First off has to be the play of the Edmonton Eskimos, who were absolutely putrid last year, finishing dead last in the league. so much so that they cleaned house and jettisoned their GM and coaching staff. New head coach Kavis Reed has brough a hightened sense of calm and execution. So much so that the Eskimos are the league’s lone undefeated team after their big win over provincial rivals Calgary last weekend.

The Montreal Aloutettes, the two-time defending champs, suffered their first defeat of the season at home to the then winless Saskatchewan Roughriders. But even more important, they lost starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo to injury. The extent of the injury has still not been fully disclosed, though it’s believed to be an eye injury.

The Calgary Stampeders have struggled slightly, dropping their first and fourth games. But they will be in the hunt when the snow begins to fly. Hamilton have come on with win in their last two games, including one over the moribund BC Lions, who have gone winless this season in four games and don’t look like they will be playing in the 2011 Grey Cup, even though their city is hosting it. Winnipeg Blue Bombers have played well, while the Toronto Argonauts have struggled as well and look to challenge the BC Lions as the worst team in the league to date.

Odds to Win the 2011 Grey Cup in Vancouver, BC.

Montreal Alouettes – 7/4
Edmonton Eskimos – 7/2
Calgary Stampeders – 4/1
Hamilton Tiger-Cats – 15/2
Winnipeg Blue Bombers – 8/1
BC Lions – 9/1
Saskatchewan Roughriders – 10/1
Toronto Argonauts – 20/1

The CFL was divided into the Western and Eastern Football Conferences. While the Eastern Conference had 4 teams, the Western Conference featured 5 teams. There were 16 games played by the teams in the Western Conference and 14 games played by each team in the Eastern Conference.

The Western Conference was completely the more dominant. The Calgary Stampeders led the way with a 12-4 record on the season. The Stampeders scored 382 points on the season and allowed just 219 points. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were still managed to match the Stampeders in terms of wins and losses and finished with a record of 12-4. The last team to make the playoffs would be the Edmonton Eskimos and had a solid 9-6-1 record on the season. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions finished with records of 4-12 and 3-12-1. The Blue Bombers allowed a league high 414 points on the season.

The Tiger-Cats was leading the Eastern Football Conference, they defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders, finished with a 10-4 record on the season. The Ottawa Rough Riders finished win a record of 9-4-1. The Tiger-Cats featured a stellar defense that allowed just 195 points. Meanwhile, the Rough Riders would outscore their opponents, putting up 337 points in just 14 games. The Toronto Argonauts managed to make the playoffs despite winning just 5 games on the season. Their final record for the season was 5-8-1.

Posting a record of 2-12 on the season the Montreal Alouettes finished last in the Conference. They were only able to score 166 points on the season which was by far the worst total in the league.

The playoffs featured two teams, the teams from Hamilton and Saskatchewan. When they faced off in the Grey Cup Championship the scales were definitely tipped in favor of the Tiger-Cats. The Tiger-Cats managed to take the game by 24-1 and this made the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the 1967 Grey-Cup Champions.

In making the announcement this week, Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel described Simpson as a “cornerstone” of the team.

A CFL all-star in 2010 and the West Division finalist for the outstanding defensive player honors, Simpson enjoyed an outstanding 2010 CFL season, setting career-highs with 71 tackles, seven sacks, 17 special-teams tackles and one interception.

The Decatur, Ala. native added four knockdowns, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and two tackles for a loss.

“After being utilized at different positions in his first two years with our team, Juwan really solidified himself at middle linebacker this past season and his play became the cornerstone of our defense,” Hufnagel said in a statement.

“We look forward to seeing him build on a great 2010 season.”
Simpson, 26, has been with the Stampeders for three seasons, splitting time the previous two years between the defensive line and linebacker.

He helped the Stampeders finish with a league-best 13-5 record.
“I think we have a recipe here to do some great things and I’m just happy to be a part of it,” Simpson said in a statement. “Overall, Calgary is a great fit for me and I’m already looking forward to next season.”

Montreal is a 3.5-point favorite and the over/under total is 51 in CFL betting Odds.

The Saskatchewan Rough Riders won two playoff games to play their way into the Grey Cup by first beating the BC Lions by a field goal and then beating the Calgary Stampeders by four points to earn the spot in the Grey Cup Championship game.

The Montreal Alouettes path to the Grey Cup title game was much easier. The Alouettes took on the Toronto Argonauts and made short work of them after earning a bye in the first week of the CFL Playoffs. Anthony Calvillo was once again the best quarterback on the field in that game passing for 334 yards and two touchdowns.

