Predict the 2007 Grey Cup!

[Marauders]

Who will win the 2007 Canadian Football League Grey Cup?

This will test your CFL knowledge, as well as your ability to select the best team.

Please post any comments you may have. [:)]

[Arctic Blast]

Well, I'm Canadian, so I have an unfair knowledge base. [:D]

I'm going with the Argos. That defense is nasty, and Bishop has been tearing it up all year. Plus, they are red hot right now.

[Marauders]

Arctic Blast stated: Well, I'm Canadian, so I have an unfair knowledge base.

Well, by testing knowledge, I meant that there were a few teams that really shouldn't get any votes. Being Canadian generally helps with that one.

I'm going with the Argos. That defense is nasty, and Bishop has been tearing it up all year. Plus, they are red hot right now.

The Argos have a good defense, but they were thrashed by the Lions in week 12.

I picked the Lions. Geroy Simon will make a few great grabs almost every game!

I would hope Winnipeg would do better, but they have not done well away this season. Perhaps that has something to do with going East this season.

[garysorrell]

Im passing on using any knowledge at all

Im just an Als fan, so bias moves to the front of the line

[WallysWorld]

No doubt that BC is the team to beat, but I'm hoping that my Stamps can beat Saskatchewan (the Riders are not as good as their record makes them to be) and then have a great Western Final at BC Place.

In the East, the Argos' defence is the key and that will propel them to the Grey Cup. Toronto at home in the Grey Cup should be awesome to watch!!!

BC versus Toronto in the Grey Cup with BC winning.

[jdhalfrack]

I have no knowledge of the CFL whatsoever with the exception of the rules they use.  My vote: the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  Why?  I mean seriously... Saskatchewan has a team?  That might be the coolest name of a state/province in the world.  And: Roughriders.  Yeah, yeah, yeah... get your head out of the gutter [;)] .
 
JD

[Marauders]

Roughriders

 
Bully!
 

Atlantic Schooners

 
[:D]
 
 

[David Winter]

Actually, Saskatchewan is pretty much Canada's team. Attendance for the other teams goes up by a minimum 10% above the average when the 'Riders are in town. Both of Calgary's sell outs this year were due to the 'Riders coming to town bringing bus loads of fans with them. The 'Riders are generally involved in the leagues highest TV ratings too. There are 'Rider fans in every nook and crany of this country. They come out in force when the team struggles, but recently they've turned the on field results around and finished the season 12-6 for one of their better seasons since about 1976. The western semi final, which the 'Riders are hosting for the first time since the 80's, sold out in under 25 minutes. When the 'Riders play, the stadium becomes the second largest city in the province.
 
The 'Riders GM Eric Tillman put it best when he said; "When you're born in Saskatchewan, the doctors don't slap your behind, they stamp the Roughrider 'S' on it."
 
 
 

[Arctic Blast]

ORIGINAL: jdhalfrack

I have no knowledge of the CFL whatsoever with the exception of the rules they use. My vote: the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Why? I mean seriously... Saskatchewan has a team? That might be the coolest name of a state/province in the world. And: Roughriders. Yeah, yeah, yeah... get your head out of the gutter [;)] .

JD

Here's a quirky Saskatchewan pro sports factoid for ya...back in...I cannot remember if it was the 70's, or the early 80's, Purina (yep, the pet food company) owned the St. Louis Blues, but they were trying to unload them. One of the interested buyers was a man named Bill Hunter, who had previously launched the WHA (that's where the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, etc. first played before the WHA joined the NHL). Anyway, IF Hunter had bought the team, he was planning on moving them to the mighty burgh of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan...population at the time...about 110,000 people, maybe.

[WallysWorld]

ORIGINAL: David Winter
Both of Calgary's sell outs this year were due to the 'Riders coming to town bringing bus loads of fans with them.

Not quite true, David. As a Stamps season ticket owner, I know that the one Rider game was a sellout, but the second one was far from it. Probably because Burris was hurt at the time. The other sellout in Calgary every season is the Labour Day Classic against the Eskimos.

We Stamps fans just hate how the Rider fans claim to be the best in the CFL when the Riders attendance in Regina was only so-so until really last season when it picked up. We also hate how Rider fans. especially here in Calgary. claim that they fill McMahon Stadium when really only about 25% (a third at the most!) of the stands are filled with Rider fans when the Stamps host Saskatchewan.[:D]

[WallysWorld]

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast
Here's a quirky Saskatchewan pro sports factoid for ya...back in...I cannot remember if it was the 70's, or the early 80's, Purina (yep, the pet food company) owned the St. Louis Blues, but they were trying to unload them. One of the interested buyers was a man named Bill Hunter, who had previously launched the WHA (that's where the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, etc. first played before the WHA joined the NHL). Anyway, IF Hunter had bought the team, he was planning on moving them to the mighty burgh of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan...population at the time...about 110,000 people, maybe.

