Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) -
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (3-13) AT EDMONTON ESKIMOS (7-9)
DATE & TIME: Friday, October 30, 9:00 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: The sluggish Toronto Argonauts will try yet again to put an end to their lengthy slide this coming week as they challenge the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night.
The Argos have been floundering all season, despite kicking off 2009 with a win against Hamilton and being 2-2 at the end of July. Since then, Toronto has won just a single game, defeating the Tiger-Cats again by a score of 25-22 in overtime on September 11. At this point the program has fallen in six consecutive outings, including a 26-17 final at home versus that same Hamilton club last Friday.
The Toronto offense was shutout in the first half and it wasn't until Kerry Joseph hit Jeff Johnson with a one-yard TD pass in the third that the Argos were even heard from. Joseph later went from one extreme to the other as he completed a 95-yard TD pass to Jason Carter to make the score a little more respectable.
Joseph finished the meeting 14-of-23 for 242 yards, adding a team-best 55 yards rushing on six attempts. Running back Jamal Robertson was held under wraps with a mere 33 yards on 13 carries, one of his worst outings of the campaign. Even though the overall effort seemed a bit weak, Robertson still made a bit of history with a six-yard carry in the first quarter as he became just the sixth player in club history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
As for the Eskimos, losers of four of their last five outings, they were taken apart by the Calgary Stampeders in a 30-7 final on the road. Edmonton, which will play its final two games of the regular season on Friday nights, has been disappointing in games leading into the weekend this season with a record of just 1-4 at the moment. At 7-9, the Esks sit in last place in the West Division heading into action this week.
Quarterback Ricky Ray managed to complete better than 63 percent of his passes against Calgary, generating 239 yards, but he failed to get his team into the end zone even once, leaving them to settle for a pair of Noel Prefontaine field goals instead.
Of the seven players who reeled in passes for Edmonton against the Stamps it was, ironically enough, Fred Stamps who led the way with his six catches for 68 yards. Running back Arkee Whitlock chipped in 71 yards rushing on eight attempts, but it all made little difference in the final analysis.
Although he doesn't show up in the basic box scores every week, the play of Tristan Jackson as a kick returner has been crucial to the success of the Eskimos this season. With two games remaining Jackson, in just his second year in the league, ranks second in combined yards with 1,930. His consistent efforts have provided Edmonton with many a strong starting position this season.
With that, the Eskimos have been more comfortable giving the ball to Whitlock so much this year. Like Jackson, Whitlock is also one of the league leaders in combined yards with 1,714 yards. The running back is sixth in the CFL with 1,014 yards on the ground and has nine touchdowns to show for his efforts.
Finding bright spots on the Toronto offense is rather difficult this season, although Robertson has managed to turn his 199 carries into 1,023 yards and eight touchdowns for the group. Coming up with a significant contributor in the receiving corps for the Argos is an even tougher ordeal as the team ranks second-to-last in the league with 3,680 yards through the air and a league-low 13 touchdowns.
Joseph has completed a respectable 55.4 percent of his pass attempts for the team, resulting in 10 touchdowns, but that number is still five short of his interception total.
These two teams played just two weeks ago in Toronto, with the Eskimos claiming a narrow 22-19 win. A 53-yard touchdown run by Whitlock in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference for the Esks as they moved to 39-37-1 in the regular season all-time versus Toronto.
The Argonauts have actually played better on the road (2-6) this season than they have at home (1-7), but even that fact isn't enough to get the squad back into the win column this week. Expect the Eskimos to rise above the troubles they've had on Fridays this season and bring home the victory.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Edmonton 27, Toronto 17
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (9-6-1) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (7-9)
DATE & TIME: Saturday, October 31, 2:00 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: Tied with Calgary for first place in the West Division at 9-6-1, the Saskatchewan Roughriders shoot for back-to-back wins for the first time since the first half of September when they head to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Roughriders have had a bit of a rough road the last couple of weeks, going to overtime against both the Stampeders and British Columbia, finishing with a tie versus Calgary and squeezing out a 33-30 triumph versus the Lions last weekend. The division title could easily come down to the final week of the season as Saskatchewan faces off against Calgary on November 7.
As for the Tiger-Cats, who are tied with Winnipeg for second place in the East Division behind the streaking Montreal Alouettes, they finally brought an end to a four-game slide last Friday with a 26-17 triumph against Toronto on the road.
Against the Argonauts last week, Hamilton held the home team scoreless for the first half, but then scored just a pair of field goals itself after the break and had to hold on for the single-digit victory. Kevin Glenn handled the passing duties for Hamilton as he completed 28-of-38 for 322 yards and a score, while DeAndra Cobb showed up to carry the ball 17 times for 80 yards. Not only did Cobb produce on the ground, he also turned out to be one of the top receivers for the club with seven catches, leading to 32 yards and a score.
