THE CANADIAN PRESS
It’s all about the rematches in Week 12. The three return showdowns from last weekend don’t need much to sell, because the natural rivalries do a good enough job of that to begin with. But all three week 12 rematches have really compelling added storylines that makes things even more interesting. Let’s count them down.
3. Craving continuity
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers need Matt Nichols to give them a quality start on Saturday night. The Bombers are in desperate need of a win as they host the Riders on Saturday night, and they need someone to step up behind centre. Since Drew Willy’s injury, Winnipeg hasn’t gotten anything close to effective play at quarterback from either Robert Marve or Brian Brohm. That lack of solid quarterback play is the main reason why the Bombers have lost four straight games.
But it goes deeper than just this season. Winnipeg has had so little continuity at the most important position in football the last number of years it’s scary. Since 2008, the Bombers have played the Banjo Bowl rematch with Saskatchewan six times and they’ve used six different quarterbacks. Saturday will make that number seven with Nichols starting. Willy is the guy in Winnipeg, but with him injured, Nichols has a real opportunity here. The Bombers desperately need him to seize it.
2. Closing the gap
Yes, the Toronto Argonauts have another crack at Hamilton this weekend, and that’s always a fun showdown. But when these two teams hook up on Friday night, I’ll be watching one team closer than the other. My eye will be more trained on the Argos, because they’re in a spot they haven’t really been in all season: Facing adversity.
In two straight games, the Argos have been beaten rather soundly be an upper echelon team. Last week’s lopsided loss to the Tiger-Cats followed a Week 10 beatdown at the hands of the Edmonton Eskimos. Toronto has allowed 80 points in its last two games and hasn’t really sniffed a win in either matchup. I’m not saying the Argos are going to beat Hamilton, because not very many teams do. But the Argos have to be more competitive on Friday than they have been the last two weeks.
1. Taking home advantage
As we laid out in this week’s Monday Morning Quarterback, the Eskimos need a win against the Calgary Stampeders. There are tonnes of reasons why, of course. The Esks are chasing Calgary in the West Division standings and winning on Saturday night could go a long way in tightening things back up. On top of that, Edmonton is going to need to feel like it can beat its provincial rivals if and when they likely meet in the postseason. But there’s one really important reason the Eskimos need to win that trumps everything else.
The Eskimos need to beat their archrival in front of their home crowd. Edmonton has lost nine straight games at Commonwealth Stadium to Calgary, and that is unacceptable if you’re a season ticket holder. Fans in the two Alberta cities love beating the other team, so a string of losses on home field like this needs to stop, and stop soon.
