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CFL Week 11 Recap
40 Plays1 month ago
The Goal Post is back after another week in the CFL!
Damien and Patrick start off the show by talking about getting ready for fall football and multiple leagues going on at once. They then move onto recapping Week 11 in the CFL, which felt like a bit of a hangover from Week 10. The REDBLACKS had a heartbreaking loss in Winnipeg and the Elks are now on a winning streak, while the Roughriders blew out the Ti-Cats and the Lions handled the skidding Alouettes.
The Boys then issue another edition of The Goal Post 3 Stars of the Week before doing an update to the CFL power rankings to take into account Week 11 wins and losses, before moving to Week 12.
They quickly preview each game on the Week 12 slate, including moving lines and quick thoughts, before giving out their Week 12 picks - The Podcast is 20-12 (+8 units) to date.
Enjoy!
Intro: 0:00 - 3:23
BLUE BOMBERS 30 REDBLACKS 27: 3:24 - 16:25
ELKS 28 ARGOS 20: 16:26- 26:16
ROUGHRIDERS 29 TICATS 9: 26:17 - 35:19
LIONS 36 ALOUETTES 18: 35:20 - 45:56
3 Stars of the Week: 45:57 - 49:51
Power Rankings: 49:52 - 53:22
Week 12 Preview: 53:23 - 1:04:02
Week 12 Picks: 1:04:03 - 1:08:40
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and CFL Week Overview
00:00:23
Speaker
All right, welcome back to another episode of the Gold Coast. Coming at you after week 11 in the CFL. Summer waning to a slow end.
00:00:36
Speaker
We finally got a break from the heat in Toronto, but we still have CFL football on the schedule before college starts, before the NFL starts. Patrick, how are we doing?
00:00:48
Speaker
Pretty good, Damian. It's kind of like it was a bit of a hangover this week in the CFL after what you can only describe as the most exciting week of the season and will almost be impossible to beat. So it wasn't, I wouldn't call it letdown, but just a little bit of a hangover. We started off great and then the games kind of slowly, you know, didn't live up to the week that was. But that's okay. There's still some storylines out there. There's a lot of stuff to get into.
00:01:14
Speaker
But it's you know it's getting into that, ah you said like you said, college is around the corner, preseason starting to wrap up. I almost just want the CFL playoffs to start now.
00:01:26
Speaker
what mean? We're kind of in that in that limbo where it's a bit of a lull in the season, but I mean, the interest is still there, but it feels like, you know, we kind of know what we're looking at, which teams have a chance, which teams don't. So it's it's kind of just get me to the playoffs, but there's still some things that we got to sort out and there's plenty of storylines to get into.
00:01:44
Speaker
Absolutely. That's a perfect way to describe it. Hard to think that there is still nine weeks. I know. Ten weeks left in the CFL season. We are headed to a crazy overlap of football, football overload.
00:01:59
Speaker
sure people are getting ready for their fantasy draft soon. i got to kind of dial in for that. i feel like right around. this week I start panicking and I don't know about you, like in, in my main league, I still don't know where I'm picking.
00:02:13
Speaker
So it's like, i I, really can't even start preparing until I know that I feel, i feel less prepared than I'd like to be for, for the fantasy side of things here.
00:02:24
Speaker
I think you got to hold your commissioner accountable in that league. You think so? My keepers are due tonight, 8 p.m. for my league. I know where we're drafting. So, you know, I'm starting to look at some mock drafts, starting to look at some deeper picks. So, yeah, my mind's just on three leagues at once right now. College football is coming around. Julian Sand just announced a starter at Ohio State. So there's just football overload going on my brain right now.
00:02:51
Speaker
And I'm not fully... up to you know my my peak abilities and football brain right now. So I'm still kind of you know learning how to ride the bike again, getting back on the on the saddle and and just finding my way back.
00:03:03
Speaker
This is training camp for us over the next two weeks. Training camp of trying to juggle three weeks at once. um But we will stay in the CFL this week. Like we said, our our NFL preview will be coming up shortly. our Our college football preview along with that.
00:03:19
Speaker
um Lots to get to, but we will stay in CFL week 11 this week.
Blue Bombers vs Red Blacks Recap
00:03:24
Speaker
And it started out with a sneaky, sneaky, exciting game on the Thursday night.
00:03:30
Speaker
Blue Bombers 30, Red Blacks 27 in a game where you could almost jump to the second half to start your recap on because the first half was all Blue Bombers.
00:03:43
Speaker
I feel like starts are so important when you're playing in Winnipeg. There's just a this classic rhythm to teams that start bad in Winnipeg. I feel like the Blue Bombers get to ten nothing starts faster than anybody in the league when they're playing at home. It's always either an opening drive, touchdown, and then a quick field goal.
00:04:04
Speaker
And before you know it, you're halfway through the first quarter and you're down a 10 spot. And teams just get sucked into that really quickly. And they feed off the crowd so well in Winnipeg.
00:04:16
Speaker
Yeah. you know youre Like you said, it's always 10-0. In this case, it got to seventeen nothing in this one where Straveler runs it in to make it 17-0. Stearns makes a hell of a catch. you Mosses, ah the red-black defender in the end zone.
00:04:31
Speaker
So yeah, and like you said, the the first half was kind of forgettable, especially for the Ottawa Red Blacks because they did all their damage later in the game. There are some things that kind of stood out in the first half.
00:04:42
Speaker
um Before the Jareth Stearns moss for a touchdown, we had a Justin Hardy one, which was like... It wasn't for the touchdown, but for me, the catch in general was better or more impressive, at least just kind of the way he reached over, hold it in, then got some yards after the catch. That was pretty impressive.
00:05:00
Speaker
And a key part in this first half and the reason why ah Winnipeg was able to keep it 10-0, then 17-0 was a goal line stand that began with a fumble from the Red Blacks.
00:05:14
Speaker
um And then it they got pushed back. I believe it was about two yards, ah second down. They all thought ah the Red Blacks thought, you know, he got to the goal line, replay shows. He did not get there.
00:05:25
Speaker
Then on third and one, Crum gets stuffed. And, you know, looking back at the final score, that was a crucial play in this game. And especially when Winnipeg's at home. gave them some extra momentum to kind of build that early lead. And I just found that those are some of the the key points of the first half, shall we say? And then, you know, the chaos kind of began in the second half.
00:05:47
Speaker
Yeah, it's always confusing. Shout out the great Malcolm Kelly, who always says you run your regular offense in the CFL on the goal line. It's just confusing when the Red Blacks have this amazing receiving core. Like Justin Hardy has been incredible this year.
00:06:04
Speaker
Eugene Lewis has been a red zone threat all year. Braylon Addison has been solid. ah He's got, you know, a solid amount of output in terms of how many catches he's getting.
00:06:16
Speaker
And to just run it three times in a row, I know Crum has kind of been that guy for them. um But to me, that was just a kind of a lack of imagination. Winnipeg's DBs have not been good this year.
00:06:29
Speaker
To me, it seems easy to at least throw one pass into that mix. That was a huge setback for the Red Blacks. The interception on Kalaros kind of right at the end of the first half, I thought was really important to kind of get them going into the into the start of the second half to keep it within some sort of striking difference or distance.
00:06:49
Speaker
um And then the the second half starts, Drew Brown gets injured early into the third quarter. um Tough game for the Red Blacks ah offensive line. Whether it was Drew Brown, whether it was Dustin Crum, they were getting pressured the entire game.
00:07:03
Speaker
Brown messed up his knee seemingly pretty bad on that weird kind of shovel pass. And it was still Winnipeg was still in the driving seat in the third quarter.
00:07:14
Speaker
ah Brady Oliver gets his first touchdown of the season, which is just an insane stat to come in week 11. Granted, he's had some injuries, um but we get into the fourth quarter in the entirety of the fourth quarter.
00:07:28
Speaker
The Blue Bombers scored one point, I think, and it was on a missed field goal, Rouge. ah And this is the time where the Red Blacks start to look like an actual football team.