The following day the Roughriders needed a 29-yard field goal by Luca Congi in overtime to put them over the top in their victory versus the Lions. Congi finished with three successful field goals on the day to help pick up where the offense left off.
Darian Durant completed 27-of-48 passes for 319 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Saskatchewan, but he was also picked off twice and that kept the Roughriders from running away with the win at home. Rob Bagg was the top receiver for the team with his eight catches for 124 yards and a score, while Wes Cates contributed a game-high 15 carries for 58 yards on the ground as well.
Cates is the leading yardage gainer for the Roughriders wit his 1,155 yards from scrimmage, placing him among the league's top-10. Of those yards, 858 have come on the ground, resulting in five touchdowns for the back.
Handling more of the receiving these days is Bagg with his 56 catches for 760 yards, but all of those grabs have generated just four touchdowns.
One of four quarterbacks in the league to have attempted at least 500 passes and completed 300 thus far, Durant is second in the CFL with his 22 touchdowns. However, with all of those balls going up for grabs, opponents have logged nearly as many interceptions with 20 picks already.
These days the Ti-Cats are being handled by Glenn in the pocket and he has turned the opportunity into more than 2,500 yards through the air and 16 touchdowns. More importantly, Glenn has resisted forcing the issue and is making the throws that he can, which is why he has a mere five interceptions. In completing 61.4 percent of his attempts, Glenn has earned himself a quarterback rating of 97.5, which is second only behind Anthony Calvillo of Montreal.
Getting a chance to show the team and the rest of the league what he can do when used on offense, Marquay McDaniel now has 43 receptions for 522 yards and three touchdowns. As someone who has done the majority of his damage on special teams with kick returns, McDaniel is by far the most productive player in the league in terms of combined yards with 2,257. Entering play this week no one else in the CFL had eclipsed the 2,000-yard plateau.
In terms of the all-time, regular-season series between these two clubs, Saskatchewan leads by the slimmest of margins at 36-35-4. The Roughriders have been on a huge run of late and, thanks to a 33-23 triumph in the most recent meeting back in August, has now taken 11 straight from Hamilton.
As long as Glenn can continue to guide the offense down the field and keep from making mistakes, expect to see the Tiger-Cats back in the win column as they get a lift from the hometown fans.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Hamilton 30, Saskatchewan 24
CALGARY STAMPEDERS (9-6-1) AT BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (8-8)
DATE & TIME: Saturday, October 31, 10:00 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: Having clinched a playoff berth, the Calgary Stampeders now turn their attention to the British Columbia Lions at BC Place Stadium this Saturday night.
For less than a day the Stamps were able to hang their hat on owning first place in the West Division all to themselves last weekend, although that changed once Saskatchewan managed to slip by British Columbia with a 33-30 overtime decision on Saturday afternoon. Not only did Calgary and the Roughriders play to a 44-44 overtime tie back on October 17, they are also now locked in first place with records of 9-6-1. Consequently, the division title could easily come down to the final game of the season on November 7 when those same two teams meet once more at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
As for the Lions, their loss to Saskatchewan snapped a three-game win streak and dropped the club to .500 on the season at 8-8, which means they trail both the Roughriders and Calgary in the West Division standings.
British Columbia made a frantic comeback bid in the fourth quarter last week, putting up back-to-back touchdowns with a 29-yard TD passe from Casey Printers to Michael Bumpus, followed by a 42-yard interception return for a score by Barron Miles. Unfortunately, not only did the team allow the Roughriders to score a TD later in the period, it also permitted Saskatchewan to convert the necessary two-point play to lock the score at 30-30 and send it to overtime.
Printers, who was intercepted in the end zone in overtime by James Patrick, was making his first start since returning to the Lions. A member of the team back in 2003-05, Printers most recently played with Hamilton last season. This time around he completed 19-of-31 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns, but cost his team a chance for the win with that final costly throw.
Receiver Geroy Simon was credited with team-highs of six catches for 142 yards, but it was Emmanuel Arceneaux and Bumpus who were the ones who landed in the end zone after reeling in Printers' passes.
Having another rough go of it on the ground was Martell Mallett who covered just 44 yards on 11 carries for British Columbia. Mallett, who had a season- best 213 yards on 21 attempts versus Montreal last month, is still third in the league with his 1,171 yards on the ground, but his five touchdowns are the fewest among the top six rushers in the league.
Out on the wings, BC is using Simon and Paris Jackson to generate more than 2,000 yards and a combined 13 touchdowns through the air to try and take some of the pressure off Mallett and Printers right now.
Even though he failed to make it into the end zone for Calgary last week, Romby Bryant was still the one to watch for the Stamps as he posted career highs of nine catches for a hefty 211 yards. For his efforts Bryant, who only recently came over from Hamilton, was named the CFL Offensive Player of the Week.
The 211 yards were the fourth-most in program history and marked the first time since 2003 that a receiver had gone over 200 yards in a game for the Stampeders.
