It’s a quiet week in the CFL with just two games. That leaves us with a Saturday night feature game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts.

The Battle of Ontario actually has some importance to it as the Argos are in a tie for first place in the East. Meanwhile, the Tiger-Cats will be aiming to win their third straight game, but they may want to add some diversity to their portfolio by beating someone other than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

"(Hamilton) may want to add some diversity to their portfolio by beating someone other than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers"

Hamilton Tiger-Cats @ Toronto Argonauts
Saturday, August 21st – 7:35 PM ET
CFL odds: Argonauts -2.5 at Bodog.com

Catching up with the Tiger-Cats:

If you’re an optimist, then the Tiger-Cats modest two-game winning streak is a potential turning point. If you’re a realist, then you know that the Tiger-Cats need to start winning against someone other than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Tiger-Cats and Blue Bombers have already played four times this season (in just seven weeks) and all three of their wins have come against the Blue Bombers. That means they are 0-4-0 against the rest of the league.

Marcus Thigpen has been one of the bright stars for the Tiger-Cats, as he has found a way to score a touchdown five different ways this year (kickoff return, punt return, missed field goal return, receiving and rushing), which is the first time that’s ever been done in CFL history.

Overall, the Tiger-Cats offence has been a bit suspect this season – more specifically, the running game – and that will likely hamper them once again in this game.

Catching up with the Argonauts:

Does anyone believe that the Argos are actually in a tie for first in the East? So much for their cute start being a flash in the pan.

The Argos have been the biggest surprise in the CFL this season and they emphatically stated that they are here to stay with a big 37-22 win over the Montreal Alouettes last week.

Cleo Lemon has been very efficient at quarterback for the Argos and he has guided the offence very smoothly. Combined with steady contributions from Cory Boyd, the Argos have had balance.

The one sour note from last week’s win is that wideout Jeremaine Copeland dislocated his elbow and will miss up to six weeks.

The matchup:

Is anyone else suspicious about this low line? On logic alone, the Argos are the play here. The Tiger-Cats have the Blue Bombers number, but they haven’t beaten anyone else in the league.

Meanwhile, the Argos will be confident after topping the Alouettes last week and that will carry over into this week. The Argos have yet to lose at home this season, so lay the short number as they handle the Tiger-Cats in this one.

CFL betting odds: Argos -2.5

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

Steve Thompson is a CFL featured columnist on Bleacher Report.com. On the site, he focuses mainly on CFL expansion.

If there is one thing the CFL doesn’t need, it’s the pathetic and unnecessary standoff between Hamilton Tiger-Cats owner, Bob Young and the Hamilton City Council about the location of a new stadium.

When one starts to probe this case, two things bubble to the surface. First: Bob Young has few cards to play. Second: There is the inconsistent double standard of the CFL.

First Young. He appeared on the TSN half time show on Friday night during the Hamilton Tiger-Cats/Winnipeg Blue Bombers game to explain his position. When asked about his reasons for withdrawing from stadium talks with the city and his opposition to their choice of location for a new stadium, he was clear and direct. When asked about where he would move the Tiger Cats, if he had to, his language became bureaucratic.

The truth is that unless he selects an American city, Young has nowhere to move the Tiger-Cats.

In fact, the most realistic thing for Young to do, if he really is serious about moving the team, would be to shift it to Baltimore. The CFL still has fans there. They probably could still make a go of it, despite the NFL competition from the Ravens.

In Canada, he’s got nowhere to move the team except Moncton.

Two bizarre places were named: Burlington and Milton. But, how is battling QEW-403 traffic to Burlington any better than downtown, west harbour Hamilton? What is in small town Milton to support a CFL team? Besides, neither place has anything even close to a CFL-size stadium.

Population-wise, the most realistic places to move the Tiger-Cats are Quebec City, London, or Kitchener. But, though university football is popular in all three cities, there is nothing close to a CFL size stadium in any of them. If there really was a serious effort to have CFL football, all three cities, which are big enough to support CFL franchises right now, would already have teams. With proper stadiums and investors, all three cities could apply for expansion franchises. Why do they need an established team from Hamilton? Neither an investor, nor any attempt to build a CFL size stadium, has ever surfaced.

There are only two places in Canada with possible CFL stadiums for Young to move his team. Put a team in the vacant Montreal Olympic stadium to compete against the Alouettes, or expand the newly opened Moncton stadium, the site of the upcoming Touchdown Atlantic game featuring the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts, in September.

