CFL Previews - September 23-25, Week Thirteen

Football Betting Lines

09/21/2011 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) -

MONTREAL ALOUETTES (6-5) AT EDMONTON ESKIMOS (7-4)

DATE & TIME: Friday, September 23, 9:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: Now two games off the pace set by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Eastern Division, the slumping Montreal Alouettes hope to generate some momentum in the right direction on Friday night as they battle the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium.

Montreal, which is 3-2 versus the Western Division in 2011, has gone from a team that was 5-2 after seven weeks of action to one that is just a game over .500 at 6-5 and now in second place in the Eastern Division standings as the Blue Bombers continue to fire off victories. Last week, the Als nearly took down Winnipeg but had to settle for a 25-23 loss at home instead.

In that battle for Eastern Division bragging rights, Montreal's defense was a bit lax as it allowed 430 yards to the Bombers, 312 yards and two touchdowns alone to quarterback Buck Pierce, who was named the CFL Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. The Als did manage to take down Pierce behind the line of scrimmage three times and intercept one of his passes, but it still wasn't enough to turn the tide.

Anthony Calvillo stood in the pocket and converted 22-of-39 passes of his own for 258 yards and a pair of majors, those going to Jamel Richardson and Brian Bratton, the QB also adding an uncharacteristic 24 rushing yards along the way but at the same time losing possession on his one fumble of the day.

As for the Eskimos, they were the top-scoring club in the CFL last week with 38 points in their 15-point road win over Hamilton. For Edmonton, it was the second win in the last three outings, but still just the second triumph since the program began 2011 with five straight wins when they appeared poised to run away with the regular season title. Edmonton is now tied with Calgary for the top spot in the Western Division with a record of 7-4.

Against the Tiger-Cats, there was a Jerome Messam sighting for Edmonton as he stepped up with a career-best 15 carries for 139 yards and two scores. Messam, who ran for 104 yards and two majors in the first meeting of the season against Hamilton, had been less than stellar in recent weeks with just a combined 66 yards over four games. Nevertheless, Messam showed that he can still be an important piece of the Edmonton puzzle as he was named the top Canadian player in the CFL for the third time this season.

While Messam was making waves on the ground for the Eskimos, Ricky Ray was handling the action over the top as he hit 25-of-32 passes for 227 yards and a score. Fred Stamps accounted for 14 receptions for 130 yards for an Edmonton squad that not only produced 449 yards and controlled the ball for nearly 38 minutes, it also limited the opposition to just 269 yards of offense as well.

Stamps, who needs just three more touchdown receptions to match his career best of eight set back in 2009 when he rolled up 85 catches for 1,402 yards, missed several games recently but is back to the form that allowed him to record four straight 100-yard receiving games, a stretch during which he logged all five of his majors on the season.

As good as Stamps can be, he still has a long way to go to compare himself with Richardson, at least for this season. A slotback from Victor Valley College, Richardson is in his eighth CFL season and is on pace to crush his previous high for receiving yards which stands at 1,287 from back in 2008. Richardson, who recorded a whopping 16 TDs during that same season, has had three games this season in which he's tallied a pair of majors, but he has just two over his last three games for Edmonton. Richardson is currently the only receiver in the league with more than 850 yards (he has 1,080), his 69 grabs also pacing the CFL.

Richardson's production shouldn't be much of a surprise given that Calvillo is the one delivering the ball. The league's all-time leader in passing TDs (409) and completions (5,297), Calvillo is now just 862 yards away from matching Damon Allen's record for all-time passing yards at 72,381 and barring injury it is a safe bet that the 18-year veteran will surpass that total in the next few weeks.

As far as the all-time, regular-season series is concerned, Edmonton controls the action with a mark of 37-24-2 dating back to 1949 even though the Als have won three in a row and five of the last seven encounters. The most recent matchup went to Montreal on August 11 at home by a score of 27-4, a game in which Calvillo threw two TDs and was sacked three times. For the Esks, they failed to adequately protect Ray in that battle as the Als sacked the QB a total of six times, resulting in minus-one net rushing yards for the visitors.

In a classic matchup between two of the top signal-callers in the league, Edmonton might have the edge by playing at home, but Calvillo is not the sort of player who allows his team to go away quietly.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Montreal 31, Edmonton 20

BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (5-6) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (4-7)

DATE & TIME: Saturday, September 24, 4:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: Two teams fighting to stay out of the basement in the Western Division standings get together at Mosaic Stadium this Saturday afternoon, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders play host to the British Columbia Lions.

The Roughriders might be at home for this one, but the team is just 2-4 in games that they've hosted and are 0-4 versus the rest of the division which goes a long way in explaining why they are just 4-7 on the season overall and sitting in last place in the West. However, all of a sudden Saskatchewan has been given new life thanks to three straight wins, so at least there is some optimism in Riders camp.

Similarly, the Lions have gone from a team that opened the 2011 campaign with five straight defeats to one that has captured four consecutive victories and five in the last six outings overall. Unfortunately, BC dug such a deep hole for itself coming out of the gate that it is still a game under .500 and in third place in the division standings.

