How Many Wins Do We Finish With?

[Neely2005]

So after yesterday's debacle how do we finish up?

Remaining games:

Vs. Edmonton
Vs. Montreal
@ Hamilton
Vs. Saskatchewan
@ Edmonton
Vs. Winnipeg
@ British Columbia

[Argos1983]

.....7 and even more pathetically, hosting an Eastern Semi Final to a Western opponent who will destroy us......:ohno:

[Footballdude]

I would not be shocked if we DON'T win another game this year. This team is bad and not getting any better. Ray can't throw more then 30 yards and he has no zip on the ball, which will results in lot's of picks

[Neely2005]

I would not be shocked if we DON'T win another game this year. This team is bad and not getting any better. Ray can't throw more then 30 yards and he has no zip on the ball, which will results in lot's of picks

The last time I checked Ray was #2 in passing yards in the CFL.

[Argo57]

Argos maybe win 2 more games, best chance (Montreal And Hamilton) and that's about it.
6-12 for the season.

[gilthethrill]

Edmonton is on a 4 game losing streak and should be hurting after back to back games against Calgary. We host them on the 16th after our bye week. I expect a bounce back from last night's horror show.

[RB957]

Edmonton is on a 4 game losing streak and should be hurting after back to back games against Calgary. We host them on the 16th after our bye week. I expect a bounce back from last night's horror show.

I wish I shared your optimism for this game. Edmonton seems to play well here, and with that losing streak, will be burning for a win to stay in the race in the West. I hope you are right that we bounce back, but I am not holding my breath.

[RB957]

I voted 7. Will consider us fortunate to win 3 of the last 7. I don't see anything to suggest that we can go on any kind of a tear and win a bunch in a row. Breaks my heart to say it.

[mchesher03]

I think the same guys, 3 of last 7 is the upper end, realistically 2 of 7. It is painful to say this after thinking about games like the opener and the Montreal home game but there have been too many duds and self-inflicted wounds, especially in road games.

[AngeloV]

They will go 5-2 over the last 7 and finish 9-9.

[timlb01]

They will go 5-2 over the last 7 and finish 9-9.

I hope you are right. I voted we will win 7 games this year. I think we will beat Hamilton, Montreal and Edmonton once out of our next 2 meetings. We are not as bad as yesterday's game indicates but we are 5th or 6th in the league. Montreal and Hamilton are definitely worse and I think Edmonton is in trouble.

[AngeloV]

I hope you are right. I voted we will win 7 games this year. I think we will beat Hamilton, Montreal and Edmonton once out of our next 2 meetings. We are not as bad as yesterday's game indicates but we are 5th or 6th in the league. Montreal and Hamilton are definitely worse and I think Edmonton is in trouble.

I think they will win all their home games and beat Hamilton.

[gilthethrill]

I think they will win all their home games and beat Hamilton.

And claim the Ballard Cup in the process!

[ArgoRavi]

They will go 5-2 over the last 7 and finish 9-9.

As usual, AV is correct. In fact, he took the words right out of my mouth.

[Will]

Notwithstanding the fact that the Argos do need to improve, I am not jumping off the bridge.

[Joe Barnes]

I am so happy with where this team is headed. Compared to last season, and right into January, we are doing very well. Kudos to Popp and Trestman for the job they are doing, especially how late they were in getting started. That said, I can't realistically say they will beat any of the western teams, based on what I've seen so far. They just haven't been able to get on a roll despite showing signs of being on the verge of becoming a good team. I really I hope I'm wrong and that they come back from the bye with many of the injured back (especially Butler), and a way for the O-line to protect Ray better (NFL cuts? Something!). Still, beating Hamilton in THF (inferior to BMO, IMHO!), is 50/50 at best, as we've seen and Montreal is a Jekyll/Hyde team that has beaten us this year, so you never know...but we should win those games. So, positive/hopeful me says 9 and 9 but realistic me says 6 and 12. Hopefully that is enough to finish 2nd. Then, on to next season, where I believe we will do much better.

[AngeloV]

Notwithstanding the fact that the Argos do need to improve, I am not jumping off the bridge.

Exactly the way I feel. The comparison to last year is so off base. When they spiraled last year, they weren't even competitive.

