs.
4) You can't say the same about Edmonton Elks QB Tre Ford, who struggled against the Lions in what was his first Week 1 start of his career.
Ford has been given the keys to the franchise after years of parachuting into action only when the Elks were already out of playoff contention.
It's still too early for definitive statements, but the early signs point to a player who can make highlight-reel plays yet struggles with routine passes.
In other words, he makes the hard plays look easy and the easy plays look hard.
There's still time to grow for the Canadian kid and one game won't decide the rest of the season.
But if Edmonton wants to snap a years-long playoff drought, they need more from their leader behind centre.
5) Vernon Adams Jr. sure looked good in his debut in Calgary, leading the Stampeders to a win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
He got off to a hot start, collecting more than 100 of his 284 total passing yards on the opening drive.
Despite the Stamps putting up 38 points, Adams was without a throwing touchdown, as running back Dedrick Mills punched in a hat trick of scores to become the CFL's early touchdown leader.
Adams was a major off-season pickup for Calgary, valued both for his ability on the field and his character in the locker room.
So far, so good in Cowtown, where the Stamps look to make it back to the playoffs after missing out last season for the first time in 20 years.
6) As mentioned, it's not the time for definitive statements, with Week 1 often proving to be a bit of a crapshoot as clubs try to smooth out early wrinkles.
But the Ticats fanbase must have a here-we-go-again feeling following the loss to Calgary.
Larry MacDougal / THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were supposed to have improved in the off-season, but the club had no semblance of a run game against the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
Larry MacDougal / THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were supposed to have improved in the off-season, but the club had no semblance of a run game against the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
Hamilton was supposed to be improved this season, building on their league-leading offence and bolstering their talent on defence.
None of that looked evident this past week, especially on offence, where 35-year-old Bo Levi Mitchell attempted 50 passes and the Ticats had no semblance of a run game.
Things don't get any easier this week with Saskatchewan coming to town.
7) I'm going to end this column on a somber note. First, I want to extend my best wishes to Ticats general manager — and former Bombers assistant GM — Ted Goveia as he continues his battle with cancer.
Ted is a CFL lifer, and the more we see of him around the league, the better.
Also, last week, we received the devastating news of the death of Milt Stegall's son, Chase, a 20-year-old student-athlete who played on the soccer team at DePaul University.
Anyone who has had a chance to meet Milt, a Blue Bomber legend, knows what a special human being he is.
No one has more fun, or smiles more on the job than Milt, and my heart breaks for him and his family.
I wish them nothing but the best as they navigate this incredibly difficult time.
The support from Winnipeg and the broader CFL community has been incredible.
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Jeff HamiltonMultimedia producer
Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University's journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.
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