But again, focusing on the positive for the Lions, the team is coming off a surprising 32-19 win over Calgary, on the road no less, last weekend. In that triumph, quarterback Travis Lulay converted 13-of-26 passes for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but the bigger news was that he didn't throw an interception, nor was he sacked by the Calgary defense. Geroy Simon, who continues to close in on the all-time CFL record for receiving yards, collected three receptions for 46 yards in the triumph.

Simon has turned his 51 catches this year into 846 yards, good for second among CFL receivers after 12 weeks of action, which means he now has 14,583 career yards which leaves him within striking distance of legends Allen Pitts (14,891 yards) and Milt Stegall (15,153 yards).

Bringing in wideout Arland Bruce, who caught two balls for 49 yards and a score against the Stampeders, has certainly cut into some of the potential production for Simon, but at the same time Bruce's presence has forced defenses to pick their poison when trying to shut down BC receivers as well.

Over on the other side, the Roughriders were lucky to catch Toronto still in a transitional stage as the Argonauts go with Steven Jyles at quarterback after getting rid of Cleo Lemon a few weeks back. The Saskatchewan defense took down Jyles for three sacks and also posted a pair of interceptions which made it easier for the Riders offense to sit back and cruise a bit.

Darian Durant connected on 21-of-34 passes for 279 yards and a score for the Roughriders versus Toronto, his favorite target being Chris Getzlaf who reeled in seven balls for a staggering 170 yards and a score.

Getzlaf has just 33 catches this season for the Roughriders, yet he's spun those opportunities into 665 yards and a fantastic eight majors, the latter being a career-best for the receiver with still several games to be played. The Regina native has at least one TD grab in each of the last four outings and in five of six after posting just one TD in the first five games of the season. Getzlaf's production has picked up just as the Roughriders have turned the corner on the season, so clearly there's a connection.

Thanks to the efforts of Getzlaf, Durant now has 18 TDs on the season, second most in the league, although the signal-caller is still dealing with the fact that he's tossed 11 interceptions as well, second-most in the CFL after 11 games.

As far as the all-time, regular-season series is concerned, Saskatchewan leads by a count of 90-78-4 dating back to 1954. However, BC won the most recent meeting last month, a 24-11 final in Vancouver, which means the Lions have taken back-to-back affairs now. The teams are set to meet once more this season on October 16, again on Saskatchewan's home turf.

As long as Getzlaf and Durant can continue to feed off each other as well as they have over the last month or so, Saskatchewan will be a team that opponents can't ignore. That goes for the Lions who desperately need to continue their winning ways in order to make a play for the postseason.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Saskatchewan 28, British Columbia 20

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (8-3) AT TORONTO ARGONAUTS (2-9)

DATE & TIME: Saturday, September 24, 7:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The first team in the CFL to eight wins this season, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers continue their attack on the rest of the East Division this weekend as they suit up against the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday night at Rogers Centre.

Aside from a couple of missteps against Saskatchewan to begin the month of September, the Bombers have been tough to stop and now lead the division standings by two games over a Montreal squad that's been taking a number of negative hits in the last several weeks.

In fact, it was Winnipeg that set down the Alouettes just last week with a narrow 25-23 decision on the road. In that matchup, Montreal was held scoreless in the first and third quarters and then ran out of time to complete the comeback bid. Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce, who was named the CFL Offensive Player of the Week, converted 20-of-29 passes for 312 yards and two scores, while shaking off an interception and three sacks. Slotback Cory Watson managed to turn just three receptions into a game-high 103 yards as he stretched the field for the Blue Bombers.

Running back Fred Reid also made a significant impact with a game-high 84 yards rushing and a score on 13 carries, helping to take some of the pressure off Pierce in the process.

As for the Argonauts, life without Cleo Lemon has yet to bear fruit and now the team has dropped three straight outings and nine of the last 10 after opening 2011 with a 23-21 win over the Calgary Stampeders. Steven Jyles is now in the saddle for Toronto and managed to hit on 19-of-33 passes for 254 yards and a score against the Roughriders over the weekend. However, Jyles also tossed a couple of interceptions and was sacked three times so he still has a lot to learn about how to handle this offense.

Cory Boyd carved out some space for himself with a game-high 90 yards rushing on 15 attempts, the team overall posting 188 yards as they averaged six and a half yards per carry in an effort to take some of the pressure off the passing attack. Jyles got into the mix as well with 81 yards on nine attempts, but clearly his taking off and leaving the pocket still didn't result in a win for the Argos.

Boyd, who missed several games earlier in the season, has been putting up some decent rushing numbers but he hasn't scored in his last three outings and that could be a big problem for the Toronto offense if they think they need Jyles to produce more, faster. Boyd is far off the pace he set last season, his first in the CFL, when he gained 1,359 yards, but the good news is that he already has four TDs, which is just two fewer than a season ago.

The bigger issue for the Argos might be in finding a reliable, go-to receiver that Jyles can find comfort in and seek out when he gets into trouble. For now Andre Durie, a combination running back/slotback, has been shouldering most of the load from a receiving perspective with his team-best 44 catches for 503 yards, but he has scored just twice and his yardage total has him listed as the 16th-most productive receiver in the league.

