The Bum's 2016 Canadian Football League Picks-Trends-News !

[StarDust Bum]

WEST DIVISION

RK TEAM GP W L T PTS F A HOME AWAY DIV

1 Edmonton 3 2 1 0 4 96 97 1-1-0 1-0-0 2-0-0

2 BC 3 2 1 0 4 62 46 1-1-0 1-0-0 1-0-0

3 Calgary 3 1 1 1 3 80 68 1-0-0 0-1-1 1-1-0

4 Winnipeg 4 1 3 0 2 80 102 0-2-0 1-1-0 0-2-0

5 Saskatchewan 2 0 2 0 0 53 69 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0



EAST DIVISION

RK TEAM GP W L T PTS F A HOME AWAY DIV

1 Ottawa 4 3 0 1 7 129 96 0-0-1 3-0-0 2-0-0

2 Toronto 4 2 2 0 4 95 103 0-2-0 2-0-0 0-2-0

3 Montreal 2 1 1 0 2 35 42 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-1-0

4 Hamilton 3 1 2 0 2 69 76 0-2-0 1-0-0 1-0-0

[StarDust Bum]

7/14 - Thursday's Totals: 1 - 01

June July Totals

WLT PCT UNITS RANK

ATS Picks 5-9-0 35.71% -2450

O/U Picks 7-6-1 53.85% +200

FRIDAY, JULY 15

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

HAM at MTL 07:30 PM

HAM -2.0

U 47.0

[DBURGH]

Thanks for the Friday 2-0

[StarDust Bum]

Your Welcome Dburgh

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CFL Betting Notes - Week 4

Saturday, July 16

British Columbia Lions (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (0-2 SU, 1-1 ATS)
Point-spread: PICK
Total: 50

Game Overview

The Lions fell from the ranks of the undefeated with last week’s loss after posting impressive victories against Calgary as an underdog at home and Hamilton as a road underdog in their first two games. The total has stayed UNDER in all three of their games. BC turned to veteran quarterback Travis Lulay last week for a struggling Jonathan Jennings and he completed 12-of-15 attempts for 156 yards and a score in the losing cause.

A 0-2 start for a team that only won three games last season is not what new head coach Chris Jones was looking for when he left Edmonton to take over the reins at Saskatchewan. The one bright spot has been the play of quarterback Darian Durant, who basically missed the entire 2015 season due to injury. In a losing cause last week against the Eskimos, he threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns while connecting on 27 of his 38 passing attempts.

Betting Trends

The Lions have won four of the last five meetings SU and they hold a 3-1-1 edge ATS. The total has stayed UNDER in three of those five games and it has stayed UNDER in seven of the last eight meetings in Saskatchewan.

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Saturday, July 16

BC Lions @ Saskatchewan

Game 307-308
July 16, 2016 @ 7:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
BC Lions
109.401
Saskatchewan
113.904
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Saskatchewan
by 4 1/2
46
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Saskatchewan
by 2
50
Dunkel Pick:
Saskatchewan
(-2); Under

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CFL
Long Sheet

Saturday, July 16

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BRITISH COLUMBIA (2 - 1) at SASKATCHEWAN (0 - 2) - 7/16/2016, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SASKATCHEWAN is 51-31 ATS (+16.9 Units) in July games since 1996.
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 88-61 ATS (+20.9 Units) as an underdog since 1996.
SASKATCHEWAN is 13-25 ATS (-14.5 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
SASKATCHEWAN is 13-25 ATS (-14.5 Units) in all lined games over the last 3 seasons.
SASKATCHEWAN is 2-9 ATS (-7.9 Units) off a division game over the last 2 seasons.
SASKATCHEWAN is 13-25 ATS (-14.5 Units) in games played on turf over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 3-1 against the spread versus SASKATCHEWAN over the last 3 seasons
BRITISH COLUMBIA is 4-1 straight up against SASKATCHEWAN over the last 3 seasons
3 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CFL
Armadillo's Write-Up

BC Lions (2-1) @ Saskatchewan (0-2)-- Roughriders allowed 34.5 ppg in losing first two games, losing in OT to Edmonton; Saskatchewan lost four of last five games with Lions, who won 26-13/27-24 in last two visits to Regina. BC crushed Riders 46-20 in last meeting LY. Under is 15-4 in last nineteen series games. British Columbia lost at home to Toronto LW, its first loss in three games- they road opener at Toronto 28-3 two weeks ago. Underdogs are 9-1, under is 7-4-1 so far this season.

