CFL Beat: Week 3

I have one more class with final exams to conduct before summer break begins at the end of the month. I might legitimately perish. This year has been a grind like no other. As always, when life has me down, at least I know CFL football is there to entertain me. Just seven more work days until freedom…

In league news this week:

• Toronto signed RB Kevin Brown after releasing him following training camp; Brown had a breakout season in 2023 for Edmonton but was relegated to third man status in a crowded backfield last year with Justin Rankin and Javon Leake. With Ka’Deem Carey now similarly released, it appears as though the Argos have found Brown a roster spot for the remainder of the season.
• Winnipeg released WR Reggie White, Jr; he signed a one-year deal with the team in the offseason after spending four seasons in Montreal, though he battled a series of injuries from 2022-23, including a significant knee injury.
• Stamps WR Reggie Begelton might be done for the year with a knee injury suffered in last week’s game against Toronto; he left the field and did not return, and was spotted on the sidelines on crutches. Calgary’s dealing with a rash of injuries from that game, including C Bryce Bell, LB Marquell Lee, and LS Jordan Crawford, who’s been moved to the six-game IL. That might be a lot to weather for this team so early in the year.
• The Blue Bombers announced that Brad Paisley will play a pre-Grey Cup concert during championship week in Winnipeg; that’s a pretty country-friendly crowd right there in a prairie town.

Onto the games!

WEEK 2 RECAPS

BC 20 vs. Winnipeg 34: Nathan Rourke is now 0-4 lifetime as a starter against Winnipeg; whatever they’ve got in the water at Princess Auto Stadium seems to be absolute kryptonite for him. New Lions head coach Buck Pierce was the Bombers’ OC last year, so one would’ve thought that BC would have a sense of what was coming for them… but they just couldn’t get any rhythm going. Chris Streveler, filling in for Zach Collaros during his one-game suspension for missing an off-season drug test, went 15-24 for 246 yards, three TDs, and a pick, with two of those major snagged by WR Nic Demski. The Lions, to their credit, weren’t out of it until very late in the fourth quarter when Rourke was out of the game after taking a hard hit; new backup Jeremiah Masoli threw a pick-six that blew it wide open for Winnipeg and made it a two-score margin of victory. Credit where credit’s due to rookie RB Matthew Peterson, who had to carry the load when star rusher Brady Oliveira went down for Winnipeg in the first quarter; he finished with 23 carries for 130 yards and a TD. Talk about a great first impression in pro football.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Winnipeg

Montreal 39 vs. Ottawa 18: With their backup QB in and a patchwork O-line in front of him, the REDBLACKS’s offence was absolutely putrid. Sure, it’s hard to make good throws when you’re getting pressured early, but even when Matt Shiltz had guys wide open, passes were routinely off the mark. With so many two-and-outs, the Alouettes feasted on a tired REDBLACKS defence and widened their lead on the rest of the East division. With Davis Alexander now 6-0 in his first six CFL starts, he’s set a new franchise record for the Alouettes for the best record of a QB to start his career with the team. Meanwhile, the Als’ D feasted, racking up three interceptions on Shiltz and snapping the nine-game TD scoring streak that Geno Lewis had dating back to his time with Edmonton. A disappointing home opener for Ottawa, who will need to get healthy, and fast, in order to avoid losing any more ground.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

Calgary 29 vs. Toronto 18: The Argos had a championship banner-raising party to kick off their home opener, but the Stamps spoiled the show for the home fans. Nick Arbuckle struggled for the second week in a row, throwing two more picks, and the Stamps’ D came out to play. Vernon Adams, Jr. passed for over 300 yards, while RB Dedrick Mills scored his fourth rush TD of the season in just his second game. Not a lot of bright spots for Toronto save for WR Damonte Coxie with 98 receiving yards and a TD; the Argos may be last year’s Grey Cup champs, but without Chad Kelly, they’re definitely a step behind compared to the previous season.

