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CFL Picks: It’s semifinal weekend and we love the Bombers and Riders…

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Granted, weather has a lot to do with our selections this week.

 

Here in Winnipeg, it’s absolutely dreadful. We had snow on Thursday, it stayed on Friday and it’s coming back on Saturday. A weather warning has been issued and at 7 a.m. it screamed “high winds and freezing rain.”

 

Ahhhh, what a great day for football.

 

In Regina, the 7 a.m. forecast predicted low clouds and cold, cold, cold. Perhaps minus-13 by game time.

 

It’s time for the runningbacks to take their rightful positions at the top of football’s food chain…

 

Let’s take a closer look…

 

EASTERN SEMIFINAL

Edmonton Eskimos (10-8) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-10)

12 Noon, CST, TSN

 

This is when the CFL’s crossover playoff becomes silly. An 8-10 team gets homefield advantage against a 10-8 team. It’s time to reward to good football and cut out this East vs. West charade. Perhaps, next season, the CFL’s tall foreheads will come to their senses. As it is, however, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will play host to the Edmonton Eskimos in the crossover Eastern semifinal at Canad Inns Stadium and, amazingly, the 8-10 Bombers are 2 ½-point favourites. More than 26,000 tickets have been sold for the game, a game that Milt Stegall guaranteed the Bombers would win if Winnipeg sold 30,000 tickets and sold out the ballyard. It doesn’t look good. The two teams split the season series, but the Bombers won here in Winnipeg and they were the hottest team in the CFL in the last two months, going 6-2 down the stretch. If head coach Doug Berry does nothing but run “Thunder and Lightning,” Joe Smith and Fred Reid, the Bombers win by two touchdowns. The banged up Bomber defence is almost 100 per cent healthy this week and it will shut down Ricky Ray. The winner heads to Montreal for the Eastern final next week

 

Pick: Winnipeg

 

WESTERN SEMIFINAL

B.C. Lions (11-7) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-6)

3:30 p.m., CST, TSN

 

During the season, this series belonged to B.C. The Lions won the only game in Regina, 27-21 on Sept. 20, and then they split in Vancouver: Saskatchewan won 26-16 on July 4, when the Riders were healthy and red-hot and then lost 28-23 to the Lions on Sept. 13, when they had 19 players on the injured list. This week, Saskatchewan is healthy again and they’re coming off three straight high-scoring wins over Hamilton, Edmonton and Toronto. B.C., meanwhile, is heading south. The Lions lost 41-30 to Calgary in a game they had to win to play host to Saturday’s semifinal and they’re 2-2 in their last four. B.C. is a passing team (RB Charles Roberts is out for the season) and a windy, cloudy day in Regina, won’t help an indoor team with a passing offence. The winner heads to Calgary for the Western final next week. 

 

Pick: Saskatchewan

 

Last Week: 4-0

Season: 45-19

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Brown’s vision the Bombers future?

Posted on November 7, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defensive tackle Doug Brown has the complete scenario already fixed in his mind. He’s been thinking about his vision of the future for a few weeks now and as self-fulfilling prophecies go, he’s starting to believe it might actually come true. 

“Remember in 2001, when an 8-10 team from Calgary that didn’t even deserve to be on the same field as a 14-4 team from Winnipeg, went into Montreal and beat that Winnipeg team in the Grey Cup? Remember?” Brown says, raising his eyebrows.

 

“Well, this year, I have a funny feeling we might turn the table. An 8-10 team from Winnipeg, a team that started 2-8, goes all the way to Montreal to play a 13-5 Calgary team in the Grey Cup and beats them. It sure sounds good to me.”

 

Brown isn’t making any predictions. He’s been around too long and he’s obviously too smart for that, but a guy who made history this year by becoming the first Blue Bomber player ever nominated for three outstanding player awards – most outstanding defensive player, most outstanding player and most outstanding Canadian – has a funny feeling that this struggling Blue Bombers outfit might just have the talent and emotional wherewithal to win the Grey Cup. 

