CFL THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
Hamilton at Winnipeg 5:30 p.m., TSN
Some coaches feel that no other barometer in football serves as a measure of success or failure than quarterback sacks. One doesn’t have to look further than the 66 takedowns registered against Winnipeg’s Drew Willy last season to understand why he was a harried young quarterback. Given time and space, however, Willy completed 88 per cent of his passes as the Blue Bombers upset the Roughriders 30-26 in Regina. Additions of free-agent O-linemen Stanley Bryant and Dominic Picard appear huge. Let’s see if they can do it again against a Ticat D-line coming off a four-sack performance against the Stamps.
Pick: Tiger-Cats
FRIDAY
Calgary at Montreal 4:30 p.m., TSN
With Jonathan Crompton and Dan LeFevour both lost to shoulder injuries, the Alouettes are turning to Plan B (Brandon Bridge) or Plan C (Rakeem Cato), two rookies, for their relief quarterbacking. Air Canada, as Bridge is known, is that rara avis in professional football — a Canadian who lines up behind centre. The native of Mississauga, Ont., attended the NFL combine in February and could become the first Canadian QB to start a CFL game since Guilio Caravatta of the B.C. Lions in 1996. Matched against the marauding Stampeder defence, whichever rookie draws the assignment will be saddled with a full spectrum of quarterback responsibilities.
Pick: Stampeders
SATURDAY B.C. at Ottawa 3 p.m., TSN
Travis Lulay has been taking the lyrics of Rhymin’ Paul Simon to heart. “You got to learn how to fall before you learn to fly.” Aided by mats and airbags to break his fall, the Lions quarterback has been tutored by head coach Jeff Tedford to absorb a hit without breaking a body part on the way down. “It’s all part of the recovery process,” said Lulay, who injured his surgically repaired right shoulder Sept. 5 against the Redblacks. Whether he can get through all 18 games remains to be seen. For now, Lulay just hopes to last through the first one. Pick: Lions
SUNDAY Toronto at Saskatchewan 12:30 p.m., TSN
With QB Darian Durant’s projected return scheduled for 2016, Kevin Glenn, the man from the Motor City, assumes the driver’s seat for the Roughriders. “I’ve never been given anything in this league,” acknowledges the Detroit-born, Illinois State product. “Nobody has said, ‘Here are the keys to the car, go drive it.’ ”Typically, Glenn gets to start because of another man’s misfortune. Last year, he was the stand-in for Travis Lulay in B.C. Now, Glenn replaces Durant, gone for the year with an Achilles injury. “I’m an insurance policy,” Glenn said. While not the Roughriders’ first choice, he does present a viable second option. Pick: Roughriders