Weekly Predictor: Riding with the REDBLACKS

Jamie Nye

CFL.ca

@jamienye

Dustin Crum is becoming a CFL star before our eyes.

In two weeks, he’s beaten the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and then taken down Calgary at McMahon Stadium. And he’s done it with two thrilling overtime victories.

I know two games is way too early to anoint anyone a star but are you telling me you’re not interested to watch what he has up his sleeve in a HUGE early division game vs. Hamilton? No, you’re watching.

We also have the Toronto Argonauts and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a Touchdown Atlantic rematch from last year.

I’m always excited to see the CFL hit the Maritimes. It lets me dream of a Grey Cup Week in Halifax and let me tell you, that would be a party! The music, the food, the hospitality, the pubs … sorry … I’m daydreaming while writing this.

It would be fun y’all. Trust me.

And hopefully this week’s games are as fun as that overtime game on Sunday evening.

Ottawa at Hamilton
Friday, July 28
7:30 p.m. ET

The appearance of Bo Levi Mitchell on the practice field on Monday added even more intrigue to this game. The Tiger-Cats made the aggressive move in the off-season hoping the veteran and future Hall of Famer had a lot more left in the tank. They definitely need it and the sooner the better.

The Tiger-Cats are having a hard time finding an identity this season and it hasn’t helped they’ve started three quarterbacks in their first six games.

However, the issue is more defensively than it is offensively. Hamilton has allowed a league high 30.8 points per game and they come in with creating the fewest turnovers, with just 11 so far this season.

In Ottawa, you’re not going to find a sympathetic soul regarding the Tiger-Cats quarterbacking issue as the REDBLACKS are on their fourth quarterback in the first six games. The difference is that Dustin Crum has given his team the jolt the Tiger-Cats are hoping to find.

Ottawa is trying to win their third-straight game, which would be the first time since 2018 for the REDBLACKS to string three wins together.

The last time these two teams played was Crum’s debut, having to come off the bench to replace Jeremiah Masoli. Crum threw two interceptions and used his athleticism for 91 yards rushing, but since getting the practice time you can see a better pocket presence to add to the danger along the ground.

If you haven’t guessed by now. I’m way more confident taking the visiting team.

PICK: OTTAWA

Saskatchewan at Toronto
Saturday, July 29
4:00 p.m. ET

The Toronto Argonauts are a heavy favourite coming into Touchdown Atlantic, as they should be. The Argonauts are humming with a 5-0 record and Chad Kelly has been everything you would ask for in a first time starting quarterback. He’s fearless, protects the football and can make all the throws.

Talking to him before and after the Grey Cup last year, you could sense the confidence and the swagger Kelly had. Some players have it but are all talk. Kelly’s play is matching his personality.

Meanwhile, the Riders are hoping their quarterback can play with the ‘moxy’ that head coach Craig Dickenson said he had after coming for Trevor Harris in the loss to Calgary.

We saw a very conservative offence from the Riders last week in Mason Fine’s first start of the year but a safe game plan isn’t going to win you many games against the BC Lions or the Toronto Argonauts.

The Riders will get Brayden Lenius back to help the receiver depth that continues to get depleted and they’ll be hoping defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II can also get in the lineup. After their four sack performance against the Lions, the Riders need a similar effort against Toronto.

Unfortunately they’re going up against the team that has allowed the fewest amount of sacks this season, giving up an average of just one a game.

PICK: TORONTO

BC at Edmonton
Saturday, July 29
7:00 p.m. ET

The BC Lions likely have to experience life without Vernon Adams Jr. for the foreseeable future. The good news is the knee injury isn’t expected to keep him out of the lineup too long and they did their due diligence this off-season to make sure they had a capable back-up.

Dane Evans is the most experienced backup across the league and has many wins to his name. Evans didn’t exactly light it up against Saskatchewan but the Riders did great things to limit the run and make the Lions one dimensional.

We’ll see how Evans does now that he gets the first team reps this week to get ready for the Edmonton Elks.

The Elks, again, showed a flicker of hope in a 6-6 tie at halftime in Winnipeg but the Bombers than wiped out any hope for the Elks to win their first game of the season slowly taking over the game as it wore on, as they’re apt to do.

The Lions come to Edmonton with the league’s best defence, allowing just five offensive touchdowns in their six games. What’s crazy is that three of those were in one game against Toronto. So, do the math. They’ve allowed two offensive touchdowns in the other five games.

This is another game I have a hard time picking since the trends could all of a sudden flip in Edmonton’s favour. The only hope is to see Dane Evans struggle and turnover the ball and even then, Saskatchewan did that last week and still only were able to muster three field goals.

PICK: BC

Calgary at Montreal
Sunday, July 30
7:00 p.m. ET

16 days off between games is a long time off for the Alouettes. If I was Montreal, you’d almost hope to be able to get right after it after going toe-to-toe with the Argonauts in their last game.

I was impressed by the Alouettes defence in that one, as well as Cody Fajardo and some creative and gutsy play calling from Jason Maas.

The one thing I’m most surprised about in regards to the Alouettes is they are last in the league in rushing yards per game. I thought William Stanback and Cody Fajardo would be a big time threat along the ground but what I think we’re learning is they are such a threat that teams are pinching up and leaving deeper shots for the Als down field and right now, Fajardo is making the most of it.

Once again he is one of the higher ranked quarterbacks throwing deep like he was in his breakout season in 2019.

Over in Calgary, Dave Dickenson is blunt when he says changes will be made if he doesn’t see improvements. 2-4 is not a record we are accustomed to seeing from the Stamps over the last 15 seasons.

And after this game against Montreal, the Stamps have Toronto, BC, Winnipeg, and Toronto before the Labour Day Classic.

Yikes.

Some urgency is necessary in Calgary this week in Montreal. I mirror Coach Dickenson though in my assessment of the Stamps. They’re not playing great football, while Montreal has lost three-straight games but were close against BC and Toronto and were able to hold Winnipeg to just 17 points.

PICK: MONTREAL

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