Tag Archives: Ricky Ray

Bombers Win Second Straight. Enough of the Reinebold Crap.

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It will be impossible to get those people have sucked long and hard on the local mainstream media’s Kool-Aid straw to admit that their anger with Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly is misplaced.

After all, when you believe everything you read in newspapers, you can be sucked into believing the craziest, goofiest stuff.

So while I’m sure that all the media-driven anger over Derrick Armstrong and Barrin Simpson and Pacman Jones and yada-yada-yada, is still going to be deeply imbedded in the DNA of many Bomber fans, the reality is this: Mike Kelly is building HIS football team and before he’s finished, it’s going to be a good one.

I know my pals at the FAN 960 in Calgary and The TEAM 1260 in Edmonton got a good laugh this week when I selected the Bombers to beat the Eskimos Friday night on every Pro-Line ticket I had. Indeed, they all got a good chuckle (although Mike Richards in Calgary did play his very funny Ricky Ray “I pooped my pants,” parody), but if you know anything about football, you know that (a) Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray is not as good as the media hordes have made him out to be and (b) he was awful last week at home against Saskatchewan and there was no reason to believe he would be any better in Winnipeg this week.

And, of course, he wasn’t. Ray throws for plenty of yards and not many important touchdowns and with a Bomber defence that has improved dramatically since the injured Barrin Simpson was run off the premises, there was no way Ray was going to be successful against Mark Nelson’s D on Friday night.

This is a good Blue Bomber team. Not a bgreat one, but a good one.

In fact, you can stop equating it with the Reinebold years right freakin’ now. It’s now 5-8, it’s won two straight, it will win again this week in Hamilton and next week at home against B.C. and it will make the playoffs.

Kelly has had to work very hard to see who was with him and who was against him and he found out. Derrick Armstrong quit on the team and is gone. Barrin Simpson quit on the team’s medical department and is gone. Granted, Kelly still has a quarterback problem, but Michael Bishop will do in a pinch.

In fact, as long as Kelly keeps inserting all the motion he inserted into the offence against Edmonton, Bishop will survive.

In the meantime, I see in the Free Press today that there is an ongoing lament over the fact that only 22,083 went to the Stadium last week and only 21,965 went this week. Well, the Free Press and the Sun can blame themselves. They told enough people for as long as they could that the coach was an idiot and the team was horrible and fans were wasting their money by going to the games. Well, congratulations, since you’ve become the house organ of the Blue Bombers, your readers have believed you and they’ve decided to stay home. Well done.

Mike Kelly has had to overcome a great deal in this prairie town that embraces second-best in order to re-build a football team that went 8-10 last year and lost the Eastern semifinal at home. He has taken the scorn of the media, scorn that was turned into anger by the fans, and he’s done what’s right. And while he’s still a long way from his destination, he’s getting closer.

People who have never even thrown a football, let alone played the game, have convinced the people who buy the tickets that the coach is a bad guy and his plans are flawed and because he doesn’t genuflect at the altar of the daily newspaper, he’s somehow not worthy to be the head coach of this great franchise (this great franchise that hasn’t won a CFL championship in 19 years).

Well, bullshit. One day Mike Kelly will be remembered as the coach who turned around a failing football team. He’s not there yet, but he’s on the right path.

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The CFL Conference finals. Are we looking at an All-Alberta Grey Cup?

Posted on November 15, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

This season, the West dominated the East. The tally was 22-6 when the Edmonton Eskimos went into Winnipeg and beat the Bombers 29-21 in the crossover semifinal.

 

Montreal hasn’t played well for seven weeks and Anthony Calvillo hasn’t taken a snap in anger in three weeks. Ricky Ray — and his receiving corps — has looked very good in the final month of the season.  

 

Out west, Calgary has owned B.C. all season. they should own them again on Saturday.

 

We are looking at an All-Alberta Grey Cup IN Montreal next Sunday. Could be fun. Especially for the Scott Taylor Reports on The FAN 960 in Calgary on Tuesday and Thursday and on the TEAM 1260 in Edmonton on Wednesday.

