What looked like a runaway a few weeks ago in
the East Division is suddenly becoming a very interesting situation for the
Montreal Alouettes.
spread cfl odds betting odds handicapping pick
They
only hold a slender one game lead over a pair of teams, one of which is going
to be hosting them on Saturday afternoon. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are on a roll
after a terrible start against the CFL odds this year, and can stake their
claim to the top spot in the division with a 'W' in Week 11.
Crippled QBs Leave Als in Trouble
First
it was QB Adrian McPherson that went down with an MCL tear in training camp.
The former Florida State Seminole was put on the nine-game IR list, but was
ultimately not a real factor... until three weeks ago...
...
When QB Anthony Calvillo injured his chest against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
All of a sudden, head coach Marc Trestman didn't have a quarterback to turn to
that he truly trusted for the game at home against BC last week, which ended in
a bitter 38-17 loss in part due to the fact that...
...
Third string QB Chris Leak picked up a hip injury that knocked him out as well.
Leak
is expected to be out of the lineup this week, but Calvillo has the potential
for dressing as the third stringer. Don't look for Montreal to go with an
emergency signal caller on the roster. The good news is that Ricky Santos, the
fourth quarterback for the team, proved that he was remotely competent last
week, completing 10-of-12 passes in garbage time. The better news is that he
doesn't have to start. McPherson is back, and though he'll be wearing a brace
over his knee, he'll be the man calling the shots for at least this week as AC
continues to heal.
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Tigers Too Tough To Tame
At least by the numbers, the
Tabbies just don't look like they have that much bite. They've scored a grand
total of one more point than their opposition on the season. Quarterback Kevin
Glenn might have the second most passing yards in the league (2,720), but he
also has the third most INTs. Running back DeAndra Cobb is still only averaging
4.0 yards per carry, easily the worst in the CFL, and he is starting to get
snuck up upon by running backs that aren't even starters in the rushing title
race.
Yet somehow, Marcel
Bellefeuille's crew continues to find ways to win.
Bellefeuille should be thanking
his men in the trenches, which continues to rack up impressive stats. Though
the O-Line isn't producing holes for the rushing game, Glenn continues to stay
relatively clean in spite of the fact that he has thrown the second most passes
in the CFL this year. Quarterbacks have only been sacked 16 times, the second
best total in the league.
On the other side of the ball,
the Tabbies are racking up sacks left and right. They have 24 for the season,
including six for Garrett McIntyre, who ranks third in the CFL in that
category.
Hamilton also hasn't been
shooting itself in the foot, as it has only committed an average of 9.9
penalties per game, the third fewest in the CFL.
Stacking Up the CFL Odds
With a healthy AC under center,
the Alouettes destroyed Hamilton 37-14 on July 22 at home. In fact, Montreal
hasn't lost a game in this series since the end of 2008, a stretch of five
straight games. It has gone 3-2 ATS in those five meetings and has scored at
least 37 points in four of the five.
Beating the Tabbies at home this
year has been a tough task for all involved in the CFL, as the only team that
has pulled it off has been the Calgary Stampeders, who won 23-22 with a field
goal right at the gun in Week 2 of the season.
The Alouettes have covered 19 of
their last 26 games against East Division opponents and are 3-1 both SU and ATS
against divisional foes this year.
Though McPherson is almost
certainly going to be starting on Saturday afternoon, the chance that Calvillo
might still play has scared the oddsmakers from putting up a line as of the
time of publication of this article. Rest assured that BoDog Sportsbook will
have all of your CFL betting lines available to you before the game kicks off
at 1:00 ET!