[paulwoods13]

Yeah, we are in way better shape than a year ago. Give Popp the full off-season to work with, and he'll find new talent to supplement what we have. I assume Trestman might also make some changes to the coaching staff when he has the luxury of time to work with, and more coaches available than was the case after he was hired.

[Argo57]

Yeah, we are in way better shape than a year ago. Give Popp the full off-season to work with, and he'll find new talent to supplement what we have. I assume Trestman might also make some changes to the coaching staff when he has the luxury of time to work with, and more coaches available than was the case after he was hired.

They are still playing hard, the last part of 2016 they basically mailed it in.
Way more talented team this season on all sides of the ball, critical areas need improvement (O-Line, D-Line depth).
Considering the timing of Trestman and Popp coming in they have done a commendable job, both guys have been successful in the past so I'm sure they are far from satisfied with losing.
I agree more changes and upgrades all around this off season.
Aggravating part is this team is pretty close to being a very good team but aren't quite there yet.

[Al&Kat]

Correct answer, Argos win 3 of final 7. How could it be more, when 5 of those 7 are against Western teams, and the
Argos are oh-for in 2017 vs. the superior West.
HOWEVER I can't see them going oh-for-ten vs. the superior West, they must win at least one game, right??
Plus another game coming at THF, and we all know how well they play there.

Argos had to have this LD game, against a backup QB and a rookie Head Coach, it was a must before the bye week.

As I predicted here in June, after Fan Day, their 2017 record will be 7 and 11, specifically 7 and 10 going into the
season-ender in BC, tied for second place in East. A win or tie in BC gets them 2nd place and a home playoff game (first one since 2012),
but they lose, and end up 3rd in the East in a tie-breaker = no playoffs again. Mark it down.

[Argo]

IF the injured return on the double THEN the there's no reason the Argos cannot resemble the team that started off the season, i.e., competitive, entertaining, and more than just a solid D.

(But, please Trestman, do try to find and fit in better players when and where you can. Ideally real soon now and in the O line.)

IMO, most likely is from one to three more wins. I will go with two and the team finishing with six wins.

Really hope to see the team exceed my expectations bigly. More expansively, though, with Popp and Co. in its first year and - to cut to the chase - with the large-scale, impossibly serious, conditions and problems threatening the world at large - I no longer get too worked up about things like football.

[Al&Kat]

When the entire CFL is so tilted to the West, like it has never been over the 40 years I've been watching,
it's very hard for any die-hard fan of any Eastern team, which includes
every poster on this site, to be truly serious about the outcome of the 2017 season.
Yes it's been "west-tilted" often, but never like this year. It's looking like the best place to finish
in the 2017 regular season is 4th place in the West!

As of today, for every CFL fan east of Manitoba, it's officially wait for 2019.
QUESTION IS, what will that mean in terms of crowd-size at BMO the rest of the way???

[paulwoods13]

2019? So the western dominance has no chance of ending next year?

[Ron]

As of today, for every CFL fan east of Manitoba, it's officially wait for 2019.


Why? Worked out pretty good for the East last year.

People put too much importance in the regular season. Doesn't matter how dominant you are if you don't win at least 2 games in late November. I don't care how many wins the Argos have as long as they finish in the top 2 in the East. After that it's all about the roll. (Like 2012 for us and Ottawa in 16)

[PullTogether73]

Why? Worked out pretty good for the East last year.

People put too much importance in the regular season. Doesn't matter how dominant you are if you don't win at least 2 games in late November. I don't care how many wins the Argos have as long as they finish in the top 2 in the East. After that it's all about the roll. (Like 2012 for us and Ottawa in 16)

Exactly.

And the primary reason that the current playoff structure should be scrapped imo.
Teams (usually western) work hard over 18 regular season games to achieve a winning record.
Some loser team in the east makes it into the playoffs due to the mandated east/west structure and manages to find religion for a couple of weeks and claim the eastern division title or the Grey Cup.
Pathetic.

But hey, the "tradition" of east/west must be maintained.
Oh, and nobody in the east would watch the playoffs if there was no eastern team in them.
Stupid crap.

Scrap the regular season then. It barely matters. Have a four/five week round robin tournament for each division and then the east winner plays the west winner in the GC.