So, Young’s only real hope is Moncton. By rights, Moncton shouldn’t even be in the picture. It is only the 29th largest city in Canada. But, small Moncton has elbowed its way to the head of the line for a CFL franchise, ahead of at least ten other larger, logical places for a new team. Moncton is the most ambitious city in the Maritimes, anxious to show that it is THE Maritime city, ahead of other eastern cities, like Halifax. Once that is established, Moncton will probably want to show that it is the up and coming city in all of Canada. First selling out the Touchdown Atlantic game quickly, and then landing a permanent CFL franchise, would be a great status booster in that direction for the city. And, as small Saskatchewan proved, quality of fan can make up in a big way for lack of population. Unless Moncton comes through, Young is backed into a corner with time running out.

This situation is the complete opposite of the NFL.

When franchises like Oakland, Houston, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Baltimore, and St. Louis wanted to move, they had places already lined up, ready to give favourable deals to lure a team.

As for the CFL, there is a double standard that has emerged.

If you go to the CFL’s website, or Internet CFL forums, or even in this column, probably the hottest topic that gets the most questions and responses is expansion. People want to see the underdog league grow across Canada with more teams to make the league more interesting. But, the league only takes baby steps.

Visionary CFL commissioners like Tom Wright and Larry Smith had their plans blow up in their faces. So, the league has reverted to taking baby steps.

Right now, the league is congratulating itself on the Grey Cup selling out in record time in Edmonton, on the expansion of Montreal’s stadium, on Touchdown Atlantic and finally getting Ottawa back in the league in 2013.

Now the irony.

It is the city’s west harbour location of a 25,000 seat stadium that is the baby step. It is Bob Young’s choice of an east mountain location, fully backed by Commissioner Mark Cohon and the CFL that is the visionary choice. That stadium is alleged to hold more fans, have easier access, and be expandable for Grey Cups.

Commissioner Cohon has gone as far as to write the city a letter which threatens to vacate Hamilton forever if Young’s choice is not accepted. Why the hard line stance against Hamilton?

The CFL claims that any new expansion team must play in a stadium of 25,000 seats. But Montreal played in a stadium seating 20,000 for a decade and a half. It is playing the Touchdown Atlantic game in a stadium that only seats 20,000, of which half of the seats are temporary. It accepted a new Ottawa stadium that only seats 24,000 in a much larger city than Hamilton. Why is a 20,000 seat stadium acceptable in Moncton, a 24,000 seat stadium acceptable in Ottawa, but a 25,000 seat stadium not acceptable in Hamilton?

Even if Young does move the team to Moncton, he would have to convert half the seats and then expand the stadium by 5,000 to reach 25,000 – the same size as the west harbour stadium he finds so unacceptable.

So what will happen?

Unless Moncton comes through, or some new miracle offer makes a grand appearance, the issue will continue like an unnecessary soap opera until one side caves in, just before the Tiger Cats lease with Ivor Wynne Stadium expires in 2011.

Then the usual speeches will come from one side, congratulating the other for making concessions that the other found acceptable so that people’s faces are saved.

No one will mention that the concessions could have been made months earlier. The project could have started and completed by the time they finished talking.

Until then the Tiger-Cats will remain in limbo, a boring non-issue that most fans should best ignore.

For more from Steve Thompson, visit his Bleacher Report.com profile page at http://bleacherreport.com/users/75533-steve-thompson.

If the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats haven’t figured each other out by now, they never will. 

It isn’t often that two teams end up playing each other four times in the span of two months, but that’s what is happening for the Tiger-Cats and the Blue Bombers as they are to meet at Canad Inns Stadium on Friday the 13th.

This is already the fourth time Hamilton and Winnipeg have met.

The good news for both of these teams is that they would both be in the playoffs if they started today. The bad news is that they only have a combined four wins, just one of which has come against another team in the CFL.

So far in 2010, the home teams have ruled the day. The Bombers opened up the season with a shocking 49-29 upset of the Tabbies at home. Since then, Hamilton has won 28-7 and 29-22 at home.

The winning team will move a game ahead of the other. Should the Tiger-Cats spring the mild upset, they will have won the season series and the tiebreaker, effectively giving them a game and a half lead on Winnipeg for the last playoff spot in the East Division. The loser will drop back into the gutter in the division and be fighting for a crossover postseason spot.

