Well, we had to wait an extra day to get the football kicked off in Week 6 but when we did we had a few statement games to witness.
The Calgary Stampeders take their spot at the top of the West Division after taking it to the hometown Roughriders. That’s back-to-back weeks the Stamps have handed teams their first loss of the season after doing the same to the Bombers the week previous.
We’re now set up for a clash of the Bombers and Stampeders again this week with top spot in the division up for grabs… again!
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Nathan Rourke had his strongest game of the year on Sunday to blow out the Edmonton Elks, who head into their bye week trying to find some answers.
And the Hamilton Tiger-Cats survived a scare at home against the Ottawa REDBLACKS for Hamilton’s third straight win of the year as one of the hottest teams in the CFL. Now they have to head to Ottawa in a rematch of Saturday.
It wasn’t my finest week of predictions as the flyer on Edmonton did not pay off… quite the opposite. The Stampeders proved me wrong after proving me so right against the Bombers.
And I’ll be honest… there aren’t a lot of gimme putts for picks this week either!
TORONTO AT MONTREAL
Thursday, July 17
7:30 p.m. ET
Both teams are coming off a bye week but one team has their quarterback returning from injury, while the Toronto Argonauts are still waiting for the day that Chad Kelly gets the all clear to play again. That day can’t come soon enough for the struggling defending Grey Cup champions, who need to start getting some wins before the team falls too far behind in the standings.
On the flip side, Davis Alexander is tracking to return to action this week after the Alouettes lost back-to-back games with McLeod Bethel-Thompson filling in. Alexander still hasn’t suffered a loss as a starter in the Canadian Football League, which is one of the best starts to a quarterback’s career in league history.
While this is a rematch of that dramatic Eastern Final last year, it’s a battered Argos team coming in without Kelly and last year’s top offensive lineman Ryan Hunter and their defensive captain Wynton McManis’ status is up in the air.
I’m taking the home team, who get their starting quarterback back, to get some revenge on last year’s playoff loss to the Argos.
PICK: MONTREAL
CALGARY AT WINNIPEG
Friday, July 18
8:30 p.m. ET
The shoe is on the other foot for this rematch from Week 5, which saw the Stampeders absolutely dominate the Bombers.
In Week 5 it was the Stampeders coming off the bye week with home field advantage. This week it’s a refreshed Bomber team who got to look at that film and then look at the Stampeders game against the Roughriders for even more intel on what the Stampeders are doing so well to start the season.
Do I need to remind you all what Mike O’Shea’s record is after a bye week since Zach Collaros became the starter late in 2019?
17-0!!!!
Of course the 17th was with Chris Streveler at quarterback to start this season after a Week 1 bye.
However, the data is in that Mike O’Shea and this coaching staff can put a game plan together for their next opponent.
Now, how many of those games have come against a team playing as well as the Calgary Stampeders are at the moment? Truthfully, I have to admit, not many.
There in lies the intrigue of this game as one team is riding some serious momentum, while the other is looking for some serious revenge.
I’ve got the Bombers taking this at home.
PICK: WINNIPEG
SASKATCHEWAN AT BC
Saturday, July 19
7:00 p.m. ET
The BC Lions have started a new tradition in Vancouver ahead of games against Saskatchewan, titled ‘Watermelon Smash.’ I think it’s safe to say it was a smashing success last year with a win in front of one of their biggest crowds of the year.
The attendance is tracking for another good crowd this time around as Nathan Rourke may have finally shaken off the rust with his best performance of the season against Edmonton… or it was because he was playing against Edmonton, whose defence is not as good as the one visiting the Lions on Saturday.
The Roughriders are coming off their first loss of the season and have to be scratching their head on how they laid an egg at home, despite it being against the 4-1 Stampeders.
The Riders, who have been running so effectively, abandoned the run early. I wouldn’t expect that to be the case this week as they go up against the Lions, who AJ Ouellette ran all over three weeks ago in a dominating Roughrider win at Mosaic Stadium.
However, the Riders were up against Jeremiah Masoli and not Nathan Rourke in that contest.
The major concern for the Riders is in back-to-back games teams have been able to run the ball on them, including James Butler. Butler topped the 100-yard mark against the Riders and is now coming off a monster game against the Elks.
I’ll side with the home team on this one as I don’t see Rourke throwing three interceptions as Masoli did in that Riders Week 4 victory against BC.
PICK: BC
HAMILTON AT OTTAWA
Sunday, July 20
7:00 p.m. ET
We’ll wrap up the week with a rematch of that dramatic 23-20 Tiger-Cats win over Ottawa last week. Ottawa will have home field advantage in this game after blowing their fourth quarter lead in Hamilton in Week 6.
Ottawa is like a few teams in the league right now at the bottom of the standings. The team has shown flashes but just can’t finish off a game to get a win. Ottawa’s only win, impressively, is actually on the road against the top team in the league. The win, albeit in inclement weather, should be proof enough that Ottawa can compete with the best.
Even last week having the lead on the road in Hamilton should be more proof of that, but too often Ottawa has shot themselves in the foot.
For this game, I’d advise Dru Brown to throw no where near Jamal Peters. Like, ever. Pre-snap read, where is No. 2? Then find somewhere else to throw.
Hamilton continues to reap the benefit of Kenny Lawler’s addition to the receiving corps as not a lot of teams have an answer for No. 89.
I know it’s hard to win back-to-back games in the CFL against the same opponent and I’m leaning a bit toward Ottawa at home because they were so close to winning that game on the road.
But I can’t ignore when watching the game, I felt Hamilton didn’t play all that well and still won. Oh and Reggie Stubblefield is just going to get better on that Tiger-Cats defence. Glad to see him back on the field.
I’m actually going to pick a fourth straight Tiger-Cats win.
PICK: HAMILTON
