Ten weeks ago, you’d never think there would be a desperate race for first in the East by three surging teams. You wouldn’t think Saskatchewan would be suffering a devastating losing streak. You might not expect Calgary to still sit on top of the league. You would definitely not be surprised by a 2-16 Ottawa team.
And yet with all these things now being true, calling the games remains a tough job, one that only the LWOS CFL crew can handle. So see what you think about their CFL predictions for Week 19.
Week 19 CFL Predictions
Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Ottawa Redblacks
Nick’s thoughts: A week after the tragic Ottawa shootings, the Redblacks look to win their first home game at TD Place Stadium since the attacks, after a tough loss last Friday. Their opponents, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, need a win in order to finish first in the division. With nothing to play for in the standings, the Redblacks have been trying different players at different positions, not looking to win but to see what moves they’ll make in the off-season. Danny O’Brien threw the rock five times last week and don’t be surprised if he gets the start over ageing Hank. The Cats should easily walk away with this one, keeping their season alive.
Matthew Bin: Hamilton 22 – Ottawa 16
Nicholas Di Giovanni: Hamilton 33 – Ottawa 9
Steve Gifkins: Hamilton 27 – Ottawa 26
Lance Keiser: Hamilton 21 – Ottawa 18
Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Calgary Stampeders
Lance’s thoughts: If you were a betting man, you could suggest Calgary wouldn’t be playing their starters. Without their starters, you could possibly see the Winnipeg losing skid end, and wouldn’t that be something? Winnipeg would also be likely to play their second stringers as well, to see who wants a job next year; Grigsby didn’t, so who else wants to play elsewhere? Look for Winnipeg to finally break their streak this week.
Matthew Bin: Winnipeg 19 – Calgary 27
Nicholas Di Giovanni: Winnipeg 10 – Calgary 35
Steve Gifkins: Winnipeg 33 – Calgary 20
Lance Keiser: Winnipeg 19 – Calgary 17
B.C. Lions at Edmonton Eskimos
Matt’s thoughts: On one side you’ve got a team who can coast to second place in the West and a home game in the first round of the playoffs. On the other side you’ve got a team struggling to beat decent opponents and readying for a third-place finish in the West, or a crossover matchup in the East. Not long ago people speculated about whether a crossover would actually be an easier path to the Cup, but with three surging teams in the East, B.C. will probably want to maintain their third-place positioning. You can count on B.C. to come into this game fired up and take the win – but don’t expect that to be a preview of the Western semi-final.
Matthew Bin: B.C. 31 – Edmonton 20
Nicholas Di Giovanni: B.C. 21 – Edmonton 25
Steve Gifkins: B.C. 22 – Edmonton 24
Lance Keiser: B.C. 9 – Edmonton 21
Toronto Argonauts at Montreal Alouettes
Steve’s thoughts: What’s old is new again: Montreal is in the driver’s seat in the Eastern division. Their first place record is on the line when they host the Argos on Sunday. The Als are winners of five straight games thanks to a solid defense led by linebackers Chip Cox and Bear Woods, both players in the league’s top 10 in tackles. The Argos come into the game with momentum following their latest win over the Ticats on Saturday. Ricky Ray has been spreading the ball around to all his weapons, completing passes to an average of eight different targets in each of his last six games. The Argos are a dreadful 2-6 on the road this season, and they lost to Montreal just two weeks ago, but this time around things will be different.
Matthew Bin: Toronto 32 – Montreal 24
Nicholas Di Giovanni: Toronto 17 – Montreal 21
Steve Gifkins: Toronto 31 – Montreal 10
Lance Keiser: Toronto 29 – Montreal 24
Week 18 Notes
As the season gets nearer the finish line, the games get tougher to call. Only Nick broke the .500 mark last week, finishing 3-1; the rest of the crew ended up 2-2.
Will they do better next week? And what about you? Don’t forget to add your picks in the comments below.
Matt 2-2 Steve Nick 3-1 Lance 2-2
