We did it again.

We're confusing people.

So I don't know.

Now, I do know that there is a fan element, right, in one of them.

I can't remember.

I think it's the all-stars.

So there's a fan element there.

And how big of a shot in the arm is that going to be in the lead-up to the West Final?

let's talk about points glenn because looking at the three matchups this season the winning team hit 30 points but last year's west final it was a 24 21 game more defensive battle do you think that benchmark for the winning team this week is gonna be about at 30 or do you see it in the lower 20s even

okay is this to set up like an over under bet is that what we're doing Without overtly saying it, it's on the same vein.

Yeah, no, I'm kidding.

But yeah, well, first of all, I think overall, this year in the league, scoring is way up.

I mean, it's higher than it's been in the last 35 years.

We're talking almost 60 points a game.

In fact, about three or four weeks ago, I was doing a Ryder game and had a Zoom meeting with Trevor Harris.

Just your overall sense on how he's continued to get better and just how primed he is to take that next step here in November.

seen Nathan Rourke you know get to that promised spot yet for the BC Lions and I wonder how much that weighs on him heading into a game like this because the talent's undeniable but as always I'm sure his end goal is to win as many great cups as he possibly can.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

I mean, this is getting to that point in his career.

Now, we can give him a bit of a break when he went to the NFL and then came back and that year where he and VA were sort of on the same team until they weren't.

And then, you know, that kind of sort of disruption in that room, which was a good team at the time when the Lions, when Rourke came back and joined the Lions again.

So, you know, I agree with you.

I mean, I've said this many times as an analyst or a former player.

But I don't know that anyone right now in most CFL circles is jumping into as much of the matchup as we're talking about a new CFL landscape for money.

Glenn, you must feel vindicated, man.

dave it's great to join you again tonight and uh you know i i have to say i i do feel a little bit vindicated i you know it was funny because a month and a half ago when mcleod bethel thompson was getting his first start and in fact i'd even go back two weeks before that when i think jake mayer was probably in start number eight or nine or something like that and they just had not got it done And it was at that point I was saying, you know, the argument across the country was they just have to win a game.

And who is their best chance to win a game? It's the guys with more experience.

And that would be Jake Mayer or McLeod Bethel Thompson.

And that was the argument that was out there.

And I'll agree to disagree that there is...

Yes, you have to win games, but your job as a coach, as an administration, as players, is to win championships.

And I'm kind of uncomfortable with the talk, too, about, well, Mike Miller kind of did that to throw his old buddy, Ryan Dinwiddie, a a boner and do him a favor I don't buy that at all I think once the game is going on and you're in the heat of battle I don't think that comes to fruition but it's interesting with Toronto going in the playoffs because what if that was a semi-final or an east final and you have a flub like that and I only bring it up because Mike Miller's had difficulty managing the clock in the past this season

What's your read on the offense, uh, the last three games for the Elks?

Yeah, I, I, I, I would agree with you.

I, I think it's, it's sort of changed its personality.

You think about the, the run game being so prominent.

And, and when I say run game, I also mean the quick, you know, swing passes, screen passes, things like that, uh, to Justin Rankin and, and, you know, to get, um, at that point in the season, early in the year, their, their best player, and a guy after week five, I think, we were, we were saying, was probably the unanimous MOP at that point, and, and sort of have gone in a different direction from there in a lot of ways.

Substituting more, rotating at that tailback position, um, and not maybe getting the same production, especially on first down, that they were getting in the past.

But the, the pieces are all there, and why they're still winning is because of the even-keeled approach from their quarterback, who knows how to win in the league.

Mm-hmm.

But give me your take on both the Elks and the Lions and the way they've really kind of played here.

Well, let's start with the Lions.

I think they're the hottest team in the league.

Yes.

Look at their defense in the first four or five games, giving up a lot of points, a lot of yards, and it was a real issue.

In fact, many wanted Mike Benavides, the defensive coordinator, fired and turned off the team.

But they turned that around.

But what does that tell you? Does it tell you that they never quit, they never die, and regardless of how it's gone up until the fourth quarter, they're always in it and that that magic won't run out? They believe in themselves.

think

McLeod Bethel Thompson has shown that ability throughout his career in the CFL.

I mean, he can make every throw.

He's a great pocket passer.

I've said many times that, well, I think he lacks in some ways sort of The understanding of the moment in games at times in his career, like a Cody Fajardo would or, you know, a Nathan Rourke would.

But he is as good or better than most when it comes to just making the throws that he needs to make.

And, you know, five touchdown passes, remarkable.

When you watch those possessions there, what did you see? Was this Toronto's defense making plays or was it Edmonton sort of failing to execute when they're inside a pretty important part of the field?

But I'm curious what your assessment of the Labor Day series was with the rematch ending in Edmonton's favor quite handily.

Yeah, well, that rematch was a three-phase win for Edmonton, first of all.

You know, I think this team is sort of a blueprint as to how to build a team.

And Ed Hervey, when he was with us in the middle of the summer in TSN, our panel was there, and he did a little interview with us, and he told us how he went through the locker room.

And, you know, when you're in the locker room, you as a player know where the issues are.

You know which players are not team guys.

Let's put it that way.

What do you figure the biggest challenges in coming off of an emotional and dominant win like that? Like, how do you how do you keep that up?

Where do you wanna start? You wanna start with that Hamilton game?

Well, yeah.

Um, you know, I, I, I think I, I don't know what the narrative has been throughout the province, and I know there's disappointment obviously.

Every time the team loses, there is, of course.

But, um, I, I don't-- I've, I've heard this one.

I've heard this narrative that the defense wasn't prepared for Trey Ford, and I don't buy that.

Like, I, I, I know Corey Mace would've had the defense ready for either quarterback or even Do la Gala if, if it came down to it.

How do you balance that as a player, Glen? I mean, [laughs] obviously, if you're a guy like Alex Hale and you have Dawson Hodge coming in behind you, you wanna do everything you can to be helpful and, you know, ensure their success, but you're also kinda looking over your shoulder saying, "Well, yeah, I hope you do great, but don't take my job."

How special is that for you to see, two guys who cut their teeth in this league now running their own clubs?

Well, I love it, and, you know, I think when you, um, you know, when, when we get a chance, and it's, it's a very cool opportunity to Zoom these guys and, and a chance to talk to them sort of one-on-one behind closed doors, get to really understand what they're all about and what they're made of and what they believe in.

Um, you know, I w- I will not be surprised at all with continued success for both of them because, you know, they're players.

It's, it's funny how it...

You know, sometimes you hear they're, they're player coaches, that some of these great coaches in, in the past have been player coaches.

They're coaches that the players love.

But it's, it's not, it's not as cut and dry, I don't think, as do you just like the guy, uh, because the guy has got to demand the best out of you, and he's gotta be open and honest when you're not at that best where he knows you can be.

So that's, I think, one of the key things that you have when you start developing that culture, and I think that's something that Buck Pierce is doing in BC, and it's something that Cory Mace has done in Regina.