Toronto, Ontario (Best E Casino) -
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS (1-2) AT CALGARY STAMPEDERS (2-1)
DATE & TIME: Thursday, July 17, 9 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: The Calgary Stampeders won't have to worry about stopping Hamilton Tiger-Cats tailback Jesse Lumsden.
Lumsden leads the CFL in rushing with 362 yards on 48 carries, which translates into a 7.5-yard average per attempt. Lumsden ran for 136 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns in Hamilton's 33-28 home loss to Saskatchewan last week.
But he suffered strained knee ligaments in the game and the Ticats, erring on the side of caution, will hold their running back out.
To replace Lumsden, the Ticats will activate Terry Caulley and have him split rushing duties with Tre Smith, who has been impressive backing up Lumsden. Smith is fifth in CFL rushing with 182 yards but is averaging an astounding 13 yards per carry.
It marked the second time in three games Lumsden has run for more than 130 yards. He rushed for 189 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns in Hamilton's 32-13 win over Toronto at Rogers Centre two weeks ago.
But Lumsden was far from being a one-man show against Saskatchewan.
The Ticats rolled up 444 total yards offensively, with quarterback Casey Printers completing 18-of-32 passes for 267 yards but also had two interceptions. Slotback Chris Bauman, appearing in his first game of the season, led the way with eight catches for 90 yards.
However, Hamilton's defense had its troubles with Darian Durant, Saskatchewan's third-string quarterback. Durant finished 23-of-32 passing for 339 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Weston Dressler had six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in his CFL debut while running back Wes Cates added 87 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including the winning score on one-yard run with just over 30 seconds remaining.
Calgary quarterback Henry Burris is coming off an impressive showing, completing 28-of-37 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown in the Stampeders 23-19 win over Montreal. Burris also led his team in rushing, running for 93 yards on 10 carries.
Burris guided the Calgary offense to 447 total yards against Montreal and showed good pass distribution in the game. A total of nine Stampeders caught passes in a very balanced aerial attack.
The numbers: Hamilton is 1-0 on the road and 0-1 against West Division rivals. Calgary is 1-0 at home and 1-0 against the East Division.
Keys to the game: Both teams feature solid run games as Calgary's Joffrey Reynolds is second overall in rushing with 277 yards and is averaging a respectable 5.8 yards per carry.
And both Burris and Printers have the ability to either control games or decide outcomes with their feet.
But that's where the similarities end.
Burris remains one of the CFL's top passers, currently standing tied for second with Edmonton's Ricky Ray behind Montreal's Anthony Calvillo with 910 yards apiece. He's also tied for second in touchdown passes with six.
Printers has completed 64 per cent of his passes but for just 645 yards in three games and has yet to throw for a touchdown. Calgary's defense is the toughest to run against in the CFL, allowing just 47 yards per game. However, the Stampeders are also allowing a league-high 348 yards passing per game as well.
The Ticats are middle of the pack in terms of pass and run defense, but that will mean little against Burris. The key will be for Hamilton to keep Burris in the pocket and pressure him throw before he's ready. Allowing him to get outside and use his mobility will result in a long, long night.
Best E Casino Predicted Outcome: Calgary 30, Hamilton 24.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS (0-3) AT BRITISH COLUMBIA LIONS (1-2)
DATE & TIME: Friday, July 18, 10 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: Jarious Jackson and the B.C. Lions unloaded a huge burden last week at the expense of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Jackson threw five touchdown passes in leading B.C. to a 42-24 win over Winnipeg at Canad Inns Stadium. The win was the first of the season for the Lions and came after an emotional week for the club following the untimely death of president Bob Ackles.
Jackson finished 19-of-24 passing for 340 yards and also had an interception. His favorite target was all-star slotback Geroy Simon, the CFL's leading receiver last year who had seven catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns.
Newcomer Stefan Logan also was impressive. Taking over for Joe Smith, last year's CFL rushing leader, Logan ran for 143 yards on 18 carries for the Lions, who accumulated over 440 total yards offensively.
