CFL Previews - Week 17 - October 23-24

Football Betting Lines

10/21/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (6-9) AT TORONTO ARGONAUTS (3-12)

DATE & TIME: Friday, October 23, 7:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats try to snap a six-game road losing streak on Friday night as they gear up for a meeting against the Toronto Argonauts at the Rogers Centre in Ontario.

The Ti-Cats have just a single win away from home this season, a narrow 31-28 victory over British Columbia back on July 10, so getting over the hump has been a long and arduous process. Last week, the team nearly made it happen in Montreal as they knocked out starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo, only to see his backup toss a pair of touchdown passes himself in what became a 41-38 defeat for Hamilton.

The Tiger-Cats have now lost four straight and five of their last six outings, yet that is still better than Toronto which is suffering through a five-game slide and having just a single victory since the beginning of August, a span of 11 games.

Even though his team came up short last week, quarterback Kevin Glenn still had a stellar outing as he completed 29-of-44 passes for a huge 506 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The yardage total for Glenn represented the first 500-yard passing effort in the league since 2004 when Jason Maas recorded 540 yards for the Edmonton Eskimos. Needless to say, the performance was worthy of CFL Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Over on the other side, Toronto continued to flounder and just miss out on a victory in Week 16 action as the team bowed to Edmonton by a score of 22-19 at home. Quarterback Kerry Joseph converted 25-of-42 passes for 331 yards and a touchdown, but was also picked off twice. P.K. Sam had a strong effort as well as he caught a game-high eight passes for 135 yards, yet never managed to get into the end zone.

Toronto's offense has been lackluster at best this season, ranking last in the league in scoring with just 18.9 ppg. The team is last in the league in total offense with just 4,377 yards, averaging just 91.8 ypg on the ground. Nevertheless Jamal Robertson, who gained just 45 yards on 12 attempts in the three-point loss last week, is still fifth in the league in rushing with his 990 yards, leading to an average of more than five yards per carry and eight touchdowns.

The Toronto passing attack has seen a number of players at the helm, and with all of those changes it should come as little surprise that the group is second-to-last in the league with just 3,438 yards and has more INTs (18) than touchdowns (11). In fact, the Argos have the fewest passing scores of any program in the pass-happy league.

Over on the other side, Hamilton signal-callers have been some of the more accurate in the business this season, completing 61.4 percent of their attempts for 22 touchdowns. With his huge performance last week, Glenn is now up to 2,202 yards on the season and has a very strong touchdown-to- interception ratio at 15-to-5, while completing close to 60 percent of his chances.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Cats have had a number of strong performances, but the one that stands out is Markeith Knowlton who not only has a league-best four fumble recoveries, but he is also the only player in the league with a pair of blocked punts.

The Tiger-Cats maintain a commanding 116-86-2 record in the regular season versus the Argos, although it has been the latter who have taken three of the last four encounters, including a 25-22 double-overtime affair last month in Toronto.

During that Week 11 meeting, Toronto kicker Justin Medlock was credited with three successful field goals, including the game-winner from 28 yards out. Cody Pickett passed for 254 yards and Jamal Robertson took care of the rushing attack with his 117 yards and two touchdowns on 18 attempts.

Hamilton was paced by Arland Bruce who reeled in 10 balls for 45 yards and a score, thanks to Kevin Glenn who completed 29-of-44 passes for 233 yards.

Even though Toronto is at home this week, the good feelings won't be enough to turn the tide and get the Argonauts back into the win column. Expect Glenn to feed off his strong performance last week and guide Hamilton to a much-needed win.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Hamilton 31, Toronto 20

EDMONTON ESKIMOS (7-8) AT CALGARY STAMPEDERS (8-6-1)

DATE & TIME: Friday, October 23, 10:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The Calgary Stampeders try to bounce back from a disappointing tie last week as they size up the Edmonton Eskimos in Week 17 action on Friday night at McMahon Stadium.

