I was 2-2 this past weekend. Unfortunately, I was right about a Saskatchewan loss and a Calgary victory. This season has been full of surprises that include a complete collapse by the Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions. These two teams share the worst records in the league and it’s time for teams to make a move in this week’s schedule.
The Lions visit Taylor Field (name currently being held ransom by a company named Mosaic) and will attempt to turn around their season with a victory over the Roughriders. The Lions have quarterback protection issues — plus they have quarterback issues. That is a recipe for disaster in this game for the Leos.
The Lions have slept almost every night this season and I don’t anticipate a change on Thursday night. They will face an angry Roughrider team that stonewalled Montreal in the second half of their game, yet somehow the green guys found a way to lose the game.
The big move has to be made by ’Rider pivot Darian Durant in this game. That move by Durant is to finish drives for a change.
It should happen against B.C.
Friday night football is a rematch between Hamilton and Winnipeg. Does anybody else notice how much these teams have played each other this year? These teams square off in Winnipeg — again — for the fourth time in seven weeks.
Talk about a tough game to sell, but Winnipeg needs a victory to even the series, so they are motivated by necessity and should win the game. They need to win by at least nine points to have a home field advantage over Hamilton in a potential playoff game.
Kill me now — I don’t want another Hamilton-Winnipeg game after this weekend.
Perhaps the most interesting game of the weekend is the game between Montreal and Toronto at Rogers Centre in front of close friends and family of the Argonauts.
The 4-2 Argonauts have another chance to prove that they are the real deal this year.
The 5-1 Alouettes beg to differ on that issue after a huge Argo loss in Montreal’s last game against Toronto.
The Als may be wrong in this game.
My track record may indicate serious brain damage this year, but I believe that the Argos can win this game. The key to an Argonaut victory will be the play of monster tailback Cory Boyd in this game. He has been a 100-yards-plus running back in every Toronto victory this year.
The CFL is a quarterback-driven league. The Argonauts are the big exception to this rule. Boyd softens up defences with some of the strongest running ever seen in this league. The guy is a game-breaker and Boyd will determine whether the Argos win or lose.
Throw in the injury to Alouette quarterback Anthony Calvillo’s throwing hand index finger and I see an Argo victory in my crystal ball.
The Eskimos look absolutely brutal this year and now they face the high-flying Stampeders in Calgary on Saturday.
The Stampeder fans will have no problems with the Eskimo fans because very few Eskimo fans will bother to make the trip, and you can’t fight with an empty seat.
Look for a Calgary victory — make that a massacre — in this one.
Jim Sutherland is a local freelance columnist whose CFL column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at mystarcollectorcar.com