CFL playoff preview

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By David Hollinshead

article is before the final week of the
CFL is finished, where every team’s
position could potentially change (with
the exception of the Hamilton Tiger
Cats), so the following playoff positions
are purely speculation and I’ll try to stay
away from position matchups.

[== that my deadline for this

The West

The Edmonton Eskimos. Edmonton
hosts the Saskatchewan Roughriders
in the last game of the season,
and—though Edmonton’s been a
bottom-feeder team for years—they are
currently relatively healthy. Edmonton
will want to redeem itself to fans by
getting the first round bye. With the first
round bye, Edmonton will get its team
some rest, allowing the assortment of
| little injuries they have to heal.
; Edmonton’s trip to the Grey

Cup depends entirely on the defence.
_ Quarterback Ricky Ray is proven to
be one of the top quarterbacks in the
league—the Eskimo brain trust have
_ complete faith in him and plan to keep
" him around for the rest of his career.
Ray himself has complete confidence
and gelled chemistry with receivers
Fred Stamps and Jason Barnes. Running
back Jerome Messam will also be the
first Canadian running back to have a
1000-yard year since 2000. Needless to
say, their offence can get the job done.

 

When Edmonton does lose, it’s usually
due to the defence not being able to stop
the opposing team’s offence and giving
up big plays.

The BC Lions. To coach Wally Buono,
the only home playoff game to worry
about is the Grey Cup. With several
starters on the injured list, BC will let
them rest against Montreal. The injury
list includes: wide receiver Akeem
Foster (whose injury forced the Leos
to sign the retired Ryan Thelwell),
slotback Shawn Gore (who was able to
play last week against Edmonton, but
is still feeling the effects), running back
Andrew Harris (who has come into his
own as a budding star in this league),
defensive tackles Khalif Mitchell and
Aaron Hunt (who have been alternating
games due to injuries), starting middle
linebacker Solomon Elimimian (who is
still out, though backup James Yurichuk
has done a decent job replacing him),
and kick returner Tim Brown (who has
missed substantial time with a recurring
injury).

If the Lions defence can get healthy,
Buono and defensive coordinator
Mike Benevides have faith that they
can halt anyone’s offense— giving the
Lions offense the chance to win. It then
falls on the shoulders of quarterback
Travis Lulay, who just finished his
first full season as the Lions starter
and is a candidate for the league’s
Most Outstanding Player award. If he
can continue to carve up opponents