I’m off on vacation tomorrow, so next week’s CFL Beat may prove to be a little bit shorter than some previous editions – not certain how much time I’ll have to recap everything, but I’ll do what I can!

Pretty light on league news this week, but a few minor things to note:

• REDBLACKS long-snapper Louis-Philippe Bourassa was suspended two games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. While he won’t appeal his suspension, he and the team maintain that the violation was a result of a simple accident – specifically, he hadn’t noticed an over-the-counter product contained a banned substance.
• The BC Lions added DB Crezdon Butler and LB Kevin Haynes to the roster; Butler played 26 games with the Saskatchewan Roughriders over the last two seasons, in addition to 46 NFL games over seven seasons with a variety of teams. Haynes played two games with the Alouettes in 2018, and was previously a two-time winner of the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year Award during his college career with Central Washington.
• Star WR Brandon Banks was fined Saturday for violating the CFL’s social media policy, in response to a tweet cussing out commissioner Randy Ambrosie for fining him for making contact with an official back in Week 5. Based on the current collective agreement, the maximum fine available is half a game cheque; with Banks making $82,500 CAD in base salary this year, that works out to $4583 per game; thus, that’ll work out to $2291 in total. While it’s not an insignificant amount of money, Banks will be alright in the end.

Onto the games!

WEEK 6 RECAPS

Toronto 16 vs. Calgary 26: The Argos have still yet to find the keys to victory so far this season, as the Stampeders stepped up to the plate to deal yet another blow to the beleaguered Double Blue. The Stamps’ D feasted on McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s passes all game long, as the Argos’ pivot threw four picks on the night, though he did have two pass touchdowns to go along with 343 yards on 32-42 attempts.  Calgary LB Cory Greenwood had himself a night, leading the way for the Stamps with five tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a forced fumble that set up CB Tre Roberson for a 93-yard return touchdown. Toronto was still in it at halftime, down just two points, but the Roberson TD score early in the third quarter took the wind right out of their sails, and the Stampeders pulled away in the remainder of the game.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

Ottawa 1 vs. Winnipeg 31: Just a complete and utter embarrassment from the REDBLACKS. A total abdication of any semblance of professional football from a thoroughly outclassed Ottawa squad. Jonathon Jennings, starting in place of an injured Dominique Davis, had a grand total of 45 yards passing and a pick-six in this game. Good Lord. The game’s other highlight for Ottawa was RB John Crockett, in his first career CFL start, barfing three times on the field on a single offensive drive in the second quarter. The REDBLACKS’ lone point came off a Richie Leone punt single in the first quarter. Considering it was 28-1 at halftime, it’s pretty clear to say that the Bombers let up for the final 30 minutes. I mean, if you were in a fight with a corpse, wouldn’t you? Quarterback Matt Nichols also set a Bombers franchise record by making 19 straight completions in this game, which is also the fourth-longest streak in CFL history.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Winnipeg

Edmonton 10 vs. Montreal 20: Are the Alouettes… back? They way they’ve played these last few weeks, it certainly looks like it, and it would breathe some life into what has been the CFL’s most woeful franchise over the past five years. Hosting a strong Eskimos team, Vernon Adams, Jr. once again led the way for the Als, who had a decent offensive day, but an incredible defensive one, as the CFL’s second-ranked offence in points and top-ranked in yards per game was limited to 320 yards and no touchdowns; QB Trevor Harris was picked off twice while going 29-43 for 271 yards. Adams, however, was fantastic, going 15-22 for 191 yards and a TD, while also rushing seven times for 44 yards. Adams also scored a receiving touchdown on a trick play, taking a pass from WR Eugene Lewis and shedding several tackles along the way to a 21-yard score. On defence, Tommie Campbell led the Als with seven solo tackles, while Taylor Loffler and Greg Reid each snagged a pass to help with the total team effort.

PICK: Edmonton

RESULT: Montreal

BC 25 vs. Saskatchewan 38: After eight lead changes, the Roughriders pulled away late in the third quarter to finally blow the game open and hand the LioUns their fifth loss in six games. Mike Reilly did his best to try and keep BC in it, going 31-40 for 346 yards, a pass TD, a rush TD, and a pick, but Saskatchewan was just too much for BC’s porous O-line and defence to handle. Charleston Hughes sacked Reilly three times, bringing his season total up to eight sacks in five games, while Marcus Thigpen had an electrifying kick return touchdown late in the second that gave the Riders the lead going into halftime, after BC had looked poised to end the first 30 minutes with all the momentum. Bryan Burnham paced all Leos receivers with 106 yards on eight catches, while Duron Carter, who was supposed to be a significant signing in free agency, has continued to be very quiet thus far this season, with seven catches for 65 yards on the night.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BYE: Hamilton (4-1)