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CFL

Week 4

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Trend Report
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Saturday, July 16

7:00 PM
BRITISH COLUMBIA vs. SASKATCHEWAN
British Columbia is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Saskatchewan
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of British Columbia's last 5 games
Saskatchewan is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Saskatchewan's last 5 games

[StarDust Bum]

CFL

Saturday, July 16

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Saturday's CFL betting preview and odds: Lions at Roughriders
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Darian Durant and the Roughriders will try to become just the 3rd CFL team to cover the spread at home this season. They're currently 1.5-pt faves.

BC Lions at Saskatchewan Roughriders (-1.5, 49.5)

The BC Lions look to bounce back from their first defeat when they hit the road to take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday. The Lions failed to generate any offence with Jonathon Jennings under centre, and the first-year starter was pulled in favour of Travis Lulay late in the third quarter of the 25-14 loss to the Toronto Argonauts, but BC coach Wally Buono was quick to dispel any notion of a quarterback controversy by confirming Jennings will be the starter on the weekend.

BC has won four of the last five meetings with Saskatchewan, including the last two games in Regina, and hopes to improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2013. The Roughriders are still searching for their first win of the season after falling 39-36 in overtime to the Edmonton Eskimos. Saskatchewan head coach Chris Jones elected to go for it on third-and-inches instead of kicking the game-tying field goal in overtime and the Riders came up short resulting in their 22nd loss of their last 26 regular-season games. "We're going to be aggressive and we're playing to win," Jones told reporters. "We're going to face those situations again and we're not going to change our philosophy."

TV: 7 p.m. TSN

LINE HISTORY: The line opened this game at a Pick'em, but it has seen mostly Roughriders money since then. The line quickly moved to Roughriders -1, then -1.5, before climbing as high as -2, before settling back at the current number of -1.5.

The total meanwhile, has seen much less movement. The line opened at 50 and remained there for most of the week, before coming down a half-point to 49.5 on Thursday. Check out the complete line history here.

ABOUT THE LIONS (2-1, 2-1 ATS, 0-3 O/U): Jennings threw for 132 yards and added a rushing touchdown before making way for Lulay, who completed 12-of-15 passes for 156 yards and a score against Toronto. "We're not going to put Jonathon in a situation where the pressure is all on him," Buono told reporters. "If you have a guy like Travis around then why not utilize him?" Running back Anthony Allen accounted for 139 total yards and caught a touchdown pass deputizing for an injured Jeremiah Johnson and he hopes to get the call once more against his former team.

ABOUT THE ROUGHRIDERS (0-2, 1-1 ATS, 1-1 O/U): Darian Durant threw for 317 yards and four touchdowns in the loss to Edmonton to become the 17th quarterback in CFL history to pass for over 25,000 yards. Ricky Collins had the best game of his young CFL career as he caught six passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Eskimos. Quarterback Jake Waters was acquired in a trade with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Bryant Moniz, who fumbled in back-to-back games, was released to make room for the former Kansas State star.

TRENDS:

* Lions are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.
* Roughriders are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games following a ATS win.
* Under is 6-0 in Lions last six games overall.
* Over is 4-0 in Roughriders last four versus Western Division opponents.
* Under is 7-1 in the last eight meetings in Saskatchewan.

CONSENSUS: The public is giving a slight edge to the home team in this matchup, with 53 percent of wagers on the Roughriders. As for the total, bettors are split down the middle with 50 percent of wagers on the Over and 50 percent on the Under.

EXTRA POINTS:

* Saskatchewan has given up at least 30 points in each of its last seven losses.
* BC led the CFL with 328 rushing yards through the first three weeks.
* Durant has passed for 627 yards and five touchdowns in his first two games of 2016.

