Perry Lefko

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.

It’s Week 8 in the Canadian Football League and a bye week for the teams in the West.

It’s Week 8 in the Canadian Football League and a bye week for the teams in the West.

The East squares off with some interesting games that have Perry’s Peerless Picks pondering this idea of whether to go with the favourites, as he is prone to do, or to go for the underdogs.

Randall the Handle continues to preach the dogs, and his reason makes total sense. If you pick the longshot and it wins, you look likes a genius. If you pick the favourite, not only does it have to win, but it has to cover. Moreover, if you pick the favourite and it covers, it’s not a big deal.

So I thought about what he said and decided to take a shot on B.C. to beat Saskatchewan, which was the favourite at home by a juicy 8.5 points. Well, the Roughriders covered – and then some. Underdogs won the next two games as Hamilton beat Winnipeg and Toronto defeated Montreal. The only game that Coach Lefko had right was the Stamps covering the nine-point spread over Edmonton.

If you’re betting straight up, it now becomes a situation where it’s easy to bet against B.C. and Edmonton, both of which were 1-6.

But betting against the spread continues to be the way I will go. For an added boost, I called Steve Rapp, who along with Randall and Jorey Middlestadt do a weekly show on sports wagering. I’m going to insist they start using me on their shows to provide my peerless insights.

If only I could decide on the favourite or the underdog.

Thursday

Winnipeg (2-5) at Montreal (5-2)

What are we to make of the Bombers?

Back-to-back losses against Hamilton, their kicking situation is in tatters and rookie head coach Paul LaPolice is dealing weekly with new injuries. We now know that quarterback Buck Pierce is shelved indefinitely with that wonky knee, so the ball goes to Steven Jyles.

He has shown flashes of ability, but now gets to do it with the possibility he may be the top gun for the rest of the season. Jyles can push the ball downfield with Terrence Edwards, second in the league in reception yards, and Adarius Bowman, who is 10th overall.

After that, it drops off noticeably. Losing rookie sensation Terence Jeffers-Harris really cut into the receiving corps’ production. It’s incumbent that the Bombers use Fred Reid. He hasn’t seen as many touches on a per-game average as in his breakout season last year, due to the team having to play catchup. He was injured early in the season and I wonder if he’s 100 per cent. But give him the ball. Jyles has mobility to help in this respect.

Defensively, the Bombers are injured and face the most potent offence in the East. The back end was schooled in the last game trying to play too aggressively. How will they do against the Als’ aerial attack? As for the kicking game, it’s just a mess. Recently-signed Warren Keane is added to the lineup because new addition Louie Sakoda pulled up lame in the last game.

It goes on and on.

The Als return home where they are undefeated having suffered a humbling loss against Toronto. They simply made too many turnovers early on, and though they made a game of it, they couldn’t bridge the early 14-0 deficit. Anthony Calvillo’s injury didn’t appear to bother him too much. While he can air it out, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Als decided to physically challenge the Bombers at the line using running back Avon Cobourne.

Als need to be better on special teams.

Randall has the Als favoured by a whopping 11 points. This could be a time to go for the dog.

prediction Als to cover.

Friday

Hamilton (3-4) at Toronto (5-2)

The Ticats went from four games in seven weeks against Winnipeg to back-to-back games against Toronto. The Cats’ victories have all come against the Bombers, so this will be an interesting challenge. The Cats have a tremendous passing attack, led by quarterback Kevin Glenn.

Right now it’s between he and Calvillo for the top player in the East. Glenn has found great rapport with ex-Argo Arland Bruce, who is leading the league in receiving yards. The Argos’ gave up way too many yards in the air against Montreal, so expect the Cats to challenge it early. Last week running back DeAndre’ Cobb finally got the ball, but mainly because the Cats wanted to run down the clock with the lead. It stands to reason the Cats will continue with the passing game, but might try to get Cobb some early touches. The Cats have some of the best, young defensive ends in the league. They are fast and physical.

This should be an interesting challenge at the line. But the key for the Cats is the linebacking corps. Jamall Johnson leads the league. His third-down stop on Jyles last week was a textbook tackle. The Argos’ ground game was stopped against Montreal, but there’s no reason to think they won’t challenge Hamilton to test its resiliency against Cory Boyd.

With receiver Jeremaine Copeland sidelined indefinitely, it gives other players a chance to step up. Chad Owens had a career game.

The Argos were pumped up big time against Montreal. This will be the first meeting of the season between the southern Ontario rivals, and you know both teams will be stoked.

On paper, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between these two teams.

Randall has the Argos by three.

Prediction: Hamilton and the points.

Record last week: 1-3

Record to date: 11-16-1