Heading into the 11th week of the CFL season, the Edmonton Eskimos have lost two straight after being undefeated while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are still without a win but have a new head coach in June Jones, and have added fired Baylor coach Art Briles to their staff. Big wins by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders are providing some separation at the top of the West.
Here’s how the league’s nine teams stack up based on recent form.
| Rank | Team | Previous | |
| 1 |  |
Calgary has won 14 straight games at McMahon. However, at a neutral site and even on the road I’d pick them to win over the field. Why? Despite a slow start, hey still have the best QB in the league. Bo Levi Mitchell is now fourth on the Stampeders’ all-time TD list with 107. |
1 |
| 2 |  |
With another late win over Montreal, Winnipeg has now won four games on the last play of the game, two of which were in overtime. Most teams play tight in tight situations. The Bombers play best in them which makes Winnipeg a scary team come playoff time. |
3 |
| 3 |  |
Edmonton fell from first to third in the West Division in the span of one day. After starting the year undefeated, the Esks have lost two straight. All this sets up a Battle of Alberta duel with Calgary with first place on the line. |
2 |
| 4 |  |
The QB controversy is over, for now. Travis Lulay has been handed the reigns by Wally Buono. The Lions are simply a better football team when Lulay is at the helm. Not to say he’s a better individual player, but the entire team plays better when he’s leading it. After losing three straight games, and trailing 18-0 at halftime and 31-3 in the third quarter, it was time to make the switch from Jonathon Jennings to Lulay. Lulay has the bye week to let his ribs heal further and rekindle the magic that allowed him to put up 21 B.C. points versus the Redblacks in relief of Jennings. |
4 |
| 5 |  |
The Riders are trending in the right direction. They ended their streak of 15 straight road losses to CFL West Division teams by crushing the Eskimos 54-31. Their second straight victory is the franchise’s first winning streak since 2014. This is the first time Saskatchewan has back-to-back 40-plus-point games since 2008. |
6 |
| 6 |  |
Toronto is 0-5 against the West. As much as they might be the class of the East, their struggles to manufacture offence versus teams from out West shows the lack of parity between the two divisions. |
5 |
| 7 |  |
Two weeks ago, Ottawa was 1-6 and its leadership structure was being questioned. All of a sudden Ottawa is in second place in the East. The Redblacks can provide some further separation when they play Montreal twice in the next three weeks with another game against Hamilton sandwiched in between. |
8 |
| 8 |  |
Nik Lewis may not look like a great receiver and that’s partially because he’s not, he’s just a great football player that happens to play receiver. Lewis is a complete player who blocks, breaks tackles and runs great routes but his great hands have afforded him 1,031 catches in his career, good enough for the most of all time. His first CFL catch came in June of 2004 and yet he is still Montreal’s best offensive threat. I’d hate to see where the Als offence would be without him. |
7 |
| 9 |  |
June Jones is now the head coach. He wasn’t even with the team in the month of June. Having a coach learn his players and the league on the fly is not a recipe for immediate success, and the Briles hiring will not come without controversy. Kent Austin firing himself as head coach and concentrating on personnel is a signal that Tiger-Cats are punting this season, resetting and hoping to build a sustained winner in the future. For Ti-Cats fans however, the 2017 season can still be salvaged as productive if they beat the Argonauts during the Labour Day Classic. |
9 |
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