After a tough start to the season, my matchup-picking abilities seem to be stabilizing, at long last – one more week of 3-1 and I’ll be back at .500 for the year. And as many diehard CFL fans say, “the real season only starts after Labour Day.” With Week 10 concluding the opening half of the 2016 CFL season, we’ll be sure to take a look at the keys to success for the back end of the schedule for each team coming up soon.

WEEK 9 RECAPS

Montreal 43 vs. Ottawa 19: Exactly ZERO people predicted this result last week. Ottawa got absolutely smoked, at home, to the bottom-feeder in the East Division. It was just an ugly game all-around for the REDBLACKS; the offence scored a total of 3 points in the second half of the game, and allowed Als QB Kevin Glenn to go 25-30 for 382 yards, five touchdowns and no picks. It was a massacre. Duron Carter, who is still currently appealing his one-game suspension for bumping REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell way back in Week 2, was the most hated man on Montreal’s roster as he had five catches for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ottawa’s defence was inept, their offence sputtered to nothing, and special teams couldn’t tackle anyone. The REDBLACKS desperately need to hit the reset button, having dropped 3 of their last 4 despite still holding onto first in the East Division.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: Montreal

Calgary 37 vs. BC 9: Calgary won the 3-game season series against the Lions in decisive fashion, steamrolling the Leos at home. BC was shut in the second half of the game, resulting in QB Jon Jennings getting yanked for the second time this season early in the 4th, after failing to generate any touchdowns. Jennings finished 10-22 for 153 yards, while Stamps counterpart Bo Levi Mitchell threw passes to nine different receivers and ended the night going 28-38 for 340 yards and two touchdowns. Calgary added rushing touchdowns from RB Jerome Messam and backup QB Andrew Buckley, as well as 3 field goals from Rene Paredes, to help seal the dominant effort from start to finish at BC Place.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary 

Edmonton 46 vs. Toronto 23: Save for the opening 28 seconds of this game, it was all Edmonton all game long. The Eskimos conceded a single off the opening kick, and Mike Reilly was pick-sixed on his very first throw of the game, and after the convert, Toronto led 8-0. However, Edmonton woke up, and the Argos’ home struggles continued, as rookie QB Logan Kilgore managed only 41 pass yards all night, in addition to 2 picks, while his replacement Cody Fajardo managed only 44. Eskies QB Mike Reilly had a much better game after his first throw, going 26/31 for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns, though he did a second INT to his total. All in all, Toronto only kept it respectable due to the 2 rushing TDs scored by Cody Fajardo as well as their opening drive pick-six. Argos fans are desperate for the return of Ricky Ray to under centre, and fortunately for them, they received some good news on August 24th when the team announced he’ll be the starter in Week 11, after Toronto enjoys some time off during Week 10.

PICK: Edmonton

RESULT: Edmonton

Saskatchewan 7 vs. Hamilton 53: In just his second game back after a lengthy recovery from ACL surgery last year, Zach Collaros exploded onto the scene, going 23-31 for 381 yards and five TDs against the league-worst Saskatchewan Roughriders. Hamilton absolutely smoked the sad-sack Riders, who drop to 1-7 on the year. On the other side of the ball, the Ti-Cats picked off QB Darian Durant four times and backup Mitchell Gale another, not allowing Saskatchewan a single major score on the night. When adding in another TD by backup Jeremiah Masoli and 3 field goals by Brett Maher, there was little doubt early to the outcome of this game. It was 13-0 for Hamilton after 1, and they went into the half leading 27-4. The defensive frustrations of the Riders show few signs of coming to an end.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

BYE: Winnipeg (4-4)

WEEK 10 PREVIEWS

BC (5-3) vs. Ottawa (4-3-1), Thursday, August 25th, 7:30 PM EST: Both of these teams got cranked at home last week. Ottawa made a few big changes going into this week’s matchup, benching last year’s Most Outstanding Player, QB Henry Burris, in favour of Trevor Harris, who was the hottest QB in the CFL before his injury in Week 5 against Saskatchewan. Ottawa’s hoping that a rejuvenated passing game will be able to make more of an impact against a good Lions defence, and will hopefully cut down on the number of interceptions thrown. For BC, after benching Jon Jennings in the fourth quarter last week, the team hopes the second-year quarterback will bounce back after a tough outing, noting of course that the O-line struggled at adequately protecting him against a fierce Stampeders pass rush. This said, if Trevor Harris is fully healthy, I think his chemistry with Chris Williams is absolutely unbeatable, to say nothing of some of the other fine receivers on Ottawa’s roster.

PICK: Ottawa

Winnipeg (4-4) vs. Montreal (3-5), Friday, August 26th, 7:00 PM EST: Winnipeg is coming off the bye feeling rested and very good about themselves, having soundly beaten Toronto in Week 8. For Montreal, the Alouettes are likely feeling good about themselves after a surprising, but very convincing, road win against the REDBLACKS. After the QB change, though, the Bombers look like an entirely different team. Top receivers Weston Dressler and Darvin Adams are still out for an indeterminate amount of time, but RB Andrew Harris has been a versatile weapon as a heavily-used pass-catching running back. Matt Nichols’ chemistry with receiver Clarence Denmark against the Argos was another big positive for Winnipeg. Finally, the Bombers also get back veteran CB Johnny Adams, who’d been dealing with a hamstring injury since preseason. In Montreal, it’ll be interesting to see if Kevin Glenn can replicate his 5-TD effort he had last week, but even if he can just simply keep moving the chains, the Alouettes will have a chance in this one.

PICK: Winnipeg

Saskatchewan (1-7) vs. Edmonton (4-4), Friday, August 26th, 10:00 PM EST: With a strong night from Mike Reilly and his receiving corps in Toronto, expect another big night back at home against a horrendous Riders’ D. Of some solace for Saskatchewan fans in this absolutely awful start to the season – Edmonton’s D is nowhere close to what Hamilton’s is, so even if it’s another loss, don’t expect Darian Durant to get picked off four times like last week. Baby steps!

PICK: Edmonton

Hamilton (4-4) vs. Calgary (6-1-1), Sunday, August 28th, 7:00 PM EST: While Zach Collaros had a hell of a game last week, Calgary remains, unquestionably, the team to beat in this league. What makes the Stamps’ offence so potent is the ability of Bo Levi Mitchell to spread the ball around so much – while the Ti-Cats have a solid secondary, they may have trouble trying to mark up on a Calgary offence that succeeds so heavily in being able to stack a bunch of routes in close to each other and muddle up coverage. If any team is going to be the one to beat Calgary, though, a team led by a healthy Zach Collaros has an excellent shot to do it. That said, I’m still taking the Stamps at home in this one.

PICK: Calgary

BYE: Toronto (4-4)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Reilly, EDM – 2843
2. Mitchell, CGY – 2534
3. Jennings, BC – 2201

Passing TDs

1. Rielly, EDM – 14
2. Mitchell, CGY – 14
3. Glenn, MTL – 11

Rushing Yards

1. Harris, WPG – 505
2. Messam, CGY – 496
3. Whitaker, TOR – 432

Receiving Yards

1. Bowman, EDM – 875
2. Walker, EDM – 837
3. Williams, OTT – 784

Sacks

1. Chick, HAM – 7
2. Hughes, CGY – 7
3.  Sewell, EDM – 6

Interceptions

1. Leggett, WPG – 4
2. Sherritt, EDM – 3
3. Heath, TOR – 3

Field Goals

1. Paredes, CGY – 27
2. Milo, OTT – 22
3. Medlock, WPG – 21

Game picks this week: 3-1

Game picks this season: 17-19