It’s Hamilton vs Winnipeg. Open thread for your game predictions and general discussion.

The first person to post the correct final score will win a free book from the SDA Free Book Library. (Contest closes at kickoff.)

It’s a wrap — Winnipeg tops Hamilton 33 -12 to win the 107th Grey Cup.

To determine the winner took a bit of figuring. No one called 33 pts for Winnipeg, though Sean was one over (W34 – H27), and Maikeru and Scott were two under. However, Scott came closest to the 21 point spread, with his 31 – 17 prediction. Congratulations, Scott — send me an email and we’ll get you set up with a book.

Thursday, 17:00 CST: Ottawa at Toronto. Franklin is out, McLeod Bethel-Thompson is in. New QB, new system, same old Argos. RedBlacks by 10.

Thursday, 20:00 CST: Riders at Eskimos. Collaros is back. Carter is playing on the offense. Close game but no one beats Reilly for forth quarter come backs. Edmonton by 3.

Friday, 17:30 CST: Hamilton at Montreal. Story line game of the week. Hamilton trades Manziel to Montreal and now he starts against Hamilton. Montreal has made a few good moves in the last couple of weeks so we’ll see how it goes. Hamilton though is solid across the board. Hamilton takes it by 5.

Saturday, 19:00 CST: BC at Calgary. As per normal, pick Calgary by 15 until they lose or it’s late October.

Thursday, 17:30 CST: Edmonton at Montreal. No, Manziel won’t start against Edmonton. The Als D did pretty good last week, but the offense just wasn’t clicking. I don’t expect that to change, but I do expect a closer game than many may think. Edmonton by 7.

Friday, 18:30 CST: Toronto at Winnipeg. Toronto really underplayed last week against Winnipeg. Neither the D nor O could stop or do anything. Franklin had better start picking it up or he’ll be on the short-list as the next perennial backup QB. Too much has been invested in him and he’s had a lot of time to grow into the job. Winnipeg by 5.

Saturday, 14:00 CST: Ottawa at Hamilton. Now then, the Manziel controversy has been settled. Thankfully. Massoli has to play better than he did against Saskatchewan…fortunately he’s playing a team that he could do that against. Ottawa is having a hard time gelling this year, one week they play like crap, then last week they eek out a win against BC with a solid 2nd half. Hamilton has to rise up if they’re going to beat Ottawa but, they are at home. Hamilton by 3.

Saturday, 19:00 CST: Calgary at Sask. I want to pick Saskatchewan…I really do. Calgary by 15.

Enjoy the games.

Apologies for missing last week, I went 2/3…which is better than normal so caveat emptor.

Thursday, 17:30 CST – Riders at TiCats. Riders haven’t played well and apparently aren’t practicing well either. Hamilton on the other hand is a team on the rise with a QB trying to set the record for consecutive games with 300yds passing. Pick TiCats by 10…and yes the record will be broken.

Friday, 17:30 CST – BC at Ottawa. Travis Lulay single-handily changed the Lions season last week, on the other side of the field, I’ve never been sold on Harris and his receivers are dropping balls left, right, short and deep. Pick BC by 5.

Saturday, 14:00 CST – Winnipeg at Toronto. Matt Nichols looks pretty good, but so does James Franklin. The difference is Andrew Harris. Blue Bombers by 7.

Saturday, 19:00 CST – Montreal at Calgary. Will Bo Levi Mitchell start? I’m not sure that it matters. Until they lose 2 in a row or it’s late October/November just pick Calgary by 15, it’s easier that way.

Thursday, 19:00 CST: Hamilton at Saskatchewan. Well. The Riders are hardly playing up to the expectations everyone had…again. Hamilton is kicking ass and taking names. Masoli has the opportunity to tie the CFL record for consecutive 300yd passing games, he may. Hamilton by 7.

Friday, 17:30 CST: Ottawa at Montreal. This to me feels like a trap game for Ottawa. If Montreal can improve on their offence from last week they can win. Montreal by 3.

Saturday, 15:30 CST: Edmonton at Toronto. Interesting game. Franklin will be starting and we haven’t seen him but everyone who has worked with him says he’s good. We’ll see. Edmonton by 10 and the Argos slide continues.

