Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
TORONTO — Week 6 was, to put it gently, unkind to the pick makers.
The Montreal Alouettes’ undefeated (and 300-day-long winning streak) came to an end at the hands of the unpicked Toronto Argonauts. The Edmonton Elks — rested, at home and favourites to down the Ottawa REDBLACKS — found a way to let victory dribble out of bounds and onto the foot of Lewis Ward, who sunk them to 0-5 with a walk-off field goal win.
This week, as CFL.ca’s writers or those of you playing CFL Pick ‘Em presented by Old Dutch think every week, will be different. It has to be, right?
This week’s picks promise to provide some good drama, at least internally. Jamie Nye and Kristina Costabile are tied for the best record, at 17-7 on the season. They’ve picked opposite of each other in three of the four games this week, so we’ll have a clear cut leader in the writers’ race after this week.
There’s still plenty of time for you to get over to the CFL’s Game Zone and make your picks.
Let’s get into who the writers have this week.
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EDM at OTT
Can the dismissal of GM and head coach Chris Jones be enough to spark the Edmonton Elks into the win column? It’s something we see happen all the time in sports and Edmonton fans need look no further than the hockey team up the road from Commonwealth Stadium for proof of how much a change can reignite a team. To get there, the Elks will have to go into TD Place, where the REDBLACKS are 2-0 thus far and play a complete 60 minutes of massive-gaff-free football. The writers are split on what’ll happen. The fans think the REDBLACKS will move to 3-0 at home and that the Elks’ suffering will extend at least another week.
PICK
Writers: 50-50 split
Fans: 64% Ottawa
WPG at SSK
The Riders are coming off of their first loss of the season and head straight into another tough matchup with a resurgent Bombers team making the trek into Mosaic Stadium. A Riders win would keep them neck-and-neck with the Lions for the top spot in the West; a Bombers win would inch them back up the standings and keep them on the heels of the Stampeders. The writers think that Zach Collaros, Brady Oliveira and the Bombers are figuring things out. Rider Nation has other thoughts.
PICK
Writers: 83% Winnipeg
Fans: 59% Saskatchewan
TOR at HAM
Two longtime heated rivals have their first meeting of the season and while the Argos have the better record, the Ticats have the advantage of coming off of a bye week and playing at home. Limiting the Argos’ offence will be a key for the Ticats, who are giving up a league-worst 32.4 points per game, while their offence is posting 391.6 net yards per outing, which is second in the league. Tightening up on defence would put them in a good position to win, but the pick makers — both the writers and fans — are on almost the exact same page on the outcome of this one.
PICK
Writers: 83% Toronto
Fans: 84% Toronto
BC at CGY
The red hot Lions are rolling and bring their five-game win streak into McMahon Stadium to test it against the Stamps. When they met at BC Place in Week 2, the Lions came away with a 26-17 win, though Jake Maier (26-33, 339 yards, one touchdown, one interception) out-performed Vernon Adams Jr. (17-29, 277 yards, two touchdowns). Five weeks later, a 277-yard Adams outing feels like a pedestrian showing from the MOP frontrunner, as he and his receivers have torched the league as they’ve stacked up these wins. The Stamps could have a surprise in them this week — Jamie Nye thinks so, at least — but the other pick makers across the board are rolling with the hot-handed Lions.
PICK
Writers: 83% BC
Fans: 88% BC
