Weekly Predictor: Will the Bombers, Stamps keep their streaks alive?

TORONTO — A storm-delayed Winnipeg Blue Bomber victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats was the only upset in Week 7 for CFL.ca’s Jamie Nye, who ended the week with a 3-1 record. This week Nye looks to keep the right track with his Weekly Predictor.

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Pick 30 in a row, win $30,000; pick 40, win $40,000; think you can pick 50 straight? You’re looking at $50,000. *View rules regarding streaks and prizing.

Here’s Jamie Nye with his picks for Week 8:

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 MONTREAL @ EDMONTON

Mike Reilly and his Esks hope to snap a three game losing streak this week against Montreal (CFL.ca)

The Edmonton Eskimos need something to go right after several close loses they find themselves in fourth spot in the West after the first third of the season.

They especially need some help from the defensive side of the ball, who are giving up over 30 points a game. I believe it won’t take long until Mike Benevides has this group playing to their potential and Mike Reilly’s offence won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

The Alouettes came back to reality after their big win over Saskatchewan two weeks ago, getting pounded by a strong BC Lions team.

The Eskimos are better than their record indicates in my opinion.

» PICK: EDMONTON (75% confidence)

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WINNIPEG @ TORONTO

Can Matt Nichols keep the Blue Bombers’ streak going this week when they take on the Argos? (CFL.ca)

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have gone from 1-4 to 3-4 and their quarterback change to Matt Nichols has paid off. He looks highly motivated to prove all the doubters (me included) wrong and is sure finding some chemistry quickly with the Bomber receivers.

I’ve always thought the Bomber defence is a good one but their offence wasn’t helping keep them off the field. That is starting to show.

Logan Kilgore got a win in his first start, though there were definitely some mistakes he needed to clean up. Thankfully, he had a bye week to hit the film room.

I don’t think this is going to be a high scoring game with the Toronto defence allowing the second fewest points in the league.

This one is going to be a close finish.

» PICK: WINNIPEG (10% confidence)

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CALGARY @ SASKATCHEWAN

Will the Riders defence be able to slow down Bo Levi Mitchell and Jerome Messam? (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

The Saskatchewan Roughriders held in against the Stampeders for about 40 minutes until the defence wore down and Bo Levi Mitchell, and later Jerome Messam, took over.

In the rematch it’ll be up to Darian Durant’s offence to score touchdowns, rather than kick field goals, especially if it’s rookie kicker Quinn van Gylswyk handling the field goal duties.

Can they pull off the upset? Of course they can.

The Riders get a tonne of energy from that home town crowd and with some smack talk between the fans and Bo Levi Mitchell this week, it could be a revved up Rider Nation.

However, the Stampeder machine continues to roll and they are just so consistent and with the Riders still trying to figure things out, I’m going to pick Calgary but don’t expect another 20 point win by the Stamps.

» PICK: CALGARY (35% confidence)

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HAMILTON @ BC

In his return to the field, Zach Collaros will have a tough task of taking on the league’s top defence (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

This may be the game of the week as Zach Collaros returns after nearly a year away from playing time with a knee injury. Can he come right back firing on all cylinders or will there be some rust?

I’m going with a little rust, especially against that relentless BC defence, who are tops in the league.

The Lions have already beat up on the Tiger-Cats this season 28-3, though I don’t think we’ll see a repeat of that score.

However, I do believe the Lions will continue their strong play in all three phases and come out on top.

» PICK: BC (50% confidence)

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CFL on DraftKings

With CFL now on DraftKings, Nye checks in with his weekly fantasy roster. Set your lineup today!

I’m going to go with Matt Nichols after a great performance against what has been one of the better defences in the league. Now, there is a risk of a down turn in production but with the value where it is and the Bombers offence starting to warm up, I’ll take that risk.

John White and Jerome Messam consistently are getting the ball so for the first time in a while I’m going to go with two running backs. There is money there for Andrew Harris as well and sliding him in all depends on how much you want to ride Winnipeg against a decent Argos defence.

I’m also going with the Bombers play-making defence with good value and Clarence Denmark, who seemed to gel quite well with Matt Nichols and the Paul LaPolice offence in his first game back in Blue and Gold.

I’ve noticed the receiver on the short side of the field seems to be getting some good value against the Montreal Alouettes, so watch for Derel Walker this week. I’m also going with a receiver who had a decent day against Montreal last week, as Bryan Burnham is a nice $6,100 for the week against Hamilton who have to make a long trip West after their defence gave up a lot of yards against Winnipeg last week.