Week 1 & the Year of the Roughrider

First, let me being S-Club by saying that I am really happy that we're doing this CFL Pool even though we're so far apart from one another. Our bond must be made of blood (it definitely is if you sat on one of those tacks...) and nothing brings me greater joy than thinking and talking football with a host of knowledgeable CFL prophets and trivia freaks.

And with that said, let us begin:

Week 1 is kicked off with the Alouettes at Hamilton on Thursday at 7pm ET. Hamilton is looking to keep up their pre-season success and the Als are looking to get into their groove now that Anthony Calvillo is back. The Als are a solid pick, as always, but I'll maintain that the Ti-Cats are the dark horse in the East. Montreal has some talented players on their team, but they're not back in the late 90s. Calvillo and Cahoon are always a pair to worry about, but with Cahoon and Calvillo aging, I'm not sure if we're going to see a powerhouse come out of Quebec - which leaves the door open for Hamilton if they can win 8 or 9 games.

Dylan picks:

Game two: BC at Calgary. Thursday, 10pm ET. The hopes are extremely high for the Calgary Stampeders and all the buzz around the city is the one-two punch in Burris/Dickenson and a very talented receiving corps. However, like most Stamps pundits have been saying, the key for the Stampeders is not defense or offense or even special teams, it's discipline. It's amazing that all those big egos can even fit into one locker room. And with a new coach on the sidelines, I'm not sure if Dickenson is the missing ingredient in the Calgary pie.

BC's talent pool remains deep and I don't think the departure of Dickenson will cost a lot to the Lions. Pierce has the nod as the starter tomorrow and Clermont, Simon, and Jackson will be looking to make big plays to start their season on the winning foot.

Dylan picks:

Game three: Toronto at Winnipeg. Friday at 8pm ET. Chris Schultz continues to amaze me as the former Grey Cup Champion and Saskatchewan Roughrider picked the Blue Bombers as the early favourites to win the Cup in November. And honestly, I cannot deny the talent in the team. Barely anything has changed since their 23-19 loss to the Roughriders in 07 with the exception of kicker Troy Westwood hitting the curb. Good riddance. Now he'll have lots of time to practice his banjo.

Obviously Winnipeg is hungry for a Grey Cup since their last win came in 1990 and I think they'll be battling it out for top spot in the east with Toronto. This match up will be a preview of the East Final, for sure! Toronto is coming in strong and I think they'll excel with Joseph/Bishop sharing duties in the shotgun. Joseph is bringing 5000 yards in offensive power and with Arlan Bruce leading the team in receiving, I think they're going to be a threat for sure. Prefontaine is gone and so is Pinball so they'll need to make some adjustments, but it won't be too difficult. Joseph is out there to prove he's still the MOP and I think that it'll be a hard fought game, but with Roberts running the ball and a healthy Glenn throwing the Blue will come out barely on top.

Dylan picks:

Game four: Edmonton at Saskatchewan. Saturday, 7:30 ET. I'll call it right now, the Roughriders will win. First game of the season as defending Grey Cup champions playing at home, they'll get the job done but not without a little fight from the Eskimos.

The Deadmonton Eskimos are looking to rebound from two years as the basement dwellers of the West and unfortunately I don't know if they'll do any better this season. With all the changes in Saskatchewan going on, I still don't think they're as bad as the Eskimos are. By Labour Day, it will all be over for Edmonton.

There's not a lot to keep saying about the Eskimos. Danny Maciocia is not a great manager and he's even worse at calling plays. They shouldn't have brought Maas back and instead focused on a decent running game and bringing in a better O-line. Brock Ralph will do well and I think he'll lead in yards for Edmonton, but that won't be enough.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders, in my opinion, are looking half decent going into this year as defending Grey Cup Champions. It is the year of the Roughrider and while everyone is looking at Calgary and BC to go to Montreal in November, the Riders will climb the ranks and build another Cup contending team.

While I'm skeptical about Marcus' ability to lead the team, I think that Saskatchewan manage to be a Western contender with our receivers and running game. Our defense took a hit with the loss of Perry, but that's alright with me since young guns like John Chick I their D is on point. Plus, with the return of Omarr Morgan at DB, the Rider game just improved from last season.

With Austin and Joseph gone the chips are still, literally, up in the air for the 2008 Saskatchewan Roughriders. I think Joseph's departure was a bigger hit than Austin and a stupid one at that. Marcus has not played badly for the Roughriders as a backup, but there are still memories of his play from 2002-2004 with the Stamps. If Saskatchewan is going to prove that they have the ability to repeat as champs then they're going to have to beat Edmonton this week and do it again next week at BC Place. Looking back at last year I had the worst of expectations for the Roughriders and I guess there's no reason to have the same feelings. Having a 13-5 season would be wonderful. Is it realistic? I'm not sure. 9-9? Definitely. 11-7? Most likely.

Dylan picks:

This week's CFL Power Rankings on TSN are as follows: BC, Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Montreal, Edmonton, and Hamilton.

Now to everyone's favourite part of the game, the scoring. If you pick a winner you'll get 2 points this year. Making a losing pick equals no points. But, if your pick does not win the game and yet ties their opponents - the team with the most total yards will win 2 points for the picker and the opposing team with the lesser yardage will be awarded 1 for the tie. I think this will be interesting seeing as how last year when Calgary and BC tied, everyone was awarded points. This way, your pick will reflect the team that you believe will not only win on the scoreboard but will offensively outperform their opponents. Exciting, eh?

And now, let's get down to business. Make your picks before kick-off tomorrow to win some points! Your picks will count only if they are submitted before kick-off of each game. If you get yours in after the Montreal/Hamilton game, but before the BC/Calgary game, you are only eligible to earn points for the second game of the night and those thereafter.

Good luck. God Speed.