Anyone want to talk Canadian Football?

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If anyone wants to discuss the teams and whatever else I'll post some info. If no one cares I won't. Anyone else bet on this sport?
 

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I bet it, it's one of the few niche sports thats available at every sports book in Vegas (WNBA being the other). CFL is a lot more popular amongst Vegas bettors than offshore bettors.

The season starts next week, right?
 

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Here are my rankings.

1. Calgary
2. Edmonton
3. Montreal
4. Hamilton
5. Winnipeg
6. BC
7. Ottawa
8. Toronto
9. Saskatoon
 

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CFL future odds from WilliamHill US to win the Grey Cup.

Calgary and Saskatoon aren't showing up but I got the rest

BC 5/1
Edmonton 5/1
Hamilton 13/2
Toronto 17/2
Montreal 15/2
Winnipeg 15/1
Ottawa 30/1
 

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I bet it, it's one of the few niche sports thats available at every sports book in Vegas (WNBA being the other). CFL is a lot more popular amongst Vegas bettors than offshore bettors.

The season starts next week, right?

Starts on Thursday with Ottawa/Montreal. 1 more game on Friday, 2 on Saturday. B.C. on bye.
 

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Here are my rankings.

1. Calgary
2. Edmonton
3. Montreal
4. Hamilton
5. Winnipeg
6. BC
7. Ottawa
8. Toronto
9. Saskatoon

Still figuring some things out as far as who gained/lost important players.

Calgary has to be near the top but Edmonton is my #1 so far. Eskimos were an extremely complete team last year. What don't you like about Saskatchewan? With Durant healthy they could be as good as anyone IMO. Defense still forces turnovers and gets to the QB. I think they are in the group right below Calgary/Edmonton.

Toronto could be a good team. Their defense improved quite a bit last year and that team was murdered with injuries all year. Just decimated. The injured team this season appears to be Hamilton. The Ti-Cats have lost a massive amount of guys already.

What do you like about Montreal? Who is QB'ing that team this season? Their defense is solid but I worry about them offensively. I seem to remember they brought in a few quality WRs this offseason.

Going to do a bit more research tonight to get caught up.

B.C. could be this year's Hamilton if Lulay would ever stay healthy. The defense looks nice anyway.
 

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After researching the Argonauts it appears they won't be as good as I thought they were. I still think they'll be a decent team but with Ray out half the year it won't be easy. The team really didn't do anything in free agency. They still have talent and with healthy guys at skill positions (minus Ray) I think their offense could be scary in the 2nd half. Harris has looked good at QB thus far but the Argos play much of the 1st half of the year on the road which won't be easy on the inexperienced QB.
 

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Ottawa seems like they should be improved offensively. Burris is solid and the offensive line should give him more time to throw this year. That being said I'm not sure what to make of the defense. I like their defensive line but I'm not entirely sure why they didn't do better last year. I suppose part of their issue was the offense not keeping them off the field for long. The squad is definitely improved and could challenge for a playoff spot but I'm going to take a wait and see approach to see how the new offensive pieces work together.
 

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One thing to consider is that the new rules surrounding PI will help offenses. Scoring was down across the board last year and this seems to be the league trying to get the ball moving a bit .
 
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"Season win total
Hamilton over 9½ -120

BEST LINES: 5DIMES over 9½ -120 Bet365 o10½ -110SportsInteraction o10½ -110 Posted Monday, June 22 BEFORE Week 1

We found this number (9½) at 5DIMES and Intertops. SIA and BET365 have it at 10½, so we cannot recommend it at that number. We’re very aware that most people don’t have an account at 5DIMES or Intertops so if you do not, be on the lookout for the other books to post season win totals in the CFL and if the Tigercats come in at this number, act accordingly.


Hamilton is coming off two straight Grey Cup appearances and heading into the third season under vice-president of football operations Kent Austin, which means the roster and more importantly, the organizational philosophy is a full representation of his vision. This is now Austin's team on every level. Of the 46 players on the roster for last season's championship game, 42 are back, including 22 of 24 starters so the Ticats start the season with a number of key pieces already in place. Remember, this was a team that lost six of its first seven games a year ago before going on an 8-3 run and winning the East.


