By Bob Coatsworth,
CFL.ca
B.C. (5-2) @ Calgary (3-4)
Friday, August 17 – 10:00 PM ET
B.C. rolled into Cowtown in Week 5 with a 4-0 record. The Stampeders were riding high coming off a 33-10 trouncing of the Argonauts. Calgary boasted an eight-game home winning streak at McMahon Stadium and appeared to be a sure bet as a spoiler.
The CFL Fantasy consensus on FSN.ca was nearly split. 54 percent of Team Pick’em players decided to stay loyal to the unbeaten Lions, while 46 percent took the underdog Stamps on their home turf.
The result was a 32-27 victory for the defending Grey Cup champs and a disappointing ending for those forecasting the Stampeders to put a halt to B.C.’s perfect start.
Henry Burris’ wasn’t a letdown offensively. He put up a season-high 423 yards passing, threw two touchdown passes and rushed for 52 yards and a score. Unfortunately, what he didn’t do was protect the football.
Burris was intercepted twice and lost two fumbles; responsible for four of the Stampeders’ five turnovers. The Stamps have turned the ball over 24 times this season for a league worst minus-nine turnover ratio. By contrast, the Lions have a plus-nine ratio. It all means the giveaway-takeway battle will be huge in deciding the outcome of Friday’s contest. You know Brent Johnson and Cameron Wake will have the heat on Burris.
In the last meeting Buck Pierce struggled at quarterback, but Jarious Jackson threw two crucial second-half touchdown passes in relief against a defence that has given up a league-high 16 passing touchdowns so far in 2007. Calgary also has their 7th-ranked run defence to worry about. Jarrett Payton ripped through it for 160 yards last week and Joe Smith had 112 yards against it in Week 5. Scott Coe’s broken hand will make matters worse for Calgary’s defensive line.
Sixty-four percent of FSN Team Pick’em players are going with B.C. and I’ll agree with that.
Final score: B.C. 29 Calgary 25
Edmonton (3-3-1) @ Saskatchewan (5-2)
Saturday, August 18 – 10:00 PM ET
The Roughriders head into Saturday’s game on a three-game winning streak that started July 28 with a 54-14 bashing of the Eskimos at Mosaic Stadium.
Despite winning by two last week over Hamilton, Danny Maciocia’s Eskimos have lost two of three and are battling injury woes.
They’ll be without No. 1 receiver Jason Tucker (knee) in the passing game, and Tyler Ebell (shoulder) who has contributed nicely this season, both as a rusher and a receiver. Middle linebacker A.J. Gass has been suspended, Shannon Garrett is out with a groin injury, while key offensive and defensive linemen Dan Comiskey and Brandon Guillory are still on the mend with long-term injuries.
Ebell’s absence leaves Ron McClendon to carry the load and that’s not a good thing. McClendon rushed for eight yards on six carries against Hamilton middle-of-the-road rush defence last week and has underwhelmed as the starting running back all season long. Saskatchewan is tough on the run and leads the CFL giving up an average of 60.9 total rushing yards per game. This spells doom for Edmonton’s prospects of rushing the ball.
If Edmonton is going to have any chance of winning this game it’s going to be on the arm of Ricky Ray. That might be a lot to ask considering Ray was limited to 199 passing yards and was intercepted on three occasions in Week 5 against Saskatchewan. Ray will also have to deal with the loss of Kevin Lefsrud on his offensive line. Lefsrud suffered another concussion last week against Hamilton. Fred Perry will be a chore for whoever replaces him.
Meanwhile Saskatchewan has been getting it done recently with steady performances from all the usual suspects. Kerry Joseph, Matt Dominguez, D.J. Flick and Wes Cates have come together as dynamic offensive weapons and have Saskatchewan averaging 33 points per game during their win streak.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Riders are near the top of the league in almost every category. The lead the CFL in interceptions, sacks, fewest points allowed, fewest touchdowns allowed and fewest field goals allowed.
Eighty-seven percent of FSN Team Pick’em players are taking the Roughriders. So will I. Make the Riders your Survivor pick this week.
Final score: Saskatchewan 40, Edmonton 19
Bob Coatsworth is Content Producer at TheScore.ca and has been a fantasy sports enthusiast for years.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