 

Last Saturday afternoon, the Bombers completed the CFL’s 2008 regular season with a 44-30 shellacking of the last-place 3-15 Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Bombers wideout Romby Bryant caught a couple of touchdown passes from Kevin Glenn, Casey McGahee ran back a punt 57 yards for another TD and Fred Reid carried 14 times for 160 yards. Of note, Casey Printers likely played his final game in Hamilton while Milt Stegall probably played his final regular season game for Winnipeg.

 

It could have easily been called a meaningless exercise, except for one not-so-little thing. It meant the Bombers finished the season 6-2 over their final eight games and because of that, there is now a firm belief within the confines of their own locker room that this Winnipeg team is good enough to win the Grey Cup. 

 

This Saturday, the Bombers will get a shot at the 10-8 Edmonton Eskimos in the Eastern semifinal at Canad Inns Stadium, a place where Winnipeg went 3-0 in the final seven weeks of the season. With the addition of Jason Armstead, Zeke Moreno, Willie Amos, Joe Smith and Kai Ellis the Bombers have improved dramatically in recent weeks and with injured players such as Ike Charlton, Joe Lobendahn and Barrin Simpson beginning to return to the lineup, this is not the same team that started the season 2-8.

 

“Kudos to our front office for pulling the trigger on some important moves in September,” Brown said, shortly after Saturday’s win. “We’re the hottest team in the CFL right now, 6-2 down the stretch. But to beat Edmonton next week – and don’t worry, we’re not looking past Edmonton — we’re going to have to play our best game of the year. They beat us in their place and we beat them in our place, but to beat them again, we’ll have to be very good.

 

“But if, somehow, we can get through these next two playoff games and run into Calgary and then beat them in the Grey Cup, you’ll be able to go to Wikipedia and look up the term ’What goes around comes around’ and our picture will be there.” 

 

Saturday, Winnipeg will play host to the Eskimos in the Eastern semifinal. Sure, an Eastern semi with teams from Edmonton and Winnipeg sounds ridiculous, but it’s not the first time West has gone East in the crossover. In four previous West-to-East crossovers, the East won all four.

 

And there’s another little bit of history that plays right into Doug Brown’s vision.

 

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Week 19 in the CFL. The final week of 2008. Bring on the playoffs… please…

Posted on October 30, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Thank goodness it’s over. After all, with the exception of the battle for playoff positions in the West, the CFL hasn’t been particularly interesting for the past three weeks.

Could it be that 18 games are too many?

 

This week, we will get to find out whether it will be Saskatchewan or B.C. playing host to the Western semifinal. And that’s it. On Pro Line, three of the four games are considered blowouts this week. Winnipeg will play host to Edmonton in the Eastern semifinal at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg (1 p.m. CST on TSN) while Calgary and Montreal have each wrapped up first in the West and East respectively.

 

Other than that, the only worry this week is who or how many will be banged up and unable to perform in the playoffs.

 

In the meantime, let’s take as close a look as we possibly can at Week 18, a week that look an awful lot like pre-season…

 

Saskatchewan Roughriders (11-6) at Toronto Argonauts (4-13)

 

Thursday, 6:30 p.m. CT, TSN

 

Michael Bishop is back in Toronto for a rare end-of-season Thursday night game, even though there is a chance he might not play all that much. Riders head coach Ken Miller also has Derian Durant and Steven Jyles and who knows? All three of them could play. As Saskatchewan gets more of its players back from injury, the team just could be playing its best football of the year (judging from last week’s 55-9 demolition of Edmonton, they probably are). Kerry Joseph, meanwhile, has been a bust in Toronto, ever since he was dealt from Saskatchewan to the Boatmen before the season began. Last winter, GM Eric Tillman lost his Grey Cup-winning quarterback (Joseph just wanted too much money and was too old) and his Grey Cup-winning coach (not many people thought Ken Miller would be a significantly better coach than Kent Austin) and his team is even better than it was last year at this time. But who knows? Prhaps the Argos will win one for coach Don Matthews. Or, maybe not.

