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 cannot wait to close out the school year on a high note before my loooooong sabbatical begins. As always, when life has me down, at least I know CFL football is there to entertain me. Just five more work days until freedom…

In league news this week:

• With flag football heading to the Los Angeles Olympics for the first time in 2028, the CFL is helping to build hype about the new international sport by getting the Canadian national men’s flag football team to play a mini-game at halftime during the Week 4 contest between Ottawa and Montreal. I am sure that a couple of CFL players may find themselves eventually to that roster in advance of the LA Games, but we do have to consider that they are fundamentally very different games – even more so than the differences between American and Canadian rules of tackle football.
• The Edmonton Elks signed Canadian OL John Bosse and American OL Joe Cooper to their practise roster; Cooper is a rookie who played D2 ball at Slippery Rock University, while Bosse played 19 games for the Argos, including 11 starts at right tackle and right guard, in 2024 and 2025. I suspect we may see playing time for both in the near future.
• The Montreal Alouettes signed longtime Ottawa REDBLACKS kicker Lewis Ward, who was released by the team this past offseason, to their practise roster. While Montreal has a very good kicker in Jose Maltos Diaz, a Mexican, a little insurance probably doesn’t hurt. Ward has always lacked length strength in his game, but from 45 yards and under, he’s had a pretty good CFL career, including a pro football record of 69 consecutive made field goals he set in Ottawa back in 2018-19.

Onto the games!

WEEK 2 RECAPS

Hamilton 37 vs. Winnipeg 27: Tons of offence in this game, as Bo Levi Mitchell and Zach Collaros were both their gunslinging selves for this matchup. Mitchell went 19-24 for three TDs, including two to receiver Kiondre Smith, while Collaros was 28-25 for 421 yards, two scores, and a pick. The final score might indicate like there was a point where this game was fairly close… but truth be told, after a reasonably close first frame, the Tabbies were up 24-10 at half and 31-13 at the start of the fourth quarter.  Winnipeg falls to 0-1 on the year, while Hamilton returns to .500.

PICK: Winnipeg

RESULT: Hamilton

Toronto 30 vs. Montreal 37: It was the Alouettes’ second straight comeback victory, and they improved to 2-0 while also spoiling the Argos’ season opener to boot. In a second offensive showdown of the week, Davis Alexander and Sex Pest Chad Kelly went tit-for-tat throughout the contest, with Alexander spurring the Als to victory with 20 unanswered points in the second half, running his regular-season record as a CFL starting QB to an extremely impressive 13-0. Sex Pest Chad Kelly, in his first game back in Double Blue since breaking his leg in the 2024 East final against these same Alouettes, looked good, throwing for 445 yards, three TDs, and a pick… and while I hate the man deeply, his presence in the pocket may be the one and only thing that gets this thinner Argos roster back into the playoffs this year.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

BC 27 vs. Saskatchewan 31: In Saskatchewan’s championship banner-raising season opener, they squared off against the same team they faced in the West Final last year, and once again, came out on top. Three games last week, and three highly entertaining offensive contests; while the Lions were very good in this game, with Nathan Rourke throwing for 330 yards and rushing for a TD, 40-year old Trevor Harris was even better for the Roughriders. Harris found Canadian receiver in the end zone three times in this contest, with the winning score coming with less than a minute left to play – an exciting way for Rider Nation to kick off their title defence in 2026.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

BYE: Calgary (0-1), Edmonton (1-0), Ottawa (0-1)

WEEK 3 PREVIEWS

BC (0-1) vs. Hamilton (1-1), Friday, June 19th, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+):  If both teams’ performances last week was any indicator, I expect this to be another offensively-minded showcase. There’s so much season left, and with Nathan Rourke and Bo Levi Mitchell as perpetual frontrunners for Most Outstanding Player in the CFL, it does make one wonder if they can still yet find another gear to their game somehow. One important question I have thus far is about the Lions’ defence; while last week’s tilt against Saskatchewan makes it difficult to truly gauge them, particularly after just a single contest on the year, I figure that a steady, consistent performance on the other side of the ball is going to be the X-factor to putting the Lions over the top if they’re to make it to a Grey Cup game this season. Missing three receivers this week in Stanley Berryhill, Jevon Cottoy, and Seven McGhee is not going to make life any easier for Nathan Rourke, either…

