You know what the CFL’s biggest problem is right now?

It’s not the staggering number of penalties being called.

It’s not the delay in Tim Hortons Field’s opening in The Hammer.

And it’s not head shots.

It’s Toronto.

The last thing the Argonauts needed was slotback Chad Owens to be out for the next three weeks with a foot injury. And we’re not saying that just because the football team needs him. The marketing folks could use the Flyin’ Hawaiian’s help as well.

Argos attendance has been downright dreadful this season, and that’s saying something. Three years ago the CFL franchises located outside of southern Ontario gave $1 million in marketing cash to Toronto and Hamilton in an effort to get the flagging franchises going.

Today those organizations must be wondering what happened to their dough.

A week and a half ago Rogers Centre had a legitimate crowd of 17,758 for what should have been Toronto’s biggest attended game of the year, against Saskatchewan. Then the Double Blue supposedly attracted 16,102 for the Calgary game — this after they obliterated the defending Grey Cup champion Roughriders the week before — but those who were there believe no more than 7,000 people were actually sitting in the seats.

See where this is headed?

The league needs to figure this out and figure it out fast, because by the time a new home for the Double Blue is found there might be no reason to have anything bigger than a 10,000 seat stadium at the rate they’re going. The franchise is bleeding fans badly under interim owner David Braley, who is obviously asking for too much money. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment can afford to wait until the Argos are practically free the way this thing is going.

Something needs to happen now. The Argos organization works hard at getting involved in the community in an effort to build up the fan base, but a situation like this requires action greater than that.

The Toronto situation better be not only at the top of Mark Cohon’s to-do list, but the first to get some action, before it’s too late.

CAPITAL GAINS

Now for the good news of the CFL week.

The Ottawa RedBlacks will play their first home game in more than nine years on Friday night against the aforementioned Argos.

It should be a fantastic night at TD Place, even if the RedBlacks don’t live up to the name of their stadium as often as the Boatmen do. If nothing else, Henry Burris and Co. will be fired up to play in front of a sold-out crowd in the nation’s capital.

They say good things come to those who wait, and it looks like football in Ottawa should be here to stay with Jeff Hunt and his group in charge.

NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY

Remember that play in that CFL game this season when an official DIDN’T throw a flag?

Me neither.

It’s been raining orange from coast to coast this year, with penalties up a whopping 35% over last year’s rate. The CFL’s new vice-president of officiating, Glen Johnson, said Tuesday his officials aren’t calling games any differently.

“We’re very much in line with our accuracy,” Johnson said. “It’s not like we’re way off, like calling a bunch of stuff that’s not there.”

Johnson believes players and officials both are getting used to a few new rules, and there has been plenty of focus on player safety as well. Infractions like roughing the passer, face-masking and general unnecessary roughness are up, according to Johnson, as are objectionable-conduct penalties like taunting. Also causing the flags to fly are illegal blocks on kicking plays.

“We’re going to continue to call to the standards,” Johnson said. “What people don’t see is how hard the teams work with us to try and reduce the penalties. There is ongoing dialogue between the coaches and me. We’re in the middle of that right now.”

McDESTINY

The Ottawa Sun’s Tim Baines had a great tidbit on Sunday about general manager Marcel Desjardins, who was obviously meant to guide an Ottawa football team at some point in his life.

When Desjardins won employee of the month as a teenager at a McDonald’s in Burlington, Ont., he was wearing an Ottawa Rough Riders jersey in the picture.

LATE HITS

If you’re wondering why the Eskimos have turned it around and are 3-0 going into their tilt on Thursday night in Winnipeg against the Bombers, look no further than their plus-9 turnover rating. They were minus-15 last year en route to a 4-14 record … Lions running back Andrew Harris, who racked up a whopping 232 all-purpose yards in Saturday’s win over the Roughriders, was named offensive and Canadian player of the week. The other winners were Eskimos defensive tackle Almondo Sewell (defensive) and Stampeders kick returner Jock Sanders (special teams) … It looks like Ticats slotback Andy Fantuz will return to the lineup Friday against Calgary after sitting out the last month with a concussion … The Alouettes have lost 12 in a row at B.C. Place, but they did win at Empire Field in 2010. That makes them 1-12 on the West Coast since 2001.

POWER RANKINGS (PREVIOUS WEEK'S RANKINGS IN BRACKETS)

1. Calgary (3)

The way the Stamps steamrolled the Argonauts, even without Jon Cornish, was a thing of beauty.

2. Edmonton (1)

It should not have taken as long as it did to dispatch the expansion RedBlacks, but the Esks eventually cruised.

3. Winnipeg (2)

They lost the turnover battle and trailed for most of the game, but Drew Willy was cool as ice on the final drive.

4. B.C. (8)

The Leos badly needed a win, so they went out and got one against the reeling Roughies.

5. Montreal (6)

Probably should have beaten the Bombers thanks to solid performance from Als QB Troy Smith, but penalties and bad turnovers kill.

6. Toronto (4)

Are the Boatmen ever going to figure out who they are? One week they’re bad, then they’re good, then they’re bad.

7. Saskatchewan (5)

The sky is falling in the Land of Living Skies, even though the Roughriders are 1-2 and missing receiver Chris Getzlaf.

8. Ottawa (7)

Henry Burris and Co. put up a valiant effort, but the defence was no match for Adarius Bowman.

9. Hamilton (9)

Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will get the start this week against Calgary in place of the injured Zach Collaros.

HARRIS WOULDN'T BE DENIED

As Jon Cornish wrote on Twitter the day after the game, Lions tailback Andrew Harris’ touchdown run against the Roughriders on Saturday night was a thing of beauty. “One makes a decision to refuse to be tackled; @AndrewHarris33 did that last night,” Cornish wrote.

