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CFL Week 6 Recap
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The Goal Post is back after an interesting weekend of CFL Football.
Damien and Patrick start off the show by talking about the smoke-delay to the Stampeders / Roughriders game on Friday night, before getting into the game itself on Saturday. Hamilton continues to soar while Ottawa gets closer to absolute rock-bottom. Speaking of rock bottom, Edmonton crashed hard against BC on Sunday, just a week after getting their first win.
The Boys then issue another edition of The Goal Post 3 Stars of the Week - in which they were forced to actually give out 4 stars instead of 3. Next, they do a major re-shuffle of the CFL power rankings to take into account Week 6 wins and losses, before moving to Week 7.
They quickly preview each game on the Week 7 slate, including moving lines and quick thoughts, before giving out their Week 7 picks - The Podcast is 13-7 to date.
Enjoy!
Intro: 0:00 - 5:13
STAMPEDERS 24 ROUGHRIDERS 10: 5:14 - 16:32
TICATS 23 REDBLACKS 20: 16:33 - 30:05
LIONS 32 ELKS 14: 30:06 - 40:32
FOUR* Stars of the Week: 40:33 - 43:20
Power Rankings: 43:21 - 47:02
Week 7 Preview: 47:03 - 56:08
Week 7 Picks: 56:09 - 1:02:15
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Overview
00:00:16
Speaker
All right, welcome back to another episode of the goalpost coming at you after. An exciting CFL week six, some controversy, some delays, a lot of action, but we're here, Patrick. How are you doing?
Game Scheduling Challenges
00:00:32
Speaker
Good, Damian. Yeah, the the CFL week got off to a a strange start. um You know, they jam-packed three games into a two-day stretch, which, I mean, Saturday was great for the viewers,
00:00:44
Speaker
Sunday, not so much, but I mean, overall, it was just kind of a weird day um on on Friday night, kind of some strange, just like how they were communicating it. Because at
Air Quality Delays and Fan Reactions
00:00:55
Speaker
first it was delayed a bit, about an hour, maybe hour and a half.
00:00:58
Speaker
And then they kind of went dark after it hit that 945 Eastern time. it was just like, okay, what's going on guys? The CFL panel looked like they were dying for some for something to like help them out.
00:01:09
Speaker
Give us some relief here. We can't kill like two and a half hours of of airtime. um And then, yeah, and eventually the game was, you know, postponed to ah Saturday and we had a bit of a doubleheader. So it made it made Saturday a lot of fun, but I think I was pretty excited for the the Friday night showdown for first in the West.
00:01:28
Speaker
Yeah, it was I think I eventually, like it feels like when it hit like 11 o'clock Eastern, when it would I was like, all right, this game's not happening. Like, I think that the max time was like, once it hit 12 Eastern was the the maximum time allotment of three hours.
00:01:46
Speaker
Delayed due to air quality from wildfires. ah Just a bit of a fiasco. Just kept getting pushed bit by bit until it had to be canceled. and credit to the Rough Riders fans.
00:01:58
Speaker
Stayed in that building, probably slamming beers for three hours. Yeah, ah pill Pill County, I believe, is Pill Country, sorry. that That section in the end zone, they were probably having a great time there. They probably didn't even know the game was delayed ah for a while. I saw the the Rough Riders kind of...
00:02:18
Speaker
hooked up some of the season ticket holders as well, ah paid them their dues for kind of sticking it out and, you know, showing off what's probably the best fan base in the CFL, especially kind of this season. They're off to a great start.
00:02:31
Speaker
um I believe they were given like vouchers for any game of their choice kind of thing, hooking them up for the season ticket holders and just kind of you know, giving back to the fans that have kind of treated their team so well this year. So nice to see some class from that organization. And yeah, I mean, they still showed up in the Saturday, even though. So I'm sure like the fans kind of, they just booked that weekend off just because they knew it was such a big game.
00:02:57
Speaker
Yeah, it was pretty cool too. I think they gave, like if you had a ticket, you got, or maybe it was just season ticket holders, got like a $50 voucher to the team store. And then the coolest thing I thought was that They encourage people to bring their own food on the Saturday, which is like, I don't know, being from Toronto, I could never imagine something like that in a Toronto stadium. Aside from the Jays, obviously you can do that in MLB stadiums, but anything else, I could never imagine a team being like, yeah, you know what?
00:03:26
Speaker
Screw the concessions. You can bring your own food. Yeah, no, I'm i'm happy because i was I couldn't remember the second part of ah what what the the Rough Riders gave to the fans. But yeah, I guess I guess i just kind of like if you bring it in on the Friday night, I guess it's just like not fully ready for the next day or like it kind of goes bad and they don't they don't want to get their fans sick and that could cause even more problems. I didn't even think about that. Yeah.
00:03:50
Speaker
Hey, well do yourself a favor, bring your own food in. We're going to let it slide this time and then we're going to be ready to go for next week. um But yeah, man, like that, the Rough Rider fans are probably, they were just having a ball. They said, and we'll bring the chips, bring our own hot dogs. Maybe people are bringing grills into the stadium, just cooking out in the five hundred s up there.
00:04:09
Speaker
I would not be surprised. The fallout was pretty interesting because you think about it, like obviously Calgary and Saskatchewan, not too far from each other. Those
Accommodation and Game Impact
00:04:17
Speaker
Calgary would have been going home. They had to scramble for like a mixture of hotel rooms for the players and University of Regina dorm rooms.
00:04:27
Speaker
These guys are huge human beings. I cannot imagine that those dorm room beds are that big. ah that Just the image of a Dedrick Mills sleeping on a dorm room bed was killing me on Friday night.
00:04:41
Speaker
Yeah, or any of the defensive or offensive linemen. I hope they at least you know were... brought out like an extra mattress pad for them. So they had double pad, but like just the length, the sheer length. I remember I'm, I'm not a tall guy by any means. And my feet were touching the end of those dorm bedrooms at Wilfrid Laurier. So I'm assuming the beds at the university of Regina can't be too different. And I'm sure they're exactly the same. So I mean, I'm sure the boys didn't have the greatest sleep, but from based on their play,
00:05:11
Speaker
it didn't seem to affect them too much. Yeah, the only thing, it was interesting because it got out to a bit of a sluggish start, which of course, when players are you know up that late and then having to play at 4 p.m. the next day, or I guess 2 p.m. that time, it would have been you know a pretty quick turnaround. You saw that Vernon Adams interception early in this game, ah and they...
00:05:33
Speaker
give up a field goal off it, stop short again, fumble, Dedrick Mills fumbles. Like it was, was a very, very sloppy start to this game. um But after kind of those those first two turnovers, Calgary woke up on both sides of the ball and just took it to Saskatchewan.
00:05:53
Speaker
Yeah, it was a weird start. Like said, pretty expected um after, like you said, everything that they had to go through ah daytime start, but, it was It was kind of that pass to Damian Alford in that touchdown.
Standout Performances
00:06:08
Speaker
And where we're Calgary kind of like took that, that was their first sign of momentum, sign of life in this game. So you said the interception, Dedrick Mills had some problems going on there.
00:06:18
Speaker
Then once they got that Damian Alford touchdown, and I mean... the most, um like that's what what I think we're going to see out of Alford for his entire CFL career is just put it up there. Let the big man go get it.