Unfortunately the NHL voted down the move by a margin of 19-2. The only teams who voted for the Blues to move to Saskatoon were the Blues themselves and the Calgary Flames.

[David Winter]

Not quite true, David. As a Stamps season ticket owner, I know that the one Rider game was a sellout, but the second one was far from it. Probably because Burris was hurt at the time. The other sellout in Calgary every season is the Labour Day Classic against the Eskimos.

 
The stands may not have been full, but according to everything I've read all the tickets were sold, making it was a sell out.
 
And saying that the 'Rider fans make up a 1/3 of the attendance when they're in town just goes to emphasis my point.

[WallysWorld]

ORIGINAL: David Winter
The stands may not have been full, but according to everything I've read all the tickets were sold, making it was a sell out.

And saying that the 'Rider fans make up a 1/3 of the attendance when they're in town just goes to emphasis my point.

Not all of the tickets were sold. Announced attendance was 2,500 below a sellout.

1/3 of the crowd may be Rider at the very, very most, but does not come close to the 50% that Rider fans like to claim are at McMahon Stadium.

[David Winter]

So after Sunday, the 'Riders were obviously as good as their record shows and it also shows why Kerry Joseph was the MOP western nominee and HB wasn't. That score was extremely flattering to the Stampeders. Even the commentators were saying that the Stamps only made three plays and that's what kept them in the game.
 
The 'Riders really need to work on their redzone production though. 5 or 6 field goals is nice and all, but you don't win championships that way. At least 3 of those should have been TD's. And that weird ricochet off of Fantuze's shoulder pads that turned into a Stampeder TD was a 14 point swing. That score should probably have been 35-14.
 
Still, BC is likely to win next week. The 'Riders are going into that game with no running backs. Cory Holmes, who normally just returns kicks, can play the back field but he's injured too. They have no other healthy back field players. Kerry Joseph made Calgary look silly with his running, but BC has a week now to game plan that.

[Marauders]

it also shows why Kerry Joseph was the MOP western nominee and HB wasn't.

 
Burris had a better season.  His numbers were better than Joseph's in almost all areas, and Burris missed three games.
 
 

[dreamtheatervt]

I'll give you my prediction at the end of the year

[David Winter]

Burris had a better season.  His numbers were better than Joseph's in almost all areas, and Burris missed three games

Burris had only 277 more passing yards than Joseph. He threw more than 2x the number of interceptions. He had 3x as many fumbles. Joseph has over 100 more yards with 3x as many rushing TD's. Joseph missed 2 and half games.

Beyond that, the CFL MOP isn't just about the stats. It's about what player helped his team the most. Burris single handedly lost the Stampeders more games than he helped them win, then he proceeded to throw his team mates under the bus in the game interviews afterwards. Before the season started, Joseph took a voluntary 150,000 pay cut to stay on the team and free up some cap room. Burris asked for more money. Joseph will be given a contract extension. Burris may end up looking for a new team now that Higgins has been replaced at head coach by John Huffnagle.

[Arctic Blast]

I agree that Joseph finishes ahead of Burris. Burris is one of those streak players that exists in every sport and league. When he's on, there are few quarterbacks in the league who can do more. When he's off, he will singlehandedly give the other team the game with one pick and fumble after another. While Burris was on the whole second half, he was nothing short of awful for most of the games before his injury.

Kerry Joseph finally seems to have become a consistent performer, and that was his problem in the past (probably partly because he was a SAFETY in the NFL, which gives an idea of how freakishly physical the guy is for a QB).

[MjH]

I think a sign carried by one of the people in the stands at Mosaic Stadium said it all:

Henry Burris
Make
Vacation
Plans

[Arctic Blast]

On another note, I'm currently listening to the press conference as Danny Maciocia announces that he is tying the blame for another bad Eskies season under his pitiful 'leadership' to his offensive co-ordinator. I'm glad I'm not an Esks fan, because this twit is in WAY over his head, and has been from the start...yet he gets ANOTHER year to screw things up, and none of the scouts, who have proven incapable of finding talent, get canned. (As a bonus, I LOVE listening to angry Esks fans on sportstalk...something tells me there will be a few earfuls of that REAL soon... ).