Bottom line for the Argonauts is that Jyles needs more effective weapons in order to be successful, and until that happens Toronto will continue to suffer.

Pierce may have just as many interceptions (12) as he does touchdowns at this stage of the season, but at least he's shown that he can manage a game much better than anyone who has stood under center for Toronto. It certainly doesn't hurt that Pierce also has someone like Reid ready to burst out of the backfield to gain some yardage, even though the running back has yet to have a 100-yard game this season and has scored just four TDs. More importantly, Reid is a steady producer who doesn't turn the ball over and that's crucial in a league where turnovers can play such an integral part of every game.

This game marks the third of the season between these two division foes, with the Bombers winning the first two in July by scores of 22-16 and 33-24. Thanks to the most recent triumph Winnipeg now leads the all-time, regular-season series by a count of 50-49-2. The clubs are also scheduled to get after each other once more during the regular season at the end of October.

Jyles has a lot of growth still ahead of him with the Argonauts and it isn't going to happen in just a week or two. So for now he and Toronto will have to accept that Winnipeg simply has the weapons and the ability to put those weapons into action.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Winnipeg 35, Toronto 17

CALGARY STAMPEDERS (7-4) AT HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (5-6)

DATE & TIME: Sunday, September 25, 1:00 p.m. (et).

GAME NOTES: The Calgary Stampeders try to keep the pressure on in the West Division standings, but for the moment they'll have to deal with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday afternoon.

The Stampeders have lost two of their last three outings, that after winning four straight matchups, which has allowed Edmonton to bounce back and lock the teams in a tie for first place in the division at 7-4. Last weekend, Calgary entertained British Columbia and took a hit from the Lions as the visitors produced a 32-19 triumph.

Against BC the Stamps got off to a slow start offensively, scoring just three points in both the first and second quarters. Quarterback Henry Burris converted 15-of-20 passes for 184 yards and a score, but he was picked off once and sacked three times while backup QB Drew Tate connected on 6-of-10 passes for 129 yards and chipped in with a late rushing score of his own. The rushing attack for the Stamps was almost non-existent as the team generated a mere 56 yards on 17 attempts.

As for the Tiger-Cats, they've lost back-to-back efforts and three of the last four, although the one win during that stretch was a surprising 44-21 triumph over the Montreal Alouettes who all of a sudden appear to be mere mortals. Hamilton's most recent loss was a 38-23 defeat at the hands of Edmonton at home last Friday.

Against the Eskimos, Hamilton fell behind in the first half by double digits and simply couldn't recover, possessing the ball for less than 23 minutes and suffering 14 penalties which cost the squad 110 yards.

The Tiger-Cats, now third in the East Division with five wins in 11 opportunities, might be feeling the effects of losing center Marwan Hage for the last two games because the squad entered last week with just 15 sacks allowed before watching Kevin Glenn go down four times and backup Quinton Porter taken down behind the line of scrimmage once in the defeat. Before getting pulled, Glenn converted 14-of-23 passes for 140 yards and was intercepted once, while Porter converted 8-of-12 for another 90 yards. Porter was credited with 11 yards rushing, the only player other than Avon Cobourne (six carries, 28 yards, one major) to be given an opportunity on the ground.

Cobourne, who came over from the Alouettes in the offseason, is currently third in the league in rushing with 651 yards and is first in the CFL in rushing TDs with seven, but he's registered just two 100-yard games and it was in those outings that he combined for four rushing scores. More often than not Cobourne is a non-factor when it comes to the Hamilton offense and the last two games have been a prime example with him gaining a combined 30 yards on just 11 attempts.

Obviously Cobourne is only effective when Glenn can be threatening in the pocket, otherwise the opposition knows that the Hamilton offense is due to be one-dimentional. Glenn has played fairly well thus far, converting 61.4 percent of his pass attempts towards 15 TDs and seven interceptions.

As for the Stampeders, they've somehow figured out a way to be at the top of the division standings despite scoring less (26.2 ppg) than they are giving up (26.4 ppg) so far in 2011. Burris, who is well on his way to posting his eighth straight season with at least 4,000 passing yards, has had some trouble with his production in recent weeks despite the fact that he converted 75 percent of his tosses the last time out.

Since passing for three touchdowns in back-to-back games against Saskatchewan and Montreal in August, Burris has posted just three TDs total in his last three games, all while being picked off four times. The extremes aren't all that great right now, but it just goes to show how Burris and the Calgary offense can run to different ends of the spectrum.

Calgary won the first meeting of the season between these two clubs by a score of 32-20 at home in early August, as Burris threw for 341 yards and a touchdown. The Stamps have now won four straight in the series and seven of the last nine, leading them to a 51-29 edge over Hamilton dating back to the 1950 campaign.

Burris is due for a bounce-back game, as far as getting the ball into the end zone, and since Hamilton has the weakest scoring defense in the league (28.0 ppg) it only makes sense that the Stamps take advantage this week.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Calgary 31, Hamilton 23

Overall Sportsbook Betting Lines Predictions: 28-16. Last Week's Predictions: 2-2.