00:07:39
Speaker
Like they start driving the ball. Well, Dustin Crom actually brought a spark into this game i and But again, though, we we talk about Ottawa coaching all the time.
00:07:49
Speaker
There were a few moments in this game where it seemed like coaching really held them back. They settled for a 46 yard field goal um with about 10 minutes left on third and one.
00:08:01
Speaker
Didn't love that. And, you know, they they ended up going and getting a touchdown on the next drive. But you always work backwards in close games like this where you see all the times where Ottawa could have really taken advantage of a situation. And it just came back to bite them in multiple ways in this game.
00:08:19
Speaker
Yeah. and the broadcast was saying the same thing. It was, you know, and this was... before you know all what we'll get into happens so you're looking at it as you have a third and one you're down 17 points in the fourth quarter time is running out and you kick a field goal and make it a 14 point game i understand in the cfl that you know no lead is safe uh but 14 points with what it was about 10 minutes left or so in the in the fourth quarter With a team like Winnipeg, who, you know, before some offensive struggles came in, were controlling the pace of this game and doing kind of whatever they wanted on offense.
00:08:58
Speaker
And then this decision happens. Hindsight, it wasn't the reason they lost. But you want to show some like confidence in your team. They can go get that yard. They can extend this drive. And then you get a touchdown.
00:09:11
Speaker
And then you only need 10 points. And it's a lot easier to get a field goal late in the game as opposed to a touchdown. And kind of going back to that that goal line stop. Maybe them not being able to get in.
00:09:22
Speaker
to the end zone on three tries there from the the one yard line, then the two, then the one. Maybe that played a bit of an impact in in his decision making. Thank God at least he made it. It would have looked even worse if he missed the field goal after that decision. But after that, um Hardy gets a late touchdown pass with about two minutes and change left.
00:09:42
Speaker
And then it's a seven point game. And then Winnipeg gets a... You know, ah first down, they start driving up seven points. It looks like they're about to kill the clock out, kick a game winning field goal and just kind of win this game in control of it the entire time.
00:09:57
Speaker
And then a guy who's been so reliable all year, all his career, really Sergio Castillo misses. ah He misses the field goal. With about boy a better minute left, and then Cleo Pimpleton, 117 yards, back to the house to tie this game up, and it was just chaos from there. I couldn't believe like It was such a CFL moment because you see these kick returns all the time. They happen.
00:10:25
Speaker
but in the circumstances of this game, Ottawa's down seven points two minutes left. Winnipeg's about to ice the game, misses a field goal on a kicker who's probably the most reliable in the league this year.
00:10:36
Speaker
And then 117 yards from Pimpleton. This was the most exciting game of the week. And I mean, it's still, it did it wasn't done over that. It felt like it was set up for overtime, but it wasn't done after that moment. Well, it it brings it back to coaching. Like it was, and one thing that was a Such a beautiful return. Like it wasn't like it was open field, like you know, like a real breakdown. He snakes his way down the sideline. Lorenzo Malden said about four great blocks.
00:11:02
Speaker
This should have been one of the best comebacks of the season. And for it to go the way that it did for Ottawa coming down the stretch here is such a lost opportunity, especially in the East division this year, because Winnipeg gets the ball back. Kolaros throws an interception on the very first play of the drive.
00:11:21
Speaker
He's trying to find Dembski deep, under throws him. Dembski actually had a step on the DB. Ambers comes in in and intercepts it. Everything's falling into place for Ottawa.
00:11:33
Speaker
And then they start this drive. It's a bad first down pass from Crum in a quick out to Addison. Drop ball really wasn't on Addison. It was a bad pass.
00:11:45
Speaker
And at this point, Marshall Ferguson actually called it on the broadcast. He says, if you're too aggressive and mismanage this clock, you can open yourself up to a Sergio Castillo game winning field goal.
00:11:56
Speaker
They get a seven yard run on second down. Winnipeg still has a timeout. They call it clock stops at 27 seconds. It should have been flipped around. If you're going to do that run, do it on first down, get a big chunk, make Winnipeg take their time out earlier.
00:12:11
Speaker
Then you have ah much more manageable second and three coming up. You can do something with that. They punt the ball. Claros has a huge run with about 12 seconds left, left with no spy for some reason.
00:12:25
Speaker
And then who else but Nick Dembski, makes another huge catch down the sidelines. He was a monster in this game. He six receptions for 128 yards. and And just you watched it happen in front of you. Castillo walks it off with a 48-yard field goal.
00:12:40
Speaker
That's all she wrote for this game. Like it was, this comeback was completely in the Red Blacks' hands and a mismanagement of the clock, bad play calling, bad coaching just leads to, like this game just ended with a whimper. Like even though was home crowd, game-winning field goal,
00:12:57
Speaker
You were just waiting for overtime to happen, and it never got there. Yeah, Castillo redeemed himself at the walk-off field goal. Ottawa, like you said, with dice and just the decision-making.
00:13:09
Speaker
Sometimes you got to know when it is like you, you play for overtime. You kind of got lucky to even get this game tied. And then, you know, you, you overplay your hand, you try it, you get too aggressive. Like you and Marshall Ferguson were mentioning, and it comes back to bite you because the chances of them going down the field, i guess, weren't,
00:13:30
Speaker
you know zero so You do want to try to get that field goal and win it in regulation, but you got it. Like you said, you run it first. You got to kill a little bit of clock. Then you can make your throws, throw it out to the sideline, clock stops after first down until they set the ball.
00:13:44
Speaker
like there's There's ways you could get down the field, but you had to know that there was still enough time for a guy like Caleros and Castillo and just the Blue Bombers in general to make that chunk, make the chunks up. And they did it. And they made up like 30, 40 yards in about 20 seconds with no timeouts.
00:14:02
Speaker
It's like, this is the team that knows how to do it and knows how to win games in Ottawa. When you had a great chance to just steal a game on the road when, you know, the season has been pretty rough for you.
00:14:13
Speaker
Dustin Crum's in the game. He's leading a comeback. Like, know the situation and play to that situation. And they did not. And they tried to, you know, put the game in Dustin Crum's hands in the fourth, you know, with less than a minute in the fourth quarter.
00:14:28
Speaker
Came back to bite them and kind of just sums up their season. Like you're saying, like it's just kind of is what the Red Blacks are. They're in a lot of going a lot of games. Sorry, but they also just find a way to lose a lot of games. And it's just kind of decision making coaching like you mentioned.
00:14:43
Speaker
And at the end of the day, they got all the luck they could have with a Pimpleton return. And then they kind of just, you know, let it all go away with the decision-making in the fourth quarter. And like said, kind of just a sad ending.
00:14:55
Speaker
You know, fun walk-off field goal. Good for Castillo to redeem himself after missing the one to give up the Pimbleton score. But this game should have been destined for overtime and destined for an overtime hero. And we just didn't get that.
00:15:08
Speaker
Yeah, we we really didn't. And it ended up being it's such a flip and such an important game in the standings on both sides. If you're Ottawa, you win this game. You are now two points back of Montreal for the second place in the East. Montreal is just crashing and burning right now.
00:15:23
Speaker
And for Winnipeg, they're now two points back of the stamps like this was. A huge, huge flip in the West, especially because BC won. Now BC and Winnipeg are tied with 10 points each.
00:15:35
Speaker
And Ottawa is now still only two points ahead of the Argos somehow. And it's just, you can't help but think that looking back in four or five weeks, this is going to feel like a massive, massive missed opportunity for Ottawa, especially with Drew Brown going down in this game. Who knows how long he's going to be out for again.
00:15:55
Speaker
You just got to take a handle of these when you get a chance. And it's just, yeah, you can't help but feel like for Ottawa fans, that's extremely frustrating for players on the Red Blacks. That's frustrating.
00:16:07
Speaker
Winnipeg ah escapes, you know, giving up another huge comeback. That would have been a bit backbreaking for them um if they had lost kind of in the same way, giving up 17 point leads back to back weeks.
