At the midpoint of the CFL season, it\u2019s a tale of two divisions.<\/p>\n
Last week was the perfect storm, as the West went 4-0, and you don\u2019t need to be a mathematician to know how the East Division fared.<\/p>\n
Out West, the Riders are humming with Trevor Harris<\/a> leading the league in efficiency. BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke<\/a> is rounding into form. Cody Fajardo<\/a> has the Elks moving up the AMSOIL Power Rankings. The Bombers are staring down the Stamps for second spot in the division. Calgary comes off a bye week with the second-best record in the CFL.<\/p>\n RELATED Out East, three of the four teams are not playing with their franchise quarterbacks, and the Tiger-Cats are licking their wounds after getting dumped by the Riders in Regina.<\/p>\n Three of four games this week are once again East vs. West, although this time the games are in the East rather than all four last week being hosted by the West Division.<\/p>\n But will home field make a difference\u2026?<\/p>\n WINNIPEG AT MONTREAL<\/p>\n Thursday, August 21 I\u2019ll be honest. It\u2019s tough to watch the Alouettes\u2019 injuries pile up at quarterback. There is no way to think a team is going to find much success when it\u2019s down to the fourth-string quarterback.<\/p>\n Though it was impressive to watch James Morgan<\/a> rally a bit in Vancouver until Nathan Rourke<\/a> and the Lions pulled away.<\/p>\n To make matters worse, the Alouettes have an extremely short week of prep to get set for this clash against the Bombers. Montreal will have one full practice and then it\u2019s game day on Thursday.<\/p>\n Winnipeg nearly blew it against the REDBLACKS, but held on. Over the last five weeks, Brady Oliveira<\/a> is second in rushing behind only James Butler<\/a> of the BC Lions. As the Bombers find their run game, they\u2019ll find more of their identity from their success over the last five seasons.<\/p>\n PICK: WINNIPEG<\/p>\n EDMONTON AT OTTAWA<\/p>\n Friday, August 22 The Dru Brown<\/a> news to start the week was optimistic. He did not practice on Monday and head coach Bob Dyce said he\u2019s unlikely to play this week,<\/a> but doesn\u2019t expect it to be a long-term injury. Dustin Crum<\/a>, who nearly pulled off the unbelievable comeback, looks like he\u2019ll get another start this season for Ottawa with Brown likely unable to play.<\/p>\n The stats don\u2019t lie for Ottawa. Their efficiency on offence jumps up considerably when Dru Brown<\/a> is at quarterback.<\/p>\n A few weeks ago I would still believe Ottawa wins this game but that was before Cody Fajardo<\/a> was named starter for Edmonton.<\/p>\n Since that time, the Elks are 2-2 and their two losses came down to the final few minutes, including what would have been a game-winning touchdown that was dropped in the end zone.<\/p>\n Yes, Fajardo is doing a fantastic job running the offence, but what isn\u2019t being talked about enough is the improved play on defence. The Elks still do sit near the bottom of defensive categories, but their numbers are improving. When it comes to opponents\u2019 second down conversion rate, the Elks have seen the second-best improvement in the league since Week 6, trailing only the Roughriders defence.<\/p>\n These are all good signs on what could be turning into a second half surge by the Elks.<\/p>\n PICK: EDMONTON<\/p>\n BC AT TORONTO<\/p>\n Saturday, August 23 I don\u2019t blame Ryan Dinwiddie for being at his wits\u2019 end with his football team. When you look at a lot of the key stats offensively, you\u2019d think the Argonauts would be right in the mix.<\/p>\n Then you swing over the defence and you see where things slip away for the Argonauts late in games. They just can\u2019t make a key stop at a key time.<\/p>\n The Lions are coming in on a two-game win streak where Nathan Rourke<\/a> has thrown for 790 yards and six touchdowns over those games.<\/p>\n If you were waiting for 2022 Rourke to show up, your wait is over.<\/p>\n
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