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CFL Previews - Week 16 (October 10-13)

Fri 10th, October 2008

Toronto, ON (Sports Network) -

TORONTO ARGONAUTS (4-10) AT WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (5-9)

DATE & TIME: Friday, October 10th, 7:30 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: This is a crucial game for both teams.

Heading into this contest, Winnipeg holds a two-point lead over Toronto for second in the East Division. If the Bombers win, they would square the season series at two games each and take a four-point advantage over the Argos with three games to play.

A Toronto win would move the Argos into a tie for second and give them the tie-breaker edge with a 3-1 season series advantage.

Toronto has lost its last five games, but showed definite signs of improvement in last week's 24-20 loss to B.C. Running back Jamal Robertson, replacing the injured Dominique Dorsey, rushed for 139 yards on 10 carries, including touchdown runs of 75 and 48 yards.

Kerry Joseph was just 13-of-27 passing for 228 yards and two interceptions. He also ran for just four yards on three carries. However, Joseph will get his second straight start against Winnipeg.

Toronto's offensive line did a good job of containing a B.C. defensive line that's one of the CFL's best at getting to the quarterback. The Lions came in having recorded 52 sacks, including 18 from league leader Cam Wake. Wake had one of the club's three sacks against the Argos, but the home team's defense finished the game with one more sack than the visitors.

Linebacker Willie Pile was a standout on Toronto's defense, recording a game- high six tackles. Defensive tackle Adriano Belli had five tackles and a sack as well.

Winnipeg is coming off a 36-22 loss to Edmonton in the second game of a home- and-home series after winning the opener at Canad Inns Stadium.

Kevin Glenn finished 22-of-36 passing for 343 yards with a touchdown against two interceptions. Romby Bryant was his favorite receiver with four catches for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Fred Reid finished with 74 yards rushing on nine carries with a touchdown.

Defensive lineman Jerome Haywood had a game-high seven tackles with a forced fumble.

The numbers: Toronto is 2-5 on the road this year and 3-5 within the East Division. Winnipeg is 3-4 at home and 3-4 against divisional competition.

Keys to the game: This is a big game for both teams, but more so for Toronto because a loss would pretty much eliminate the Argos from playoff contention.

The Argos offensive line did a nice job against B.C., thanks in part to allowing the offense to establish a run game. Robertson became the first Argos player to surpass the 100-yard rushing plateau this season.

Winnipeg's defense, though, is also a tough unit and establishing the run against it will be important to keep pressure off Joseph. That's possible, though, as the Bombers are ranked sixth against the run, giving up 115 yards per game and six yards per carry.

But of Toronto can't run the ball, that will put the game in the hands of the CFL's sixth-ranked passing attack that's averaging just 265 yards per game.

Winnipeg's key will be avoiding turnovers and getting consistency from rookie kicker Alexis Serna. The Bombers have been very patient with Serna, who has made just 61 percent of his field goals this season. In a big game like this, special teams could hold the key and Toronto's Mike Vanderjagt is hitting 79 percent of his field goals while averaging 45 yards a punt. Serna is at 42.5 yards per punt.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Winnipeg 28, Toronto 25.

EDMONTON ESKIMOS (8-6) AT BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (9-5)

DATE & TIME: Friday, October 10th, 10:30 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The Edmonton Eskimos have Wolverine back in the lineup.

This week the Eskimos re-signed Mike Maurer, a fullback-special teams player who earned the nickname of Wolverine for his long sideburns and uncanny resemblance to the X-Men character.

Maurer had been retired and working to establish a logging business in Regina. The 33-year-old player had spent three seasons with the Eskimos and will remain with the club through the end of the season.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Maurer led Edmonton in special-teams tackles in 2006 and '07, and was named the top Canadian in the Eskimos' 2005 Grey Cup win.

While Maurer can play fullback and special teams, the Eskimos might also need him to handle long-snapping duties. Incumbent Taylor Inglis suffered a head injury in last week's win over Winnipeg and might not be ready to play in this game.

Edmonton also needs help on special teams after defensive back J.R. LaRose suffered a season-ending broken leg on a punt return against Winnipeg.

The Eskimos are coming off a solid win over the Blue Bombers, with Ricky Ray completing 28-of-38 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns. Ray did a nice job of distributing the ball as he hit eight different receivers in the game.

Calvin McCarty had 88 yards rushing and a touchdown on 19 carries.

B.C. earned its fifth straight win with a 24-20 road decision over Toronto. Buck Pierce's 10-yard touchdown pass to Stefan Logan in the third quarter broke a 17-17 tie.

Logan was B.C.'s offensive leader, rushing for 144 yards. But B.C. lost Pierce in the third quarter after he aggravated an ankle injury. Pierce was 15-of-22 passing for 169 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to Jarious Jackson, who was just 3-of-8 passing for 45 yards.

Lions defensive end Cameron Wake recorded one of his club's three sacks in the game, giving him 19 for the season and leaving him 7.5 short of the league's single-season record. B.C. also boosted its league-leading total to 55 sacks.

The numbers: Edmonton is 2-5 on the road this year but 4-3 within its own division. B.C. is 5-2 at home but 3-4 against Western clubs.

Keys to the game: This is an important game for both clubs. B.C. heads into this week in a three-way tie for first in the West with Saskatchewan and Calgary, and needs the victory to remain atop the standings seeing as the Riders and Stamps meet this week.

Edmonton, on the other hand, is fourth in the West but just two points behind the top three clubs.

