TORONTO — Did the Ottawa REDBLACKS make the right move turning to Trevor Harris at quarterback?

It’s a question that’s getting a lot of play this week and so far the answer seems to be a resounding ‘yes’ given the numbers he’s put up this season and the struggles of the REDBLACKS of late. Yet on the other hand, benching the Most Outstanding Player for a younger quarterback coming off injury can’t be an easy move to make.

Out West, meanwhile, the Eskimos, Bombers and Lions find themselves in a hard-fought battle for positioning in the West behind the first-place Calgary Stampeders. Only three of those four teams can make the playoffs in the West, but what’ll happen to the other?

Finally, with the Argos on the bye, there’s a chance Ricky Ray could be back in time for the team’s Week 11 matchup vs. BC — but can the veteran pivot really make a difference for the league’s lowest-ranked offence?

We ask the tough questions, you answer in The Weekly Say.

Here are nine pressing questions for Week 10:

1. Is starting Trevor Harris the right move?

While much has been made about the REDBLACKS’ quarterback change this week, so far many people are in agreement that switching from Henry Burris to Trevor Harris is the right move for the team.

Still, despite Harris’ early dominance, it couldn’t have been an easy move for Rick Campbell. Burris was the best quarterback in football in 2016 over the entirety of the 2015 campaign, eventually earning Most Outstanding Player honours for helping lead the REDBLACKS to an East Division Championship in only the team’s second season. What’s more, the now-41-year-old led Ottawa to a trip to the Grey Cup Championship.

» MMQB: Steinberg says starting Harris the right move

Trevor Harris is back at the helm for the REDBLACKS in Week 10 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Should the REDBLACKS have been more patient with Burris as their starting pivot? It’s not like he’s been unproductive (322 yards and two touchdowns vs. Montreal) or even mostly to blame for the team’s recent ineffectiveness after it allowed 444 yards of offence against then the league’s worst-ranked unit. Plus, Harris is only just getting back from an injury that’s sidelined him since Week 5 vs. Saskatchewan.

Either move would have made sense given the circumstances. TSN’s Duane Forde said during the Ottawa-Montreal game that Henry Burris is the REDBLACKS’ starting quarterback moving forward; Ottawa, looking for a spark, changed direction quickly. Is it the right move?

 2. Will the Bombers make the playoffs in 2016?

Heading into the 2016 campaign the prognosticators were all over the board when it came to where the Bombers would finish in the CFL West Division. Today, entering Week 10 play, it’s hard to say the picture is any clearer.

With the help of a 3-0 run from newly-anointed starting pivot Matt Nichols, Head Coach Mike O’Shea’s club has rebounded nicely from an almost disastrous 1-4 start that had fans and media asking the same old questions in the Manitoba Capital.

With Winnipeg playing strong defensive football and leading the league in turnovers and Nichols and the offence protecting the football and scoring when given the opportunity, how will the Bombers come out at the end of it all in the highly-competitive West?

Convincing wins over Toronto, Hamilton and Edmonton have proven this team can contend, but don’t expect Calgary, BC or Edmonton to make it easy — and in the end only three of the four can make the playoffs in the West.

 3. Can a healthy Ricky Ray solve the Argos’ recent woes?

Life without Ricky Ray didn’t look so bad for the Argos a few weeks ago, as kid quarterback Logan Kilgore threw for 300-plus yards in a grind-it-out road win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS to move the Boatmen into first place in the East Division.

Since then, Kilgore’s thrown seven interceptions; the Argos have gone 0-2 (both games at BMO Field) while just last game, a 46-23 loss to the Eskimos, the offence produced only 90 passing yards. All in all, the Argos have returned to their spot as the ninth-ranked team in the league offensively both in passing yards (257.1 per game) and net offence (322.9 yards per game).

Nothing’s been confirmed, but the bye week could mean a Week 11 return for the veteran Ray, whose season before suffering a knee injury back in Week 5 was at least productive (he completed 74 per cent of his passes with nine touchdowns to just one interception).

Can Ray’s return spark an offence that’s gone dormant in recent weeks?

4. What’s been the key to Calgary’s strong start?

Given the circumstances coming into the season, even the eternal optimist may not have predicted the kind of start the Calgary Stampeders have had to their season. Despite a new head coach, a new defensive coordinator, a totally revamped receiving corps and some key losses on defence, the Stamps are the class of the CFL with just a single loss to their name through nine weeks of the season.

Every year it seems like someone is predicting Calgary’s downfall and this year was no different — and once again John Hufnagel has answered doubters with only victories, albeit this time not from the sideline but the GM chair.

