The CFL Playoff Picture: Questions, Answers

So, despite a far from stellar contest in the East–both Hamilton and Winnipeg proving to all and sundry they didn’t deserve post-season berths–the CFL divisional finals are shaping up to be a couple of pretty good contests. However, a number of questions remain before the Grey Cup game is set in Toronto.

Question one: is Toronto as good as they look?

credit: Blue Toro

Toronto dispatched a reasonably mediocre Edmonton squad without exerting themselves too much. A week before, their third-string team and fourth-string quarterback–not sure if any of the Don Bosco Eagles were on the bench–edged Hamilton with a last-minute field goal. Hamilton had everything to play for to salvage a disastrous season. Toronto could have phoned in the game on pay-as-you-go minutes, and yet the Argos won with a severely depleted squad.

But Toronto had a weak record all season; their quarterbacking is aged at the top, and suspect the rest of the way down. Despite some good work by Chad Owens and Chad Kackert, they’re the kind of team that looks good as long as they don’t look terrible. Maybe they’re serious contenders for the Eastern final, or maybe they’re going to be exposed as the second-rate team they’ve been for the majority of the season.

Question two: is Montreal still Montreal?

credit: river city sports blog

Anthony Calvillo isn’t going to be around for more than another season–he’s already past the Warren Moon level of geriatric quarterbacking. The Als don’t have many big names anywhere else on the field. They’ve won the East by being the least worst team, rather than the best team. They could show the old dominance against Toronto, but they could also fold like a Montreal city councillor under oath, but it’s hard to say whether they can withstand a resurgent Argonauts.

Question three: can Calgary win with Kevin Glenn?

You gotta dance with the one what brung ya, as they say. But Calgary kept Drew Tate’s broken arm in secret all week, before announcing Kevin Glenn as the starter just three days before the Western final. Aside from toying with the emotions of journalists who love a good concussion story (Drew Edwards, I’m looking in your direction), it means that the Oh, That Kevin Glenn? Really? who led the Stamps to second in the West is going to be put to the test in the second-biggest game of the year.

But Calgary has a good team all round, and a competent quarterback can make them a strong contender. Glenn was that man all year, and putting Tate in at the eleventh hour did nothing but undermine everyone’s confidence–his, the team’s, the fans. It would be great to see Glenn take the bull by the horns, but it’s far from certain he can, or will.

source: wiki commons

Question four: can the BC Lions be beaten?

Travis Lulay and the BC Lions have consistently proven that they are the class of the league all year long. The defending Grey Cup Championos are deep and strong everywhere on the field, and they don’t have any significant injuries to key players to speak of at this time. They’re on track, and it would appear that all cylinders are firing. The question becomes, is there any team in the league who can expect to beat BC, except in the most extreme of circumstances?  With the West Final being played in BC Place, and the Grey Cup being played in the Rogers Centre, there certainly won’t be any weird weather the team has to contend with, making them that much harder for opponents to stop.

Answers: Yes, no, no, and no.