Grey Cup Contenders 2017
The Grey Cup game garnered a television audience of 3.3 million with a reach of 8.4 million. Thirty per cent of all fans — and 58 per cent of those aged 19 to 34 — attended a Grey Cup event. Tiger Woods’ girlfriend has Erica Herman rushed to his bedside at a hospital in Los Angeles, following his terrifying car crash that severely injured the golfing superstar’s right leg, foot. There’s also international football betting ahead of Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022, along with the UEFA Nations League – check out the latest odds and the ante-post markets in our football section. 2017 Grey Cup Officials: Referee #30 Dave Foxcroft. Umpire #61 Patrick MacArthur. Head Linesman #25 Ron Barss. Line Judge #67 Justin McInnes. Side Judge #23 Dave Hawkshaw. Back Judge #75 Dave. Make Offer - 2017 105th Grey Cup Championship CFL Game Program Argonauts Calgary Stampeders. 2011 CFL GREY CUP BC LIONS AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PROGRAM. $149.99 +$20.00 shipping. Make Offer - 2011 CFL GREY CUP BC LIONS AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PROGRAM. 1965 CNE Stadium Grey Cup Program + Game & Dinner Ticket Hamilton vs Winnipeg.
What do the Canadian Football League and National Basketball Association have in common?
Definitely not the salaries. The $17 million per year that bench player Tim Hardaway Jr. just got from the Knicks is more than the total salary cap of 3 CFL teams combined.
There is one trait that the two leagues do share, however: dominant teams in the West. Just like the balance of power in the NBA has been severely tilted to the left side of the continent ever since Michael Jordan’s (second) retirement in 1999, the CFL’s West Division has regularly housed the league’s top teams over the last 6 years.
That trend has continued through 4 weeks of the 2017 CFL season. Teams in the West are a combined 11-5-1, with just 1 of 5 teams under .500. Meanwhile, a 2-2 record is enough to hold the lead in the East, whose squads have a combined record of 4-10-1.
Let’s take a look at the updated Grey Cup odds through the first month of the 2017 season.
Updated 2017 Grey Cup odds
West Division teams accounted for the top 3 Grey Cup favorites going into the campaign, and nothing has changed in that regard.
In fact, the odds on the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos have only grown shorter through 4 weeks, the British Columbia Lions have held steady at their +500 price and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have seen their odds slightly improve to the point where they are now tied with the Montreal Alouettes for fourth on the Grey Cup rankings.
But while the West has basically remained status quo, the East is a bizarro world. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa RedBlacks were the division’s top 2 Grey Cup contenders going into the season, but are a combined 0-6-1 through 4 weeks of action. While the title odds on Hamilton and Ottawa have soared, the Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts are off to surprising 2-2 starts and have overtaken their rivals on the updated Grey Cup odds.
Here’s the 2017 Grey Cup odds after Week 4, courtesy of Bovada as of 9/21/17 (with each team’s preseason odds in parentheses):
- Calgary Stampeders +200 (were +350)
- Edmonton Eskimos +450 (were +500)
- British Columbia Lions +650 (were +500)
- Winnipeg Blue Bombers +450 (were +800)
- Toronto Argonauts +1000 (were +1200)
- Saskatchewan Roughriders +900 (were +800)
- Ottawa Redblacks +900
- Montreal Alouettes +1600
- Hamilton Tiger-Cats +5000
The Favorites
Calgary
The Stampeders still carry the favorite’s mantle despite not bearing much resemblance to the team that toyed with the CFL last year. After threatening to tie the single-season record for wins in 2016 and finishing with a 15-2-1 mark, Calgary is just 2-1-1 out of the gate and has surrendered nearly 30 points per game.
I’m still not that concerned. An early-season hangover from last year’s disappointing loss in the Grey Cup to Ottawa is not a surprise, their defensive line has been decimated by injuries, and star running back Jerome Messam was ejected in the second quarter of their only loss this year.
With 23 players back from last season, including 8 of 9 all-stars, this team simply has too much talent not to get things together again soon. Calgary still leads the CFL in points per game on offense despite struggling in the red zone. Once the Stamps start scoring touchdowns instead of field goals and they get their defense healthy again, expect them to re-emerge as the class of the league.
Edmonton
Typically overshadowed by their provincial rivals (Edmonton and Calgary are separated by a 3-hour drive), the Eskimos are getting plenty of attention now as the only remaining unbeaten team in the league.