00:06:30
Speaker
ah This was his breakout game. Like they just kind of rode him. They said, this is going to be our horse today. He was the one who was ready to play right out of the gate. And I think this was kind of like, He had ah the last game when he got his first touchdown pass. That was kind of his, you know, nice to see. It was a stepping stone in his career.
00:06:49
Speaker
But in his, what is it? This would be his fifth career CFL game. This was his breakout game. It was, hey, this is Damien Alford. I'm the number one overall pick. And the broadcast was talking, man. And I kind of thought it was an insane discussion.
00:07:04
Speaker
They were saying you you have to keep them on the roster because i couldn't sorry I can't remember the name, but a wide receiver is going to be coming off the injury list soon within the next week or two, and they have to, you know,
00:07:15
Speaker
fill with fulfill the roster requirements in the amount of players. So someone is to have to come off the Stampeders roster. And they were talking like it was going to be Damian Alford. And I'm like, why would the first overall pick who is getting better every single week?
00:07:29
Speaker
Why would he even be a thought to get rid of him when this player comes back? So I thought that was crazy. and he left no doubts after his performance in this game. That would be insane. Guys, six six like on On jump balls, these DBs don't even have a chance, man. like They're trying to go up for it.
00:07:46
Speaker
He's reaching directly over their head. He finishes the game with six receptions, 156 yards, and two touchdowns. Absolutely mental. he he He has that 30-yard pass, and then He had like a 36-yard ball to drive after.
00:08:04
Speaker
He starts the second half with an 81-yard touchdown. Like it was it was absolutely a green light between him and Vernon Adams. it That connection seems to be getting better every single week.
00:08:15
Speaker
And this just in general, this Calgary offense looks like such a well-oiled machine. Like, it's a perfect mix of running plays, of passing plays. They got tall, lengthy receivers who win those 50-50 balls.
00:08:29
Speaker
Vernon Adams is using his feet. Like, Dominique Grimes got involved again. He he made it 16 straight games with a catch. it And their defense is arguably more impressive. Like, this team is super, super legit.
00:08:43
Speaker
Yeah, it was nice to see Damian Alford get it done in in both ways with his touchdowns. Like he's not a one trick pony jump ball guy. Like the 81 with some breakaway speed was was almost more impressive than the 50-50 balls.
00:08:55
Speaker
And yeah, the defense of the Stampeders. Here's the last, well, I guess you could go back four games. They have not allowed more than 20 points. It's 19, 12, 16, and 10. it's nineteen twelve sixteen and ten In the past two weeks, they've done it against the top two the teams that were first place in the West at that time. so they Well, I guess Winnipeg had one less game than Saskatchewan, but it was just like the top two teams that we believe are going to be in the West, they absolutely shut them down offensively, allowing 16 points to the Blue Bombers and only 10 points to a healthy Trevor Harris-led Saskatchewan Rough Riders. And the craziest part to me
00:09:35
Speaker
why who, I mean, aside from Dedrick Mills, it's 50-50, but like AJ Ouellette is the other running back this year who has been at the top of the CFL. Here's a stat line. i don't know, in case you missed it, six carries for nine yards. Like he couldn't do anything. They made them such a one-dimensional offense. And when Trevor Harris is forced to throw it 44 times, ah you're going to be in a good spot to win that game. And just the coverage of the, of the Stampeders and they got pressure. it was just a well oil machine on the back end. And it started by stopping AJ Ouellette in the running game.
00:10:11
Speaker
Yeah, Saskatchewan came into the game as the league's top rushing ah offense, averaging 138.5 yards per game. They finished the game with 16 rushing yards.
00:10:22
Speaker
it's It's an absurd stat. the The overview of Calgary's defense, they're first in points allowed per game, 16.6%.
00:10:32
Speaker
First in TDs allowed, six touchdowns over five games. First in defensive TDs with three. Heading into the game, they were first in into yards yards allowed per play, 5.9. I think it's about closer to seven now after that game because Harris put up some yards over the over the air. But they forced four turnovers in this game, two fumbles and two turnover on downs.
00:10:55
Speaker
it Saskatchewan just got punched in the mouth in this game. like that That is the only way to put it. You come in, you're undefeated. Calgary beats an undefeated Winnipeg last week, beats an undefeated Saskatchewan this week.
00:11:10
Speaker
Hard to stress like how impressive this game was from Calgary. Yeah, Riders at home too. That was the whole start. like they like They are... de That's the biggest stadium and I think probably the most rowdy fan base in the CFL.
00:11:25
Speaker
And they just shut them down. And Trevor Harris, maybe the most fraudulent 425 yard passing game we've seen this year. um it was just garbage time, garbage time. But the crazy point the crazy part of it was like he he obviously put up the yards, but there's just no points. like They weren't even tacking on late field goals.
00:11:43
Speaker
They had a couple opportunities late where they went for it on third down, weren't able to convert. And it was just, they they couldn't get anything going. Obviously a huge part of that is like, they're really missing a lot of weapons at receiver. Sean Bain Jr. ah Still out in Keon Schaefer Baker.
00:12:00
Speaker
That's a bit of a tongue twister. He, those two guys are obviously huge for it. And like Keyshawn Johnson has had a couple of huge games, but it's, it's when, you know, the weapons as a whole are out and you kind of only have like one go-to guy.
00:12:15
Speaker
teams Teams are able to game plan around that, and they're able to kind of shut him down or just kind of keep him in check, let him get these easy completions and not get beat over the top, which we've seen Keyshawn Johnson be able to do to teams this year.
00:12:27
Speaker
So, you know, it's not like ah the Rough Riders were at 100% here, but the way they were just shut down and couldn't get anything going on the run game. leads me to believe they're going to have to maybe change some things up on offense, right? It it was just not a great show for them.
00:12:44
Speaker
And hopefully, you know, they get these two receivers back and they get to 100%. And then, you know, well we'll we'll see how they kind of bounce back after getting punched in the mouth a bit. Yeah. And i think, uh, Amalus is out too, which like, fuck, he had like the, one of the best game receiving games of the season so far. Like when you have three weapons like that out, um, shout out Joe Robus.
00:13:07
Speaker
Let me get this right. I don't want to butcher an Italian name because he had a hell of a game. Joe Robustelli, 11 receptions, 191 yards, and his first CFL touchdown.
00:13:18
Speaker
That was like the lone bright spot for them in this game. ah shout out Dedrick Mills once again. Like, I feel like we read the same stat line every week. 14 carries, 85 yards once again.
00:13:31
Speaker
Guys averaging five yards a carry on the season, about 80 yards a game. just Unbelievable how consistent he's been so far. One little interesting fact about this game that I found was crazy was, did you see the the rules if this game was outright canceled?
00:13:49
Speaker
ah not Not until you sent it to me. You put me on this. It is bizarre. I didn't know this about the CFL. If so, the game would have been played in Calgary, August 23rd, which to me is kind of insane to lose a home game like that.
00:14:04
Speaker
Um, teams alternate four total drives. it It it's, there's so many weird, like minute details to this. It's kind of like college overtime. Like if a touchdown scored, the team must go for two points.
00:14:20
Speaker
Uh, the lead The leading team prior to the delay determines which end the opposition drives toward if tied the home team chooses. And each team is allowed two possessions starting at the 55-yard line for each point scored prior to the stoppage.
00:14:38
Speaker
Teams gain one yard towards the ah opposition's end zone. I.e. if Team A led Team B 15-0, Team A would start both drives at the 40-yard line.
