12/21/24
November 19, 2014
CFL Playoff Pick 'Em, Finals Edition: The favourites rule the day as Edmonton and Montreal both move on to their division finals. Montreal wins a trip to Hamilton (snow; rude fans) while Edmonton gets a trip to Calgary (cold; cows). Meanwhile, in our little standings, there are some familiar faces in familiar places. Bundle up and make your picks inside.
posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 04:10 PM - 14 comments
Judging by my playoff week 1 performance, no one wants to borrow the coin this week.
Montreal by 15
Edmonton by 17
Reilly
Calgary
posted by bender at 05:13 PM on November 19, 2014
Hamilton by 6
Calgary by 6
Bo Levi Mitchell
Hamilton
posted by ic23b at 03:06 AM on November 20, 2014
Montreal by 11
Edmonton by 15
The Montreal starting quarterback
Edmonton
posted by owlhouse at 03:49 AM on November 20, 2014
The NFL is scrambling to move this weekend's Jets-Bills game due to the snow. They're looking at various stadiums as options, all in the US. Nothing about Canada. Maybe they're missing an opportunity there, even though the CFL playoffs are in progress.
Would it kill revenues for the upcoming Hamilton game if the Bills game went to Toronto either side of Sunday?
posted by beaverboard at 09:35 PM on November 20, 2014
Weather a factor in CFL Football? You're kidding, of course. Do you think Canadians are a bunch of wimps who play only when the temperatures are moderate, the sun is shining, and when neither condition exists they move to a dome? To quote BGEN Terry McAuliff from December of 1944, "Nuts!"
Montreal at Hamilton: The worst weather is to the east of Hamilton, on the other lake. It should not be a problem here. Tiger-Cats are 8-2 in their own litter box this year, while Alouettes are 4-5 on the road, including a 14 point loss in Hamilton. Fish gotta swim and birds gotta fly*, and I gotta think Tiger-Cats will just run, throw, block, and tackle. Hamilton by 17.
Edmonton at Calgary: Eskimos are 5-4 on the road this season, but they were beaten by 15 in their only regular season visit to Calgary. Stampeders are tough (7-2) at home. The numbers lean heavily in Calgary's favor. One stat that stands out is the success of Calgary's running game against Edmonton. The axiom in that game south of the 49th parallel is that the colder the weather, the more the running game is needed. Edmonton's QB will be going against the excellent Calgary defensive backfield. I have to go with the rampaging quadrupeds in this one. Calgary by 18.
Passing yardage is one of those things that is very dependent on opponent, weather, game plan, and the like. For example, Calgary has a very good QB, but they are more likely to run a lot. Calgary's DBs will keep Edmonton from throwing the ball all over the place. Thus, we have to look to the east to find the gunslinger. I will go with Collaros to edge Crompton. Passing yards: Collaros.
Go west for the defensive leaders. Calgary has allowed fewer sacks than Edmonton, not that Eskimos' front line is at all porous. Both teams in the east have decent defenses, otherwise they would not be where they are, but I look for the sack leader to be in the west. Most sacks: Calgary.
*"Can't Help Lovin' dat Man", lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, from "Showboat", 1927.
posted by Howard_T at 09:37 PM on November 22, 2014
Hamilton by 10 and hoping I'm wrong
Calgary by 14
Mitchell
Montreal
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:31 AM on November 23, 2014
So much for Western dominance: Montreal piles on the points to send B.C. packing. Things are a bit tighter in Edmonton, but despite not scoring an offensive touchdown, the Esks find an early lead and never look back.
Special teams wins the day in Edmonton, as 12 of the Eskimos' 18 points come off the boot of Hugh O'Neill. And despite Saskatchewan's attempts to keep scoring low, Montreal's blowout ensure that we hit the over - although only by 5 points!
Some familiar faces in familiar positions here: argoal, cixelsyd... bender.
It's all going according to form as we move on to the:
DIVISION FINALS
Montreal Alouettes (9-9) @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-9) (Sunday, November 23)
Here's an even match-up if ever there was one. With the season series tied, and Hamilton breaking the tie on point differential, these two teams have been neck and neck for the past three months. It'll come down to Hamilton's energetic young QB Zach Collaros against Montreal's strong defence. But Hamilton's defence is not so shoddy either, allowing only one point more than Montreal's this season. And on the other hand, Montreal just dropped seven touchdowns in their semi. So this would be a good opportunity to borrow bender's flipping coin.
CFL.ca Eastern Final Preview »
Edmonton Eskimos (12-6) @ Calgary Stampeders (15-3) (Sunday, November 23)
Just like they drew it up: the best offence in the league against the stingiest defence in the league. Calgary will bring QB Bo Levi Mitchell and RB Jon Cornish against the Eskimos' strong and healthy d-line. When healthy, Calgary's been the class of the West for the entire year, but we are in November now, and weather can have a huge impact on offense. Keep an eye on that forecast.
CFL.ca Western Final Preview »
Offence Wins Championships Bonus
Pick the quarterback who will throw for the highest yardage on Sunday.
2014 Passing Stats »
Defence Wins Championships Bonus
Pick the team whose defence will register the most sacks on Sunday.
Example pick: Montreal by 21, Edmonton by 14, Crompton, Calgary.
Good luck!