Hamilton is still having major problems with its ground attack, which is putting all sorts of pressure on quarterback Kevin Glenn and the passing game. Glenn has thrown the second most passes in the CFL with 218, and he is second in the league in yardage with 1,886. Throwing 11 touchdowns against four picks is good for a 101.2 quarterback rating, the second highest amongst starters in the CFL.

Glenn would be nowhere without the play of receiver Arland Bruce III, though. Bruce is simply on fire right now. He leads the CFL by a country mile in receptions (43) and yards (680) and his four touchdown grabs puts him just one off of the league lead. Last week, Bruce had 11 catches for 197 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks ago, he went for 272 yards and two touchdowns on 16 catches. Three of his six games have resulted in at least seven catches and at least 100 receiving yards.

As for that woeful running game, changes may need to be made. DeAndra’ Cobb has only rushed for 249 yards this year, putting him at dead last in the league for starting running backs and just barely in front of some of the quarterbacks. Cobb’s 4.0 yard per carrry average remains the worst in the CFL.

On the other side of the ball, the Bombers are going to be facing a defence which has allowed the second most points in the East Division. This could be the week that quarterback Buck Pierce comes back to the lineup after a brief absence. Statistically speaking, both Pierce and reserve quarterback Steven Jyles have comparable numbers, which could make for some controversy should the incumbent come back into the lineup and struggle.

Regardless of who is under center, running back Fred Reid is going to be a focal point for the offence. Reid is averaging 6.6 YPC this year, the second best in the CFL amongst running backs, and even though he has just two TD runs, his 451 yards on the ground is fourth in the league.

The Bombers have only picked off five passes all season long, which could provide a bit of a challenge against a solid Hamilton aerial assault.

The victory both SU and ATS for Hamilton moved it to 3-1-0 in both categories over the last four games with the Blue Bombers.

However, the trend to take note of might just be the ‘under.’ Bettors taking the low side of the CFL betting total are 11-4-0 in Winnipeg’s last 15 games played in the month of August and is 24-8-0 in its last 32 games played on Friday nights.

For Hamilton, the ‘under’ has also been golden, as it is 39-15-1 in its last 55 Friday games. Since the opening game of the year between these teams, both duels have stayed ‘under’ the number.

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

If the old saying “familiarity breeds contempt” is true, then there should be a lot of contempt Saturday night when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats battle for a third time this season.

On July 2, the Bombers took care of the Tiger-Cats to open up the 2010 CFL betting season with a 49-29 win at Canad Inns Stadium. Just two weeks later, the Tabbies got their revenge at Ivor Wynne Stadium, pushing aside Winnipeg 28-7. Even though this is only the sixth week of the season, the two squads are already renewing ties for a third time on Saturday night in Steeltown. Just six days later, they will meet again at Canad Inns.

"Things look relatively grim for both teams at this point in the season, especially considering that each has one win against the other"

Things look relatively grim for both teams at this point in the season, especially considering that each has one win against the other. Hamilton is winless against the rest of the CFL and is tied for the worst record in the league. However, if the playoffs were to start today, the Tiger-Cats would be in a position where they were tied for the crossover playoff spot.

Winnipeg is 2-3-0 and is a game clear of the Tabbies for the last post-season spot in the East Division.

The winner of this grudge match will take third place in the East Division into Week 7, while the loser will be sitting in the gutter.

One would figure that the problems for the Bombers would be stemming from their offence. However, with 157 points scored, only Montreal and Saskatchewan have better tallies in the league through five games and that also accounts for the woeful seven-point showing against Hamilton back in Week 3.

Fifteen offensive scores this year ranks second in the CFL behind just Saskatchewan. The Riders are also the only team in the CFL to average more yards per game than the Bombers, who currently sit at a lofty 8.5 yards per play.

Though quarterback Buck Pierce hasn’t played in two weeks, reserve Steven Jyles has stepped in admirably, completing 61.5 percent of his passes for 580 yards and two touchdowns to go with four rushing scores. Pierce, who has been injury prone in his career, has been sitting out due to a knee problem. He is listed as questionable to return for the third installment against the Tiger-Cats.

The play of wide receiver Terrence Edwards has been phenomenal this year. He leads the CFL in receiving at 545 yards and is the only man in the league with at least three receptions to average over 20 yards per catch (21.5). Edwards has four receiving touchdowns on the season as well, putting him in a three-way tie for the league lead.

Wide receiver Arland Bruce III tried his best last week to break all of Edwards’ marks in just one game. The CFL veteran had the best game of his career, hauling in 16 receptions for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately for him, his Tiger-Cats needed all those passing yards because they were constantly trailing the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Hamilton was defeated 37-24.

