Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) -
MONTREAL ALOUETTES (9-2) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (6-5)
DATE & TIME: Friday, September 25, 7:00 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: Gunning for their sixth straight home victory, the Hamilton Tiger- Cats find their hands full this week as they entertain the Montreal Alouettes at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Ontario.
Last week the Ti-Cats picked up a 24-17 win against the Calgary Stampeders at home, the team's second win in the last three outings overall. Hamilton struggled to get through the first three quarters of the contest, posting just 10 combined points, but in the fourth frame the squad came up with 14 points and held the visitors scoreless, allowing them to slip by in the seven-point decision.
The star of the game for the Tiger-Cats was wideout Arland Bruce who caught a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner, in the final frame. Bruce, who was named the CFL Offensive Player of the Week, had six catches in all for 105 yards. In just six games with Hamilton this season, Bruce is already the team leader with 560 receiving yards and six TD receptions.
Quarterbacks Quinton Porter and Adam Tafralis both had scoring passes to Bruce, with Porter converting 19-of-32 attempts for 246 yards and Tafralis completing his only toss of the night for 36 yards. Keeping the offense moving on the ground for the home team was DeAndra' Cobb with his 17 carries for 85 yards, while Porter chipped in 63 yards on seven attempts.
Last week the Als defense clamped down on Winnipeg, holding Fred Reid to a mere 18 yards on 11 carries, en route to the convincing 33-14 decision at home.
Not only was the defense for Montreal up to the task, so was the offense as Anthony Calvillo converted 28-of-40 passes for 338 yards and a score, while Avon Cobourne registered 80 yards and a TD on 15 rushing attempts. Also helping out in a huge way was kicker Damon Duval who earned himself CFL Special Teams Player of the Week honors by knocking through all five of his field goal attempts.
Duval has been an integral part of Montreal's success this season and stands as the top scorer in the league at the moment with his 140 points. The kicker has knocked through 30 field goals on 36 attempts, so even when Calvillo and the offense can't get the squad into the end zone Duval is still looming to put points on the board.
Calvillo may not be throwing TD passes at a high rate these days, he has 15 thus far, but more importantly, he is converting a league-best 72.3 percent of his pass attempts and has a mere five interceptions on close to 400 tosses.
Cobourne is now third in the league in rushing with 850 yards, but is first with nine touchdowns on the ground on his league-high 162 carries. If nothing else, averaging better than five yards per attempt means that Cobourne is able to take pressure off Calvillo who can pick and choose when he wants to go down the field.
Porter, who has had to watch Kerry Glenn take almost as many snaps at the quarterback position for the Ti-Cats this season, has managed to convert 64.2 percent of his passes for 1,444 yards and six touchdowns, but he has just as many interceptions and that's why his efficiency rating hovers around 81 at the moment.
But more than just a passer, Porter is also among the best rushing quarterbacks this season with his 403 yards on 41 attempts, his 7.4 yards per carry standing as the top average among the top-10 rushers in the league. Further up on the rushing list is Cobb who has 726 yards and four touchdowns.
As far as the all-time series is concerned, Montreal owns an 81-74-7 record against the Tiger-Cats in regular-season meetings. The Als took the most recent contest by a score of 21-8 at home back in July, giving the team two straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings with Hamilton. The teams will meet once more during the regular season on October 18 in Montreal.
Picking against the Alouettes is a tough choice this season, especially with how well the offense has operated. Sure, there are bound to be letdowns here and there, but consider this another tally in the win column for Montreal.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Montreal 38, Hamilton 20
BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (5-6) AT CALGARY STAMPEDERS (6-5)
DATE & TIME: Friday, September 25, 10:00 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: The Calgary Stampeders take aim at their third straight home win this week as they entertain the British Columbia Lions at McMahon Stadium in Alberta.
Last weekend, the Stampeders appeared poised to come up with their fourth consecutive win, regardless of venue, but instead the club dropped into a three-way tie for first place in the CFL's West Division with both Edmonton and Saskatchewan at 6-5 after 11 games.
The defense for the Stampeders made an impact in the first quarter of their meeting with Hamilton, as Milton Collins returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown to give the visitors an early 14-3 lead. However, when it counted the most the Stamps came up small as they allowed two different QBs to toss TD passes to Arland Bruce in the fourth period, effectively giving the 24-17 win to the Tiger-Cats.
