Weekly Predictor: Rivalry week arrives

An upset win by the Riders highlighted a perfect Week 10 for Jamie Nye, who made up some serious ground in CFL Pick ‘Em. Now he looks to continue the momentum on Mark’s Labour Day Weekend.

While the Als and REDBLACKS present an intriguing matchup to start things off, you can throw away all the records on Sunday and Monday because when rivals meet, anything can happen.

CFL Pick ‘Em is back in 2017 with more than $130,000 in combined cash and prizes are up for grabs*. 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.

And without further ado, Nye makes his Week 11 picks.

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Ottawa at Montreal
Thursday | 7:30 p.m. ET

After a slow start, Trevor Harris and the REDBLACKS have won two straight going into Montreal (The Canadian Press)

The Ottawa REDBLACKS are trying to go on a roll with two straight wins coming into this game. The Alouettes are going in the opposite direction with two straight losses heading in. The trends indicate that the REDBLACKS should be the easy money.

But not so fast. The Alouettes, with their veteran leadership, will know three things: the season series is on the line against the REDBLACKS; they struggled badly in their loss to Ottawa a month ago; and a win puts them back into the playoff spot going into the final half of the season.

Montreal turned the ball over five times in that game in July and was still close enough to pulling out a win in Ottawa. The Alouettes showed a lot of character to fight back against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week, only to fall short in overtime. Ottawa played very well against a BC team whose play has gone sour.

This isn’t likely to be a popular pick, but…

PICK: MONTREAL (10% confidence)

Winnipeg at Saskatchewan
Sunday | 4:00 p.m. ET

Andrew Harris could be the x-factor when the Bombers visit the Riders on Sunday (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Two of the most confident teams will square off in a prairie rivalry that already has some heat to it after that 43-40 double overtime win by the Bombers at the new Mosaic Stadium earlier in the season.

In that game, the Rider defence made some awful mistakes and had several broken coverages. They also couldn’t get to Matt Nichols. That side of things appears to have been cleaned up in Saskatchewan. They are getting more pressure and the defensive secondary has been all over the ball.

Now, Andrew Harris is going to be the x-factor. If he can slow down the pass rush by pounding the ball and taking in quick swing passes or screens, that could make for a long night for the improving defence in Saskatchewan.

The Bombers are cruising along. The Riders have found their stride. Get your popcorn ready, this is going to be good!

PICK: SASKATCHEWAN (33% confident)

Edmonton at Calgary
Monday | 3:00 p.m. ET

Bo Levi Mitchell is coming off arguably his best game of the season vs. Toronto (Larry MacDougal/CFL.ca)

Bo Levi Mitchell had his best game of the season against the Toronto Argonauts. His passing percentage was up, his yards were at a year-high and if he’s getting healthier, this isn’t good news for the rest of the CFL.

The Stampeders defence is also the best in the league. The offensive line is the best in the league.

The Eskimos are coming off back to back losses after starting the season 7-0. There was some talk the Eskimos wins were being propped up because of a lack of competition, with none of the teams they beat currently above .500. Although I think that is a little unfair, it’s getting harder to argue against.

These games do bring out the best in each other but I’m still going with the Stampeders because it’s hard to argue against picking the most consistent and currently the best team in the league at home.

PICK: CALGARY (50% confidence)

Toronto at Hamilton
Monday | 6:30 p.m. ET

Jeremiah Masoli will start his first ever Labour Day game on Monday vs. the Argos (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

A coaching change, a quarterback change and a major distraction have highlighted the last two weeks in Hamilton. Now they take on the Toronto Argonauts, who have Ricky Ray having one of the better years of his career.

Maybe the Tiger-Cats find some magic with Jeremiah Masoli and a new voice on the sideline but I anticipate the Toronto Argonauts to play some calm, cool football and dominate the time clock and continue to wear down a Hamilton defence that hasn’t performed anywhere near its potential.

While we’ve seen changes mid-season changes pay off in Labour Day classics (the 2015 Roughriders beat the Bombers 37-19 after Bob Dyce replaced Corey Chamblin), we’ve also seen them fall flat (the 2012 Winnipeg Blue Bombers lost 52-0 to the Riders after replacing Paul LaPolice with Tim Burke before Labour Day). 

PICK: TORONTO (90% confidence)

DRAFTKINGS: NYE PICKS HIS ROSTER

With the CFL continuing its partnership with DraftKings for a second season, fans can experience the excitement of daily fantasy and test their skills without the need to make a season-long commitment.

Each week throughout the 2017 season, fans will have the opportunity to set their ultimate CFL fantasy team. DraftKings offers free-to-play contests, the ability to play privately with friends or with other fans globally to win prizes, tickets and exclusive VIP CFL experiences.

DraftKings Week 11 lineup

I’m going with a flyer and hoping for a pay day. Jeremiah Masoli gets the start for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and I think his unique ability to get out of the pocket and extend plays could equate into much different look than the Argonauts may be expecting. This is huge risk/reward gamble but that’s the game in daily fantasy sports, no?

The budget saved on the QB allows me to go to the two most automatic fantasy performers out there in Andrew Harris and Greg Ellingson.

Duke Williams is a wait and see to see how the roster moves shuffled down in Edmonton this week ahead of Monday’s game but there is some wiggle room to go elsewhere. Williams has had three straight 100-yard games when he’s been on the roster.

DaVaris Daniels benefited from Bo Levi Mitchell having one of his better days of the year and the Calgary QB is getting healthy, that could be a big win for investors of Daniels.

Mossis Madu Jr. is right now listed as the starting RB for the REDBLACKS and he’s had some monster games this season when given the opportunity and I think the REDBLACKS will be able to pick up the yards and points on Montreal.

As for the Riders defence, this is riding a hot hand as they’ve picked up a lot of points the last two weeks and are still at a low dollar value to invest in