Week seven of the CFL continues tonight with the 2-4 B.C. Lions in Toronto to face the 2-4 Argonauts in the Basement Bowl. Or is that the Rogers Baseball Bowl?
Let’s hope that the nice people who run the Rogers Centre can remember the difference between a football field and a baseball diamond in this game. The last Argo game was an embarrassment when the groundskeepers left a baseball infield on the football surface.
The Argos have a few problems in the embarrassment department every time their offence steps on the field. This week Bart Andrus has decided to start quarterback Cody Pickett in place of Kerry Joseph.
Why not? Joseph has lost whatever was left of his game and the time has come to play the back up quarterback card. The result may be the same, but at least Pickett will get a fair audition for the job. Joseph has done less pouting about the situation than last year’s standoff with Michael Bishop for one reason; at least he knew he was better than Bishop.
Pickett remains an X-factor as a legitimate quarterback but at least the question will be partially answered tonight.
The quarterback position is the most difficult position in any sport to learn and one game will not tell an accurate story — unless you’re Doug Flutie.
Nobody has ever confused Cody Pickett with Doug Flutie but a guy has to start somewhere in football. Call me an idiot but I believe that the Argos will win this game.
Incidentally, I’ve been called an idiot before on more than three occasions, but I think it’s the Argos’ time to win. They have a killer defence that will put a lot of heat on B.C. quarterback Buck Pierce and they can stop the run.
Jamal Robertson is ready to carry the load for Toronto, so all Pickett has to do is play a conservative short pass game to supplement the run.
Montreal visits Winnipeg on Saturday night but I see no Bomber upset on the prairie horizon. Winnipeg gave Calgary a good run because Bomber tailback Fred Reid single-handedly gave the Stamps a good run.
However, you don’t run your way to victory in the CFL. It helps — but it really helps if you have a quarterback in the CFL. The Bombers are currently a little shy in that department while the Alouettes have one of the best in CFL history. Michael Bishop is a lot like bringing a water pistol to a gunfight in this one. Look for a similar result when Calvillo goes High Noon on Bishop.
The last game of the weekend has Hamilton in Saskatchewan in the stadium always known as Taylor Field in my world. I’ve been a little hard on the Roughriders lately but I like to think of it as tough love. Despite the loss of middle linebacker Ray Williams to injury and tackle Scott Schultz to the insurance business, I predict a ’Rider victory.
This will be a breakout game for a ’Rider offence that will finally use Jason Clermont and Wes Cates to full advantage. A consistent contribution from the offence will mean less overtime for an overworked ’Rider defence. Sorry Cats, this is not your weekend to win.
Local freelance writer Jim Sutherland’s CFL column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at mystarcollectorcar.com