00:16:20
Speaker
um But
Argos' Discipline Issues
00:16:21
Speaker
yeah, moving on to the Friday night, it's hard. That one just left a bad taste in my mouth. um And what left it an even worse taste in my mouth was the Argos losing another game. This feels like Groundhog Day. Elks 28, Argos 20.
00:16:36
Speaker
Quick State of the Union on the Argos here. We have, you know harped early and often this year about how hard it is not having Chad Kelly. But it has become increasingly apparent that the only thing the Argos do have this year is a passing game.
00:16:54
Speaker
They have no running game. They have a bad defense. They have terrible special teams. This is another game where Nick Arbuckle has 350 plus yards.
00:17:05
Speaker
He's second in passing yards, second in passing touchdowns. The receivers have been incredible this year. But again, it's defense, it's special teams, it's indecisiveness, it's not being disciplined. The penalties in this game were atrocious.
00:17:21
Speaker
And it's just another game where you watch it the whole time and the Argos just let it slip. Like yeah that feeling has become so, so synonymous with the Argos this year is just watching a game where it feels like in the second start of the second half, you know that the Argos are going to lose the game.
00:17:40
Speaker
Yeah, no, it it's to me, you're right. The Arbuckle had maybe a slow start first two or three weeks of the season, but he's he's found his form.
00:17:51
Speaker
He's what he was last year down the stretch. he's He's what he was in the great cup last year. Like he's making th throws. He's making plays and is and the stats prove it. And points-wise, the Argos, we went over it last week as well.
00:18:04
Speaker
They are putting up points on offense, and it is just the other facets of the game that are letting them down. This one, I didn't really think it was as much as on the defense. You know, like Winston McManus had a nice interception. They were holding them to field goals late in the game, not allowing that touchdown to let the game get out of out of hand.
00:18:24
Speaker
um But it's also just the ah offense, kind of when you need them, they go away. That's what I found kind of the issue with the offense on the Argos because... You know, second half, you're you're down. You start the second half down a score.
00:18:39
Speaker
You're in the game. It's anyone's game. low-scoring first half. You know, someone's got to make the adjustments and go out there and win this game the second half. And the Argos go out there and put up, you know, 10 points for rest the game.
00:18:51
Speaker
And it's just over two quarters. Like, you need more than that to win the game. And the Elks didn't do anything crazy. It was maybe one of Cody Fajardo's, like... most lackluster games that he's had since he's taken over as a starting quarterback for the Elks. And that you just have nothing to show for it again. And it leaves you and I sitting here in front of these mics going on another rant about what is wrong with this team. And, you know, I guess Ottawa lost. So the season isn't fully gone and there is a ton of weeks left in the CFL, but this just feels like it's going to happen every single week.
00:19:28
Speaker
Like every single week, it's just going the Argos. but You know, the offense could be great one game. The defense will let them down or special teams will let them down. The defense will be great one day, one game. And then the offense, when you need it, it'll let the defense out. It's just not a unit this year.
00:19:43
Speaker
It's just not, ah it's not three, you know, offense, defense, special teams. They're never on the same page. And that's kind of just been the biggest problem to me for this Argos team this season.
00:19:54
Speaker
Yeah, and it seems like the turnovers come at the worst points possible for this team. The one in this game was Arbuckle fumbling at the end of the third quarter. That was backbreaking. They were inside the 20. They had a chance if if they got a touchdown to take a decent lead in this game.
00:20:12
Speaker
Edmonton goes down immediately on the same drive. Rankin slashed this defense throughout the game. He was incredible. Fajardo finds Dunbar, who was incredible in this game for a great catch at the back of the end zone for a huge touchdown.
00:20:27
Speaker
And the Argos just couldn't find the end zone after that. Like they had a good drive. After giving up the touchdown, they get down to the red zone. Arbuckle gets down to the five yard line with the scramble and then just gets immediately pressured on second down, throws it away for intentional grounding.
00:20:44
Speaker
Loss of down becomes third and 21 and they have to settle for a field goal. And that was kind of the point in the game where you really thought it was lost.
00:20:55
Speaker
And then they get another chance. Edmonton misses a field goal. The Argos have a ton of time on the clock, only down five points. They take two penalties on first down offside and hands to the face becomes first and 20 immediately.
00:21:10
Speaker
They go to an out bat. You think they're going punt? You're like, all right, maybe we'll get the ball back. They run a botched fake punt that turns into a five yard pass turnover on downs and Edmonton misses the field goal again.
00:21:26
Speaker
Toronto goes offside, gives them another shot. It was just the same script towards the end of this game where they would have a chance. Penalties would take it back or they wouldn't even get the chance because penalties erase that possibility.
00:21:40
Speaker
Herslow gets a great return to the 50. Unnecessary roughness penalty takes it back. 90 penalty yards for the Argos in this game. After all that, the Argos still had a chance to win this game in the last minute.
00:21:52
Speaker
um I hope DeMonte Coxie's all right. He hit his head hard on an awkward kind of overthrown pass and a hit from Tyrell Ford. And then the game ends with a whimper on a failed pass interference challenge, which was not pass interference. It was the right call.
00:22:07
Speaker
ah And it just ends just like that. And it's tough. This is similar to the Red Blacks, just a million chances to do something in this game and penalties and not being disciplined ends up killing them.
00:22:21
Speaker
It's tough for the Argos. On the flip side, the Elks squeak away with a win here. They're actually kind of building momentum here, like back-to-back wins. ah thought the attendance was better at Commonwealth. if like They're actually starting to build something, and I feel like they confidence going into these games, especially with Fajardo at quarterback. It feels like a bit of a different Elks team right now.
00:22:42
Speaker
especially going into the second half of the season where they're not out of it. Nope. No, we've mentioned it in this episode a couple of times, plenty of weeks left in the CFL and the Elks are starting to build a bit of a culture, bit of an identity.
00:22:56
Speaker
um Like their defense held the Argos to three points in the fourth quarter. Like that's what you need to win the game. Gave their offense the chance. The Argos were so outscored 12 to three in the fourth quarter. And you know, you lose the game by eight points. And there's there's a difference right there. Nine points.
00:23:11
Speaker
and you lose by eight. um So yeah, the Elks have something going. They're four points back of the Lions, but they're they're slowly climbing, right? it's That's what you want to see. You don't want teams getting out of reach.
00:23:23
Speaker
You are now becoming in reach of getting to these teams. And I mean, it doesn't really seem like it's going to slow down because I kind of mentioned before, like this wasn't a great game from the Elks by any means.
00:23:34
Speaker
ah You're going to the Red Blacks next week without ah Drew Brown. Playing in this game, Bob Dice has already mentioned that he won't be playing. You know, tough home and home after that against the Stamps. Find a way to go one and one. But I mean, it's right in front of them next week to build a three-game winning streak and then just keep climbing. And confidence is a scary thing with these teams, right? Especially a team who hasn't had confidence in the past two years.
00:23:59
Speaker
when they finally get it and start feeling good and just get that feeling of, I like winning, it can do a lot for a team. And, you know, it's Mark Killam's kind of, i clue I think he's got a bit of a voice. Like he's starting to the team's starting to rally behind him. And this Elks team is,
00:24:16
Speaker
Changing the narrative of what they were. And it's nice to see. And unfortunately, you know, our boy Trey Ford had to sacrifice his job for it. ah But Cody Fajardo has done a great job with this team.
00:24:28
Speaker
ah Like didn't have his best stuff, but found a way to win. Did enough. Drove down the field. Gave his kicker enough chances. And they just slowly tacked on the points. Tacked them on.
00:24:39
Speaker
And then the defense came through in the fourth quarter and didn't allow the Argos to get the points necessary that they needed to win the game. And the Elks are just, they're slowly building. I feel like Cody Fajardo is the perfect like character to build that kind of revamped culture in Edmonton
Cody Fajardo's Leadership on the Elks
00:24:56
Speaker
too. Like he's a fiery guy. He's got a ton of confidence.