PICK: Hamilton

Toronto (0-1) vs. Ottawa (0-1), Saturday, June 20th, 1:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): The REDBLACKS would very much like the weather to be better for their second home game of the season; the rain wasn’t the only reason for their loss to the Elks, however. The need for clear, disciplined football is also essential – Ottawa took way, way too many penalties and shot themselves in the foot time and time again. As Ryan Dinwiddie gears up to coach his first game against his old team, which still contains so many of the guys he had when he won a championship in 2024, perhaps some insider knowledge of Toronto’s roster and systems might prove to be some useful home cooking for the REDBLACKS. Ideally RB Greg Bell will also be good to go for Ottawa as well – he had some neck stiffness two weeks ago and would bring a big boost to the run game if he’s good to start.

PICK: Ottawa

Montreal (2-0) vs. Edmonton (1-0), Saturday, June 20th, 4:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): Montreal hasn’t been a perfect team early this year – they’ve allowed teams to score some early points – but they have been excellent at locking in down the stretch and taking back leads. As the season is still in its early stages, it will be interesting to see if they can get and hold a lead off the bat and not concede chances too early. Key to that success will be figuring out a way to stop star Elks RB Justin Rankin, who single-handedly dominated the REDBLACKS a couple of weeks ago. Former Alouette Cody Fajardo, now Edmonton’s starting QB, will similarly be playing with a chip on his shoulder when it comes to facing his old team.

PICK: Montreal

Saskatchewan (1-0) vs. Calgary (0-1), Saturday, June 20th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): I predict that the West is going to be the tightest race we’ve seen in years in the CFL. While Calgary, like last year, still appears to have a weaker roster than their divisional rivals, there’s no denying that good coaching allowed them to play above their overall level for much of last year. I don’t know if a deep playoff run is in the cards, but if the Stamps can protect the football well, the door is open to at least go toe-to-toe with the Riders on the ground, at a minimum. Saskatchewan’s D is not quite as good as last year’s, in my own opinion, but still have some excellent coaching and enough depth to be among the league leaders all the same. It’s also too early yet still to have a real read on Calgary, but I do know that I don’t think they’re at the same tier as the Riders or Lions – but that still leaves the door open to challenge for that third playoff spot with Winnipeg and Edmonton.

PICK: Saskatchewan

BYE: Winnipeg (1-1)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Alexander, MTL – 777
2. Collaros, WPG – 654
3. Mitchell, HAM – 594

Passing TDs

1. Alexander, MTL – 4
2. Mitchell, HAM – 3
3. Harris, SSK– 3

Rushing Yards

1. Rountree, HAM – 147
2. Oliveira, WPG– 145
3. Mills, CGY – 112

Receiving Yards

1. Philpot, MTL – 269
2. Snead, MTL – 225
3. Smith, HAM – 167

Defensive Tackles

1. Jones, WPG – 15
2. Cantin-Arku, MTL – 14
3. Brooks, Jr., SSK – 13

Sacks

1. Ceresna, WPG – 3
2. Howsare, MTL – 2
3. Jones, WPG – 1

Interceptions

1. Kennedy III, WPG – 1
2. Morris-Brash, CGY – 1

Field Goals

1. Maltos Diaz, MTL – 6
2. Blanchard, EDM – 5
3. Liegghio, HAM – 5

PICK POOL

Moving forward, almost every remaining week on the schedule has 4 games instead of 3… so lots of points up for grabs and the chance to try and get a little bit of separation from the pack, perhaps??

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.officepooljunkie.com/picks-pickem.php?Pool=NFA9D4OXO6C2U0A1

CFL FANTASY

In Week 2 action in the inaugural [DFO] CFL Fantasy League, we saw BC Dick’s Dead Horse absolutely demolish my poor Maestrottawa by a score of 112 to 28. Again, weird things going on with setting lineups. I strongly suspect bugs in the website. I shouldn’t be that surprised…

In the other matchups last week, we saw Sacre Blew smash Superfluous “U”s by a score of 145 to 63, thanks in part to some monster performances by multi-TD scorers Sam Emilus and Kiondre Smith… some good pickups there.

Finally, O Spamada took down RoughRougesGTD 97 to 64… while GTD had some good outings from Jerreth Sterns and Kevin Mital, it still wasn’t enough to overcome a deeper opponent who had Pokey Wilson and Tyson Philpot as the lynchpins to victory this week.

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Enjoy the games, everyone.