 

Let’s take a close look at the Conference finals:

 

Edmonton Eskimos (11-8) at Montreal Alouettes (11-7)

 

Saturday, 12 Noon, CT, TSN

 

The Eskimos became the first Western team in history to win the West-East crossover semifinal. In fact, last week’s win in Winnipeg was pretty easy. This week, the Eskimos go into Montreal, where the Alouettes lost 24-23 to the Bombers in Week 18. In Week 19, the Eskimos whipped the Alouettes 37-14 in Edmonton, but Montreal played without Anthony Calvillo. Of course, Calvillo hasn’t played well since he put up 43 points against sad-sack Toronto in Week 17. In fact, Montreal hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record since Week 14, way back on Sept. 28, when they whipped a banged-up Saskatchewan team 37-12 at Molson Stadium. Since then, the Als have lost to Hamilton, Winnipeg and Edmonton and beaten only 3-15 Hamilton and 4-14 Toronto. On Saturday, the Esks and Als play at the cavernous Olympic Stadium and that’s really not homefield advantage for the Alouettes. It’s West vs. East and I always pick West first. 

 

Pick: Edmonton

B.C. Lions (12-7) at Calgary Stampeders (13-5)

Saturday 3:30 p.m. CT, TSN

Last week, B.C. won on the road in Regina. There is no tougher place to play. That means could certainly take out Calgary this week. Calgary beat B.C. in Calgary 28-18 in Calgary way back in Week 1. Calgary beat B.C. 36-29 in B.C. in Week 9. And Calgary wasted B.C. 41-30 in Calgary in Week 19 in a game B.C. had to win to play host to the Western semifinal. Calgary has B.C.’s number and the Stamps put up a lot of points to get to 13-5. If Henry Burris avoids brain farts and Cameron Wake, Calgary could blow the Lions away. It’s time. It’s time for an All-Alberta Grey Cup.

Pick: Calgary

Last Week: 0-2

Season: 45-21

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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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Week 18 in the CFL. Will Saskatchewan or Edmonton be the crossover team?

Posted on October 24, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

The six CFL playoff-bound teams are all set: Montreal and Winnipeg will play host to post-season games in the East. Calgary, Edmonton, B.C. and Saskatchewan have all made it in the West, but we still aren’t sure who will play whom.

That’s because one of those Western teams will morph into an Eastern team and play the Eastern semifinal in Winnipeg on Nov. 8. That team will be Edmonton if they lose to Saskatchewan on Saturday night, but the Roughriders have been so ravaged by injuries this year that it’s hard to imagine them beating a good opponent anytime soon. And Edmonton IS a good opponent.

 

Frankly, if I were Edmonton right now, I’d throw the game, rest my stars and finish last in the West. Playing in Winnipeg in the Eastern semifinal on a cold, November Saturday as opposed to playing in Calgary or Saskatchewan in the semifinal would be a lot more inviting. When you consider the West is 22-6 against the East this season, playing the Bombers would be a lot better than playing against a Western rival.

 

So that’s it. All that’s left in the CFL regular season is to determine which team finishes in which spot in the West.

 

So does all this sound familiar to you? It should. The league has been like this for almost the entire season and now the CFL is finally — we’re told — discussing a change to the concept of divisional alignments.

 

In fact, I’ll be on the Saskatchewan Roughriders pre-game show this Saturday evening (around 5 p.m. CDT) with host Roger Currie, discussing my column in last week’s National Post where I suggested the CFL needed to go to an non-divisional, eight-team format as soon as possible.

 

In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at Week 18…

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Week 17 in the CFL. All that’s left is the crossover team.

Posted on October 17, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

The six CFL playoff-bound teams are pretty well determined: Montreal and Winnipeg in the East and Calgary, Edmonton, B.C. and Saskatchewan in the West.