00:25:00
Speaker
He's never out. You never see Cody Fajardo like check out of a game. He's Even if he doesn't have his best stuff, he's always fired up. He's always itching to get back on the field. And I feel like that is just the perfect person to kind of like lead this culture change in Edmonton is somebody who still has that fire after all these years in the CFL, after winning a great cup, like he's still not satisfied.
00:25:24
Speaker
guy who hates losing like more than anything else and it's just perfect like i part of me really really wants even though the argos lost this game was happy to see the elks win it because i really want to see them turn this ship around the league is better when edmonton is in the mix and i think that slowly by slowly they can really build something here towards the end of the season absolutely it's uh it's just you know they're they're just building uh the elks are a good thing right now and then Shame on us for not just taking the money line.
00:25:57
Speaker
Yeah, we are the point spread. we We just kind we didn't want it to happen, but it it was all right there for the Elks to win this game. And it looked like they were at home. And it was just, yeah, they did. You know I mean? They did a great uniform matchup, though. I didn't really see that one coming. But like on the screen, it was optically gorgeous. It was really nice to look at.
00:26:18
Speaker
That's a good point. um And we'll move to Saturday with a a routing. A routing in Regina. Rough Riders 29. Ticats 9-0.
00:26:31
Speaker
This was probably the best like matchup, best biggest game at this point in the season. You have the first place team in the West going against the first place team in the East, the most high powered offense going up against a great defense.
00:26:45
Speaker
um And this was just a perfect game from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. The three stats from CFL.ca perfectly describes this game.
00:26:56
Speaker
six Saskatchewan sacks, two Rough Riders interceptions, three Trevor Harris touchdowns. That was this game in a nutshell. Great defense, stopping any sort of momentum that Hamilton could have, and the offense delivering on the other side of the ball.
00:27:12
Speaker
It didn't start like this. you know The first quarter saw the Riders held to a punt, saw a Brett Lawther miss a field goal, and saw Trevor Harris throw an interception.
00:27:24
Speaker
Things turn around fast. Hamilton started leaning heavily on the blitz. They were sending seven guys pretty much every down. And then the 58-yard touchdown pass to Dante Myers is where everything turned around in this game.
00:27:40
Speaker
And it just completely turned this game on its head. They got a huge score. The crowd got into it. Unbelievable crowd at Mosaic completely sold out. There were people everywhere. um But even though the offense was fantastic in this game, the Saskatchewan defense was unstoppable.
00:27:58
Speaker
They sacked Bo Levi six times, could have been even more. for For 47 yards lost, it was the second time in three games that they've had at least five sacks. They now lead the league with 28 sacks, and they always managed to stop Hamilton right when they were getting momentum with a huge sack.
00:28:16
Speaker
Like even after that early Trevor Harris interception, the Ticats march all the way down and then a sack makes them settle for a field goal. um They get sacks on back-to-back drives that ended the drives for Hamilton.
00:28:30
Speaker
um Consecutive first pun or punts in the first half. And then on the final play of the first half, Bolivar Mitchell gets absolutely destroyed on third down. They recover it, but it's still a turnover on downs. Brett Lawler hits a 59-yarder.
00:28:45
Speaker
And then all of a sudden it's nineteen six heading into the second half. Yeah, Hamilton started this game up 6-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter. And by halftime, the game felt like it was over. It was 19-6 for the Rough Riders.
00:29:01
Speaker
And it it just flipped so quickly. It's slow start for for the Rough Riders. um But they didn't let Hamilton... If it was 14-0 and those two field goals turn into touchdowns, this game could look very differently because we know what Bo Levi Mitchell can do with a little bit of momentum and confidence.
00:29:18
Speaker
But Corey Mace has clearly made his impact felt on this team in his second year. ah You couldn't, you got the vibe of it last year, but it wasn't, it didn't fully come to fruition. But then this year, like you mentioned, like they're just getting after the quarterback.
00:29:34
Speaker
And if you're getting after the quarterback, especially a guy like Bo Levi Mitchell, who's, not the most mobile guy in his ah later in his career, you can make a lot of things happen and you just don't give them time to find Kenny Lawler deep down the field.
00:29:47
Speaker
And that's been what Hamilton's go-to move has been this year. So if you can take that away and make Hamilton beat you in a different way, that is the MO to beat this team. Take away Kenny Lawler. Don't give Bo Levi time to just get comfortable and start slinging it around the yard.
00:30:02
Speaker
And that's exactly what they did. And then you know they gave it Their defense gave their offense time to get into this game. And like said, right when that Dante Myers touchdown happened, it was over.
00:30:13
Speaker
It was just, it was flowing. ah Trevor Harris kind of got into his groove, ended up throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. ah Dante Myers, it's his heat. I remember earlier in the season, we were looking at deep threat guys. We mentioned Carrick Wheatfall a lot.
00:30:29
Speaker
Dante Myers has popped onto the scene as one of those guys. It's his 830-plus yard play on the season. So he's like their explosive threat. And it's just nice to see what this offense looks like when they have their weapons healthy.
00:30:44
Speaker
ah They're still not all the way healthy, but like when they got Keyshawn Johnson and Dante Myers going at the same time, That's a nice one-two punch. And then you got AJ Ullatt, obviously, in the backfield, who just every week finds a way to get it done.
00:30:57
Speaker
ah But yeah, it was just... They overcame another brutal Brett Law their game. be Two for five. It's just easily the worst kicker in the league. And it's just kind of sorry, Brett, but you're kind of the butt of the joke right now.
00:31:10
Speaker
But yeah, they overcame a ah brutal kicking game and the offense took a little bit to get going, but their de defense just fully shut down an explosive Hamilton Tiger Cats ah offense. And that was kind of just, that's how they wanted. It was just, you shut them down.
00:31:24
Speaker
The offense got going and it was a blowout. And
00:31:28
Speaker
Do we put them on the watch? No, not yet. They're coming. Hamilton's got a buy. i mean, great timing for a buy. And then you get the Argos the week after. But this is kind of what I was saying. Like it's Hamilton beats up on the East and that's good for them because they that they can come out of the East and then you got to find a way to win one game if you get out of there in the great cup.
00:31:50
Speaker
But I just think that they're not in that that first tier of teams in the in the CFL. Well, I'd say every time they fight, like the best defenses are in the West. Calgary's defense is fantastic. Saskatchewan's defense is fantastic.
00:32:03
Speaker
And those are the teams that you're going to have to beat with this, you know, high powered offense. And so far, the only times we've really seen this Hamilton team slip and fall are against teams in the West whose defense step up big. Same thing happened against BC.
00:32:18
Speaker
So they're not quite there on the fraud watch, the F word. um But you'd like to see them have a a pretty commanding win against a great defense. um And that just quite that hasn't quite happened yet.
00:32:30
Speaker
um And I think that, you know, Chun Hodge from Third Down Nation brought this up. Like if I'm Saskatchewan, I am throwing a lot at the Toronto Argos to bring in Liram Haralahu at the deadline.
00:32:45
Speaker
Like they they are. This is a great cup roster. They are still not fully healthy and they have lost one game this year. They have. by far the best receiving core in the CFL.
00:32:56
Speaker
This defense is amazing. The one glaring hole in this roster is Brett Lother right now. And you can't have this come down to a great cup game where they have a chance to win a great cup on a, on a field goal and they miss it like that. You just can't let that happen.
00:33:13
Speaker
It, whether it's bringing in, Somebody, ah jose malto say a a Liram Hirelau, anybody, you need somebody who is extremely reliable back there. And then this team is complete.
00:33:26
Speaker
Like then they have absolutely zero holes. Yeah, it is clearly something that needs to be addressed. You've given him ah enough time to fix it himself. like I don't know how much more at least you can get. You're you're over halfway through the season.
