Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca
TORONTO — The Calgary Stampeders are the betting favourites to win the Grey Cup but CFL.ca’s Jamie Nye says it’s neither a slam dunk nor a chip shot.
Nye weighed in with his pick on Friday for the 104th Grey Cup presented by Shaw:
Ask anyone around Grey Cup week in Toronto and the strong majority will concede they’re picking the Calgary Stampeders. The biggest debate is by how much they are going to win.
That is why the Ottawa REDBLACKS are a wild card on Sunday. Always fear the underdog, especially one led by a quarterback who has been here and done that in the CFL. 41-year old Henry Burris loves proving the doubters wrong and there are a lot of doubters for the REDBLACKS this weekend.
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Charles Hughes will look to get after the quarterback in the 104th Grey Cup (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Not only are the odds makers against them; every single CFL.ca pundit is picking Calgary and if you saw the CFL Awards, it was like a celebration of the Calgary Stampeders.
Just the sight of that white horse logo must make Ottawa seethe.
So how are the REDBLACKS possibly going to upset the Stampeders?
Time of possession and the first quarter. Those are my two keys for Ottawa in this game. The Stampeders are tops in the league in first quarter scoring as we saw them build a huge lead early in the game against BC and break the Lions’ will.
If the REDBLACKS can get out of the first quarter with the lead or at least within a field goal or so, they pretty well have the same scoring through the second and third quarter all season with the Stampeders. Then the fourth quarter is a coin flip.
Ottawa also needs to control the clock. Calgary is tops in the league in time of possession. Bo Levi Mitchell controls the game with that offence running the ball and dominating the clock, wearing down the defence and it should be no coincidence why the Stamps far and away outscore all teams in the fourth quarter — the opposing defences are just too exhausted to keep up.
If the REDBLACKS own the ball and can wear down the Stamps, which hasn’t been done all season, they have a great chance of pulling off the upset.
But it’s easier written than done.
As far as Calgary is concerned, there isn’t much more to be said than keep doing what it’s doing to win. The Stamps brought out a few new looks last weekend with weeks to prepare for the playoffs and while Dave Dickenson is being coy on how much more they have to offer, I’m sure he’s got two or three more things he can deploy to make Ottawa’s defence a touch unnerved.
I’m going with the majority in this one but in no way is this a slam dunk.
PICK: CALGARY (75% confidence)
