Weekly Predictor: Argos, Bombers need to turn things around

Jamie Nye

CFL.ca

@jamienye

We’re now past the first quarter mark of the season as we get to kick off Week 6.

Saskatchewan and Hamilton get things started on Thursday when they put the last bookend on their home and home series, which was extended due to the Ticats being on a bye last week.

Meanwhile, in Toronto, the Argos and Bombers are both in need of a bounce back, but only one can get two points.

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With the first game tabbed to kick off on Thursday, here are my picks for Week 6 of the CFL season.

SASKATCHEWAN @ HAMILTON
Thursday | 7:00 p.m. ET

Jeremiah Masoli can take sole claim of the CFL record for most consecutive 300-yard passing games with his tenth versus the Riders on Thursday. (Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca)

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats know they left a lot on the field two weeks ago against the Roughriders. Their offence was held to 13 points although they were able to move the ball, especially in the first half of the game.

The game is a mismatch when you look at the Riders offence as the quarterbacks rank last in many QB categories, while the Tiger-Cats defence is among the best in the league at making life miserable for the quarterback.

In Saskatchewan this week, Head Coach Chris Jones halted practice to call out his team’s effort in the final prep before heading out to Hamilton.

Add all of this up, combined with the difficulty of winning the second half of a back to back on the road after winning the first game, you know where I’m going.

PICK: HAMILTON (50% confidence)

BC @ OTTAWA
Friday | 7:30 p.m. ET

Travis Lulay returned from injury to be instrumental in the Lions comeback win over the Bombers last week. (The Canadian Press)

Ottawa’s two losses came against the Calgary Stampeders so I’m not going to send off alarm bells on Ottawa following last week’s struggles against the best team in the CFL and an outstanding defence. Yards and scores should be a little easier to come by this week with the Lions in town.

B.C. has given up 41 points in both their away games and now Solomon Elimimian is out of the lineup.

Has Travis Lulay been the spark that the locker room needed? Trailing 17-0 to Winnipeg before the comeback didn’t exactly instil a lot of confidence much has changed in B.C. from their struggles early on this season.

PICK: OTTAWA (66% confidence)

WINNIPEG @ TORONTO
Saturday | 4:00 p.m. ET

Saturday will be a battle of the 2×1,000 hopeful in Argos’ James Wilder Jr. and Bombers’ Andrew Harris. (The Canadian Press)

Andrew Harris v James Wilder Jr. is the only matchup I care to watch in this one as they both want to be 1,000/1,000-yardmen in rushing and receiving and I’m sure they’ll both be motivated to out duel their counterpart.

I’ve liked Toronto’s defence in the last few games to hold Mike Reilly‘s high powered Eskimos to less than 20 points. You need more from their offence and I think James Franklin will start to get more of a spark as he gains chemistry with his new teammates.

Matt Nichols is also looking to spark an offence that struggled last week in the second half to the BC Lions.

This isn’t a bold prediction for my upset this week, but the Bombers are favoured by a point.

PICK: TORONTO (25% confidence)

MONTREAL @ CALGARY
Saturday | 9:00 p.m. ET

Montreal will go back to QB Drew Willy at the helm of their offence when the Als take on the undefeated Calgary Stampeders in Week 6. (The Canadian Press)

The Alouettes have to go back to Drew Willy as the starter with Jeff Mathews hurt and the Stampeders may need to go with Nick Arbuckle with questions over Bo Levi Mitchell‘s health after last week’s injury.

No matter who plays quarterback for the Stampeders, the defence has allowed under 10 points per game through the team’s first four games. Calgary has been absolutely unbelievable on defence and they do have a good run game to offset Arbuckle’s inexperience.

The Alouettes are going to have to play a near-perfect game on offence to get a win in Calgary and their offence has been anything but this season.

PICK: CALGARY (98% confidence)

QUARTERBACK – Trevor Harris – I’m looking for a bounce-back game for Harris after getting pulled against the Calgary Stampeders last week. B.C. hasn’t been good on the road so far this season and if that trend continues, Harris could be a great buy this week as others look elsewhere.

RUNNING BACKS – Don Jackson and William Powell – If Bo can’t go for the Stampeders, Jackson could be asked to not only run but get involved in a shorter passing game from Nick Arbuckle. Jackson is a strong play regardless of Mitchell’s availability. Powell’s investment grows when you hear Elimimian is out of the lineup for the Lions.

RECEIVERS – Jalen Saunders and Manny Arceneaux – Any Tiger-Cat receiver could be a good investment with Jeremiah Masoli gunning for a record and even if you consider they struggled last week in Saskatchewan, the receiving yards are there. Saunders hasn’t found the end zone yet, and I believe that drought will end sooner rather than later. With Travis Lulay back, Arceneaux’s catches grew last week and in a game in which the Lions may have to fight back through the air, I’m looking for Arceneaux to continue to produce.

FLEX – Nic Demski – Demski’s touches grew last week and he definitely appears to have a burst as an option across the field for the Bombers to line him up and gets the looks when Andrew Harris needs a breather. When you’re looking for guys with limited money left on the cap, Demski could pay off if finds his way into the end zone.

DEFENCE – Hamilton – The Tiger-Cats are coming off the bye week fuming after losing in Saskatchewan last week and they get the Roughriders, who have scored the fewest amount of offensive points this season and turn the ball over. A pretty good matchup if you’re playing a defence this week.

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