[PullTogether73]

As for the poll, I go with 6 wins.

Any 2 of Montreal, Hamilton, and B.C., but probably not all three.
And with Derel Walker's return to the Eskimos, and likely injury returns, I think the Argos lose both Edmonton games.

[gilthethrill]

As for the poll, I go with 6 wins.

Any 2 of Montreal, Hamilton, and B.C., but probably not all three.
And with Derel Walker's return to the Eskimos, and likely injury returns, I think the Argos lose both Edmonton games.

Even with Walker returning, Edmonton is hurting. I think the Argos will have it figured out by the time they play the Lions, but I think Ottawa will finish first.

[Ron]

Scrap the regular season then. It barely matters. Have a four/five week round robin tournament for each division and then the east winner plays the west winner in the GC.

Without the regular season you have no CFL to watch. Teams gotta make $$. Same as in every sport.

I personally would keep the divisions as is for the regular season. The 1st place teams would get byes into the second round and be top seeds. After that ... division goes away and teams are ranked by record. The current setup as it stands makes the CFL the only professional league that rewards mediocrity based on geography.

[argolio]

2019? So the western dominance has no chance of ending next year?Maybe, but they've been better head-to-head vs the East in the regular season most years since 1981. If anything, one division dominating the other should have become much harder after they put in a strict salary cap system, but for some reason it's now worse than ever.

If they want to keep two divisions, they need to find a way to get a fifth team in the East, with each division playing 10 games in your division and 8 against the other. That would make a crossover much less likely, and allow for better scheduling.

[Neely2005]

We already have the Crossover Rule, that's enough.

[ArgoRavi]

Without the regular season you have no CFL to watch. Teams gotta make $$. Same as in every sport.

I personally would keep the divisions as is for the regular season. The 1st place teams would get byes into the second round and be top seeds. After that ... division goes away and teams are ranked by record. The current setup as it stands makes the CFL the only professional league that rewards mediocrity based on geography.

Have you seen the NBA lately, Ron? The Western Conference has been much, much stronger than the Eastern Conference the past few years. The Raptors would be lucky to make the playoffs in the Western Conference but I don't hear many in Toronto complaining about that.

[Ron]

Have you seen the NBA lately, Ron? The Western Conference has been much, much stronger than the Eastern Conference the past few years. The Raptors would be lucky to make the playoffs in the Western Conference but I don't hear many in Toronto complaining about that.

Maybe true. But you don't see a set of standings in any other pro sport that has an entire division/conference ahead of the first place team in the other. All for an east/west discrimination (are Canadian truly still that petty?) that was proven false in 2007.

[paulwoods13]

Maybe, but they've been better head-to-head vs the East in the regular season most years since 1981. If anything, one division dominating the other should have become much harder after they put in a strict salary cap system, but for some reason it's now worse than ever.

If they want to keep two divisions, they need to find a way to get a fifth team in the East, with each division playing 10 games in your division and 8 against the other. That would make a crossover much less likely, and allow for better scheduling.

That schedule wouldn't happen. The five eastern teams would still play 10 games against the five western teams and only eight within their own division, just as they do now. The only difference would be that the intra-division games would be divided up among four teams instead of three. The only way we will ever play fewer than 10 games against the west is if they scrap the home-and-home format that has existed since 1981. And there's no way eastern teams would be willing to have the big-draw Roughriders come to town only every second year.

[AngeloV]

The only way we will ever play fewer than 10 games against the west is if they scrap the home-and-home format that has existed since 1981. And there's no way eastern teams would be willing to have the big-draw Roughriders come to town only every second year.

I'd like to test that theory. How much more does the attendance go up when the Riders come to town as opposed to how much does it go down when the Lions and Bombers come to town. I would be willing to bet that if they came to town every 2nd year, the spike for that game would be much higher.

[paulwoods13]

I'd like to test that theory. How much more does the attendance go up when the Riders come to town as opposed to how much does it go down when the Lions and Bombers come to town. I would be willing to bet that if they came to town every 2nd year, the spike for that game would be much higher.