Getting the ball to Bryant was Henry Burris who converted 22-of-31 passes for 346 yards, but just a single TD pass in the 30-7 win over Edmonton at home. Most of the scoring was handled by Joffrey Reynolds on the ground as he carried the ball 12 times for 72 yards and two touchdowns for the program.
Reynolds has been a one-man wrecking machine for Calgary this season, now leading the league in rushing with his 1,295 yards and placing second in rushing touchdowns with 11, all while averaging close to six-and-a-half yards per carry.
Not to be overlooked are Burris and receiver Jeremaine Copeland who have been a regular tandem much of the 2009 campaign. In Burris the team has a signal- caller who has completed almost 60 percent of his attempts for 4,304 yards and 21 touchdowns, tempered with 15 interceptions. Of the 23 touchdowns through the air scored by the Stamps, 12 have gone to Copeland with his 70 catches for 1,078 yards, making him one of only five receivers who have eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau thus far.
With respect to the regular-season series between these two programs, Calgary is ahead by a count of 90-71-5, taking the most recent encounter by a 27-18 score at home just last month. With that win the Stamps have now captured five straight meetings over the Lions.
As long as Calgary can put all the pieces together with Reynolds handling the ground game and Copeland taking care of stretching the field, getting a road win might not be out of the question for the Stampeders this weekend.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Calgary 31, British Columbia 24
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (7-9) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (13-3)
DATE & TIME: Sunday, November 1, 1:00 p.m. (et)
GAME NOTES: With their six-game win streak history, the Montreal Alouettes now aim to close out their home 2009 schedule with a strong performance against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Percival Molson Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Winnipeg is the club that knocked the Als off the track last weekend with a 41-24 victory at home. The defense for the Blue Bombers held Montreal to single-digit scoring in every quarter of the contest and nearly beat the visitors with a 20-point burst in the second quarter alone.
Rather than put their postseason hopes in jeopardy, the Alouettes already have the East Division locked up with just a couple of games remaining, the team kept quarterback Anthony Calvillo on the sidelines so he could nurse an injured leg and keep it out of harm's way. As a result, the expectations on the road were perhaps tempered as Adrian McPherson took the snaps for Montreal, hitting 20-of-35 passes for 232 yards and a single score.
McPherson was also the top rusher for the team with his 11 carries for 95 yards and scored once on the ground as well. Avon Cobourne handled the ball a mere six times coming out of the backfield for his 29 yards. Receiver Ben Cahoon grabbed six balls for 55 yards and, by doing so, extended his string of games with at least one catch to 125 straight games. Cahoon is also now just 22 receiving yards shy of registering at least 1,000 yards for the eighth consecutive campaign.
On the other side of the field, Michael Bishop guided the Winnipeg offense to an impressive victory, even if Calvillo was watching from the sidelines. Bishop converted 17-of-33 passes for a staggering 411 yards and two touchdowns, while being intercepted once. With the triumph the Blue Bombers won for the fourth time in the last five outings and are now tied with Hamilton for second place in the East Division at 7-9.
Receivers Terrence Edwards and Titus Ryan both had monster efforts for Winnipeg as the former caught six balls for 156 yards and a score and the latter four passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Running back Fred Reid was held to just 50 yards rushing on nine attempts.
If the Blue Bombers expect to win back-to-back games against Montreal this late in the season they will need to get Reid firing out of the backfield in order to take some of the pressure off Bishop. The back is currently third in the league in combined yards with 1,918 and is sixth in yards from scrimmage with 1,411 yards, so his inclusion in the offensive scheme is almost mandatory, regardless of what Winnipeg was able to accomplish last week.
The same can be said for Cobourne for the Alouettes, although the team would be smart to keep his involvement to a minimum since there is nothing to be gained for the team by the outcome of this contest. Nevertheless, Cobourne is still someone who can change to complexion of a game given that he leads all running backs with 12 touchdowns on the ground and is fourth in the league with 1,144 yards.
Certainly the Montreal defense will have to play a bigger role this time around than it did last weekend. Working in their favor is the fact that they are ranked first in the league with just 311 ypg allowed, leading to a league- low 18.4 ppg permitted as well. For Winnipeg, its defense has been much less stringent, giving up 26.2 ppg, despite logging a league-best 29 interceptions on the defensive side of the ball.
As far as the all-time series between these two clubs is concerned, Montreal still maintains a 38-32-2 advantage in regular-season meetings, even with the loss last weekend at Canad Inns Stadium.
Depending on how this game finishes and the outcome of the meeting between Saskatchewan and Hamilton, the Blue Bombers and Tiger-Cats could be on a collision course for entrance to the playoffs in the final game of the regular season. Assuming Calvillo will again give way to McPherson, still assume that the Als will find a way to rise to the occasion in the squad's final regular- season home game and make it a little harder for the Bombers.
My Sportsbook Predicted Outcome: Montreal 31, Winnipeg 20
Overall Season Record: 32-31-1; Last Week's Record: 3-1.