 

One of those Western teams, however, will morph into an Eastern team and play the Eastern semifinal in Winnipeg on Nov. 8. That team is beginning to look like Saskatchewan, a team that has been so ravaged by injuries this year that it looks more like the Hilltops than the Roughriders.

 

Montreal has the East by the cojones, Winnipeg could finish 6-12 and still play host to the Eastern semifinal. The West, however, remains a competitive quandary. Will Calgary hold on or will Edmonton catch its hated rival? Will B.C. or Saskatchewan get to make the trip to Winnipeg as opposed to say, Edmonton?

 

Frankly, If I were a slumping Western team right now, I’d rather finish last in the West than third. Playing in Winnipeg as opposed to Calgary or Edmonton in the semifinal would be a lot more inviting.

 

All that’s left in the CFL regular season is to determine which team finishes in which spot in the West. 

 

So let’s take a closer look…

 

B.C. Lions (9-6) at Edmonton Eskimos (9-6)

 

Friday, 8 p.m. CT, TSN

 

The B.C. Lions appear to be playing like a team that is trying desperately to finish fourth in the West. They were dreadful last week against Edmonton in their own barn and it now looks like they’d much rather play Winnipeg than the Eskimos. And why not? The Lions are 3-5 against the West and 6-1 against the East. The Eskimos are about to get a home-and-home sweep under their belts. And, oh yeah, Ricky Ray has never looked better. 

 

Pick: Edmonton

Montreal Alouettes (10-5) at Toronto Argonauts (4-11)

Saturday 2 p.m. CT, TSN

This game isn’t fair for two reasons. No. 1 Don Matthews is 69 and he hasn’t won a game since his return to coaching this season and No. 2, Anthony Calvillo is the best player in the CFL. Tough combination for a wonky Argos team that would have a lot of trouble beating the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Calvillo has already thrown for 5,097 yards this season and Ben Cahoon will soon become the third leading all-time receiver in CFL history — even though the current No. 3 (Milt Stegall) is still playing. This Montreal team should win the Grey Cup.

Pick: Montreal

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-9) at Calgary Stampeders (10-5) 

Saturday 5:30 p.m. CT, TSN

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are so convinced they’re finishing second in the East, they started selling playoff tickets to the general public today. In fact, if Montreal beats Toronto (which they will), the Bombers could clinch that No. 2 spot in the East before the game begins. Calgary is a 10 1/2-point favourite and for good reason. If the Stampeders defence is even marginally decent, the Stamps will win by two touchdowns. But then again, that defence has more brain farts than Brain Fart Burris.

 

Pick: Calgary

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-12) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-6)

Sunday, 2 p.m. CT, TSN

This could be the best game of the week. Neither team is very good and the Saskatchewan slump prompted one Blue Bombers defensive player to say this week: “I wouldn’t mind another shot at Saskatchewan. That team is on the way down.” They’re on the way down because they have no players left. No team has suffered more injuries to key starters this season than Saskatchewan and last week, in a 43-5 shellacking at the hands of Calgary, they looked like a junior team. Derian Durant will get the ball this week, replacing Michael (The Bust) Bishop. The Tiger-Cats, despite some decent vibes from young QB Quinton Porter two weeks ago, were awful against Montreal last week and are the worst team in the CFL for the fourth consecutive year. Since the West always beats the East at home, the Riders will get their groove back.

Pick: Saskatchewan

Last Week: 3-1

Season: 36-16

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Week 16 in the CFL. The playoff participants could be set this week.

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

You know are far the Canadian Football League’s Eastern Division has fallen into the abyss when a game between the 5-9 Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the 4-10 Toronto Argonauts has playoff implications.

 

And not just implications. If the Bombers win and get to 6-9, they’re all but guaranteed a shot at the post-season. If the Argos win, they’re tied with the Bombers and back in the hunt.

 

And here’s what’s even uglier. This is not just a fight for the playoffs, but a battle for second place in the East. Second place! The East is a mess, but on the upside, in Week 16 at least, the East plays the East and all the power in the West plays against all the power in the West. That means we should see some pretty good football games.

