As we tick over into July, and into the summer holiday season for us teacher folk, I am finding that my sleep schedule is all out of whack for the first few weeks. What is the point of a break if I’m still up at 6 AM every day? The answer, as always, lies somewhere with drinking more beer and watching more football. This will, of course, be the last relatively quiet summer I have for the rest of my life, so I should really make the most of it while I can.

In league news this week:

• Ottawa released OL Darta Lee earlier this week; with the line dealing with a ton of injuries (and unfortunately playing poorly as a result), something needed to be done.
• Montreal signed WR Alex Hollins to a one-year contract; Hollins had 937 yards and six TDs last year with the BC Lions but was released in the off-season as a salary cap casualty, though he successfully grieved, and subsequently received, his $75K signing bonus; Hollins was in training camp with Edmonton this year but was cut in final roster cutdowns, potentially in part due to salary considerations. Hollins faces a more limited role in Montreal due to having so many elite receivers already, in particular Austin Mack and Tyson Philpot; no doubt he considered this before signing – but he’ll have a great chance to win a Grey Cup here.
• The CFL has announced that all teams’ negotiation lists will be public on a permanent basis for the future; we have seen names of various college and NFL stars thrown around on these lists over the years, though it typically doesn’t really amount to all that much. Teams can add and remove names to these lists as they see fit, and can also trade negotiation rights with other teams as well. In case you’re curious, you can check out the current set of negotiation lists here.

Onto the games!

WEEK 4 RECAPS

Edmonton 23 vs. Winnipeg 36: The Elks played the Bombers very tightly and evenly through the vast majority of this game; they held the home side off the score sheet entirely in the third quarter, to boot. The two sides entered the fourth quarter tied before a couple of key field goals and a Zach Collaros rushing TD – what a rare occurrence! – helped seal the deal for the home side late. A disappointing ending for the Elks, no doubt – but Collaros had an excellent game, with the rush score and with three pass TDs (two to Nic Demski and one to Kearic Whitefall), and it was just too much once again.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Winnipeg

Montreal 17 vs. Hamilton 35: The Ti-Cats had two gifts going into this game; a bye week of rest and an unavailable Davis Alexander for the Als. With Montreal’s starter unavailable (turns out my earlier intel on his injury in Week 3 being not that serious was incorrect…), the Ti-Cats’ D had a strong night, with defensive TDs from Julian Howsare and rookie Devin Veresuk, while their offence looked crisp as well, with Bo Levi Mitchell going 25-31 for 247 yards and two TDs to Kenny Lawler and Tim White. McLeod Bethel-Thompson, getting his first start in a Montreal uniform, looked rigid and immobile out there, throwing two picks and losing a fumble, while the team also couldn’t get a run game established at all.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Hamilton

BC 18 vs. Saskatchewan 37: With Trevor Harris on the shelf, the Roughriders leaned on RB AJ Ouellette to lead the charge for this one, and he responded in kind with 139 rush yards and a TD, while QB Jake Maier got his first start in green and white to manage the game effectively and throw his first TD in Regina. The Lions, once again missing star QB Nathan Rourke, did not have much of anything going outside of RB James Butler, who had 149 total yards on 21 touches, as well as a TD. Most importantly, Lions QB Jeremiah Masoli got exposed yet again, throwing three picks on the day, including a pick-six by DB Tevaughn Campbell… a tough road loss here for BC. Not a lot of positives for them to draw from this one.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

Toronto 29 vs. Ottawa 16: It definitely wasn’t the Argos’ offence that won this game for them; rather, they got some super elite special teams play from DB Derek Slywka. Not only did Slywka have a 105-yard fumble recovery TD courtesy of a rare Kalil Pimpleton fumble, but he also had a 120-yard TD off of a missed field goal attempt by Lewis Ward. With both teams forced to start backup QBs yet again, it was not an especially prolific offensive showing – but credit to the Argos D and special teams for stepping up when they needed them most. The REDBLACKS will be kicking themselves for a while for blowing this one.

PICK: Ottawa

RESULT: Toronto

BYE: Calgary (2-1)

WEEK 5 PREVIEWS

Winnipeg (3-0) vs. Calgary (2-1), Thursday, July 3rd, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): Calgary’s coming off a bye, while Winnipeg’s coming off a home win where they closed out strong. The Stamps have made some strides on defence this year, but with more normal weather for this week’s game, they’re likely up against one of their toughest tests yet of this early season. I think we’ll have a clearer measurement of where they’ll stack up following this one; considering some of the injury issues plaguing BC and Saskatchewan right now, they have a chance to separate themselves from the 4th and 5th slots in the West if they’re able to pull a win out of this one.

PICK: Winnipeg

Hamilton (1-2) vs. Toronto (1-3), Friday, July 4th, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Credit to Hamilton’s D; they really showed up last week in a major way. I think that last week was something they can definitely build on, particularly with the fact it seems likely they’ll face Nick Arbuckle rather than Sex Pest Chad Kelly – still no word on his return to game action still. Toronto has definitely regressed this year regardless of his presence, but having finally got into the win column last week, might be able to find a mix – particularly on defence – that can work better for them going forward.

PICK: Hamilton

BC (1-3) vs. Montreal (3-1), Saturday, July 5th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CBSSN, CFL+): The Lions have had an awful start to the year, and they need to get their star QB Nathan Rourke back on the field. It’s looking like he’s finally going to be healthy enough to go, at least – and based on the practise reports, also seems like Chase Brice may be getting the QB2 job after Jeremiah Masoli’s poor showing against the Riders. Montreal could also use Davis Alexander back, but aside from that, need to find a way to run the ball more effectively – they had just 38 yards on the ground last week. Playing at home is often a good tonic following a loss.

PICK: Montreal

Ottawa (1-3) vs. Edmonton (0-4), Sunday, July 6th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): Ottawa needs Dru Brown back so, so badly. They also need their O-line to be healthy again. Without those two pieces, all their offseason upgrades on defence will be for naught. As for the Elks, they also need good stuff to happen; while there are a number of positives to take away from last week’s game against the Bombers, 0-4 is still 0-4. You can’t turf coaching and management again just four games into a season, so more losses are going to mean a huge amount of roster turnover. I would very much love to see Tre Ford succeed – I still think he has a ton of positives to his game – but it’s 100% fair to say that this team’s roster isn’t working right now.

PICK: Ottawa

BYE: Edmonton (0-4)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Arbuckle, TOR – 1110
2. Mitchell, HAM – 887
3. Harris, SSK – 806

Passing TDs

1. Alexander, MTL – 5
2. Harris, SSK – 5
3. Collaros, WPG – 5

Rushing Yards

1. Ouellette, SSK – 347
2. Butler, BC – 262
3. Peterson, WPG – 237

Receiving Yards

1. Hatcher, BC – 338
2. Coxie, TOR – 330
3. Johnson, SSK – 288

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, BC – 32
2. Thurman, SSK – 27
3. Anderson, EDM – 25

Sacks

1. Chatfield, TOR – 5
2. Adeyemi-Berglund, MTL – 3
3. Kendricks, HAM  – 3

Interceptions

1. Greene, CGY – 2
2. Bridges, WPG – 2
3. Moxey, HAM – 2

Field Goals

1. Maltos, MTL – 11
2. Paredes, CGY – 9
3. Hajrullahu, TOR – 7

PICK POOL

No perfect weeks once again. Lots of parity at this point. Lots of time to make up some of these gaps.

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

Enjoy the games, everyone.