Quarterback Kevin Glenn has had an up and down season, but lately, he has been more high than low. He has thrown for at least 330 yards in three of his last four starts and has three touchdown passes in two of his last three. The two interceptions Glenn threw last week against the Riders were the first blunders he has made since the opening week of the season.

As a result, only Pierce and Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo have higher quarterback ratings this season than Glenn, who currently sits at a lofty 100.8.

Still, thanks to a poor running game which ranks dead last in the league at just 70.6 yards per game, the Tabbies are sixth in the CFL in total offence at 347.4 YPG.

Running back DeAndra’ Cobb has to be losing confidence in a hurry. He rushed for 1,217 yards last season, but is only on a pace for 727 this year. Cobb is averaging the worst YPC amongst starting running backs in the league at 4.0 and his 202 yards on the ground is easily the lowest amongst starting backs.

Dating back to last season, Hamilton is only 1-5 ATS in its last six overall. The team has only had two games in that stretch in which it held its opponents under 34 points.

The Bombers enter this game having covered the CFL spreads in back-to-back games as underdogs.

They’re pups once again on Saturday night, as the Bombers are 2.5-point underdogs. The ‘total’ has been set at 53.5.

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

I never thought I’d be writing this, but it needs to be addressed as we find the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 1-4-0 after the first five weeks of the CFL season. Now, to be optimistic, they’ll probably turn things around with a slew of their upcoming games against East Division opponents. But, things still needs to be adressed.

The defence

Has been amazing The pass defence has been amazing, as the Tiger-Cats have shut down two of the best quarterbacks in the CFL this season in Anthony Calvillo and Darian Durant. However, Hamilton is getting destroyed in the running game and it’s almost as if they are so focused on getting at the quarterback that they forget the running back is there.

Observe,

Last game: Wes Cates ran for 66 yards and two touchdowns for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Week 4: Avon Cobourne ran for 55 yards for the Montreal Alouettes.

Week 3: Fred Reid ran for 84 yds for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Hamilton managed to keep him out of the end zone and they won.

Week 2: Joffrey Reynolds ran for 98 yards and quarterback Henry Burris added 38 yards.

Week 1: Reid and quarterback Buck pierce ran for 187 yards combined with Pierce scoring a touchdown.

"Hamilton is getting destroyed in the running game"

Now, as seen above, in many of these games there were no rushing touchdowns scored, or in Winnipeg’s case, only one. But, big runs give the other team momentum and having to chase down the running back will only tire out the defence. Thus, opening up receiving opportunities later in the game. This would explain why Hamilton has looked weak down the stretch in games.

But, say the defence doesn’t start to tire out until the fourth quarter. This still gives the offence a chance to put some points up on the board, something that they need to start capitalizing on and they also need to give the ball to running back DeAndra’ Cobb more. They’ve started to get a bit wary of this, because Cobb is making his move before the line of scrimmage. So, with a quarterback like Kevin Glenn, who isn’t the tallest or speediest guy and doesn’t have a rocket for an arm, he has to rely on Cobb opening up routes for his receivers.

Glenn has to rely on football IQ in order for his team to have a chance to win. Hmm… add it up: Cobb not producing means the defence can guard their man tighter, leaving no where for Glenn to throw, except maybe for short yardage where he has to rely on his receiver to make a play. Glenn isn’t that fast, so he likely won’t be able to run for the first down. You can only get so far and then you have to rely on your kicker to boot it through the uprights. Luckily, Hamilton has the most accurate kicker in CFL history, right? Well, technically that would be right, but he seems to be in a slump, so, wrong!

Which basically leaves you scoring points off of safety’s, Marcus Thigpen, missed field goals that go through the end zone and defence (which considering they’re called defence they usually don’t score).

This is a formula for being crushed. But, like I said, Hamilton has arguably the best defence in the league, so the opposing team has some trouble scoring touchdowns. That’s OK, though, because they’re kicker is scoring 22 points. Wait a minute, what? I mean I’ve heard of a kicker scoring the game winning points, that’s what they’re there for, but I mean your kicker scoring the majority of your points usually means you’re going to have a pretty low score.

Except the last two weeks, the kicker has single handedly won the game for their team, with both Damon Duvall and Luca Congi scoring 23 points and 22 points, respectively. Now, okay, ya, sure, they’ve scored off field goals. So, Hamilton has to have the momentum and be scoring touchdowns at the other end and even if they aren’t they should have the same opportunities at field goals as the other team.