With so many things going well, it’s hard to single out one thing that’s made a difference. There’s the calming influence of rookie head coach Dave Dickenson; the work of  a rookie defensive coordinator in DeVone Claybrooks; the dominant play of Bo Levi Mitchell; and of course the depth that’s allowed new faces to step in and pick up where the 2015 Stampeders left off.

What’s allowed the Stampeders to continue their success into 2016 despite so many changes?

 5. Are the Ticats the best team in the East?

A week ago we asked what was the biggest factor in the Ticats’ 3-4 start. Oh how things change in a week.

A 53-7 win over Saskatchewan that included a multitude of turnovers from the defence and an MOP-like five-touchdown performance from Zach Collaros has Hamilton buzzing, and suddenly the Ticats resemble the team that simply couldn’t be beat the first half of 2015.

True, it’s important to avoid getting carried away after a win over the one-win Riders no matter how impressive it was. But at the same time, it’s impossible not to get excited with what Collaros and that offence have been able to accomplish through only two games with him back under centre.

With the Argos coming off back to back blowouts and the REDBLACKS just a half game up and coming off three losses in four games, are the Ticats the best team in the East?

 6. What’s been the biggest reason for the Riders’ struggles?

You knew there would be growing pains, but a 53-7 loss like the one suffered at the hands of the Ticats in Week 9 probably falls under a different category altogether. The Riders have not been good this season to put it mildly and their most recent setback showed there’s still plenty of work to do.

When a team struggles, there are various short-term solutions that can provide a spark such as firing a general manager or a coach or replacing a quarterback — two of which the Green and White resorted to at this point last year. Chris Jones isn’t going anywhere right now and in all likelihood neither is Darian Durant, which means the only thing for the Riders to do right now is to continue to adjust and improve internally.

All facets of the game need to respond to the recent string of losses, but who needs to improve the most? What’s been the biggest reason for the Riders’ struggles and what needs to turn around quickly to get this train back on the rails?

 7. Has the Alouettes’ offence turned the corner?

The league’s most anemic offence going into Week 9 was anything but in a win over the East Division-leading Ottawa REDBLACKS — but was it a sign of things to come or more of a mirage?

The Alouettes put up 444 yards of offence in a 43-19 win over Montreal, including 382 passing yards, an 83.3 per cent efficiency rating and five touchdown passes.

Their 43 points scored was their highest total of the 2016 season, while they eclipsed both their average net offence and passing offence coming into Week 9 by more than 100 yards. Meanwhile, Glenn’s five touchdown passes tied a career-high dating back to Oct. 10, 2015 vs. the BC Lions when he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Alouettes have a competitive defence so if their recent offensive outburst is any indication of what’s to come, Montreal could easily be a threat in what’s become a very tight East Division with very little separation.

 8. Will the BC Lions come back to win the West?

With an exciting and explosive offence and one of the league’s most dominating defences, the Lions had the look and feel of a true contender heading into their Week 9 clash for first place with the Calgary Stampeders.

They were humbled, and while it’s not to say they can’t compete with Calgary — they looked like they belonged in the first two meetings between these West Division foes — the Stampeders took a huge step towards winning the West Division by locking up the tie-breaker and taking a game and a half lead in the West.

With that said, the Lions are getting some reinforcements on defence (the return of Mich’ael Brooks should make a difference in the middle of the D-line) while Jonathon Jennings will look to bounce back from his worst outing of the season as he’s done at previous junctures in his career.

A 1.5-game deficit isn’t a mountain to make up and while the Lions don’t play Calgary again this regular season, can they atone for their recent loss and claim the number one seed by season’s end — keeping in mind that the season isn’t even half complete?

 9. Will the Edmonton Eskimos host a playoff game in 2016?

Similar to the Bombers and their pursuit of a playoff spot, the Eskimos are right in the heat of what looks like a wild race in the West Division.

While the Riders continue to fall behind, the four other teams have put themselves in a division to at least secure a home playoff game if not challenge Calgary down the road for first place. The question is who will end up where?

The Eskimos have turned on the jets in recent weeks with back to back wins, looking particularly potent in a win over the Argos at BMO Field. Yet while they’ve split their first two games with Winnipeg and defeated the Riders in one try in overtime, they haven’t yet faced either Calgary or BC.

In that regard we’ve yet to get a sense of who the Eskimos really are, something we likely won’t see until Labour Day when they begin a home-and-home with Calgary and have two games against BC on the horizon.

With a top-notch offence and an up-and-down defence, it’s hard to rule out a finish anywhere from first to fourth in the West. But while the playoffs seem likely for the defending Grey Cup Champs (with the crossover still in play), will the Esks knock off either Calgary or BC to host a home playoff game in 2016?