 

For the most part, it will be a close and competitive Thanksgiving Weekend, except for, perhaps, the opener. Let’s take a closer look…

 

Toronto Argonauts (4-10) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-9)

 

Friday, 7:30 p.m. CT, TSN

 

This has the makings of a rout. Kerry Joseph, with the worst passer’s rating among (sometimes) starting quarterbacks in the CFL with a 69.2 mark, will start for an Argos team that still hasn’t won for Don Matthews. There seems to be a lot of angst in Winnipeg, worrying about this one, simply because Toronto has won two-of-three against the Bombers so far this season, but here’s why Bomber fans should stop worrying. A win tomorrow night against the Argos, a team the Bombers beat 39-9 in Toronto four weeks ago, will wrap up a playoff spot. Forget the mathematics, win ad it’s a done deal. And even if the Bombers don’t win, just one more win down the stretch should lock up that playoff spot. I’ve said it for months, 6-10 makes the grade in the East. I still believe that. However, what’s important to remember is that the last time these two teams met, in Toronto, Winnipeg won 39-9. This could get ugly.

 

Pick: Winnipeg

Edmonton Eskimos (8-6) at B.C. Lions (9-5)

Friday, 10:30 p.m. CT, TSN

The Lions have won five straight games to go from 4-5 to 9-5 and move into a first-place tie in the West although, in fairness, three of the five wins have come against Hamilton and Toronto (yeah, it’s true, you could get 11 of your buddies together and beat Toronto and Hamilton). The Eskimos, who can clinch a playoff spot with a win, whipped Winnipeg at home last week and Ricky Ray looked good in the process, but always remember the home-away scenario in the West, B.C. is at home. 

Pick: B.C.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-11) at Montreal Alouettes (9-5) 

Monday, Noon CT, TSN

Last week, these two teams met in Hamilton. Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo, who absolutely, positively should be the CFL’s most outstanding player, threw for 468 yards and four touchdowns while Hamilton’s new hotshot stud, Quinton Porter threw for 429 yards and FIVE touchdowns. In an amazing football game, Hamilton beat the Als 44-36. Wow! It won’t happen again. Especially in Montreal’s little band-box.

 

Pick: Montreal

Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-5) at Calgary Stampeders (9-5)

Sunday, 3:30 p.m. CT, TSN

Things aren’t getting better in Saskatchewan, they’re getting worse. This week, the Riders had 19 players on the DL. Last week, they had 18 and still the Green Men beat the Stampeders 37-34 in a nasty game that ended with fines, after a number of Stamps got themselves into an altercation with the officials (as bad as the officiating is in the CFL, you just have to fine a way to ignore it, boys). Calgary is the better team and they are playing at home this week.

 

Pick: Calgary

Last Week: 2-2

Season: 33-15

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It’s Week 15 in the CFL and with Hamilton and Toronto done, the final six are jockeying for playoff position…

Posted on October 3, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

With only five weeks left in the CFL season, it’s apparent the Argos and  Ticats are done, the Als and Stamps are on a collision course to the Grey Cup and the Bombers and Eskimos are just trying to lock up playoff spots.

Last week we went 4-0. Need we say more?

Let’s take a closer look at Week 15…

B.C. Lions (8-5) at Toronto Argonauts (4-9) 

 

Friday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

 

Toronto head coach Don Matthews is now 0-3 since his return to coaching with the Argos. He’ll be 0-4 after Friday night’s game at Rogers Centre.  The Argos have lost four in a row and six of their last seven and the Boatmen just might be the worst team in football (if not, it’s their neighbors down the QEW). Kerry Joseph will start at quarterback this week, but it won’t much matter. B.C. has won four straight and not only is the offence starting to click with Charles Roberts in the backfield but the defence, behind big Cameron Wake is playing as well it has in years.

Pick: B.C.

