Can the Ticats bounce back after their loss to the Alouettes and keep the Riders winless?
Last week, Nye had the Eskimos coming through with a sweep of the REDBLACKS and was correct in his prediction. This week, he is putting most of his support behind the Stamps and Lions.
Calgary at Ottawa
Let me say this, I’ll never be 100% confident in making any pick this season because the parity is getting better in the CFL.
Calgary comes into this game with another close win as a very good Winnipeg team took them to the limit. The bad news for the Ottawa REDBLACKS is Jon Cornish may have found his groove last week and if he starts rolling it’s going to be a long night for any of Calgary’s opposition. Ottawa’s defense has been able to take the ball away and will need turnovers to give themselves a chance.
PICK: Calgary with 95% confidence
Toronto at BC
After a bye week the Toronto Argonauts will have to go up against a confident BC team who just swept the Roughriders in a home and home set. Andrew Harris is finding his old self, while Travis Lulay is showing MOP calibre play behind centre. The Argonauts went into the bye week suffering their first loss of the season, which was a close loss to Calgary.
A factor I always look at when an East team is playing the Lions in Vancouver is the time. The fourth quarter will start after midnight Eastern time and when you start to get tired, you wear down mentally. Question that all you want but it’s something I think matters… similar to when West Division teams have to play early games out East. Toronto did beat BC last year with a late start, but it’s a rare feat.
PICK: BC with 50% confidence
Winnipeg at Edmonton
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were so close to getting a win in Calgary. Did they learn from their mistakes? If so, I give them a very good chance to beat the Eskimos this week.
There were a lot of mental mistakes by the boys in blue but there was no doubt they can hang in there against the best. The Eskimos Shakir Bell burst on to the scene and the Bombers will have their hands full against him after getting run over by Cornish last week. I went with the Bombers last week and they let me down, hopefully not this week.
PICK: Winnipeg with 10% confidence
Hamilton at Saskatchewan
The Tiger-Cats come into Mosaic Stadium with a bad history. They have been outscored 113-33 in their three games at Mosaic under the direction of Head Coach Kent Austin. But this is a new year, and the Tiger-Cats schooled Saskatchewan late last year.
Zach Collaros will be smarter with the football after last week’s loss. The Riders still have to figure things out on the defensive side of the ball as they continue to lack that play making ability to help out their high scoring offence. This is likely another tight game for the Riders and I see it going the way the first four have gone.
PICK: Hamilton with 25% confidence
