The Rouge White & Blue CFL podcast

RWB CFL podcast #270: Not so strange after all…

The 2024 CFL season experienced week to week has felt somewhat odd: Stuff like the crashes-and-burns of the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, the defending West champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers digging themselves out of a hole to rise to first place, essentially every team except the Calgary Stampeders forced to give #2 and/or #3 QBs quality minutes…

This week, the , Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast considers the standings from the perspective of the preseason and things aren’t that far off from what RWB co-hosts Joe Pritchard and Os Davis dreamed up at the beginning of the season.

And so overlays the theme of this week’s show, which again brings you a wrap of last week’s games, picks and predictions for the upcoming week (including Joe’s annual pilgrimage to the Banjo Bowl), plus the usual assortment of commentary and tangents.

The Rouge White and Blue CFL Podcast: As weird as they wanna be…

The Rouge, White and Blue is part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

RWB CFL podcast #269: Rouge Rouge Rouge, yeah!

(alternative title: Argos win on missed FG; Football fandom freaks out)

After week 12, Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast co-hosts could talk about how all four games came down to a touchdown or less, about another fantastic showing by the East, about how the top three teams by win-loss record are now in the East, about how the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are suddenly in second place thanks to the freefalls of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders and BC Lions…

And RWB co-hosts Joe Pritchard and Os Davis do discuss such topics in breaking down and (slightly) hot-taking week 12 in CFL football – but it’s that rouge giving the Toronto Argonauts the literal last-second victory over the Riders that once again captured the collective imagination, indignation and, from south of the US-Canada border, confusion and derision. So RWB talks rouge (spoiler: Nooooooooooo! Never eliminate the rouge! Though some improvement could be made.)

The rouge, the games, the picks and predictions for Labour Day Weekend – all in this episode!

The Rouge White and Blue CFL Podcast: Rouge rouge rouge, yeah / It’s gonna get ya…

The Rouge, White and Blue is part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

RWB CFL podcast #268: Sweep! Sweeeeeeeeep!

Once again, Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast co-hosts talk an anomalous sweep in the Canadian Football League – Just three weeks after an exceptionally rare 4-0 showing by the four East division teams, week 11 saw the visitors sweep the homedogs. RWB co-hosts Joe Pritchard and Os Davis can’t decide which is more amazing: The visitors sweeping or Os going 4-0 in CFL Pick ‘Em.

Or maybe it’s the way the West has become the East, not to mention how suddenly the 3^rd-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers and 5^th-place Edmonton Elks look more like playoff contenders than the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Adding intrigue to the league outside the lines were moves like the Hamilton Tiger-Cats hiring of Chris Jones (!) to the position of defensive coordinator; public appearances by brand new Edmonton *Elks* owner Larry Thompson and the concomitant will-he-won’t-he speculation surrounding the brand; and the imminent return of Chad Kelly for the Toronto Argonauts.

Otherwise, week 11 of the 2024 season was one of quarterback comebacks: Some quite good, some not so good, some quite amazing but not enough to overcome their own special teams…

Plus predictions for CFL Pick ‘Em (Did we mention Os went 4-0 last week? That means you’ll be fading this week, most likely…) and certainly something else.

The Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast: Sweeping it up weekly.

The Rouge, White and Blue is part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

RWB CFL podcast #267: Quarterback roulette and 1,000 other topics

 

OK, so the Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast ins’t *quite* covering 1,001 news items, hot (or lukewarm) takes and predictions but hoo boy, is this league generating some serious fodder for chatter at the halfway point of the season.

First and foremost is the round of quarterback roulette in which most CFL teams are currently embroiled; more intrigue was added with the news that Nathan Rourke was released by the Atlanta Falcons and immediately re-signed by the BC Lions. Can Rourke’s reentry stop BC’s skid and reaffirm the Lions’ top-dog status in the West?

Also on the horizon is the expected return of Chard Kelly to the Toronto Argonauts, a morally dubious situation for team and league. Even more morally questionable is the rumour that new Edmonton Elks ownership will be reverting the team name utterly against the grain of the wider culture.

Some football actually happened up there in the Great White North, too, begging lots of questions going into the season’s second half, including:

• Trevor Harris or no, how far can the Saskatchewan Roughriders go with little-to-no running game?
• Similarly: Nathan Rourke or no, how far can BC go letting passing offenses move the ball at will?
• How long with the Calgary Stampeders, 4-0 at home and 0-5 on the road, maintain such an insane split?
• Are the Stamps and Toronto Argonauts better or worse than their win-loss records?
• What will become of Bo Levi Mitchell?
• Finally, could the 3-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers actually crawl back into West contention?

All this plus picks and predictions for CFL Pick ‘Em, talk of this week’s (very scintillating) point spreads, and a few words on the importance of Kate Bierness.

The Rouge White & Bllue CFL Podcast: Ready for those second-half adjustments.

The Rouge, White and Blue is now part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

RWB CFL podcast #266: This league is crazy

You read that right: the Rouge, White & Blue Podcast affirms that the CFL right now is absolutely nuts, bananas and any more idiomatic expressions with food you want to use.

Seriously, RWB co-hosts Joe Pritchard and Os Davis can only gawk in confusion at some of these teams, barely sputtering a “WTF” when asking stuff like: How did this BC Lions offense get shut out? How highly should we esteem the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, low-watt and banged-up offense notwithstanding? Do the Edmonton Elks still have time to compete? What can Ryan Dinwiddie do with his Toronto Argonauts and one desperate QB situation? And finally, ,what is up with the insane home/away split the Calgary Stampeders are sporting?