[StarDust Bum]

PREVIEW

DURANT, RIDERS EYE FIRST VICTORY OF 2016 VS. LIONS

SASKATCHEWAN — When the Saskatchewan Roughriders head back home to Mosaic Stadium on Saturday night to take on the BC Lions, they’ll be searching for their first victory of the season and under new bench boss Chris Jones.

But don’t let their winless record fool you.

Even though the Riders have lost their first two games of the season, they came from behind to take the defending Grey Cup Champion Edmonton Eskimos to overtime last week – giving Saskatchewan fans a good look at what’s to come in Riderville.

Quarterback Darian Durant and his receivers were on display in the loss, with Durant completing 27-of-38 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns finding Rob Bagg, John Chiles, Shamawd Chambers and Ricky Collins all in the end zone.

With confidence and chemistry brewing, the Riders are looking forward to seeing what they can do for the rest of the season.

“Everybody’s beginning to trust it and they’re seeing the results,” Chiles told Riderville.com. “One week it was Ricky (Collins), the next week it was me, the next week it’s (Naaman Roosevelt). Everybody is getting their touches so I’m excited to see it moving forward.”

Collins, in his first year in the CFL, hit the 100-yard mark in just his second game with a team-high six receptions for 115 yards and a touchdown last week. He had four catches for 82 yards in the first half alone before making two for 33 yards in the final 30 minutes. Roosevelt led all CFL receivers in Week 2 with 15 targets and nine receptions and caught all five passes thrown his way against Edmonton.

When Durant, Collins and Roosevelt hit the turf on Saturday, they’ll be toe-to-toe with the league’s best defence. The Lions defence is ranked first in the CFL through Week 3 allowing just 299 yards per game, the only CFL club under the 300-yard mark. BC has also allowed just 46 total points, a league-low 15.3 points per game, in their first three match-ups.

The Lions will have a good chance of keeping the Roughriders offence off the field and on the side lines if they disrupt the quarterback, something that they’ve had no trouble with earlier this season collecting nine sacks, but struggled with against the Argos last week.

“You have to take his throwing lanes away,” BC head coach told BCLions.com. “You can’t give him big plays. When you look at last week’s loss, we gave up some big plays. At times Ricky Ray found the soft spot in the defence and ran on it. Darian’s no different, he’s a veteran player. If you make mistakes he’s going to take advantage of it.”

After starting the season on a high, beating two of last year’s top teams in Calgary and Hamilton, the Lions suffered their first loss in Week 3, falling 25-14 to Toronto.

The tilt against the Argos started out rough for the Lions, who scored just six points in the first three quarters leading to Buono substituting Travis Lulay for Jonathan Jennings late in the third to try and spark the offence. Lulay connected on 12-of-15 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown in relief. His 80% completion mark was the second-highest of his career topped only by a 30-of-37 effort in July of 2012.

With running back Jeremiah Johnson’s injury still lingering, Anthony Allen slotted in last week and rushed 107 yards on 16 carries, adding to the Lions 328 total rushing yards on the season. Allen will look to keep the ground game rolling for BC against Saskatchewan.

“The running back group has been tremendous, whether it’s been Johnson or Anthony in there,” Rolly Lumbala told BCLions.com. “I know Anthony has been very much looking forward to getting some playing time and he was very excited. I knew the moment he was going to get his opportunity he was going to play very hard and make some plays like this.”

With the Riderville faithful showing their pride loud and proud, Mosaic Stadium can be a difficult place for the opponent to play, but having the challenge of dealing the noise isn’t the only challenge on the Lions’ minds.

“It’s always a challenge, first of all, going to Saskatchewan with the environment but it’s also going to be a challenge for ourselves,” said Lumbala. “We have a lot to prove to ourselves and that’s what we like to focus on first. We still have that bitter taste from the last home game that we lost and we just want to bounce back and get this win.”

Jennings will hope to lead his Lions back into the win column and the Riders will search for their first win of the Jones era.

Kickoff is at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be seen live on TSN or followed online via CFL.ca GameTracker.

