Thursdays are thunderstorm days in my neck of the woods. I have absolutely no idea why that is, but it seems to be settling into a regular routine over the last few summers. Perhaps maybe those #geoengineering conspiracy freaks have inadvertently stumbled onto something… At any rate it appears, fortunately, like the weather will have any impact on this week’s slate of CFL games.

In league news this week:

• DL Shawn Lemon, freshly back in the CFL after being reinstated by league commissioner Stewart Johnston, is officially back with the Montreal Alouettes on a one-year contract. While he still needs to serve a two-game suspension for taking the banned substance Phentermine, a prescription stimulant similar to Adderall, he is eligible to return to the field on August 2nd when Montreal takes on the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
• Saskatchewan RB Ka’Deem Carey is unfortunately likely out for the season after he suffered a knee injury against the BC Lions; with AJ Ouellette, the Riders had probably the best 1-2 backfield punch in the entire league, so this is a big blow for the team with him gone. With Carey out, the Riders are bringing back RB Mario Anderson, who was a late training camp cut for the team.
• Toronto is bringing back Canadian OL Shane Richards, who was the 2019 first overall pick for the team; he won the Grey Cup with the Argos in 2022 and played 42 games for the team over four seasons.

Onto the games!

WEEK 7 RECAPS

Toronto 25 vs. Montreal 26: Montreal pulled off a massive, gutsy comeback after being down late 25-7; unfortunately, it came at a massive cost. Davis Alexander, back in action after a two weeks away with a hamstring injury, led three successful drives to seal the deal for Montreal, including calling his own number and running in the game-winning TD; unfortunately, he re-aggravated the hamstring injury he suffered back in Week 4, and is now headed to the six-game injured list. Toronto put up points early and moved the ball well, but the defence couldn’t shut the Als down when it mattered most, and this is a team that desperately needs a re-set in the middle section of the season.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

Calgary 41 vs. Winnipeg 20: For the second time in three weeks, the Stamps beat the Bombers, and I don’t think it’s unrealistic to call them Grey Cup contenders now. To add insult to injury, Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros threw two bad interceptions, and also got absolutely smoked on a low hit on the second one, knocking him out of the game. Chris Streveler, in relief, threw two interceptions of his own, and Calgary’s ballhawking defense continued to feast; DB Damon Webb had his second pick-six of the season. Calgary’s Vernon Adams, Jr. continued his strong start to 2025, with 247 pass yards, three TDs, and a pick; between two QBs throwing to him, Bombers WR Nic Demski led the charge on offense with 146 receiving yards and a TD.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Calgary

Saskatchewan 33 vs. BC 27: Bouncing back from a tough loss last week against Calgary, the Riders looked much sharper on the road against the Lions. Trevor Harris, back in action, had another excellent game, going 23-30 for 395 yards, 3 TDs, and a pick, while receiver Dohnte Meyers had seven catches on seven targets for 132 yards and two TDs. The Lions, down by a lot early, clawed and scraped their way back towards respectability late, but a Nathan Rourke interception, off a tipped pass, killed their changes on their last drive. Rourke’s late push made for a nice stat line – 27-41 for 337 yards, 3 TDs and that interception… but at the end of the day, it was too little, too late. The Leos secondary continues to be rather suspect.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

Hamilton 30 vs. Ottawa 15: Another week, another incredibly disappointing loss for the REDBLACKS. Not only did the offence look inept once again – Lewis Ward kicked five field goals for Ottawa – but they also lost QB Dru Brown on a wicked hit from Da’Shaun Amos, who was assessed a 25-yard penalty for a major roughing the passer infraction. Brown is now week-to-week with a concussion… not surprising since the hit knocked his helmet off as well. The Tiger-Cats offence hummed along, with Bo Levi Mitchell officially moving into the top-10 all-time list in CFL passing yards, and Kenny Lawler grabbing yet another TD to help the visitors maintain their hold on first place in the East.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: Hamilton

BYE: Edmonton (1-4)

WEEK 8 PREVIEWS

Montreal (4-2) vs. Calgary (5-1), Thursday, July 24th, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): The Alouettes are a much different team without Davis Alexander. While backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson has won a Grey Cup with Toronto, he’s a rather immobile guy with a big arm but limited soft touch on passes. That’s going to be a tough matchup against a ball-hawking Calgary secondary. Also of concern is Montreal’s lack of ability to consistently establish the run game with effectiveness; while the Als remain a good team and a safe playoff bet, this is going to be a tough stretch of schedule with Alexander out. I look forward to seeing how Calgary keeps this positive momentum going through the middle section of the season – surely they’ll have to come back to earth at some point, right?