WEEK 7 PREVIEWS

Calgary (3-2) vs. Ottawa (2-3), Thursday, July 25th, 7:00 PM EST (TSN/ESPN+): Calgary is weathering the storm until star QB Bo Levi Mitchell is ready to return to action, while Ottawa is right in the middle of a shitblizzard that shows zero signs of letting up. After an absolutely horrendous performance last week against Winnipeg, the REDBLACKS will still be forced to turn back to Jonathon Jennings as their starting QB, due to Dominique Davis needing at least one more week to heal up from his various ailments. Last week was as awful a performance as I have ever seen by a REDBLACKS team – including during the 2014 expansion season when they went 2-16. Can it get better? I sure hope so. Can it get worse? I mean… if Jennings plays like he did last week, and also maybe gets summarily executed on the field? Figuratively or literally, it doesn’t really make a difference, I guess. Even as the road team, and having already lost once to Ottawa this season, you have to like Calgary’s chances here.

PICK: Calgary

Toronto (0-5) vs. Edmonton (3-2),Thursday, July 25th, 9:30 PM EST (TSN/ESPN+): Toronto seems to have a little bit of a passing game figured out, but running the ball still seems like a foreign concept – and playing defence is just completely Greek to them. Until they can even somewhat figure that part out, I don’t see this season getting any easier for them. The Eskimos didn’t play well last week, but I think it’s extremely likely they’ll rebound. Considering that the Argonauts can’t stop the run or the pass, this could get ugly if Trevor Harris has been as accurate as he has been through the first five weeks of the season. If Toronto drops to 0-6, I think we see the sell-off start very soon afterwards – even with the East still remaining the weaker of the two divisions, for now.

PICK: Edmonton

Winnipeg (5-0) vs. Hamilton (4-1), Friday, July 26th, 7:00 PM EST (TSN/ESPN+): This is going to be an excellent game. Coming off a bye week, and hopefully rested and ready, the Ti-Cats poise the most significant threat to snapping the Blue Bombers’ win streak. Both teams have excellent QBs, receiving corps, and pass defences; the main difference between them works out to the run game. If Winnipeg can continue to spread the ball around and involve Andrew Harris like they’ve done so well this season, he’s likely going to be the primary difference-maker for Winnipeg in this one. Hamilton will also need to be wary of Winnipeg’s return teams, as Lucky Whitehead has some serious wheels and has already rattled off a few spectacular returns this year.

PICK: Winnipeg

Saskatchewan (2-3) vs. BC (1-5), Saturday, July 27th, 7:00 PM EST (TSN/ESPN+): The rematch of last week’s game, with the Lions now serving as the home team. BC played Saskatchewan pretty well through the first 30 minutes and change, but fell apart as the evening went on; their patchwork O-line continues to be a problem, and despite Mike Reilly still putting up some good numbers through the first third of the season, their shoddy protection has meant pockets collapsing at the most inopportune times. I don’t know what the answer is going to be – with all the money that the Leos spent in order to land Reilly and a few other good offensive weapons, they completely forgot about their defence and about pocket protection – and they’re now reaping what they sowed because of this negligence. Until that changes, don’t expect the results to improve – Saskatchewan, for all their imperfections as a roster, can still tackle opposing offences into submission while getting enough just yards to make points happen on their own drives. I don’t know if it’s a formula for longterm success, but it’s worked alright so far against BC.

PICK: Saskatchewan

BYE: Montreal (3-2)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Harris, EDM – 1633
2. Reilly, BC – 1602
3. Masoli, HAM – 1517

Passing TDs

1. Nichols, WPG – 12
2. Masoli, HAM – 9
3. Harris, EDM – 8

Rushing Yards

1. Stanback, MTL – 504
2. Gable, EDM – 448
3. Harris, WPG – 441

Receiving Yards

1. Banks, HAM – 506
2. Burnham, BC – 455
3. Evans, SSK – 408

Sacks

1. Hughes, SSK – 8
2. Laing, TOR – 4
3. Law, CGY – 4

Interceptions

1. Roberson, CGY – 5
2. Reid, MTL – 3
3. Rose, WPG – 3

Field Goals

1. Whyte, EDM – 17
2. Castillo, BC – 16
3. Ward, OTT – 13

PICK POOL

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=168258 

Enjoy the games, everyone.