Well, we had to wait an extra day to get the football kicked off in Week 6 but when we did we had a few statement games to witness.<\/p>\n
The Calgary Stampeders take their spot at the top of the West Division after taking it to the hometown Roughriders. That\u2019s back-to-back weeks the Stamps have handed teams their first loss of the season after doing the same to the Bombers the week previous.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re now set up for a clash of the Bombers and Stampeders again this week with top spot in the division up for grabs\u2026 again!<\/p>\n
RELATED Nathan Rourke<\/a> had his strongest game of the year on Sunday to blow out the Edmonton Elks, who head into their bye week trying to find some answers.<\/p>\n And the Hamilton Tiger-Cats survived a scare at home against the Ottawa REDBLACKS for Hamilton\u2019s third straight win of the year as one of the hottest teams in the CFL. Now they have to head to Ottawa in a rematch of Saturday.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t my finest week of predictions as the flyer on Edmonton did not pay off\u2026 quite the opposite. The Stampeders proved me wrong after proving me so right against the Bombers.<\/p>\n And I\u2019ll be honest\u2026 there aren\u2019t a lot of gimme putts for picks this week either!<\/p>\n TORONTO AT MONTREAL Both teams are coming off a bye week but one team has their quarterback returning from injury, while the Toronto Argonauts are still waiting for the day that Chad Kelly<\/a> gets the all clear to play again. That day can\u2019t come soon enough for the struggling defending Grey Cup champions, who need to start getting some wins before the team falls too far behind in the standings.<\/p>\n On the flip side, Davis Alexander<\/a> is tracking to return to action this week after the Alouettes lost back-to-back games with McLeod Bethel-Thompson<\/a> filling in. Alexander still hasn\u2019t suffered a loss as a starter in the Canadian Football League, which is one of the best starts to a quarterback\u2019s career in league history.<\/p>\n While this is a rematch of that dramatic Eastern Final last year, it\u2019s a battered Argos team coming in without Kelly and last year\u2019s top offensive lineman Ryan Hunter<\/a> and their defensive captain Wynton McManis<\/a>\u2019 status is up in the air.<\/p>\n I\u2019m taking the home team, who get their starting quarterback back, to get some revenge on last year\u2019s playoff loss to the Argos.<\/p>\n PICK: MONTREAL<\/p>\n CALGARY AT WINNIPEG The shoe is on the other foot for this rematch from Week 5, which saw the Stampeders absolutely dominate the Bombers.<\/p>\n In Week 5 it was the Stampeders coming off the bye week with home field advantage. This week it\u2019s a refreshed Bomber team who got to look at that film and then look at the Stampeders game against the Roughriders for even more intel on what the Stampeders are doing so well to start the season.<\/p>\n Do I need to remind you all what Mike O\u2019Shea\u2019s record is after a bye week since Zach Collaros<\/a> became the starter late in 2019?<\/p>\n 17-0!!!!<\/p>\n Of course the 17th was with Chris Streveler<\/a> at quarterback to start this season after a Week 1 bye.<\/p>\n However, the data is in that Mike O\u2019Shea and this coaching staff can put a game plan together for their next opponent.<\/p>\n Now, how many of those games have come against a team playing as well as the Calgary Stampeders are at the moment? Truthfully, I have to admit, not many.<\/p>\n There in lies the intrigue of this game as one team is riding some serious momentum, while the other is looking for some serious revenge.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got the Bombers taking this at home.<\/p>\n PICK: WINNIPEG<\/p>\n SASKATCHEWAN AT BC The BC Lions have started a new tradition in Vancouver ahead of games against Saskatchewan, titled \u2018Watermelon Smash.\u2019 I think it\u2019s safe to say it was a smashing success last year with a win in front of one of their biggest crowds of the year.<\/p>\n The attendance is tracking for another good crowd this time around as Nathan Rourke<\/a> may have finally shaken off the rust with his best performance of the season against Edmonton\u2026 or it was because he was playing against Edmonton, whose defence is not as good as the one visiting the Lions on Saturday.<\/p>\n The Roughriders are coming off their first loss of the season and have to be scratching their head on how they laid an egg at home, despite it being against the 4-1 Stampeders.<\/p>\n The Riders, who have been running so effectively, abandoned the run early. I wouldn\u2019t expect that to be the case this week as they go up against the Lions, who AJ Ouellette<\/a> ran all over three weeks ago in a dominating Roughrider win at Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n However, the Riders were up against Jeremiah Masoli<\/a> and not Nathan Rourke<\/a> in that contest.<\/p>\n The major concern for the Riders is in back-to-back games teams have been able to run the ball on them, including James Butler. Butler topped the 100-yard mark against the Riders and is now coming off a monster game against the Elks.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll side with the home team on this one as I don\u2019t see Rourke throwing three interceptions as Masoli did in that Riders Week 4 victory against BC.<\/p>\n PICK: BC<\/p>\n HAMILTON AT OTTAWA We\u2019ll wrap up the week with a rematch of that dramatic 23-20 Tiger-Cats win over Ottawa last week. Ottawa will have home field advantage in this game after blowing their fourth quarter lead in Hamilton in Week 6.<\/p>\n Ottawa is like a few teams in the league right now at the bottom of the standings. The team has shown flashes but just can\u2019t finish off a game to get a win. Ottawa\u2019s only win, impressively, is actually on the road against the top team in the league. The win, albeit in inclement weather, should be proof enough that Ottawa can compete with the best.<\/p>\n Even last week having the lead on the road in Hamilton should be more proof of that, but too often Ottawa has shot themselves in the foot.<\/p>\n For this game, I\u2019d advise Dru Brown<\/a> to throw no where near Jamal Peters. Like, ever. Pre-snap read, where is No. 2? Then find somewhere else to throw.<\/p>\n Hamilton continues to reap the benefit of Kenny Lawler<\/a>\u2019s addition to the receiving corps as not a lot of teams have an answer for No. 89.<\/p>\n I know it\u2019s hard to win back-to-back games in the CFL against the same opponent and I\u2019m leaning a bit toward Ottawa at home because they were so close to winning that game on the road.<\/p>\n
\u00bb\u00a0Play CFL Pick \u2018Em presented by Old Dutch now!<\/a>
\u00bb Power Rankings: Calgary complete ascent to No. 1<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Subscribe to the CFL\u2019s official YouTube channel<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Subscribe to the CFL\u2019s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates<\/a><\/p>\n
Thursday, July 17
7:30 p.m. ET
TSN\/RDS\/CBSCN\/CFL+<\/p>\n
Friday, July 18
8:30 p.m. ET
TSN\/RDS2\/CBSSN\/CFL+<\/p>\n
Saturday, July 19
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN\/CTV\/CBSSN\/CFL+<\/p>\n
Sunday, July 20
7:00 p.m. ET
TSN\/RDS\/CFL+<\/p>\n