Except, Hamilton’s kicker is missing and the opposing kicker is racking up points and giving his team momentum. Hamilton gets nothing going, and even if they eventually do, the momentum has swayed too far to the other team and they get stumped or DeAngelis misses another field goal.

This brings us to Saturday’s game against Saskatchewan, where Hamilton went out hungry for a win. Hamilton finished their drives, making sure they didn’t have to rely on DeAngelis to score anything more than a few extra points, a good way to help him gain his confidence back, while he did boot in a chip shot. They gave the ball to DeAndra’ Cobb more and he  made his move after getting a few yards past the line of scrimmage. They get their number one receiver going in a big way as he had 16 receptions (tying the CFL record), 272 yards and two touchdowns.

Sandro DeAngelis, who has only hit 58.3% of his field goals this season, has been a major dissapointment for Hamilton.

So, they fixed all their previous problems and the defence continued to do a solid, the formula for a win. Except, they still get owned on the run and Glenn threw two interceptions. The two interceptions were arguably not his fault as both deflected off the receivers hands and nicely into the hands of the opposition. But,  around 40% of the time Glenn’s throws are either a bit behind the receivers and in some cases higher, causing the receiver to have to go up and get it or to quickly lean to the side to snatch that ball.

When receivers are tightly covered and that ball goes in and out of their hands you can look for the defence to have that ball go right into their hands. That’s what happened against the Riders and it was a real momentum killer. There isn’t much you can do about that, but to just try to get into better position to absorb that ball or for Glenn to have a softer release. Usually, it’s not that big a problem, but, every once in a while, it bites you in the ass.

Even though Glenn has done a nice job, I’d start Porter next game because he’s got a softer release when he throws and he’s fast, which always keeps defences weary. Things are looking like they’ll turn around as Hamilton’s next four games are versus the Toronto Argonauts and the Bombers. However, don’t be surprised if you see some changes starting next game and I can almost guarantee they’ll be some changes if Hamilton loses any of these next four games.

We may be looking at some potential swaps between Edmonton and Hamilton in the future. That’s just my feeling, but, one thing is for sure: Hamilton needs to turn things around and fast.

A pair of Canadian Football League teams coming off losses last week meet Saturday in Saskatchewan when the Riders host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The Tiger-Cats are in a bad spot this week. They are coming off a tough loss, their running game is the worst in the CFL and now they have to head out on the road to face a team that is also stinging after suffering their first loss of the season.

"The math seems pretty simple in this one: the Tiger-Cats are 0-2-0 on the road while the Riders are 2-0-0 at home"

Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saturday, July 31 – 6:35 PM ET
CFL Odds: Roughriders -7.5

Catching up with the Tiger-Cats

The Tiger-Cats are coming off a listless performance against Montreal and they are inching closer and closer to the panic button. At 1-3-0 with a cozy spot all by themselves in last place in the East Division, the panic button is within arm’s reach.

The issue right now for the Tiger-Cats is the offence. More specifically, running back DeAndra’ Cobb and the running game that can’t get anything going on the ground. They are averaging more than a yard worse per carry than the next best team and the pressure is mounting on quarterback Kevin Glenn to do it all.

On one hand, it can be spun that the defence played well against Montreal last week, allowing just two touchdowns, but they still gave up 37 point and plenty of yards in the loss. They aren’t getting help and are being force to spend more time on the field than they would like to.

Catching up with the Riders

The Riders are no longer undefeated. They scored points at a torrid pace through the first three weeks of the season, but hit a wall against Calgary last week.

They scored a season low 20 points and quarterback Darian Durant was baited into three interceptions. But, to put it into perspective, Calgary is a quality team and they have a stellar defence. It wasn’t the performance that the Roughriders wanted, but it was an early season wakeup call that they aren’t going to roll through the West as easily as they may have thought.

Not to worry, though, as the explosive offence is still intact. It just took a week off. The Riders have played well at home this year and they should be able to bounce back.

The matchup

The math seems pretty simple in this one: the Tiger-Cats are 0-2-0 on the road while the Riders are 2-0-0 at home. Sure, Durant and company struggled last week in Calgary, but that was against the best defence in the CFL and the Tiger-Cats simply aren’t as good as that.

Throw in the fact that Hamilton has the worst rushing attack in the league and is heading into a hostile environment against a team that took their first loss last week and the CFL betting choice should be clear.