 

Pick: Saskatchewan

Montreal Alouettes (11-6) at Edmonton Eskimos (9-8)

Friday 8 p.m. CT, TSN

Hard to imagine what’s worse. Last week Montreal was beaten 24-23 at home by the then-6-10 Winnipeg Blue Bombers while Edmonton went on the road and lost 55-9 in Regina. In their own special ways, both games were lopsided upsets (Montreal should have won by three TDs) and both losing teams left the field embarrassed. The Eskimos have been blitzed in their last two games and have allowed 98 points. The Edmonton defence is ready for an overhaul except that there is only one game in which to do the overhauling before the Eskies haul ass to Winnipeg for the Eastern semi (isn’t there something odd about an Edmonton-Winnipeg Eastern semifinal?). Marcus Brady is set to start at quarterback for Montreal.

Pick: Edmonton (holding my nose)

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-14) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-10) 

Saturday 1 p.m. CT, TSN

Wouldn’t you love to be Marcel Bellefeuille? He was the interim head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, went 1-6 in the job and because of all that success, had the interim tag removed from his title. His record isn’t as good as the guy the ‘Cats fired, but Bellefeuille got the guy’s job anyway. Poor Charlie Taafe should sue for unlawful dismissal. The ‘Cats are awful and Bellefeuille hasn’t done much to make them any better. Winnipeg, meanwhile, has improved dramatically since the addition of Jason Armstead, Kai Ellis, Zeke Moreno and Joe Smith. Brendan Taman should be executive of the year. The Bombers have won five of their last seven and should win again this week.

 

Pick: Winnipeg

B.C. Lions (11-6) at Calgary Stampeders (12-5)

Saturday, 4 p.m., CT, TSN

If Calgary actually tries, the Stamps should blow away a B.C. Lions team that is pretty good, but not that good. If Toronto happens to upset Saskatchewan (which they won’t), the Lions could be playing for home-field advantage in the Western semifinal. As they probably won’t be playing for anything at all, this will simply be a battle of two of the league’s superstars: B.C. defensive lineman Cameron Wake and Calgary quarterback Henry Burris. I like Burris, if he plays more than a quarter.

Pick: Calgary

Last Week: 2-2

Season: 41-19

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The CFL’s Week 15 is in the books. Have we learned anything yet?

Posted on October 5, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

I love that question. “Have we learned anything yet?” We’ve been chasing around the CFL for 15 weeks and after 15 weeks the only thing we’ve learned is that there are no guarantees.

 

Oh, don’t worry, we certainly  thought there were guarantees. After 14 weeks we thought we had the Conference champions figured out. I mean Montreal and Calgary were red-hot as we passed the midway point of the 2008 Canadian Football League season. Calgary in the West, Montreal in the East, let’s play the Grey Cup right now.

 

Then along came Week 15. Calgary goes on the road and loses 37-34 to Saskatchewan. Montreal goes on the road and loses 44-36 to Hamilton. Now I understand the Calgary loss. Regina is a tough place to play and the Calgary defence is not very good, but the Montreal loss to sad-sack Hamilton was a shocker.

 

Anthony Calvillo went an unbelievable 44-for-53 for 468 yards and four touchdowns  — three receivers had at least 100 yards and three had at least 10 catches — and the Als still lost as Quinton Porter went 27-for-32 for 429 yards and five touchdowns.

 

Montreal rushed for 10 yards in the game. That’s how you lose in the CFL, even when you put up 36 points.

 

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned in Week 15.

 

1. Home teams are still a safe bet. Western Conference teams are now 20-7 at home. In the East, teams are 13-16 (Toronto and hamilton are a combined 4-11), but that has more to do with the fact that the East is just plain lousy. Western teams are now 18-6 against the East. It doesn’t matter where they play.

 

2. The Calgary defence is the only thing that will keep the Stampeders out of the Grey Cup. It’s not that the Calgary defence is awful. The Stamps have allowed only 352 points in 14 games. It’s just that when they need it, they don’t get it. The Stamps have five losses. The defence collapsed in the final minute in a 32-28 loss to Winnipeg (and, don’t forget, the Bombers had Ryan Dinwiddie at quarterback), it collapsed late in a 34-31 loss in Edmonton and gave up 37 at home in another loss to Edmonton. In five losses, the Stampders have given up 162 points. In nine wins, only 190. There is a lesson in all that. 

