By Josh Bell-Webster,
CFL.ca
What begins in Toronto will end in Toronto.
The road to the 95th Grey Cup will start at Rogers Centre on June 28 and finish at the former SkyDome on Nov. 25 when the 2007 champion is crowned. In between there will be a lot of hard hitting action as eight teams jockey for position to claim Canadian football’s greatest prize.
For the most part, the CFL schedule is pretty straight forward. Each club will play a total of 18 regular season games, nine at home and nine on the road. Each team will play the other seven clubs home and away with teams playing their divisional rivals three or four times.
For what it’s worth, here is my Top 12 list of game to watch in 2007. Why Top 12? Truthfully, I had problems paring down the list to a Top 10, à la David Letterman. Besides, Canadian football is known for having 12 men on the field, so might as well stick to this theme.
Once more players switch teams, other games will become of greater interest, so I’ll likely revisit this list prior to training camp. But for now, here are the regular season games I’m looking forward to in 2007.
12. Hamilton at Calgary — June 30
A total of 120 minutes of action between the Tiger-Cats and Stampeders in 2006 came down to two plays — and two place kickers.
Calgary’s Sandro DeAngelis booted a game-winning field goal on the final play in a Week 3 contest as the Stampeders defeated the Ticats 23-22. Two weeks later, Hamilton’s Mark Myers turned the tables, kicking a winning field goal at the end of regulation for a 20-17 win.
There is no guarantee that this meeting will have a dramatic finish, but I wouldn’t want to miss it if there is.
11. Calgary at Toronto — July 12
The Stampeders have not won a game at Toronto’s Rogers Centre since 2000.
A storyline more intriguing than this, however, is that the Stampeders will be facing former offensive coordinator Steve Buratto for the first time since he was fired due to Calgary’s poor showing in the 2006 Scotiabank West Semi-Final.
Buratto now has that role with the Argos, but whether he has the horses to create another top-tier CFL unit is another matter. You can bet Buratto will want to show his old club a thing or two in this game.
10. Montreal at Hamilton — July 14
Eight years ago, Jim Popp hired Charlie Taaffe as head coach of the Alouettes. Taaffe got the Als to the Grey Cup game in 2000, their first appearance in the final in 21 seasons.
Taaffe left the Als prior to the 2001 season to enter the NCAA coaching ranks. Since then, Montreal has gone through three head coaches, including Popp who will lead the Als against Taaffe’s Tiger-Cats in 2007.
Montreal swept Hamilton in 2006, so there is no doubt the Ticats will want to make an early-season statement.
9. Hamilton at Edmonton — August 11
When you think of the greatest CFL rivalries, you don’t automatically think of Hamilton-Edmonton. But since trading Jason Maas to Steeltown following the 2005 season, the quarterback is 2-0 against his former teammates.
When all was said and done in 2006, the Eskimos finished four points out of the playoffs — four points that could have been obtained with two wins over last-place Hamilton. The Ticats won just four games — half coming against Edmonton.
With former Ticats running back Josh Ranek in the Edmonton backfield, not to mention the recent addition of defensive back Jason Goss, it adds even more intrigue to this match-up.
8. Calgary at Saskatchewan — July 8
Giving up 26 unanswered points is enough to get a team booted out of the playoffs.
The Stampeders are only too aware of this, as they succumbed to the Roughriders in the 2006 Scotiabank West Semi-Final. Calgary will likely want to make an early-season statement this year, although any true measure of revenge will have to come in November.
Ever since Henry Burris left Saskatchewan in favour of Calgary, he’s the quarterback Riderville loves to hate. This will only add to the intense atmosphere.
7. Toronto at Winnipeg — August 24
The Blue Bombers were 7:34 away from advancing to the Scotiabank East Championship in November. But Toronto quarterback Michael Bishop came off the bench to rally the troops in a 31-27 win.
Whether Bishop will become a starter for the Argos is yet to be determined. But you can guarantee the Blue Bombers will want to get a leg up on the Boatmen in the season series in what will likely shape up as a tight race for the East crown.
6. Montreal at B.C. — August 31
Fans will have to wait until the final day of August to see the Grey Cup re-match between the Lions and Alouettes.
To be kind, B.C. has had Montreal’s number the past few seasons, save for that dramatic October, 2005 victory on the Als’ home turf. Still, the 2006 Grey Cup was a lot closer than most pundits give the Als credit for.
Montreal has not won at B.C. Place Stadium since 2000. Will be another case of déjà vu?
5. Saskatchewan at Toronto — August 10
All eyes will be on new Roughriders head coach Kent Austin as he leads his club into Toronto to take on the Argonauts.
Austin was offensive coordinator with the Boatmen until he was dismissed early in the 2006 campaign. Austin was the fall guy for Toronto’s poor offence — a group which ended the year just as badly as it started.
If the Boatmen had a tough time answering the critics over Austin’s dismissal last season, they will be in full damage control one year later if the Roughriders run roughshod over the Argos.
4. Edmonton at B.C. — July 6
The B.C. Lions play their first regular season game at home since winning the Grey Cup. And while there will no doubt be pomp and circumstance, the Lions will be welcoming back an old friend as former offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine returns to Vancouver in the same role with the Eskimos.
I am most interested in seeing whether Chapdelaine will have a few tricks up his sleeve for the B.C. defence. I’m also curious as to whether Chapdelaine’s departure will have an adverse effect on the Lions.
3. Winnipeg at Edmonton — June 28
Milt Stegall returns to the scene of his biggest crime.
It was at Commonwealth Stadium nearly one year ago where Stegall scored a 100-yard touchdown on the final play of the game as the Blue Bombers pulled out an improbable 25-22 victory over the Eskimos.
Fans will be wise to remain in the stands or in front of their televisions for the entire 60 minutes this time around. Of course, there is added incentive — Stegall is two touchdowns away from setting an all-time CFL record.
2. Toronto at Montreal — October 20
It always seems to come down to this — the Argonauts against the Alouettes with first place in the East Division on the line.
The final meeting between these two teams takes place at Olympic Stadium, the home to four of the past five Scotiabank East Championships played between these two clubs.
Winnipeg and Hamilton may have a say as to whether this trend will continue, but no doubt this game will be a big one heading down the home stretch.
1. Calgary at B.C. — November 3
Remember when Calgary’s Jeremaine Copeland and Nik Lewis had choice comments about B.C.’s Geroy Simon’s Superman pose? What about the accusations that the Lions were being given a bounty for causing bodily harm towards Calgary players?
The Stampeders and Lions simply don’t like each other. And given that this is the final CFL game on the regular season schedule, you can be sure something will be on the line.
Four of the last five regular season finales have had some meaning in terms of playoff positioning. Given this divisional match-up, you can bet it will be five of six.
Josh Bell-Webster is the Online Editor for CFL.ca.
