THE CANADIAN PRESS
The wild, wild West is going to be a great finish and all five teams will have something to say on how it shakes out. Yes, even the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
First, let’s hand first to the Stampeders.
The Calgary Stampeders are unlikely to rest up some players as the season wraps up and that means we’ll see a record breaking season. The 16-2 Edmonton Eskimos of 1989 will be surpassed by Bo Levi Mitchell and his gang of stable of horses. They are the most impressive team we’ve seen in a long, long time as they have top notch groups in all three phases.
If there was any doubt about Dave Dickenson taking over for John Hufnagel, there isn’t any more. Dickenson has this team taking on the spirit of its head coach: calm, confident, clutch. Of course, Calgary will be hoping it doesn’t succumb to the same fate as those Eskimos from ’89, losing in the Western Final.
Do teams size rings in October?
» The Weekly Say: When should the Stamps rest players?
Jerome Messam could be one player due for some time off (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
After the Stamps, things get very interesting.
The Lions, Bombers and Eskimos all have a shot at that second playoff spot and home field in the Western Semi-Final. They also all have a shot at falling off the pace and finding themselves playing on the Eastern side of the playoffs thanks to the crossover.
Let me start by noting, the crossover is more than likely to be in effect so these three teams will all be in the playoffs, but where they finish will go a long way in deciding their ultimate fate.
I don’t think, however, like some do, a team from the West will be able to win two road games in the East in back to back weeks to make the Grey Cup.
And sorry to the Bombers, but I’m predicting it’ll be Winnipeg who takes those trips East, not Edmonton or BC.
The Bombers have a home and home against BC, then again against the Ottawa REDBLACKS. The bloom is off the rose in Winnipeg as the Bombers are starting to show signs of that team that struggled at the start of the season. The red hot pace their defence was on with turnovers couldn’t be sustainable and the fewer turnovers they create, the harder it is for the team to win and that’s the problem.
It’s not going to help that they take on the Lions and REDBLACKS while the Eskimos play Montreal, Toronto and Hamilton.
The Bombers will need the Esks to falter with three of their final four games on the road. I don’t think they will. Edmonton has beaten BC and Winnipeg in the last two weeks and seems like a team that is finding its game at exactly the right time.
The most important game for the West Division shake down is in three weeks when the BC Lions take on the Edmonton Eskimos, because here’s the deal: if the Eskimos win that game (I think they will), they will not only own the tiebreaker on the Bombers but the Lions as well.
That brings in the Riders to play spoiler. The Riders WILL NOT lose their final home game at Mosaic Stadium/Taylor Field when they play the BC Lions in the teams’ penultimate game of the season.
So we get to the final week of the season and the Eskimos have the Argonauts at home (penciling in a win) and the Lions have a rematch against Saskatchewan in the final game of the season.
My bold prediction… the Eskimos, Lions and Bombers all have 10 wins when the BC Lions take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Lions win, they host the Eskimos. Lions lose, it’ll be the Eskimos hosting BC.
But however it shakes out, can we predict anybody beating the Calgary Stampeders, in Calgary, after two weeks of rest ahead of the Western Final?
Remember, the Edmonton Eskimos got that same break in 2015 with a final week bye combined with a bye in the first week of the playoffs.
I’m not sure when the players sized their championship rings but rest was best in 2015 and I think history repeats itself in 2016.