A key figure in this contest will be McCarty. Last week, Toronto was able to keep B.C.'s rugged defensive front at bay thanks to a running game. Jamal Robertson had touchdown runs of 75 and 48 yards en route to finishing with 139 yards rushing on 10 carries against the Lions.

Given Edmonton's penchant for passing, the Lions' front should get plenty of opportunities to rush the passer, which could spell bad news for the Eskimos.

The Eskimos' defense also faces a sound B.C. offense that not only features Logan, but Geroy Simon, the CFL's leading receiver.

Home-field advantage should be enough to give the Lions this one.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: B.C. 28, Edmonton 24.

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (3-11) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (9-5)

DATE & TIME: Monday, October 13th, 1 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: This will be the first of two games on the Canadian Thanksgiving and Quinton Porter will make his second straight start for Hamilton after stunning Montreal last week.

The rookie quarterback was 27-of-32 passing for 429 yards and five touchdowns as the Tiger-Cats upset the Alouettes, 44-38, last week. The win was just Hamilton's third of the season and snapped a six-game losing streak while keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.

Prechae Rodriguez was Porter's top receiver, tying a club record with 12 catches for 198 yards and three touchdowns as Hamilton, the CFL's top rushing team with an average of 162 yards per game, managed to run for just 74 yards against Montreal. Running backs Kenton Keith, Jesse Lumsden and Terry Caulley all missed the game with injuries.

Montreal's Anthony Calvillo was equally as effective through the air, completing 44-of-53 passes for 473 yards and four touchdowns. Calvillo set a CFL record for completions in a game while the combination of 71 overall completions was also a league mark.

Montreal's Ben Cahoon became the all-time leading Canadian receiver in league history. He had 10 catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns, boosting his career receptions total to 834 to break the mark of 830 held previously by Ray Elgaard.

Jamel Richardson had a team-high 12 catches for Montreal for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Brian Bratton had nine receptions for 118 yards while running back Avon Cobourne added 10 catches for 83 yards as the two teams combined to rush for just 84 yards in total.

The two teams combined for 967 total offensive yards but also turned the ball over seven times, with Montreal doing so on four occasions.

The loss was Montreal's first in seven East Division contests this season. All three of Hamilton victories this season have come against divisional rivals.

The numbers: Montreal is 6-1 at home, tied with Edmonton for the best home mark, and is 6-1 versus East Division teams. Hamilton is a league-worst 1-5 on the road this year but is 3-5 versus divisional competition.

Keys to the game: It's understandable if Montreal was taken a little bit by surprise by Porter. But the Ticats' first-year quarterback won't have the element of surprise this time around.

What Hamilton did against Montreal's defense, which is allowing a league-low 22.8 points, was nothing short of amazing. Everything, it seemed, clicked for Porter, who certainly made the most of his opportunity to shine.

But the Alouettes will now have the benefit of experience this time around and this time will fully understand the challenge they face with the young passer.

Hamilton, though, will have the benefit of Keith in the lineup, which should help bring some balance to the offense. That's some good news for both Porter and the Ticats.

However, it's tough to beat a team in consecutive weeks and there are two reasons why Montreal is first in the East. Not only are the Alouettes tough at home, but they generally take care of business within their own division.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Montreal 33, Hamilton 24.

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (9-5) AT CALGARY STAMPEDERS (9-5)

DATE & TIME: Monday, October 13th, 4:30 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: Things turned ugly last week following the Saskatchewan Roughriders' 37-34 win over the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium.

On Tuesday, the CFL announced it had fined defensive line coach Cornell Brown $2,500 while players Brandon Browner and Dwight Anderson were fined undisclosed amounts for verbally abusing an official following the loss.

The CFL launched an investigation after reports that some Stampeders had voiced their displeasure about the officiating to referee Bud Steen after the game.

On the field, Riders quarterback Michael Bishop completed 20-of-27 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown as Saskatchewan broke a three-game losing streak to also cement a playoff berth.

The Riders got back on the winning track without running back Wes Cates, who missed the game due to injury and is expected to be on the sidelines for the rematch.

That allowed Calgary's Joffrey Reynolds to grab the CFL rushing lead with 1,074 yards despite running for 25 yards on five carries in the contest. And although the Stampeders suffered the loss, they still secured a playoff berth when the B.C. Lions beat the Toronto Argonauts 24-20.

Calgary quarterback Henry Burris was 29-of-45 passing for 311 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Stampeders will be minus four starters for this game: safety Wes Lysack, defensive end Mike Labinjo, receiver Teyo Johnson and offensive lineman Jeff Pilon.

The numbers: Saskatchewan is 4-3 on the road this year and 4-4 within the West Division. Calgary is 4-2 at home and 4-4 against West rivals.

Keys to the game: The Roughriders were able to overcome the absence of Cates thanks to a very efficient performance at home by Bishop. But duplicating that feat at McMahon Stadium won't be quite as easy.

One of the biggest knocks on Bishop throughout his CFL career has been his consistency. And not having his biggest offensive weapon in Cates to help shoulder the workload on the road will present a very big challenge for the Riders quarterback.

Calgary's success on the road this year has been well documented, but the Stampeders are also very good at home and will play three of their four remaining regular-season games at McMahon. How the club performs at home will dictate whether the Stamps will finish atop the West Division.

Unlike the Riders, the Stampeders do have a more balanced offensive attack and the presence of Reynolds could be the big equalizer, that is, if Calgary chooses to utilize the talented running back.

Like last week's game, this should be a tight affair. But here's a tip of the hat to Calgary because of home-field advantage.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Calgary 30, Saskatchewan 27.

Last week's record: 2-2; Season record: 28-28.