Saturday, 18:30 CST: BC at Winnipeg. BC needs to do something to get back on track and beating Winnipeg is exactly what they need, but Winnipeg is playing very strong behind their backupand word is Nichols will play. Can BC do it? Yes, but they have to play much better than they have. Bombers by 5.

Start planning your road trips.

Stampeders vs. The Argonauts.
I’m battling the flu, so I’ll just say I’m cheering for the Argos, but I think Calgary will take it.

Soldiers with guns,
In our cities,
In Canada,
We did not make this up.*

Grey Cup is visiting Canada’s Parliament. In the back of an Armoured Vehicle. Just another day. pic.twitter.com/3yjcArgSMR

— David Common (@davidcommon) November 21, 2017

Saskatchewan at Toronto – Sunday 12pm CST – Labatt is still out, Running backs unchanged for the Riders from last week. This is gonna be a tough game for the Riders. In Toronto’s last game Ricky Ray dissected the BC Lions secondary. The Riders defensive backs are better than BC’s, but not by much. The key to this game for the Riders is eerily similar to last week. Get pressure on Ray, give Glenn time, and stop Wilders…simple, right?
For Toronto they need to continue where they left off. Ricky Ray is a surgeon and he has lots of scalpels; Edwards, Greene, Posey and Wilder out of the backfield. On par with the Riders for receivers and better on the run. The Argos have to execute. The receivers have to get open and the running game has to flourish.
BMO is nearly sold out. Weather is forecast to be 3C, 45 km/hr NW wind, snow/rain. The Riders are 2-0 over Toronto on the season.
Toss up, so I’m going with the Riders.
Edmonton at Calgary – Sunday 3:30 CST – What to say? Edmonton came out heavily on top last week, Reilly played exceptional. But will it be enough to beat the juggernaut that is the best defence in the league? Can CJ Gable run through the Stampeders as he did the Bombers? Will Bo Levi Mitchell be well rested after his break or will his shoulder still be a detraction? As mentioned Calgary has the best defence and defence wins at this time of year.
Calgary has to stop Bowman and Zylstra, they have to contain Gable. Mitchell absolutely has to play his best game.
Weather is forecast to be 7C, 24 km/hr S wind, sunny. Calgary is 2-1 against Edmonton, but Edmonton won the last match.
Calgary by a touchdown, the rest helped Mitchell.

Saskatchewan at Ottawa – 12:00 PM CST – Roosevelt is returning to duty at slot back for the Riders. The RedBlacks are missing Sinopoli which is a huge blow to their offence and the Riders will be missing LaBatte on the line. Ottawa has been using their running backs to great effect the last few weeks and I expect that to continue. In my opinion the key for the Riders will be to protect and give time to Kevin Glenn time to find Owens, Carter, Roosevelt, Bagg and Grant. For the RedBlacks they have to get Powell running that ball. If Ottawa can grind long drives with runs they’ll score more than the Riders, if not the Riders receivers will takeover the game providing the QB can get the ball to them. The Riders secondary showed some weakness last week but Harris is no Reilly. Expected weather is 3C (37F), wind 7 gusting to 11km/h. Pick Riders.
Edmonton at Winnipeg – 3:30 PM CST – The Bombers gave a strong showing last week against Calgary, with both teams playing backups in many positions. The Eskimos were in a grinder with Saskatchewan. Edmonton has Zylstra, Bowman and Reilly, Winnipeg has no stand out receivers with Adams out. Nichols is a great QB but there are questions about his leg. The Bombers have Andrew Harris, one of the best OLines in the league and they have home-field advantage. Expected weather is -5C (23F) wind 11 km/h gusting to 18. This game is a toss-up but I’m going with Winnipeg.

Well, we’re here. The last week of the season and five of the six play-off spots are left to be decided.
Calgary has locked up first in the West. If Winnipeg wins, they are in second. If Edmonton wins they are in second or third depending on the Bomber game and Saskatchewan crosses over to be third in the East. If Saskatchewan wins they are third in the West and Edmonton crosses over.
In the East, if Toronto wins they take first in the East otherwise Ottawa is first.
Friday:
Montreal at Hamilton – The “make your supper” game, background noise. Players playing for film and jobs. Pick Ticats.
Winnipeg at Calgary – Will the Stamps play their starters? Can the Bombers steal one? Pick Bombers. They should want second.
Saturday:
Edmonton at Saskatchewan – Game of the Week. Both teams are finishing strong, both hungry. The crossover game. Who goes, who stays? I’m a firm believer in playing to stay in division. No cross-over team has ever gone all the way and probably won’t. Regina isn’t the easiest place to get a win. Pick Riders.
Toronto at BC – Lions are playing for pride (snicker). Toronto is out of their timezone. Pick Lions.

