With all the playoff positions decided ahead of time, Week 19 was basically meaningless. Most of the top teams simply rested their starters–except for the Calgary Stampeders, who managed to lose three key players to injury in an otherwise meaningless loss to B.C.. That said, they still hafta be considered the favourites, right?
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1. Calgary Stampeders (14-4) Last Week: 1. For Calgary, the only objective of Week 19 was to stay healthy. Unfortunately, they failed miserably, as Micah Johnson, Demonte Bolden and Marquay McDaniel all went down to injury. The good news is that they have two weeks to recover. The bad news is that might not be enough time. But even down two defensive linemen and a receiver, the Stamps still have a decent shot in the West.
2. Toronto Argonauts (11-7) Last Week: 2. The Argos were much smarter than Calgary, not even dressing the likes of Ricky Ray and Chad Owens. And even with their fourth-string quarterback in the game for long stretches, they still nearly beat the playoff-bound Alouettes. So yeah, they’re still in pretty good shape.
3. B.C. Lions (11-7) Last Week: 4. B.C.’s home win over Calgary was pretty impressive, even if the Stamps rested their top guns for most of the game. But can they win on the road in Regina? That remains to be seen…
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (11-7) Last Week: 3. Although it was a completely meaningless game in which Darian Durant and Kory Sheets didn’t see a single snap between them, it’s still worth noting that the Riders (backups) lost to Edmonton today. I had to drop ‘em a spot in the rankings for that reason alone.
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-8) Last Week: 5. Hamilton might have put up the most impressive performance of Week 19, but hey, they were playing Winnipeg. That said, I think this team could possibly sneak into the Grey Cup in an Eastern Division that’s very much up for grabs. More on that next week. ;)
6. Montreal Alouettes (8-10) Last Week: 6. The Als were perhaps the only playoff team that didn’t really rest its starters, being that so many of them are short on CFL experience. Alas, Troy Smith had another three TD performance, while Tyrell Sutton averaged 5.8 yards on limited carries. Hey, so this team can beat Toronto’s backups–but can they take down their starters? I’m not so sure.
7. Edmonton Eskimos (4-14) Last Week: Last. Amazing, Edmonton actually ended its season on a winning note, albeit at the expense of a team who could have really cared less. In the end, all this really means is that the Esks won’t have the first overall pick in next year’s draft, so I’m sure their celebration is somewhat muted.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-15) Last Week: Last. The last time the Bombers were this bad, Jeff Reinebold was the head coach (until he was fired in October), T.J. Rubley was the starting quarterback and the Top 5 on the Canadian charts consisted of Jennifer Paige, Goo Goo Dolls, John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow and Bryan Adams. Man, ’98 was a pretty shitty year…
…unless, of course, you’re a Stamps fan. ;)
