11/05/24
November 12, 2008
CFL Pick 'Em, Division Finals: Edmonton and B.C. both win on the road, and head into the strongholds of Calgary and Montreal. Closer to home, BoKnows bats .714 for a strong opening week. Can he keep up the pace? Make your picks inside.
In the "East", Edmonton takes advantage of a windy Canad Inns Stadium. Winnipeg couldn't get anything going with the wind at their backs in the first quarter, and Edmonton made sure to capitalize on their second and third quarters. By the time Winnipeg got the wind advantage back, it was too late, and Edmonton becomes the first Western team to win in a crossover semi.
In the West, Michael Bishop shows that he's an old dog who can't learn new tricks. New tricks like not contributing to FOUR turnovers in the first quarter alone. B.C. takes the win and the points, Bishop gets waived the next day.
And in the real competition of the week, McCallum edges out Congi and puts 13 points on the scoreboard.
| EDM @ WPG | BC @ SSK | Bonus | |
| Result | Edmonton by 8 | B.C. by 21 | McCallum |
| Margin of Error | 6 to 10 | 15 to 27 |
BoKnows nails the B.C. spread and hits the Edmonton margin for five out of a possible seven points. We are investigating the possibility of insider trading on this one.
| SpoFite | EDM @ WPG | S | BC @ SSK | S | Bonus | Points | Total Points | |
| BoKnows | Edmonton | 10 | B.C. | 21 | 5 | 5 | ||
| owlhouse | Edmonton | B.C. | McCallum | 3 | 3 | |||
| dfleming | Edmonton | 10 | B.C. | 3 | 3 | |||
| tommytrump | Edmonton | B.C. | 2 | 2 | ||||
| DrJohnEvans | Edmonton | 7 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Spitztengle | Edmonton | B.C. | 2 | 2 | ||||
| The_Black_Hand | Edmonton | 9 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Folkways | 8 | McCallum | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Ying Yang Mafia | Edmonton | 1 | 1 | |||||
| apoch | Edmonton | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Monica Poland | B.C. | 1 | 1 | |||||
| THX-1138 | Edmonton | 1 | 1 | |||||
| JPR | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Reever | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Anaconda | 0 | 0 |
EAST FINAL
Edmonton @ Montreal (Saturday, November 15)
Here's an odd one: these two teams have a rich history of clashing in the Grey Cup, but here they are, meeting a week early. Both these teams are fundamentally solid, but the experience edge may have to go to the Alouettes: they're just continuing a long, successful string of playoff appearances while Edmonton is bouncing back from two years in the wilderness. Not to mention the fact that Montreal is playing for a chance to play in a Grey Cup at home. Nonetheless, with two pass-heavy offences and pass-prevention defences, the win may go to the team which can get it done on the ground as well.
WEST FINAL
B.C. @ Calgary (Saturday, November 15)
Calgary has to be the favourite here: they seem to finally be putting the puzzle together after two years of playing with the pieces. Plus they finished off the season with a big burst in the strong West. But B.C. has the league's best pedigree of recent years, and what they've lost in offence they've made up for on defence and special teams. Nobody knows how close this one is going to be.
OFFENSIVE BONUS
Pick the quarterback who will pass for the most yardage. 2008 Passing Stats
DEFENSIVE BONUS
Pick the team who will accrue the most quarterback sacks. If no quarterbacks are sacked, the defence who held their opponents to the fewest yards will be the winner. 2008 Sacks Stats
Total points available: 3 (East final) + 3 (West final) + 2 (Bonus questions) = 8
Good luck!
posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 09:49 PM - 16 comments
Edmonton by 11
Calgary by 9
Calvillo for yardage
Edmonton sacks
posted by owlhouse at 02:40 AM on November 13, 2008
Montreal by 26 Calgary by 22
Calvillo for yardage Montreal sacks
posted by tommybiden at 05:13 PM on November 13, 2008
Edmonton by 14 Calgary by 7 Ray Edmonton
posted by apoch at 04:13 AM on November 14, 2008
Montreal by 10 Calgary by 3 Calvillo B.C.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:02 AM on November 14, 2008
Oh it's gonna be a dogfight! No fan in his right mind should be able to predict Montreal not winning this one, especially with the lopsidedness of Edmonton's last visit to Montreal. But no fan, especially from the west, can say that they aren't out of their minds with the possibility of a Battle of Alberta Grey Cup. So, am I in my right mind? Or am I pickin' with my heart on this one? I was there when Edmonton won their last Grey Cup in OT over the Als. I want history to be made. I know it'll be a dogfight. But playin' in the big game in your own barn (eventhough the Big Owe ain't really "home" to the Als full-time), just might be all the motivation req'd. They've been better for more of the year. They deserve it. Montreal by 1.
Buono might have a better record of leadin' his teams through these big games, but Hufnagel's arrival is just what this league has been waiting for (some could say 'needed') among the coaching ranks. He's given direction to the oft untamed Stamps, and they have all the right stuff to win two more games this year. Can Burris do it though? In my mind, he's the wildcard in this matchup. At any rate, anyone who says that the NFL is the superior product will need to watch both of the games today. I don't think there could be more entertaining football that what we'll see in both games. Shootout here we come ... Stampeders outlast the Lions, win by 3.
The yardage crown just might go to Henry Burris today.
And to hedge my bet on the original pick, Edmonton holds Montreal to fewer yards.
posted by Spitztengle at 10:54 AM on November 15, 2008
Montreal by 10 Calgary by 4
O-Bonus: Calvillo D-Bonus: British Columbia
posted by JPR at 01:02 PM on November 15, 2008
Montreal by 9 Calgary by 7
O-Bonus: Ray D-Bonus: BC
posted by Reever at 01:03 PM on November 15, 2008
Eddie by 8 Gary by 9
Offensive Bonus: Ricky Ray Defensive Bonus: B.C.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:55 PM on November 15, 2008
The referees just called an "inadvertent whistle".
Ref 1: "What did you see, Al?" Ref 2: "I saw...uh...pass...clipping. #53. Defense. I swear. Shit. No, sorry, I saw this really hot girl in the stands and I was all 'Damn, that girl is *tweet*!'"
posted by dfleming at 03:04 PM on November 15, 2008
If Sara Orlesky was hanging around on my sidelines, I'd inadvertently blow my whistle too.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 03:17 PM on November 15, 2008
oops, my whistle just went off too
posted by Spitztengle at 04:22 PM on November 15, 2008
Montreal by 3 Calgary by 9 Calvillo B.C.
If I'm not too late....been distracted by fires and winds here in the OC
posted by Monica Poland at 01:15 AM on November 16, 2008
oops, my whistle just went off too
Prematurely?
posted by tommybiden at 11:46 AM on November 16, 2008
Edmonton by 3 BC by 7
Ricky Ray for Yardage.
BC Sacks.
I don't feel good about any of these picks except the sacks total. I think that means this week's games are going to be worth watching.