Defensive end Cameron Wake also got into the act. The CFL's top rookie and defensive player last year had two sacks to boost his league-leading total to five. Wake led the league in sacks last year with 16.
Linebackers Javier Glatt and Otis Floyd had a game-high six tackles for B.C., with Glatt adding two interceptions.
Winnipeg starter Kevin Glenn struggled, completing 9-of-17 passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to Ryan Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie was 20-of-33 passing for 227 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions but it's Glenn who will get the start in the rematch.
Running back Charles Roberts, who was second among CFL rushers last year, ran for just 23 yards on eight carries for Winnipeg. Dinwiddie was the team's leader on the ground with 38 yards on six carries.
Winnipeg allowed three sacks and committed six turnovers in the game.
The numbers: Winnipeg is 0-1 on the road this year and 0-1 against West Division teams. B.C. is 0-1 at home but 1-0 against Eastern clubs.
Keys to the game: Logan's performance underlines just how important the run game can be to an offense. It's no coincidence that Jackson's performance came with the rushing attack in high gear.
A solid run game forces a defense to respect both elements of an offensive attack and simply not just concentrate on shutting down the pass. It can often buy a quarterback a little bit extra time to look downfield, a luxury Jackson took advantage of last week.
Smith will remain the Lions' starting running back, but now the club has two aces in the backfield, another factor rival defenses will have to keep in mind.
Jackson's theatrics last week might finally suggest the Lions' offense is getting back into high gear. Yet another breakout performance from Simon only serves to solidify a powerful B.C. aerial attack.
The importance of the run is vital to Winnipeg as Roberts is the man who makes the offense go. Stop him _ like teams have been able to this year _ and a defense can concentrate on getting to Glenn and forcing him into making bad decisions. Establishing Roberts takes pressure off Glenn, both figuratively and from a football perspective. The question remains can Jackson put together two straight impressive efforts? And, for that matter, is this when Glenn and Co., finally get their act together?
Best E Casino Predicted Outcome: B.C. 35, Winnipeg 30.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES (2-1) AT SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (3-0)
DATE & TIME: Saturday, July 19, 7 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES:Quarterback Darian Durant will make his second straight start for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as veteran starter Marcus Crandell continues to recover from a pulled hamstring.
Durant made his CFL debut as a starter last week against Hamilton, completing 23-of-32 passing for 339 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Weston Dressler had six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in his CFL debut while running back Wes Cates added 87 yards rushing and two touchdowns, including the winning score on one-yard run with just over 30 seconds remaining.
But Dressler suffered a hamstring injury in the 33-28 win over Hamilton and will be replaced by Carl Berman. The five-foot-nine, 166-pound Berman will return punts and kickoffs and serve as a backup receiver. Veteran Michael Palmer will start for Dressler at slotback.
The Riders will also be minus defensive tackle Marcus Adams, who will instead be with his mother in Indianapolis as she undergoes cancer surgery. He will be replaced Jimmy Verdon.
Veteran receiver Corey Grant is also ailing with a rib injury while right tackle Wayne Smith might return from a shoulder injury.
Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo is expected to star despite dislocating the pinky finger on his left hand in the third quarter of last week's loss to Calgary. Calvillo returned to action after missing one series and had his ring and pinky fingers taped together in practice this week.
Calvillo is leading the CFL in passing, having completed 81-of-113 passes for 1,025 yards with seven touchdowns against just one interception.
Slotback Ben Cahoon continues to gradually work his way back into the starting lineup after missing a lot of training camp due to injuries. Fortunately for the Alouettes, their offense hasn't really skipped a beat as Kerry Watkins leads the CFL in receiving with 17 catches for 298 yards and three catches.
Running back Avon Couburne is second on the team with 21 catches for 217 yards while standing fourth overall in rushing with 219 yards and a 6.4-yard average. He has also scored two touchdowns.
The emergence of Couburne made Jarrett Payton expendable. Payton, the son of former NFL superstar Walter Payton, was released after losing the starting spot to Couburne.