Last week, the Stamps had a chance to get into the win column for the third time in the last four games, but the squad ended up recording a 44-44 overtime tie versus Saskatchewan instead. So, rather than have a lead in the West Division with a 9-6 mark, Calgary is now tied with the Roughriders for first place at 8-6-1. Also with 16 points is British Columbia right now, so the race is that much tighter as the clubs streak toward the end of the regular season.

Quarterback Henry Burris converted 23-of-34 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns, along with a single interception for the Stamps. Nik Lewis had a team-best eight catches for 112 yards, while Rob Cote and Brett Ralph both caught a single ball, yet each went for touchdowns.

Jeremaine Copeland finished with six grabs for 71 yards, his first catch of the game putting him over 1,000 yards on the season. Copeland has posted five campaigns in which he has at least 1,000 yards receiving.

On the ground, Joffrey Reynolds registered 137 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, giving him his seventh 100-yard effort of 2009 and the 26th of his career. Reynolds is now tied for the second-most 100-yard games in team history, trailing only Earl Lunsford who had done it 28 times. The running back is now also eighth on the club's all-time touchdowns list with 48.

As for the Eskimos, they took on the weakest team in the CFL last week and barely made it out of Toronto with a 22-19 victory over the Argonauts. For Edmonton, which trails in the West Division by a mere two points, the win snapped what had been a three-game slide and was just the second victory for the program in the last seven outings.

Ricky Ray completed 17-of-24 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown, while Arkee Whitlock handled the action on the ground for the team with his 145 yards and two scores on 17 attempts. Fred Stamps, who caught the lone touchdown pass from Ray, recorded two receptions for a team-best 60 yards.

Stamps continues to lead the CFL in receiving with his 66 grabs for 1,093 yards and eight touchdowns, while Whitlock ranks among the league leaders as well with his 943 yards rushing, resulting in nine scores for the Esks.

Among the league's quarterbacks, only one has performed better and more consistently than Ray. At this point in the season the signal-caller, who trails only Montreal's Anthony Calvillo in most categories, has completed a stunning 67.5 percent of his attempts for 4,097 yards and 20 touchdowns. With just 11 interceptions on 496 attempts, Ray has fashioned an efficiency rating of 97.0 to this point in the campaign.

Right behind Ray on the list of top QBs is Burris who has close to 4,000 yards through the air himself, resulting in 20 touchdowns as well. In addition to having slightly less success than Ray completing passes at 58.9 percent, Burris has also been touched for 15 INTs thus far.

But like Ray, Burris does not have to rely solely on his own arm to get him and the Stampeders through from week to week. Thankfully there's also Reynolds coming out of the backfield carrying the ball, resulting in a league-high 1,223 yards and nine touchdowns, an average of almost six-and-a-half yards per attempt.

Calgary ranks third in the league in scoring with 29.5 ppg even though it is second-to-last in time of possession with less than 28 minutes per outing.

In terms of the all-time series between these two programs, Edmonton holds a 121-71-3 edge in regular-season matchup, yet it has been the Stampeders who have come out on top in the last two meetings and three of the last four overall.

Back on September 11, Calgary squeezed out a narrow 35-34 victory by scoring 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the most crucial of those scores being an 18-yard touchdown pass from Burris to Copeland down the stretch, with the PAT by Sandro DeAngelis proving to be the difference in the final score.

Burris had an up-and-down game that day as he passed for almost 400 yards and three touchdowns, but he was also picked off three times as well.

Both of these teams need to finish the season strong and pick up wins where they can. Last week's tie really held Calgary from distinguishing itself in the division, but this week the Stampeders should be able to get it right.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Calgary 38, Edmonton 24

MONTREAL ALOUETTES (13-2) AT WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (6-9)

DATE & TIME: Saturday, October 24, 2:30 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: With the East Division title already sewn up, the Montreal Alouettes shoot for their seventh consecutive win this weekend as they size up the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium in Manitoba.

