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CFL Previews - Week 19 - November 6-8

Wed 4th, November 2009

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -

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

DATE & TIME: Friday, November 6, 10:30 p.m. (et)

GAME NOTES: A battle for third place in the West Division is on the calendar this week as the Edmonton Eskimos pay a visit to the British Columbia Lions at BC Place Stadium.

Both clubs have 8-9 records, which means the winner will make it into the playoffs and live to fight another day.

Even though the Esks are a game under .500 right now, the good news is that the team is coming off a win last weekend and has won two of the last three games for some semblance of positive momentum. Meanwhile, the Lions could have done themselves a favor and locked up this part of the standings a few weeks ago, but the team has dropped back-to-back outings to Calgary and Saskatchewan.

British Columbia has been dealing with some very close games the last two months as all nine decisions since September 4 have been decided by single digits. It has been even closer the last few weeks as each game has been decided by no more than a field goal in five straight outings.

Last weekend the Lions suffered a 28-26 setback to Calgary at home, even after BC moved out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Lions were paced by Casey Printers who converted 22-of-35 passes for 337 yards, one touchdown and one interception, adding a team-best 41 yards rushing on four attempts as well. A.J. Harris carried the ball nine times for British Columbia and ended up with 26 yards and a TD in the narrow loss.

Receivers Geroy Simon and Emmanuel Arceneaux each exceeded 100 yards through the air and Paris Jackson added 91 yards and a score on a mere three grabs.

While the Lions were suffering an unbearable loss, the Eskimos were keeping hope alive with their 36-10 rout of Toronto at home. Edmonton kicker Derek Schiavone made a bid for Special Teams Player of the Week honors as he knocked through five field goals, including three unanswered in the fourth quarter alone.

Aiding in the offense for the Eskimos was quarterback Ricky Ray who completed 22-of-32 for 332 yards and a score, with Fred Stamps doing much of the damage on the other end with his seven catches for a game-high 139 yards. Running back Arkee Whitlock had yet another strong effort with 15 carries for 114 yards and a score as well.

Whitlock is currently sixth in the league in rushing with his 1,128 yards, leading to 10 touchdowns, while Stamps is at the top of the heap with his 79 catches for an even 1,300 yards and eight scores for the Eskimos. Accurate on 67 percent of his pass attempts in 2009, Ray leads the league in passing yards with 4,668 and has almost twice as many passing scores (21) as he does interceptions (11).

As a team, BC has done some fine work in the passing game, completing close to 62 percent of its attempts thus far, en route to 27 touchdowns with is second only to Montreal after 17 games. However, with the good also comes the bad in this case because the Lions have also been guilty of 24 interceptions and that is second-most behind only Winnipeg, a team that has a collective 60.24 efficiency rating.

From a defensive standpoint, BC has some of the top individual performers in the league, starting with safety Barron Miles who leads the entire league with seven interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Defensive end Ricky Foley has his own specialty, his being a league-high 12 sacks.

A 62-yard touchdown pass from Buck Pierce to Geroy Simon was the deciding factor in the most recent meeting between these two programs last month, a 34-31 road win for the Lions. However, even though BC has taken three in a row and four of the last five encounters, the Eskimos still lead the all-time, regular-season series by an overwhelming 98-67-4 margin.

Edmonton may hold the advantage in the all-time series, but this may well be the right time for the Lions to show their teeth and take out the Eskimos at home.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: British Columbia 24, Edmonton 17

MONTREAL ALOUETTES (14-3) AT TORONTO ARGONAUTS (3-14)

DATE & TIME: Saturday, November 7, 1:00 p.m. (et)

GAME NOTES: Long having locked up the East Division title, the Montreal Alouettes try to close out the 2009 regular season on a positive note as they contend against the Toronto Argonauts at the Rogers Centre.

Of the four games on tap to close out the regular season this week, this is the only matchup that does not have any postseason implications tied to it. Obviously Montreal will be around for the festivities as the club represents the CFL with the best overall record, while the Argos use this date to thank the diehard fans for coming out to support them in what has been a very difficult campaign to say the least.

Toronto, which has a mere three wins in 17 attempts this season, was again on the short end of a 36-10 final versus Edmonton last Friday on the road. The defeat was the seventh in a row for the club and the 12th in the last 13 outings overall.

The Argos managed to score 10 points in the second quarter versus Edmonton, thanks to a 26-yard field goal by Justin Medlock and a one-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Reaves to Chad Lucas. Otherwise, the offense made very little noise for the team as it generated just 20 net yards on the ground and another 239 yards through the air from the combination of Reaves and Kerry Joseph.

As for the Als, they scored more than enough points in the first period of play to take care of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 48-13, at home last week. With the lopsided victory Montreal finished a perfect 9-0 at home for the first time in franchise history. With 14 total wins the Als also tied the club record for a single season and will have a chance to establish a new high- water mark in the regular-season finale.

