MONTREAL — A couple of roster-related items to get the morning going. Eskimos’ cornerback Joe Burnett is out for tonight’s game against the Montreal Alouettes. Burnett left Saturday’s game against the B.C. Lions with a leg injury and isn’t healthy enough to play tonight. He was placed on the 46-man active roster but will be scratched. Chris Rwabukamba will start in his place.
Rwabukamba has one tackle, two on special teams and one interception in four games played this year. He showed well in the Esks’ rainy win in Guelph in Week 2, where he had an interception against his former team, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. At five-foot-11, his biggest challenge should be vertical plays, where Anthony Calvillo would look to get a lengthy receiver the ball up above Rwabukamba.
Eskimos’ right tackle Cliff Louis was banged up in last week’s loss as well and the Eskimos appear to be going the similar route with him, listing him on the active roster but likely scratching him before tonight’s kickoff. Rookie Branden Curry was activated from the practice roster this week and is listed as Louis’ backup. Battling the Als’ D-line, this will be Curry’s first game as a pro. As the Journal’s John MacKinnon pointed out on Twitter, Louis is also a repeat offender when it comes to reckless penalties. Could this be a consequence that Kavis Reed spoke of two weeks ago?
I mentioned it in my notes for today’s game, but the notable absence on Montreal’s side figures to be former Eskimo Jerome Messam. He missed Wednesday’s walkthrough practice and is suffering from turf toe, according to Herb Zurkowski at the Montreal Gazette.
We can discuss consequences, the Eskimos, the CFL, turf toe and more at 5 p.m. when our pre-game live chat kicks off. Until then, get caught up on where both teams are at with the Journal’s Eskimos’ coverage and the Gazette’s Alouettes‘ coverage.
Let’s get into my picks for this week.
I’m riding the high of a 12-4 record right now (3-1 last week) and hoping the floor doesn’t open up underneath me this week. It sounds foolish that in a week where all of the CFL’s West teams are traveling to the East to call for a West sweep but I can see it happening. Calgary, B.C. and Saskatchewan are all that good. Winnipeg and Toronto are weighed down with injuries (both teams’ starting QBs are hurt) and Hamilton has to go back in front of the Riders’ firing squad this week. That leaves us with the toughest game on the schedule to pick: The Eskimos and the Als.
I spoke at length yesterday about this game with Herb Zurkowski from the Gazette and neither of us could come up with a clear-cut reason why one team should win. Both are struggling, albeit in different circumstances with different expectations on them this season. The Esks are the young team trying to find their way; the Als are led by the CFL’s best quarterback ever and are trying to get Anthony Calvillo one more Grey Cup ring. Both 1-3 and showing themselves capable of taking themselves out of a game with third quarter disappearing acts, the Als let big leads slip away and the Eskimos are unable to climb out of deficits.
The Als are plummeting toward job security speculation territory each week and should the Eskimos continue their slide, they’ll soon be crossing their fingers and thinking crossover. Both teams need this win, but neither same capable of going out and taking it. Someone will. Someone has to. I chose the Esks but it’s a coin toss.
Edmonton at Montreal — A battle (if fans are lucky) between a pair of 1-3 teams that are feeling the sand on their feet in the sink-or-swim scenario of this season. Whichever team is reeling the least (and wins at the line) will come out on top on Thurs. The Esks have lost two in a row and had one real day of practice on a short week, while the Als may have suffered a season-killing loss last week in Calgary and could be a loss away from having new people patrolling the sidelines. Edmonton
Calgary at Winnipeg — The injuries are piling up in Bomberville and the Stamps are showing just how good they can be. Calgary’s comeback win over Montreal is the stuff that can propel a team forward for a long time. Calgary
Saskatchewan at Hamilton — At 4-0 with a resilient Darian Durant, a revitalized Rob Bagg and an unstoppable Kory Sheets AND a shutdown defence, the Riders are the definition of swagger (but not Swaggerville). The Ti-Cats, meanwhile, are at the opposite end of that spectrum thanks to the Riders and get the pleasure of seeing them again this week. Hopefully it’s not 37-0 again. Saskatchewan
B.C. at Toronto — The Argos looked sensational in their lopsided win against the Bombers, but there’s a lot stacked up against them this week. Ricky Ray’s knee, Chad Kackert’s prolonged absence and the sudden release of LB Brandon Isaac are a lot to deal with at once. Add in that the Lions looked superb in their dismantling of the Eskimos and you get neck kinks looking up the hill in front of the home team. B.C.