Montreal has had very little trouble navigating through the regular season thus far, suffering just a pair of setbacks to British Columbia and Edmonton and haven't been sent to the loss column since that 19-12 loss to the Lions during the first week of September.

Most recently the team won for the eighth time in as many chances at home last Sunday with a 41-38 victory versus Hamilton. More than just the narrow three- point difference in the final score, the contest did have some other intrigue as Montreal starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo was forced to exit the meeting in the third quarter with an injury to his left calf.

Certainly the Als can afford to keep Calvillo on the sideline this weekend, and for the rest of the regular season for that matter, but as of Tuesday a decision had yet to be made on whether or not the league's top passer would be making an appearance versus Winnipeg.

Perhaps seeing Adrian McPherson play so well in his place last weekend could give the Als reason enough to sit Calvillo after McPherson converted all but one of his 11 pass attempts for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Calvillo himself was 14-of-18 for 232 yards and two scores. Running back Avon Cobourne had a bit of a rough time with just 34 yards on 13 attempts, but he still made it into the end zone once.

Receiver Kerry Watkins continued to add to his impressive stats with four receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown for Montreal in the close call.

As for the Blue Bombers last week, they too played in a game that was decided by just three points on Sunday, but in their case they fell to British Columbia at home in a 24-21 final. Winnipeg scored the first 14 points of the game but then suffered far too many miscues to overcome.

Michael Bishop, who tossed a 10-yard TD pass to Brock Ralph to open the days festivities in the first quarter, finished up a mere 13-of-32 for 226 yards and three interceptions. Fred Reid, one of the league's top ground gainers, was credited with 72 yards on 15 attempts, while Adarius Bowman collected five passes for 92 yards in the setback.

Bowman stands as the top receiver for the Blue Bombers this season, ranking 11th in the league with his 52 catches for 871 yards and six touchdowns, while Reid is second in the CFL with his 203 carries for 1,207 yards and seven scores on the ground in an effort to balance out the field for a team that had a three-game win streak snapped with the setback to BC.

Bishop is now fifth in the league in passing yards with 2,357 and has 11 touchdowns to show for his efforts, unfortunately he has five more interceptions after last week's display, and that means the Blue Bombers as a whole have tossed a league-high 24 picks thus far. The squad is a league-worst 49.3 percent accurate through the air and is second-to-last in scoring with just 21.0 ppg.

While the Bombers have found points hard to come by in 2009, the same cannot be said for Montreal which is the only team in the league to average better than 30 ppg (32.4). Obviously the majority of the credit has to go to Calvillo who has converted an outstanding 72.1 percent of his passes for a league-best 4,334 yards and 24 touchdowns. Even more remarkable for the Als' offense is that Calvillo has been picked off just six times in 369 attempts, a credit to both his receivers and offensive line for giving him the time to make the right reads and hit the open man down field.

Just as important is the play of Cobourne who has posted a league-best 12 rushing touchdowns and has another score by way of the pass. The running back out of West Virginia University, is fourth in the league in rushing with 1,115 yards and second overall in yards from scrimmage with 1,505.

In terms of the all-time regular-season series between these two clubs, Montreal is ahead by a count of 38-31-2 having won two straight and four of the last five encounters. Last month, the Als posted a 33-14 win at home over Winnipeg as Calvillo threw for 338 yards and one touchdown and Cobourne posted a game-high 80 yards rushing and reached the end zone once on his 15 attempts.

The teams will meet once more during the regular season a week from Sunday at Montreal.