Quite possible. But what would the alternative schedule be? One game against each western team and 13 against the other teams in the East? I'd get very sick of seeing the same opponents over and over. Or totally unbalanced, i.e. two against some western teams and one against others? Then we'd end up with strength-of-schedule issues, one area that the CFL is better than the NFL IMO. Everyone plays the same schedule as everyone else, more or less.

The old unbalanced schedule worked when the East played 14 games and the West played 16 -- each team played one game against teams outside the division and three games against teams inside the division. But the 18-game schedule in a nine-team league pretty well requires home-and-home, with two extra intradivision games thrown in. Even if the league had a 10th team in the East, going to 13+5 would mean playing one team four times a season. Too many IMO.

[AngeloV]

Quite possible. But what would the alternative schedule be? One game against each western team and 13 against the other teams in the East? I'd get very sick of seeing the same opponents over and over. Or totally unbalanced, i.e. two against some western teams and one against others? Then we'd end up with strength-of-schedule issues, one area that the CFL is better than the NFL IMO. Everyone plays the same schedule as everyone else, more or less.

The old unbalanced schedule worked when the East played 14 games and the West played 16 -- each team played one game against teams outside the division and three games against teams inside the division. But the 18-game schedule in a nine-team league pretty well requires home-and-home, with two extra intradivision games thrown in. Even if the league had a 10th team in the East, going to 13+5 would mean playing one team four times a season. Too many IMO.

You can do 12 and 6 with a a rotation of which western team you play twice in that year. I think building rivalries are more important than playing home and home with every team in the league.

[argolio]

That schedule wouldn't happen. The five eastern teams would still play 10 games against the five western teams and only eight within their own division, just as they do now. The only difference would be that the intra-division games would be divided up among four teams instead of three. The only way we will ever play fewer than 10 games against the west is if they scrap the home-and-home format that has existed since 1981. And there's no way eastern teams would be willing to have the big-draw Roughriders come to town only every second year.Under my proposal with a 10th team, we'd play West teams home-and-home three years out of five, and then one home and one away the other two years. So the Riders would play here four years out of five. Not a major difference.


Have you seen the NBA lately, Ron? The Western Conference has been much, much stronger than the Eastern Conference the past few years. The Raptors would be lucky to make the playoffs in the Western Conference but I don't hear many in Toronto complaining about that.The NBA's problem is that sometimes only two teams can legitimately win the championship. That makes their regular season largely meaningless.

[PullTogether73]

You can do 12 and 6 with a a rotation of which western team you play twice in that year. I think building rivalries are more important than playing home and home with every team in the league.

I think the complete opposite.
Balanced (or close to it, as is the current situation in the CFL) schedules are the fairest to every team.

Having to watch the incompetent east division teams play each other 4 times a year would kill any enthusiasm for the league in eastern Canada imo.
And the low level of competitiveness would make the league a laughing stock.

[ArgoZ]

Have you seen the NBA lately, Ron? The Western Conference has been much, much stronger than the Eastern Conference the past few years. The Raptors would be lucky to make the playoffs in the Western Conference but I don't hear many in Toronto complaining about that.

Not true, but I get the point your trying to make. The Raptors have finished near the top of their conference the last few years, but their problem is they can't compete with Cleveland in the playoffs and if they ever do, there is likely Golden State in the final. This makes the regular season a long, been there, done that grind until the playoffs, where everyone is expecting them to lose. Raptor hype has subsided lately directly because of this.


Maybe true. But you don't see a set of standings in any other pro sport that has an entire division/conference ahead of the first place team in the other. All for an east/west discrimination (are Canadian truly still that petty?) that was proven false in 2007.

9 franchises is the only reason. The probability is mathematically higher. I remember some years where one NFL division would all have better or similar records than another division, but it didn't matter much because usually only the division winner moved on, and there is 32 teams!

[doubleblue]

I haven't seen the official figures, but have noticed that the best draws in the West seem to be the western teams and the same in the East. Maybe it is because more fans travel to games in their own division. But it seems that a Toronto at Ottawa, Ottawa at Montreal, Toronto at Hamilton, Hamilton at Toronto etc. always draw better than a B.C. or Edmonton at one of the Eastern teams. The present schedule of home and home with everybody, plus two more against your own division seems to be the happy medium.

