Daniel Crump/CFL.ca
TORONTO — Week 3 of the CFL season may have felt like you were trying to stand on one foot during an earthquake. It may also just have been a warmup for Week 4.
The BC Lions’ landscape-shifting win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week has created an uncertain playing field for pick makers this week. Does the Bombers’ rare home loss — one where they were dominated over the course of the night — shake your confidence in them this week, when they head into Montreal to face a 2-0 Alouettes team that seems to be building chemistry as it goes?
What about those Lions? They’re in a groove now, having shutout Edmonton in Week 2 and holding the mighty Bombers to just six points in their Week 3 win that pushed them to a league-best 3-0. They meet another undefeated team this week, when they travel to BMO Field to face the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts.
Then there’s the opening game of Week 4. Two winless clubs with quarterback issues meet in Ottawa on Friday night, as the REDBLACKS host the Edmonton Elks.
Questions abound this week that weren’t as obviously present as they were before. Those making picks have been able to almost blindly take Winnipeg and assume it’s a win (a combined 26-6 regular season record through the 2021 and 2022 seasons). Is that still the case? How long will the Lions be able to keep winning? Who do you choose in Ottawa this week? How do you make that choice?
Pick makers are on unstable ground right now and will try to figure out how to navigate it in a three-game long weekend offering.
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EDM at OTT
Where does your gut take you on this one? Do the rested REDBLACKS hold the edge over an Elks team traveling in on a short week? Have the Elks shown more in their 0-3 start than the REDBLACKS have in their 0-2 start? Do you see Taylor Cornelius bouncing back, or Jarret Doege taking control of the offence? Or does Tre Ford factor in and make a difference? Can Tyrie Adams hold down the fort while Jeremiah Masoli works to return? Can the REDBLACKS end their 12-game home losing streak? Something has to give this week.
PICK
Writers: 66% Edmonton
Fans: 52% Ottawa
MTL at WPG
Now for a sentence we haven’t gotten to use often around here: The Bombers look to bounce back from their uncharacteristic home loss last week. Our writers think, emphatically, that the Bombers will do just that on Canada Day in Montreal. That’s no slight against an Alouettes team that looked quite good on the road against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week. The Cody Fajardo-Austin Mack connection is a real one and Fajardo’s play — he leads the league in completion percentage (73.3) and QB rating (129.2) — has been impressive.
PICK
Writers: 100% Winnipeg
Fans: 84% Winnipeg
BC at TOR
The top team in the West meets what most would agree is the top team in the East, with one club set to take its first loss of the young season. Chad Kelly made it through his first dose of a Chris Jones defence last week; now he gets Ryan Phillips‘ Lions’ defence, which has stymied Jake Maier, Cornelius and Collaros so far this season. The Argos have put up 75 points in their two games and are a lethal all-around team. Example: They had six sacks against Edmonton with East Division All-Star d-lineman Shawn Oakman not in the lineup.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split
Fans: 84% BC