Even if Calvillo and the Montreal coaching staff decide that he's not ready to go this weekend, the Als still have an overpowering offense that has been held down just a few times in 2009 and should still be able to dominate Winnipeg, even on the road.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Montreal 31, Winnipeg 17

BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (8-7) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (8-6-1)

DATE & TIME: Saturday, October 24, 5:30 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The battle for the playoffs in the West Division of the CFL heats up this weekend, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders entertain the British Columbia Lions in Week 17 action from Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

Last week, the Roughriders could have taken over sole possession of first place in the division, but the squad had to settle instead for a 44-44 tie with Calgary on the road, a decision that left Saskatchewan with 16 points, which is also the same total posted by both the Stampeders and Lions at the moment.

After scoring just a single point in the first quarter, the Roughriders began to open things up with 17 points in the second period, then closed out with a total of 26 in the fourth frame and overtime. Darian Durant completed 35-of-45 passes for 427 yards and two touchdowns and also led the group on the ground with his five carries for 40 yards. Andy Fantuz had a huge game as a receiver, catching a game-high 10 balls for 149 yards and a score.

As for the Lions, they too took part in a close battle, but in their case they managed to come away with a 24-21 road win against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. A 30-yard touchdown pass from Travis Lulay to A.J. Harris in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference for BC. Lulay, who came in for Buck Pierce who injured his throwing shoulder in the second possession of the game for the Lions, completed 13-of-24 passes for 177 yards and the score, but nearly let the win slip away as he tossed a couple of costly interceptions as well.

Making up for those miscues however, Lulay recorded a game-high 92 yards on seven rushing attempts. Harris proved to be his favorite target in the contest, capturing five passes for 92 yards. The effort by Harris was rather huge given how much he has played this season. Fourth on the depth chart early in the season, Lulay figures to get the start for the Lions this week.

Also expected to be back in action this week is running back Martell Mallett who missed last week's game with a foot problem. Mallett enters the week ranked third among running backs with his 1,127 yards, resulting in five touchdowns.

Hopefully, taking some of the pressure off both Mallett and Lulay will be receiver Geroy Simon, who ranks fifth in the CFL with his 974 yards receiving, leading to six touchdowns and an average of 15.5 yards per grab.

Like the Lions, Saskatchewan has had its share of crucial injuries of late, more specifically that to Weston Dressler. One of the top receivers in the game in 2009, Dressler suffered a fractured fibula and a badly sprained ankle against Toronto and is likely out for the rest of the season. The 2008 CFL Rookie of the Year, Dressler had hoped to make it back for the playoffs, but coach Ken Miller made it known that his return was still far off.

With Dressler watching from the sidelines, that means the top receiver available for the Roughriders is Fantuz who has 47 catches for 676 yards and four touchdowns. Right behind him is Rob Bagg who, after reeling in eight balls for 52 yards last week, now has 48 catches on the season for 636 yards and three TDs.

Still, as much as Dressler added to the Saskatchewan attack, it all still hinges on the play of Durant who is currently fourth in the league with his 3,670 yards and 20 touchdowns through the air. The Roughriders are the second- highest scoring club in the league with 29.7 ppg, but giving up 27.7 ppg hasn't helped the team much.

With respect to the all-time series between these two teams, Saskatchewan maintains an 87-76-4 advantage in the regular season, even with BC winning two in a row and four of the last five overall.

The most recent of those tests came a mere three weeks ago as the Lions slipped by with a 19-16 triumph at home. The difference in that meeting was a 33-yard field goal by Sean Whyte in the fourth quarter. Whyte finished the game with four field goals in all, somewhat surprising given that British Columbia's offense appeared to be running rather smoothly with 140 yards on the ground and another 381 yards through the air.

Buck Pierce completed 29-of-43 passes for 343 yards for the home team and Durant turned in 240 yards and a touchdown for the Roughriders, but he was also picked off twice in the outing.

With Lulay in the lineup the Lions might be a little more exciting to watch, but assume that the Saskatchewan defense will come after him as much as possible, so much so that it could decide the outcome of the game.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Saskatchewan 33, British Columbia 27

Overall Season Record: 29-30-1; Last Week's Record: 2-1-1.