1. Saskatchewan Rough Riders
Well it was a tight game against Edmonton, but the Riders still prevailed. You're not always going to win by big margins every game and the Riders still have one loss. The Riders still have an excellent offense with depth at receiver and the best running back in Kory Sheets. Plus going in to back to back games against the hapless Bombers, this ranking probably won't change.
2. Calgary Stampeders
The Stamps aren't very far off of the top ranking and coming off a solid victory over Toronto (albeit without Ricky Ray for a lot of the game) their position is solidified. Kevin Glenn has been solid and one wonders where Drew Tate ends up on the depth chart when he finally comes back, whenever that is. The Stamps still managed to win without both Jon Cornish and Nik Lewis which shows impressive depth. Back to back games against Edmonton shouldn't be a big problem.
3. Toronto Argonauts
They lost to the Stamps without Ricky Ray for a large period of the game. The Argos are still a good team, with decent receivers and a good defence, but with Ricky Ray looking more injury prone, the Argos aren't as good a team.
4. BC Lions
Somehow the Lions managed to cough one up in Montreal despite having a big lead. The Lions are a good team and Lulay is one of the better quarterbacks, but the Lions haven't really been dominant this year. Still Lulay has been healthy this year, which should help the Lions in the second half of the year.
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Three wins in a row against the worst teams in the league doesn't say a lot, although the wins were fairly dominant. The Cats are back even at 4 and 4, but the team will have to beat better teams to move up in the rankings. They have already played the Bombers three times and the Eskimos twice. The Cats offense is hot right now, with Andy Fantuz back and a plethora of offensive options to chose from and even Gable looks good as a running back. The Cats have managed to work in backup LeFevour into the past few games to some success.
6. Montreal Alouettes
I watched the Alouettes and didn't think they had a chance, but they confounded me and beat the Lions at home. The backup quarterback to Calvillo Neiswander didn't do much, but the third stringer Marsh managed to win the game. Chip Cox has been a monster on defence this year, with way more tackles than anyone else in the league. Non-import back Messam is coming back to the form he had in Edmonton and Arland Bruce is on fire despite getting up there in age. The Alouettes could be a better team with quarterbacking better than whan Calvillo had been giving them prior to getting his bell rung.
7. Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton doesn't have many wins lately, but they have improved enough to almost beat the Riders last week. Unlike the Bombers, the Eskimos have stayed with one quarterback, Mike Reilly who managed just over 300 yards passing this week. The Eskimos still have Fred Stamps as a capable receiver. Edmonton will probably have a better record over the rest of the season, but they still aren't a great team. They aren't Winnipeg though.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
This team is in total disarray, with a new president, GM and offensive co-ordinator. The Bombers played three quarterbacks against Hamilton last week without any success. The defence isn't terrible, but the offense hangs them out to dry. The Bombers ideally would jettison Buck Pierce and commit to their younger quarterbacks for next year. Barring a miracle, they aren't making the playoffs this year.
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