00:14:50
Speaker
Team B would start both drives at the 55-yard line. like It is so seems so made up. i I hope this didn't get to Luke Wilson's desk because he would have an absolute field day with this. And and thankfully, this didn't happen.
00:15:04
Speaker
I think what happened was like the next best scenario to happen, right? Like Saskatchewan still gets their home game. it's it's You don't have to go a full 24 hours. You get a day game in and, you know, your travel is not too screwed up.
00:15:19
Speaker
And like, you know i mean? It's not like you have to wait till the Sunday and you get ah screwed with a short week the next week. So everything kind of worked itself out. But hopefully we never have to see ah it come to what what you just kind of laid out because that just seems like it's going to be a mess and it not many people are going to be happy if this situation comes to be.
00:15:38
Speaker
No, the the what for each point you get a yard closer is to me the funniest rule out of that. It's so bizarre. Yeah. I just like every, every point you read, it just kind of got a little bit more ridiculous. You know what i mean? It was just like, Nope, we're not done yet. Here's a little bit more. Here's another tidbit in it's going to get crazier.
00:16:00
Speaker
So yeah, hopefully we never ever have to see that happen. But I guess that's like, they're just absolute, like slam the bell. This is our emergency procedure. And hopefully we just don't see it.
00:16:12
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And you're right about like the the that was the next best scenario or the best possible scenario, especially because the road team won. Like if if Calgary lose that game is like, fuck, we were sleeping in dorms last night. Like it it starts to get a bit messier.
00:16:27
Speaker
But when the road team wins, then there's not really any excuses left. Like it it ties a nice bow on things. um But we'll move into the Eastern Conference now for the second half of the doubleheader on Saturday, where the Hamilton Ticats took a firm hold of number one in the East, beating the Red Blacks 23 to 20.
00:16:49
Speaker
Quick check, the two last teams in our opening power rankings, Hamilton and Calgary, now lead their respective divisions in the West and the East.
00:17:00
Speaker
I saw a lot of people already giving early calls for Calgary, Hamilton, Grey Cup. that was like I saw about 15 tweets like that, like, this is going to be a hot take, Calgary and Hamilton in the Grey Cup. It's like, this is not a hot take if I see it 20 times on my feed.
00:17:15
Speaker
um But another week where Hamilton, and in this one, comes back to win this game, ah This was a frustrating game if you had the over like me and Patrick. A lot of missed opportunities on both sides, especially considering the Red Blacks only took five minutes to go on a touchdown drive at the start of this game.
00:17:36
Speaker
um But the first half of this game was messy, man. It it ended up being 7-4 at halftime. Yeah, you would have thought this was the game that got delayed and pushed back an entire day. But it's like, no, this this happened at their originally scheduled ah time.
00:17:52
Speaker
And it was beautiful weather. And in like you said, with that start, I go, here we go. All gloves are off. like The boys are about to trade punches the entire four quarters.
00:18:02
Speaker
And we just did not get that. and Especially in the first half. It turned out to be a defensive slugfest. Seven to four at half. And... it's not like there was a lack of yardage. that Both teams were driving down the field, making stuff happen. Each team at halftime, so the Red Blacks had nine first downs, the Tiger Cats had 10.
00:18:22
Speaker
um Both at, like well, the Tiger Cats had 128 passing yards to the Red Blacks 137. Not a lot of rushing on either side here, but they were moving the ball with no turnovers, and both teams had over 14 minutes of possession.
00:18:36
Speaker
So for debt for that, first half to end up at seven to four, like you said, was very, very frustrating to watch because the opportunities were there on both sides. um You know, we'll get into it in the second half. There are some bit plays overturned, but for this, like for the net yardage to be where it was, I'm not saying this was supposed to be 2020 at half of these scores, but you'd like to see both teams in double digits.
00:19:00
Speaker
And we just did not get that. And I don't, Like, I guess you got to kind of tip your cap to the defenses for just bending, bending, bending. And then right as these teams get chances to, you know, get either a field goal or in the tu in the end zone, the defense would make a play.
00:19:16
Speaker
And it was just, they didn't have an answer for it. So it was just kind of a frustrating game. And especially in the first half, second half was a little bit more fun, but the first half was very frustrating to watch. Especially considering that there was no turnovers. like Usually when you would see that that point scored with those yards, you'd be like, oh, they must have been a turnover fest.
00:19:33
Speaker
There's no turnovers in in the first half of this game. It's kind of mental to see. um Second half, shout out Mark Leggio, Ticats record for 25 consecutive field goals. Gets them on the board early in the second half.
00:19:46
Speaker
And then maybe the biggest moment of this game, Kenny Lawler, Probably has the touchdown catch of the year with this one, a 44-yard bomb from Bo Levi Mitchell.
00:19:57
Speaker
He goes pretty much fully horizontal, high points the ball across his body with a defender draped all over him. Unreal catch. Like Hamilton is becoming must-see TV because of this Mitchell Lawler connection. It's unbelievable to see.
00:20:15
Speaker
It's such good and entertaining football to watch. And he's pretty much in competition like with himself for the best touchdown catches of the year. hes he's an absolute game breaker like Ottawa did everything they could in the first half to keep him in check but it's only a matter of time with Kenny Lawler before he's going to make a ah huge play break the game open and that's exactly what he did on that play of the 44 yard catch just just like yeah the human body shouldn't be able to kind of do what he did with a CFL ball nonetheless and and he just holds on to it acts like nothing happened he you know
00:20:52
Speaker
It felt like he was contained in this game. like Obviously, he had that one big play, but overall, kind of felt like it was it was not the Kenny Lawler show we saw kind of over the past three, four weeks.
00:21:02
Speaker
And he finishes the game with six receptions, 95 yards, and two touchdowns. And that felt like ah an off Kenny Lawler game. it's What they are doing, the two of them, is so impressive. I mean, like we'll see as like that this... you know the The weather starts to turn. It gets a little bit colder. Their their lack of a rushing game will maybe catch up to them.
00:21:22
Speaker
But for now, when the weather's nice and the boys are just slinging the ball, it is a perfect connection. It is the number one in the CFL this season. not not Not even close. So yeah, all you can do is hope to contain Kenny Lawler.
00:21:34
Speaker
And Ottawa did that in this game. And he still kind of was the reason that Hamilton Tiger Cats came out with a win. Yeah, it was ah it it was a huge, huge game in like the fact that the Ticats did not give up in this game whatsoever. like they They kept pounding it, pounding it, even though when they were down in the fourth quarter, they become the second team to get a fourth quarter comeback this year. It's eighteen and two for if you're leading going into the fourth quarter in the CFL so far this year. Part of that was the defense stepping up. They intercepted.
00:22:08
Speaker
ah Drew Brown twice in the second half. um One of them ends up in a field goal. The other one, Hamilton gets down to first and goal with four minutes left. The Ticats go for it on third down correctly. I might add ah you're down for a a field goal. Does you nothing there? Like I think that you should go for that every time.
00:22:28
Speaker
And you know Tim White really should have had that touchdown. Seeing that, me and Patrick are texting, praying for the over in this game, praying for overtime, and that one just like drops out of Tim White's hands on the goal line. That was so tough to watch. Yeah.
00:22:44
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it wasn't it was not a perfect pass for Mitchell, but with how much time and space Tim White had, you could make a play there. And he just wasn't able to.