 

3. The Bombers still aren’t a lock — although, they should be. Winnipeg added Jason Armstead, Kai Ellis, Zeke Moreno and Joe Smith and should be better. For three weeks, they were, with wins over 3-11 Hamilton and 4-10 Toronto on the road and 7-5 Edmonton at home. But on Friday night, the Bombers did the things they did when the team was 2-8: they didn’t run the ball enough, they were awful on special teams, they committed a couple of turnovers that led to 14 points and their kicking game — once again — was dreadful. Winnipeg should have second place in the Least Division locked up by now, but with games against Toronto and Hamilton at home and Calgary and Montreal on the road, anything can happen.

 

4. Saskatchewan isn’t going to roll over. Just when we thought the banged-up Roughriders were about to go down for a third and final time, they get a sensational effort from Michael Bishop and 128 yards receiving from Weston Dressler and beat Calgary 37-34. The Riders are 9-5, still tied for first and still in a legitimate race for first place. 

 

5. The B.C. Lions just might be the surprise of the West. They don’t do much of anything, at least not anything remarkable, (although DE Cameron Wake is pretty impressive) and yet, the Lions find ways to win. Friday night, they went into Toronto and should have blown the wonky Argos away. Instead, they were lucky to beat a team that hasn’t won since Week 10 — and hasn’t won at all for Don Matthews. But in B.C.’s case, the emphasis should be on the word “win.” They found a way and that’s what makes a champion (remember the 1988 Blue Bombers and the 2001 Calgary Stampeders and the 2007 Saskatchewan Roughriders?). There is a lot to be said for a team that can win a close game on the road. Of their nine wins this season, the Lions have won five games, each by less than a converted touchdown. That’s a team that will be tough in the playoffs. 

 

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A week of CFL shake-ups: Matthews back, Taafe gone and the Bombers acquire Zeke Moreno for virtually nothing. What does Hamilton know that Winnipeg doesn’t?

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

Let’s start with our list:

 

1. In Toronto, the Argos fired Rich Stubler, the head coach of a struggling 4-6 team — a 4-6 team that should be better — and replaced him with 69-year-old Don Matthews. Not quite as old as Cliff Fletcher, but much older than Cito Gaston. No wonder all the teams in Toronto wear blue uniforms. The owners just rummage around in a big blue box and come up with anything recyclable (Hey, is Isiah Thomas coming back to the Raptors?).

 

2. The 2-8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats fired head coach Charlie Taafe (2-8 this season and 5-23 over a season and a bit) and no one argued in the least. Not even a peep. Taafe is replaced by offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille.

 

3. The 2-8 Bombers signed 28-year-old import defensive end/outside linebacker Kai Ellis, a recent cut of the Montreal Alouettes. With Joe Lobendahn and Ike Charlton nursing injuries, Ellis will start on Friday in Toronto. 

 

4. The on-going carnival in Winnipeg continued to sell out, but this week it got really crazy — again. After blowing a 31-14 lead with 11 minutes to play, the Bombers lost 34-31 to Saskatchewan in front of a sold-out crowd in the fifth annual Canwest Banjo Bowl on Sunday. You can bet head coach Doug Berry wasn’t going to take the blame for that mess, so he started the week by throwing safety Ian Logan under the bus. In the end, however, he didn’t trade or bench Logan. Instead, he traded defensive end, Tom Canada, one of the city’s most popular players, to Hamilton in exchange for the league’s leading tackler Zeke Moreno (Remember, River City Sports can provide you with a brand new Zeke Moreno jersey at any of its Winnipeg locations).