PICK: Toronto

RESULT: Calgary

Saskatchewan 28 vs. Hamilton 23: The Riders pulled out a tight victory over the host Tabbies, after another slow start to the game. Hamilton struck first, but Saskatchewan came back to tie things up and grind things out. AJ Ouellette, back from injury, had one of his best games as a Rider, grinding out 96 rushing yards and a key TD, while WR KeeSean Johnson had a big night with 128 receiving yards and the winning TD score. Saskatchewan could’ve had a bigger margin of victory had Brett Lauther not missed three field goals, but the mission was accomplished all the same. Hamilton had another huge night out of WR Kenny Lawler, who impressed with 8 catches for 162 yards, but they couldn’t get the job done again, even with them getting the last chance of the evening.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BYE: Edmonton (0-1)

WEEK 3 PREVIEWS

Montreal (2-0) vs. Edmonton (0-1), Thursday, June 19th, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): This Als D means business, and the Elks are going to be in tough to do anything about it, even as the home side. The Elks need to get their run game going again in the manner that they did last season with their triple threat of Justin Rankin, Javon Leake and Kevin Brown; with Brown now off to the Argos, they can still lean on the other two. I am not sure that anyone’s passing game, let alone the Elks’, is going to be able to get going against that stout Montreal front seven. Davis Alexander is now two games away from tying the all-time CFL record of the best start to a career for a quarterback, which would be the 8-0 record set by Danny McManus back in the early ’90s. He’s not doing anything flashy, but it’s been ample for the Alouettes, who would like to maintain this cushion at the top of the division.

PICK: Montreal

Saskatchewan (2-0) vs. Toronto (0-2), Friday, June 20th, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Looks like Sex Pest Chad Kelly still won’t be ready to go this week for the Argos, so all signs point to Nick Arbuckle getting another start at QB for the home side; concerning, considering his two consecutive lacklustre performances. The Riders have won two in a row and the defence has looked great, but they’ll be looking to try and build better habits and not give up the game’s opening TD for a third week in a row. Good teams know how to play from behind, but great teams don’t routinely need to do that. Now’s the time to start proving that the Roughriders are in the “great’ tier this season.

PICK: Saskatchewan

Ottawa (0-2) vs. Calgary (2-0), Saturday, June 21st, 4:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): The REDBLACKS will have Dru Brown back available to lead their offense this week, which is welcome news after a disappointing outing by Matt Shiltz last week. They’re still dealing with a ridiculous number of injuries, particularly to O-linemen and to Canadians as a whole, affecting their roster flexibility, but they need to right the ship and find a way to get into the win column. This team is coming with some significant expectations to go on a playoff run this year; it’s still very early days still, but forming good habits now is necessary for success later on. Calgary has been a pleasant surprise to start this year, with Vernon Adams, Jr. so far proving to be a significant upgrade at quarterback over Jake Maier, and with a defense that is looking much more cohesive than last year’s unit. The big question will be how this team weathers these early injuries that are similarly starting to pile up.

PICK: Calgary

Winnipeg (1-0) vs. BC (1-1), Saturday, June 21st, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): It’s a rematch of last week’s contest, which the Bombers took; will Nathan Rourke be good to go after having to leave late with what appears to be an oblique injury, or will the Lions see longtime CFL vet Jeremiah Masoli get his first start in orange & black? We’ll see the return of Zach Collaros to action for the visitors with his suspension now over; considering the strong start to the passing attack last week, I’ll be interested to see if the game plan changes much considering the play-calling last week appeared to be very effective.

PICK: Winnipeg

BYE: Hamilton (0-2)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Rourke, BC – 573
2. Alexander, MTL – 549
3. Brown, OTT – 413

Passing TDs

1. Rourke, BC – 4
2. Streveler, WPG – 3
3. Brown, OTT – 2

Rushing Yards

1. Peterson, WPG – 130
2. Rourke, BC – 112
3. Thomas-Erlinton, MTL – 106

Receiving Yards

1. Hatcher, BC – 202
2. Addison, OTT – 164
3. Mack, MTL – 154

Defensive Tackles

1. Awe, BC – 15
2. Lee, CGY – 15
3. Thurman, SSK – 15

Sacks

1. Hendrix, BC – 2
2. Adeyemi-Berglund, MTL – 2
3. Carney, SSK – 2

Interceptions

1. Bridges, WPG – 2
2. Coldon, OTT – 2
3. Greene, CGY – 2

Field Goals

1. Maltos, MTL – 8
2. Liegghio, HAM – 3
3. Paredes, CGY – 3

PICK POOL

Man, Mr. Ayo is just crushing us all of us in the the pool so far. I, for one, will relish the day when he finally makes a mistake.

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

Enjoy the games, everyone.