Argos draw two tough opponents

Drew Willy and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will need some selective amnesia Tuesday night.

The Bombers visit Toronto at Rogers Centre for their second game in five nights. But considering they’re coming off a 23-17 loss to Saskatchewan, being forced to quickly purge their memory won’t necessarily be a bad thing.

Saskatchewan forced six turnovers against Winnipeg, including three interceptions, one which Terrell Maze returned for a touchdown. Defensive lineman John Chick had three of the Riders’ five sacks.

Despite the setback, Winnipeg (5-2) remains tied with Edmonton and Calgary for top spot in the West Division.

Willy has played a big role in the Blue Bombers’ resurgence as he leads the CFL in passing with 1,965 yards and twice led the club to lastsecond victories.

Winnipeg is still the league’s top-passing offence with 1,985 yards and its 64.7% completion mark is second only to Toronto (68.5%). However, Bombers quarterbacks have been sacked 23 times (tied with Hamilton for secondworst overall) and offensively the club is ranked dead last in rushing (68.6 yards per game).

Toronto (2-4) is well rested coming off the bye but its injuries continue to mount. Rookie slotback Anthony Coombs, the Argos’ first-round pick in the 2014 CFL draft, was the latest to go down, suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in a 31-5 road win over Montreal on Aug. 1. Coombs had replaced veteran slotback Andre Durie (clavicle) and also joins injured receivers Chad Owens (foot) and Jason Barnes (foot) on the sidelines.

The defence also took a hit against Montreal, with linebacker Nick Williams suffering a season-ending knee injury in that game.

The mounting injuries at receiver again forces Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray to quickly get to know the young replacements. But despite that, Ray has a league-best 68.1% completion average with twice as many touchdown passes (eight) to interceptions (four).

Pick Winnipeg.

EDMONTON AT OTTAWA

Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET The Eskimos (5-1) come off a 33-23 win in Montreal on Fri- day night and boast the CFL’s highest-scoring offence (27.2 points per game), which is certainly bad news for Ottawa (15), whose defence is giving up a league-high 31.5 points per game. Edmonton’s defence is allowing just 17.8 points per game while the expansion Redblacks counter with an offence averaging just 18.5 points per contest. It all doesn’t bode well for the home team.

Pick Edmonton

CALGARY AT HAMILTON Saturday, 3 p.m. ET

After suffering his first loss as a CFL starter Aug 1 (2524 to B.C.), Bo Levi Mitchell bounced back nicely in Calgary’s 38-17 victory over Ottawa on Saturday night. Mitchell had won his first seven career starts, tying a league record. Hamilton was close once again, losing 36-29 on Friday night to B.C. as Dan LeFevour threw for 298 yards while running for 103 and a touchdown. But Hamilton is 0-5 versus West Division competition this year.

Pick Calgary

MONTREAL AT SASKATCHEWAN Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

The offensive issues continue for Montreal and starting quarterback Troy Smith. Granted, the Eskimos’ defence has posed many issues for most opponents this season, but the Riders’ unit isn’t exactly chopped liver, with a CFL-high 26 sacks. What’s more, the Alouettes (1-5) are averaging a league-low 16.3 points per game. This could be a trap game for the Riders, but their front seven has been so dominant this season that it’s hard to Montreal’s offence having a breakout performance.

Pick Saskatchewan

B.C. AT TORONTO Sunday, 7:30 p.m. ET

The good news for Toronto is that both games are at home. The bad news is the second game is against a team whose quarterback (Kevin Glenn) threw for over 407 yards last week. Lions’ running back Andrew Harris leads the CFL in rushing (410 yards) but finished the contest versus the Ticats on the bench with an ice pack taped to his ankle. But if Harris can’t play versus Toronto, shifty Stefan Logan is a capable replacement.

Pick B.C. Last week 3-1 | Overall 13-11