After failing to go undefeated last week, I return this week with a vengeance. The two games last week that I wasn’t confident about, did me in and gave me a .500 record for the week. This week, I look for the coveted undefeated record as the CFL rolls into it’s week nine matchups.
BC Lions(6-1) v. Winnipeg Blue Bombers(5-2)
The matchup of the week on paper, two of the top teams in the league meet up for a little Thursday night football. After struggling on defense early in the year, the Blue Bombers have recently found their footing and have started to assert themselves as one of the championship contenders. The Lions have been a powerhouse on offense all year and continue to improve their defensive outings, making them extremely dangerous for any opponent. This game is definitely an important mid-season matchup as neither team wants to fall further behind the Argonauts for the best record in the league, but it’s more important to the Bombers if they want to continue to keep pace with BC in their conference. The good news for Winnipeg is that they’re coming off of a bye week, where only one team has lost all season. Last week against the lowly Elks, Dane Evans proved why he’s one of the best, if not the best, backup in the league.
Prediction: Bombers defense turns up the heat on Evans, dominates late. Winnipeg 29-23
Toronto Argonauts(6-0) v. Calgary Stampeders(2-5)
The Argonauts continue to roll. That’s the best way to describe their season, thus far. The defending champions have continued to cruise through the schedule and last week dominated a Roughriders team that is probably still licking their wounds. The Stampeders have been plagued with inconsistent play from QB Jake Maier. At times, Maier looks like a top QB in the league; other times, he looks completely lost. Last week was no exception as Maier threw a late pick with little time left to lose the game for Calgary. The Stampeders youth is struggling to grow at the rate that the coaching staff would like and head coach Dave Dickinson threatened major changes prior to last week’s loss. Unfortunately for the Dickinson and his team, they get to play host to the hottest team in the league. Eventually, you would imagine that the Argos will lose, but it’s highly doubtful it’s this week.
Prediction: Maier gets benched; Kelly continues MVP numbers. Toronto 37-18
Montreal Alouettes(3-3) v. Hamilton Tiger-Cats(3-4)
If you weren’t confused by the Hamilton performance last week, then you probably didn’t watch the game. The Ticats ended the Cinderella run by Dustin Crum and the Redblacks last week, in a heavy downpour, but watched as their star QB threw 5 interceptions and then go hurt, again, and had to leave the game. Bo Levi Mitchell doesn’t have a lot of time remaining in the game of football and these injuries are starting to pile up for him. Despite being bailed by the defense, Hamilton looked completely inept on offense and assuming they turn back to rookie Taylor Powell, it could be another long week for the offense. Montreal boosts one of the better defenses in the league and the way they bullied the Calgary offense last week was proof of just how good this defense can be. The Alouettes biggest issue has been the offense matching their defensive performances, but last week showed just how good this team can be if they’re clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the ball.
Prediction: Hamilton really struggles, Montreal closes it out in the second half. Montreal 24-13
Ottawa Redblacks(3-4) v. Saskatchewan Roughriders(3-4)
Ottawa’s magical run ended last week, in poor weather, but they still showed that with Dustin Crum under center they can win at any time. The Redblacks, who have had their own carousel of quarterbacks this season, are shockingly still in the hunt for a playoff spot. While it’s still fairly early in the year, they’re improving every week and Dustin Crum continues to prove he wants to win. Last week, Saskatchewan got outclassed in every aspect of the game against Toronto. It’s not surprising because Toronto has done that to just about every team in the league to this point. They look to rebound this week against a very angry Ottawa club. Mason Fine hasn’t been the answer for the team since taking over and the team could turn to Jake Dolegala, who threw for 100 yards on 4 completions and a touchdown last week. While those numbers came late in the game with Toronto on cruise control, it does show promise of an offense that might need a spark that’s lacking under Fine.
Prediction: Not a pretty game; Roughriders’ QBs struggle. Ottawa 22-14
This week the Edmonton Elks get a much needed week off and they need to look internally at themselves and try and find out exactly who they are. They have new OC for week ten, so we’ll see if that’s the spark they need to get their first win of the season. I’m confident in almost every game except the Ottawa game and that’s primarily because I don’t know what to expect if Dolegala gets the start over Fine. We’ll see how the week goes!
~Michael Washington
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