The Ticats have themselves a bona fide starter in Zach Collaros, who played at an elite level from Labour Day on last season — the situation behind him is far from set. The three other quarterbacks currently on the roster have started a grand total of two CFL starts among them. If Collaros goes down early in the year then this wager obviously has more risk but it’s a gamble we’re willing to make. Expect sophomore Jacory Harris to make a strong push for the back-up QB job. He spent last season learning the complex system run by Austin and offensive co-ordinator Tommy Condell and has impressed the organization with his smarts and commitment. Newly-signed Jeff Matthews, who played for the Austin-Condell tandem at Cornell, will likely need some time to adjust to the CFL game.


The Ticats have excellent depth at the RB position with C.J. Gable, the 2013 East Division most outstanding rookie, Nic Grigsby (who likely should have won the award last year), and second-year man Mossis Madu. But make no mistake: if Gable is healthy, the job is his to lose. Foot and shoulder problems limited Gable to just seven games last year but the Ticats showed their faith in him by signing him to a contract extension in the off-season. His unparalleled versatility — he can run, catch passes out of the backfield and is excellent in pass protection — makes him a perfect fit for Austin's offence and Hamilton also has a good receiving corps as well

On the offensive line, the acquisition of veteran Ryan Bomben in a draft-day trade with Montreal and the return of a fully healthy Pete Dyakowski gives the Ticats two legit starting guards to bookend centre Mike Filer, while veteran Tim O'Neill and youngsters Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill provide some depth. After playing guard much of last season, look for all-star Brian Simmons to move back to tackle while Joel Figueroa, Jake Olson and Jeremy Lewis battle it out for the other starting spot. This is a solid offensive line and the defensive line is solid too with all four starters from the Grey Cup game — tackles Ted Laurent and Bryan Hall, ends Justin Hickman and Eric Norwood all returning. Hamilton will also benefit from the return of Brian Bulcke, who missed the latter half of last season due to injury. This is a defense that is missing just one starter from last year's Grey Cup game.

The CFL plays an 18-game schedule. The Ti-Cats are the class of the East and it might not be close. Asking this group to win 10 of 18 games seems extremely reasonable. The Redblacks, Argos and Alouettes all have major flaws but Hamilton does not, thus Hamilton likely wins the East with at least 10 wins.

-----------------------------

JUST A FYI: Intertops has the Redblacks at 7½u -115. SIA and BET365 has them at 4½ and 5Dimes has them at 5½. A miracle of sorts would have to occur for the Redblacks to win eight games. Personally, I opened an account at Intertops and made that wager on the Redblacks under 7½ -115. It's a gift if you can get on at that price. At the time of this writing, it was still 7½ -115.
"


Sherwood
 

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Hamilton is the most injured team in the CFL by a large margin thus far. Scary. Good luck if you made the bet. Tons of talent but guys are dropping everywhere so far.
 
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Oddsmakers have Hamilton as a clear favorite to win their division & only behind Calgary to win the 2015 Grey Cup.
Playing at 2014 champions Calgary in week one (in a few days) they are only 6.5 point dogs. Compare Toronto, considered the 2nd best in the East, who are 4.5 point underdogs, at home, to Edmonton.

In the CFL sherwood has had a winning season each of the past 4 years for +56 units.
He has had plus units in 8 of the past 10 seasons, for +71 units overall.
The only two losing years were only minus 2 & 3 units.
Seems he knows his stuff, not only in the CFL, but MLB & the NHL, etc.
And all the picks are posted publicly & given away absolutely free.
Invest!
 

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Oddsmakers have Hamilton as a clear favorite to win their division & only behind Calgary to win the 2015 Grey Cup.
Playing at 2014 champions Calgary in week one (in a few days) they are only 6.5 point dogs. Compare Toronto, considered the 2nd best in the East, who are 4.5 point underdogs, at home, to Edmonton.

In the CFL sherwood has had a winning season each of the past 4 years for +56 units.
He has had plus units in 8 of the past 10 seasons, for +71 units overall.
The only two losing years were only minus 2 & 3 units.
Seems he knows his stuff, not only in the CFL, but MLB & the NHL, etc.
And all the picks are posted publicly & given away absolutely free.
Invest!

Actually X, Toronto is not really at home. That game is being played in Fort McMurtry (sp?) in Alberta so it's in Edmonton's backyard.
Argos schedule is brutal this year with just two homes until Sept 11 when they play the Ti-Cats. Toronto moves into a new stadium next season and my gut feeling is that they're kinda gearing up for that. The new stadium is located in the CNE Grounds and is where the MLS team plays its home games (BMO Field). It will be a WAY better environment to play CFL games in and a million times better atmosphere than that dead ass place they play in now. Be very careful about betting on or against the Argos early in year. It may be a long one for them or they may be playing with a chip on their shoulder because of the tough situation they've been put in. Time will tell.
 