Not only did Calgary fumble away the ball twice, it also cost itself field position with a hefty 14 penalties for a loss of 142 yards, nearly twice the distance Hamilton was flagged.
Standing in the pocket, Henry Burris did little damage as he completed 10- of-25 passes for 114 yards, although he did score a touchdown on one of his five carries. Running back Joffrey Reynolds posted a game-high 127 yards on 13 totes, but he failed to hit pay dirt.
As for the Lions, they earned their second win in the last three tries last Saturday, thanks in large part to kicker Sean Whyte who booted three straight field goals over the course of the third and fourth quarters to give the hosts a 23-17 triumph against Toronto. Whyte had five field goals in all, a single and a PAT following the only touchdown of the game for BC on a one-yard run by Martell Mallett.
The victory turned out to be the 232nd in the coaching career of Wally Buono, giving him more coaching victories than any other man in the history of the Canadian Football League.
Buck Pierce, who was playing in place of an injured Jarious Jackson, tried to keep the offense moving for the Lions by converting 20-of-28 passes for 171 yards, while Mallett contributed a team-best 55 yards on 18 rushing attempts.
Over on the defensive side of the ball, the Lions got huge production out of defensive back Korey Banks who had five tackles and tallied a pair of interceptions in being named the CFL Defensive Player of the Week. Now with four picks in 2009, Banks is tied for the league lead in that department.
As a team this season, British Columbia has managed to log 30 takeaways, but with 39 giveaways it means the Lions are third in the league for the worst turnover margin.
Quarterbacks for the Lions may be second in the league with their 18 combined touchdowns, but they are third from the bottom in terms of passing yards (2,699) and have the second-most interceptions (17).
From a defensive standpoint, BC has one of the better pass defenses in the league, allowing 246.8 ypg, but it is the run defense in the trenches that has posed the biggest problem for the Lions because that group is surrendering a hefty 141.9 ypg, the most in a league that is constantly dominated by quarterbacks and aerial assaults. It also helps that BC is first in the league with 33 sacks.
The Stamps sit atop the scoring list after 11 games with an average of 31.4 ppg, and yet the squad is in the middle of the pack when it comes to time of possession. Like the Lions, Calgary has one of the weaker run defenses in the CFL, giving up an average of 124 ypg.
Calgary, which defeated the Lions in the most recent meeting by a score of 48-10 back in July, has now triumphed in four straight encounters and holds an 89-71-5 edge in regular-season meetings as well.
If the Lions have to rely so heavily on Whyte again this week they will be in for a rude awakening because Calgary is bound to turn more of their opportunities into touchdowns in front of the hometown crowd.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Calgary 31, British Columbia 20
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (6-5) AT EDMONTON ESKIMOS (6-5)
DATE & TIME: Saturday, September 26, 6:00 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: For the second time in as many weeks and the third time overall so far this season, the Edmonton Eskimos and the Saskatchewan Roughriders mix it up on the gridiron as they collide at Commonwealth Stadium in Alberta.
Last week it took a 68-yard touchdown pass from Ricky Ray to Maurice Mann with just over a minute to play in regulation to give the Eskimos the exciting 31-27 triumph on the road. Ray, who was runner-up for the CFL Offensive Player of the Week award, converted 25-of-34 passes for 315 yards and a pair of scores, while running back Arkee Whitlock contributed 88 yards and two TDs on 19 carries as the team snapped a two-game slide with the win.
Mann, who grabbed seven passes for a game-high 128 yards, was not the only standout receiver for the Eskimos in the contest, as Fred Stamps collected eight passes for another 119 yards and a score as well.
Over on the other side of the field the Roughriders, who had their brief two- game win streak halted, were paced by Darian Durant who converted 23-of-35 passes for 234 yards and a score, while Wes Cates made his way into the end zone on one of his 12 carries, leading to 45 yards. Four players had five catches for the home team, but only Chris Getzlaf was able to turn one of those into points.
Saskatchewan, which is tied with both Edmonton and Calgary for first place in the CFL's West Division with a record of just 6-5, is tied for the league lead for the most touchdowns scored so far this season with 32 and is first with 16 on the ground, yet the squad is third in scoring with an average of 30.0 ppg.
Durant is one of the top passers in the CFL with his 14 scores, but converting just 57.5 percent of his attempts and having a league-high 13 interceptions is what has kept the Roughriders out of the win column more often than not.