00:22:55
Speaker
And then, you know, fast forward to Hamilton's next drive, and had... Bo Levi finds Tim White about 30, 20, 30 yards down the field on the sideline again, wide open. And it just goes through his hands.
00:23:09
Speaker
Tim White was, you know, very frustrating in this game. Still finished with a great stat line, like four receptions, 60 yards. Nice to see another receiver get some love in this Hamilton offense. So like overall, he had a good game.
00:23:20
Speaker
but there was just two plays that kind of stuck out for Damien and I, especially, like we said, we have the over and, you know, we're going to harp on that this entire segment, it seems like, and I'm, I'm well, okay with that. And then the, the Pimp, Khalil Pimpleton has kind of taken over as the returner for Ottawa and he's done a great job and might as well just kind of get into it now. Cause that was kind of a play where Ottawa seemed to, like you said, Hamilton was fighting back the whole game and they showed a lot of will and they found a way to, you know, get over the hump.
00:23:49
Speaker
Ottawa, it looked like they responded. And, you know, an early fourth quarter, Pimpleton takes the kick back and he's in the end zone and the flag comes in for ah an illegal block.
00:24:01
Speaker
Bob Dice challenges. They go to review it and they're showing on the replay. Like it, it wasn't egregious. It was, I'm surprised the flag came down in the play. I think that's what you and I were talking about. And then you show on the replay, like, I guess it was shoulder on shoulder, but I guess it was on the back of his shoulder was the reason I didn't love the overturn, especially on such a big play.
00:24:26
Speaker
Uh, but yeah, the refs upheld their decision and it came back and it kind of, that was the huge reason why Ottawa lost. Yeah. They couldn't get anything going on offense. So your special teams comes in and kind of bails you out and gives you a huge touchdown like that. And to have that taken back, I liked the challenge because like you said, was shoulder on shoulder and the Hamilton guy cut under him, like tried to cut under him to get space. And that's why it ended up being back on the back.
00:24:52
Speaker
it's hard to think that the reps are going overturn their own call there, which sucks. um But yeah, that one was very dicey. And then of course, like Hamilton, the end of the game, who else? Kenny Lawler is the one who, who finds three yards and gets a touchdown.
00:25:07
Speaker
i don't know why you're playing zone defense at the fucking three yard line. Cause, cause they just got lost. Kenny Lawler was wide open for that catch. That one was tough to watch.
00:25:17
Speaker
He's now at a CFL leading seven touchdowns already, leads the league in receiving yards, now at plus 1,500 for MOP, Patrick.
00:25:28
Speaker
And I'm thinking about placing this bet to have a horse in the East as long as the West because Vernon Adams Jr. is now tied with Bo Levi Mitchell for the best odds at plus 380.
00:25:40
Speaker
Vernon Adams down from plus 2,000 that I placed it on ah in our CFL preview episode. My only thing sticking me up here is Bo Levi was in the final finalists for MOP last year.
00:25:55
Speaker
You know, he's an older quarterback. Do they give him like, even if Kenny Lawler gets a triple crown and leads in in receiving yards, receptions, touchdowns, are they just going to give it to the guy who's throwing him the ball?
00:26:09
Speaker
I think that's a real possibility. I think Kenny Lawler would have to win the Triple Crown. And I think then he would have a serious case. And then hopefully someone can, you know, out.
00:26:21
Speaker
I don't see it happening right now, but hopefully someone can have more passing yards than Bo Levi or something or more touchdowns or maybe Bo Levi starts throwing a couple more interceptions, which kind of just some some things that you can kind of take him down a notch. He has yet to do that so far this season. Plus, Hamilton is now you know, gone to first in the East.
00:26:39
Speaker
Uh, I've kind of missed the boat on the VA, uh, MOP bet, but I'm still root for you because that was, you know, preseason you snipe that one. So I hope that hits, but yeah, I kind of want to get in on something too. So Kenny Lawler is a pretty enticing option at 15 to one.
00:26:54
Speaker
Um, but it's just like the reason I kind of do like Kenny Lawler maybe over Bo Levi's because bo Levi's leaning on Lawler, right? Like Lawler's not leaning on, on the other way around. It's Bo Levi is looking to Kenny Lawler every single play. And he's the guy that's kind of not bailing them out, but when you need a big play, who are you going to? And it's Kenny Lawler. So maybe that, maybe, maybe we got to start pushing some East propaganda a little bit as well.
00:27:20
Speaker
And it's the the type of catches that he's making. Like he's he's kind of turning sometimes not perfect balls into touchdown catches. Yeah, something to keep an eye on for betters because FanDuel keeps kind of opening and closing MOP. There'll be like a week and a half or two weeks where you can't place MOP bets.
00:27:37
Speaker
seems to be back up now uh after week six so yeah something to keep an eye on there um but yeah like hamilton's defense forces a turnover on downs for the red blacks to end this game seems like the red blacks ah offensive line seems to always crumble right when they need it like this reminded me of their game against the skatchewan to open the season where they were trying to mount that comeback and drew brown got sacked like twice in the last drive of the game uh Ticats, these two teams could not be riding different waves of momentum right now. like The Red Blacks, you lose three in a row to Toronto, to Edmonton, two of the worst teams in the league.
00:28:16
Speaker
You lose to a division rival in Hamilton. Seems like that fan base is at its absolute wits end, and Hamilton is just absolutely riding high right now as first in the East.
00:28:27
Speaker
Yeah, and ah Ottawa doesn't have the excuse of you know Drew Brown being out for two of those losses, and he like After that first game he had over 400 yards, the ah offense looks unstoppable for the Red Blacks.
00:28:40
Speaker
They have not looked like that at all since he's returned. Obviously, his stat line and like he's going to throw for yards, that's kind of inevitable with Drew Brown. But, I mean, two interceptions this game, only one touchdown, and and he's just not coming through.
00:28:55
Speaker
When they need them to, right? like they there' There was plenty of opportunities for Ottawa to drive the field and put points on the board and kind of not even steal this win because you were up at half.
00:29:06
Speaker
You had the lead. Hamilton kind of stole it from Ottawa where Bo Levi just found a way to make plays when he needed to or like he was able to lean on Kenny Lawler. Drew Brown, like you know Justin Hardy's kind of been a guy for him. Obviously, Eugene Lewis is there as well. like There's some guys that he he just needs to find a ah guy that he can lean on in crunch time. And then I think that'll kind of open some things up for them.
00:29:31
Speaker
But otherwise, he just hasn't looked 100% since he's been back. And that's kind of got to change for Ottawa to start winning some games. Yeah, it's tough because Eugene Lewis has been great. Like he had 128 yards on seven catches in this game, but he's targeted 14 times.
00:29:46
Speaker
Like it seems like it's almost like a Kenny Lawler thing where Drew Brown is really trying to force the ball over to him. um it It is a tough sled right now in Ottawa.
00:29:57
Speaker
ah We'll get to their game next week, but huge, huge game for them to bounce back next week. ah Right back at it again against Hamilton. um We'll move to the last game of the week here.
00:30:10
Speaker
Sunday night, this was not a fun one whatsoever, especially if you had Elks on the point spread. Edmonton defense actually did its best, I thought, to keep the Elks in this game.
00:30:24
Speaker
like it it was They were down 10-0 pretty early in this game. and Jake Ceresna intercepts a deflected pass. Not a great sign where your first interception of the season is coming from a defensive lineman.
