posted June 30, 2009 at 11:45 EST in NFL Articles
Canadian Football League Power Poll
by Mike Rose
FOOTBALL BETTING – Preseason Canadian Football League Power Poll
Are you ready for some football? The CFL betting season kicks off on Wednesday night with a fantastic double-header, and will wrap up with the Grey Cup in Calgary in the fall. BetUS Sportsbook gets you ready for it all with the power poll of the teams you’ll be watching throughout the entirety of the 2009 season…
1) Calgary Stampeders (13-5, 13-5 ATS in 2008, +200 to win Grey Cup) Where else is there to start than with the defending champs? Calgary didn’t change a heck of a lot in the offseason, as their only real significant loss was when the team cut LB JoJuan Armour for disciplinary reasons. There’s no reason to believe that the lethal trio of QB Henry Burris, RB Joffrey Reynolds, and WR Ken-Yon Rambo can’t take the Stamps back to the Grey Cup again this season.
2) Montreal Alouettes (11-7, 10-8 ATS in 2008, +400 to win Grey Cup) Where else to continue than the runners-up from last season? Much like Calgary, Montreal didn’t change much on its team, which ranked first in almost every major offensive category behind 2008’s Most Outstanding Player, Anthony Calvillo. If AC continues playing up to his career standards, the Als should walk away from a very weak Eastern Division this season. If not, troubled former Florida State QB Adrian McPherson may finally get his chance to prove his worth.
3) Edmonton Eskimos (10-8, 9-8-1 ATS in 2008, +225 to win Grey Cup) The Eskies made some noise in the offseason when they signed RB Jesse Lumsden from Hamilton, which many football betting fans of Canada’s game think may put them over the top. New HC Richie Hall has his work cut out for him in his first year, but the green and gold are a trendy selection to upset the Stamps in the West.
4) British Columbia Lions (10-8, 8-9-1 ATS in 2008, +550 to win Grey Cup) There wasn’t a team in the CFL this past offseason that lost more than the BC Lions. The Leos lost DE Cameron Wake and three other starters to the NFL from ’08 to ’09, but they’re still a very strong squad behind the QB play of Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson along with the speed of RB Charles Roberts. HC Wally Buono knows how to field a CFL team, and if for no other reason than that, British Columbia should compete again this season.
5) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-15, 6-11-1 ATS in 2008, +1800 to win Grey Cup) Is this too much respect for the Tabbies? If youth is served in 2009, Hamilton may have its first decent team in seemingly forever. The defense is completely revamped, and though the offense lost RB Jesse Lumsden in the offseason, many think it may have the best running back duo in the game in Terry Caulley and Tre Smith.
6) Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-6, 9-8-1 ATS in 2008, +950 to win Grey Cup) The Riders may be a mess defensively this season, especially since former DC Richie Hall is now the HC in Edmonton. QB Darian Durant is going to get his chance to prove that he can be a professional quarterback, but he’s clearly one of the weakest QBs in the CFL this year.
7) Toronto Argonauts (4-14, 6-10-2 ATS in 2008, +1400 to win Grey Cup) No one was more disappointing in 2008 than the Argos. They were favored to win the Grey Cup, and didn’t even make the playoffs (and quite frankly, weren’t even close to making them either). QB Kerry Joseph has to put this team on his back and carry them there this year, or all of the great things he did in Saskatchewan may be tarnished forever.
8) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-10, 7-9-2 ATS in 2008, +1200 to win Grey Cup) QB Stefan LeFors has been tabbed with the task of saving a Winnipeg franchise that is quickly heading down the tubes. Unfortunately for Bombers fans, LeFors only threw four passes all of last season and probably isn’t ready to play as a starter at this level. Even more unfortunate… there isn’t really anyone any better suited to play behind him now that QB Kevin Glenn is Hamilton’s back-up.