 

Starts out, Canada isn’t going to report to Hamilton, but he goes for his physical anyway, and finds out he has an enlarged spleen, After a trip to the hospital, he’s put on the nine-game injured reserve list and is out for the season. Still, Bombers GM Brendan Taman is able to finish the deal with 2-8 Hamilton, getting Moreno and a conditional draft pick in exchange for the Bombers first overall pick in the 2009 CFL draft plus the rights to their No. 1 pick in 2007, offensive lineman Corey Mace, who is on the practice roster of the Buffalo Bills. In the end, the Bombers didn’t have to move Tom Canada, but what do the Tiger-Cats know about Moreno that Winnipeg doesn’t? Did Ticats GM Bob O’Billovich get fleeced or has Moreno lost a step? Guess we won’t know until Moreno starts on Friday night in place of the injured Joe Lobendahn against the 4-6 Argos in Toronto. 

 

Meanwhile, Canada is a happy guy even though he spent time in the hospital with an enlarged spleen and will be on injured reserve for the rest of the year. Canada’s happy because he wasn’t traded to Hamilton this week. And that might be OK for awhile, but he’s still finished as a Blue Bomber, at least under Doug Berry’s watch. Fact is, Canada was shopped around to the entire league. Berry doesn’t want him and even though he’s on the injured list for the rest of the season, Canada is only a Bomber because he was too physically damaged to be traded (ules of course, Berry is gone before next spring’s training camp).

 

I have my own opinions on this mess and you can probably detect a little sarcasm in my usually objective accounting of events, so I thought I’d share some e-mails from Bomber fans(?) I received this week:

 

Scott,

 

Here is the skinny. You are (CEO) Lyle Bauer’s boss. That ‘group’….You go to him and say this is what happens today. Berry gets released. Bob Cameron is named as head coach for the balance of the season. Troy Westwood will be the punter for the remainder of the season. Lyle balks at the idea. You give Lyle a fat lip and fire his ass. I tell you what, Bob Cameron is the cure. How long was he on the side lines? How many coaches listened to his ideas? Henry Rosolowski, Winnipeg

Scott,

Incredible. No wonder the Bombers are in disarray! Who is letting this idiot Taman run the club into the ground!  YOU DON’T TRADE TWO NUMBER ONE DRAFT PICKS AWAY UNLESS YOU ARE GETTING THE SECOND COMING OF JOE MONTANA!  

 

The season is lost and even if by some miraculous event they did make the playoffs, how far do you think this team is going to go?  TIME TO BUILD FOR THE FUTURE, NOT NOW!  

 

If and when 2007 first round pick Corey Mace does come to the CFL, the kid is going to be an impact player! The inept Bombers have the best chance right now to have the #1 draft pick next season. Do you know what kind of stud they could draft to go along with excellent rookie Labatt on the O-Line, which is a must in the CFL!  You need the big talented Canadian kids to build your O-Line. And simple football 101 states that if you have no O-Line you have nothing!  

 

Or at least you could draft the best Canadian kid in the country for that porous D-Backfield which, lord knows, under Taman has been the worst secondary in CFL history! You only make a trade like this if you have a bonafide chance to win the Grey Cup. Other than that YOU KEEP YOUR DRAFT PICKS AND FUTURE TALENT! No wonder they have not won a Grey Cup in 18 years and now sit last in the league!

 

Ted Arichteff, Winnipeg

 

(Wow! A lot of capital letters)

 

Scott,

 

Thank you for a great report this morning (on 92-CITI-FM). Honestly I’m not a CFL fan, unfortunately I’m a Dolphin fan (yes they are brutal), but my true love is NCAA football. 

I’m a huge Gator fan and watching them dismantle Hawaii a few weekends ago was a joy. The Bombers have two WAC QBs (Dinwiddie and Chang) and that is a joke. The WAC is a poor conference and the Bombers seem to think these two QBs from there are s-o-o-o good. 

You are 100 per cent right. Drop all these bozos and let (Bryan) Randall play. I watched him at Virginia Tech and he is one hell of a QB! Why don’t the Bombers make a deal with Montreal for Chris Leak. He’s on the inactive roster. I watched him and the Gators take apart Ohio State.I don’t even listen to classic rock but I listen to you guys every morning.

Derek Capri, Winnipeg

The great thing about the Bombers is that EVERYONE (speaking of capital letters) has an opinion. And when they’re 2-8, most of those opinions are not flattering.

