September has ended and so has the 17th Week of the CFL Season. Let's discuss which specialists impressed me in this week's write up;
Kickers
If you look at how the kickers performed as a whole this week, you might be a bit disappointed. They only made 13 of their 17 field goals (76.5%). This is the worst they've performed since Week 6 when they made 16/21 field goals (76.2%). They did well on PATs though, this week, and will walk away making all 17 of their attempts. Let's discuss how each of the players performed with a look at my (un)Official Week 17 CFL Kicker Power Rankings;
Working top-down;
Rene Paredes (CGY) had a quiet week but performed when asked to, making all 4 of his converts. Hopefully, we will see him line up for his 50th field goal attempt in week 19 against Hamilton! He also scored an extra point on a kickoff, driving up the score a little bit extra, which if intentional could be seen as problematic. I, however, like the message it sends. Play a full 4 Quarters of special teams!
Marc Liegghio (WPG) did his job, making his only field goal from 22 yards out, and 4 PATs. His 7 points score this week helped his team win and ensures he will remain in the Second Position in the Power Rankings list. You can watch all of his kicks here.
Sean Whyte (BC) has been automatic up to this point in the season and it doesn't look like he is going to slow down anytime soon. He continues to play well and made both his field goal attempts as well as all 4 of his PATs. His long came from a clean 43 yards out to close the first half. Check out all of his kicks here.
Seth Small (HAM) had a Bye Week but his past performance will shoot him into the Fourth Position this week. He has really shown that he belongs as a kicker in the league! I am looking forward to seeing what he does moving forward.
Brett Lauther (SSK) had a redemption game this week, making all 3 of his kicks (2/2 FG, 1/1 PAT). This also means he donated another 400$ KidSport program! His long came from just 25 yards out and his other was from under 20 yards, so nothing too impressive from Brett this week. He needed to make those kicks, that's for sure. He will jump back into the Top 5 of our Power Rankings this week.
David Côté (MTL) had a hot-and-cold game. He was coming off a great week 16 and the high that comes from making a Career-long 51 yard field goal. Well, the Als put their trust in him this game, allowing him to attempt 3 field goals over 50 yards. David unfortunately only made 1 of those 3, good for just 33.3%. He did, however, manage to close out the first half with a NEW Career-long of 52 yards! Despite the accomplishment, Côté will slide into the Sixth Position due to his misses over 50 yards. As a second-year player, I am happy with his development. He has shown that he can hit those 50+ yarders but we need to see it happen more consistently.
Sergio Castillo (EDM) has really turned the ship around after the Edmonton Elks Week8 Bye. He has been nearly perfect since then, making 14/15 of his field goals. This week he makes all 3 of his field goals as well as an extra point attempt. Castillo is also starring in a new premier show "Kickin' it with Castillo". The first episode can be found here, where he teaches viewers how to properly kick a field goal. I love this type of stuff. You can never show the Special Teams too much love!
Lewis Ward (OTT) continues to challenge my opinions. He manages to make 4 of his 5 field goal attempts this week, with a long of 47, which we love to see. However, 3 of those field goals were under 22 yards which needs to be taken into consideration (Is there a professional kicker out there who is not expected to make a field goal under 20 yards?) He did miss a 44 yarder but managed to just narrowly sneak in a 47 yard field goal to make up for it. You can watch all of his kicks here.
Boris Bede (TOR) attempted one field goal from 46 yards and missed. CFL.ca states that it was good from 59 yards out, so his issue isn't power, which I guess we have known for a while now. The issue is his accuracy. He just needs to step it up and make these long-ish kicks. He will remain in the Ninth Position due to his completion of just 57% (12/21) over 40 yards this year.
Punters
If you were to ask me, about half of the punters in the CFL had a good game this week, though it is always a bit tougher to evaluate them. Let's discuss how each of the players performed with a look at my (un)Official Week 17 CFL Punter Power Rankings;
Working top-down;
Cody Grace (CGY) has done it! He will officially take over the First Position in the Power Rankings. He had yet another absolutely stellar week, punting 9 times for 466 yards (51.8 Avg) and 398 Net yards (44.2 Net Avg.) which is just insane!! If that stat line alone isn't impressive enough, he also managed 5 punts over 50 yards and 2 inside the 20 yard line (and 1 on the 7 yard line). Congratulations Cody! Keep up the amazing work!
Richie Leone (OTT) will fall off the Throne for the first time in 12 weeks! Certainly an impressive feat. He had a disappointing game this week, posting his lowest Net Avg. (34 Net yards per punt) since Week 6. It was only really disappointing because of what I expected out of Leone. He punted 4 times for 189 yards (47.3 Avg.) and 136 Net yards. One of those landed inside the 20% and 3 were over 50 yards.
Stefan Flintoft (BC) had an o.k game, punting 6 times for 236 yards (39.3 Avg.) and 200 (33.3 Net Avg.). 2 of those punts landed within the 20 yard line (with one going out of bounds at the 8 yard line) and 1 was over 50 yards. Overall a decent game for Stefan, but seeing as his Avg. is roughly 47.6 yards per punt this season, it was a bit lacklustre.
Joseph Zema (MTL) had 3 punts for 150 yards which are good for a clean 50 yards per punt. His 32.7 Net Avg. is a bit more concerning, especially considering he wasn't able to pin any punt inside the 20 yard line.
Marc Liegghio (WPG) had an average game coming out of the Bye Week. He punted 7 times for 311 yards (44.4 Avg.) and 219 Net yards (31.3 Net Avg.) he pinned 29% of his punts inside the 20 yard line (2 punts) and also hit 2 punts over 50 yards. His highlight of the week came after a large 51 yard punt. Roughrider Returner Mario Alford was going to score a punt return Touchdown if it wasn't for Liegghio's masterful tackle!
John Haggerty (TOR) punted a season-high 11 times in his return from injury against the Stampeders this week. He managed 540 yards (49.1 Avg.) and 387 Net yards (35.2 Net Avg.) Almost half of those punts (5) were over 50 yards and 2 landed inside the 20 yard line. He has been playing very well as of late, and I hope to see his Net Avg. increase as the season goes on. He helps boost the Argos into the Sixth Position after falling last week without him.
Kaare Vedvik (SSK) had a great game! 5 punts for 217 yards (43.4 Avg.) and 206 Net yards (41.2Net Avg.) 2 of his punts (40%) were inside the 20 yard line. He has been playing well in the past 4-5 weeks and if it continues we may see him start climbing the Power Rankings.
Michael Domagala (HAM) had a Bye week this week.
Jonathan Ryan (EDM) played very well this week. He punted 4 times for 204 yards (51 Avg.) and 139 Net Avg. (34.8 Net Avg.). While his Net yardage was on the low end he managed to make 2, 50+ yard punts and pinned one inside the 6 yard line. If he can string together a couple more games like this, he will start to rise the Rankings.
Thank you for making it this far in my article! Please make sure to let me know what you think. -Big Ups to everyone on Twitter who continues to post great Specialist content. -
I couldn't do it without you :)
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