The Peerless One explains what went wrong last week and tries to rebound in Week 16.
The Peerless One is beside himself.
He simply cannot believe what is happening.
He picks the Argos over Saskatchewan because of the points and one of his critics writes that he is off his rocker thinking the Argos are going to beat the Green Beans.
Fortunately, somebody replied that the Peerless One wasn't picking the Riders to win, only suggesting that he didn't think the Riders could cover the spread, which was 12 points.
The Argos beat the Riders in what could only be described as a major upset. The Peerless One will take it.
Peerless picked the Eskimos and the points against Hamilton. Wrong. Really wrong.
The Stamps and the points over Montreal. Wrong. Really wrong.
The Lions and the points over Winnipeg. Wrong.
It was the last game which really hurt. The Lions looked like they were home and cooled out with a 29-11 lead heading into the final quarter.
And then they blew it with some dumb penalties that gave the Bombers and its crowd some life.
Peerless did a hissy fit somewhat similar to Lions quarterback Casey Printers; although he is sure that he was not the only one. Of all the losses this year, that was the most painful.
Now it should be known that my handicapping professor, Randall the Handle, mentioned in passing last week that he thought the favourites would cover. He's drilled it into my head so much that it's wiser to take the underdogs that I took all of them last week and it resulted in a 1-3 record.
I'm not saying Randall was wrong, but he clearly has me baffled. Maybe I borrow a move from the late great Jim (Shaky) Hunt and have my dog do the selections. Then again Shaky once claimed to have had a conversation with a horse.
So sorry, Angel, you won't be given the chance to do the selections this week. But maybe the spirit of Shaky will be with me.
So, for the latest version of Perry's Peerless Predictions, we offer this sage advice: When all else fails, flip a coin or go to the Ouija board.
Friday:
Hamilton (7-7) at Toronto (7-7)
This game is getting major hype in southern Ontario because both teams are almost certainly headed for the playoffs and the winner of this jumps into second in the East. Hamilton has already clinched the series by beating the Argos in its first two meetings. The Argos put a serious licking on Saskatchewan on Saturday, and now have to play six days later.
It's unlikely the Boatmen will do anything drastically different for this game. Let's face it; you give the ball to running back Cory Boyd. There's nothing clever about that.Problem is the Ticats have stopped Boyd in the previous two encounters.
This has to be a game in which the Argos get some type of passing game going with Cleo Lemon. This has to be a game in which he steps up and has his best game of the season. It's that simple. The Ticats' back end finally came together in the last game after some rough outings, but the Argos still need to take some shots. Jermaine Copeland is the Argos' top receiver, but more needs to come from the others. The Argo defence has to get to Ticat pivot Kevin Glenn. I'm sure the Ticats will try to pass the ball and get Arland Bruce more involved. It worked last week. The Ticats can run the ball, but Glenn needs to pass the ball more to get into a rhythm. Both teams have capable special teams.
A point to remember: The Ticats beat the Argos in back-to-back games this year, the first coming off Toronto's huge victory over Montreal. They were ripe for a letdown against Hamilton then and it might be the case again.
The Handle has the Ticats favoured by one.
Prediction: Hamilton and the point
Saturday
Edmonton (4-10) at B.C. (5-9)
Eskimos came crashing to earth against Hamilton and quarterback Ricky Ray had a drop off in performance. I don't think it was entirely his fault. There were far too many mistakes by the team. But the Eskimos can't go with the same game plan of dinking and dunking. They've got to push the ball downfield. Believe it or not, if they win this game, they tie B.C. for third in the West and still have a shot at qualifying for the playoffs. Losing receiver Jason Barnes, who suffered an injured spleen in the loss to Hamilton, puts more emphasis on Fred Stamps as the go-to guy. He was blanketed well by Hamilton. The Eskimos' receiving crew has been going through changes all season. I expect the Eskimos to try to run the ball. This is a weakness of the Lions. The Lions' offensive line has been a work in progress all season and suffered another key injury last week, this time to centre Angus Reid. The Eskimos have to assert a pass rush to attack that. B.C. really blew it against Winnipeg, but it was a wake up call. Cutting Printers was an interesting move by general manager/head coach Wally Buono, sending a message to his team. Perhaps Printers was more a distraction than anyone realized. Maybe he had to go. But this game is about the Lions showing some maturity and not taking dumb penalties.
Lions are favoured by four.
Prediction: Lions to cover
Sunday
Winnipeg (4-10) at Montreal (10-4)
Bombers escaped a sure loss by showing some pluck against B.C., and realizing that Stephen Jyles has to be the quarterback, not Alex Brink. That was a curious call by rookie head coach Paul LaPolice, who was saved some major criticism when Jyles came into play and led the team to its comeback. The Bombers have a much improved receiving corps, led by Greg Carr and Terence Jeffers-Harris. These guys are tall and have ability. The Als can be vulnerable in the back end, and Winnipeg can use the size advantage if Jyles has time to get the ball to them. That's where the offensive line comes into play. It's important the Bombers run the ball with Fred Reid to create some threat and take the heat off the Als' pass rush. The Als really played like a great team overcoming an embarrassing loss to Calgary on the road and beating the Stamps in Montreal. There is every reason there could be a letdown. The Als will need to maintain the same intensity. With the Ben Cahoon career record for receptions out of the way, the Als no longer have to worry about that, which was clearly a distraction. You could just see it was wearing on Cahoon. My concern in this game is the Als played so well last week that they are due for a drop off, though I'm not expecting it to be huge.
Als are favoured by 12.
Prediction: Bombers and the points
Calgary (10-4) at Saskatchewan (9-5)
Great game. Both teams have beaten one another so far this season, so the rubber game could decide first place in the West, although there are three games remaining in the season. If Calgary wins, they win the series and go up four points on Saskatchewan, so this is the game of the year for them. Stamps soiled the sheets against Montreal, in particular Henry Burris who had another Bad Hank game, the second in the last three. As Burris goes, so go the Stamps. Yes, he'll be the focal point of the game and you just know the Rider Pride will be all over him. He has played well in both games against the Riders this year. If he maintains ball control, the Stamps have a shot. There's talk the Stamps plan to get Joffrey Reynolds more involved in this game. He needs to be used often to wear down the defence. Receiver Ken-Yon Rambo needs to be more involved, too. You just know, Rider defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones will throw everything at the Riders. But he was a bit too aggressive the last time these two teams met, leaving the middle open far too often because of bringing in the safety to blitz. I wouldn't expect him to get fooled again. In the first meeting this year between the two teams, Rider quarterback Darian Durant threw three touchdowns. The next time the teams played, he threw for 500 yards. It was one of his best games of the year. Last week was one of his worst. But he wasn't the sole culprit. The Riders were fooled by fakes and a lack of concentration. You know they won't be so easily distracted this time. Is Durant's wonky ankle more serious than the team is admitting, or was last week's game simply one for him to throw out. The Riders aren't the kind of team to lose two in a row at home - last week was their first loss of the season at Mosaic. The 13th man - and no, I won't make any jokes - need to be loud and proud. This is their game. Similar to Jones, Rider d-co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry will be digging deep into the playbook to throw off Burris.
Saskatchewan is favoured by two.
Prediction: Stamps and the points.
Last week: 1-3
Record this season: 26-29-1
