Weekly Predictor: Will Toronto beat Winnipeg?

Jamie Nye

CFL.ca

@jamienye

I was waiting for a week like Week 7 in the CFL.

A week that makes us reassess almost everything and see some upsets to set up the potential for some more intrigue heading into the middle portion of the season.

Hamilton came off their bye week with an impressive win over the rival. Calgary upset the Lions. The Riders win was technically an upset over the Bombers, although I was shocked the guys in green were the underdog at home.

Now, it sets up a battle at the top of the league between the Riders and the Alouettes to headline Week 8 action. However, all the matchups this week are evenly matched with only one win seperating Calgary/Ottawa, Edmonton/Hamilton, and Toronto/Winnipeg.

Once again, not exactly an easy week to find big favourites or root for a major underdog.

Saskatchewan at Montreal
Thursday, July 25
7:30 p.m. ET

This game features the top two defences in the league going head-to-head with the backup quarterbacks likely to lineup head-to-head. Shea Patterson has held down the fort for the Riders, while Caleb Evans has more overall CFL experience between the two quarterbacks but hasn’t played much so far this season.

History repeats itself as Cody Fajardo missed last year’s matchup against his former team and now it appears he’ll miss this one too. Last season, the Alouettes ran all over Saskatchewan, with Evans rushing for two touchdowns.

This year, the Roughriders have by far the best run defence in the league and are able to keep their opponents one demential.

The two defences are also leading the league in takeaways, leading them to being tops in turnover ratio as well.

The Riders are on a short week with East travel, while the Alouettes are coming off of their bye week. However, I think this comes down to quarterback to attack very good defences.

The Alouettes haven’t stopped the run this season, and Patterson gives the defence another headache.

But the Riders 19-9 win over the Bombers and how fast they play, I think another statement gets made this week.

PICK: SASKATCHEWAN

Calgary at Ottawa
Friday, July 26
7:30 p.m. ET

The Stampeders weren’t perfect in their upset win over BC, but Jake Maier throwing for three touchdown passes was a good sign for a team in the middle of the pack.

Ottawa comes off back-to-back wins over the Edmonton Elks and puts their undefeated home record on the line against a team that hasn’t won a game away from McMahon all season.

Jake Maier’s passer efficiency is one of the top in the league, while Dru Brown is continuing to figure some things out as an everyday starter.

These two teams are pretty evenly matched across the board so far this season so I’m going to side with one aspect and that is an extremely quick turnaround with a trip East for the Stampeders, while the Ottawa REDBLACKS are getting to sit at home with three extra days to prepare.

PICK: OTTAWA

Winnipeg at Toronto
Saturday, July 27
7:00 p.m. ET

Again, the narrative will fall back to there;s something wrong in Winnipeg after their loss to Saskatchewan. Zach Collaros struggled to get into the end zone again as the Bombers are having a tough time generating consistency for the first time in a while.

However, Cameron Dukes has been hot and cold and we’ve seen Nick Arbuckle a few times this season, including in the loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Toronto has been a little bit more consistent this season. A big reason for that is they come in with the best run game in the league. Winnipeg’s run defence allows the most yards per game.

There is no doubt both these teams have the talent to put together a string of wins. But I think the Argonauts will wear down the Bombers and be able to control the line of scrimmage.

PICK: TORONTO

Hamilton at Edmonton
Sunday, July 28
7:00 p.m. ET

The Elks didn’t show much improvement after having just four days to get Jarious Jackson established as the new head coach.

Now, they’ll have plenty of time this week for Jackson to put more of his fingerprints on the game plan. Hamilton and Edmonton could argue that they were close but it was Hamilton who finally broke through first.

Bo Levi Mitchell still has game left as he gets adjusted to some younger receivers. McLeod Bethel-Thompson hasn’t been the problem in Edmonton but is having trouble getting into the end zone over the last few weeks.

I’m waiting for both Kevin Brown and James Butler to get going at running back for respective teams.

They are two very similar teams but I think the Tiger-Cats can spin some confidence going into this week’s game while we’re watching a very frustrated Edmonton team who find new a create ways to lose.

While Edmonton is at home, I think the Tiger-Cats gain a big boost with there win last week, while Edmonton has lost so many in heartbreaking fashion.

PICK: HAMILTON

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