00:33:41
Speaker
You're statistically ah the worst kicker in the league. And, you know, it hasn't cost them games, which they're very lucky for. But like you said, in the playoffs, when games get a little bit tighter, you know,
00:33:54
Speaker
It's a little bit colder. The offense may not be humming as quickly and it you're going to get into some defensive battles. I mean, I would assume they're going to have the buy in the West based on what I've seen ah from this team up until this point in the season.
00:34:07
Speaker
But in that West final, and but and if they're lucky enough to win that and get to the great cup, it's going to come down to like who can put more points on the board and field goals are going to be a huge part of that extra points even man.
00:34:19
Speaker
like It's little things like that, that No one, no one has trust in Brett Lawther. like If you say that you can trust him, you are lying to yourself. I don't care if you're Corey Mace. don't care if you're the special teams coach.
00:34:30
Speaker
Anyone on that team. Brett Lawther may not have confidence in himself, and i think that might be half the problem. But then out of nowhere, where he pumps the 59-yarder in this one, and you're just like, okay, I see the signs. like There's flashes, but you just...
00:34:42
Speaker
Don't do it consistently. Another game below 50% kicking field goals. It's just not acceptable. And for a team that is currently the best roster in the CFL and is the favorite to win the great cup, you got to fix something. And that is what you have to fix. ah What they do, you know, we'll see.
00:35:01
Speaker
But I mean, the deadline is kind of coming up. And I think the earlier you make that move, the better it will be for your team. Yep. Yeah, absolutely. And you you'd love to see like if Samuel Elmelis and Sean Bain Jr. find their way back into this lineup, it is a terrifying sight for anybody who has to play the riders down the stretch.
00:35:20
Speaker
um We'll move to the final game of the week here.
Lions' Offensive Dominance
00:35:24
Speaker
Lions 36, Alouettes 18. Big get right game for the Lions. who hadn't won at home in three consecutive games helps when Caleb Evans is starting at quarterback.
00:35:37
Speaker
Caleb Evans got beat up in this game. He gets injured early on a scramble and is replaced by James Morgan. What? Like, it's not often in the CFL that I see somebody come in and I'm like, genuinely, who is that?
00:35:52
Speaker
But when you're getting down to the fourth string quarterback in your depth chart, he was picked in the fourth round by the New York Jets in 2020, played college at FIU, he ah You got to feel for this guy getting thrown into the fire like this, like, and they went out and signed Cameron Dukes show favorite um back.
00:36:15
Speaker
He was backing up in this game. I guess he's not quite ready, you know, coming off the street like that. And. To his credit, James Morgan held his own far better than most fourth string quarterbacks in the CFL would do in that situation. He ended the game 20 for 33, 211 yards and a touchdown and interception.
00:36:35
Speaker
Obviously, some timing stuff. He threw into quadruple coverage once, which was quite a quite a look on on screen when you see four defensive players around one receiver. um But Montreal actually stayed in this game.
00:36:48
Speaker
far more than the ending score looked like. And a lot of that was was pretty much Tyler Sneed and Travis Tice. They had huge games. Sneed finished with five catches for 111 yards.
00:37:01
Speaker
um But they were just They were knocking down field goals, trying to keep their head above water. um But eventually, ah BC kind of just took control of this game from their offense, which is kind of what we've come to know from BC is when this offense is humming, everything looks great. And that really happened in the second half of this game.
00:37:19
Speaker
Yeah, it was ah it was a field goal fest in the first half. And you have to tip your cap, like you mentioned, to Montreal, their defense. They did everything they could. like yeah Everything was stacked against you. Fourth string quarterback, the captain, James Morgan.
00:37:33
Speaker
ah And then, yeah, the McInnes touchdown late in the first half ah just kind of set the tone for the second. And that's when, you know, the Nathan Rourke and Keon Hatcher show kind of showed up and Keon Hatcher, like it feels like it's a different receiver for BC getting it done every single week. And this week it was just Keon's week, 11 receptions, 156 yards, two touchdowns.
00:37:56
Speaker
And it was just so impressive to see. It kind of all happened in like, yeah you know, one score in the, in the third quarter and then two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to just kind of, it was a bit of a route in the second half, like you mentioned, but the scoreboard doesn't indicate the whole story of this game. Montreal did hang in there.
00:38:14
Speaker
And then eventually the dam just broke and BC got that first, you know, that taste of blood for a touchdown. And then they said, we want more. And they kept going after And it's, It's just Nathan Rourke is, he feels inevitable sometimes when he has these games. It's just, you know, it right away, like when he's throwing the ball and he looks confident and he's moving around, you just go, okay, it's going to be one of those Rourke games today. And it took a while for this one to happen. But I mean,
00:38:40
Speaker
The stat line was there, right? 26 to 34, 382, four touchdowns. You know, it's just, it's, he's weird. He's, he's a weird quarterback because I think at his best, he probably is the best quarterback in this league right now, but it feels like he has no middle ground.
00:38:57
Speaker
Yeah. You know what i mean? It's either he's throwing a stinker of a game or he's going for four, he's threatening 400 yards. And I feel like he needs to find a bit of a middle ground, but He's fine in his high ground right now.
00:39:09
Speaker
And BC is kind of trending into form. And, you know, we we have these these prep sheets that we go over and you wrote down on here, what do we think about Nathan Vork at 11-1 for MLP?
00:39:22
Speaker
I don't mind that at all, but I'm also got my eye on the Lions at 12 to one for the great cop. Like it's just a team that's kind of similar to the Elks, but they just, you know, this team was treading water better than the Elks the first couple of weeks.
00:39:36
Speaker
Now they're starting to hit their ceiling offensively and their defense is doing enough. This team kind of looks dangerous right now. I think if they get into the playoffs and they have one of these games, they can easily win a semifinal game.
00:39:50
Speaker
And then, you know, again, it's a toss up in in a Western final. If the offense looks like this and then this offense against Eastern team seems to feast. They just came off beating Hamilton. They've now beat Montreal.
00:40:04
Speaker
I, I trust them to beat the Argos or the red blacks. Like It is the type of thing where if they got to the great cup and you had them at 12 to one, you would feel so good about it.
00:40:15
Speaker
And since returning from injury, five out of six games, Rourke has thrown for over 330 yards. He's thrown for 12 touchdowns in six games. He's got six over his last two games alone.
00:40:28
Speaker
Even with missing those two games, he is third in passing yards and third in passing touchdowns. Like it back to MOP, like at 11 to one, He if he continues on this path that he's on, he has a serious, serious chance to cause some noise for it.
00:40:48
Speaker
Another one, Trevor Harris has has jumped up. i think he's at plus 360 now. That's going to be one of those ones where if he just kind of maintains what he's doing right now and they're buying far the best team in the CFL, I think they'll probably give it to him.
00:41:02
Speaker
Like it's yeah, it is all up in the air right now, especially after that game from Bo Levi. Vernon Adams was on the bye week and he is now leading MOP at plus 170.
00:41:15
Speaker
It's a fun race we got going right now. And it's, it feels like, you know, you got four guys, uh, Harris and Rourke are kind of the late risers in it. And you've had Bo Levi Mitchell and Vernon Adams Jr. is kind of the two heavy hitters that we've seen all season.
00:41:30
Speaker
I would say they're not coming back to the pack. I think it's the pack more catching up to them and, you know, Bo Levi Mitchell, Could be pretty reactionary. Coming off his worst game of the season. ah I, you know, and it's tough against Saskatchewan, but yeah yeah I don't think that's going to last. Like, I think they they got a bye week and then kind of a get right game against the Argos where it feels like Bo Levi could go for four touchdowns when he plays them.
00:41:54
Speaker
And then Kenny Law, yeah you know, it's, It's going to be a week-to-week situation, and it seems very fluid, but I do think that Vernon Adams Jr. is the rightful favorite right now.
00:42:04
Speaker
ah But i would I have my eye on Rourke and Trevor Harris as a little bit more value if you're looking to get into this race, because it is going to be fun down the stretch. Because I do think the way these the bottom of the East is shaping up right now, I think the playoffs are going to be set.
