CFL Previews - September 3-6 - Week Ten

Football Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -

BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (1-7) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (6-2)

DATE & TIME: Friday, September 3, 7:30 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The Montreal Alouettes find out what life without one of the top offensive stars in the league is like this week as the team hosts the British Columbia Lions at McGill Stadium on Friday night.

The Alouettes have been enjoying some time off since defeating Winnipeg back on August 19 by a score of 39-17, but quarterback Anthony Calvillo still doesn't feel that he is up to the task of leading his team on the field and will be sitting this one out due to a sternum injury and bruised ribs that caused him discomfort the last time he attempted to practice and prepare. With Calvillo, the two-time reigning CFL Offensive Player of the Year, taking a break it is up to Chris Leak to handle the action on offense for the squad.

Leak looked solid when he subbed for Calvillo in the last game, stepping in during the third quarter and completing 10-of-15 passes for 99 yards as the Als maintained their lead in the Eastern Division with a record of 6-2. Receiver S.J. Green caught a pair of Calvillo TD passes in the decision and running back Brandon Whitaker, who was taking the place of an injured Avon Cobourne, added a team-best 74 yards and a couple of majors of his own.

As for the Lions, their season continues to spiral out of control. Since posting a 25-10 win over Edmonton in the season opener, the team has dropped seven in a row and now rests at the bottom of the division standings as a result. Last week the team had an offensive explosion that included a season- high 35 points versus Calgary, the only problem being that the squad also gave up 48 points in a game that saw the highest-scoring first half so far this season in the CFL.

Lions signal-caller Casey Printers returned to action after missing the last four games due to injury but was mostly ineffective for much of the game before tossing his first and only touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter to Emmanuel Arceneaux. Printers, who hit on 10-of-26 passes for 191 yards, did score a major himself early in the meeting on the ground, but BC still lost its seventh in a row.

In one of the scarier moments this season, play between the Lions and Stampeders was halted for several minutes at the 5:18 mark of the third after BC wideout Darius Passmore collided with signage on the sidelines, requiring him to be immobilized and wheeled off on a stretcher after suffering a cut to his neck and was taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution.

Printers should be getting the start again this week for the Lions, but one never knows which signal-caller will be actually finishing the game for the squad. Back in 2005, Printers did have a huge game against the Als with 357 yards and four TD passes, but in his other appearances he has a total of just four majors and five INTs, so the odds are not exactly on his side. It should come as no surprise that the BC passing attack is one of the weakest in the league at this stage, completing just 56.2 percent of its pass attempts for a meager five touchdowns and 10 picks, leading to a league-low 69.3 efficiency rating through eight games.

Thanks to Calvillo, the Montreal passing attack is again tops in the league with a rating of 109.6, having rolled out 18 TDs and just four interceptions, but this weekend the offense for the Als will have a different look with Leak at the helm, starting the first CFL game of his career. One of the significant differences between Calvillo and Leak is the ability of the latter to actually break out of the pocket and make something happen with his feet. Chances are the coaches won't want Leak to take too many liberties in that department since they are already a QB short, but that still has to play a part in the preparations by the Lions going into Friday night.

Whitaker, who was named the Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts filling in for Cobourne, has shown that he can play a significant role in the offense when called upon, so perhaps the Als will be asking him to again shoulder a portion of the load while key components of the offense try to get healthy. Montreal, which is a perfect 3-0 this season when playing in games decided by 20 points or more, is actually second from the bottom in terms of rushing yards at this stage with just 751, averaging only 5.5 yards per attempt which is ahead of only Hamilton and that shows just how important Calvillo and the quarterback position is to this group.

This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams, the first taking place in British Columbia in the middle of July with the Als slipping by with a 16-12 victory. The win was the first for Montreal in the province in the last 10 years. Damon Duval was the star of the show for the Als as he registered all but two of his team's points.

With the win Montreal has now taken two in a row and three of the last four encounters with the Lions in regular season action. In terms of the all-time regular-season series, BC still clings to a 31-29-1 advantage dating back to 1954.

