CFL Weekly Predictor: Who wins in Week 5?
By Jamie Nye
I love that the CFL teams (one in particular) pay so close attention to what I and the other writers think from a week-to-week basis!
Hello, to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers social media team! I promise to give you more content throughout the season if I mean that much to you.
At 23-23, I did feel really good about my Elks upset of the Bombers, but Winnipeg does what they do best and that’s show up in the fourth quarter to put teams away.
I’m thankful for the Tiger-Cats on Friday night to make up for a slow start to the week.
I’m coming off another middling 2-2 record on my picks so I need to pick it up if I’m going to retain the belt as superior prognosticator within the crew at CFL.ca.
We can’t let that Matt Cauz guy pull off another championship. I’ll never hear the end of it, not unlike when I pick against the Bombers.
Should I make it two weeks in a row???
YEP!
Winnipeg at Calgary
Thursday, July 3
9:00 p.m. ET
TSN/CBSSN/CFL+
The first ever Stampede Bowl will be played this Thursday as the Stampeders will take on Winnipeg to help kick off Stampede Week in the city of Calgary.
This has usually been a weekend the CFL has avoided for a Stampeder home game because crowds are already heading to the Stampede, which is one of the biggest outdoor events in Western Canada. But I like that they’ll dive full into this week and try to become part of the festivities.
Calgary is bringing in Bret Michaels for the halftime show so hopefully we’ll see a good turnout.
As for what I expect on the field, well, I picked an athletic quarterback to beat the Bombers last week and Tre Ford nearly pulled it off. This week it’s another team coming off a bye to face the Bombers and you have a much more refined quarterback in Vernon Adams Jr. and a strong run game with Dedrick Mills.
I think running the ball and keeping Zach Collaros on the sideline for as much as possible is vital. While I still have my reservations on the Stampeders 2-1 start to the season after projecting them to struggle early, I undervalued how much Adams Jr. could bring to stabilize the offence.
Yes, I’m taking another risk but it’s not without an educated guess knowing the Bombers won’t go 18-0 this season. But Winnipeg is among the class of the league off the start of the season, so I’ll anticipate more social media mockery if this pick goes south again.
PICK: CALGARY
Hamilton at Toronto
Friday, July 4
7:30 p.m. ET
TSN/RDS/CFL+
The Tiger-Cats came off the bye week with an impressive win over one of the best defences in the league and shut down an Als team without Davis Alexander.
Johnny Augustine was okay as a replacement for Greg Bell, who was bothered by a calf injury during the week. Augustine had a few big plays, including one in the receiving game to showcase what the running back could do in this offence moving forward.
We might have also seen a little boost in the confidence of this newly formed defence around coordinator Brent Monson. Now it’s a battle of Monson and a guy he’ll know well in Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie.
The Argonauts are also coming off a big win but it’ll be a short turnaround from Sunday to Friday for the Argos to get ready for this game. Chad Kelly is certainly missing with the Argos offence off to a slow start, but they got the big plays from defence and special teams with two touchdowns by Derek Slywka and in a 13-point win, that was the difference.
Hamilton looks like they’re starting to trend in the right direction and I like them to go back-to-back.
PICK: HAMILTON
BC at Montreal
Saturday, July 5
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN/RDS/CTV/CBSSN/CFL+
Full disclosure, this is an injury report watch type of game. Will Davis Alexander and/or Nathan Rourke be able to go in this one or are we about to see a battle of the backups like we saw in Saskatchewan last week?
I feel the Lions need Rourke back more than the Alouettes need to rush Alexander back, especially with a home game in Montreal.
Both teams will be kicking themselves for the giveaways in their games. That’s the main factor when you’re dealing with backups. They need to keep the ball safe and both McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Jeremiah Masoli threw multiple interceptions.
So without the full picture on who might start, I’m going to rely on who has looked sharper to start the season and there is no doubt that is the Alouettes.
They have a strong defence, which actually played well against Hamilton, as the Tiger-Cats did score two touchdowns off Bethel-Thompson turnovers.
And before you start talking about the travel to Montreal narrative, BC has won their last two trips on their furthest road trip of the season.
PICK: MONTREAL
Ottawa at Edmonton
Sunday, July 6
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN/RDS/CBSSN/CFL+
While you might think the Stampeders and the Bombers or the Argos and Tiger-Cats deserve billing as the game of the week, this is the game that I think matters the most.
One of these teams is going to get a HUGE win this week. One of these teams is going to get a sense of their work paying off. The other is going to be wondering how the heck they get out of the losing streak.
The Elks have lost three in a row to start the season and the REDBLACKS are 1-3 and are clearly missing Dru Brown. If Dru Brown plays this week, the REDBLACKS should win this game. He is the franchise quarterback for a reason as long as he can stay healthy, which he hasn’t been able to do in his first two seasons in Ottawa.
I do believe the REDBLACKS defence is a strong group, who will only get stronger. I think they have one of the best defensive lines in the CFL.
The Elks are waiting for Tre Ford to pop with this offence but you’re not going to do that by him running the ball just once in Week 4.
This is the game I’m battling with the most to make a prediction because both teams have been so inconsistent from down-to-down, let alone game-to-game.
I’m going with the team that should be a lot more fresh after a bye week and then a long week of prep afterwards and playing at home. But if Dru Brown actually plays I’m changing it on CFL Pick ‘Em.
PICK: EDMONTON
