November 8, 2017

Weekly Predictor: Nye makes his semi-final picks

Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca

While another CFL Pick ‘Em season has ended, Jamie Nye returns with his picks along with a DraftKings roster for the opening week of the playoffs.

This week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders face the difficult task of traveling east for the post-season, earning the last available ticket via the crossover. They’ll take on the Ottawa REDBLACKS, who have won three straight games and have their sights set on playing in the Grey Cup in their own backyard two weeks from now.

In the West, the Edmonton Eskimos dropped both regular season meetings with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, yet they go into the playoffs as the hottest team in the CFL, currently riding a five-game winning streak.

Without further delay, Nye makes his final picks for the 2017 season.

Saskatchewan at Ottawa
Sunday | 1:00 p.m. ET

Kevin Glenn‘s legacy could be re-written this post-season with his first Grey Cup (The Canadian Press)

The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa REDBLACKS come into the Eastern Semi-Final with numbers that are too close to call.

The two teams are second and third respectively in points allowed and fourth and fifth respectively in points scored.

As for the straight up head-to-head matchup, they are 1-1 with both teams scoring 50 points in their two games. Both games were decided by one point and both were come-from-behind wins for the visitor.

The only factor you could weigh in favour of the REDBLACKS is that Ryan Lindley was starting at quarterback for Ottawa in that loss to Saskatchewan, rather than the number one quarterback Trevor Harris. The other would be home field advantage.

Ottawa and Saskatchewan are both playing quality football going into the playoffs but the Riders are quite comfortable on the road with a 5-4 record this season.

I feel, however, that the better team overall going into the playoffs is Saskatchewan, and the Riders have been quite successful traveling east with three wins and one loss (the first game of the season). If you like the theory that ‘defence wins championships’, I’ve got the Riders.

PICK: SASKATCHEWAN (25% confidence)


Edmonton at Winnipeg
Sunday | 4:30 p.m. ET

After an MOP-type season, Mike Reilly sets his sights on a second Grey Cup in three years (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Winnipeg has home field advantage in this game due to its play against Edmonton. The Bombers beat Edmonton both times they met this season and the common theme was the Eskimos’ inability to stop Andrew Harris out of the backfield, in particular as a receiver.

Matt Nichols‘ calf injury, however, has some questioning just how powerful the second-best team in the West will be in the post-season as they stumbled down the stretch with three losses in the final five games.

The Edmonton Eskimos come into the game back on a hot streak. The Eskimos’ season has been a see-saw, from the high of a seven-game win streak to the low of a six-game losing streak and now, back on a high of five-game win streak heading into the playoffs.

C.J. Gable’s trade to Edmonton has seemed to help the Eskimos find their game, as they are 5-0 with Gable in the backfield. Not only is he a help in the run game, but the reason the Tiger-Cats liked him is the reason Mike Reilly is a happy man — because Gable is great in pass protection as well.

That little extra time Reilly can look downfield when they aren’t running the ball has the Eskimos quarterback playing MOP football again.

So what about the defences and special teams? First, Sean Whyte‘s return to kick field goals is big for Edmonton as he’s been automatic for Edmonton, while Justin Medlock has struggled all season.

On defence, they are fairly even in points allowed and yards allowed. The biggest difference is takeaways as the Bombers have forced more turnovers and lead the league in points off turnovers.

The good news for Edmonton is they’ve been protecting the ball much better of late.

I’m going with the hot hand in the Western Semi as I can’t ignore the momentum the Eskimos have going into the playoffs led by Mike Reilly.

PICK: EDMONTON (50% 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 making 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.

Nye makes his picks below:

DraftKings Semi-Final lineup

This is a tough go to pick the roster with only four teams playing, as trying to find value is a lot tougher — which is why I’m going with the cheapest of the starters, Kevin Glenn.

Call me crazy if you like because of the two-headed QB rotation, but in the back half of the season Glenn went wire to wire against the REDBLACKS, which has been rare.

For whatever reason, Chris Jones likes the setup of Glenn against Ottawa as opposed to other teams the Riders have faced.

I also think the Duron Carter experiment will change with the playoffs underway and he’ll stick to just offence. A little more time to rest will allow Carter to get back to his big-play potential.

I also know Jones will have something defensively up his sleeve that will get after Trevor Harris and surprise the REDBLACKS. The Riders defence offers good value.

The Juron Criner selection is due to Criner appearing to become more and more involved in the offence as the third option to Ellingson and Spencer, who the Riders will have to lock down. The Riders had trouble against William Powell earlier and could also pay attention to him so I think Harris will get some looks towards Criner.

Andrew Harris is in the lineup because he’s had big games against the Eskimos. The injuries to the linebackers allows Harris to bite Edmonton on the ground and through the air.

Finally, Brandon Zylstra is an automatic as he has become Mike Reilly’s go to guy, while C.J. Gable has been great in all three phases of the running back’s duties as a blocker, runner and receiver.