00:42:21
Speaker
sooner rather than later. And I think the last couple weeks aren't going to be as much jockeying for playoff position as opposed to jockeying for MOP position and teams looking to get or not put and players looking to win individual awards. So if you want to get some action on that, I would maybe look towards Trevor Harris or Nathan Rourke. But I mean, VA is...
00:42:42
Speaker
It's VAs to lose right this second, but that could change in two weeks. It's that it's that tight of a race right now. Yeah, i even does not matter the unit size. get ah Pick a horse and have fun with this one because it is it is a fun race to be a part of as a better.
00:42:59
Speaker
um And, you know, MOP next week, like we'll get to it. Stamps at rough or rough riders at stamps. That is the next best game of the season so far in terms of a preview, in terms of a matchup, possible playoff implications. It's just a ton of fun heading down the stretch here, but yeah, not, not too much left from this game. Like BC just poured it on late. Montreal is just,
00:43:24
Speaker
running out of gas like davis alexander cannot return to this lineup soon enough because when you're down to your fourth string like they're just going to continue to lose games like it is it is a tough sled right now for montreal and it's only going to get worse they play winnipeg next week then they get a buy and then they're back against hamilton like it is this is a type of thing where if you don't stop the bleeding soon Luckily, they have two teams below them that are doing everything they can to not catch them. But even going, you know, thinking about a playoff scenario, Montreal has lost all their bite in terms of people being scared of them. Nobody's scared of Montreal right now.
00:44:06
Speaker
They need Davis Alexander in the worst way. And I mean, you could get a decent value on Montreal betting wise, because I do think with Davis Alexander, they can come out of the East. I don't know if they're like, they're, they're undefeated with Davis Alexander quarterback.
00:44:20
Speaker
The issue is he hasn't been able to stay healthy. And that's a huge part of winning quarterback. Craig Kopp is your team staying healthy, your best players staying healthy throughout the season.
00:44:30
Speaker
He has yet to prove that he can do that. And, you know, it's worth a shot. Like if you want to get some more value, Montreal is probably not going to get worse than this because this is rock bottom kind of for Montreal, but it's not really going to determine what they are.
00:44:44
Speaker
And we'll see. they But, you yeah and the The end of the discussion basically for Montreal is you're not going to win games with James Morgan at quarterback and you have as good of a chance to win against almost any team, maybe not the Rough Riders with Davis Alexander at quarterback. So, you know, rest up, get healthy Davis, but Montreal is probably counting down the weeks till you're back and I assume it's it's got be within three weeks, right? He was placed on the six week IL about three or four weeks ago. So it's, it's coming soon, but not soon enough for Montreal and their fans.
00:45:21
Speaker
Yeah. It Moss a couple days ago said it's tough to put a timeline on the Davis Alexander injury, which is not really what you want to hear. um And I think that, that plus 500 right now, you're definitely right. Like, I don't think maybe with a big loss next week, I don i don't think that number is going to get much, much worse.
00:45:41
Speaker
Maybe you hold out a week, but yeah, it it is tough sledding right now for the Alouettes. And it seems like it'll get worse before it gets better. Like they need that by week now and they don't get it until two weeks from now. So something to keep an eye on with the Alouettes.
00:45:56
Speaker
um We'll move now to three stars of the week, which there were, plenty Like it it, this is going to be a tough one to find a first star of the week because there were a bunch of candidates.
00:46:11
Speaker
My mind, ah there's something about a receiver having a perfect stat line. Like when they have Keon Hatcher has 11 catches on 11 targets for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
00:46:25
Speaker
That to me is like as perfect of a stat line from a receiver as you can get. Yeah, no, he was my first star as well. yeah Like I was mentioning before, it's a different receiver each week with BC. This was his week.
00:46:37
Speaker
And a huge part of like the start of their offensive onslaught in the second half, ah a big reason of that was you know Rourke found Keon Hatcher and just kind of kept going to him. And that's been a theme with this Lions team is once Rourke finds that receiver, he's going to keep going to them. And you know this was Hatcher's week. And yeah, the the two touchdowns is a nice add-on to that stat line as well.
00:47:00
Speaker
Yeah, i agree. Second star here, lot of different ways you could go with it. it It's tough. There were a couple great stat lines this week, but guys just didn't have touchdowns to go along with it.
00:47:12
Speaker
Like when you look at this, this was off the board of what we had on our prep sheet. But when you look at AJ Lett, like he had a fantastic week. Like he had three catches for 33 yards, 18 carries yards. Like something like that is is perfect territory for an honorable mention.
00:47:31
Speaker
um But again, like to me, it comes down to a quarterback here, either Trevor Harris or Nathan Rourke. Yeah, would say I feel like we put Rourke on. Rourke's been dominating our three stars of the week.
00:47:44
Speaker
ah So I'll go Trevor Harris maybe for a second just to change it up a little bit. That's stat line. Yeah. and it it took we Like you said, he basically did in three quarters. Yeah, from that interception onwards, he was perfect.
00:47:57
Speaker
Yeah, finished 21-27, 307 yards, three touchdowns. Did have the one interception, but... we We'll let that slide. Trevor, don't worry. Another guy who I was going to look at, it was in a losing effort, unfortunately.
00:48:09
Speaker
ah But I mean, all things considered, Tyler Sneed, 111 yards on five catches and a touchdown, especially with James Morgan throwing you the ball. like that That was a pretty impressive stat line. I don't know if you put him ahead of Rourke, but I just feel like you got to at least mention the guy's name.
00:48:26
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. Another one I had, this is going a tough one for third, Justin Rankin was incredible in that game. 13 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown.
00:48:37
Speaker
Five for five receptions for 87 yards. Like get it. It seems that there's some Elks games where he is like the entirety of their power on offense. I would put him as the third star.
00:48:48
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, he's been he's been hot lately, too. ah You can tell that he is kind of their focal point for Giardo's been looking to get him the ball a lot, whether it's in the running game, passing game. He's been very dangerous on ah offense.
00:49:01
Speaker
He is so much fun to watch. Like when he really gets humming, he is all over the field doing pretty much everything. um k on julian grant also was big in that game steven dunbar was kind of electric in that second half the elks ah offense man like if if they get humming and fajardo has a good game they still have so many weapons that they can dice teams up yeah it like we said before just look out for the elks i don't we don't know what it's gonna end up like but they're building something over there and it's and it's encouraging to see what's going on in edmonton recently
00:49:38
Speaker
Absolutely.
Top Players of the Week
00:49:39
Speaker
um So those are our three stars the week. Keon Hatcher at one, Trevor Harris at two, and Justin Rankin at number three. ah We got some new graphics for those. Check those out on our socials. They're lot of fun.
00:49:52
Speaker
um We'll move to our power rankings re-rack here.
CFL Power Rankings Discussion
00:49:56
Speaker
Some interesting developments here in the power rankings. Obviously, obviously, no nothing new at number one with Saskatchewan retaining that title.
00:50:07
Speaker
This is an interesting week for number two and three, because in a lot of ways, Calgary lost the bye week. Winnipeg won, BC won, Saskatchewan won. All those teams and Edmonton won. Every team in the West but them gained traction on them.
00:50:23
Speaker
But then Hamilton has a huge loss like is. i don't know where to put Hamilton here. Do you flip Calgary even though they didn't play? I think Calgary lost the bye week in terms of standings, but won it in terms of power rankings, where I still believe that they are now the number two team.
00:50:42
Speaker
And I'd be willing to drop Hamilton...
00:50:46
Speaker
To four for sure, and you could talk me into five. i think bc I think BC is dangerous right now, and I think you got to start acknowledging them. like I would look to put BC to three. I think Hamilton, like we've mentioned, has kind of just been beating up on Montreal, the backup quarterback, Ottawa with the backup quarterback, a not very good Toronto team.