00:30:37
Speaker
Then he fumbles it, and then Tyrell Ford jumps on it. Elks get down like right in the red zone, able to score a touchdown, get the game to ten seven and that was the closest this game would ever get. The the game truly flipped on its head ah to finish the first half. like After the interception, James Butler...
00:30:56
Speaker
He gets like 26 yards on three touches, 15-yard run into the end zone, right back to a 10-point lead. And then two minutes left in the second quarter, Deontay Williams broke up a pass to third two-and-out.
00:31:11
Speaker
Side note, Deontay Williams is absolutely killing people this year. He killed someone yet again. Insane hit. Maybe one of the hardest hitters in the CFL. Just absolutely creating a rock'em, sock'em highlight tape.
00:31:25
Speaker
um But then the Lions, Thank you. get a 92-yard punt return, called back on a penalty. Again, another penalty calling back an electric punt return play. um But it didn't matter. Like, James Butler goes 38 yards up the sideline.
00:31:39
Speaker
BC goes 101 yards in 90 seconds. Rourke goes 243 yards in the first half, finds Stanley Berryhill in the end zone, and boom, it's 24-7 into half.
00:31:51
Speaker
And that, like, ended this game. Like, the last, like, two and a half, three minutes of the first half here just completely ended it. Yeah, this was a frustrating watch. ah It was something that i got like we kind of highlighted in the preview in this game. like Both teams were coming off massive wins last week. They were both kind of sputtering out. They needed to get some momentum.
00:32:10
Speaker
And one of my keys was who can avoid the letdown game and they like carry the momentum over into the next week and kind of start hitting their stride and get back into the season. And BC did exactly that. It was in maybe their best game of the season.
00:32:24
Speaker
um And then Edmonton on the other side. possibly their worst game of the season. And that's just something that you can't have after a huge win. You're at home. BC is coming into your place and you just laid an absolute egg. And like you didn't mention, like, I agree early.
00:32:41
Speaker
The defense did everything in their power to keep them in this. They're forcing turnovers given, given a Trey Ford and the offense opportunities to put points on the board.
00:32:52
Speaker
But over the course of four quarters, it was a pathetic effort. And it's kind of been a theme for this team, a team that spent a lot of money on the defense in the offseason and bringing JC Sherratt as a first year defensive coordinator.
00:33:07
Speaker
This defense has serious problems. ah it It is, you know, they they looked okay last week in their win and they came through a big moment, but they've only shown it for one week this year.
00:33:19
Speaker
And it's every year every story every week this year has been kind of, well, where's the defense? you know Where's the defense? Keep keep the ah offense in the game. And they they did it in the first quarter.
00:33:29
Speaker
But then you know BC makes the adjustments and they had 42 minute, almost 43 minutes, 42.54 in time of possession, which is the second highest total since the CFL started tracking that stat in 1996.
00:33:44
Speaker
So I guess that is a little bit of reflection on, you know, the offense wasn't getting anything done either, but I mean, this has not been a great start to the Elks here. And just
Critiques and Future Prospects
00:33:53
Speaker
when you thought, Hey, maybe you can ride that momentum back to back home games, you you know BC hasn't looked great this year. They've kind of been a Jekyll and Hyde team. You don't know what you're going to get from week to week.
00:34:03
Speaker
Well, now we know the Elks are you know rightfully bottom in the in the West. and i don't Something has to change. I don't know if you you fire someone or whatever, but...
00:34:15
Speaker
Personnel changes seem to be coming, especially on the defensive side of the ball for the Elks. And I know it's his first year in the system for JC Sherritt, but it's just been a ah really rough start for him and the Elks.
00:34:27
Speaker
It really has. And they lose Jake Suresna gets carted off in this one. They're already without Robbie Smith. Like you lose two of those defensive linemen. DBs are like Royce Mechier was taken out of this game too. That's another tough loss. Like it just seems to be getting worse and worse on the defensive side of the ball.
00:34:44
Speaker
Nathan Rourke in this game was something to watch, dude. Like he was zipping balls, like the the windows he was fitting balls in and the way he uses his head to distract like where he's throwing from looks like fucking Aaron Rodgers out there. Like he goes 26 30, 345 yards, two touchdowns.
00:35:05
Speaker
He's now five and O against Edmonton in his career. Like his one mistake was a batted ball interception. There's not a ton that you can do on that. um But it was unbelievable how good Nathan Rourke looked in this game.
00:35:19
Speaker
And that did not help Trey Ford. Like so the fact that they're playing against each other and then one quarterback looks like all pro superstar And on the other side of the ball, Trey Ford finishes with 34 yards passing on four of 12 attempts.
00:35:39
Speaker
He goes one in six to start the game. Meanwhile, Rourke goes six straight passes to open up their touchdown drive, goes eight for eight to start the game. He starts the game with an underthrown interception. Again, Trey Ford does.
00:35:53
Speaker
ah The conversation's got to happen. It is now. like oh yeah You're going into your bye week. Cody Fajardo got you two touchdowns in this game, one rushing, one throwing. It's getting loud in Edmonton. Oh, I think with the bye week, it's a perfect storm where Cody Fajardo is taking that first snap of week eight.
00:36:13
Speaker
yeah right Yeah, week eight. and i I mean, it it was just weird. It was like almost the opposite of last week where Trey Ford's actually having a good game and then you're just mixing it up out of nowhere.
00:36:23
Speaker
i almost felt they waited too long to bring in Cody Fajardo in this game where I was like, just pull the trigger earlier. I'm not saying that would have been the difference in this game, but at least, you know, put Trey Ford out of his misery. He was it easily his worst game the year. Maybe his worst game in the CFL.
00:36:38
Speaker
Yeah. I don't, I don't know if I forget some of his like early starts from a couple years ago, But it was as bad as I've seen him play in a long time. And Fajardo, yeah, like you said, he was fine. Like 5 of 7, 78 yards, touchdown, throwing and running.
00:36:54
Speaker
He might be this stabilization piece this team kind of needs. Like, you know what you're going to Cody Vigardo, high floor, low ceiling. And he's not going to kind of put you in trouble where Trey Ford is just volatile. You don't know what you're goingnna get out of him.
00:37:08
Speaker
So maybe that's just kind of what the Elks need off a bye week. Find a way to just give them a chance to win a football game. And hopefully their defense can kind of show up a little bit more than they have this year. And you win a close one.
00:37:20
Speaker
But I mean, this for for guys like us who had... The Elks plus four and a half and the line was moving their way. And to show that effort was just so disappointing. And I mean, good for BC though, because like I said before, we didn't really know what this BC team was.
00:37:36
Speaker
Now they put together two games in a row. They're back to 500. It's, it's their show. There's some signs of life for the BC lines this year. Especially you come into this game ah in in week six, seventh in the CFL with 94 rushing yards a game. We talked about how Nathan Rourke can't be your leading rusher.
00:37:55
Speaker
James Butler has a career game, 174 rushing on carries. I think he also had like 35 yards on three catches or five catches, something like that.
00:38:05
Speaker
Part of the reason they dominated the clock was because James Butler was getting six yards of carry every time he touched the ball. um And he just, it's hard emphasize just how good he was in this game. They could not stop him.
00:38:18
Speaker
And when you have Nathan Rourke passing the ball like that, and then James Butler being able to get six yards a pop, this offense, that's what starts to you know come to mind with this offense having an identity where when BC is at its best, this is an offense that is extremely, extremely dangerous and hard to stop.