[StarDust Bum]

WEST DIVISION

RK TEAM GP W L T PTS F A HOME AWAY DIV

1 Edmonton 3 2 1 0 4 96 97 1-1-0 1-0-0 2-0-0

2 BC 3 2 1 0 4 62 46 1-1-0 1-0-0 1-0-0

3 Calgary 3 1 1 1 3 80 68 1-0-0 0-1-1 1-1-0

4 Winnipeg 4 1 3 0 2 80 102 0-2-0 1-1-0 0-2-0

5 Saskatchewan 2 0 2 0 0 53 69 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-1-0


EAST DIVISION

RK TEAM GP W L T PTS F A HOME AWAY DIV

1 Ottawa 4 3 0 1 7 129 96 0-0-1 3-0-0 2-0-0

2 Hamilton 4 2 2 0 4 100 83 0-2-0 2-0-0 2-0-0

3 Toronto 4 2 2 0 4 95 103 0-2-0 2-0-0 0-2-0

4 Montreal 3 1 2 0 2 42 73 0-2-0 1-0-0 0-2-0

[StarDust Bum]

7/15 - Friday's Totals: 2 - 0

June July Totals

WLT PCT UNITS RANK

ATS Picks 6-9-0 40.00% -1950

O/U Picks 8-6-1 57.14% +700



SATURDAY, JULY 16

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

BC at SSK 07:00 PM

BC +1.5

O 50.0

[StarDust Bum]

7/16 - Saturday's Totals: 2 - 0

June July Totals

WLT PCT UNITS RANK

ATS Picks 7-9-0 43.75% -1450

O/U Picks 9-6-1 60.00% +1200

[StarDust Bum]

CFL Betting Notes - Week 5
July 18, 2016


Last week’s schedule in the CFL featured four head-to-head division matchups and the road team made it a clean sweep both straight-up and against the spread. Ottawa got things started with a 30-20 victory as a one-point road favorite against Toronto on Wednesday night. Thursday’s lone showdown between Edmonton and Winnipeg ended with the Eskimos grinding out a hard fought 20-16 victory as 3 ½-point favorites on the road.

On Friday night, Hamilton returned to form with a 31-7 pasting of Montreal as a one-point road favorite and British Columbia closed out Week 4 with a 40-27 romp over Saskatchewan on Saturday after closing as a slight 1 ½-point underdog. Here is a look at this week’s games.

Thursday, July 21

Calgary Stampeders (1-1-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-3 SU, 1-3 ATS)
Point-spread: Calgary -5
Total: 50 ½

Game Overview

Coming off a bye week, the Stampeders will turn to quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell to once again move the offense up and down the field through the air. In a rare 26-26 tie with Ottawa in Week 3, he put the ball up 43 times and racked up 368 yards and two touchdowns on 29 completions. He was able to connect with seven different receivers including Joe West, who had six catches for 99 yards to lead the way.

The Blue Bombers put up a hard fight against Edmonton last week after stunning Hamilton as heavy nine-point road underdogs the week before. While they still only have one win to show for their efforts both straight-up and against the spread, the play of quarterback Drew Willy still gives fans hope they can turn things around. He is second in the CFL in total passing yards (1,239) and he has five touchdown throws on the year.

Betting Trends

Calgary has won five of the last six meetings SU, but the Blue Bombers has the slight edge ATS at 3-2-1. The total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in seven of the last nine meetings in Winnipeg.

Friday, July 22

Ottawa RedBlacks (3-0-1 SU, 3-1 ATS) vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (0-3 SU, 1-2 ATS)
Point-spread: Ottawa -6 ½
Total: 55

Game Overview

Ottawa is starting to assert itself as once again being the team to beat in the East this season after winning the division last year. The RedBlacks have averaged 32.3 points a game so far with Trevor Harris running the show. In last week’s road victory at Toronto, he completed 28-of-31 passing attempts for 392 yards. Ottawa has also been a tough team to score on this year with a points-allowed average of 22.5.