[AngeloV]

I haven't seen the official figures, but have noticed that the best draws in the West seem to be the western teams and the same in the East. Maybe it is because more fans travel to games in their own division. But it seems that a Toronto at Ottawa, Ottawa at Montreal, Toronto at Hamilton, Hamilton at Toronto etc. always draw better than a B.C. or Edmonton at one of the Eastern teams. The present schedule of home and home with everybody, plus two more against your own division seems to be the happy medium.

Absolutely. There is no denying that league wide attendance was better when they only played the opposite division once a year.

[Neely2005]

Have you seen the NBA lately, Ron? The Western Conference has been much, much stronger than the Eastern Conference the past few years. The Raptors would be lucky to make the playoffs in the Western Conference but I don't hear many in Toronto complaining about that.

And in the NHL there are less teams in the West but the same number of playoff spots. I haven't heard anyone complaining about that.

[PullTogether73]

And in the NHL there are less teams in the West but the same number of playoff spots. I haven't heard anyone complaining about that.

I do remember complaints about that actually, when the realignment was announced.
But the rationale for the realignment (by time zones) seemed to outweigh the imbalance in the conferences.

With Vegas being added this year, the imbalance is reduced.
This is why I believe that the next expansion team will be in the west (Seattle perhaps?).
Sadly, I think Quebec City will not get an expansion team - only a transplanted eastern team (Islanders? Panthers?)

[R.J]

7 wins and barely missing the playoffs. Nowhere near as bad as Montreal, but Popp needs to fix our Oline next season, and Trestman needs to tweak some of the things he's doing IMO.

[doubleblue]

7 wins and barely missing the playoffs. Nowhere near as bad as Montreal, but Popp needs to fix our Oline next season, and Trestman needs to tweak some of the things he's doing IMO.

I checked off 8 wins. But am having second thoughts after the Labour Day fiascal. Starting to look like 7 on a wing and a prayer to get second place. That's if Ricky stays healthy. I think Popp has to fix our OLine this season. There's got to be a couple of good American free agents out there if they look hard enough. Van Roten would have been good as he could step right in. But in the meantime maybe it's time to give young Jamal Campbell a shot at Guard.

[gilthethrill]

I checked off 8 wins. But am having second thoughts after the Labour Day fiascal. Starting to look like 7 on a wing and a prayer to get second place. That's if Ricky stays healthy. I think Popp has to fix our OLine this season. There's got to be a couple of good American free agents out there if they look hard enough. Van Roten would have been good as he could step right in. But in the meantime maybe it's time to give young Jamal Campbell a shot at Guard.

Mason Woods should be in the lineup soon.

[OV Argo]

7 wins and barely missing the playoffs. Nowhere near as bad as Montreal, but Popp needs to fix our Oline next season, and Trestman needs to tweak some of the things he's doing IMO.



A number of pretty decent O-linemen in the crop for next year's draft (4 NCAA Div I guys, plus several CIS all-star types).

Back to more drafting of NI O-linemen? Popp's m.o.- maybe bound to find a real good one, but maybe should have had at least one by now (Sackey, Campbell & Woods from the past 2 drafts - not going to pan out ?)

Bound to be a couple of good FAs to be signed too - search far & wide to fix a problem area - might be worth it to sign a top, proven FA O-lineman or 2 - NI or import - and pay big bucks.

[paulwoods13]

Mason Woods should be in the lineup soon.

Won't happen before next year, IMO, unless there are a lot of injuries.

[doubleblue]

A number of pretty decent O-linemen in the crop for next year's draft (4 NCAA Div I guys, plus several CIS all-star types).

Back to more drafting of NI O-linemen? Popp's m.o.- maybe bound to find a real good one, but maybe should have had at least one by now (Sackey, Campbell & Woods from the past 2 drafts - not going to pan out ?)

Bound to be a couple of good FAs to be signed too - search far & wide to fix a problem area - might be worth it to sign a top, proven FA O-lineman or 2 - NI or import - and pay big bucks.

Top three rated picks are NCAA OLinemen. Knevel (Nebraska), Rutherford (Connecticut), Hunter (Bowling Green) and the Godber (Rice) at #6. Knevel at least will probably be in a NFL camp and maybe the others as well.
But I'm starting to think teams should look at the CIS linemen a little closer for their top picks. Winnipeg did take Geoff Gray high this year and will have to wait for him.

