Unfortunately for the entertainment value of the CFL, the Edmonton Elks and Saskatchewan Roughriders won\u2019t play each other again until Week 21!<\/p>\n
In back-to-back weeks\u00a0they were the highlight of the week, with both games ending in the road team earning a two-point victory.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Montreal Alouettes keep extending their lead in the East Division with their impressive 7-1 start to the season.<\/p>\n
This week, the Toronto Argonauts come out of the tunnel at BMO Field to a home crowd after being on the road to start the season. It appears they will have their quarterback ready to go<\/a> after he avoided anything serious with the injury he suffered two weeks ago, before the Argonauts\u2019 bye week.<\/p>\n All four games this week are interdivisional, and so far the West has gotten the best of the East 10 out of 16 times.<\/p>\n RELATED CALGARY AT TORONTO<\/p>\n Thursday, August 6 In Week 5, the Stampeders dropped 58 points on Toronto. Calgary had a short week of preparation for that game as well. Toronto is coming off a bye week for the coaches to take a deeper look at the team, and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll see some changes, especially on the defensive side, as Toronto has allowed an average of 32 points per game.<\/p>\n Calgary\u2019s defence hasn\u2019t been that much better. The big story with the Stampeders is that Vernon Adams Jr. has avoided throwing an interception all season, and that type of protection of the ball makes life easier for a defence that hasn\u2019t quite found its game this season.<\/p>\n I do think Calgary\u2019s defence will improve, but I\u2019ve been saying that for a few weeks and we haven\u2019t seen it consistently. And let\u2019s be real, this week\u2019s matchup against Chad Kelly<\/a> is a bigger test than the Tre Ford<\/a>\/Harrison Frost<\/a> combo they faced last week.<\/p>\n The Calgary Stampeders seem like the smart play. Overall, they\u2019re a better team. But they\u2019re on a short week spent out East, facing a team coming off the bye week with Kelly at quarterback. I\u2019m going with a revenge game for the Argos.<\/p>\n PICK: TORONTO<\/p>\n OTTAWA AT SASKATCHEWAN<\/p>\n Friday, August 7 Something had to change in Ottawa, and the REDBLACKS released veteran receiver <\/a>Eugene Lewis<\/a> and relieved\u00a0defensive coordinator Will Fields<\/a> of his duties.<\/p>\n Is a week enough to help fix the defence? Probably not. And will the loss of Lewis charge up the offence and make them understand that jobs are on the line if that side of the ball doesn\u2019t turn things around? TBD.<\/p>\n When jobs are on the line, you\u2019ll either see a much more focused REDBLACKS team or one that starts worrying about what\u2019s going on over its shoulder instead of what\u2019s right in front of it.<\/p>\n And right in front of them is a 5-2 Roughriders team coming off an emotional win in Edmonton.<\/p>\n The injury bug continues to bite the Grey Cup champions, as Tevaughn Campbell and Kian Schaffer-Baker<\/a> both left the game against the Elks with injuries. We\u2019ll see how long-term their injuries when injury reports come out later this week.<\/p>\n Emilus should be ready to go this week after being a game-day scratch against the Elks.<\/p>\n It was the depth of the Roughriders that led them to a championship last year, and we\u2019ll see if they still have it amid the injuries and off-season departures.<\/p>\n The one thing I\u2019m seeing from the Riders that is dangerous for the rest of the league: the newly built defensive line is starting to find its groove. Meanwhile, Ottawa doesn\u2019t provide much pressure, and that\u2019s dangerous against Trevor Harris.<\/p>\n PICK: SASKATCHEWAN<\/p>\n EDMONTON AT MONTREAL<\/p>\n Saturday, August 8 THE GAME OF THE WEEK!<\/p>\n It\u2019s a rematch of the Alouettes\u2019 only loss of the season, when the Elks beat them at Commonwealth Stadium. Now Davis Alexander<\/a> and the rest of the crew will seek revenge at home.<\/p>\n Justin Rankin went OFF in that game with 230 yards from scrimmage, including 179 yards on the ground. Rankin has not had a lot of room over the last few weeks, as BC and the Riders have found ways to limit his overall production. But the Elks have been able to keep winning, for the most part.<\/p>\n The Elks are 3-2 in their last five games, while the Alouettes appear to be getting stronger and stronger as the season goes along.<\/p>\n The Alouettes have a perfectly balanced offensive attack, with Travis Theis running aggressively. If opponents take that away, they\u2019re dealing with Alexander looking downfield to Tyson Philpot<\/a>, who already has over 1,000 receiving yards<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cody Fajardo heads back to Montreal, where he earned a win last year, but that was one of the games Alexander did not play.<\/p>\n I think it\u2019ll be a different story this time out.<\/p>\n PICK: MONTREAL<\/p>\n HAMILTON AT BC<\/p>\n Saturday, August 8 The expectation is that Nathan Rourke<\/a> will be back soon, if not this week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whenever he returns, it\u2019ll be to a team that is starting to find its identity and confidence after wins against the Elks and Bombers.<\/p>\n I know the Lions were everyone\u2019s favourite pick at the start of the season, and we\u2019re all looking silly with them in the basement of the West Division.<\/p>\n But the Lions have only played seven games.<\/p>\n There are 11 left, and when you look at the point differential of this 2-5 team, it\u2019s better than that of the 4-4 Bombers.<\/p>\n
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