PICK: Calgary

Edmonton (1-4) vs. Saskatchewan (5-1), Friday, July 25th, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): On paper, the Elks’ D should be much better than what we’ve seen so far. I can’t decide if this a factor of scheming, or if the new guys they signed, particularly in the secondary, are over the hill. Also of concern is that it feels much of the time like the offence has to play from behind; even with a mobile QB like Tre Ford and his ability to improvise, I think playing hurry-up is not suited well to this group. Saskatchewan presents yet another difficult challenge. As long as Trevor Harris can stay healthy – which admittedly has proven to be a challenge these last few years – this team is absolutely poised to make a run. That’s exciting news for the extremely loyal Riderville fanbase, who I know are seething with resentment over the last half-decade of Winnipeg’s dominance of the west.

PICK: Saskatchewan

Winnipeg (3-2) vs. Toronto (1-5), Saturday, July 26th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CBSSN, CFL): The Argos continue to be in a very, very tough spot. Until Sex Pest Chad Kelly returns to be under centre, I think their offense remains in tight. Last week’s collapse against Montreal was really about two things – one of course that the D couldn’t stop the Als when it mattered most – but the second was that they were out too long due to the offence’s inability to stay on the field and put together some sustained drives in the second half of the game. Winnipeg will have Zach Collaros back for this one – despite the hard hit sustained last week against the Stamps – and as such I must say I like the Bombers’ chances of winning this one as a result. While the Argos and REDBLACKS are locked in a basement battle for the East, there does appear to be a little bit of hope ahead for the Argos with Kelly’s (still-TBD) return. I don’t know what the solution is for Ottawa at this juncture.

PICK: Toronto

Hamilton (4-2) vs. BC (3-4), Sunday, July 27th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The Tiger-Cats’ receivers are absolute weapons and they’re giving Bo Levi Mitchell a late career renaissance; while two years ago that signing definitely looked questionable for the team, with a really, really slow start to the year, BLM has looked every bit the Hall of Famer that he will be once his career is over. That’s been a huge boon to the Tiger-Cats’ division title chances this year – I think a lot people, myself included, really thought of them as an afterthought to the division this year. For the Lions, 3-4 isn’t completely terrible – particularly when considering the possibility of a crossover playoff berth to the East if both Toronto and Ottawa continue to be weak – but their defensive struggles are real and it’s not going to cut it in a division where Calgary and Saskatchewan are two deep, balanced teams and Winnipeg continues to find ways to win, even when not pretty. Nathan Rourke continues to have excellent vision on field but I have noted that a number of throws seem to be high – I can’t decide if this is lingering oblique issues or if this is a more latent mechanics problem. It’s not devastating just yet but the offence still needs some support from the D in order to buy them appropriate rest time.

PICK: Hamilton

BYE: Ottawa (1-6)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Mitchell, HAM – 1812
2. Adams, Jr., CGY – 1720
3. Arbuckle, TOR – 1691

Passing TDs

1. Mitchell, HAM – 12
2. Rourke, BC – 10
3. Arbuckle, TOR – 9

Rushing Yards

1. Butler, BC – 504
2. Mills, CGY – 466
3. Ouellette, SSK – 428

Receiving Yards

1. Lawler, HAM – 644
2. Hatcher, BC – 574
3. Coxie, TOR – 442

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, BC – 53
2. Pickett, OTT – 44
3. Thurman, SSK – 39

Sacks

1. Chatfield, TOR – 5
2. Adeyemi-Berglund, MTL  – 4
3. Hutchings, CGY – 4

Interceptions

1. Ento, MTL  – 3
2. Greene, CGY – 3
3. Peters, HAM – 3

Field Goals

1. Ward, OTT – 19
2. Maltos, MTL – 18
3. Liegghio, HAM – 15

PICK POOL

No perfect weeks again, of course, but I, for one, am glad I got that Riders game correct when most of the rest of y’all did not. That’s my small solace for what has been a perplexing first third of the pick’em season.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.pooltracker.com/join.asp?poolid=243178

Enjoy the games, everyone.