CFL Week 9 News and Notes

Friday, August 27

CALGARY vs. BRITISH COLUMBIA
Calgary is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing British Columbia
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Calgary's last 5 games
British Columbia is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games
British Columbia is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games at home

Saturday, August 28

SASKATCHEWAN vs. EDMONTON
Saskatchewan is 3-11 SU in its last 14 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
Saskatchewan is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Edmonton
Edmonton is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Saskatchewan
Edmonton is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games

Western CFL Battles
By Bodog

Go East, young bettors. That’s the first half of the 2010 CFL season in a nutshell. The East Division has been a mess the past couple of years, putting only two teams in the playoffs. But the balance of power has shifted; both the Toronto Argonauts (5-3 SU and ATS) and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-4 SU and ATS) are in good shape, and even the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2-6 SU, 3-5 ATS) would make the postseason if it started today. Not to mention your defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes (6-2 SU, 4-4 ATS), a healthy 3-1 to repeat on the CFL odds board.

The West Division has a chance to play catch-up this week. While the East sits idle, the British Columbia Lions and Edmonton Eskimos (each 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS) can grab Win No. 2 on their home turf. Highly unlikely, but possible.

Friday: Calgary Stampeders at British Columbia Lions

Calgary’s dominance over the Lions predates this year’s implosion in Vancouver. The Stampeders (6-1 SU, 5-2 ATS) have won their last eight regular season meetings with B.C. at a phenomenal 7-0-1 against the football betting lines. And they’ve only met once this year; on August 7, the Stamps went to Empire Field (B.C. Place is getting a new roof) and left with a 27-22 victory as 2-point favorites. That’s just one of the highlights of Calgary’s current four-game winning streak. The Leos, on the other hand, have lost six in a row.

The second half of the season could look considerably brighter for B.C. if quarterback Casey Printers can stay healthy. The 2004 Most Outstanding Player was knocked out in Week 3 with an injured right knee, but he appears to be ready to go this week after practicing with the first unit on Friday. Coach Wally Buono had yet to commit to his starting QB at press time, but all eyes are on Printers after backup QB Travis Lulay (one TD, five INTs, 67.8 passer rating) failed to impress in relief.

Meanwhile, the Stamps aren’t about to stand pat. They’ve signed defensive back Ahmad Carroll, the first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2004 and most recently the property of the UFL’s Hartford Colonials (formerly the New York Sentinels). Carroll was a star in college with the Arkansas Razorbacks, but his usefulness at the NFL level was mostly on special teams, since he had a tendency to draw illegal contact penalties on defense. At the CFL level, Carroll could shine at multiple positions – including punt returner, where the Stamps are only getting 7.8 yards a pop from Deon Murphy. As if the Lions didn’t have enough to worry about Friday night.

Saturday: Saskatchewan Roughriders at Edmonton Eskimos

The situation looks considerably more hopeful for the Eskimos, at least from a betting standpoint. They grabbed the cash in their only meeting with the Roughriders (5-2 SU and ATS) this year, a 24-20 loss on July 17 as 7-point road dogs. But the Eskies still only have the one victory over the Lions to their credit. They’re also 2-7 ATS in their last nine games at Commonwealth Stadium, while Saskatchewan has covered eight of its last 10 overall.

Edmonton isn’t taking all this lying down. General manager Danny Maciocia was fired on July 31; last week, he was joined on the unemployment line by offensive line coach Jeff Bleamer, who is being replaced by former Eskies center Tim Prinsen. Mark Nelson has also taken over as linebackers coach following the shocking resignation of former star Dan Kepley. But head coach Richie Hall remains, and starting QB Ricky Ray (six TDs, five INTs, 92.6 passer rating) will be playing with a bruised chest and collarbone suffered in Edmonton’s 56-16 loss to Calgary (-8 at home) on August 15.

The Green Riders are rolling along quite nicely with three straight covers and the top pass rush in the league with 20 sacks. Rookie defensive end Brent Hawkins is one of four Saskatchewan players tied for the team lead with three sacks. “Our defense is getting better game by game,” Hawkins told the Regina Leader-Post on Tuesday. “You’d have to be a fool not to see it.” The UNDER is 6-2 in Saskatchewan’s last eight games against losing teams and 11-1 in their last 12 trips to Edmonton.

Week 9 CFL Games

Calgary (6-1) @ BCLions (1-6) - Stampeders won last four games, Lions lost last six; Calgary is 2-1 on road, with wins by 1 at Hamilton, by 5 on this field three weeks ago, when Stamps had five sacks and outrushed the Lions 113-58. Four of last five BC losses were by five points or less. Over is 3-1-1 in last five Calgary games; under is 3-0-2 in Lions' last five contests. All four teams playing this week had last week off.

Saskatchewan (5-2) @ Edmonton (1-6) - Eskimos (+7) lost 24-20 to the Roughriders in Regina six weeks ago, as Riders ran ball for 234 yards and came back from down 14-10 at half. Edmonton is 1-3 as underdog; they got crushed 56-15 in Calgary last week, using three QBs. Riders allowed 70 points in losing last two road games, at Calgary/Montreal; they're 4-0 if they allow less than 30 points. Over is 4-1-1 in last six Eskimo tilts.

CFL Week 9 Analysis and Predictions
By Charles-André Marchand

Friday

Calgary Stampeders at B.C. Lions (+6, 51.5)

The Stampeders swear they fear the Lions despite their pathetic 1-6 record. They are right about that. After all, they stole a close-call victory by a mere 25-22 score to the men of Wally Buono just three weeks ago.

Casey Printers should be back to command the Leos offence, trying to grab a second win after losing six in a row. Will he make a difference against the best defense in the league? The Lions have lost their last eight meetings with the Stampeders.

Wally Buono recently invited a disgruntled fan to watch game tapes with him, trying to prove that his team didn’t play as bad as their record shows. The Lions are much better than their 2010 mark and will have home-field advantage Friday.

If the Argonauts were able to beat Calgary, the Lions should be capable of such a feat.

Pick: B.C.

Saturday

Saskatchewan Roughriders at Edmonton Eskimos (+7, 57.5)

The Eskimos are still looking for their second win of the season and, even at home, it won’t come easy against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Until this year, playing at home gave them a huge advantage because of the natural turf, which was unique in the league. That isn’t the case anymore. So far this year, they have only won a single of their four games on the new artificial turf of Commonwealth Stadium.

Since the start of 2010, the Eskimos defense has been falling in pieces. They have only 12 sacks against the opposing QB’s which ranks second worst in the league. Because of injuries to Dario Romero, Kai Ellis and Greg Peach, the defensive front is now quite fragile. This is a team that lost 56-15 to the Stampeders 10 days ago and these Roughriders are just as scary.

Without Ricky Ray, these Esks are going to enter a slaughterhouse at home. And everyone knows that amongst the 50,000-plus expected at the Commonwealth Stadium Saturday, the Riders Nation will be more visible than usual. So much for home field.

Pick: Saskatchewan