Week 6: TSN will replace the History Channel

Unstoppable. Incredible. Impeccable. Did I not say that 2008 was the year of the Roughrider?

I'll say it right now: Kerry Joseph's and Kent Austin's departures are the reason the Riders are 5-0. Not because they were holding the team back, but because with their absence the whole league thought it was game-over for the Riders. I heard it all: they'll miss the playoffs; the Cup won't return to Sask for another 20 years; Toronto will be the best team in the league... yadda yadda yadda. And what has this done? Motivated the defending champions to proving everyone wrong. That's the line that HC Ken Miller has to say: no one believes in you. Everyone thinks you are beatable. They're laughing at our organization. Except, no one is laughing now.

Saturday will be Saskatchewan's biggest test as they roll into Calgary and I think the outcome of that game will shed some light onto the question of whether or not the Riders can repeat as champs. If they lose, then it looks like they'll have to keep looking over their shoulder for a few more weeks (at least until our injury list starts to shorten) until Labour Day. But now is not the time to analyze the Riders/Stamps game.

Here's how everyone faired in Week 5:

Game 1: Blue Bombers 32-28 over Stampeders. (Points: Jamie)
Game 2: Eskimos 19-17 over Tiger-Cats (Points: Jamie)
Game 3: Lions 36-33 over Alouettes (Points: Jamie, KDS)
Game 4: Roughriders 28-22 over Argonauts (Points: Luke, Myself)

Jamie really pulls one out of the bag and picks 3 for 4! Steven seems to be invisible. STEVE! Are you there? STEEEEEVE!!!

Well, with or without Steve we'll march on! We've got a whole week of exciting action and here's the schedule:

Game 1: Hamilton at Montreal, Thursday 7pm ET. Casey Printers looks more like a human tackling dummy than a QB. In my opinion if Richie Williams or Jessie Lumsden don't start at QB on Thursday, this game will solidly be put in the 'W' column for Montreal. Montreal is coming off a bad 2nd half meltdown against BC and I think they're going to be looking for some redemption against a struggling Ti-Cat team. If Calvillo can make some halftime adjustments and their defense play a full 60 minutes of football, I think it'll be all Montreal. No gambling this week. Montreal wins.

Game 2 (of the double-header): BC at Edmonton, Thursday 10pm ET. Edmonton looked weak against the Tiger-Cats and without Jason Tucker leading their receiving corps I don't know if Ricky Ray can get it done with virtually no running game to speak of to save (what I can only forsee as) a weak passing game. This one will give some distance between the 3rd and 4th place teams in the West with BC winning.

Game 3: Winnipeg at Toronto, Friday 7pm ET. I'll give credit where credit is due, Ryan Dinwiddie played a great game. In fact, it was so good I bet he wished he had that kind of performance last November. But, the fact still remains that when you pass for 450 yards and only win by 4 points, barely getting 30 in total, with only 1 receiving touchdown and 1 rushing touchdown (by one of the former who's-who of the CFL running game) questions remain as to whether or not the Blue Bombers have it in 'em to get above .500 by Labour Day. Dinwiddie needs more help and support from his offense to put more points on the board that accurately reflect his performance. This means hitting all your field goals. With 8 field goal attempts for the Bombers, you know the same Red Zone problems will haunt Dinwiddie just like they did Glenn. 9 points were taken off the board when those field goals were missed and if they were hit then it would look like Winnipeg could be a contender for top spot in the East again. But... I don't think Joseph will lose at home even though his play wasn't that great in Regina. Remember, KJ played against the best pass-rush defense in the league. Winnipeg's D is more like an E-ffense... where's the D? Toronto wins by a hair.

Game Four: Saskatchewan at Calgary, Saturday 8pm ET. Crandell will probably start the game but if he doesn't I think Jyles will handle himself. Our defense is what kept the Argos at bay while casualties mounted against us. The only team that I can see beating the Riders is the Calgary Stampeders. 6-0 looks like a long ways away right now but if Henry Burris doesn't show up & gets rattled early, and if Reynolds is stopped in his tracks, then the Riders can win it. Fantuz' departure is a huge hit, I won't deny that. But I think it is time for guys like Bowman, Dominguez, Grant and Palmer to shine. Dominguez is still our deep threat and our veteran leadership. But what about home advantage, you say? What home advantage? This is a home-away-from-home game for the Riders and the stands will be Green. While Calgary has the receiving edge, Saskatchewan has the defensive, running, and special teams edge. I've got to go with my boys winning a close game and making Rider history.

TSN Power Rankings for Week 6 are as follows:

1. Saskatchewan (Last Week: 1)
2. B.C. (Last Week: 3)
3. Calgary (Last Week: 2)
4. Toronto (Last Week: T-5)
5. Montreal (Last Week: 4)
6. Edmonton (Last Week: T-5)
7. Winnipeg (Last Week: 8)
8. Hamilton (Last Week: 7)

Chris Schultz (13-7) likes Montreal, BC, Winnipeg, and Calgary. The World is 10-10. Get your picks in before Thursday, 7pm ET.

Good Luck, God Speed.
Oh, and check back here tomorrow, for there will be a trivia game with an exciting prize for the winner!