Harris took the handoff, moved to his right and then evaded the tackle of Riders safety Tyron Brackenridge. That wasn’t the amazing part, though. Roughriders linebacker Weldon Brown got his mitts on Harris close to the sideline and bringing him to the turf appeared to be a mere formality. Harris, the CFL’s offensive and Canadian player of the week, had other ideas. He somehow remained upright even as Brown tried to bring him down and then used whatever energy he had left to stumble over the goal-line for a 58-yard score.

“You could go back the last decade here, and you can’t really find a run like that,” Lions head coach Mike Benevides told reporters after the game.

BIG BOSS BLUNDER

Corey Chamblin, what are you doing? One fumble and you’re outta here?

This is not how the reigning CFL coach of the year is supposed to act. Where’s the love? Where’s the support? Where’s the compassion?

Obviously not in Regina, where summers all over the rectangular province are being ruined by the Roughriders’ 1-2 start. The main focus of derision, however, is on the running backs, who have a bad case of butter fingers. As a result, the coach has no patience. Chamblin yanked Anthony Allen off the field when he fumbled in Week 2 against Toronto and then started Hugh Charles on Saturday — even though Allen was leading the league in rushing yards.

Then he got the hook out for Charles after one fumble in the first half when they shouldn’t even have been running the ball in the first place. Never mind that Charles had racked up 86 rushing yards in the game’s first 30 minutes.

The Riders have also signed Canadian behemoth Jerome Messam and are now expected to bring in Bombers discard Will Ford. No wonder these guys are always fumbling; they’re always looking over their shoulder. To be fair to Chamblin, Allen has fumbled three times in four games when you include the pre-season, and Charles had trouble blocking blitzers on Saturday against the Lions.

It just seems like Chamblin’s trigger finger is the only thing that’s happy in Saskatchewan these days. Have a little more patience and see what happens.

PENTON'S PREDICTIONS

Edmonton at Winnipeg (-2.5)



Thursday, 8:30 p.m., TSN

Chris Jones’ defence is playing some mean ball right now.

KIRK SAYS: Eskimos by 5

Toronto at Ottawa (+2.5)

Friday, 7 p.m., TSN

The Boatmen will bounce back and spoil the party in the nation’s capital.

KIRK SAYS: Argonauts by 8

Hamilton at Calgary (-9.5)

Friday, 10 p.m., TSN

Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is the real deal, and the Ticats don’t have Zach Collaros.

KIRK SAYS: Stampeders by 14

Montreal at B.C. (-6)

Saturday, 7 p.m., TSN

The Montreal Alouettes never win on the West Coast.

KIRK SAYS: Lions by 6

BY THE NUMBERS

0 - Points scored by the Roughriders in the fourth quarter this season.

40 - Points allowed by the Roughriders in the fourth quarter this season.

48 - Punting average for Montreal’s Sean Whyte through three games.

3-0 - Replay challenge record of Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea.

THE INSIDERS

CFL coaches and execs give their anonymous thoughts on what they’re talking about behind closed doors:

We’ve got Canadian and American coaches. We’ve got Canadian and American GMs. We’ve got Canadian and American players. Why are our refs Canadian only? Wherever they come from, our officiating has to get better. I’m close to telling my players that holding is legal up here, because unfortunately right now it is … The key to the Edmonton-Winnipeg game is simple. It’s Edmonton’s D-line against Winnipeg’s O-line. If Edmonton pressures, Edmonton wins. If Winnipeg holds up, Winnipeg wins … The refs are throwing flags on everything that’s close, but when the real calls aren’t punished by league harder than a fine, then all these close calls will keep happening and high penalty totals will keep up, too … Why doesn’t Hamilton use tight-end formations like the rest of us? If they don’t this week, (Charleston) Hughes will have four or five sacks on whoever plays quarterback for them … Chad Johnson may have only three catches, but he is talented enough to be starting in this league … Want to know why we call TSN the Toronto Sports Network? Calgary kicked the crap out of the Argos last week. Won by 20 points, I think. Toronto didn’t score a touchdown. Not one touchdown. But Rod Black talked about Ricky Ray twice as much as Bo Levi Mitchell during the game. With the Stamps leading big at halftime, the interview guy asked Calgary about trying to stop Ray. But when he talked to the Toronto player he didn’t ask him about trying to stop Mitchell, did he? Those of us in the West Division get sick and tired of listening to the TSN love affair with the Argos. They’re 1-2, for God’s sake … The Lions beat the Riders on Saturday because they didn’t turn the ball over, they cut down on penalties and fed Andrew Harris the ball. Pretty simple … No offence to Jeremiah Masoli, but I don’t like Hamilton’s chances in Calgary on Friday night without Zach Collaros … Number 66 at Ottawa (Canadian offensive tackle Nolan MacMillian) is one of the best rookies in our league. You should see him on tape. Getting to draft a year early (the RedBlacks participated in the 2013 and 2014 drafts) really helped Ottawa get good Canadians … Thursday night will give us some insight to the question, but right now I’d say Edmonton is the better 3-0 team. I like their defensive scheme better and see more playmakers on both sides of the ball … Stamps coach John Hufnagel picked the right starter. Look at his (Mitchell’s) stats. Six or seven touchdown passes. No interceptions. Mid-60s completion percentage … What has happened to Darian Durant? He’s missing open guys. He has almost as many interceptions as touchdown passes. The Riders can still win it all again. But only if Durant plays a lot better … The Argos are finding it’s tough to be without your best guys. They didn’t generate a lot of pressure against the Stampeders, and Ray couldn’t find big plays on second down.

kirk.penton@sunmedia.ca