00:38:37
Speaker
Keon Hatcher goes nine for nine for 130 yards. He's now second in the CFL in yards. He's averaging 17 yards a catch. like That is what the identity of this team is, is they're going to move fast, they're going to get a ton of yards on you, and they're going to score.
00:38:52
Speaker
And then the BC defense, like it's hard to tell, you know what was this Edmonton, was this BC? But to allow 112 yards on defense for a game in the CFL is unbelievable. They held Justin Rankin to 40%.
00:39:05
Speaker
four yards on three carries after, you know, what did he get last week? 174 yards or like 159 yards, something like that. So, and they entered this week allowing the most most rush yards per game in the CFL.
00:39:21
Speaker
They forced Edmonton into seven, two and out. So yeah, huge, huge bounce back game for BC who's seemingly starting to get a bit more of an identity as a team. Yeah, it was under dominance. And maybe it's because you're right, Buck Pierce, first-year head coach. Maybe the system's starting to take place here, right? Like maybe you're starting to see the results of what Buck Pierce has intended for this team. And it doesn't always get off to ah a hot start when you bring in a new coach. I mean, look at Edmonton. It's pretty bad over there too. So at least BC is...
00:39:52
Speaker
They're finding something. And well it's just something to keep an eye on. If they can just get it, like win four in a row, then they'll be right back there for the top in the West. It's, it's, encouraging there's encouraging signs in BC and we'll see if, you know, Buck Pierce and Nathan Roar can kind of continue this offensive onslaught that they've had. And then if the defense can show any sign of like what they've showed in, in this game against Edmonton, they'll be in a pretty good place going forward in this season.
00:40:18
Speaker
Yeah, that's the game i'm most excited for next week. We'll get to our week seven preview in a bit, but riders at Lions is going to be a banger. do Do the Rough Riders get off the mat? Do the Lions keep their momentum?
00:40:31
Speaker
Super interesting to watch. ah We'll move into our three stars of the week, which is a tough one. This might be like one of the tougher three stars of the week to pick because between Calgary, between B.C.,
00:40:43
Speaker
even you know guys on Saskatchewan, there was a ton of performances here. i don't know who to put first because my my gut instinct in this is to put Damian Alford first.
00:40:57
Speaker
To have six catches, 156 yards, and two touchdowns in your fifth game in the CFL to me is unbelievable. I like it. you know It's the first overall pick. This was his coming out party. It was breakout game.
00:41:13
Speaker
and Like like what I said before, it wasn't just jump balls. The 81-yard touchdown with breakaway speed shows he can get it done in multiple ways. and yeah I also just love the Moose celebration.
00:41:24
Speaker
ah It's great. It's fun. It's harmless. It's good stuff. so I agree with Damian Alford. I think you know you might be a little biased to put him first with sharing the first name, but I agree with you on that one.
00:41:38
Speaker
Second, ah oh man. I don't know where to put Vernon. Vernon Adams has to be on here. but maybe we'll Maybe we'll do a Stampeder sandwich. Yeah. And what do you think? I think, I mean, dude, I think we might have to do four this week.
00:41:53
Speaker
I know. i i think it's got to be two two Lions and and two Stamps. i think I think just how dominant BC was in this game. I think have to put both of their offensive catalysts.
00:42:07
Speaker
And i'll start with I'll start with James Butler because it's breakout game. The BC's really been struggling to run the ball this year. Nathan Rourke was their like their leading rusher for a period of time. He goes out there for 30 carries, 172 rushing yards, a touchdown, and three receptions for 35 yards yeah yeah to to get to at over 200 total yards. It was an impressive game, getting it done on both sides on offense, and it was just impressive to see James Butler you know break out.
00:42:34
Speaker
Have that game that huge game for him, and we'll see if he can kind of carry that momentum going forward this season. Yeah, I like Alfred, Butler, Adams, Rourke. Yeah, ah you know what? we'll We'll make an amend. Four stars this week because some unreal performances. like he can It's too good to leave Nathan Rourke. that That was one of the best games I've ever seen him play.
00:42:57
Speaker
Yeah, just so called I think his confidence is kind of back in the CFL, right? He was struggling to find it last year. Him and VA were battling it out. um But now it's nice to see both VA and Nathan Rourke have some success and just lead their teams. And I mean, you know, long ways to go, but that'd be a really fun storyline for a West final.
00:43:18
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that would be really fun. um We'll move into our power rankings here. We got some work to do here. It it was Saskatchewan, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Hamilton, BC, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa.
00:43:32
Speaker
I think that we already laid this on the line last week. If Calgary won that game, absolutely clear to me that Calgary is first in this, right? Like that's the easy one. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely agree with that. I think there's some easy one. I think our bottom got a little bit easier as well.
00:43:50
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Ottawa stays at the bottom. Edmonton has to go blow. Toronto won the bye week. Yeah. Congrats to them. Big, big win on the bye week for the Argos.
00:44:00
Speaker
um Edmonton has to go below the Argos. like That was one of the worst efforts we've seen this season. um I was kind of tempted to put them last, to be honest with you, just because of how bad it was. And at least Ottawa didn't look great, but at least they're kind of in the game.
00:44:17
Speaker
But I don't disagree. Ottawa's just like on a losing streak. Yes. Where it's like, find a way to win a game here. At least Edmonton won one two weeks ago. Yeah, no, I agree. in Let's go back up near the top.
00:44:31
Speaker
Does Saskatchewan stay at two? a That's tough, right? Because they've only lost one game. They didn't have their best effort. Maybe there's an asterisk on this loss because of the delay.
00:44:43
Speaker
so yeah, i don't want to overreact to the Rough Riders. So I would be fine putting them at number two for this. and But then obviously a big game coming up this week, that'll really determine where they kind of fall in these power rankings. Yeah, absolutely. um I think Montreal lost the bye week.
00:44:58
Speaker
Yeah, because Hamilton kind of had a great, great week. I don't disagree with that. And Winnipeg, too. Like, it's it's hard for me to not put Hamilton at three, considering how they're playing.
00:45:10
Speaker
It is power rankings. We're not saying like these these are the order of the standings. it's Hamilton is playing definitely the best football in the East over the past three weeks. So i' sure, let's call let's call some stirt let's let's get the Thai Cat fans on our side here.
00:45:24
Speaker
Yeah, ah we'll put... Now it's like between Winnipeg, ah Montreal, and BC, this is a tough one. Yeah, because we did talk about not overreacting, but BC is on a bit of a roll. We didn't get to see Montreal this week.
00:45:40
Speaker
Didn't, and I guess didn't get to see the Winnipeg either. I'm bit stumped here.
00:45:49
Speaker
I don't know, but I do kind of want to recognize, like, bc at six feels wrong to me. I don't know how you feel about that, um but I also don't, See, the issue is, if we we're going to drop Montreal down if we do to six.
00:46:04
Speaker
Davis Alexander's come back this week. and They got a nice get-right game against the Argos, still missing Chad Kelly. They're just going to soar right back up. But I guess that's kind of the nature power rankings. They're ever-changing. So we can do that.
00:46:16
Speaker
Yeah, we'll put Montreal at six. We'll put BC at five. Winnipeg at four. Yeah, yeah. A little little bit, a lot of West, a lot of West at the top. But I mean, ah the East has just got to start figuring itself out a little bit. Eventually it'll happen.