For the Eskimos, Ray has hit on almost 70 percent of his pass attempts, second only to Anthony Calvillo of Montreal, and those successful tosses have turned into 16 touchdowns. More importantly, Ray has just nine interceptions over the course of his 369 attempts.
Weston Dressler stands as Ray's top passing option, the wideout having reeled in 48 passes for 750 yards and three touchdowns to this point. Dressler is closing in on the 56 catches he had as a rookie last season, but he still has quite a way to go to eclipse the 1,123 yards and six TDs he registered in 2008.
For the Eskimos, Stamps is second only to Jermaine Copeland of Calgary when it comes to reception yardage with his 818 on 48 grabs. Stamps, who has six TDs to his credit, is sporting an average of 17 yards per catch. But even as well as Stamps might play, he and the Esks still have to get past the fact that the defense is last in the league in yards allowed (392.3) and points per game surrendered (31.5 ppg).
When it comes to the Saskatchewan defense, it isn't that far behind the Eskimos after 11 games, permitting 28.3 ppg to rank seventh in the league. Although, the Roughriders do have some room to brag, seeing as how both John Chick and Stevie Baggs are tied for the league lead with eight sacks apiece.
With the win from last week the Eskimos have now taken three of the last four meetings with the Roughriders, giving Edmonton a 105-75-2 edge in regular- season meetings.
Saskatchewan stands as one of the better road teams in the league this season, but that is also true for the Eskimos as home, so expect to see Edmonton make it a little easier on itself this time around.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Edmonton 28, Saskatchewan 20
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (3-8) AT WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (3-8)
DATE & TIME: Saturday, September 26, 9:00 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: Two teams locked in a tie for last place in the CFL's East Division clash at Canad Inns Stadium on Saturday night, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers entertain the Toronto Argonauts.
Both clubs are sporting identical 3-8 records as they prepare for Week 13 action. The Blue Bombers, who split a pair of back-to-back meetings with Toronto earlier in the campaign, have fallen in three straight and five of the last six outings. Last Sunday, the team was dismissed by the Montreal Alouettes on the road in a 33-14 final.
The Bombers scored touchdowns in both the first and fourth quarters in their most recent outing, but by no means was that enough to keep up with a team like Montreal.
Quarterback Michael Bishop converted 9-of-19 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while fellow signal-caller Casey Bramlet made good on just one of his eight pass attempts for 13 yards. Even worse, Bramlet had more completions to the opposition (two INTs) than he did his own team.
Fred Reid, one of the league's top running backs, was stopped in his tracks with a paltry 18 yards on 11 attempts, although he did manage to make it into the end zone once.
With four turnovers and 11 penalties adding up to 84 yards, it should come as little surprise to find out that the Bombers controlled the ball for less than 22 minutes in the contest.
As for the Argos, they scored only one offensive touchdown last week in their 23-17 loss to British Columbia on the road. Jamal Robertson finished with 86 yards and a touchdown on 18 rushing attempts, while quarterback Cody Pickett converted just 11-of-23 passes for 166 yards and was picked off twice.
Jordan Younger gave the team some life when he returned a blocked punt 18 yards for a score, but turning the ball over three times and being flagged for 15 penalties for 125 yards was too much to handle for Toronto. The team did well to limit the progress of the BC offense late in the second half, but the Argos still had to watch as the Lions nailed three successive field goals to grab the win.
When it comes to yardage allowed, Toronto is one of the better teams in the league with just 93.7 ypg permitted on the ground and another 244.9 ypg through the air, but in allowing a league-worst 65.2 percent of passes to be completed, it is easy to see how the Argos are giving up an average of 26.2 ppg.
Toronto is second-to-last in terms of interceptions with just nine over 11 games. On the other side of the coin, no one is better at defending passes in 2009 than the Blue Bombers who already have 21 picks. However, sitting back and waiting for the ball to be put in the air means that Winnipeg is also having issues trying to get to opposing quarterbacks and has just 19 sacks to show for its efforts.
Winnipeg, who captured a narrow 13-12 win in the most recent meeting last month, has now won three of the last four dates with Toronto and maintains a slim 47-46-2 advantage in the all-time series during regular-season meetings.
What is on display in Winnipeg this weekend is the two lowest-scoring teams in the CFL, the only two clubs putting up less than 24 ppg, so don't expect there to be a huge offensive explosion.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Toronto 18, Winnipeg 14
Overall Season Record: 21-23; Last Week's Record: 2-2.
