Big, fat yawn
The CFL's trading deadline came and went Wednesday without one deal being made. Asked if he had been busy leading up to the deadline, Bomber GM Brendan Taman indicated he hadn't made or received one phone call. The consensus from most GMs is the deadline comes too late and should be moved up.
Minor shuffle
The Bombers have released Canadian D-lineman Troy Cunningham and import D-linemen Willie Evans and Dorian Smith from their practice roster, but remain very high on Evans. He'll likely return for training camp next June. Activated from the PR was veteran hog Bobby Singh.
Sack attack?
Winnipeg defenders have registered seven sacks in three games vs. the Argos this season, with injured linebacker Joe Lobendahn leading the way at two, and singles from Cam Hall, Barrin Simpson, Doug Brown, Ian Logan and Kai Ellis.
Ed Tait thinks you should know...
TRENCHES UPDATE:
The bells in Brendon LaBatte's head have finally stopped ringing, but not soon enough to get him back in the Bombers' starting lineup in his customary right-guard spot. The rookie O-lineman will be replaced for the Argo game by Matt O'Meara.
"Matt's played for us this year and he's done well for us this year and he's done well when he's been in games," Bomber head coach Doug Berry said after practice Wednesday. "We feel really confident about him. Bobby Singh will also be available to us, and if we have an opportunity, we'd like to get him in a game and get into the flow of things so that if we need to get to him later on in the year, he'll be ready. (LaBatte) is pretty much symptom-free today, but that's the first day and so we'd be cutting it close to play him this week."
O'Meara did start two games for the Bombers earlier this year at right guard. The decision to go to him -- and activate Singh -- likely means Obby Khan will spend the rest of the season on the four-man reserve list.
"Obby wants to be a good football player," Berry said. "He wants to be where he was and so do we. He's just not there right now. He needs to go from the beginning of training camp to spend enough time on all the skills and things. It's not his body weight, it's not his strength. It's his timing, his reaction. I really like Obby Khan and I'd like to have him in that huddle, but he's just not where we need him to be."
Cornerback Willie Amos (hamstring) should be good to go for next week's game in Calgary against the Stampeders.
SIMPSON SOON?
Veteran LB Barrin Simpson, out since July with a torn pectoral muscle, hopes to be back on the practice field next week.
"I'll get back into the flow of things and see what happens after that," Simpson said. "I'll be re-evaluated after this game and hope to get released to practice."
CFL WEEK 16
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (4-10) at WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (5-9)
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m. TV: TSN; Radio: CJOB
Streaks: Toronto: 5L; Winnipeg: 1L
Vegas line: Bombers by 6.5
The storyline: This from the strange-but-true file: One of these two teams is going to play host to the East Semifinal, even with a below-.500 record. Now, even though the Bombers fell apart in Edmonton, they have at least won three of their last four and are 5-5 since their stink-bomb 0-4 start. The Argos, on the other hand, have dropped five in a row and are spiralling downward. Don Matthews will hand the keys to the offence to Kerry Joseph again, but last year's Most Outstanding Player has struggled in Argo colours.
FYI: Kerry Joseph has just 58 yards rushing in his last four regular-season games against the Bombers. We will point out that he rushed for 101 yards in Saskatchewan's Grey Cup win, however.
EDMONTON ESKIMOS (8-6) at B.C. LIONS (9-5)
When: Friday, 9:30 p.m. TV: TSN
Streaks: Edmonton: 1W; B.C.: 5W
Vegas line: Lions by 5
The storyline: Two dandy West Division matchups this week and this is the first. The Esks still have hopes of a November playoff game at Commonwealth, but there's little room for error now with the race so tight. Edmonton lit up the Bombers in a 31-point second quarter last Saturday, but will need more consistency across the board to run with the big dogs. The Lions took their foot off the gas pedal in Toronto last week and it almost cost them. Still, defensive end Cam Wake and his friends could have a field day against an O-line that has surrendered the third-most sacks in the CFL.
FYI: The Esks have lost their last six games in Vancouver, surrendering an average of 32.5 points per game.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (3-11) at MONTREAL ALOUETTES (9-5)
When: Monday, noon. TV: TSN/RDS
Streaks: Hamilton: 1W; Montreal: 1L
Vegas line: Alouettes by 12
The storyline: The Ticats-Als doubleheader looked like a snoozefest just a few days ago -- before Quinton Porter and Prechae Rodriguez scorched Montreal and pumped some hope into Hamilton football fans. We'll get a better read on Porter's ability as a QB, as you can bet the Alouettes will alter -- they'd better -- their defensive game plan. Expect Anthony Calvillo & Co. to continue to fill the air with passes, but they need more balance and more production from Avon Cobourne out of the backfield. Still, based on what we saw in last Saturday's Ticat win, making the Als 12-point favourites, even at home, might be a bit much.
FYI: Calvillo has thrown for 19 TDs in his last seven games against the Ticats and has cracked the 300-yard passing mark six times over the same period.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (9-5) at
CALGARY STAMPEDERS (9-5)
When: Monday, 3:30 p.m. TV: TSN
Streaks: Saskatchewan 1W; Calgary: 1L
Vegas line: Stampeders by 6
The storyline: The second outstanding West Division matchup, this one with first place at stake. Riders vs. Stamps always means the intensity is cranked up big time and this should be no different. Saskatchewan is starting to get people healthy again, although both D.J. Flick and Andy Fantuz won't be ready for Monday's game. The key here might be which team gets the better quarterbacking. Michael Bishop was superb for the Riders in last week's win over Calgary, while the Stamps' Henry Burris turned the ball over twice in the second half.
FYI: Calgary receiver Ken-Yon Rambo has 17 receptions for 137 yards and two TDs in his last two games versus the Riders.
THE PICKS
Chris Cariou: Winnipeg, B.C., Montreal, Calgary.
Bob Irving: Winnipeg, B.C., Montreal, Calgary.
Ed Tait: Winnipeg, B.C., Montreal, Calgary.
Randy Turner: Winnipeg, B.C., Montreal, Calgary.
Mitch Zalnasky: Winnipeg, B.C., Montreal, Calgary.
Last week/overall: Ed Tait: 1-3/35-21; Chris Cariou: 1-3/33-23; Randy Turner: 2-2/31-25; Mitch Zalnasky: 1-3/29-27; Bob Irving: 2-2/29-27.
PREVIOUS