Football Betting Pick: Roughriders -7.5

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

After beginning their season with three consecutive road games, the Montreal Alouettes finally get to play in front of the home fans Thursday when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Last season, all of the cards seemed to be falling into place for the Tiger-Cats and Alouettes to meet in the East Division final for the right to go to the Grey Cup. The British Columbia Lions spoiled the dreams of Hamilton though. Once again in 2010, the Alouettes and Tiger-Cats were expected to be the top two teams in this division.

"As (Hamilton and Montreal) get ready to engage in CFL betting warfare at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, their records don't necessarily indicate those of champions"

However, as these two teams get ready to engage in CFL betting warfare at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, their records don’t necessarily indicate those of champions.

The Alouettes started off the season with three straight road games against West Division foes. Surviving with a 2-1 record is nice, but many CFL pundits were expecting a 3-0 beginning. Hamilton slumped to losses in their first two games of the year against Winnipeg and Calgary, but they finally got the bagel out of their win column with their best defensive showing of the year, a 28-7 win over the Bombers at home last week.

For the Tiger-Cats, duplicating last week’s intensity on defence is going to be the only path to victory against a high-flying Montreal team. The Tiger-Cats have allowed 79 points in three games this season, ranking them first in the East Division and third in the CFL. Not only could the Bombers not figure out how to score on the Hamilton defence last week, but they couldn’t move the pigskin either. Winnipeg mustered just 282 yards of offense and if not for a few big gainers by running back Fred Reid, it would have probably been shutout.

Offensively, the play of quarterback Kevin Glenn is improving from his opening week dud against those same Bombers. Hamilton’s signal caller threw for 336 yards and three TDs last week against the team he led to the Grey Cup just three seasons ago. Glenn is the second highest rated passer in the CFL at 110.0 and he has the best completion percentage in the league at 70.0 percent. Throwing for 889 yards is good for third in the league.

The rushing game has been a huge problem, though. Expectations were high this season for DeAndra’ Cobb, but they just haven’t panned out at all. Cobb only has 112 rushing yards and one score on the season, making him one of the few backs in this league that has failed to rush for at least 60 yards in a game on the season.

In comparison to the rest of the teams in the East, Montreal should be in a league of its own, particularly on offence. Though the 100 points scored on the season is the second best mark in the league behind Saskatchewan, scoring just 49 points over the last two weeks isn’t all that impressive for an offence that is used to dropping 30+ points on virtually all of its foes.

Quarterback Anthony Calvillo is up to his old tricks once again. He has 902 passing yards on the season and is well on his way to another 5,000+ yard year. He is second in the league in touchdown passes with six and has only committed two blunders all season long. No one has more pass attempts (119) or completions (77) this year in the CFL than the veteran Calvillo.

Though you won’t find a Montreal receiver in the Top 10 in the league in receptions, there is a remarkable consistency amongst the top six receivers for this team. All six, one of which is running back Avon Cobourne, have between 11 and 13 receptions and all six have somewhere between 109 and 192 receiving yards on the season.

Last season, it was the road team that got the best of the CFL betting festivities between these two teams. Montreal did win all three games outright, but Hamilton covered CFL lines of plus 13 and plus 14.5 in two games at Molson Stadium in 41-38 and 21-8 defeats respectively. Two of the three clashes stayed ‘under’ the ‘total’.

In the first meeting of the season between these two teams, the Alouettes opened up as nine-point favorites. However, in their home opener, they have dropped as low as minus seven. The ‘total’ currently posted is 53.

Courtesy of SBRForum.com.

We all understand that people have different opinions and we at CFL Daily Dose are no different, which is why we started CFL Point/Counterpoint. For each CFL Point/Counterpoint, two authors will present their cases and you decide who’s right.

After disappointing losses in Week 1, Edmonton and Hamilton both look to rebound in Week 2. Who will bounce back this week, Edmonton or Hamilton?

Edmonton has what it takes to bounce back.

by Chris Powell

Last weeks loss to B.C. was as good a wake up call that any team could hope for. Giving up 194 yards rushing on 19 carries (10.21 yards per carry) is terrible. There’s really no way to hide that stat, or even attempt to downplay it’s importance. Jamal Robertson put a toothless Lions team on his back and carried them up and down the field.

We won't see this happen again this year, but the Esks and their fans will have something to celebrate after this week.

