We are entering week five of the CFL season, one that’s been filled with confusion and crazy finishes. in this season filled of surprises and shockers, close games and flag upon flags two things remain constant, the Stampeders on top of the ladder and the Riders in the basement. Here are the CFL power rankings for week four.
Week Four CFL Power Rankings
1. Calgary Stampeders
Despite a rocky start in the eyes of their own fans to the season, the Calgary Stampeders are 3-1 after just squeezing out a victory against the Blue Bombers. Even with a weaker receiving corps than last season, Bo Levi Mitchell has been an elite quarterback and Eric Rogers has been able to step in as the number one guy in Calgary. Expect this team to remain on top of the rankings for a while.
2. Edmonton Eskimos
Many thought that the Eskimos would falter in the league after losing Mike Reilly to a leg injury at the start of the season. They were all wrong. Matt Nichols has replaced Reilly perfectly, controlling the attack and stepping over the opposing defences. Still 2-1 after just two wins against the Redblacks, it will be interesting to see where this team goes from here.
3. Toronto Argonauts
Toronto’s Agros had last week to rest up and practice. They absolutely need Chad Owens to step it up after the loss to Calgary in Week 3. Being an offence-first team, the defence should be well rested for the battle with B.C. A win this week would stop the fall down our Power Rankings.
4. B.C. Lions
BC had two decent back-to-back wins against the struggling Roughriders. The team is full of confidence in their abilities. The defence is still lacking consistency but the offensive side is managing to more than make up for it. This week they face a rested Toronto squad but in Vancouver, on Pacific time.
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Cats dropped an egg last week in Montreal in a snoozefest that saw none of the passion and intensity that Hamilton showed after their Grey Cup loss to Calgary. Should Hamilton keep failing to play up to the level of their talk, we will watch as they continue to be a pretender and not a contender.
6. Montreal Alouettes
The larks are impressing with their stingy defence and yet another rookie starter sensation in Rakeem Cato. Losing your starting QB and your back up would surely clip the wings of any team looking to get back into the playoffs. Not these birds; they continue to fly.
7. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The Bombers are a team that is young and a bit immature, but there are some spots that look good. The passing attack is one part of their game that they will need to rely on. But they need to tighten up their run defence before they are ready to step up and be taken seriously.
8. Ottawa Redblacks
The Redblacks are spiraling down the ladder and after starting the season strong with two wins in a row they have lost back-to-back meetings with a team that is starting a second stringer. Should the Redblacks have what it takes to climb out of this downward trend it likely won’t be this week, but we will be able to tell how much heart this squad has against Calgary, or lack thereof.
9. Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Riders remain in the basement this week, another close loss, a league-leading offence with no wins, and grumblings that HC Chamblin needs to go – and if he doesn’t, surely GM Taman will. The Riders will be in tough against Hamilton this week. Will we see another shoot out loss? Or will the D finally show up and realize football has been played for a month now and it’s time to get to work?
That’s it for our collaboration consisting of Nick Di Giovanni, Matthew Crockett and Lance Keiser. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below and let the chirping begin.