Calgary Stampeders (9-4) at Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-5) 

Friday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN

The Roughriders have lost three straight and are now tied for second in the West and, amazingly, they’re now only two points ahead of last-place Edmonton. The Riders are still banged up and now they can’t decide if Michael Bishop or Derian Durant is their quarterback. Calgary, meanwhile, is playing as well as it has in years. The Stamps have won four straight and scored 157 points in those four games. This might not be close.

Pick: Calgary

Montreal Alouettes (9-4) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-11) 

Saturday, 3 p.m. CT, TSN

Montreal gets back-to-back games with the worst team in all of football (most high school leagues included). The Als have won seven of their last eight games. Their only loss came at the hands of the red-hot Stampeders. The Alouettes have already beaten Hamilton twice, 33-10 in Hamilton and 40-33 in Montreal. The Als will win again.

 

Pick: Montreal

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-8) at Edmonton Eskimos (7-6)    

Saturday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

The re-match of last week’s 30-23 Bombers win in Winnipeg, this is a much bigger game than one might think. If the Bombers win, they almost lock down second place and leave Edmonton dead last in the West. If the Eskimos win, it’s likely they catch Saskatchewan and might not have to play in Winnipeg again in the first round of the playoffs. Of course, if the Eskimos don’t shut down punt/kick returner Jason Armstead, they’ll get thumped.

 

Pick: Edmonton

Last Week: 4-0

Season: 31-13

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It’s Week 14 in the CFL. The Bombers and Als are streaking. The Eskies and Argos are sliding …

Posted on September 26, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

It’s Week 14 in the Canadian Football League and there are teams going north and teams heading straight south.

For instance, Winnipeg is playing the best football it has all season and is coming off two straight road wins. Montreal has won six of its last seven. Those are two of your winners — both at home — this week.

Meanwhile, Toronto just stinks right now and hasn’t won since Don Matthews became head coach while Edmonton is coming off a 40-4 loss in Montreal. There are two of your losers.

Let’s take a closer look at Week 14…

Edmonton Eskimos (7-5) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-8) 

 

Friday, 7 p.m. CT, TSN

Two teams apparently going in opposite directions. The Eskimos looked absolutely dreadful in a 40-4 shellacking at the hands of the Montreal Alouettes last week while the Bombers went into Hamilton and beat the Tiger-Cats 25-23. Granted, Edmonton played a superior team but when you start losing by five touchdowns on the road, it doesn’t matter who you’ve just played. Kevin Glenn is getting his game together and the Bombers defence is playing better with Zeke Moreno in the middle. This week, Bombers GM Brendan Taman said, “No matter what you think might happen, it doesn’t matter because Edmonton has a great quarterback.” He’s right, but still…

Pick: Winnipeg

Calgary Stampeders (8-4) at Toronto Argonauts (4-8)

Saturday, 5:30 p.m. CT, TSN

The Argos appear to be in disarray. From the start of the season you knew this Argos team was just an injury or a mistake away from collapse and when head coach Rich Stubler decided that he was going to have two “starting” quarterbacks, you kind of figured things would eventually come apart. That happened the day Stubler was fired and replaced by Don Matthews. Matthews is a legend, but he’s 69 and he took over the team in September, at a time when he couldn’t cut anybody without paying them anyway. Makes it hard to be a tough, taskmaster. Meanwhile, Calgary has moved into a first-place tie and last week looked great in a 34-4 shellacking of the sad-sack Argonauts in Calgary. The outcome shouldn’t be much different this week.

 

Pick: Toronto

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-10) at B.C. Lions (7-5)  

Saturday, 8:30 CT, TSN

This isn’t even fair. Sport Select has made B.C. a 12 1/2-point favourite. The Lions should cover. 

 

Pick: B.C.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-4) at Montreal Alouettes (8-4)  

Sunday, 12 Noon CT, TSN

This should be the best game of the weekend. Saskatchewan is still banged up and have lost two straight. Obviously, all the injuries are starting to catch up to the Riders. The Alouettes just might be the best team (right now) in the CFL and it would appear that barring injury, Anthony Calvillo, will be the league’s most outstanding player. Montreal is playing extremely well right now and that 40-4 win over Montreal last week was impressive in all aspects of the game. 

