CALGARY +5½ over Saskatchewan
Lots of hype surrounding this game as Henry Burris, who was lured away from Saskatchewan in the off-season, faces his former club. Burris has struggled big time in his new digs but this is the game that the Stamps want badly, and they’ll be well prepared. It doesn’t hurt either that the Roughriders have eight regulars on the rack and that Saskatchewan’s GM, Roy Shivers, who spent eight years in Calgary, opened his cake hole with his off-color suggestion that he wanted his Roughriders to break Burris' neck. Laying road points in any football game is always a dangerous proposition and this one is no different. In this pass-oriented league the Roughriders are not a passing team and what that means is that they’ll be running the ball often on first down. The key for the Stampeders will be to stop the run on first down and force them into second and long situations. We can definitely see that happening and contrary to public opinion, we just don’t believe that Saskatchewan is as good as advertised. They beat the woeful Ti-Cats twice and than beat the even more dreadful Blue Bombers once to produce their three wins. They lost to the Argos on the road and now their asked to lay 5½ points in a very hostile environment against a team loaded with talent that just hasn’t clicked yet. It says here the Stampeders not only cover but win outright and while the money line is tempting, we’ll take the points in a game that the Stamps can surely win. Play: Calgary +5½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
Lots of hype surrounding this game as Henry Burris, who was lured away from Saskatchewan in the off-season, faces his former club. Burris has struggled big time in his new digs but this is the game that the Stamps want badly, and they’ll be well prepared. It doesn’t hurt either that the Roughriders have eight regulars on the rack and that Saskatchewan’s GM, Roy Shivers, who spent eight years in Calgary, opened his cake hole with his off-color suggestion that he wanted his Roughriders to break Burris' neck. Laying road points in any football game is always a dangerous proposition and this one is no different. In this pass-oriented league the Roughriders are not a passing team and what that means is that they’ll be running the ball often on first down. The key for the Stampeders will be to stop the run on first down and force them into second and long situations. We can definitely see that happening and contrary to public opinion, we just don’t believe that Saskatchewan is as good as advertised. They beat the woeful Ti-Cats twice and than beat the even more dreadful Blue Bombers once to produce their three wins. They lost to the Argos on the road and now their asked to lay 5½ points in a very hostile environment against a team loaded with talent that just hasn’t clicked yet. It says here the Stampeders not only cover but win outright and while the money line is tempting, we’ll take the points in a game that the Stamps can surely win. Play: Calgary +5½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
