Calgary at Hamilton
The Cats are only favoured by 4 at home which seems a bit weird, considering the Cats have won three in a row, Burris has been on fire and Kevin Glenn on the road is not a lot to write home about. Sure Kevin Glenn could have a monster game, but the Ticat defence probably knows a lot of his tendencies. That may well be true for the Stamps defence, but Hamilton at this point in the season is just a better team. Cats beat the spread.
Ticats 37 Nosehill Park People 28
Saskatchewan at Edmonton
Edmonton is favoured by two points which is a little surprising. Certainly the Riders will have some fans at Commonwealth Stadium so the home field advantage for the Esks won't be as strong as say against the Argos. Edmonton's quarterback Steven Jyles isn't terrible, but hasn't exactly been impressive so far. The Esks have some good receivers, but the offence just isn't that great. Defence seems not bad. The Riders are a fairly solid team although Durant can suck the odd time. I think the Riders win this one although it will be close.
Riders 29 Eskimos 26
Thursday, August 9, 2012
CFL Power Rankings 2012 Week 6
1. BC Lions
After beating Toronto on the road, the Lions are looking consistent and good. The offence may not be as impressive as one would have thought before the season, but the Lions have an impressive secondary. That never hurts in the CFL.
2. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Didn't play, but didn't lose either. Power offence with Henry Burris looking like the best old quarterback in the CFL. Defence is good enough when matched with the offence. Burris could however start passing in random directions at any time.
3. Saskatchewan Rough Riders
Also didn't play but still a good team this season with quarterback Durant back on track. Not super consistent.
4. Toronto Argonauts
Sure they lost the Lions, but most teams don't have BC's secondary. The Argos with Ricky Ray as the quarterback are a reasonable team.
5. Montreal Alouettes
Second best old quarterback in the CFL in Anthony Calvillo plus a fairly porous defence. Sure they beat the Bombers at home but that's not saying a lot. Offensive line is kind of meh this year, which means teams are going after and getting to Calvillo. Still have a lot of talent, but have never looked overpowering this year.
6. Calgary Stampeders
Didn't play but got waxed by the Lions the previous week. Tateless and will only go as far as Kevin Glenn will take them. Which won't be particularly far. Still have arguably the best receiver in the league in Nik Lewis when you include blocking downfield.
7. Edmonton Eskimos
Not a bad record, but I just don't have a lot of confidence in Stephen Jyles at quarterback. Defence is impressive.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Just a mediocre team. Not terrible, but consistently not good enough to lose lots of games. Won't get blown out a lot, which is something I guess. Does Paul LaPolice coach next year?
After beating Toronto on the road, the Lions are looking consistent and good. The offence may not be as impressive as one would have thought before the season, but the Lions have an impressive secondary. That never hurts in the CFL.
2. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Didn't play, but didn't lose either. Power offence with Henry Burris looking like the best old quarterback in the CFL. Defence is good enough when matched with the offence. Burris could however start passing in random directions at any time.
3. Saskatchewan Rough Riders
Also didn't play but still a good team this season with quarterback Durant back on track. Not super consistent.
4. Toronto Argonauts
Sure they lost the Lions, but most teams don't have BC's secondary. The Argos with Ricky Ray as the quarterback are a reasonable team.
5. Montreal Alouettes
Second best old quarterback in the CFL in Anthony Calvillo plus a fairly porous defence. Sure they beat the Bombers at home but that's not saying a lot. Offensive line is kind of meh this year, which means teams are going after and getting to Calvillo. Still have a lot of talent, but have never looked overpowering this year.
6. Calgary Stampeders
Didn't play but got waxed by the Lions the previous week. Tateless and will only go as far as Kevin Glenn will take them. Which won't be particularly far. Still have arguably the best receiver in the league in Nik Lewis when you include blocking downfield.
7. Edmonton Eskimos
Not a bad record, but I just don't have a lot of confidence in Stephen Jyles at quarterback. Defence is impressive.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Just a mediocre team. Not terrible, but consistently not good enough to lose lots of games. Won't get blown out a lot, which is something I guess. Does Paul LaPolice coach next year?
Friday, August 3, 2012
CFL Predictions 2012 Week 6
Montreal at Winnipeg
Battle of the losing record teams! I assume the Bombers are going with Brink at quarterback, but I don't know that for sure. The Alouettes will obviously go with Calvillo who is a little beat up of late. Montreal is favoured by two on the road, which is basically damning with faint praise. Basically one team has a good offense and a bad defence and vice versa for the other. When that's the case, I'll go with the home team.
