Let’s start with the Western
Division where the Calgary Stampeders, fresh off a 35-9 thrashing of the B.C.
Lions, will travel a few hundred kilometers north to tangle with their
long-time foe, the Edmonton Eskimos. Both teams finished with a 14-4 record but
the edge and the division went to Edmonton after winning two of the three games
between the two clubs in the regular season.
Fans of the CFL are in for a
treat when these two teams face off in the late afternoon game. And while the
forecast doesn’t call for any snow in Edmonton until Monday, fingers crossed it
comes a bit early and provides an extra element of excitement in the game. But,
weather aside, the Stamps will need strong play from quarter back Bo Levi
Mitchell if they are to return to the Grey Cup for the third time in four
years. The defending champs have the edge in terms of experience, and that
should help them with the hostile Edmonton crowd.
The Eskimos are looking for
their first Grey Cup appearance in ten years, which was the thrilling overtime
victory over the Montreal Alouettes in 2005. They will need their powerful pass rush on
defense to harass Mitchell all day long if they don’t want him to rip their
secondary apart. Edmonton QB Mike Reilly will probably need a few offensive
series to shake off the rust since he hasn’t played in three weeks following
Edmonton’s regular season bye in the final week, and the first round bye for
finishing first in the division.
While it’s tough to pick a
winner either way, it’s more than likely, since the two teams are stronger than
anything the East has to represent them, the winner of the Calgary/Edmonton
game will win the Grey Cup in Winnipeg on November 29th.
Prediction:
Calgary-31, Edmonton-27
As for the Eastern Final, after
an exciting 25-22 last second, field-goal winning game against the Toronto
Argonauts, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will travel to Ottawa to take on the
Redblacks. Unfortunately, this will not be as exciting as the Western final as
Ottawa should roll easily to their first Grey Cup appearance since 1981, when
they were the Ottawa Rough Riders.
The Redblacks defeated Hamilton
two consecutive weeks to finish out the regular season, and the third time won’t
be the charm for the Tiger-Cats. The way QB Henry Burris has been playing, he
should shred the Tiger-Cat defense and without Zach Collaros leading the
offense, Hamilton won’t even be able to keep the game close.
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