On the upside, for Edmonton, is that they only gave up one offensive touchdown. The Lions scored six field goals in a game that featured sloppy play from most of the guys on the field, sealing their victory by keeping Edmonton out of field goal range when they had the ball.

The bright side out of all of this is that running back Arkee Whitlock had a decent game: 116 yards on 16 carries (7.25 ypc) and a touchdown and towards the end of the game Ray looked to be more trusting of his receivers than he did in the first part of the game.

While that is all well and good, they have to 1) score more than 10 points to beat the Alouettes and 2) keep Ricky Ray on his feet. Ray, who is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, can’t do any damage if he is constantly getting knocked down. For the Eskimos to bounce back Ray has to stay clean, which means the boys up front have to get on the same page, and protect him.

Now to this point, I know it looks like all I’ve done is pick the Eskimos apart and essentially I have. They did little last week to praise, but that will happen this week. Will they beat Montreal this week? Maybe not, but they will be much better than they were last week. This week presents a tough test for the Esks, but they will pull through valiantly.

Hamilton has fought through adversity before

by Jonathan Hamelin

This week, the Edmonton Eskimos are welcoming in an angry Montreal Alouettes squad that scored 51 points last week. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are welcoming in the Calgary Stampeders, a team who failed to earn a convincing victory over the woeful Toronto Argonauts last week.

You’ve got to love Hamilton’s chances to rebound in Week 2.

The big three of Arland Bruce III, Kevin Glenn and De'Andra Cobb won't be stopped this week against Calgary.

Last season, Hamilton fell 30-17 to the mediocre Toronto Argonauts at home in Week 1. It was not a promising way to start the season, but the Tiger-Cats bounced right back the next week and stunned the B.C. Lions 31-28 on the road then downed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-13 at home in Week 3.

The only difference here is that instead of having to rebound on the road, Hamilton gets to go home, where they had success against Calgary last season.

In their meeting in Hamilton last season, the Tiger-Cats won 24-17. Joffrey Reynolds had a solid game for Calgary, rushing for 127 yards, but the Tiger-Cats valiantly shut down the rest of the offence. Henry Burris was 10/25 for 114 yards and Calgary only scored two touchdowns.

Also, it is hard to imagine Hamilton’s big three of Kevin Glenn, De’Andra Cobb and Arland Bruce III being held in check for a second week in a row. In Hamilton’s opening week loss, Glenn only threw for 197 yards, Cobb only had 22 yards and Bruce only had three catches for 44 yards.

These three players are very talented and will step up in Week 2 against Calgary and help the Tiger-Cats produce a lot more points on offence. Last time they played Calgary at home. Cobb had 85 yards rushing and Bruce III had 105 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Glenn did not play.

Fired up from their poor performance in Week 1, fans can expect a big game out of Hamilton’s defence. Also, there is always a chance that returner Marcus Thigpen will return a kick for a touchdown.

Calgary is a team that still has some questions to answer following their performance against Toronto in Week 1. They are a good team for a struggling Tiger-Cats squad to play.

Edmonton faces a much tougher task. They are facing a potent Montreal offence. In Week 1, the Eskimos allowed 168 rushing yards to Jamal Robertson of B.C. The Alouettes didn’t use Avon Cobourne much in their Week 1 loss to Saskatchewan, but if they establish him against Edmonton the Eskimos will be in trouble. Unlike B.C., Montreal will have success going to the air, giving the Alouettes two ways to hurt Edmonton.

Both Edmonton and Hamilton will improve as the season goes on. Unlike Edmonton, Hamilton will get on track this week.

CFL spring training is done, and the regular season is about to begin. Now that all the preseason games are complete, we can much more accurately make predictions about the upcoming season.
There was plenty of drama to go around in the league last year, with most of the guilty parties no longer in the CFL. Only time will tell if the offseason changes will have a positive impact on their teams’ standings.
Let’s look at the East first and work backwards.

No. 4—Toronto Argonauts

The Argos are in better hands with Jim Barker, but the team is still one with a lot of question marks in key positions.
The quarterback position has the biggest question mark with Dalton Bell leading the way. Bell left the Saskatchewan Roughriders after realizing he wasn’t going to move into the No. 1 position ahead of starter Darian Durant. Moving to Toronto will give him a better chance at a starting job, but don’t count out Kerwin Bell to win a starting job.
The Argos have too many unproven youngsters pieced together to think that they will make the step out of the basement. Knowing Jim Barker’s ability to find talent makes me think there could be a step up to the No. 3 spot, but there are just too many new faces for me to think it will happen.