00:46:34
Speaker
I think you kind of have your top three, especially when Chad Kelly gets back. But yeah, I mean, the the West looks really strong in the first quarter of the year. They really do. It's, you know, it ebbs and flows in the CFL, but the West this year looks fantastic. So now it's Calgary, Saskatchewan, Hamilton as our top three, Winnipeg, BC, Montreal as our middle, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa at the basement as usual so far. So those are our power rankings.
00:47:03
Speaker
ah We'll move into week seven now, back with four games on the on the slate like usual, starting on the Thursday night. Argos going to Montreal again, which feels ridiculous because he started the season there.
00:47:17
Speaker
um But the Alouettes opened as four and a half point favorites. Davis Alexander is expected to start in this game. ah i i don't like this game.
00:47:30
Speaker
So it opened at four and a half. You want take a guess what it's at now? Give you a hint. It went in the Alouettes direction. Of course. I would say I'm going to say seven and a half.
00:47:42
Speaker
Eight and a half. They're expecting an absolute beatdown in Montreal. ah Chad Kelly in Buffalo rehabbing still. He looks close, but he's not going to start this week. Ryan Hunter out as well.
00:47:54
Speaker
Davis Alexander coming back, like you mentioned. This Montreal at home, Davis Alexander return. This is all the makings for just an Alouettes beatdown. I don't know if I lay the points. like I'm not 100%, but this seems like it's got Montreal written all over it.
00:48:11
Speaker
four point jump dude that is bonkers that is bonkers yeah it's it's tough dude at i open up fanduel and fanduel has the ad at the top argos to win the gray cup at the very it's like get out of my face with that stop offering it you're getting at a great number I'm going to keep on doubling down.
00:48:32
Speaker
ah But yeah, this is this is set up for a really bad, bad game for the Argos. I would love to be surprised in this game. Like even if they don't win it, like I would love Argos off a bye week. mean, Montreal off a bye week too.
00:48:46
Speaker
um But I would love to be surprised by the Argos in this game if they come out and can have a good effort. I just hate this Montreal defense against Nick Arbuckle.
00:48:56
Speaker
Like it feels like they figured him out. Yeah, I agree. And I also hate the Argos defense against Davis Alexander. like it's It's a perfect storm for the a not good result. like For me, i just want to see this Argos defense, which has really been struggling. Obviously, Nick Arbuckle is going to be Nick Arbuckle, and that is what it is. But that's not something that's going to be there in the second half of the season, ideally.
00:49:19
Speaker
ah This defense is going to be there the whole year. So I would like to see it kind of get going in the right direction here. Like we said, You're eight and a half point dogs. We're not looking for you to win this football game, but just kind of keeping it, keeping Montreal to less than 28 points would be ideal here. And, you know, show that you were in the game, at least showed some fight.
00:49:38
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. It's ah we're gonna have to wait and see, but yeah, I would love to see some fight out of the Argos in this one. ah This sandwich of this week is incredible. Stamps going to Winnipeg this time.
00:49:51
Speaker
They had the home field advantage in the stampede bowl. Now you got to go to one of the hardest places to play in the CFL 830 on Friday night. ah The Blue Bombers opened as favorites in this game favored by four and a half.
00:50:07
Speaker
It is now gone down to three and a half. So that's going back towards the Stamps. We'll get to our picks, but Stamps, what was what did I take it at? Plus three and a half last week was yeah maybe one of the better picks of the season because of how how drastic that changed.
00:50:23
Speaker
um But Stamps in this game, like this is going to be another heavy hitting game. I expect Winnipeg off a bye week to get up off the mat in this game, and think it's going to take a lot to stop them. like I agree with the line. like Even though Calgary is riding high, I agree with Winnipeg being favored in this game.
00:50:41
Speaker
Yeah, and like just another couple more weeks for Brady Oliveira to get back to 100%, fully get his legs under him. um that There's just an absolute gauntlet in the West this week, and it kicks off with this game.
00:50:56
Speaker
ah Like you said, it's just stamps are riding high right now. And you know Winnipeg's had to sit on that loss to this Calgary team for about two weeks. So you know they're goingnna come out motivated.
00:51:06
Speaker
ah And it's going to be, I said, I agree with you. Like this line makes sense. People might look at and be like, Calgary's playing so much better right now. They just beat them two weeks ago. i think that's pretty short-sighted way of thinking.
00:51:18
Speaker
And ah yeah, think Winnipeg's going to be a very motivated team here. And I think they're going to try and send a message back to the Stampeders. Yeah, it's ah you're going to have to weather the storm in this game. like I expect Winnipeg to come out just absolutely swinging in this game against Calgary.
00:51:34
Speaker
it It's going to be a good game. like it Now, that Calgary defense has looked unbelievable in these past couple of weeks, so whether they can kind of withstand that storm and you know hold up to Winnipeg, we'll have to see, but that's an exciting, exciting game on the schedule.
00:51:48
Speaker
So is Saturday, like we mentioned. ah Rough Riders going to BC. Opened at one and a half Rough Riders, stayed at one and a half Rough Riders. think that will probably stay throughout the week and be the line for this game.
00:52:02
Speaker
ah i would love, you know, this is another one where it's like, does Saskatchewan get off the mat? You get your first loss of the season, a bit of a janky week. Now you got go to BC, play BC at home. It's going to be packed. They opened up the the upper bowl ah down there in BC.
00:52:19
Speaker
Interesting, interesting game. Yeah, BC's riding some momentum right now, and now you really get a ah tough test. I mean, they were able to kind of win some games they probably should have won, and they handled their business, and that's what you're supposed to do.
00:52:33
Speaker
Now you got a big test at home, and like I said, Saskatchewan's coming off a loss. How will they bounce back? I haven't read any injury reports for this week coming up. Do we know if any of those three receivers are coming back? Do you have any? If you don't know, not a big deal, but I feel like that will just be huge for the Rough Riders to kind of get some other options on offense because like, even though they won,
00:52:57
Speaker
uh, sort of, what was it? Two weeks ago, I guess it would have been, they just kind of didn't look great. And they were obviously ah good team's fine ways to win, but it just wasn't kind of the discussion that we saw in the first three, four weeks of this season.
00:53:08
Speaker
And, uh, last week they, their offense really had nothing going for it. And maybe that's part of Calgary's defense, but, uh, I, I expect, You got you gotta to have a bounce back if you're Saskatchewan. I just don't know if they're to be able to show it.
00:53:23
Speaker
i If they're a battle-tested team, they will come out here and kind of bounce back, and then I'll have you know i'll i'll put them in an elite category of like this team can win a Grey Cup.
00:53:35
Speaker
But just to see how they bounce back is going to kind of be the storyline in this one then see if BC can kind of ride their two-game winning streak here. It seems like... Samuel Amalus is going to be back. They had hoped that the bye week would be enough for him to recover from that foot injury. ah he He saw limited action in practice last week, opted to give him another week of recovery.
00:53:58
Speaker
So to me, that that one looks like the biggest chance of getting someone back would be Amalus getting back in that lineup, which would be huge ah because we've seen BC kind of get torn up that way. So yeah, that'll be a big difference in this game if they can get him back in this lineup.
