With just four weeks left in the regular season, the October 12th trade deadline has now passed for teams still in the thick of the playoff race. In the West, all three playoff berths have been awarded, and the frontrunner Calgary Stampeders have clinched the division, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage through the playoff race. In the East, things are… muddy. With every team now currently sitting under .500, and with only two wins separating first from fourth, there’s no clear picture as to how this stretch run is going to shape up. Add in the fact that the Edmonton Eskimos, sitting at 8-7 and fourth in the West, are poised to claim a crossover spot to eliminate the third-place in the East, and the picture gets muddier still. I’d say it’s going to be a dogfight, but with the East Division being the Canadian equivalent of the AFC South… it’ll probably be more like a collective giant bed-shitting.

WEEK 16 RECAPS

Saskatchewan 32 vs. Ottawa 30 (OT):  It was another ugly one at home for the REDBLACKS. The Riders created five turnovers against Ottawa and forced them to put Henry Burris back in at quarterback in the fourth quarter, after taking a 13-7 lead into the half. Try as they might, Ottawa pushed hard to mount a comeback, including a 22-point third quarter that tied the game at 29, and sent it to overtime when Roughriders kicker Tyler Crapigna missed a 55-yarder that would have won it for them. With the REDBLACKS getting the ball first in the extra frame, Chris Milo missed from 30, giving Ottawa a rouge (oh yes! the magic single point!) and the Roughriders a chance to win. Crapigna wouldn’t miss this time, nailing it from 39 yards to win Saskatchewan their third straight game.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BC 35 vs. Winnipeg 37: It was an incredibly close game between these two Western rivals who sit neck-and-neck in the standings. While Jon Jennings had a mixed bag of a game – no touchdowns and 2 picks, but 422 passing yards in total, including receiver Bryan Burnham – the run game helped him out immensely, scoring three touchdowns (one each from Chris Rainey, Anthony Allen, and Travis Lulay). Matt Nichols threw two touchdowns on 233 yards passing, and wideout Rory Kohlert also threw a touchdown pass as well on a trick play. Despite a furious comeback by the Lions in the fourth quarter, the Bombers had a big stop on third down with 44 seconds left, and made the game interesting as receiver Weston Dressler took a safety to finally end things for good. It was a very close game, and with a few minor changes could have had an extremely different outcome.

PICK: BC

RESULT: Winnipeg

Edmonton 40 vs. Montreal 20: Edmonton rode a 21-point third quarter to double up the Alouettes. Mike Reilly threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns and ran in another, John White ran for 145 and two more, and rookie receiver Brandon Zylstra had his first-ever touchdown catch in the CFL. For Montreal, Rakeem Cato threw for 268 yards, 1 TD, and a pick; Sam Giguere paced the receiving corps with 3 catches for 64 yards, including a touchdown. At the end of the day, Montreal’s offense simply couldn’t keep up with the high-octane system that is the Eskimos, and has much to do if they want to take the next step forward as an organization.

PICK: Edmonton

RESULT: Edmonton

Calgary 48 vs. Toronto 20: A few days after gutting the offense, it was no surprise to see the Argonauts get lit up at home. Calgary clinched the top spot in the West Division with the win, and receive a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage in the West Final in mid-November. Bo Levi Mitchell threw 3 TDs on 281 yards passing, Jerome Messam cracked the thousand-yard rushing mark, the only back in the CFL to do so this year, and the defense sacked Argos QB Drew Willy six times. For the Argos, the one bright spot was that Willy didn’t create any turnovers this time around, throwing for 215 yards yards on 26/31 passing, as well as two touchdowns, one each to Kenny Shaw and Diontae Spencer. Despite the big overhaul of the lineup, and the massive underachieving this team has done so far this season, they miraculously remain within striking distance of a playoff spot, though as it stands currently, are losing out to Edmonton by virtue of having a worse record, and thus giving up the crossover spot.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

BYE: Hamilton (6-8)

WEEK 17 PREVIEWS

Ottawa (6-7-1) vs. Hamilton (6-8), Friday, October 14th, 7:00 PM EST: Ottawa’s coming into this game returning Henry Burris to the starter’s job at QB, and losing their number one receiver, Chris Williams, to a torn ACL. Things are not looking peachy. The REDBLACKS have a ton of work to do to get their shit together over the last four weeks of the season if they want to be considered a serious threat in the playoffs… though so does every single other team in the East. For the Tiger-Cats, who are facing a rash of their own injuries, including sending receiver Luke Tasker to the 6-game DL, a big blow for late in the season, the bye has been somewhat helpful in helping the team heal. Hamilton also pulled off a deal before the trade deadline, sending Canadian DT Linden Gaydosh, a former number one pick in the 2013 CFL Draft, as well as receiver Tommy Streeter, to Saskatchewan, in return for Canadian DE Justin Cappiciotti and OT Xavier Fulton. At any rate, Hamilton will get back starting RB CJ Gable to the lineup, but will have to go with backup Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback, as starter Zach Collaros is sidelined with a concussion.

PICK: Hamilton

Winnipeg (9-6) vs. BC (9-5), Friday, October 14th, 10:00 PM EST: A rematch of a great tilt last week, with Winnipeg coming out on top. It was a close one – if Jon Jennings can limit his turnovers and connect with his receivers for some pass TDs in addition to the strong running game the Lions already have going on, then there’s a very good chance they get revenge from last week’s defeat. Still, these are two strong teams – no matter who wins, this’ll be a good football game. I’m of course speaking relatively, obviously, spoiled NFL fans.

PICK: BC

Saskatchewan (4-10) vs. Toronto (5-10), Saturday, October 15th, 4:00 PM EST: The Roughriders have won three in a row, and Toronto looks like dogshit. Of course, that’s kinda what happens when you have a new quarterback trying to learn an offense, and you cut your three best receivers. So yeah, despite the fact that Saskatchewan is now officially eliminated from the playoffs thanks to Edmonton beating Montreal last week, they could end the season on a tear and have a lot of good things to build on for next season. I actually like their chances in this one, and I haven’t said that about this team for a long, long time.

PICK: Saskatchewan

Montreal (4-10) vs. Calgary (13-1-1), Saturday, October 15th, 7:00 PM EST: There’s no stopping the Stamps. Sorry, but it’s a fact. A 14-game unbeaten streak is now officially the longest in CFL history, and Montreal, despite a good defense, will still be going through some growing pains on offense, especially against another staunch defense in Calgary’s unit. Unless Coach Dave Dickenson decides to rest his starters for the last few weeks of the season to gear up for the West Final, the Big Red Machine will keep rolling.

PICK: Calgary

BYE: Edmonton (8-7)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Reilly, EDM – 5054
2. Mitchell, CGY – 4871
3. Jennings, BC – 4078

Passing TDs

1. Mitchell, CGY – 29
2. Rielly, EDM – 25
3. Jennings, BC – 18

Rushing Yards

1. Messam, CGY – 1002
2. Whitaker, TOR – 830
3. Harris, WPG – 743

Receiving Yards

1. Bowman, EDM – 1609
2. Walker, EDM – 1464
3. Williams, OTT – 1246

Sacks

1. Hughes, CGY – 12
2. Lemon, TOR – 12
3. Chick, HAM – 10

Interceptions

1. Leggett, WPG – 7
2. Heath, TOR/WPG – 6
3. Davis, HAM – 5

Field Goals

1. Paredes, CGY – 50
2. Medlock, WPG – 48
3. Whyte, EDM – 39

Game picks this week: 2-2

Game picks this season: 37-28