Bombers 24 Alouettes 23
BC at Toronto
The Argos now have a competent offense with Ricky Ray at the controls. Certainly not awe inspiring, but Ray is quite capable of burning a secondary if given a chance. The Lions have a ton of talent but have been inconsistent so far this year. Coming off a solid victory last week the Lions are favoured by a mere field goal on the road. I'm not sure if the Argos can contain the Lion offense enough to get by with their offense. Lions.
Lions 31 Team Suck 28
Battle of the losing record teams! I assume the Bombers are going with Brink at quarterback, but I don't know that for sure. The Alouettes will obviously go with Calvillo who is a little beat up of late. Montreal is favoured by two on the road, which is basically damning with faint praise. Basically one team has a good offense and a bad defence and vice versa for the other. When that's the case, I'll go with the home team.
Bombers 24 Alouettes 23
BC at Toronto
The Argos now have a competent offense with Ricky Ray at the controls. Certainly not awe inspiring, but Ray is quite capable of burning a secondary if given a chance. The Lions have a ton of talent but have been inconsistent so far this year. Coming off a solid victory last week the Lions are favoured by a mere field goal on the road. I'm not sure if the Argos can contain the Lion offense enough to get by with their offense. Lions.
Lions 31 Team Suck 28
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
CFL Power Rankings 2012 Week 5
1. BC Lions
They're back on top after annihilating the Stampeders on the road last week. BC isn't exactly consistent, but in a parity filled year in the CFL, that's not required to be on top. Having a good young quarterback goes a long way. BC's top receivers are getting a bit long in the tooth, but there's enough left in the tank for another Grey Cup run.
2. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Didn't look good after the first two games, but winning on the road in Riderville with a never quit effort vaults the Cats up the rankings. Burris is having an amazing year, with loads of TDs against hardly any picks plus an un-Burris like completion percentage. Burris apparently still has it, despite being only a little younger than Calvillo. Plenty of weapons on offence plus George Cortez devising the schemes make the Cats capable of scoring in bunches. Satisfactory defence. Good special teams run backs, bad special teams coverage.
3. Saskatchewan Rough Riders
Sure they lost one at home, but it was by a single point and the Riders certainly haven't been blown out this season. Need to learn to play four quarters of complete football, but teams that were terrible the year before often have this problem. Durant seems to have found whatever he had lost last season. Dressler is their biggest weapon, if he gets injured, stick a fork in them.
4. Toronto Argonauts
A winning record after five games? That's something. Ricky Ray seems rejuvenated on the Argos and the double blue actually have some receivers this year for Ray to bomb it to on occasion. Combine with a reasonable defence and the Argos can beat the weaker teams in the league. Having a hard time against the better teams.
5. Edmonton Eskimos
Somehow they are 3 and 2 with Steven Jyles as quarterback, but if I were the Eskimos, I wouldn't complain. Sure they lost to the Bombers, but the Esks have a good enough defence to keep them in games plus some decent receivers. No Messam here hurts at this point of the season.
6. Montreal Alouettes
Calvillo is looking off this year and the Montreal defence is looking mighty porous, especially compared to previous years. That's not a good combination. The Als might want to think about next season and a potentially Calvilloless team. Paying the CFL's highest salary to someone who isn't getting it done any more is something the Maple Leafs have done for years and look where that's got them.
7. Calgary Stampeders
No Drew Tate, although Kevin Glenn is OK. The Stamps offence looked smelly against the Lions at home last week which raises cause for concern. Are the Stamps the weak sister of the Western Conference this year? Looks like it.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Well they won a game finally at home by a point. I need to see more before I move them out of the basement.
They're back on top after annihilating the Stampeders on the road last week. BC isn't exactly consistent, but in a parity filled year in the CFL, that's not required to be on top. Having a good young quarterback goes a long way. BC's top receivers are getting a bit long in the tooth, but there's enough left in the tank for another Grey Cup run.
2. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Didn't look good after the first two games, but winning on the road in Riderville with a never quit effort vaults the Cats up the rankings. Burris is having an amazing year, with loads of TDs against hardly any picks plus an un-Burris like completion percentage. Burris apparently still has it, despite being only a little younger than Calvillo. Plenty of weapons on offence plus George Cortez devising the schemes make the Cats capable of scoring in bunches. Satisfactory defence. Good special teams run backs, bad special teams coverage.
