The CFL Playoffs are here and the stakes are higher for everyone involved.
The players, the coaches and the fans.
And even CFL Pick ‘Em is taking it up a notch for the playoffs, with five games over the course of three weeks, not just your pick but your confidence and the tiebreaker for score is going to matter more than ever.
There is also the added twist of trying to decide which team will score the first touchdown in each game.
The motto to which I’m playing by is go big or go home. In the course of five games there will be a few of you who will make all five predictions correctly. It’s just simple probability.
So if you’re playing the playoff mode of CFL Pick ‘Em, you will want to make sure you slide that confidence all the way over to 100 because if you don’t, you’ll be left out in the cold with the others who thought safe was going to suffice.
Safe isn’t going to work for the six teams playing in the CFL Playoffs and it isn’t going to work for you in this competition either.
That means it all comes down to the tiebreakers of who scores the first touchdown and of course, the combined score in each game.
This is where looking at the numbers on CFL.ca may get you ahead of the game when you look at trends between the match-ups.
Toronto Argonauts vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats played three games this season and Hamilton won all three of them, with a combined score of 52, 54 and 62 points. Hamilton also scored the first touchdown is these three games.
But before you start going all in on the Tiger-Cats, lets consider one major factor. All these games were played with Zach Collaros and Trevor Harris as the quarterbacks for these two teams.
That won’t be the case on Sunday when Ricky Ray gets the start for the Argonauts and as I write this it’s still up in the air on who will play QB for Hamilton. We know one thing, it won’t be Collaros.
The Tiger-Cats are the highest scoring team in the CFL throughout the season but that hasn’t been the case since Collaros went down. Hamilton was consistently scoring 30+ in the first half of the season, doing so eight times in their first 11 games. The Tiger-Cats did it just once without Collaros, that was a home victory against the league’s worst defence from Saskatchewan.
The Tiger-Cats also led the league in first quarter points but their starts haven’t been nearly as impressive over the last third of the season.
Hamilton is staggering into the playoffs, and while the Argonauts haven’t been blowing any body away, the door is clearly open for an upset.
On the Argonauts side of the ball, they aren’t exactly blowing people away going into the playoffs either since Ricky Ray took over at quarterback. Their 1-3 record in their last four games also doesn’t inspire many.
And of course in Hamilton, there could always be some strange weather that hits weather it be wind, rain or snow. The forecast looks good right now but we’ve seen the wind play a factor on who has the best chance to score in the first quarter and who as the wind in the fourth quarter as well.
I’m going with the playoff experience of Scott Milanovich and Ricky Ray to rule the day, although betting against Kent Austin in the playoffs rarely pays off. And the all in attitude would have me sliding the confidence level all the way to the right for 100 though I’m really thinking this is a toss up game.
As for points scored, I’m going low on this one with a stingy Hamilton defense and question marks for the Tiger-Cats offence. 45 points would make it a type 24-21 game and even that may be generous.
As for the first touchdown, I will keep up with the trend of Hamilton starting fast, in fact it would surprise no one if it’s actually the Tiger-Cats defense or special teams that scores first.
Pick: Toronto
First touchdown: Hamilton
Total points: 45
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BC Lions vs. Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders (14-4) were able to beat B.C. (7-11) in both their meetings, one mid-season and the finale when both starting quarterbacks Bo Levi Mitchell and Jonathon Jennings didn’t even see the field.
Jennings also didn’t start in the game earlier in the season and he’s definitely added some life to the B.C. Lions leading them on a charge down the stretch to make the playoffs. The Lions were looking desperate before Jennings took the helm and it seems all three phases of the B.C. Lions are playing their best football at the right time.
But of course on the other side of the ball is the juggernaut Calgary Stampeders. Bo Levi Mitchell, Eric Rogers, Marquay McDaniel and now Jerome Messam allow the Stamps to attack the Lions in many different ways.
So right off the bat, it will be no surprise I’m going with the majority and picking the Stampeders in this one.
But now for those tiebreakers. Over the last couple of seasons in the CFL Playoffs there have been a lot more games over 60 points than there have been that were under 50 so I’m definitely not thinking both games will be lowing scoring defensive battles.
Both teams offer a good compliment of offensive talent so I think we’ll be seeing a good scoring night in Calgary.
35-25 would bring my score right on to 60 and I think that would be fair for both teams, even if the score ends up 40-20 or 31-29, I’m thinking we will see that much scoring.
But as for the new tiebreaker on who will score first, I’m thinking the rookie quarterback Jonathon Jennings will have to settle in to his first playoff experience while the defending Grey Cup Champions will be coming out ready to go.
But here is a warning. The Lions did score more first quarter points throughout the season than the Stampeders (112-91).
I’m all in on Calgary for this game and when you look at the standings I don’t think I’ll be alone.
Pick: Calgary
First touchdown: Calgary
Total points: 60