However, history is showing the top picks out of the NCAA are not exactly tearing up the League. Some are starting to look like busts, while the CIS Olinemen are starting and excelling.
Ottawa's 1st over all pick in 2015 Alex Mateas out of Connecticut is finally starting in his third year. But CIS players Winnipeg's Sukh Chungh and Argos McEwen taken the same year have started almost from day one. OG Dillon Guy out of Buffalo is on his 3rd team still looking for a roster spot.
2016 top pick NCAA's Josiah St. John has been slow to break into the starting line up in Regina. While Ottawa's Lauzon-Seguin out of Laval has turned out to be the best, starting at RT for his second year. Other Laval guys that same year Villiancourt (BC) and Gagnon (Montreal) have started around injuries as well. Revenberg out of NCAA II has started some for Hamilton.
This year the top pick out NCAA Iowa DT Faith Ekakite looks like a bust. I know everybody's different, but you look at the History of these Canadian NCAA linemen compared to the CIS players and it's not very good IMO. So the smart money this year just might be on the six Canadian OL's that are rated in the top 17, with the top CIS guy at #5 is Darius Ciraco (6'4 300) out of Calgary U and a Burlington native. But Popp loves his NCAA guys. Mason Wood. meh. If they thought he was any good he would be in uniform as a back up by now. Jamal Campbell out of York looks like the only one who is going to be any good.

OV has converted me to the CIS. lol You want good Canadian offensive linemen, look no further than Calgary and Laval. They recruit well, the players are well Coached and they know the Canadian game.

[PullTogether73]

7 wins and barely missing the playoffs. Nowhere near as bad as Montreal, but Popp needs to fix our Oline next season, and Trestman needs to tweak some of the things he's doing IMO.

Just want to verify what I think I'm reading here R.J.
Argos with 7 wins miss the playoffs.
Better record than Montreal though.
Therefore, you see Ottawa and Hamilton in the playoffs from the east.
Correct?

Therefore, Hamilton with at least 7 wins plus the tie break over the Argonauts?
(Sadly, I can't dismiss this possibility given what has happened over the past couple of weeks.:()

[R.J]

Just want to verify what I think I'm reading here R.J.
Argos with 7 wins miss the playoffs.
Better record than Montreal though.
Therefore, you see Ottawa and Hamilton in the playoffs from the east.
Correct?

Therefore, Hamilton with at least 7 wins plus the tie break over the Argonauts?
(Sadly, I can't dismiss this possibility given what has happened over the past couple of weeks.:()
For some reason I believe Hamilton will squeak in, and Toronto barely missing out. I could see the reversal as well though, with Toronto squeaking and Hamilton just on the outs. Montreal is IMO is worse than their record shows and IMO the West is too strong for a crossover not to happen. This is the time of year where we see what teams really are - contenders or pretenders. I'm hoping Trestman and Co can turn things around shortly and lead us to the playoffs. Once we're in, anything can happen.

[Will]

How long is Harris out for?

[gilthethrill]

How long is Harris out for?

Other than it is not believed to be season ending, I don't think a time frame has been given by the Ottawa Football Club.

[Neely2005]

How long is Harris out for?

Campbell said that he's out for "weeks". Not very specific.

[gilthethrill]

Just want to verify what I think I'm reading here R.J.
Argos with 7 wins miss the playoffs.
Better record than Montreal though.
Therefore, you see Ottawa and Hamilton in the playoffs from the east.
Correct?

Therefore, Hamilton with at least 7 wins plus the tie break over the Argonauts?
(Sadly, I can't dismiss this possibility given what has happened over the past couple of weeks.:()

No way...no friggin way Hamilton gets in the playoffs. They win 2 games in a row and all of a sudden people are talking like they are the 2nd Coming. They got help on Labour Day and Ottawa seemed to forget how to play football on Saturday. It comes down to Ottawa and Toronto in the East. They are a bad football team. They win 4 games.

[Argo57]

No way...no friggin way Hamilton gets in the playoffs. They win 2 games in a row and all of a sudden people are talking like they are the 2nd Coming. They got help on Labour Day and Ottawa seemed to forget how to play football on Saturday. It comes down to Ottawa and Toronto in the East. They are a bad football team. They win 4 games.