 

Friday night, Winnipeg plays in Toronto. The Argos are only four points ahead of the Bombers in the race for second place in the Eastern Conference. If Zeke Moreno and Joe Smith and Kai Ellis and all the big names can get it done, this Bomber team can make the playoffs. If they don’t, it’s time to look at a real, legitimate shake-up.

 

Meanwhile, win or lose, the Bombers will look great in their new retro jerseys supplied by, you guessed it, River City Sports. 

 

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It’s Week 11 in the CFL. Time to take this Weekly Picks thing seriously again.

Posted on September 5, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 1 Comment

Last week, we threw all of our theories out the window and, as a result, we burned big time for that one bad decision.

 

Taking Winnipeg to win the Labour Day Classic in Regina was a dreadful mistake. It reminded me of the last time I ran into the old Bomber coach, Jeff Reinebold. It was at the last Super Bowl in Tampa and Jeff walked up to me with a big smile on his face and said: “T.J. Rubley!???!! Scotty, what was I thinking?”

 

Reinebold’s deadly choice of quarterback in Winnipeg didn’t quite equal my stupid choice of the Bombers in the Labour Day Classic, but it was a dumb mistake, nonetheless. The Bombers simply don’t win the Labour Day Classic in Regina. Someday, I’ll learn. 

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Bombers can’t win the re-match at home and we’ll talk about that in a second, but first, what a week in the CFL.

 

In Winnipeg, the Bombers traded Charles Roberts in an ugly divorce. It started out ugly when most fans (a truly vast majority of fans) vented to the local newspapers over the trade — Roberts to B.C. for I-travel-to-the-beat-of-my-own-drummer Joe Smith — that it might have been the worst deal in Bomber history, but it got even uglier when Roberts filed a little missive on ourbombers.com which read, in part: “The natural reaction for me would be to be enraged, and ordinarily I would have been considering what I have done for that organization. I am not, however, because of the events leading up to the trade. (Bombers GM) Brendan (Taman) called me into his office about eight o’clock Monday night and, as I got to the stadium, Doug Berry and I pulled into the stadium parking lot at the same time. Once he figured out it was me, he mysteriously pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared. For a man to have publicly claimed that the reason for trading me is because I had lost a step, how come he couldn’t face me? How come he ran off like a coward instead of facing me man-to-man and telling me what he felt?”

 

What a mess. On Friday morning, Smith stiffed a Winnipeg radio show and won a few more fans. He’ll need a good day on Sunday to win over the masses.

 

Meanwhile, Roberts was dealt 13 yards shy of the 10,000 mark which is something that says as much about the state of the Bombers franchise as it does about the trade itself. 

 

In Calgary, the Stamps were licking their wounds after getting drilled by Edmonton at home in Alberta’s version of the Labour Day Classic, but they were even more worried when they learned quarterback Dave Dickenson would be gone for the season with post-concussion syndrome.

 

In Toronto, the Argos revealed that they were in negotiations for former Saskatchewan Roughriders runningback Kenton Keith who was released by the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts last week, a nod to the fact their running game is one of the weakest in the league.

 

And in Saskatchewan, they were working with and hoping for quarterback Michael Bishop, a young man who won his opener as the Riders QB, 19-6 over Winnipeg, but looked horrible doing it.

 

This will be a very interesting week. 

 

Calgary Stampeders (5-4) at Edmonton Eskimos (6-3)

 

Friday, 8 p.m. CT, TSN

 

It’s hard to imagine the Eskimos are going to let the Stamps off the hook after drilling them 37-16 last week in Calgary. Ricky Ray went 26-for-38 for 376 yards and three touchdowns and his offensive line gave him, at times, what seemed like hours, to throw the football. You just have to love Edmonton, with ease, in the re-match. In fact, another performance like last week’s in Calgary and the Eskimos might just grab the mantle as “Best Team in the CFL.” Then again, if ol’ Brain Fart Burris avoids his inevitable brain farts, the Stampeders have enough offence to beat Edmonton. Even on the road.