After winning just three games last season with quarterback Darian Durant out of the lineup, the Roughriders could be faced with the same scenario early this year after he left last week’s game against BC in the first half with an ankle injury. The early injury report out of Saskatchewan has him listed as doubtful for Friday’s game. Mitchell Gale came in for Durant against the Lions and threw for 247 yards and a touchdown while going 17-for-30.

Betting Trends

These two interdivision foes have split the last four meetings SU with each team winning once at home and once on the road. Ottawa has the 3-1 advantage ATS and the total has gone OVER in three of the four games.

Saturday, July 23

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-2 SU, 2-2 ATS) vs. Edmonton Eskimos (2-1 SU, 0-2-1 ATS)
Point-spread: Edmonton -4
Total: 56

Game Overview

The Tiger-Cats will be looking to stay perfect on the road this season both SU and ATS. In two road wins this season, they have outscored both Toronto and Montreal by a combined 46 points while posting a total of 73 points on the scoreboard. In two stunning losses at home as favorites, they managed to score a combined 27 points. Jeremiah Masoli continues to run the offense with quarterback Zach Collaros still on the mend and he is ranked fourth in the league in total passing yards with 1,141.

Edmonton has had little trouble putting points on the board this season with Mike Reilly under center with an average of 32 points over its first three games. The problem in the Eskimos’ 2-1 start has been a defense that has given up an average of 32.3 points to its opponents. Edmonton has failed to cover ATS in five of their last seven home games and it has gone 1-4 ATS in its last five games in Week 5.

Betting Trends

The road team is 4-2 SU in the last six meetings and it has covered ATS in all six games. The total has stayed UNDER in four of those six matchups.

Monday, July 25

Montreal Alouettes (1-2 SU, 1-2 ATS) vs. Toronto Argonauts (2-2 SU, 2-2 ATS)
Point-spread: Toronto -3 ½
Total: 47

Game Overview

Alouettes have only managed to score a grand total of 42 points in their first three games. They turned to Rakeem Cato at quarterback in last week’s loss to Hamilton for Kevin Glenn, but he was rather ineffective with just 203 yards passing on 18 completions. Glenn is still listed as questionable for next Monday’s game with an eye injury. Montreal has been averaging 80 yards a game on the ground.

Toronto is now 0-2 (SU and ATS) at its new digs at BMO Field with a total of 20 points scored in each of the two losses. Defensively, the Argonauts allowed a total of 72 points in those two games. Overall, this offense is averaging 23.8 points over its first four games, but it is only generating 309.8 total yards including just 52.5 yards a game on the ground. Ricky Ray has thrown for 1000 yards and six touchdowns so far.

Betting Trends

This East Division clash has been dominated by the road team the past several seasons with a SU 9-1 run in the last 10 meetings. Montreal has covered ATS in four of the last six games and the total has stayed UNDER in all six contests.

[StarDust Bum]

CFL Betting Recap - Week 4
July 17, 2016

League Betting Notes

-- Favorites went 3-1 SU in Week 4
-- Favorites went 2-1-1 ATS in Week 4
-- Road teams posted a 4-0 SU record in Week 4
-- Road teams posted a 3-0-1 ATS record in Week 4
-- The 'Under' went 3-1 in Week 4


Team Betting Notes

-- Ottawa (3-0-1) got back into the win column after last weekend's tie, rolling to a 30-20 win in Toronto (2-2). The RedBlacks are now 2-4 SU in six all-time meetings with the Argonauts while evening up at 3-3 ATS. The 'under' result was the first in four games in this series dating back to Nov. 7, 2014.

-- The 'under' has connected in three straight games for the Argos. Over the past two games it was due to their defense, allowing just 15.5 points per game. However, in this one it was a lack of offense on their part.

-- The good times continue to roll for road teams, as Edmonton (2-1) went east to Winnipeg (1-3) and dropped the Blue Bombers by a 20-16 count, pushing against the number at most shops. It was the first 'under' result in three games for the Eskimos, and the push makes them 0-2-1 ATS this season.

-- After failing to cover their first two of the season, Winnipeg is 1-0-1 ATS over the past two games. The 'under' has cashed in three of the first four games for the Bombers, mainly due to a lack of fireworks on offense. Winnipeg is averaging just 20.0 PPG while allowing 24 or fewer points in three of their four contests.

