00:00It is CFL Power Rankings time, going into the last week of the regular season.
00:17Coming in at number 9, they have basically clinched this spot, I don't think I would
00:21move them out of 9 if they scored 100 against Saskatchewan this week.
00:25It is the Calgary Stampeders.
00:29Just an utterly embarrassing and abysmal performance against their former quarterback in Beau Levi
00:34Mitchell last weekend, and it just caps off what has been a horrendous season out in Calgary.
00:42And I think it is very telling when all they had left to play for was pride, and that's
00:47how they showed it.
00:48Just an awful, awful, dreadful, terrible, no good game from the Calgary Stampeders,
00:55and very deserving of being in 9th place in the CFL Power Rankings.
01:00There are probably some eSports teams that should be ahead of them.
01:03At number 8, it is the Ottawa Red Blacks.
01:05The wheels have fallen off in a big time way out in Ottawa, and that is, I think, very
01:10concerning heading into the postseason.
01:12And one of the things we have talked about on this show, and in my 3 Down Nation piece,
01:16is that this is a team that has struggled against playoff caliber teams.
01:20I believe this is now 3-7-1 against teams that are going to the postseason in the Canadian
01:25Football League.
01:26Simply not good enough when they are looking to make a push.
01:30Again, I think they have set themselves up very well for the future, but I do also think
01:34that maybe there is a touch longer to go than they would have initially thought.
01:39At 7, it is the Edmonton Elks.
01:41Kind of came crashing back down to earth a couple of weeks ago following a loss to the
01:45Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but still, seems like there is, again, some hope for the future.
01:51At 6, it's the Hamilton Tiger Cats.
01:53A awful start to the season has really set them back, and put them in a position now
02:00where they are out of the playoffs.
02:03If they could have a couple of bounces go their way in the early part of the year, and
02:07this team is going into the postseason at the right time.
02:09But Beau Levi Mitchell puts a stamp on what could be the East nominee for Most Outstanding
02:15Player, and a lot of people are just locking it into Brady Oliveira, and that's probably
02:20not incorrect, given how well Oliveira has played for the best team in the league, and
02:24if it was MVP, it would be a lock.
02:25But Beau Levi Mitchell, I think given the O in MOP for Outstanding, I think he should
02:33be a guy that gets maybe a little bit more consideration than he is getting right now.
02:37But Hamilton playing some pretty good football.
02:39At 5, it's Montreal.
02:40They have fallen into the trap that they took advantage of a year ago, where they kind of
02:44caught Toronto napping, and were able to come up with a big performance in the East
02:48Final en route to a Grey Cup.
02:50Now, Montreal hasn't played a meaningful game in, like, two months, and they look like
02:55a team that hasn't played a meaningful game in two months.
02:57I would suspect they take this game seriously this week against Winnipeg, given that they
03:02have the bye going into the East Final, but I still think that this is… it's very
03:08difficult to flip that switch, and now I do also think that the last time the switch was
03:13flipped positively, there was still some thought that Philpott might be coming back.
03:17He's not.
03:18And that was such a dynamic part of this offense in Montreal this year, and it just hasn't
03:23been able to get back since, and we will see what they can do here in the final week of
03:27the season.
03:28At 4, it's the BC Lions, as they, I think, put a bit of a scare in the rest of the Canadian
03:34Football League, with Vernon Adams having a big performance over the weekend.
03:37He feels like he's going to be the guy that can lead this team back to the postseason
03:42and put a real threat now on either Saskatchewan or Winnipeg, and probably both, as they get
03:48ready for the West Semi-Final in a couple of weeks.
03:51At 3, it is the Toronto Argonauts, again speaking of peaking at the right time, yes things got
03:56a little bit sideways at the end, and Ottawa made that game closer than it actually was,
04:00but make no mistake about it, Toronto is playing some very good football right now, and they
04:05are not a team I would want to be messing with as we head into the East Playoffs.
04:09At 2, it's Saskatchewan, because I am a little biased, but also, this is a team that
04:14has started to put a lot together.
04:16I still think there is an explosive nature to this offense that could be unlocked a little
04:20bit more, and I do think that there is a predictability in the play-calling at times, but I also think
04:26that this is a team that is defending, like, just absolute, like a dominant unit right
04:32now, and creating a lot of turnovers and creating a lot of pressure, and rallying to the football
04:37in real exciting ways, and so I think this defense is legitimate, and I think this team
04:43right now is legitimate.
04:44They have an outside shot of hosting the West Final coming up in a couple of weeks.
04:49But number one right now, the team who would be hosting the West Final, if the standings
04:52stay the same, that is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
04:54They have such a great combination of an offense that has found its explosiveness, and a defense
05:00that has been dominant all season long.
05:02They look like the most complete team in the Canadian Football League, and they've played
05:06like it for the better part of three months now, and so we are in a familiar spot heading
05:10into the postseason with Winnipeg feeling like the favorites.
05:13So those are your CFL Power Rankings for the week.
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