Even with Calvillo on the sidelines, the Als are the kind of team that go into every game expecting to win and that sort of attitude goes a long way in taking care of opponents, especially ones like the slumping Lions at the moment.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Montreal 27, British Columbia 21

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (2-6) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (5-3)

DATE & TIME: Sunday, September 5, 4:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: Back in action after a lengthy layoff, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers head back to the gridiron on Sunday afternoon to challenge the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium.

The Bombers have had a tough time of it in 2010, winning only twice in eight chances, and that has the club sitting all alone in last place in the Eastern Division. The last time they took the field was more than two weeks ago when they were crushed by Montreal on the road, 39-17. In that contest, Winnipeg trailed 24-0 late in the second quarter and never recovered as Steven Jyles converted 11-of-22 passes for 123 yards and a score, but he was also sacked five times. Fred Reid tried to make a significant impact with his 116 yards on 14 rushing attempts, but his game-high effort did nothing to change the final outcome.

The loss for the Blue Bombers was their fourth in a row and the sixth in the last seven games after opening the season with a 49-29 win over Hamilton at home in early July.

As for the Roughriders, a team that is trying to keep pace with the blazing Calgary Stampeders, they were stunned by Edmonton on the road last weekend, 17-14. The loss was the second in the last three games and means the team has alternated wins and losses over the last six contests.

The Roughriders, now just 1-3 on the road in 2010, were led by Darian Durant, who completed 19-of-39 passes for 211 yards, but he was also picked off three times in the setback. Running back Wes Cates scored his league-leading ninth major of the campaign, while James Patrick logged three interceptions and now leads the CFL with a total of six through nine games. Heading into last week's contest, Patrick had just three picks on the season and seven for his entire career, so clearly the outing, one in which he scored on a 35-yard return, was the highlight of his career.

Cates is now third in the league in yards from scrimmage with an even 800 after nine games and is averaging six yards per carry as the fourth-best runner in the CFL with 616 yards at the moment. Right behind Cates on the rushing list is Reid for the Blue Bombers with his 615 yards on 93 attempts, an average of better than six and a half yards per carry. However, the big difference between the two is the end results as Cates has a league-high eight rushing TDs and Reid a mere two majors on the ground, the fewest among the top nine ground gainers in the CFL.

Durant is just ahead of Montreal's Anthony Calvillo for the most passing yards in the league with his 2,474, but one has to assume that the Saskatchewan signal-caller would probably be trailing if Calvillo had been able to finish his last game before getting hurt. Durant has completed just 58.8 percent of his attempts thus far for 11 TDs and because he is tied for the most interceptions in the league with 12, he has an efficiency rating of only 80.9 so clearly he needs to make some better decisions in the pocket if he is going to get the recognition he desires.

Over on the other side Jyles, who has thrown for a grand total of just 12 yards and has a mere two completed passes in his career versus the Roughriders, has been keeping the Bombers offense moving with his 61.8 percent completions and seven majors, against just two interceptions in the absence of Buck Pierce. Making it easier for Jyles and Pierce this season has been Terrence Edwards who is second in the league in receiving yards with 725 on 38 catches. Edwards is first among receivers with seven touchdowns and has already eclipsed his TD total from a year ago when he tallied five. A 1,000- yard receiver in both 2007 and 2008, Edwards is well on his way to posting a career-best in TD catches as well, with his high mark being nine three years ago.

Durant and the Roughriders have played well enough this season to control the ball for close to 34 minutes per game and that has in turn led to the squad generating 31.1 ppg, which places them third in the CFL. Nevertheless, when Saskatchewan is on defense that team can appear a bit rusty by permitting opponents to gain an average of 8.8 yards per pass, the highest average in the league. Then again, Winnipeg is not that far behind with 8.3 yards per catch allowed, so it might all be a wash in the meeting this week.

Even though Winnipeg owns a 112-82-3 advantage in the all-time regular-season series with the Roughriders, dating back to the 1945 campaign, it is Saskatchewan that has had the advantage in recent years with four straight wins and five victories in the last six encounters. Back in September of last year the Roughriders rolled to a 55-10 victory on the road in the most recent meeting. The clubs will complete the season series next week when they clash in Winnipeg.