The key to Edmonton’s 3-0 start has been defense. The Esks rank first in the CFL in passing yards allowed and second in total yards, and Edmonton has held opponents to just 22.3 points per game. It’s early, but that’s a 4-point-per-game improvement from last year.
Still, we have to keep things in perspective. Following an impressive 30-27 win at B.C. to start the season, the Eskimos had to sweat out home victories against the Alouettes and RedBlacks, failing to cover the spread on both of those occasions. Edmonton’s offense ranks just sixth in the league in passing yards, total yards and points per game.
The Eskimos’ first-half schedule is very soft, so don’t be surprised to see Edmonton’s strong start continue. But we’ll get a much better picture of where the Eskies stand when they visit Calgary in early September.
British Columbia
After losing their season opener at home to Edmonton, the Lions have bounced back very nicely with 3 straight victories by a combined total of 35 points. Even more impressively, each of those wins came on the road, including a 41-26 rout of Hamilton when backup quarterback Travis Lulay went 29-for-36 for 436 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Defense was B.C.’s biggest question mark coming into the season as the Lions had to replace 6 starters from a unit that allowed the third-fewest points in the league last year. That defense hasn’t skipped a beat in 2017, allowing just 21.8 points per contest so far, though the 5.6 yards per carry it is allowing opposing running backs has to be a concern.
Like Edmonton, the Lions haven’t exactly faced the cream of the crop in the CFL. Their 3 opponents on that road trip were the Argos, Alouettes, and Ticats, who are a combined 4-7 on the year.
The Sleepers
Ottawa
Though a 0-3-1 start by the defending Grey Cup champions may look ugly on paper, there are actually a few reasons to be optimistic about the potential of the RedBlacks this season.
For one thing, Ottawa’s not exactly getting outclassed. The RedBlacks tied their season opener against a powerful Calgary team motivated to avenge last year’s Grey Cup, then lost by just 4 points in Calgary the following week. Ottawa’s other 2 losses came by 1 point to Toronto and 2 points at Edmonton.
Another positive is the play of quarterback Trevor Harris, who stepped into the starting role once again this year after 2016 Grey Cup Most Outstanding Player Henry Burris retired. Harris has completed 71.5% of his passes and has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 8:2, leading the RedBlacks to the second-ranked offense in the league through 4 weeks.
Finally, being winless through 4 games doesn’t exactly spell doom and gloom in the East Division. Montreal and Toronto lead the division with 2-2 marks and it won’t take much for Ottawa to get back into playoff positioning, although they’ll likely need to finish in the top 2 since a West team will probably cross over to take the third available spot.
Hamilton
I have to admit, it’s much harder to sell the Ticats as a viable sleeper than it is the RedBlacks.
Hamilton has been outscored by an average of nearly 17 points per game. It has scored the least points in the league and allowed the most. Both its offense and defense rank dead last in the CFL in total yards. While the defensive issues have been mostly due to the passing game, Hamilton’s offense is second-last in both rushing and passing yards.
So why should we still believe at this point? Maybe because Hamilton has nowhere to go but up, and it still has the potential to do that. The Tiger-Cats defense should get a lot better once the team fully adjusts to its new coordinator, and Zach Collaros is capable of being the best QB in the division.
It’s telling that as bad as Hamilton has been, oddsmakers have still only dropped the Tabbies to +1000 to win the Grey Cup. As I said with Ottawa, it doesn’t take much to qualify for the playoffs in the East, and Hamilton could still be a very dangerous postseason opponent.
Canada Grey Cup 2017
Prediction
I’m still convinced that the Stampeders are the team to beat in the CFL. They’ve won 14+ games in each of the last 4 years and I don’t think their veterans suddenly forgot how to play football.
It’s easy to overreact to a slow start (is 2-1-1 even that bad, especially when 2 of those games were against the defending champions?) and oddsmakers certainly haven’t, making Calgary even more of a favorite now than it was before the season began.
But just because the Stamps may be the best regular-season team in the CFL doesn’t make them a great Grey Cup bet. They’ve won just 1 Grey Cup since 2008, routinely spitting the bit in the playoffs, and the West is a minefield that will be awfully tough to navigate.
The best Grey Cup bets remain in the East, as far as I’m concerned. It’s a much easier road to get to the big game, and getting such long odds on teams like Ottawa and Hamilton will allow you to hedge at some point and still lock in a nice profit.