-- Hamilton (2-2) got well with a 31-7 road win against Montreal (1-3). The Tiger-Cats have averaged just 13.5 points per game after posting 42 in the opener, and they have allowed 28.0 PPG in the past two with the 'under' cashing in each game. After going 5-4 SU and 6-3 ATS in nine road games last season the Ti-Cats are 2-0 SU/ATS away from home this year.

-- The rough start continues for Saskatchewan (0-3), as they were dumped 40-27 at home by the red-hot BC Lions (3-1). The 'over' result was the only one of the CFL weekend, and it was the first 'over' in four games for the Travis Lulay and the Lions.

[StarDust Bum]

PREVIEW

BOMBERS LOOK TO STYMIE STAMPS’ OFFENCE IN ROUND TWO

WINNIPEG — The last time the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders met, a Canada Day showdown in Cowtown, the Stamps emerged as clear winners while the Bombers were faced with tough questions.

Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw for more than 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the Stamps collectively ran for more than 200 yards and Winnipeg gave up 30 unanswered points en route to a 36-22 defeat that was never in doubt beyond the second quarter.

Fast forward to Week 5 and questions surround both teams.

The Stamps (1-1-1) are rolling into Investors Group Field on the back of a bye week. It’s been 13 days since Calgary tied the REDBLACKS in Ottawa, and Head Coach Dave Dickenson’s team is somewhat banged up entering Thursday’s showdown in Winnipeg.

Notables on the Calgary injury list are receiver Joe West (foot) and linebacker Taylor Reed (ankle). Though the absences of both will be felt, the Stamps will be boosted by the return of starting centre Pierre Lavertu — a major boost in the eyes of Coach Dickenson.

“Communication in our offence is so vital, and we know we’re going to be in a hostile environment,” Dickenson told Stampeders.com earlier this week. “We got our centre back, (so) we should have better communication and a better process within the huddle — those guys have played a lot together.”

The injury bug has opened up an opportunity for slotback Greg Wilson, a Fordham alumnus who began the year on the Stamps practice roster.

“Joe (West)’s been one of our best receivers, he’s a lot to handle and Winnipeg struggled with him, so we’re going to need production out of that position,” said Dickenson. “Greg (Wilson)’s produced for us in the past, so we feel like we have good depth there.”

Mitchell, the Stamps’ veteran pivot, was clinical against Winnipeg on Canada Day, and with the Bombers’ league-worst defence surrendering an average of 451 yards, there’s a very real possibility he could best his performance from July 1 on Thursday.

Calgary’s offensive spotlight will largely be directed at hulking, 263-pound Jerome Messam. The national running back terrorized the Bombers in Week 2, and with Winnipeg’s defence giving up a league-worst 5.5 yards-per-carry, should be expected to rumble his way up the middle often.

In other Stamps news, fullback Rob Cote will play in his 150th career game on Thursday night. The Calgary native has racked up more than 1,000 receiving yards during a ten-year career spent entirely with his hometown team.

On the Blue Bombers side of the equation, the wounds from Week 2’s defeat are still evidently fresh, only aided by Winnipeg’s disappointing 1-3 start.

“That was very embarrassing for our defence,” Winnipeg defensive lineman Euclid Cummings told BlueBombers.com. “We don’t want anybody running the ball down our throats; we’re doing everything we can right now to make sure that doesn’t happen again, and we’re going to come out there with the fire blazing.”

The main concern for the Bombers out of last week’s 20-16 loss to the visiting Edmonton Eskimos was an impotent offence. Winnipeg generated just 347 total yards, quarterback Drew Willy was 25-of-38 for one touchdown and two interceptions and feature back Andrew Harris was limited to just 22 yards on nine touches, though he did pick up 88 yards receiving.

“You’ve got to create some first downs on first down, and we didn’t do a real good job,” Bombers offensive coordinator Paul LaPolice said. “Edmonton did a good job with their front four, (but) we need to be more consistent on first down to get more plays and more opportunities.”