00:51:08
Speaker
And then, i mean, they went two and two in their Western stretch. One of those wins was against Edmonton where they still hadn't found their groove. They found a way to beat BC. They lost to BC. So that's kind of a wash. And then BC with the statement against Montreal and then Hamilton with just ah an absolute stinker against the Rough Riders. I'd be willing to.
00:51:30
Speaker
I don't know what you do with them at four. Yeah, I was going to say, I don't know about Winnipeg. Yeah, I'm just kind of putting them in that range of where Winnipeg and BC were last week. Yeah. Yeah. In terms, you know, this isn't a standings thing. We say that all the time. BC currently is absolutely on, on a heater in terms of how they're playing. They definitely deserve that three. I'm fine. Putting Hamilton at four, five, six, seven here.
00:51:54
Speaker
Actually, you know what? Let's go to the bottom Toronto, obviously in last. Yep. Two fucking wins. um Edmonton. Edmonton is, in my opinion, certainly higher than Montreal.
00:52:07
Speaker
Certainly. And you could talk me into being higher than Ottawa.
00:52:14
Speaker
Ottawa just lost to Winnipeg in ah in a pretty close game where you should have they should have had a chance in overtime. Let's just take it slowly with Edmonton.
00:52:25
Speaker
you know You're right. Week by week, they can keep climbing up, but I just don't want to you know throw them into a spot where you know they we got to keep them their pressure low. so we got to just Week by week, they'll just start creeping up the power rankings.
00:52:41
Speaker
Keep keep a Toronto in last. I'd move and Montreal to seventh right now. Eight. Eight, yes. Edmonton up to seventh. um And then I think five, six stays the same. Winnipeg is ahead of Ottawa.
00:52:55
Speaker
Yeah, I'm good with that. Yeah, I actually like that a lot. Yeah, yeah, so do I. goes Saskatchewan, and Calgary, BC at the top. Hamilton, Winnipeg, Ottawa as the sandwich.
00:53:06
Speaker
Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto to round out the bottom. I like that. Yeah, no, it feels right. You know, not everyone may agree, but for you and me, like that, that feels right. That feels kind of where the state of the season is at this current moment.
00:53:20
Speaker
Yep. I agree. um We will move now into a week 12 preview. Some quick thoughts before getting to our picks and getting out of here.
Bombers vs Alouettes Preview
00:53:30
Speaker
We start on Thursday night with a game that is really interesting. A Winnipeg team that seems to be all over the place.
00:53:41
Speaker
Still finding a way to you know, keep their head above water in the West. Going all the way to Montreal. To play the Alouettes, the Bombers are four and a half point favorites.
00:53:54
Speaker
We'll get to our picks, but this spread is... Sneaky low, dude. It's the same as BC. It's the exact same number. Yes. And it's just... i Is Caleb Evans starting?
00:54:07
Speaker
I don't think so. like He didn't come back. He didn't even threaten to come back into that game. And you're the the Thursday game. It's not like you know you're not the late Saturday night game. You're the first game of the week.
00:54:18
Speaker
You were the last game of the week last week. So you have the shortest time in between. I'm thinking James Morgan starts and even if Caleb Evans does, why would Winnipeg not win this by double digits?
00:54:30
Speaker
I know. But Winnipeg is weird team, right? They were up 17 points going into the fourth quarter last week against Ottawa and almost blew it. so But i you know i I think that should definitely be one of our picks.
00:54:43
Speaker
This is something where... If Montreal like a team total, you maybe look at taking an under as well there. But, you know, FanDuel doesn't care about the CFL and will give you better lines in leagues that are in weird places and not professional sports leagues. But it is what it is. This line is very strange to me, though.
00:55:02
Speaker
I guess maybe they're thinking Montreal at home. Like, that's the only real reason I can see this line being four and a half. ah Me too. Like this is I love the board this week.
00:55:13
Speaker
Like it it is it is a board that there is a lot of opportunity on. But like you said, like there there should be no reason that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers do not win this game by double digits.
00:55:25
Speaker
It's just something that should happen. Like it is. Kolaros is still Zach Kolaros. If anything, that the weak spot of this team is on defense and and Montreal's ah offense could not be in a worse place right now.
00:55:40
Speaker
Even if James Morgan doesn't start, we're we're now onto a fifth string, Cameron Dukes off the street. like This game is going to be tough for the Alouettes not to get blown out in the first half, let alone the game.
00:55:53
Speaker
Yeah, if ah if Winnipeg wants to be taken seriously in that great cup conversation in the West, because they're kind of just floating right now. They're just floating between tier one and tier two. And I don't know where you put them right now. They're right in between. They're tweeners.
00:56:07
Speaker
You blow Montreal out on the road. like that that If you want us to start taking you seriously, that you take care of business here. Double digit win. And then you just keep moving forward. Yep. Yep, absolutely. um We'll move to Friday night.
00:56:20
Speaker
ah The Elks. going across the country to ottawa elks still let me let me double check because i was minus one and a half that is shocking dude drew brown did not practice yesterday i don't think he's gonna play in this game like no i think bob dice said he's not playing i think i think think that's kind of i think he mentioned i don't know what the exact yesterday at like midday i don't know if they're sleeping over at fanduel like it it this is shocking they moved it like two points i think edmonton was plus one and a half going into this game or plus two or something and now yeah and now they're they're minus 120 on the money line and minus one and a half on the point spread and this is part of that new look elks where you know god bless his heart drape trey ford
00:57:11
Speaker
with Cody Fajardo at the helm here going into a beat up Ottawa team that had a heartbreaking loss. I expect Cody Fajardo to step on their throats in this game and set a message for this Edmonton team and win three straight.
00:57:25
Speaker
Yeah, we're we're very much on the same page on these first two games. Feels chalky, but like we said, like there's not that many rat lines in the CFL because I just don't think they know how to handicap this sport right now.
00:57:37
Speaker
And this line is crazy. Pretty indicative of that. And, you know, we kind of made the mistake not taking the Elks last week when we pretty much knew the writing was on the wall for our Toronto Argonauts.
00:57:48
Speaker
I don't want to make the same mistake this week. So, you know, we're we're foreshadowing right now, but we're just so on the same page with these first two games that you kind of have to talk about it in that sense. Yeah, and the fact that Edmonton's defense is rising. like I expect Edmonton's defense to have a good showing here. Ottawa, and unlike last season, not a particularly good team at home this year.
00:58:08
Speaker
um So yeah, everything is kind of stacking up here for the Elks. I'd love love to see the Elks build on that momentum and get another huge win here. um We'll move to Saturday's game. Lions going to Toronto for the C&E game against the Argos.
00:58:23
Speaker
Side note, if you're hearing this, go buy a ticket it to that game. It is one of the best games of the season. ah You get into the C&E free with it. ah Great time. But this is it's another suspiciously low line. BC's riding hot. The Argos are absolutely not.
00:58:41
Speaker
I don't know how it's three and a half. Like it's i I'd expect this line to move, but I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong again. Like it. This is a shocking one, too. Yeah, this feels like it should be six and a half. Yeah, I listen here.
00:58:56
Speaker
I don't know. And the issues were all on the favorites. So it feels like we're, you know, eating the chalk right now. But yeah I mean, why like it it's worked. So when we see lines like this throughout the season, we're 80%.
00:59:09
Speaker
You know what i mean? We're not 100, but it's like it's right front you. And it's usually if it doesn't cover, something in that game happened. it Whereas like stupid turnover, an injury, like something crazy happened where the game gets flipped on its head or they win and don't cover. Something like that.
00:59:26
Speaker
I guess it's the same thing, right? BC traveling to Toronto. C&E crowd is usually the Argos biggest crowd of the year. So you're going to that going for them. But I mean, it's Rourke is just as playing as well as he has since that 2022 season.
00:59:43
Speaker
And I don't think the Argos defense is going to be the one to slow them down. And I know BC's defense isn't, you know, exceptional and our buckles probably going to throw for over 300 yards because that's kind of what he's been doing quietly.
