CFL THIS WEEK
PICKS
THURSDAY AT 7:30 P.M. ET Saskatchewan (1-0) at Ottawa (0-0)
Fresh off a home win over the reigning Grey Cup champion Argos, the Riders arrive in Ottawa a confident and mostly healthy bunch. QB Zach Collaros shook off the rust, while guiding a balanced attack that produced 203 yards passing and 111 rushing. DL Charleston Hughes had three sacks to lead a dominating defence. The Redblacks had the week off. They have retooled on defence and because they’re at home and will have an apparently healthy QB Trevor Harris at the helm, they are favoured by a field goal. Saskatchewan by three
FRIDAY AT 7 P.M. ET
Winnipeg (0-1) at Montreal (0-1)
Winnipeg’s defence should be the difference against a Montreal offensive line that couldn’t handle the B.C. rush in Week 1. Als QB Drew Willy still managed to complete 71 per cent of his passes. The Winnipeg front seven sacked Edmonton’s Mike Reilly once, but they’re a solid unit led by middle linebacker Adam Bighill, who recorded seven tackles against the Esks. Winnipeg is favoured by a safety touch, no doubt an allowance made for rookie QB Chris Streveler, who had an up and down debut against Edmonton. Winnipeg by three
FRIDAY AT 10 P.M. ET
Hamilton (0-1) at Edmonton (1-0)
The Eskimos’ defence lost LB Adam Konar, but has been fortified by the return of DB Aaron Grymes, who missed the opener to attend to a personal matter. He’ll make a difference in a secondary that was victimized by Winnipeg’s rookie QB Chris Streveler for three TD passes. Hamilton QB Jeremiah Masoli put up some decent numbers in Calgary, but didn’t manage a TD pass and essentially threw the game away with a fourthquarter interception. Eskimos are favoured by almost a touchdown and should cover. Edmonton by seven
SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. ET Calgary (1-0) at Toronto (0-1)
Both quarterbacks in this 2017 Grey Cup rematch have to be better than they were last week as they fell to the bottom two spots in passing efficiency: Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell at 73.5 and Toronto’s Ricky Ray at 66.6. Given their pedigree, they look like good bets to atone for off days. The Stampeders are bulletproof at home and overcame Mitchell’s 47 per cent completion rate in a win over Hamilton. Stamps by three
Last week:
3-1 straight up
2-2 against the spread