This game will come down to the quarterbacks and this will give the Montreal Alouettes a decided edge in the game. Anthony Calvillo has thrown for 4839 yards and 32 touchdowns this season as opposed to the Rough Riders quarterback Darien Durant who has thrown for 5542 yards and 25 touchdowns. Calvillo’s quarterback rating is 108.1 this season and Durant owns a quarterback rating of 87.2. Durant may have the edge over Calvillo in yardage but old pro Calvillo is more accurate of the two.

Saskatchewan earned their way into this game by beating the team with the best win/loss record in the league, the Calgary Stampeders. The Montreal Alouettes own the second best win/loss record

Both teams enter this game as the leaders of the East and West divisions of the CFL and as always happens in a home and home series, there should be some bad blood between the two. In the first game in McMahon Stadium, the Calgary Stampeders made the most of their home field advantage.

Stampeders quarterback Henry Burris had one of his best games of the year throwing for 412 yards and passing his way to ninth all time on the CFL All Time passing leaders. Burris added more yardage with his feet, running for 56 yards and keeping the Alouettes defense honest. The Stampeders jumped out to a 14-0 lead and after the Alouettes came back to score 14-7 but that was as close as they would get to the Stampeders.

Other players that made an impact in last weeks confrontation that may be shut down in this weeks game were Ken-Yon Rambo and Montreal’s Avon Cobourne. Rambo was the leading receiver for the Stampeders with 169 yards and will have double coverage throughout this game. The Stampeders will have to jump up and play more effectively against the run and Cobourne who had 76 yards in last weeks game.

The Calgary Stampeders are running over the rest of the CFL this season and are 7-1. This includes a 56-15 drubbing of the Edmonton Eskimos just two games ago. Calgary is led by their star quarterback, Henry Burris. Burris has already compiled 2,226 yards passing and scored 18 touchdowns for the Stampeders. Although Burris is not known for getting down the field rushing, he does have 247 yards on 38 carries. This presents just enough of a threat to keep the defenders honest.

On the other sideline, quarterback Ricky Ray has been under fire all season. Ray produced a win in his last outing and the Edmonton coaches are hoping this will get him on the right track. Ray’s inconsistency has been a major reason for Edmonton’s struggles in the 2010 CFL season.

The Calgary Stampeders Juwan Simpson is their unquestioned leader on defense. Simpson leads the team in tackles with 29, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Simpson and the Calgary defense have kept pace with their high powered offense all season long. Judging by the game played by these two teams on August 15th, this should be an easy defense of the home turf by Calgary.

The Calgary Stampeders showed off all areas of their offense in their impressive win. From a pounding running game led by Joffrey Reynolds, to an aerial assault spearheaded by Henry Burris. The Stampeders left no aspect of their offense out of the mix. Burris threw for 305 yards in the winning effort.

The BC Lions were fodder for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, losing 37-13 in a dismal effort. The BC Lions Jarius Jackson was kept in check with 194 yards passing and six yards rushing. The running game was the only effective arm of the offense, as Robertson and Davis both rushed for 84 yards with only Davis finding the end zone.

As Calgary heads into this game, they are riding a four game winning streak and are also coming off a bye week. Calgary is 6-1 this season, with their only loss coming at the hands of CFL stalwart, Toronto. The last game the two teams played, three weeks ago in BC, was a close game won by Calgary 27-22.

The BC Lions enter this game with the confidence of holding their own against Calgary three weeks ago but they have not been in the win column for the last games. This could get ugly fast if the BC Lions can’t contain Burris early.

This is a huge move for the Argonauts as they now add a vital piece to their championship hopeful team. Jermaine Copeland has worked with Jim Barker, head coach of the Argonauts, before and is excited to be a part of the team. The coach is also excited for the possibilities as he has already won three different championships in three different cities with him. Jermaine is known as an incredible player as well as a leader on and off the field.

Jermaine has just come off an incredible season with the Stampeders that earned him All-Star recognition. Copeland has had seven years of 1,000 plus yards and first teamed up with coach Barker in 2001 in Los Angeles. There they won the very first XFL championship, and are now looking forward to many more championships together.

Copeland is one of the most exciting players to watch in the CFL and brings an electric feel to his play. Some of his impressive career numbers include 531 catches for 8,765 yards. There has only been one year in his career that he hasn’t reached the playoffs, and he is a two-time All-Star.

This next year should be an exciting one to watch and bet on in the CFL, and this will be one of the most interesting partnerships to watch as the season rolls on.