 

Pick: Montreal

Last Week: 3-1

Season: 27-13

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It’s Week 12 in the CFL. Think, West. Think home teams.

Posted on September 12, 2008 by Scott Taylor| 2 Comments

It’s Week 12 and the first thing you have to think about, if you want to pick winners this week, is West vs. East. West usually wins.

 

In fact, in 16 meetings between Western Conference and Eastern Conference teams this season, the West leads the season series 13-3.

 

This week, Montreal plays in Calgary while Hamilton plays in Edmonton. Take the Western teams in both meetings. If, for no other reason than this: Avon Cobourne is not playing for Montreal and Edmonton is simply a better team than Hamilton.

 

In the other two games, take the home teams. Home teams are up 22-18 this season, but remember one important thing, in West at East matchups, the West is 6-2 — on the road. Take those games out of the equation and home teams beat road teams 20 out of 32 times.

 

This week, we have two Western teams at home and those teams will win. We have an Eastern team at an Eastern team and the home team will win and we have a Western team at a Western team and the home team will win.

 

This week, if we stick to our theories, we should go undefeated.

 

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-8) at Toronto Argonauts (4-6)

 

Friday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

 

The Bombers head into Toronto with a revamped defence featuring Stanford Samuels at DB, Kelly Malveaux and Zeke Moreno at linebacker and Kai Ellis at rush end. It’s certainly a new look, but not as fearsome as the new look in Toronto. Don Matthews is back. How scary is that? Here’s the difference, Toronto won 19-11 the last time the two teams met in Toronto and Winnipeg’s offence isn’t any better than it was two months ago. However, the underlying story of this game is, once again, Winnipeg slotback Milt Stegall. Stegall can become the Canadian Football League’s all-time leading receiver tonight as 14-year Bomber veteran is just 17 yards shy of the league’’s all-time pass receiving record of 14,891 yards, currently held by Calgary’s Allen Pitts. That should give the Bombers a little incentive. Too bad he didn’t need 117 yards. Toronto is a dreadful football team but Matthews will make them better.

 

Pick: Toronto

Montreal Alouettes (7-3) at Calgary Stampeders (6-4)

Friday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN

Most outstanding player candidate, tailback Avon Cobourne, is not playing tonight and that will obviously hurt the Alouettes. But will it hurt them enough to lose this football game? Calgary has won three of its last four and had an impressive 38-33 win IN Edmonton last week. Montreal has won five in a row, but their last loss, a 36-34 defeat, took place at B.C. Place. The Stamps beat the Alouettes 23-19 back in Week 3 in Montreal. It’s two months later and it’s still hard not to like the Stamps.

Pick: Calgary

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-8) at Edmonton Eskimos (6-4)

Saturday, 6 p.m. CT, TSN

This one is a no-doubter. Ricky Ray, A.J. Harris, Kelly Campbell… Edmonton by three touchdowns. Not even Marcel Bellefeuille, who replaced the fired Charlie Taafe this week, can stop the implosion in Hamilton.

 

Pick: Edmonton

Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-2) at B.C. Lions (5-5)

Saturday, 9 p.m. CT, TSN

This could be the game of the week. Saskatchewan is playing with a pre-season roster and yet behind a terrific performance by quarterback Michael Bishop, they overcame a 31-14 deficit in Winnipeg last week,  scored 20 unanswered points in the final quarter and won 34-31. B.C., meanwhile, went into Hamilton and blasted the Ticats 35-12. It was a terrific road win and this week, the Lions add small, feisty and gifted tailback Charles Roberts. Saskatchewan can’t continue to win with 14 players in the injured reserve. Can they?     

 

Pick: B.C.

Last Week: 2-2

Season: 21-11

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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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