CFL

WEEK FIVE: CFL Picks by Anthony Urciuoli

July 31, 2009 10:48 pm
anthony
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Anthony Urciuoli Broadcasting Journalist

Back-to-back 3-1 weeks have catapulted me to .500. Coming off a very impressive win in Saskatchewan; has Edmonton turned their season around enough to knock off the juggernaut that is the Montreal Alouettes? How will Arland Bruce III impact the Tiger-Cats and for that matter – the Argos?

Last Week: 3-1 (75%)

Season Record: 8-8 (50%)

cfl logo Thursday, July 30

Montreal Alouettes (4-0, 2-0 V) at Edmonton Eskimos (2-2, 1-1 H)

Last week we saw a mortal-looking Alouettes team and an Eskimo’s squad that may have turned their entire season around. Montreal was held to 21 points at home against the Tiger-Cats which is more then half of their season average. Now don’t get me wrong, one game doesn’t necessarily turn a season around but Montreal was performing at a ridiculous rate — one that was nearly impossible to maintain. While they still beat Hamilton by 13 points but looked beatable in the process. Edmonton was down 22-0 in hostile Saskatchewan territory before outscoring the Riders 38-11 in week four. Ricky Ray finally looked like his savvy self and has the opportunity to hand the Al’s their first loss of the season. These two teams met in week two when Montreal went from being up 19-17 with 13-minues in the 4th quarter to winning 50-17. Believe it or not the Eskimos did actually have a legitimate chance to win a game in which they lost by 33 points. I’m doing it…don’t stop me. Time to pull the plug on Montreal’s perfect season…

Pick: ESK’S

Friday, July 31

BC Lions (1-3, 1-1 V) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-2, 1-1 H)

Quinton Porter is getting the nod despite being yanked in favour of Kevin Glenn in two consecutive games. Porter’s best start this season came against these same Lions in BC when he was 19 of 24 for 222 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 55 yards while scampering in for a major in the process. Is another game against BC just what the doctor ordered for Porter to get his game going? The Lions have struggled this season with quarterback issues of their own. The cloudy headed Buck Pierce has not quite had the big year I predicted (no need to keep track) and it’s made defending easier for their opponents. Without a scary passing attack, the running game has been negatively affected. Arland Bruce’s arrival in Hamilton not only gives them a top-notch weapon in the passing game; it also frees up a guy like Prechae Rodriguez who is a 6’5 matchup nightmare for a defensive back. This one’s difficult but I have to lean in the direction of TigerTown as history repeats itself.

Pick: Tabbies

Saturday, August 1

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-3, 0-2 V) at Toronto Argonauts (2-2, 0-1 H)

And in the drama filled Young and the Restless portion of the schedule…

The Argo’s are trying to move towards life without Arland Bruce while Winnipeg is possibly prepared to use their fourth quarterback (Michael Bishop) of the season already. Oh yeah, and the quarterback is a former Argonaut himself. Kerry Joseph has continued to be rock solid this season and this game comes down to one thing; Toronto has a quarterback and Winnipeg doesn’t. The Blue Bomber’s are fielding what is perhaps the worst offense in recent memory. Winnipeg has been averaging 130 passing yards per game while allowing 277. They’ve only managed to complete 44% of their passes while their opponents have complete 62.9%. The 66 yards that three quarterbacks combined for last week against Toronto was unfathomable and how much could they have improved over a week? I don’t see how they can beat anyone right now; let alone a team that just beat them on the road.

Pick: Argo’s

Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-2, 1-0 V) at Calgary Stampeders (2-2, 1-1 H)

Here come the Stamps! The defending champions are back to looking like…well, champions while the Roughriders have gone in the opposite direction after week four. After enduring an “embarrassing” home loss against Edmonton, a road trip may be the right medicine. The Riders are a minus-21 in points while Calgary is a plus-48 and the Stampeders are 8-3 at home since last season. Saskatchewan is having issues similar to that of BC in that their lack of an aerial threat his hindering their options on offense. There only hope in this game is if they can move the ball downfield and match Calgary point for point. Problem for the Riders is that Calgary has gotten better by the week and keeping up is too tall of an order.

Pick: Stamps