 

Pick: Edmonton

B.C. Lions (4-5) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-7)

Saturday, 3 p.m. CT, TSN

The Lions should have beaten Montreal on the road last week, but came up short three times at the one. That won’t happen again this week. Especially with Charles Roberts alongside Stefan Logan in the Lions backfield. I would normally take Hamilton — yes, lowly Hamilton — at home against a 4-5 B.C. team, but the way the Lions played last week suggests they are, indeed, better than their record indicates. As well, they’re a good Western team playing a last-place Eastern team and, as a result, should win handily. With a victory, the Lions will bury Hamilton and could pull three full games ahead the two Eastern cellar-dwellers, should Winnipeg implode on Sunday.

Pick: Winnipeg

Toronto Argonauts (4-5) at Montreal Alouettes (6-3)

Sunday, Noon CT, TSN

This one is a no-doubter. Anthony Calvillo, Avon Cobourne, great defence… Montreal by three touchdowns.

 

Pick: Montreal

Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-2) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-7)

Sunday, 2 p.m. CT, TSN

On paper, and after watching last week’s game in Regina, it’s hard to imagine that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have a chance against those same Saskatchewan Roughriders in Winnipeg this week. But the key is, “it’s in Winnipeg this week.” Home teams win a lot of games in this league and in Winnipeg’s case, the Bombers are 2-3 at home and 0-4 on the road this season. Is Winnipeg good enough? Probably not. But Winnipeg IS at home and it IS the Banjo Bowl and more often than not, in the CFL, emotion can carry a team a long way. So although the Bombers might not be good enough to win, they can find a way to win. And besides, if they don’t win this week, they can write off the playoffs and they’ll all know exactly what they’re made of.

 

Pick: Winnipeg

Last Week: 1-3

Season: 19-9

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Roberts traded for a guy who doesn’t like football. 2-7 remains everybody’s fault but the coach’s.

Posted on September 2, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

One of the greatest players in the history of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a guy who was only 13 yards shy of becoming just the fifth player in CFL history to rush for 10,000 yards in a career, has been traded to B.C. for a guy who missed a practice this season because he was gardening.

 

Well, he sure won’t like the gardening weather in September in the ‘Peg.

 

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have traded runningback Charles Roberts to the B.C. Lions in exchange for occasional runningback Joe Smith. Smith was the 2007 CFL rushing champion, but he’s had a horrible 2008 campaign. H’s been slowed by a rotator cuff injury and has told the media in Vancouver that he really doesn’t like football all that much. It’s sort of, something he does.

 

Smith lost favour with Wally Buono this season when he missed a practice and told reporters — and his coach — he was working in his garden. Guess he lost all track of time. 

 

The Lions have been trying to move Smith for weeks and on Monday they found the sucker born every minute.

 

In the meantime, Roberts leads Smith in every rushing category except fumbles.

 

Of course, in fairness, Smith won’t get the ball much in Winnipeg anyway. On a team that doesn’t run-block very well, Smith won’t have to carry the load. Last week, Roberts got the ball only 13 times against the best defence in the CFL. There were no holes, so the run was once again abandoned. Charlie finished with 48 yards as Saskatchewan beat Winnipeg 19-6 in one of the worst CFL games ever played. When a team doesn’t bother with a running game, the defence knows it’s going to pass. The Riders knew exactly what Kevin Glenn was going to do last Sunday and it certainly showed.

 

So in order to make a change, head coach Doug Berry and GM Brendan Taman dealt away the Bombers’ history and tradition. It happens in sport, but Charles Roberts should have retired a Blue Bomber. He should have at least reached 10,000 yards as a Blue Bomber. This is a team that has lost all sense of its own history.

 

At 2-7 Winnipeg still has a shot at the playoffs. That’s a sad commentary on the CFL, not the Bombers.

 

So what the heck. Maybe, by bringing in Joe Smith, it might force Berry and his genius coaching staff to run the football. Couldn’t hurt.   

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CFL Picks Week 6: All four Eastern teams could be tied for first — or last.

Posted on July 31, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 2 Comments

It’s Week 6 in the CFL and it opens with a big night for the Bombers — even though they don’t play — on Thursday night in Montreal. 