Although he was nursing an injured leg in recent weeks, quarterback Anthony Calvillo still had it in him to give the hometown fans one last show as he threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns. Calvillo completed 27-of-38 passes in the contest, while running back Avon Cobourne carried the ball 13 times for 70 yards and notched his 13th rushing touchdown of the campaign.

The top scorer in the CFL thus far, Cobourne has logged a total of 15 touchdowns, thanks to a pair of receiving scores along the way. The running back is second in the league with his 1,672 yards from scrimmage and is third in rushing yards with 1,214 on 224 attempts.

In other cases running backs have to work hard in order to compensate for a passing attack that has some deficiencies, but for the Als that is not the story at all. Calvillo may not have the most passing yards in the league right now, but his 4,639 yards and his 26 TD passes still make him an elite passer. Add in a mere six interceptions and 72 percent accuracy and Calvillo easily has the best efficiency rating of any quarterback in the league at 108.4.

Using several players at the quarterback position this season as they tried to find a manner of attack that would work, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Argonauts had one of the worst passing schemes in the league with more interceptions (21) than touchdowns (14).

As poorly as Toronto has played this season, the one reason to watch the team has been Jamal Robertson, one of the better running backs in the league in 2009. Robertson has been asked to do a little bit of everything during the campaign, giving him opportunity to come up with 1,710 combined yards, including 1,519 yards from scrimmage which has him ranked fourth in the league at the moment.

Montreal, which won the most recent meeting between these programs the first week of October by a score of 27-8 on the road, owns a 91-74-2 regular-season record in the series and has now taken five in a row versus Toronto.

Seeing as how Montreal has the top scoring offense in the league (32.8 ppg) and the Argos (18.3 ppg) are bringing up the rear, it is hard to imagine the Als letting down their guard enough to allow this game to get away from them.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Montreal 35, Toronto 20

CALGARY STAMPEDERS (10-6-1) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (9-7-1)

DATE & TIME: Saturday, November 7, 7:00 p.m. (et)

GAME NOTES: A battle for the top spot in the West Division ensues this weekend as the Saskatchewan Roughriders saddle up against the Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium.

With this being the final week of the regular season, the outcome of this meeting has huge implications for the postseason. A win by either team would give that club first place in the West Division so the importance of this contest clearly cannot be understated.

Calgary, the defending Grey Cup Champions, which defeated Montreal by a score of 22-14 a season ago for its sixth overall Cup dating back to 1948, is riding a two-game win streak at the moment thanks to a 28-26 victory over British Columbia on the final day of October.

The Stamps came out on top thanks to a 27-yard field goal by Sandro DeAngelis in the fourth quarter. Henry Burris made sure to keep his team in the hunt as he completed 17-of-31 passes for 306 yards and a score, while also landing in the end zone twice himself on the ground. Running back Joffrey Reynolds accounted for a game-high 102 yards on 14 carries and receiver Romby Bryant turned his four catches into 129 yards for the victors.

As for the Roughriders, they've been subjected to mixed results over the last three weeks, logging a 44-44 overtime tie against this same Calgary club, followed by a 33-30 overtime win against British Columbia and capped off with a 24-6 loss to Hamilton on the road last weekend.

Versus the Tiger-Cats, Saskatchewan also had a mixed bag of scoring plays in the second quarter, posting a 57-yard single by Louie Sakoda, a safety when Hamilton's Nick Setta conceded in the end zone and a 33-yard field goal by Luca Congi. Unfortunately, the team did earn anything extra for style points in the 18-point setback.

The Roughriders managed only 10 first downs, 76 yards on the ground and 198 yards of total offense as they controlled the ball for a mere 21 minutes. The quarterback tandem of Darian Durant and Steven Jyles converted 12-of-26 passes for a meager 122 yards and an interception in the less-than-inspiring effort.

One of four signal-callers to have passed for at least 4,000 yards so far this season, Durant has completed 59.9 percent of his attempts for 4,052 yards and 22 touchdowns. However, as strong as that may sound, Durant is no stranger to mistakes because he has also delivered a league-worst 21 interceptions along the way as well.

The defense for Saskatchewan has had its ups and downs in 2009 because at the moment the team is ranked second-to-last in the league in points allowed with an average of 27.6 per game. But on a positive note, Stevie Baggs and John Chick have been some of the most active performers at the line of scrimmage of any players in the league, logging 11 and 10 sacks, respectively, to rank second and tied for third in the league entering the final week of action.

Over on the other side, Calgary takes its lead from Burris who is third in the league in passing yardage with his 4,610 yards. The signal-caller has 22 touchdowns through the air, but also 15 picks, and that is why he has an efficiency rating of only 88.7 at the moment.