Admittedly the Bombers have plenty of issues on the offensive side of the ball, chief among them an inability to break big plays.

“We have to execute, that’s a statement nobody wants to hear but certainly we’d like to create explosive plays,” said LaPolice. “Facing a Calgary team that keep everybody deep, you have to make your plays underneath.”

Chief amongst Winnipeg’s keys will be engaging Andrew Harris on the ground. The Bombers’ hometown running back has been more of a threat in the air than on the ground, where he has averaged just 3.8 yards-per-carry and is yet to find the end zone this season.

With Ryan Smith (lower body) placed on the six-game injured list Wednesday, Thomas Mayo will slide in at slotback for Winnipeg.

By the Numbers

0 — Number of losses Calgary has suffered in four trips to Investors Group Field.
13-0 — The Stamps are seeking their fourteenth-straight win coming off a bye week.
13 — The Bombers have given up 13 sacks in their first four games, second-most in the league.
86.4 — Career kicking percentage of Winnipeg’s Justin Medlock, best all-time in the CFL.

The Skinny

It sounds silly to say in Week 5, but it is do-or-die time for Winnipeg as the Bombers will try to exorcise multiple demons on Thursday night.

Head coach Mike O’Shea is 1-5 against Calgary, Winnipeg is yet to beat the Stamps at home since Investors Group Field opened in 2013 and the Stamps have won 15 of 18 games between the two teams since 2008.

Despite the historic and 2016 statistical edges enjoyed by Calgary in the matchup, don’t be surprised if Winnipeg gives its visitors all they can handle.

The onus is, after all, on the Bombers to put in their best effort of the season in front of the home crowd as they try to claim their stake in the heat of a busy West Division race.

Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET and can be seen live on TSN or followed online via CFL.ca GameTracker.

[StarDust Bum]

CFL.CA GAME NOTES: A LOOK AT WEEK 5

TORONTO — When, if at all, will the tables turn for the home teams this season?

It’s a question among many to keep in mind heading into Week 5 of play in the CFL, as the 2016 season is headed towards uncharted waters when it comes to visiting team success. So far the visitors are 12-3-1 this season as only Calgary, BC and Edmonton have mounted home wins.

The Bombers, Riders, Eskimos and Argos will look to change that this weekend, with four games taking place Thursday through Monday.

You can bet the urgency will be turned up a notch for Thursday Night Football in Winnipeg, where the Bombers and Stampeders each eye their second win of the season in a game that will help set the pace out of the gate in what’s been a wild, wild CFL West Division as promised.

Mitchell Gale will make his professional debut as a starting quarterback on Friday night as he steps in for the injured Darian Durant, and what a first opponent he’ll go up against — Trevor Harris, Chris Williams and the seemingly-unstoppable Ottawa REDBLACKS.

The action continues on Saturday in the City of Champions, Edmonton, as Mike Reilly looks to continue his record-breaking pace against Jeremiah Masoli and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. With the Ticats heading into a bye and Zach Collaros getting closer and closer, this could be Masoli’s last chance to start before turning over the reins.

Finally, after an off-day on Sunday, Week 5 resumes with a rare Monday night game as the Alouettes and Argos clash at BMO Field. The Argos are 0-2 at BMO this season and own the CFL’s lowest-ranked offence but will look to get things back on track against Kevin Glenn, who’s back at quarterback for the Als in time for a pivotal all-East duel.

Everything you need and more is all right here, as the CFL.ca Game Notes get you primed for what promises to be an exciting Week 5.

CFL-WIDE TRENDS

Road warriors: This season has seen visiting clubs dominate like no other year in Canadian Football history. Looking back over the last 70 years to the 1946 season, no other year has seen home teams win so few times across the first 16 games of any season. In Week 4, all four road clubs won – the first road sweep since Week 6 in 2014.

Road warriors 2.0: Of note, three of the four road winners all trailed at the end of the fourth quarter, including BC, Ottawa and Edmonton. Prior to Week 4, only BC in Week 1 among all teams had trailed after 45:00 and come back to win. The Stampeders, Lions and 3 Eskimos are the only teams with home victories thus far.