3. Saskatchewan Rough Riders
Sure they lost one at home, but it was by a single point and the Riders certainly haven't been blown out this season. Need to learn to play four quarters of complete football, but teams that were terrible the year before often have this problem. Durant seems to have found whatever he had lost last season. Dressler is their biggest weapon, if he gets injured, stick a fork in them.
4. Toronto Argonauts
A winning record after five games? That's something. Ricky Ray seems rejuvenated on the Argos and the double blue actually have some receivers this year for Ray to bomb it to on occasion. Combine with a reasonable defence and the Argos can beat the weaker teams in the league. Having a hard time against the better teams.
5. Edmonton Eskimos
Somehow they are 3 and 2 with Steven Jyles as quarterback, but if I were the Eskimos, I wouldn't complain. Sure they lost to the Bombers, but the Esks have a good enough defence to keep them in games plus some decent receivers. No Messam here hurts at this point of the season.
6. Montreal Alouettes
Calvillo is looking off this year and the Montreal defence is looking mighty porous, especially compared to previous years. That's not a good combination. The Als might want to think about next season and a potentially Calvilloless team. Paying the CFL's highest salary to someone who isn't getting it done any more is something the Maple Leafs have done for years and look where that's got them.
7. Calgary Stampeders
No Drew Tate, although Kevin Glenn is OK. The Stamps offence looked smelly against the Lions at home last week which raises cause for concern. Are the Stamps the weak sister of the Western Conference this year? Looks like it.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Well they won a game finally at home by a point. I need to see more before I move them out of the basement.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Hamilton Beats Saskatchewan 35 to 34
Things looked pretty grim for the Ticats there in the third quarter and I certainly wasn't expecting a Ticat victory. The Cats didn't look too bad in the first half and then fell apart. They showed a lot of heart and came back to win by a single point.
Burris looked good going 29 for 40 for 352 yards, 4 TDs and no picks. Burris hit eight different receivers in the game. Going into the season I didn't expect Burris to have high pass completion percentages, but I'm not complaining after the last two games.
Chris Williams looked good again hitting the century make in receiving yards with nine catches. Giguere finally is starting to show his potential with three catches for 76 yards. Props to backup import Onrea Jones coming in to start this game to replace an injured Bakari Grant with seven catches for 66 yards and two TDs, plus an important catch near the end of the game where he hung on despite being drilled. Nice to see Dave Stala with a TD reception.
Boudreaux had a good game at end, with two sacks and forcing a critical Darian Durant fumble in the fourth quarter. Kudos to the defence for holding on on the last Rider series, forcing the turnover on downs. I always hate when the opposition has the ball at the end of the game with the chance to win with a field goal.
On special teams the Cats gave up a lot of return yardage which definitely hurt them, without doing much themselves.
Looks like the Cats are for real and are above 500.
One thing that did make me laugh was an ad for Saskatchewan cancer workers bitching about the Saskatchewan government. If you want to reach a Saskatchewan audience, buying national ad time during a Rider game is one way to do it. Obviously the rest of Canada doesn't care, but I'm sure TSN will cash the cheque. Having a competitive Saskatchewan team is essential for good CFL ratings.
Burris looked good going 29 for 40 for 352 yards, 4 TDs and no picks. Burris hit eight different receivers in the game. Going into the season I didn't expect Burris to have high pass completion percentages, but I'm not complaining after the last two games.
Chris Williams looked good again hitting the century make in receiving yards with nine catches. Giguere finally is starting to show his potential with three catches for 76 yards. Props to backup import Onrea Jones coming in to start this game to replace an injured Bakari Grant with seven catches for 66 yards and two TDs, plus an important catch near the end of the game where he hung on despite being drilled. Nice to see Dave Stala with a TD reception.
Boudreaux had a good game at end, with two sacks and forcing a critical Darian Durant fumble in the fourth quarter. Kudos to the defence for holding on on the last Rider series, forcing the turnover on downs. I always hate when the opposition has the ball at the end of the game with the chance to win with a field goal.
On special teams the Cats gave up a lot of return yardage which definitely hurt them, without doing much themselves.
Looks like the Cats are for real and are above 500.
One thing that did make me laugh was an ad for Saskatchewan cancer workers bitching about the Saskatchewan government. If you want to reach a Saskatchewan audience, buying national ad time during a Rider game is one way to do it. Obviously the rest of Canada doesn't care, but I'm sure TSN will cash the cheque. Having a competitive Saskatchewan team is essential for good CFL ratings.