Durant is sure to make his share of mistakes, but at least he is able to temper them with performances that are strong enough to get the Roughriders into the win column consistently. Expect the same to be true this week as Saskatchewan rules at home.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Saskatchewan 28, Winnipeg 17

TORONTO ARGONAUTS (5-3) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (4-4)

DATE & TIME: Monday, September 6, 2:30 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The only matchup of the week that pits two teams that are at least .500 so far this season against each other has the Hamilton Tiger-Cats entertaining the Toronto Argonauts at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Monday afternoon.

Toronto is a surprising 5-3 after eight games, even though the team was taken down by this same Ti-Cats squad on August 20 by a score of 16-12. With the victory Hamilton moved to an even 4-4 overall, using a 13-point fourth-quarter explosion to capture its third win in a row after losing four of the first five games of the campaign.

Hamilton kicker Sandro DeAngelis played a crucial role in putting his team over the top in the last game, booting a pair of field goals in the final period and three successful conversions overall. But in fact, it was a six- yard TD run by DeAndra Cobb late in the meeting that actually put the visitors over the top. Cobb finished with a game-high 99 yards on 20 carries, while quarterback Kevin Glenn converted 25-of-36 passes for 247 yards and an interception. Receiver Arland Bruce continued to be a tough matchup as he reeled in eight balls for 68 yards.

Over on the Toronto side, Cleo Lemon made good on 18-of-31 passes for 208 yards, but he failed to throw a TD pass and was sacked four times. Instead, it was kicker Grant Shaw who had a hand in most of the scoring for the Argos, converting three field goals and adding a single through the third quarter.

As someone who has been thrown into the starting lineup this year, Lemon has made it work for the Argonauts with his 60.2 percent completion rate and just seven touchdowns against five interceptions thus far. Nevertheless, the Toronto passing attack is far from feared throughout the rest of the league, given that it ranks last in yardage (1,761) and second-to-last in TD passes with just those seven tossed by Lemon. What Toronto needs more than anything is for Boyd to continue to roll up yards on the ground so at least the Argos can at times threaten to put the ball in the air. Boyd is currently first in the league in rushing with 792 yards, yet after a league-high 133 carries he still has just four touchdowns to his credit.

As for the Toronto defense, there is no team in the league that is even close to how porous the Argos have become in 2010. The squad is giving up a staggering 439.3 ypg, the only team in the league permitting more than 393 ypg at the moment. But as poorly as the unit has played at times this season, the fact remains that Toronto is allowing 26.9 ppg which is right in the middle of the pack, and is actually tied with Hamilton at the moment in that department.

Glenn has seen plenty of action over the years against the Argonauts, throwing for almost 4,000 yards to go along with his 17 TDs. Most importantly, at least in the last four meetings, Glenn has tossed just a single interception and that has allowed his team to remain competitive in the series. One of five players in the league with at least 100 carries thus far, Cobb (104) has had his ups and downs with just 434 yards and three touchdowns. With an average of just 4.2 yards per attempt, Cobb has the lowest average of any of the top 30 ball carriers in the league right now and it is only a matter of time before all of those hits begin to take their toll.

Perhaps having Bruce out on the wing will help to take some of the attention off of Cobb, especially considering the receiver leads the CFL in receptions (53) and receiving yards (812) at this stage. Perhaps the only knock on the star is that he has just five touchdowns to show for all the times he has accepted a pass and taken the hit for the Ti-Cats.

Dating back to the 1950 season, Hamilton owns a 118-86-2 advantage in the all- time series with the Argonauts, winning two straight and three of the last four encounters between the clubs. They are due to meet one more time this season in Toronto on October 15.

While Toronto has the incentive of revenge from the last meeting with the Tiger-Cats, chances are the Argos and Lemon will experience the same fate they did only weeks ago but on the road this time.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Hamilton 23, Toronto 17

EDMONTON ESKIMOS (2-6) AT CALGARY STAMPEDERS (7-1)

DATE & TIME: Monday, September 6, 6:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The Calgary Stampeders try to continue their winning ways on Monday evening as they take on the Edmonton Eskimos in a Western Division clash at McMahon Stadium.

