July 7, 2022

Weekly Predictor: Going in on the Lions

Chris Tanouye/CFL.ca

After a strong start to the season, a 2-2 week has diminished my confidence a little bit. Credit goes to the BC Lions for shaking off a short week and some mistakes and taking over again to move to 3-0 on the season.

Also, maybe it’s my confidence in Canadian quarterbacks as I picked against them to start the season and I’m 0-4 picking against teams starting a National behind centre.

RELATED
» Make Your Picks Now on CFL Pick ‘Em presented by TotalEnergies!
» CFL GameZone: Play CFL games!
» 
Power Rankings: A very eventful Monday night

Edmonton’s Tre Ford did just enough and Hamilton made enough mistakes again to allow the Elks to sneak out of Tim Hortons Field with their first win.

Will I learn from my mistakes? Probably not.

Calgary at Edmonton
Thursday, 9:00 p.m. ET

Tre Ford is listed at the top of the Elks depth chart this week and will look to win his second game in a row (Thomas Skrlj/CFL.ca)

11-2.

That’s the Stampeders record after a bye week since Dave Dickenson took over as head coach. So bet against the Stamps following a bye week at your own peril.

The Stampeders were getting a little banged up like most teams are early in the season so they’re now rested up and ready to get back at it with a strong start to the season.

The wins haven’t come easy for Calgary, however. Every game has been a battle to the finish including their 30-23 win over this same Edmonton team two weeks ago.

The difference, of course, is there is a different quarterback in there now for Edmonton with Tre Ford at the helm. Calgary better be ready because Ford has a lot more speed to wear down defences on the edge than Nick Arbuckle and he’s not afraid to use it.

Again, Calgary will be ready with the film they’ve now seen, but seeing it on film is much different than experiencing Ford’s speed in person. I’m looking forward to another great Battle of Alberta.

PICK: CALGARY (50 confidence bonus)

Ottawa at Saskatchewan
Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET

Can Cody Fajardo and his Riders get a win in front of their home crowd this weekend? (The Canadian Press)

Ottawa held their own against BC and actually were well within reach of a victory against the now 3-0 Lions, but I believe this game will be an even bigger challenge for the REDBLACKS.

On the road and in Regina is not going to be easy. The Roughriders love playing in front of the home crowd and it seems an already ferocious defence becomes even more intense at Mosaic Stadium. Jeremiah Masoli was not great last week, which I was surprised to see after he threw for over 300 yards in back-to-back games against the strong Winnipeg defence.

The Roughriders, however, are on the limp. Quarterback Cody Fajardo is clearly not 100% with a knee brace on his left leg. Duke Williams didn’t practice again. They’re already without Shaq Evans and Kyran Moore. And centre Dan Clark still has months left of recovery on his leg.

However, the defence is fairly healthy for the Riders. The front seven is the best in the league and I’m not sure the Ottawa REDBLACKS offensive line is good enough to keep Masoli on his feet.

PICK: SASKATCHEWAN (75 confidence bonus)

Winnipeg at BC
Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET

Nathan Rourke and co. will look to remain undefeated when the Blue Bombers come to town on Saturday (Chris Tanouye/CFL.ca)

THE GAME OF THE WEEK!

But BC fans are not going to like me this week. I’m picking the Lions to win.

They’re going to hate that because I know they’ve kept track of my 0-3 record when picking against the Lions. So. I’m picking them to win this week against the 4-0 and defending Grey Cup Champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

It’s a short week for the Bombers after playing Monday in Toronto and they have to head to Vancouver for Saturday night. Winnipeg hasn’t exactly blown the lights out offensively this season, while their opponent on Saturday has started with three-straight games with 30+ points.

Now, I acknowledge the Lions have not played this defence that doesn’t allow much at all … ever.

This will be Nathan Rourke’s biggest test again but with the way he’s able to use his legs to get out of trouble and then run by players, this is the biggest test for the Bombers defence as well. The Bombers have played four games this season and are on a short week, while BC has had a little bit of rest since their own short week last week having to play in Ottawa on Thursday.

And don’t sleep on this BC defence. They’re flying a bit under the radar with the play of the team’s quarterback getting a lot of the headlines.

PICK: BC (25 confidence bonus)

The comment system on this website is now powered by the CFL.ca Forums. We'd love for you to be part of the conversation; click the Start Discussion button below to register an account and join the community!