Making things easier for Burris in the pocket for the most part has been Reynolds, who is first in the league in rushing with 1,397 yards, resulting in 11 touchdowns. As if that were not enough, the Stamps also have one of the top receivers in the league in Jeremaine Copeland who has 75 receptions for 1,140 yards and a CFL-best 12 touchdowns. For his career, Copeland now has 525 catches for 72 touchdowns, averaging a hefty 16.5 yards per grab.

Taking into account the tie in the last meeting in October, this series is still under the control of Calgary which is now ahead by a count of 96-82-9 in regular-season contests. Earlier in the campaign the clubs also played a tight game, one that was won by Saskatchewan with a 24-23 final in Calgary.

Expecting something other than one more close call might be somewhat foolish at this juncture, especially with so much riding on this singular outcome. Both teams are still going to make the playoffs, but it should be Calgary that captures the division crown for the regular season.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Calgary 27, Saskatchewan 21

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (8-9) AT WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (7-10)

DATE & TIME: Sunday, November 8, 1:00 p.m. (et)

GAME NOTES: With plenty of playoff scenarios still to be worked out as teams enter the final week of the regular season in the CFL, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats drop in on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday afternoon in hopes of clearing up some of the mystery that surrounds the postseason.

Settling into Canad Inns Stadium this weekend, there are a number of possibilities when it comes to teams making the playoffs and just where they will fit into the postseason. For Hamilton, a win or a tie will give the squad second place in the East Division, while a Winnipeg victory means the Blue Bombers will assume the position.

Should the Bombers bow to the Tiger-Cats or possibly register a tie in the regular-season finale, Winnipeg will be sent packing for the season.

However, with Hamilton, there's still other ways in which the team can make the playoffs. Should British Columbia or Edmonton win, Hamilton still clinches a playoff spot. Additionally, if Hamilton loses and BC and the Eskimos finish in a tie, then the Ti-Cats will be on the outside looking in.

For the Tiger-Cats, they picked the right time to find some consistency, having won back-to-back games for the first time since the end of July/beginning of August. On Saturday Hamilton tallied 11 points in the first quarter against Saskatchewan and never looked back in what became a 24-6 triumph at home. Kevin Glenn completed 22-of-36 passes for 237 yards and a score, while DeAndra' Cobb contributed 159 yards and a touchdown on 25 rushing attempts.

For his efforts Cobb was named the CFL Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season. The running back has generated 1,140 rushing yards this year, becoming the seventh player in the league to reach the 1,000-yard plateau.

Not to be overlooked in the victory for the Cats was wide receiver Dave Stala who, with his nine catches for 126 yards, was named the top Canadian Player of the Week.

Unfortunately for Winnipeg, there was much less to cheer about last week as they came out on the losing end of a 48-13 final versus the league-leading Montreal Alouettes on the road. The Blue Bombers managed just seven first downs, 56 yards rushing and a mere 206 yards of total offense.

Michael Bishop converted 8-of-21 passes for 145 yards and a score, but backup Casey Bramlet had as many completions to his own team (one) as he did to the opposition.

After the game head coach Mike Kelly took offense to some of the comments being made by interviewers during a post-game broadcast and subsequently lost his cool when it was suggested that maybe the players were not completely focused on the task at hand. Kelly swore on-air in an interview, but on Monday morning had extended an apology. Regardless of his contrition, coach Kelly was fined $2,000 for his behavior.

Perhaps the notion that the Bombers were not altogether focused is not without some merit, given that Montreal's Larry Taylor managed to return a missed field goal 115 yards for a touchdown of his own.

Winnipeg running back Fred Reid, one of the leading rushers in the CFL this season with his 1,294 yards on 223 attempts, has experienced the highs and the lows of trying to maintain a rushing attack for the team. Against Montreal in four games this season Reid has a total of just 154 yards and just a single touchdown.

For Hamilton, the passing attack has been fairly strong this season. with quarterbacks combining to convert 62.1 percent of their passes for 4.570 yards and 24 touchdowns. More importantly, the Cats have been guilty of only 13 interceptions, and some of that has to do with how well the wideouts have performed this season.

One of those pass catchers is the mercurial Arland Bruce, traded to Hamilton early in the season from Toronto. Even though he missed some action during that transaction, Bruce is still one of the top receivers in the league with his 83 catches for 1,177 yards and nine scores.

These two teams last met the second week of October when the Blue Bombers posted a 38-28 victory on the road. The clubs have split their two regular- season bouts heading into this contest, while Winnipeg retains a 53-42 advantage in the regular-season series.

The Blue Bombers might have something to prove after the media somewhat called them out for not giving a full effort in their view. If that's the case, expect to see Winnipeg take up for their coach this week and leave no doubt as to the team's performance

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Winnipeg 31, Hamilton 20

Overall Season Record: 36-31-1; Last Week's Record: 4-0.