Third-and-short success: In 2016, CFL clubs have converted 37-of-47 attempts on third down gambles of two yards or less. Edmonton and Ottawa have yet to fail at 7-for-7 and 3-for-3 respectively, while Calgary has been an excellent 9-of-10. Saskatchewan trails the CFL at just 2-of-6 so far. NOTE: This statistic includes plays where first down was achieved by an opponent offside call, or failure came about because of an offensive penalty such as Procedure.

20-point Quarter(s): The game between Saskatchewan and BC last week featured a CFL rarity in that each club recorded a quarter with 20-plus points. It was Saskatchewan’s first 20-plus point quarter since getting 26 in the second Quarter on Sept. 7, 2014 at Winnipeg. It was the first time in almost six years since Oct. 11, 2010 (Winnipeg 47, BC 35) where both teams did it in the same game.

WEEK 5 GAME NOTES

Strong off the bye: The Stampeders have had the most success in the CFL coming off the bye since 2002, currently owning a 13-game win streak and an average margin of victory of 15.3 points per game over that stretch. Their last loss when coming off a bye was on July 1, 2005. Among the 13 straight wins have been seven in which they have played away from home after the bye as they will be doing this week at Investors Group Field.

Harris getting touches: Through four games, Harris has more touches than any other CFL player with 43 rushing attempts and 26 receptions. His 4.1 yard average rush is the lowest of his CFL career and he has only three runs of 10-plus yards to date.

Paredes and Medlock: The Calgary and Winnipeg kickers rank first and second in the CFL’s all-time FG% leaders heading into this week’s game (Medlock: 86.4 per cent & Paredes 84.75) per cent. In 2016, however, they are each at just 8-of-12 for a 67 per cent success rate. For Medlock, all four of his misses have been from 47-plus yards and he is 7-of-7 from 46 yards and closer. Paredes is 2-of-4 from 40 or more yards and has missed in the 30-39 yard range twice.

Historical comeback: The REDBLACKS were forced to kick on their first three drives last week but rallied to score on four of their next six possessions to overcome a 13-point Argos lead. It was the largest comeback victory in the 40-game history of the Ottawa REDBLACKS (previous high comeback win: From 11 points down on July 24, 2015 vs Calgary).

League-leading offence: This year the REDBLACKS lead the CFL at 503.8 yards of net offence per game.
They are first club since 1991 to threaten the 1956 Montreal Alouettes’ record mark of 532.6 yards per game. The last CFL club to exceed the 500-yard per game over a whole season was BC in 1991 at 506.5 per game. Only three teams have ever averaged over 500 net yards per game, the other being Montreal in 1955 (518.8 per game).

SSK’s best rankings: The areas where Saskatchewan has been the strongest thus far are in the passing game, third overall at 326 yards per game, and having allowed just four QB Sacks in three games (tied for first in the CFL). They have controlled the ball for 31:54 per game (second), and have yet to throw an interception.

[StarDust Bum]

WEST DIVISION

RK TEAM GP W L T PTS F A HOME AWAY DIV

1 BC 4 3 1 0 6 102 73 1-1-0 2-0-0 2-0-0

2 Edmonton 3 2 1 0 4 96 97 1-1-0 1-0-0 2-0-0

3 Calgary 3 1 1 1 3 80 68 1-0-0 0-1-1 1-1-0

4 Winnipeg 4 1 3 0 2 80 102 0-2-0 1-1-0 0-2-0

5 Saskatchewan 3 0 3 0 0 80 109 0-2-0 0-1-0 0-2-0

EAST DIVISION

RK TEAM GP W L T PTS F A HOME AWAY DIV

1 Ottawa 4 3 0 1 7 129 96 0-0-1 3-0-0 2-0-0

2 Hamilton 4 2 2 0 4 100 83 0-2-0 2-0-0 2-0-0

3 Toronto 4 2 2 0 4 95 103 0-2-0 2-0-0 0-2-0

4 Montreal 3 1 2 0 2 42 73 0-2-0 1-0-0 0-2-0


y - Clinched Division

x - Clinched Playoff Berth