Now a third of the way into the season. The CFL standings are beginning to take shape, and the Western Division is anyone's for the taking, while it's shaping out to be a two-horse race in the East. In the VGCC, 39 people are within 4 points of PIGSEYE, who remains in sole possession of first, so a lot can change in a week.
Here are the games for Week 7:
Calgary @ Edmonton
B.C. @ Toronto
Montreal @ Winnipeg
Hamilton @ Saskatchewan
You can join in at any time. Pick the teams you think will win in a reply to this thread. You can elaborate if you want, but please make it easy for me to see at a glance which teams you are picking to win.
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How did that happen? Suddenly I'm up there with the leaders, tied for second. If I'm not careful, people will be accusing me of skewing the numbers; though if I were going to do that, I wouldn't have missed the post-season so many years in a row.
Anyway, my picks:
Calgary @ Edmonton: The Eskimos looked pretty good last week in a close loss to the Tiger-cats. The Stamps didn't look very good, in a close win over the Bombers. This Calgary team is not the Grey Cup champions of a year ago, as time and again in that game they tried their best to hand the W over to Winnipeg. Had they been playing a decent team, there is no way they would have come away with two points. Edmonton is at home, so give them the advantage. Esks by 4.
B.C. @ Toronto: This may be a snoozefest, or it may be an embarrassment. Toronto is the worst team in the Canadian Football League, and B.C. hasn't shown themselves to be much better. But while the Lions are at least making improvements, the Argos are just staggering around with no direction. The loss to Montreal was a surprise only in that, in a league in which a wide field goal can still net you a single point, Toronto was unable to do even that. This win won't earn much respect for B.C., but it will earn them two points. Lions by 8.
Montreal @ Winnipeg: I would pretty much pick Montreal to beat anyone. I would pretty much pick anyone to beat Winnipeg. Put them together and there's no explanation necessary. Als by 19.
Hamilton @ Saskatchewan: Hamilton is the hottest team in the CFL right now. Their 4-2 record is the second best in the league, they're the only team riding a winning streak, and they're unbeaten against the Western Division. The argument that Hamilton's record was due to their two games against B.C. was blown out of the water when the Lions proved themselves superior to the Riders. Add to that Hamilton's victory over the very respectable Eskimos, and it's clear this team is for real. Not sure whether they're ready for the challenge of playing at Taylor Field, however. But the Riders' run defence is weak, so look for Cobb to have a field day. Cats by 9.
Calgary @ Edmonton = Edmonton. The Esks played well against the Ti-Cats but shot themselves in the foot with a lot of holding calls that forced them into long yardage situations. Calgary struggled to get by a struggling Bomber team so I'm taking the Esks by 7.
BC @ Toronto = BC. The argos played a pathetic game against the Als and the Lions are turning a corner in thier season with a win last week against Saskatchewan. BC by 13.
Montreal @ Winnipeg = Montreal No question in this one no explaination needed. Als by 24.
Hamilton @ Saskathewan = Saskatchewan. The Ti- Cats have proved they are a competative team this year however I think Mosaic Stadium will help decide this game and the Riders will bounce back against the loss they suffered against the LIons. Riders by 3.
Calgary @ Edmonton B.C. @ Toronto Montreal @ Winnipeg
Hamilton @ Saskatchewan
I'm finding the games a lot tougher to pick this year with the improved parity. I think Calgary is a better team than Edmonton but the Esks are at home and I'm going for a hunch on that pick. Hamilton has looked real good this year and much better than Saskatchewan but my hunch says at home coming off a bad loss they'll come to play.
As defending regular season virtual Grey cup pick champion last year I am ashamed of my picking this year.
So, I will go with common sense instead of trying to guess an upset this week. Although it may seem odd I am picking 3 road teams to win with only Saskatchewan to win at home this coming week. So, Calgary, Montreal, B.C. and the Riders will prevail. Big Dave , sorry, but the bubble will burst at Mosiac / Taylor Field for your Tiger-Cats who have been the feel good story this season. :cowboy:
Calgary @ Edmonton - Don't think Calgary is playing to potential. B.C. @ Toronto - hmmmm - who is worse ??? but then again BC did beat my riders (even though that isn't saying much) Montreal @ Winnipeg - without a doubt. Hamilton @ Saskatchewan - as much as this hurts, my riders suck......
...coin is smarter than me, thanks for the tip pigseye....that being said, I decided to go with the oldest coin in my office desk for this week's picks which turned out to be a 1971 U.S. penny....so if these selection suck, well that would be Lincoln's fault wouldn't it, what the hell does he know about the CFL anyway...