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Ottawa seems like they should be improved offensively. Burris is solid and the offensive line should give him more time to throw this year. That being said I'm not sure what to make of the defense. I like their defensive line but I'm not entirely sure why they didn't do better last year. I suppose part of their issue was the offense not keeping them off the field for long. The squad is definitely improved and could challenge for a playoff spot but I'm going to take a wait and see approach to see how the new offensive pieces work together.

Not sure if i would call Burris "solid" Jake. He was retired last year when he got the call. When he did play in the final few games, he was erratic as hell. Now he doesn't have a good cast around him, he's over 40 and he's a HUGE liability in my opinion. He'll fill in for now.
 

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Not sure if i would call Burris "solid" Jake. He was retired last year when he got the call. When he did play in the final few games, he was erratic as hell. Now he doesn't have a good cast around him, he's over 40 and he's a HUGE liability in my opinion. He'll fill in for now.

Thanks for the input. You don't sound like as big of a fan as I am of the new offensive line pieces Ottawa brought in. Burris isn't in his prime anymore but I thought he did about as well as possible last year considering he didn't have much time to throw. I don't expect Ottawa to be great but I think they can have a quality 2nd half once the team learns to play together. I'm a big proponent of O and D-lines and I think Ottawa has made an effort to be strong along both. Whether it pans out or not remains to be seen.
 

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Also if anyone is interested I'll finish these mini team previews today. Going to start in a few minutes. Would love to hear some input.
 

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Montreal is a tricky team for me. I made decent money fading them early last season. Their defense took a step back but that was likely caused by the offense's inability to do anything at all most of the year. D was still pretty nice despite all the turnovers on the other side. Troy Smith was a trainwreck and Crompton was better. The team really did a good job at protecting their QB. Crompton should be stronger in year 2 with a full training camp. With tons of players back on both sides I think this squad can be a contender. If nothing else they are capable on both sides of the ball and should be competitive in just about every game.
 

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Hamilton has about everyone back. I loved Collaros heading into last season and he didn't' disappoint. That being said I still don't see this as an elite team at all. Their defense is nice but they lost perhaps the best corner in the league. The offensive line has not been good the last few seasons. Collaros gets hit too much. Hamilton is also quite injured. They have lost 2 important guys on their defensive line to injury. I could see the defense taking a step back. The philosophy they employ is more important than the individual pieces so I still expect them to have a nice defense; just not as impressive as last year. Collaros' ability to move in the pocket will be key as I think the offense needs to be better if this team wants to be a threat. Keeping him healthy is extremely important but I'm not convinced the O-line is up to the task. I love Austin as a coach and he generally finds a way to produce a winner but with the injuries I think this is his toughest task in a while. I see a team that wins maybe 8 or 9 games. Sherwood seems higher on this squad than I am. Scary.
 

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Winnipeg was flawed but did improve on both sides of the ball last year. Ultimately they couldn't run, couldn't stop the run, turned the ball over too much, got sacked too much, and didn't force many sacks/turnovers of their own. Willy has some potential in that offense but not having the threat of the run really handcuffed their upside in 2014. The offensive line was trash the 2nd half of the year and the team seems to have improved in that aspect. I'm not sure how long it takes for the pieces to gel but Winnipeg at least made an effort. They should give Willy more time to throw and run the ball better. With the offense running smoother the defensive stats should continue to improve, although I still don't see this being a good D. Blue Bombers are going to have to score points to win games. Meh. I think 2016 will be their time to compete.
 

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How do you even rank BC? Will Lulay be healthy? That seems to be the question the past few years. I love the hire of Tedford, but I'm not sure how long it will take the team to learn his offense. What I do know is that any team with Tedford at the helm will score points. Will it happen early? 2nd half of the season seems more likely. Having Lulay teamed up with Tedford is a fantastic duo. I'd go as far as to say that if Lulay stays healthy the Lions might have the best CFL offense in the 2nd half of the season. One thing I was worried about with the new head coach is that fantastic B.C. defensive philosophy going away but Tedford made the wise move and kept the entire staff. With pretty much the entire defense coming back as well I love his Lions squad. Of course it all comes down to whether or not Lulay can stay healthy... but if he avoids injuries this season I'll say that B.C. is my favorite to win the Grey Cup.
 

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