PICKS
THURSDAY – 5:30 P.M.
Calgary (3-0) at Ottawa (2-1)
Coming off a third straight win and then a bye week, the Stampeders are more likely to be rested, not rusty. Coming off a reasonably close victory in Montreal, the Redblacks should be a tad dissatisfied. They should also be working extra hard to get an early jump on the Stamps at home and make sure to secure the ball. Ottawa was guilty of too many turnovers and drops in its earlier loss in Calgary. Through three games, the Stamps had converted turnovers into more points than any other CFL team. William Powell gives the Redblacks an edge if ground games dominate, while a quarterback battle favours Bo Levi Mitchell of the Stamps. Calgary by three
FRIDAY – 7 P.M.
Toronto (1-2) at Edmonton (2-2)
In the second half of the home-and-home series, the Eskimos need to atone for some serious sins committed in Toronto. A fumble, a pick, some drops, some suspect play-calling and a major faux pas on special teams that cost Edmonton a timeout; it all helped the Argos to their first win of the year. James Franklin gives the Argos a dynamic quarterback and he got off to a fine start as a starter. However, his inexperience showed after the Eskimo defence toughened up and got some pressure on him and he was unable to string together first downs. Mike Reilly is a relative master at engineering drives and should take advantage of another crack at that Argos defence. Edmonton by seven
SATURDAY – 8 P.M.
Winnipeg (2-2) at B.C. (1-2) It’s hard to imagine the Lions can fix all the holes in their offence in time to win another battle with a Blue Bombers defence that generated three interceptions and four sacks and limited B.C. to just 19 points in Winnipeg. That gargantuan task starts with what looks like a necessary change at quarterback given Jonathon Jennings’ continued struggles to take control of the attack. If Travis Lulay is healthy enough, he should get the nod ahead of Cody Fajardo, who cleaned up in garbage time last week. Pretty sure that’s not going to make enough of a difference against a reinvigorated Bombers roster.
Winnipeg by seven