CFL Predictions 2012 Week 5 Part B
Hamilton at Saskatchewan
This one is hard to call. The Ticats are coming off two straight wins, while the Riders are on a one game losing streak although the last game was a close one. The Riders dominated the Cats in the season opener at Ivor Wynne. Considering the edge home teams have had in the CFL this year, it isn't surprising Saskatchewan is favoured by 3.5. The question for this game is, are the Riders for real this season or were they just lucky early? The Cats have some injury problems, with Markeith Knowlton out at linebacker and Bakari Grant out at receiver. Grant isn't such a big issue since the Cats have depth at import receiver. Knowlton is a bigger factor. Due to the Cat injuries I'll go with the Riders in a close one.
Wheat People 31, Ticats 30
BC at Calgary
I would have thought the Lions would have been better than 2 and 2 at this point of the season. For Calgary I didn't have a lot of faith in Drew Tate and now he's gone for the season and the enigma that is Kevin Glenn is in at quarterback. Glenn is a career 500 quarterback and is capable of beating good teams and losing to bad ones. The line is a pick'em, which isn't that surprising. I'm tempted by BC, but Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce are looking old and Nik Lewis seems to have developed a rhythm with Kevin Glenn and this is crazy, but I'm going with the Stamps.
Stampeders 39 Lions 34
This one is hard to call. The Ticats are coming off two straight wins, while the Riders are on a one game losing streak although the last game was a close one. The Riders dominated the Cats in the season opener at Ivor Wynne. Considering the edge home teams have had in the CFL this year, it isn't surprising Saskatchewan is favoured by 3.5. The question for this game is, are the Riders for real this season or were they just lucky early? The Cats have some injury problems, with Markeith Knowlton out at linebacker and Bakari Grant out at receiver. Grant isn't such a big issue since the Cats have depth at import receiver. Knowlton is a bigger factor. Due to the Cat injuries I'll go with the Riders in a close one.
Wheat People 31, Ticats 30
BC at Calgary
I would have thought the Lions would have been better than 2 and 2 at this point of the season. For Calgary I didn't have a lot of faith in Drew Tate and now he's gone for the season and the enigma that is Kevin Glenn is in at quarterback. Glenn is a career 500 quarterback and is capable of beating good teams and losing to bad ones. The line is a pick'em, which isn't that surprising. I'm tempted by BC, but Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce are looking old and Nik Lewis seems to have developed a rhythm with Kevin Glenn and this is crazy, but I'm going with the Stamps.
Stampeders 39 Lions 34
Thursday, July 26, 2012
CFL Predictions 2012 Week 5 Part A
Edmonton at Winnipeg
Somehow the Eskimos are 3 and 1 with Steven Jyles as quarterback. I had no idea the Eskimos would have that great a defence this year, but there you go. Winnipeg is winless yet only a 1.5 point underdog. That seems surprising to me and means the oddsmakers don't really believe in Edmonton. I'm not sure what to say here. The Bombers haven't looked completely terrible, but they are by no means good either. I don't really like Brink much as a quarterback, but I have to think the Bombers are hungry. In this season of parity and home wins, I'll go out on a small limb and take the Bombers.
Bombers 22 Eskimos 21
Toronto at Montreal
The Als still have a good defence and a completely sucky offence. Toronto has an improved offence and still has a decent defence. The Als are favoured by 4 at home. Calvillo is looking a little hurt and his offensive line isn't impregnable anymore. I'll go with Ray in this one.
Suck People 30 Alouettes 26
Somehow the Eskimos are 3 and 1 with Steven Jyles as quarterback. I had no idea the Eskimos would have that great a defence this year, but there you go. Winnipeg is winless yet only a 1.5 point underdog. That seems surprising to me and means the oddsmakers don't really believe in Edmonton. I'm not sure what to say here. The Bombers haven't looked completely terrible, but they are by no means good either. I don't really like Brink much as a quarterback, but I have to think the Bombers are hungry. In this season of parity and home wins, I'll go out on a small limb and take the Bombers.
Bombers 22 Eskimos 21
Toronto at Montreal
The Als still have a good defence and a completely sucky offence. Toronto has an improved offence and still has a decent defence. The Als are favoured by 4 at home. Calvillo is looking a little hurt and his offensive line isn't impregnable anymore. I'll go with Ray in this one.
Suck People 30 Alouettes 26
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