The numbers: Montreal is 1-0 on the road this year but 0-1 against West Division competition. Saskatchewan is 1-0 at home and 1-0 against Eastern rivals.
Keys to the game: A big reason for Saskatchewan's early success is the play of its defense. The Riders have the stingiest unit in the CFL, allowing 323 yards against per game.
Montreal counters with the CFL's top offense, rolling up 454 yards per game. Not surprising, the Alouettes also feature the league's top passing attack with Calvillo, averaging 344 yards per game.
The Riders, on the other hand, are allowing a league-low 232 yards passing per game and haven't allowed a touchdown pass so far this season.
Also, kicker Luca Congi hasn't missed on seven field goal attempts this season, a stat worth noting seeing as this figures to be a tight contest. But special-teams excellence would appear to be a wash as Montreal's Damon Duval has made eight of the nine field goals he has tried.
Where Saskatchewan would appear to have an edge, though, is in the secondary. The Riders have intercepted five passes to date, compared to none for Montreal. Then again, the Alouettes have recorded seven sacks, more than double what the Riders have registered (three), which would seem to give them an edge in going up against an inexperienced quarterback.
Best E Casino Predicted Outcome: Montreal 29, Saskatchewan 28.
EDMONTON ESKIMOS (2-1) AT TORONTO ARGONAUTS (1-2)
DATE & TIME: Sunday, July 20, 4 p.m. (et).
GAME NOTES: Forget the quarterback controversy, the biggest problem facing the Toronto Argonauts of late is the play of their defense.
Last year, the unit was the CFL's best. But through three games in 2008, the Argos defense finds itself last in yards allowed (406 per game), rushing yards allowed (189 per game) and sixth in points allowed (27 per game).
Toronto has allowed over 400 yards rushing in its last two games, including a 189-yard outburst from Hamilton's Jesse Lumsden two weeks ago. Last week, the Argos were dispatched 48-27 in Edmonton, giving up over 160 yards rushing and a crucial 61-yard punt return for a touchdown by rookie Tristan Jackson.
Jackson also returned a Kerry Joseph interception 81 yards for a touchdown in the game while new running back A.J. Harris ran for 89 yards on 14 carries and also scored two touchdowns. The Eskimos earned their first win over Toronto since 2005, a span of six games.
Joseph, given the freedom to call his own plays, had a roller-coaster contest for Toronto. He completed 23-of-40 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns but also threw three interceptions. Backup Michael Bishop was 4-of-7 passing for 89 yards and a touchdown.
However, Argos coach Rich Stubler has proclaimed that Joseph is his starting quarterback and will be for the foreseeable future.
Toronto's defense did a decent job of containing Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray, holding him to 16-of-23 passing for 213 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The numbers: Edmonton is 0-1 on the road but 1-0 against East Division rivals. Toronto is 0-1 at home and 0-1 versus the Western Conference.
Keys to the game: Teams being able to run against Toronto's 3-4 defense is nothing new. Under former defensive coordinator Stubler, the Argos were willing to give up some yards on the ground but still be stout against the pass, a priority in the pass-happy Canadian game.
But over the last two weeks, the Argos have given up huge chunks of real estate, which has kept rival offenses on the field way too long and often put the offense behind the eight ball once it gets on to the field.
Toronto still sports the CFL's second-best pass defense, but that stat is moot if teams are spending more time running the ball against the Argos and establishing ball control. And the unit hasn't done a good job of getting to the quarterback, having registered a league-worst two sacks while having given up a league-high eight rushing TDs.
Defensively, Edmonton is leading the CFL with seven interceptions but has also given up eight touchdown passes in its three games and 30.3 points against.
Having gone up against the Eskimos and having another week to prepare, Joseph and Co. should come out better the second time around. For years, the defense carried this team and now that the Argos are struggling it's time for the offense to find a way to execute against an Edmonton defense that remains somewhat suspect.
Best E Casino Predicted Outcome: Toronto 25, Edmonton 24.
Last week's record: 0-4; Season record: 1-11.
