The Canadian Press photo
Week 7 brought plenty of excitement, whether it was Johnny Manziel’s new colours, a plethora of highlight-reel plays or a down-to-the-wire finish in Hamilton.
There were some serious shifts on the #TotalPickEm leaderboard for the end-of-season $5,000 grand prize; eyeofthetigercats used a 4-0 week to propel himself back into the lead, while Week-6 leader ron4158 dropped to fifth place due to a Hamilton pick that went sour. Former leader oilslick has plummeted down to 71st; after a 13-2 start to the pick’em season, ‘slick is just 3-5 in his last two weeks.
Let’s take a look at how the week went.
The Edmonton Eskimos went into Montreal and, facing the Vernon Adams-led Alouettes, took care of business with a confident 21-point win.
Pick’em players were having less than none of the Alouettes, and were rewarded for their faith in the Eskimos off a bye on the road.
Edmonton returns home for a critical West Division matchup against the Riders in what will likely be a toss-up; Montreal hosts Hamilton in a Johnny Manziel-versus-former team matchup.
Should be fun.
The Bombers sprinted past the Argos for the second straight week, casting doubt on Toronto’s viability in pick’em moving forward.
Coordinator Richie Hall’s Winnipeg defence took care of James Franklin and co. easily, and pick’em players — the vast majority of whom took the Bombers as home favourites at full confidence — were rewarded.
Franklin has been stripped of starting duties by head coach Marc Trestman, but Toronto is a giant question mark in pick’em — at least for the next few weeks.
Winnipeg, meanwhile, is unpredictable but exciting and seems to be rounding into form with a couple eastern opponents on the slate.
Many saw Saturday afternoon’s contest as a toss up between the first-place REDBLACKS and the half-a-game-back Ticats.
It did indeed go down to the wire at Tim Hortons Field, but the majority of pick’em players got burned.
The REDBLACKS proved their mettle in the second half for the second week in a row, while the Ticats floundered to their third-straight loss.
Jeremiah Masoli’s ability to perform in the fourth quarter will likely scare pick’em players moving forward, but Hamilton may still be an irresistible pick — likely against the unproven Johny Manziel — in Montreal on Friday night.
The Stamps went up 24 points in the first quarter, and while Saskatchewan gamely battled back to make it a five-point game in the third quarter, it was over early in Regina.
This may be the best Stampeder team we’ve seen yet, and that is a scary prospect.
DeVone Claybrooks’s defence is a downright terrifying proposition to solve, and the receiver core is likely the deepest in the league.
Meanwhile, as good as Saskatchewan’s defence and/or special teams may be, the Rider offence simply can’t manufacture touchdowns. That’s a concern with Edmonton (Week 8, road), Calgary (Week 10, home) and Winnipeg (Week 12, home) ahead on the schedule.
Check back tomorrow afternoon for our Week 8 #TotalPickEm preview.
Week 7: 3-1
Season: 18-9 (.667)
