Hello, and welcome to our Grey Cup preview. Way back in September in our first issue of Winner's Edge we asked the question-"Will it be Edmonton and Montreal again?" In a word, Nope!

What playoffs we have had so far. The Western Final certainly did not disappoint. A very exciting game in Vancouver as the Lions edged Saskatchewan 27-25 in overtime to advance to the Grey Cup on Sunday in Ottawa. Casey Printers went down in the fourth quarter, but Dave Dickenson came off the bench to engineer what was then the go ahead touchdown and then, after a Saskatchewan drive had put the Riders ahead, a last minute tying field goal to send the game into overtime.

The Eastern Final more or less turned on one play and that was early in the second half when Montreal QB Anthony Calvillo was sacked and injured. Without AC the Als didn't have a chance. We do have to credit the Argo defence though as they did force five turnovers in the win.

Now it's the surprising Toronto Argonauts and the BC Lions in the Grey Cup on Sunday. Enjoy!

Sunday, November 21

Toronto Argonauts vs. BC Lions

During the season each team was 1-1 SU and ATS against the other. BC won 31-10 in Vancouver in Week 11, while the Boatmen won the rematch in Toronto 22-16 in week 17. This game can be broken down as a battle between the BC offence and the Argonaut defence. At press time we are not sure how serious the injury to Casey Printers is. The word so far is a bruised shoulder but that is all we know. Does it really matter? When Printers went out with the score tied 14-14 Dave Dickenson came in and was cool under pressure leading the Lions to the win over Saskatchewan. Either way we have to give the edge to the Lions at the QB position. Either one of these quarterbacks is capable of moving the offence down the field in a heartbeat. They have the #1 receiver in the league Geroy Simon to go to. Simon grabbed 103 passes from Printers/Dickenson during the regular season for 1,750 yards. The Leos big three Simon along with Jason Clermont and Ryan Thelwell combined for 240 catches for almost 4,000 yards. The point here is that the Lions have the quick strike capability that the Argo offence can only dream of. The top two Argo receivers, Robert Baker and Tony Miles combined for 128 catches for 1,858 yards. Still ,and even with the addition of Arland Bruce, we have to give the edge in receivers to the Lions. The Lions were the #1 team through the air with 6,335 yards. Toronto was dead last with 4,209 yards. The top rushers for the two teams were Antonio Warren for BC and John Avery for the Argos. Warren was #5 in the league with 1,136 yards for a 5.2 average per carry. Avery was #7 with 1,006 yards for a 4.7 average per carry. We'll call this one a wash. Unless the weather is nasty in Ottawa (and it could be) we don't expect to see too much rushing from either team. The Leos may try to run early as the Argonauts were the worst team against the run during the regular season. We think the game hangs on the Argo offence. They will have to move the ball and give their defence a rest. Make no mistake about it this Toronto defence is capable of dominating a game (just ask the Alouettes) but if it the offence is constantly going two and out the defence will tire. They cannot afford this with the weapons that the Lions have in their aerial arsenal. Argos will need more points from their special teams which is one area where they have a huge edge. Lions will have to be wary of Bruce returning kicks and the Argos also have a wide edge in the kicking game with Prefontaine being one of the very best in the business. Last, but certainly not least, we have the head coaches Wally Buono of the Leos and Pinball Clemons of the Argos. While everyone loves Pinball and he is most certainly a class act we think he will be out coached by Buono who has been there before and will be again. With both games that these two played Against each other falling well under the total combined with the Argo defence and the possibility of inclement weather we are inclined to play on the under. Remember to check on the injury to Printers and the weather in Ottawa if you are playing the total.

Take BC and the Under

Good Luck in the big game!