No. 3—Winnipeg Blue Bombers

New head coach Paul Lapolice made some big strides in his value, as some solid play calling in the playoffs brought the Riders to within seconds of winning a Grey Cup.
Even though Winnipeg fans will be much more understanding with Lapolice because he isn’t Mike Kelly, fans weren’t hugely fond of Lapolice when he was the Bombers offensive coordinator. Hopefully for Lapolice, he is somewhat successful; if not, he can only hope that the fans are more forgiving.
The Blue Bombers are looking more stable than they were at the beginning of last year, and even though the quarterbacks aren’t bona fide No. 1s, Buck Pierce and Steven Jyles have seen success. The only knock against Pierce is that he hasn’t been super durable
Winnipeg has made big strides, but not quite enough to pass the Als or Ti-Cats.

No. 2—Hamilton Tiger-Cats

It’s too soon to say that Hamilton is a Grey Cup contender, but the pieces seem to be in place for a team that could dethrone Montreal very soon.

The most important part of this team’s success—and I have been saying this for years—is the offensive line. A unit that had been weak for years, the deep front five is going to be a piece of the puzzle that makes this team strong for the next decade…if they can keep them that long.
With a strong O-line, the rest of the offense will be that much better, especially at quarterback. Even though Quinton Porter showed hints of success, Kevin Glenn is the man Hamilton needs at No. 1 to be successful this year. The running backs, Cobb and Summers, will also be much better with some good hogs to block.
With a decent defense and a good offense, the Tiger-Cats have the definite potential to fight for No. 1, at least next year if not this year.

No. 1—Montreal Alouettes

The Grey Cup Champions are getting old, but not retired just yet. Bryan Chiu was the first of a long line of potential Hall of Famers to call it a career and the rest, notably Anthony Calvillo and Ben Cahoon, shouldn’t be much further behind him.
That being said, they are still Alouettes, and with both stars looking to solidify a few CFL records, you shouldn’t see any of them letting up this year. The Als are still very strong on both sides of the ball, and even though they will have more competition inside their division, they should have enough to finish on top of the East.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been the CFL’s doormat and the example of everything a team doesn’t want to be for the majority of this past decade. The team has not won a Grey Cup since 1999, which is the second longest drought in the league, behind only the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who last won in 1990. In this time, Hamilton has finished last in the East not once, not twice, not even thrice, but fource (some word I just made up that means four straight).

No longer though will people wipe their feet across the stitched-in Tiger-Cats logo in the middle of the locker room. Since making it to the East semi-final last season(gave a valiant effort, but, lost in overtime 34-27) and finishing second in the East with a record of 9-9, Hamilton has finally seen their fortune change.

The Tiger-Cats are in perfect position to, dare I say, start a dynasty and capture not just one, but, several championships.

But, enough of last year. This year, the Tiger-Cats are back and stronger than ever and are looking to go for gol…grey and capture their first championship since 1999. With the Alouettes growing old and getting weaker, now is the perfect time for the Hamilton to take over top spot in their division and capture that championship.

Or, at the very least they should stay at that second spot in the East, seeing as the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in rebuilding mode. But, with a team as strong as this year’s in a league where the other teams are either rebuilding or getting old, the Tiger-Cats are in perfect position to, dare I say, start a dynasty and capture not just one, but, several championships. Just check out what some of the players had to say about this years team:

“Aw, the Grey Cup, most definitely. Have a winning season and win that Grey Cup. We’ve got the team to do it.” – Linebacker Otis Floyd

“You’re going to see a lot more wins. It’s not going to be, ‘Oh, they got seven wins.’ I think we have the type of team that can get to 10 or 15 wins.” – Slotback Arland Bruce III

“Expectations have risen and not just within the team, but with the media and the fans. I think it’s good, though, when the team expects to win, because that’s an important step toward winning, not just hoping to win — it’s going out there knowing that, if we do our job, we can win.” – Linebacker Ray Mariuz

“Everybody’s expectation is to get the ring, That’s what we play the game for. That’s what we train for — to go out there and win the Grey Cup.” – Defensive back Jykine Bradley

Will the Tiger-Cats win the ring? Are they really as ready as they sound? Can they start a dynasty? Will they take down Montreal, finish first in the East and challenge for the Grey Cup?

So many questions that need to be answered. One thing is for sure, the team and the fans are excited and can’t wait for when Hamilton hits the field. The Tiger-Cats are sure to make a strong push for the cup.