Another week is in the books and some things are beginning to become a little clearer in the Canadian Football League. For some teams, there is growing concern while other teams are enjoying their early season direction. I stumbled on my picks again in week 3, going just 1-3 resulting in my record falling to 5-7 overall. I should have gone 0-4…

Here’s how it all played out:

Montreal 33 Calgary 32

For Calgary, this was nothing short of a demoralizing loss.

The Stamps had a 12 point lead late in the fourth quarter and watched it evaporate when QB Kevin Glenn made a very poor decision and threw an interception. The Als scored the go ahead touchdown with less than a minute left to play. Calgary still had time to set up a game winning field goal, but bad clock management sealed their fate as they fell to 1-2. To add insult to injury, the Stamps learned that starting pivot Drew Tate will miss the rest of the season after opting for shoulder surgery. It will be interesting to see how Calgary responds after losing in this fashion. Meanwhile, Montreal found a way to win and should be considered a threat as the season progresses. Of note, QB Anthony Calvillo took some hard hits and is a little banged up right now. His health will be something to keep an eye on.

Edmonton 42 Winnipeg 10

This one was hard to watch for Bomber fans. The score was 35-0 at the half and surely some of them needed a drink at that point, if not earlier. As has happened so often in his career, Winnipeg QB Buck Pierce exited the game in the first quarter after sustaining a foot injury. He’ll be out for at least four weeks. Back up Alex Brink also left the game after a hellacious hit in the fourth quarter. The bombers turned the ball over, took penalties and just played bad football throughout the game. The score could have been a lot worse. Edmonton QB Steven Jyles is still off on a lot of his throws, but he showed improvement from his previous start. I think both of these teams will continue to struggle, but for Winnipeg it could get a lot worse as they are now going into battle with two young and inexperienced quarterbacks in Alex Brink and Joey Elliott. And with their offensive line issues, I’m not so sure any quarterback could stay healthy back there.

Saskatchewan 23 B.C. 20

Although I picked the wrong team to win, I was right about this being a close game. I was also right about Travis Lulay, who I predicted would throw for over 300 yards for the first time this season. He threw for 345 yards, but he also threw 2 interceptions against a Rider defence that just continues to impress. For the second straight week, Darian Durant didn’t do anything special but got the job done once again. He’s not turning the ball over and is doing a good job of spreading the football around to the playmakers. These playmakers include running back Kory Sheets, who rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown in the game. As for the Lions, they still played a solid game on the road despite losing and should bounce back this week.

Hamilton 36 Toronto 27

This is a huge win for the Tiger Cats after dropping their first two games. They were led by sophomore Chris Williams who caught a 34 yard touchdown pass and also returned a punt for a major. For the first time this season, Chevon Walker wasn’t much of a factor. Still, I think he will be a key piece for the Cats moving forward. For the Argos, Cory Boyd ran for 168 yards and a TD and Receiver Andre Durie had another productive outing. Boyd is leading the league in rushing yards while Durie is second best in receiving yards. Toronto lost more than just the game, as their kicker Noel Prefontaine was injured and is now quite possibly looking at career ending hip surgery. With three more TD passes in the game, Hamilton’s Henry Burris now has seven on the season which ties him with Calvillo for the league lead.

My week 4 preview is upcoming.

-Nolan Kowal

@NolanKowalCFL

Nolan.Kowal@gmail.com