Week 3
OK, so nobody really demanded this, but since Joe and I don’t have as much time on 92-CITI-FM as we’d like in order to explain ourselves, I’ll explain myself here…
And then I’ll probably do some more “‘splainin” on Sunday.
Week 3 starts Thursday night with Calgary at Montreal and Toronto at Edmonton.
Calgary Stampeders (1-1) at Montreal Alouettes (2-0)
Thursday, 6 p.m. CDT, TSN
The Alouettes proved quite clearly that scoring isn’t a problem when they put up 33 in Hamilton in their opener and 38 at home against Winnipeg in Week 2. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo has tossed six TD passes in two weeks and get this: Calvillo has only seven fewer rushing yards than Winnipeg’s Charles Roberts (Roberts has 87, Calvillo has 80). Calgary has a nice team, but they proved last week, they don’t play very well — at least not defensively — on the road.
Pick: Montreal
Toronto Argonauts (1-1) at Edmonton Eskimos (1-1)
Thursday, 9 p.m. CDT, TSN
Argos head coach Rich Stubler did what Winnipeg head coach Doug Berry won’t do. He told offensive co-ordinator Steve Buratto to allow quarterback Kerry Joseph to call his own plays. Of course, in his zeal to make Michael Bishop happy, Stubler also told the Toronto media that Bishop would play in Edmonton (Note: 24 hours later, Toronto put Bishop on waivers, suggesting the Argos were going to trade him). The Eskimos meanwhile, got an absolutely brilliant performance from offensive player of the week, Ricky Ray, in last week’s 34-31 win over Calgary and looked like a team that feels comfortable in its own backyard.
Pick: Edmonton
B.C. Lions (0-2) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (0-2)
Friday, 7 p.m. CDT, TSN
Obviously, Canadian football writers aren’t that bright because almost all of them picked B.C. and Winnipeg to challenge for the title in their respective conferences. Now, two weeks in, and they’re both 0-2 and are barely challenging themselves in practice. Winnipeg will be without Milt Stegall, Dominic Picard and Matt Sheridan. B.C. will be with both Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson. Not sure which team is worse off.
Pick: Winnipeg
Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-0) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-1)
Saturday, 3 p.m. CDT, TSN
My goodness the Green Riders look good, especially on defence. So many people — inlcuding me — believed that the Bombers had the best front-seven in the league, but it just might be the Riders. Offensively, Saskatchewan has some serious injury problems, but this defence might just be good enough to carry the defending Grey Cup champs. However, this week, they have to stop runningback Jesse Lumsden, the top Canadian last week after blistering the Argos for 189 yards and two TDs. Still, the Ti-Cats have not beaten the Riders in regulation since Aug. 1, 2002.
Pick: Saskatchewan
Related posts:
- Week 2 in the CFL: Now that the old four-game pre-season is over, do the offences start to pick it up?
- What we learned in two days: Hamilton, B.C. and Winnipeg aren’t as good as we thought and the CFL is dull.
- Troy Westwood is gone: Don’t cut somebody unless you have someone around who can replace him.