Friday:
Hamilton @ Ottawa: RedBlacks have to keep pace with Toronto. Hamilton wants to ruin their week. Pick Ottawa.
Montreal @ Saskatchewan: Durant’s return notwithstanding the Riders are rolling. Pick Riders.
Saturday:
BC @ Winnipeg: BC came within 3 minutes and a Reilly rebirth of winning last week. The Bombers lost in a CFL only ending last week. Pick Lions.
Calgary @ Edmonton: Calgary is slumping. Edmonton is fighting. Pick Eskimos.

Down to the last three weeks of the season. [Sad face]
Friday:
Saskatchewan at Calgary…the Carter Papers. If the Riders want to show anything, this is the game. Unfortunately I think they’ll just show that Carter isn’t a DB. Pick Stampeders.
Saturday:
Winnipeg at Toronto. Winnipeg beat a no-holds barred BC last week, Toronto lost to Edmonton. Pick Winnipeg.
Edmonton at BC. Edmonton needs to keep pace with Winnipeg if they want in the Western play-offs. BC is playing spoiler. Pick BC.
Sunday:
Hamilton at Montreal. Meaningless game. Pick Hamilton.

Friday:
Calgary @ Hamilton: The Stamps are looking to clinch first in the West with a win over the TiCats. Pick Stamps.
Ottawa @ Saskatchewan: Mosaic is a tough place for any team. Pick Riders.
Saturday:
BC @ Winnipeg: BC beat Ottawa for three quarters last week at home, they lost. Pick Winnipeg.
Toronto @ Edmonton: Toss-up. The Esks looked shaken by the weather last week for the first half, and the Argos played tough. Pick Edmonton.
All home wins.

Friday: Hamilton @ Winnipeg. Bombers.
Saturday:
Saskatchewan @ Toronto: Toss up. Riders…if they can stop the run.
Ottawa @ BC: Toss up so I’ll pick the home team Lions.
Monday: Edmonton @ Montreal: Edmonton.

Friday:
Saskatchewan @ Ottawa: Riders
Montreal @ Calgary: Calgary
Saturday:
Toronto @ Hamilton: Ticats
Winnipeg @ Edmonton: Eskimos

Friday:
Ottawa at Winnipeg: Ottawa barely beat a troubled Montreal team last week. Bombers.
Hamilton at BC: BC’s defence did a decent job last week, their O was pretty bad. Hamilton did nothing against the first Canadian QB who started and won a game in 30 years or something. Lions.
Saturday:
Montreal at Toronto: The Montreal/Ottawa game last week was bad. Really bad. Pick Argos
Sunday:
Calgary at Saskatchewan: Calgary and Saskatchewan played average last week. Riders are at home and they’ve a bone to pick from earlier in the season. Pick Riders.

Friday, Saskatchewan @ Hamilton: After getting their butts handed to them by Winnipeg last week a more humble Riders go against a suddenly winning team in the TiCats. Riders added Otha Foster and Jeff Knox Jr. back to the roster after they were cut by their NFL teams. Pick Riders.
Saturday:
Edmonton @ Toronto: Can the Eskimos get over their discipline problems to stay focused on the Argonauts? Toronto is well rested after their bye week. This is their chance to show the CFL they are in the running. Pick Toronto.
BC @ Calgary: Jennings showed he was back in form last week after the season ending injury to Lulay. Can their D hold a strong Calgary offence? Probably not. Pick Stampeders.
Sunday, Ottawa @ Montreal: Two weeks ago the TiCats had the week from hell. Now it was the Alouettes turn. The Als let go Head Coach Jacques Chapdelaine and D-Coord Noel Thorpe. Word is the players are not too shook up about it. Still, chaos is chaos. Pick RedBlacks.
Other CFL News: Next year the season will be 21 weeks, including 3 bye weeks per team and they are eliminating full contact padded practices during the season. Pads and contact will still be allowed during rookie and training camps. These are both good decisions in my opinion especially because they worked hand-in-hand with the CFLPA on these decisions. Can you say “limiting liability”?