Hamilton have the Argos, 2 against Montreal and another against Ottawa.
I wouldn't count them out just yet, Argos have to beat them September 30th and start to take care of their own business!

[OV Argo]

Top three rated picks are NCAA OLinemen. Knevel (Nebraska), Rutherford (Connecticut), Hunter (Bowling Green) and the Godber (Rice) at #6. Knevel at least will probably be in a NFL camp and maybe the others as well.
But I'm starting to think teams should look at the CIS linemen a little closer for their top picks. Winnipeg did take Geoff Gray high this year and will have to wait for him.

However, history is showing the top picks out of the NCAA are not exactly tearing up the League. Some are starting to look like busts, while the CIS Olinemen are starting and excelling.
Ottawa's 1st over all pick in 2015 Alex Mateas out of Connecticut is finally starting in his third year. But CIS players Winnipeg's Sukh Chungh and Argos McEwen taken the same year have started almost from day one. OG Dillon Guy out of Buffalo is on his 3rd team still looking for a roster spot.
2016 top pick NCAA's Josiah St. John has been slow to break into the starting line up in Regina. While Ottawa's Lauzon-Seguin out of Laval has turned out to be the best, starting at RT for his second year. Other Laval guys that same year Villiancourt (BC) and Gagnon (Montreal) have started around injuries as well. Revenberg out of NCAA II has started some for Hamilton.
This year the top pick out NCAA Iowa DT Faith Ekakite looks like a bust. I know everybody's different, but you look at the History of these Canadian NCAA linemen compared to the CIS players and it's not very good IMO. So the smart money this year just might be on the six Canadian OL's that are rated in the top 17, with the top CIS guy at #5 is Darius Ciraco (6'4 300) out of Calgary U and a Burlington native. But Popp loves his NCAA guys. Mason Wood. meh. If they thought he was any good he would be in uniform as a back up by now. Jamal Campbell out of York looks like the only one who is going to be any good.

OV has converted me to the CIS. lol You want good Canadian offensive linemen, look no further than Calgary and Laval. They recruit well, the players are well Coached and they know the Canadian game.

IMO - good scouting should be looking strictly at the players' game film & skills/abilities, plus testing measureables and not assuming.

The Bombers could have picked Junior Luke out of Montreal in the CIS over Ekakite out of NCAA ball for DTs - we shall see how that pans out.

I liked Brian Jones as an Argo 1st round draft pick, but now wish they would have picked Vaillancourt (multiple time CIS all-star O-lineman out of the proven Laval hogs factory) instead - and at a position where NI players get more shot to play in the CFL, plus a real Argo area of need.

Tough call with drafting. I wouldn't necessarily pass on one of those NCAA O-linemen this coming draft, but take a good look at a few of those CIS guys as well.

[ArgoRavi]

No way...no friggin way Hamilton gets in the playoffs. They win 2 games in a row and all of a sudden people are talking like they are the 2nd Coming. They got help on Labour Day and Ottawa seemed to forget how to play football on Saturday. It comes down to Ottawa and Toronto in the East. They are a bad football team. They win 4 games.

Agreed. The Ticats have far too many problems, including having their Canadian content decimated by injury.

[argolio]

Agreed. The Ticats have far too many problems, including having their Canadian content decimated by injury.They start winning when Collaros and Laurent, two of their most expensive players, are not playing. Who could have predicted that?

[doubleblue]

I'm back on the 8 win band wagon. lol

[AngeloV]

I'm back on the 8 win band wagon. lol

I was on 9, but I'm leaning towards 10 now.

[Will]

I'm hoping that the Argos can defeat Saskatchewan at BMO. The Winnipeg game is tough but I am hoping that once again home-field advantage might swing things our way. The Argos played Winnipeg relatively tight at IGF although you could make the argument that it was before Winnipeg got real hot. The Argos have not had much success in Edmonton the last little while, but with the Eskmos in free-fall anything is possible and the Argos have also won 3 straight in BC so that isn't as formidable as it once was. I'd say 3-1 may be doable. It sure would be nice to have at least one team in the east above the .500 mark.

[ArgoRavi]

I would be disappointed with anything less than 9 wins at this point.