Well the dust has settled after a great weekend of three down football. We witnessed two incredible finishes, and a game that showcased the power rankings leader and why they have been at the top all year long. Montreal also has been slowly turning things around and has found a way to finally come through with a win. So without further small talk, here are the LWOS panel’s power ranking’s.
1. Calgary Stampeders
Any doubt about the Stamps being the premier CFL team so far in 2014 was erased on Labour day. A convincing win against their provincial rival Edmonton Eskimos has them atop the power rankings once again. There are no significant weaknesses across the roster and now with RB Jon Cornish and WR Maurice Price back from injuries the Stamps are even more explosive. Edmonton will look for revenge this Saturday, but will need to play almost perfect football to beat the Stamps.
2. Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Roughriders have used a dominant offensive line and running game to win their past six straight games. A prime example was Sunday at home to Winnipeg. The run-first Riders scored three touchdowns on the ground, using three different running backs to get the job done. Weston Dressler had a quiet return to the Riders, catching just three balls for 27 yards. His presence alone should be a huge boost for quarterback Darian Durant and the pass offense who have struggled through the air for most of the season. Six wins in a row and the pass offense hasn’t even clicked yet. Things are looking good in Riderville.
3. Edmonton Eskimos
The Esks showed signs of power heading into their Labour Day match up against their Albertan foe, the Calgary Stampeders. With QB Mike Reilly on the sidelines due to a hand injury, Matt Nicholas went 17/26 for 196 yards but failed to throw a TD. The Eskies will need Mr. Reilly behind center if they want to continue growing into a team contending for the Grey Cup in the tough West.
4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Oh, Winnipeg. Looks like you haven’t missed your form that much from last year, eh? They’ve dropped three of their last four, including this past week’s 35-30 loss to Saskatchewan – with their only win coming against Montreal. They were considered one of the more powerful teams in the league at the start of the season, but now the former Eastern team is looking like a, Eastern teams. We’ll keep them near the top of the list for now, though.
5. B.C. Lions
Coming off a bye week, the Lions look to get back into the win column after the guaranteed win that promised inevitable doom to the Lions. The Leos can take their wounded pride to Ottawa; that’s where most teams go to get back on track, pad their stats and get a little bit of lost arrogance and confidence back. After all this is what the Lion’s need to propel themselves into the thick of it in the West.
6. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Ticats had arguably the best holiday weekend a team and its fan’s could have wished for. The new stadium looked great and it was nice to finally see a Hamilton home game in a CFL-sized stadium. Not only that, the fans were treated to win, a dominating defensive effort combined with points at key times. And how about ESPN’s Chris Berman taking the mic from the CFL on TSN guys and making a couple of play by play calls? A big win against the east division leaders puts Hamilton here in the 6 spot and poised to rise.
7. Toronto Argonauts
The Argos are on the decline, their time atop the East threatening to end very soon. Between horrendous fumbles and dropped passes, the team never looked like winning in Hamilton. Even if Ricky Ray is as good as people seem to think, this team is in trouble.
8. Montreal Alouettes
The birds are slowly but slowly putting some offence on the field. With the Troy Smith era behind them, and a serviceable pivot in Jonathan Crompton, they might yet win some games. There is hope for the Alouettes at last.
9. Ottawa Redblacks
They had a chance to redeem themselves against Montreal last week, and couldn’t get the job done. If Ottawa gets all of its talent working together – and they do have some talent – they might get a few more wins. But until they can put a few more wins up, Ottawa takes over the last spot in the power rankings.
That’s it for our collaborative power rankings this week, our CFL panel consists of Matt Bin (@lastwordonCFL) Nick Di Giovanni (@lwosnick) Steve Gifkins (@lwossteve) Lance Keiser (@lwoslance). Thank you for reading! Leave a comment below to contribute to the conversation.
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