Joe's Take

CFL Insider's columnist Joe Pritchard offers his take on all of week 6's action.

How about this? A couple of close finishes, a couple of surprises, and oh yeah, there's Ben Cahoon where you least expect him. Okay, so the last one isn't THAT uncommon.

We start in Montreal, where Toronto was looking to avenge a loss in Toronto last week to the same Als. It was a game filled with controversy, quarterback changes, injuries, ejections, and big plays. Damon Allen's injury led to Rocky Butler making an appearance, Dominique Dorsey returned a Damon Duval missed field goal 128 yards for a touchdown, and Byron Parker goaded Duval into a punching match which led to both player's ejections. It's unfortunate, what with tapes and replays that the league couldn't have come down on Parker after the fact, as he was clearly the instigator on the play. I guess what that means is that the league has no problem if a coach sends a player after the other team's kicker to gain a strategic advantage. On the other hand, in the overtime, Ben Cahoon, subbing for Duval, made his kick, and All-League kicker Noel Prefontaine missed his to give Montreal the win, so maybe it wasn't worth it in the end.

Saskatchewan rode the hot hand into BC Place and silenced the Lions in their own den. The Lions couldn't get much going on offence, as Jarious Jackson struggled mightily, throwing three interceptions, and the running game couldn't get going, as Joe Smith only had 9 carries. Wes Cates got the ball plenty, though, and continues to establish himself as a dependable starter, and Kerry Joseph is proving to be dependable in his own right.

Hamilton got their first win, as the Bombers could not contain Jesse Lumsden, and the Ti-Cat defense did just enough to win, even with the load of penalties they continue to commit. Jason Maas proved why he was worthy of the starting job with a beautiful three touchdown performance, and the Bombers offence did a pretty good job as well, only being let down by the defence's lack of ability to stop Lumsden on this night and three missed field goals.

Calgary came away with a rare win in the unfriendly confines of Commonwealth Stadium, in a game where offence was the rule. Henry Burris and Ricky Ray were on target, and turnovers were kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, some of the game was marred by rough play, and one play even had two Eskimo's get ejected, with one of them, AJ Gass, getting to sit another game for his transgressions. Edmonton lost a chance to put it away late, and Sandro DeAngelis made a big kick at the end to win the game for the Stamps.

And now, on to week 7.

Calgary heads to McGill to face the Alouettes, who have turned it on and started winning. In this battle of 3-3 teams, however, I have the Stamps coming out on top, but it will be a dogfight all the way in this 28-26 final.

Saskatchewan heads to Toronto, and they have three things the Argos don't. They have a quarterback they can trust, a winning record, and a running game. All three will help them win in Rogers Centre, winning 37-23.

The Bombers travel to BC this week, and while the Bombers have had their offence on key the past few weeks, this is the week that they bottom out a bit, and BC will be able to come away with a low-scoring one, 17-11.

Hamilton travels to Edmonton, and while they have been trending in opposite directions, I think the effects of Commonwealth Stadium and an Eskimos team that knows they can't lose this one will result in a 32-22 win for the home team.