00:54:15
Speaker
it It sucks not having Sean Bain in this lineup too. Like he was was it blew out his knee like he tore MCL and partially tore his ACL and like week 16 last year. So he's kind of like a Chad Kelly situation. It seems to just get further and further when you expect him to come back.
00:54:33
Speaker
um But yeah, big game for both teams. One riding momentum, one trying to get back up off the mat. ah Kind of similar on the last game of the week with the Ticats now going to Ottawa.
00:54:47
Speaker
They opened as one-and-a-half point favorites, stays at one-and-a-half.
00:54:52
Speaker
yeah I don't even know how to preview this game. Like, it's like, you don't want this to be the same thing all over again. Like you had Hamilton last week on the ropes. You let it get away from you. You've now lost three in a row.
00:55:05
Speaker
You got to win this game. This is a must win for Ottawa. Oh yeah. At home. Uh, they play really well at home. You know what you're getting out of Hamilton. Like you just, it's going to be the exact same recipe you just faced. Kenny Lawler. Can you contain them?
00:55:19
Speaker
Uh, you kind of want them to, you want Hamilton to kind of go into the run game. Like if you can get Hamilton to starting to run the ball, you know, you kind of, you got them off their original game plan. So maybe that's something to look for if you're Ottawa.
00:55:32
Speaker
ah I think we're going to see a little bit different style of game. We'll get to the picks. I won't be scared of the points in this one. I think we're going to just, i think it's going be a little bit different. I think the adjustments are going to be made, ah but I just, I agree with this point spread right now. I don't know. I don't feel necessarily like confident taking a team right now, but I kind of agree with where it's at. I mean, there's no reason to think Hamilton should be an underdog to Ottawa in this statement, but in this, sorry, in this game, but I think Ottawa can make a statement and find a way to win this game.
00:56:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's, there is a trickiest, trickiest spread of the week, probably so far ah with that, we'll get into our week seven picks. We were 12 and four. We had our first losing week of the season. We went one in three.
00:56:16
Speaker
Would have loved things to go differently. And in hindsight, Edmonton pick was tough. Yeah. I'd still pick that Ottawa, Hamilton over yeah now. Maybe we hadn't kind of caught on to the stamps being a bit of an under team.
00:56:30
Speaker
yeah and there There might be an asterisk with the delay. The boys came out a little sloppy. Take that for what you will, but this is, this is a big bounce back week for you and I as well. We're talking about some other teams bouncing back that we need to bounce back a little bit, get back on the right track here.
00:56:44
Speaker
Yeah. Get off the mat. We are now 13 and seven going into week seven here. Week seven picks. I don't know where to start on this one.
00:56:56
Speaker
I don't know. Do you have anything? Yeah, I'm taking the over in Hamilton, Ottawa. I'm not scared. um I will do it again. We didn't get to see what the two offenses, you know, their highest, like they didn't finish. And we said like the stats in the first half,
00:57:11
Speaker
indicate a different score than seven to four at half. I think these two teams are going to find a way to get in the end zone in this game. And I think you're going to see a very different stylistic matchup between these two teams.
00:57:22
Speaker
Yeah. And the fact that it's opening at a higher number than it did last week, like really tends, you tend to think that the books kind of are thinking the same way where they're probably going to bounce back in this game.
00:57:35
Speaker
I'm going to go with,
00:57:39
Speaker
um man i would love if that winnipeg number was two and a half you know i don't love it at three and a half yeah they they got it they got it at the right spot um uh yeah i i i winnipeg should be favored in that game that is uh you know not a small number no it's really not uh Tough, tough, tough, tough. what else what else is What else are you looking at here? well Let's brainstorm. Nothing is screaming at me.
00:58:07
Speaker
Part of like BC being ah such a Jekyll and Hyde team, I like Saskatchewan one and a half. It's a small number to cover. like You're basically just saying Saskatchewan's got to win this game.
00:58:18
Speaker
You, I'd allow you to take the money line at minus 120. I think that's enough where like you're not taking, you're not paying that much juice on minus 120. No, you're really not. You know what Sure.
00:58:29
Speaker
We'll make an exception. Saskatchewan money line.
00:58:34
Speaker
i'm a We were talking about it, man. and i this This wasn't jumping off the page of me at first, but when we just kind of previewed those games and we looked at all the signs and the way this line moved, I think we see a beatdown in Montreal on Thursday night.
00:58:49
Speaker
And I hate to do it, man. I hate to do it for my Argos, but I think the Alouettes might just win this by 20 points. yeah It might be an absolute beatdown. Davis Alexander returning another week without Chad Kelly. I don't believe Wynton McManus is playing either.
00:59:03
Speaker
ah it's We haven't really touched on that. That is crushing this Argos defense. It's so evident that this defense is missing their leader. And it's so, it's been, you know, it hasn't been great all year, but since he's left the lineup, it's gone much worse. It's very evident. So I'm laying the points. Alouette's minus eight and a half.
00:59:23
Speaker
Ideally, it keeps moving their way for for you know my my confidence level, but I know it's a big number, but i think it's a big number for a reason. Yeah, we we hit on a couple of these early in the season, those big Winnipeg spreads like 9.5 and 10.5 and shit. like This feels very similar to that.
00:59:39
Speaker
I'm working this game too. like I worked that Toronto-Hamilton game and had to clip up a million fucking highlights of Hamilton beating in Toronto, and I feel like it's going to be the same thing again. yes Just close your eyes, Damien. Just close your eyes. We don't want to watch this.
00:59:53
Speaker
ah Yeah, i't yeah i I do not disagree with you in that in that whatsoever. um i think i want I want some action in this Stamps Blue Bombers game.
01:00:06
Speaker
And I think i think it's going to be... The over 49 and a half. I don't want to see an under in this game. don't care about Calgary's defense. I think Winnipeg is going to come out strong and Winnipeg's defense hasn't looked great. Calgary's defense is riding a high.
01:00:23
Speaker
I'll take 49 and a half in Stamps blue bombers. Winnipeg's had two weeks to prepare for this game and it's the team they last played and now they're at home. They're going to have the offensive game plan yeah to put enough points on the board.
01:00:36
Speaker
ah It's just like, we'll see what Calgary can do on ah offense, but there's no reason to doubt the Stamps offense over what we've seen these past couple weeks as well. So, um Yeah, I think it's rightfully the lowest total of the week just because of what we've seen ah from the stamps. But I mean, two big plays all either side in this game, and that's going over 49 and a half. No problem.
01:00:57
Speaker
Yeah, no, I don't mind it at all. um So those are our picks for week seven. Hopefully you're riding with us going through the highs and lows of this. We'll we'll get back. I got a good feeling about this week. We'll get back in the positives.
01:01:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean. think you might jinxed us last week, by the way, when you were like, we can we can take it to and two in two weeks. Yeah. I don't know. I feel like a dummy for falling for the Elks trap. like that That's a hand up moment for me. um i will not be falling for the Elks a lot this season. They might be an absolute fade team for me for the rest of the year based on what I saw in that game.
01:01:30
Speaker
but Our record speaks for itself. thirteen and seven We're still up. ah <unk> You're making money if you're betting with us over the course the season. And we look to continue this this positive trend going forward.
01:01:43
Speaker
Absolutely. That'll do it for us this week at the goalpost. Get out there, watch some CFL football, enjoy the weekend, and we will catch you next week to do it all over again. Until then, Patrick, I'll see you.
01:01:56
Speaker
See you, Damien.
01:02:14
Speaker
Can you