CFL this Week — Week 12

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/09/2014 (4037 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL ALOUETTES (3-7) at EDMONTON ESKIMOS (7-3)

Tonight, 8 p.m. TV: TSN/RDS

Alouettes line: Montreal rolls into the City of Champions with relative stability behind centre — “relative” being a relative term here — with Jonathan Crompton now the starting QB. The juicy subplot? Crompton began the season with the Esks, was dumped, started fourth on the Alouette depth chart but has been decent in his two starts. Also keep an eye on Alouette defensive end Gabriel Knapton, who has seven sacks — five of those in the last two games and James Rodgers, who has game-winning TDs in the last two weeks. Montreal, amazingly, is tied for first in the CFL’s (L)East Division.

Eskimos line: Edmonton welcomes back QB Mike Reilly to the huddle after he missed the last two games, both losses to Calgary, with a bum thumb on his throwing hand. It’s not that Matt Nichols was terrible as a fill-in — he threw for 333 yards and three TDs while running for another — but Reilly is the No. 1 gun in the Alberta capital. Three of Edmonton’s next four games — Montreal, Hamilton and Toronto — are against East Division foes.

TORONTO ARGONAUTS (3-7) at CALGARY STAMPEDERS (9-1)

Saturday, 6 p.m. TV: TSN

Argonauts line: The Boatmen have dropped three straight and, even so, still manage to hold a share of first in their division. An injury-depleted receiving corps could have both Andre Durie and Chad Owens back this week, but Toronto will be up against the CFL’s stingiest defence (14.9 points per game). QB Ricky Ray is second in the CFL in passing yardage with 2,584, but his interception total — 10 — speaks highly of the inconsistent receiving corps. Last season Ray had 21 TDs against just two picks.

Stampeders line: There will be arguments from Saskatchewan, but the most dominant team in the CFL resides in Cowtown. Calgary has banged out five straight wins and has the depth — not to mention a healthy QB in Bo Levi Mitchell — to be considered Grey Cup front-runners with a couple of months to go before the championship game. The Stamps have Toronto this week, Montreal next and then wind up with six in row against the West: Winnipeg (2), Saskatchewan (2) and B.C. (2).

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (6-5) at B.C. LIONS (6-4)

Saturday, 9 p.m. TV: TSN; Radio: CJOB

Bombers line: The developing story with the Bombers is the state of their defensive line after losing both Jason Vega (knee) and Zach Anderson (knee, gone for the season) in the span of a few days. Winnipeg has lost four of its last five and both special teams and the run defence continue to be a concern. The Bombers do seem to match up well against the Lions, having won convincingly in Vancouver in late July in a 23-6 decision — the club’s lone victory against a West Division opponent.

Lions line: B.C. was dealt a crushing blow in last week’s 7-5 — yes, 7-5 — win over Ottawa when QB Travis Lulay reinjured his shoulder and will be lost for the year. The silver lining here is the Leos turn the starting chores over to veteran Kevin Glenn, who has more than 160 starts in his career with Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Calgary and B.C. Like the Bombers, who have surrendered a league-high 35 sacks, the Lions have had trouble protecting their quarterback — their 31 allowed ranks second.

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (8-2) at HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (2-7)

Sunday, noon. TV: TSN

Riders line: It’s Tino Sunseri time in Riderville after Darian Durant, the team’s veteran pivot and emotional leader, was lost for the season in the Banjo Bowl win over Winnipeg with a ripped up elbow. Sunseri is greener than Mosaic Stadium on game day, but the club loves his swagger. He might not have to throw a ton in any case, as the Riders’ three-headed RB rotation, featuring Will Ford, Jerome Messam and Anthony Allen, has been bulldozing through opposition defences courtesy the big boys up front on their O-line. But expectations of a possible Grey Cup repeat have been seriously tempered in Saskatchewan after the Durant news.

Tiger-Cats line: Tough team to figure, these Tabbies. Many thought their win over Toronto on Labour Day — as ugly as it was — would mark the turnaround for a talented squad that represented the East in last year’s championship. Instead, the Ticats blew a 21-7 halftime lead in last week’s loss to Montreal. Zach Collaros is back at the controls, but the question marks about this bunch remain.

THE PICKS

The Free Press has assembled a panel to offer their predictions every week in 2014. Joining us once again this year are CJOB’s Bob Irving, and from the Free Press, sports editor Steve Lyons, columnists Gary Lawless and Doug Brown and football writers Paul Wiecek and Ed Tait:

Irving: Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton

Lyons: Edmonton, Calgary, B.C., Saskatchewan

Lawless: Edmonton, Calgary, B.C., Saskatchewan

Brown: Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan

Tait: Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan

Wiecek: Edmonton, Calgary, B.C., Saskatchewan

Last week/overall

Irving: 3-1/34-11

Wiecek: 3-1/31-14

Lawless: 3-1/30-15

Lyons: 2-2/29-16

Tait: 3-1/29-16

Brown: 2-2/28-17