00:59:58
Speaker
But I just think it's going to, the BC ah offense is going to just overpower the Argos defense. It just, it's just feels like that, you know, obviously the highest total of the week. I definitely agree with that.
01:00:09
Speaker
Don't know if I'll be touching it, but rightfully the highest total of the week as well. Yeah. And, and, you know, to make a pun that is part of one of the team names here, this feels like if you toss like a giant ribeye into a lion cage, like the Argos being the ribeye.
01:00:24
Speaker
ah And, and especially with how Nathan Rourke is playing right now, this defense is just going to have a hell of a time trying to stop him. That's, that's really all she wrote for this game. Like it is,
01:00:38
Speaker
would be shocked if the Argos covered that number. So we'll just move to what is a premier, premier matchup in this league.
01:00:49
Speaker
As best as you could get right now on the Saturday night, Rough Riders going to Calgary. Saskatchewan is a one and a half point favorite in this game.
01:01:01
Speaker
And you can get them at plus money on the money line, which again, you know, the last time we did that, that worked out. But this is ah enticing as a game, like just as a preview, Calgary off of a buy rested up another week for Vernon Adams to kind of get, you know, as healthy as he can possibly get.
01:01:22
Speaker
ah Saskatchewan off of a huge win against Hamilton riding high. Like this is this feels like an immovable force and an unstoppable object meeting each other in the West. Yeah, won two in our power rankings, the deserved ah week 12 finale.
01:01:38
Speaker
And yeah, I mean, i think this moves a little bit. I do think Calgary was favored at one point, but there's still it's still minus 110 each on the money line. But I just saw Calgary had the minus one and a half in front of them at one point. Now Saskatchewan has it.
01:01:54
Speaker
This is setting up nice for Calgary, though. I just don't, I don't think I'm going, like, I'm not saying they're going to win this game, but Calgary off a bye at home. The issue is the Rough Riders, like, they pulled Trevor Harris in the fourth, in a bit in the fourth quarter of that last game just because they were crushing the Tiger Cats. So they're going to be healthy. They're going ready to go.
01:02:15
Speaker
ah You know, I'm not too concerned about, uh, like they weren't, they weren't in a gauntlet of a game last week. So I think they're going to still be feeling pretty fresh as well. Full week off.
01:02:26
Speaker
Exactly. I just, I, I don't know, man, it's going to be a good game. I'm not going to go out here and give you a side. I don't really have a lean, but I just do like where Calgary is kind of sitting at there off the buy at home.
01:02:38
Speaker
Uh, hopefully their crowd shows up for this one and, uh, and just kind of see where it goes. I mean, It's this you mentioned before, but this is huge for the MOP as well. Like it's there's just so many storylines with this one.
01:02:52
Speaker
And I mean, if Calgary finds a way to win, it sends a message to like Saskatchewan, then there'll only be two points back in the standings in the West. So just a lot on the line in this game. And I'm probably the most fun game on paper up until this point in the season.
01:03:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think a big thing in this one is if Damian Alford is back and Adrian Green is back, that will be huge, huge for this Stamps team.
01:03:21
Speaker
like You need them back, I think, in this game to really get that full leg up on Saskatchewan. I can't find much about his health right now. It's still early in the week.
01:03:33
Speaker
It's still early. But something to keep an eye on if you're looking to bet this game. um I'm sure that the point total might go up a little bit too if Alford's maybe a point or two. Yeah, I don't know. This is going to be one where I probably won't bet it, and I'm just going to watch it. and you know Maybe a live bet. Someone goes down early, I'll maybe take them, but...
01:03:53
Speaker
This is going to be a fun one, and I just hope it lives up to the billing. you know i just don't Don't give me a stinker on Saturday night when you're the top two teams in our power rankings and in the West. I agree. I agree. We'll get to our week 12 picks now.
01:04:05
Speaker
We were eighteen and ten We went two and two We are now twenty and twelve still up eight units. We had a tough bounce, I would say, in that Winnipeg spread.
01:04:18
Speaker
like It was five and a half. That was a really tough pill to swallow in that one over in the Argos Elks game. Didn't quite go as planned, um but we got saved by the under in Saskatchewan and Hamilton.
01:04:32
Speaker
um And with that BC spread, that was money. I think we know where we're going off the bat here. I'll say the first one, Bombers four and a half.
01:04:43
Speaker
That's an auto pick. automatic uh and i mean i'm not gonna waste any time on this you know what ah i will you could take the money line at money is minus 120 but i feel so confident i'll lay the one and a half points and take the elks um yeah those two and i think i think we kind of know our third as well if we're going off the same trend are are you thinking the cne game or You know what?
01:05:08
Speaker
I'll let you take that one. i have one that i that I actually like here, and it's kind of been a bit of a trend here. It's under 50 and a half in Saskatchewan, Calgary. They had a low scoring game when they met the first time.
01:05:20
Speaker
ah The low scoring game last week that we took Saskatchewan against Hamilton, even though Hamilton was like this, you rip roaring offense. These are probably the two best defenses in the CFL. I don't expect this game to be, you know, 60, 70 points. One of those ones.
01:05:37
Speaker
I think this will be somewhere in the 20s, you know, a 24 to 21 kind of game. I like that under in that game. And I'm not an under guy. No, it's nice to add a sharp pick into ah into a week full of chalk. And, you know, it's nice as well because I'll finish it off with the Lions minus three and a half.
01:05:55
Speaker
So we have action on all four games this week. That hasn't happened a ton. ah So at least, you know, we're we're diversified. We're all over the place in this one. And I'm like, I'd I love that they it's I'm dangerously confident in the picks this week. Yeah, I love the board this week.
01:06:11
Speaker
Feels like you go through ebbs and flows where there's some weeks where you're battling against the board here. And then, you know, every three or four weeks, one of these weeks will pop up on the board and you're like, I am seeing it right now.
01:06:23
Speaker
Yeah, it feels like it's you're I'm going to parlay the four yeah ah together. And i I don't know. I'll just feel good about it. And then worse comes to worse. We get to the Saturday night and like you hedge and you're guaranteed money.
01:06:34
Speaker
You know what I mean? is's just It's a nice spot to be in. And I mean... I, I would expect some movement in these lines yeah throughout the week. So if you're listening to this on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, well, I guess, you know, depending on which game, because the game started Thursday, bet them early, bet them early. If you like it, because the lines do move in the opening lines or how you get them right now.
01:06:59
Speaker
Yeah. If, uh, yeah, if you you're listening to this on the Tuesday, i would, i would advise go straight to the betting segment. Here are the picks. Uh, lay them down, go back to the start of the show.
01:07:10
Speaker
It is ah that sometimes I feel like we I want to like take picks in the first three minutes of the show before they move. Yeah, we we it's um' it's a fluid. I'm not against it. it's It's fun because sometimes they move by the start of our recording to the end of it.
01:07:28
Speaker
yeah it's it's It's weird how they do it in the CFL, but I'm not going to complain with these lines this week. Nope, nope. Yeah, I'm really hoping for a big week. headhunting this week. like yeah I want to get to 11 units up, 12 units up. i want to I'm looking for a prize buck right here.
01:07:46
Speaker
Yeah, get to a point where we can't finish below 500. So we got to stack them while we can. And who knows? Maybe this will maybe this we're feeling it, which is always dangerous. But it this isn't the NFL. The NFL can screw you on weeks like that.
01:08:00
Speaker
The CFL is a little bit more ah lenient and they give you some good weeks. Absolutely. i think that'll do it for this week at the goalpost. Get out there this weekend. Enjoy some CFL football. Like I said, if you're in the Toronto area, get out to that C&E game. i can promise you won't regret it.
01:08:18
Speaker
Go see Nathan Rourke. Chuck it around the yard. But yeah, that'll do it for this week at the CFL. We will catch you next week and do it all over again. Until then, Patrick. I'll see you.
01:08:28
Speaker
See you, Damian.
01:08:37
Speaker
Was the 4th of July