These questions (attempted to be) answered, plus picks and predictions for week 10 games.

The Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast: Almost as crazy and baffling as the league itself…

The Rouge, White and Blue is now part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

RWB CFL podcast #265: From the land of backup quarterbacks

As the dust settles on a historic East division sweep in week 8, the Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast remarks on this year’s crop of backup quarterbacks; marvels at the Montreal Alouettes’ defense and the Ottawa Redblacks in general; and remains baffled by the unbettable Calgary Stampeders.

RWB co-hosts Joe Pritchard and Os Davis answer questions like: Are the Toronto Argonauts really a third-place team? Are the Saskatchewan Roughriders essentially a .500 team? Why do these Winnipeg Blue Bombers continually succumb to mistakes this season? How seriously should we take these Hamilton Tiger-Cats?

And, most scintillatingly, could we finally get an East team crossing over…? Hamilton at Saskatchewan in the West semi-finals, anyone…?

All this musing plus picks and predictions for week 9’s games.

The Rouge White & Blue Podcast: Covering the ever-fascinating CFL.

The Rouge, White and Blue is part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

 

RWB CFL podcast #264: More close games, not much fantasy help

At the top of this week’s Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast, the discussion naturally begins with a wrap of week 7 games – while meandering through some grousing about what was seemingly a poor fantasy week for everyone. (Jake Maier the top QB? A touchdown from rookie FB Clint Ratkovich? Dude.)

Light on fantasy football points the slate of games may have been, but some fascinating points of discussion emerged for co-hosts Joe Pritchard and Os Davis to kick around. Questions like: Are the Calgary Stampeders (and Maier) this good? Are the Saskatchewan Roughriders this bad? Why are the Edmonton Elks like this? (Joe swears it’s not McLeod Bethel-Thompson…)

The RWB goes on to offer CFL Pick ‘Em picks and predictions on another interesting quartet of games next week: Saskatchewan at the likely Cody Fajardo-less Montreal Alouettes; the underdog (?) Stamps at the Ottawa RedBlacks; those frustrating Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the Toronto Argonauts; and (hoo boy) the one-win Hamilton Tiger-Cats coming to Edmonton.

The RWB CFL Podcast: Always decided by a touchdown or less…

The Rouge, White and Blue is now part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

RWB CFL Podcast #263" Chris Jones is out (and other stories)

RWB CFL podcast #263: Chris Jones out, end of an era

The Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast began when head coach Chris Jones was on the way to winning his first (and, as it turns out, likely his only) Grey Cup. Thiw week, the key CFL-centric story is the firing from the Edmonton Elks of Coach Jones.

Yet, RWB co-hosts Joe Pritchard and Os Davis somehow manage to discuss other topics involving week 6 of the 2024 CFL season with all its interesting developments – just don’t talk to Os the Alouette fan about Cody Fajardo.

Following the recap, how about some takes on week 7’s games? Some of the point spreads are wacky (Toronto Argonauts just 3-point favorites at the Hamilton Tiger-Cats? Calgary Stampeders 4½-point underdogs at home against BC Lions?) and essentially disagree on everything except the Winnipeg Blue Bombers...

Rouge White & Blue: We’re on to next week.

RWB CFL podcast #262: Backup quarterback time begins

We’re about one-quarter of the way through the 2024 CFL season and even though two teams remain undefeated and one is still winless, some annual signs of the season progressing are staring to show. This week, the Rouge White and Blue CFL Podcast co-hosts Os Davis and Joe Pritchard take stock of week 5 to weight in on topics such as:

• What to make of the backstepping Toronto Argonauts losing to the Saskatchewan Roughriders?
• How competitive can the Calgary Stampeders get before season’s end?
• Is any team in the league besides the Montreal Alouettes really complete?
• Can anyone give the BC Lions a game right now?

And more, including a look at the week 6 pointspreads and CFL Pick ‘Em possibilities. A few intriguing lines for the bettors this week – like Toronto +7 at Montreal and Calgary +4½ at Winnipage – require some analysis.

The Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast: First string, second string – we love ’em all!

The Rouge, White and Blue is now part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!

 

RWB CFL podcast #261: Os takes a beating

For Rouge White and Blue CFL Podcast co-host Os Davis it was just one of those weeks – namely, a total washout in CFL fantasy football and a clean 0-4 showing in the league’s Pick ‘Em contest. Yeesh.

Nevertheless, Os, together with RWB co-host Joe Pritchard, attempt to make sense of last week’s results – though truth be told, Joe doesn’t really need to after his own 4-0 Pick ‘Em run. What can be said about a slte of four games with three going down to the game’s final pay. And just how many bounces separate, say the 3-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders from the 0-4 Winnipeg Blue Bombers…?

We’ll also take a look at next week’s matches and some interesting-looking pointspreads, including the Toronto Argonauts giving just 3½ (at recording time; two hours later, up to 4½) points at the aforementioned Roughriders with little used QB Sean Patterson starting at QB for the injured Trevor Harris, not to mention BC Lions giving just 5 to the hapless Hamilton Tiger-Cats….

The Rouge White & Blue CFL Podcast: Safe lead or no, we’re here for the football!

The Rouge, White and Blue is now part of the Shotgun Sports Network. Watch this episode – and those of other Shotgun shows on YouTube – or listen from wherever you get your podcasts!