Something’s up with CFL teams playing on the road—it’s like they’ve been putting on their superhero suits before boarding their flights out of town. Visitors are 8-3-1 straight up to begin the 2016 campaign. Winnipeg (nine-point dogs) and Toronto (six-and-a-half-point dogs) won outright a week ago while Saskatchewan (10-point dogs) nearly pulled off an upset.
The lines are much tighter in Week 4 and there just might be some more road dogs that could bark.
Ottawa Redblacks (2-0-1) vs. Toronto Argonauts (2-1)
Until a team proves it can shut down—or even slow—Chris Williams, you want to be on the game-breaker’s side. The diminutive speedster has put up an all-time CFL-record 493 receiving yards—eclipsing Albert Johnson’s 483 in 1994 with Winnipeg—for the most receiving yards in three games to start a season.
Ottawa has played 12 quarters of football and the 28-year-old is already essentially halfway to a 1,000-yard season. In fact, Williams’ current pace would see him finish with more than 2,900 receiving yards. Perspective: Only three times in CFL history has a receiver reached the 2,000-yard plateau in a single-season.
Line: Argonauts -1
Pick: Ottawa
Edmonton Eskimos (1-1) vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-2)
Jason Maas and Mike Reilly have the offence rolling with 37 and 39 points scored in their two games. However, Edmonton’s defence, which underwent a lot of changes in the off-season, has given up 45 and 36 points. Six new starters— including three who made their first career CFL starts this season—and a new defensive scheme are the main reasons why the Eskimos are surrendering so many points. New players in a new system are going to make mistakes, but they need to learn from them.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg takes a run at winning two games in a row for the first time since 2014. The Bomber ‘D’ forced six turnovers in Hamilton, which helped the desperate squad earn a road win. Although, Winnipeg will face a much tougher challenge this week in Reilly and an explosive Eskimos offence that’s averaging a CFL-high 38 points per game.
Expect a shootout in the ’Peg.
Line: Eskimos -3.5
Pick: Winnipeg
Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-2) vs. Montreal Alouettes (1-1)
S.J. Green (ACL) is gone for the season. Kenny Stafford (toe) was put on the six-game injured list during the Als’ bye week. And Kevin Glenn has an eye infection that will cause him to miss at least a game. Those setbacks mean Rakeem Cato starts at quarterback with new receivers around him.
Hamilton has lost two straight with sloppy turnovers—10 to be exact—plaguing the team. Kent Austin will get those cleaned up. And Orlondo Steinauer’s defence can be confusing for veteran offences, so it should befuddle the young Montreal pivot.
Line: Alouettes -1
Pick: Hamilton
BC Lions (2-1) vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders (0-2)
If Jonathon Jennings could’ve mustered some points with a strong defence and good field position BC could be 3-0.
Saskatchewan’s short-yardage woes have cost them two games, meaning the Riders could conceivably be 2-0.
That gives us an intriguing matchup of up-and-coming teams.
Some felt the rebuild in Riderville would see the green and white get blown out early in the season, but Chris Jones and Co. have the Riders playing some impressive football, considering all the changes that have been made to the roster.
Darian Durant has played at a high level in two games and if he keeps it going against what has been a stingy Lions defence, Saskatchewan can earn their first win under Jones.
Line: Riders -2
Pick: Saskatchewan
Overall record against the spread: 6-6