Blue Bombers came to life in the 2nd half and took care of the hopeless Elks but looked vulnerable, Argos pushed the TiCats around as expected, the Riders and Lions were in a heated defensive battle but Vernon Adams went down early, and what a game to end the week with the RedBlacks edging the Stamps in OT.
Onto week 9, all picks moneyline:
OTTAWA
Bo Levi has been practising this week and there are talks he may play. Hamilton can't stop anyone on defense right now, they are getting stepped on and just traded away one of their top defenders Ja'Gared Davis to Calgary. Hamilton has won it's previous 8 games against Ottawa but I don't like backing trends, especially stretching years back. Crum is starting to look like more of the real deal, he is very composed and doesn't get rattled as a rookie. Ottawa has a solid defense but are weak in pass coverage, something Hamilton can't exploit. Butler shouldn't have much room to run for the TiCats. Ottawa is going to be at home, have a huge crowd and feed off of them. Ottawa has now been in and won back to back overtime games and is the 1st team in history to do that. Ottawa hasn't won 3 straight games in a row since 2018! Letdown spot for Ottawa perhaps? Friday night Football. Hamilton is hungry for a win. Ottawa in a super close game.
27-24 RedBlacks
TORONTO
The Riders played a solid game against the Lions last week, albeit Vernon Adams going down with an injury early. The Riders played very good defense. If the Riders had Trevor Harris they'd have a good shot at winning this game. Riders should be getting their starting 3 WRs back from injury (Schaffer-Baker, Wieneke and Lenius) which should help Mason Fine a lot. Toronto does look darn near unbeatable. Harris and Ouellette pack such a good 1-2 punch it's hard to beat them with those two picking up a consistent 5+ yards a carry all while bruising and beating up on the defense. I haven't even talked about Chad Kelly who is completely locked in. Then there's Toronto's defense, they have some dogs on that D. If the Riders have any hope in this game they will need to rely on their defense and force turnovers, or Toronto will have to beat themselves. Maybe too much partying/overconfidence. Toronto will slowly chip away with their run game and pull away in the 2nd half. PS: the Riders coach needs to go, he just can't stop making bone-headed decisions. Absolutely terrible again last week.
28-17 Argos
BC
The Lions have the top defense in the league, whereas the Elks can't seem to do anything right. One foot forward, two steps back. A.C. Leonard may not play. Dane Evans is a great backup QB with a solid team and coaching around him. If you had to praise any part of the Elks team, its their defense. The defense has kept them hanging around in some games. The Lions defense relies on pressure from the D line, and their defenders just sit back, allow the short completion and close in on the ball. They are a great tackling and swarming defense. The Elks home curse continues.
27-11 Lions
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