The Stamps have the best record in the CFL through eight completed weeks of competition, losing just once to Toronto back on July 14 by a score of 27-24. Last week, the team outlasted a spunky British Columbia squad and captured a 48-35 victory. The last time Calgary started out 7-1 was 1996 when current BC head coach Wally Buono was at the helm. Even though he tossed a total of three interceptions, Henry Burris stepped up with 20-of-34 passing for 276 yards and a couple of touchdowns, while backup Drew Tate contributed with one passing major and another on the ground for the group as they generated 510 yards of total offense.

Wide receiver Ken-Yon Rambo was not only on the winning side with Calgary, he was also a unanimous choice for CFL Offensive Player of the Week thanks to his nine catches for 108 yards and two scores. Having come back strong from a knee injury that ended his 2009 season, Rambo now has four touchdowns in as many games.

As for the Eskimos, they've been a disappointment for much of the season, winning just once through the first seven games. But last week the team awoke from a slumber and came up with 17 unanswered points in posting a 17-14 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders at home. Edmonton spotted the visitors a pair of touchdowns and then roared back by holding the Roughriders scoreless for the last three frames.

Kicker Noel Prefontaine was key to the comeback win as he converted a 37-yard field goal in the final minute of play to secure the upset win. Prefontaine, who was named the CFL's Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time, was responsible for all of the points scored in the second half and a total of 11 overall as the Eskimos snapped a two-game slide.

Edmonton starting quarterback Ricky Ray was pulled early in the game, but came back to move the ball down the field late and finished the outing 6-of-11 for 63 yards, although his one interception also led to the first points of the game when James Patrick picked off the first of three and ran it back 35 yards for the score. Backup Jared Zabransky tossed one touchdown to Arkee Whitlock, but was also picked off twice as he converted 8-of-17 passes for 109 yards in the victory.

Even though the Eskimos picked up a rare win last week, the quarterback position is still in disarray. Ray may be one of the more accurate passers in the league to this point with his 66.8 percent accuracy, but the fact that he has just as many interceptions (six) as he does touchdowns doesn't paint a pretty picture for this team. As a unit the Eskimos are sixth in the CFL in passing with 2,130 yards through eight games, but again the team has more INTs (10) than TDs (eight) through the air.

Having Whitlock help out on the ground certainly takes some of the focus off the troubles at quarterback, but the running back can only do so much as he averages a solid six yards per carry and is now second in the league with his 686 yards coming out of the backfield. With 764 yards from scrimmage, Whitlock is fifth in the CFL and at least gives the illusion that he could be a bigger player in the passing attack if needed.

While Burris has more passing majors than anyone else in the league at this point with 18, he is also tied with Darian Durant for the most interceptions with a dozen, so with the good also comes the bad in his case. But for the most part, throwing those picks has not hurt the Stamps all that much. When it comes to Burris hitting the airwaves against Edmonton over the years, the signal-caller has twice as many TDs (36) as INTs (18) over the course of 20 appearances. Of late the numbers have really favored Burris in fact, the QB having tossed 14 majors and a mere four interceptions in the last six meetings. In all but one of those six games Burris, who is on the verge of overtaking Dieter Brock for 10th place on the CFL's all-time passing list, has thrown for at least 305 yards, so to change the mode of attack at this stage might be foolish.

Even though Edmonton owns a convincing 121-79-3 mark in the all-time series dating back to the 1949 campaign, it is Calgary that has dominated in recent years with four straight wins and five in the last six encounters overall. The most recent meeting took place on August 15 with the Stamps stomping the Esks by a final of 56-15 at home.

The battle over who is the better quarterback at the moment for the Eskimos hasn't died down and will only become more confusing if the coaching staff again shuttles both Ray and Zabransky in and out of the lineup. Unfortunately for Edmonton, whomever handles the snaps won't make enough of a difference to derail the Stampeders anyway.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Calgary 37, Edmonton 21

Sportsbook Betting Lines Season Predictions: 20-12; Last Week: 1-1.