 

If the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — with young Richie Williams, not Casey Printers, at quarterback — can somehow upset the Montreal Alouettes, there is a chance that the Bombers could find themselves in a tie for first in the East by late Friday night. Granted, Montreal is a 10 1/2-point favourite and a 6.00 wager on Pro Line, but hey, stranger things have happened in the CFL.

 

So, if the Ticats win in Montreal and the Bombers win in Toronto, every team in the CFL East will be 2-4 by Saturday morning. Granted, that’s not very good, but it’s a helluva lot better than 0-6.

 

And, let’s be honest here, if Ryan Dinwiddie doesn’t give Bomber fans a CFL Offensive Player of the Week performance against Calgary last Thursday night, Winnipeg could very well be 0-6 by the weekend.

 

The is a big week for both Conferences. In the East, two teams are 2-3 and two are 1-4. In the West, Saskatchewan is 5-0 while everyone else is 3-2. The crossover playoff format looms (By the way, if there is a crossover, why doesn’t the first or second place team in the West get to choose which Conference it wants to play against in the playoffs? Why does the fourth-place team in, say, the West, get to crossover to play an obviously weaker East?). And if things keep going the way they’re going, we could have a Saskatchewan-B.C. Grey Cup game in Montreal.

 

Here’s a look at the games coming up in Week 6…

 

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-4) at Montreal Alouettes (2-3)

 

Thursday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

OK, Montreal is the prohibitive favourite and sure, the Als will probably win at home, but 10 1/2-point favourites? That’s kind of out there, don’t ya think? Granted, Richie Williams is the starting quarterback for the ‘Cats, but he wasn’t that bad against Edmonton last week and Jesse Lumsden appears healthy. The Alouettes also have a banged-up defensive secondary and two rookies will move into the D-backfield If Williams can exploit those kids, this game might be close. I’m not crazy, but I’m not sure 10 1/2 is the number.  

Pick: Montreal

B.C. Lions (3-2) at Edmonton Eskimos (3-2)

Friday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN

Edmonton has a decimated receiving corps thanks to the loss of Fred Perry and Jason Tucker for the season, but Kamau Peterson (who suddenly learned how to catch) and Kelly Campbell (the ex-Minnesota Viking) are still there and they have a lot of talent. In B.C. Joe Smith is back this week and that will make the Lions better, but if I’m betting Ricky Ray vs. Jarious Jackson — in Edmonton — I’m going with the home team.

Pick: Edmonton

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-4) at Toronto Argonauts (2-3)

Friday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

The Argos have been improving ever since head coach Rich Stubler said, “One quarterback, thank you.” The Boatmen should still deal Michael Bishop, but at least he’s not a distraction anymore. Kerry Joseph is the No. 1 QB and that’s that. At least, this week. The 2-3 Argos are heavily favoured, but we still have to see if Toronto’s defensive secondary is capable of shooting down Ryan Dinwiddie’s ducks. Dinwiddie threw up a bunch of wobblers against Calgary last week and exposed the Stamps weak secondary. If Toronto is as bad as Calgary was, the Bombers win in a walk. I’m not sure they are, but I’m certain Toronto will give Dinwiddie a better rush (Who, in Calgary, thought rushing three men at a banged-up defensive line and a rookie quarterback was a good idea?). We also wonder if Charles Roberts will actually get a few more touches. 

Pick: Toronto

Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-0) at Calgary Stampeders (3-2)

Saturday, 7 p.m. CT, TSN

Marcus Crandell will get the start for the Riders this week and that shouldn’t matter. The Green Shirts have won five straight times with three different quarterbacks at the helm, so a return to Crandell should be no big deal. Losing receiver Andy Fantuz to a leg injury will hurt, however. Meanwhile, Calgary has a very weak defence — The Stamps new D is called “The No Rush, No Cover Defence” — and Henry (Brain Fart) Burris, the extremely talented Calgary QB who sometimes forgets where he is, will have to put up at least 40 in order to allow his team  compete. 

Pick: Saskatchewan

Last Week: 3-1

Season: 9-3

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