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Klemu's Games of the Week - Playoff Week 2
Well, your old pal Klemu was a little off last week. Going only 3 of 4 on the games of the week. I did hit the Boise-Oregon game right on the head, though, predicting Boise to win by 1 and that it was going to be a hell of a game to watch. I also got my upset special correct. However, I did not get the Hartford - New York game correct. In fact, I was off by a mile. I said Hartford by 10, instead New York won by 10. I'll have to recalibrate my impressions of New York. Anyway, enough dribble about those teams that are too weak to make it this far in the playoffs. On to this weeks games . . .
[be1426cb]#4 - New York(11-6) at Durham(14-2)[/be1426cb]
As I stated above, New York surprised the hell out of me last week by winning their game over Hartford. This week, they'll have a harder time surprising me, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. Why? Douglas Cowley, that's why. With Cowley back in the lineup for the first time since Week #1, the Knights passing attack looked very impressive. The Bulldogs, however, are well rested and have earned the #1 spot in the Eastern Conference. For their sake, I hope that Coach Vince didn't spend too much time preparing for Hartford, who was favored over New York by 8 points.
Key Injuries: The bye week did Durham some good as they don't have any key injuries on their team. New York has one key injury to LB Jesse Reyes. But, as I mentioned last week, they are pretty deep at LB and this shouldn't hinder their team.
Analysis: Durham doesn't pass the ball much, but when they do, they go deep. Durham had the highest yards per attempt for any team in the CFL. That will be tested by the Knights' pass defense which appears to be the better half of their defense. However, they will have a problem against Stephen Metz and Durham's run game. On the other side of the ball it appears as though New York has finally found it's offensive groove with the return of Douglas Cowley. The threat of Cowley on the field opened up the run game for the Knights against Hartford to Wilbur Sullivan's delight who ran for 115 yards and a TD.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas says Durham by 11. I say Cowley has a bigger impact than that. Durham by 3.
[be1426cb]#3 - Tucson(13-4) at El Paso(11-5)[/be1426cb]
Tucson laid waste to Sacramento last week. Although Sacramento was playing with its third string offensive line, due to injury, it is still an impressive win. More impressive is that they only committed 1 turnover, while taking away 3 interceptions from Sacramento. Drew Holliday gets no respect. Even though he's racking up yards left and right, he can't seem to win a game-ball. El Paso is still licking its wounds from three weeks ago when they suffered a thrashing at the hands of Detroit. So bad was the thrashing that they couldn't bring themselves to beat their division rival Fargo Boxcars the following week. A week off to regroup was exactly what El Paso needed.
Key Injuries: El Paso struts into the game with no key injuries aboard. Tucson will continue to be missing starting Guard Thomas Gregg and starting Tackle Thomas Perez, who is scheduled for his second of a series of three surguries to reconstruct his knee on Monday.
Analysis: Tucson really stepped it up last week and took care of the ball. They'll need to continue to do that against an opportunistic El Paso defense. The losses on the offensive line are tough, but with the way that Drew Holliday is running the ball . . . do you even need an offensive line? Perhaps not. El Paso has a very tough defense (allows only 14.3 points per game, 2nd in the CFL) and you can bet that they will stack the line to try to stop Holliday. This is where the battle will be fought. If Holliday goes wild for 147 yards again, like he did against Sacramento, El Paso is done. You can bet that Tucson will keep the ball out of Daryl Bradley's hands, who has fumbled 13 times in 169 attempts. On the other side of the ball Tucson will try to keep RB Terrell Keith under control. El Paso's QB, Earnest Lorenzo, is bound to make some mistakes on which Tucson can capitalize.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas says El Paso by 4. Klemu says Tucson by 2. Once again Tucson is my upset special of the week.
[be1426cb]#2 - Shreveport(12-5) at Detroit(12-4)[/be1426cb]
This will be the second most exciting game of the week. Shreveport officially took ownership of Louisiana last week by defeating the Breakers by 10. It's hard to gauge if that is good enough or not, because the Breakers probably shouldn't have been a playoff team. Shreveport's Douglas Hartman has been on a tear as of late, but faces a tough foe in the Vampires. Detroit is a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a tortilla shell, with caramel topping. Mmmm caramel topping . . . I digress. They can run the ball somewhat effectively and can throw the ball somewhat effectively. Combine that with a AWESOME defense and you have a recipe for success.
Key Injuries: Shreveport will be missing Tackle Loren Creekmore who's abscense will be missed dearly by the Pride. Detroit will be missing cornerback Carter Kaspar, but he's been out since Week 5 and Detroit has done just fine without him.
Analysis: Shreveport's strength at the beginning of the season was defense. For the last few weeks, however, it has been the offense that has been shining. The Pride's defense still only allows 6.03 yards per pass attempt (4th in the CFL) and 3.61 yards per carry (4th in the CFL). Shreveport, however, has had some trouble scoring in the red zone, averaging a mere 4.8 pts per visit as opposed to Detroit's 5.2 points per visit. Detroit has a mediocre offense, but has scored a lot of points, with the help from their defense. Detroits defense has taken the ball away from their opponents 32 times (3rd in the CFL) with a +9 turnover ratio. For Detroit to be successful, they will need to put pressure on Douglas Hartman and force him into bad decisions. Shreveport will have to protect the ball and make sure that they don't, in fact, get Shreveported.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas says Detroit by 3 and Klemu agrees with Vegas.
[be1426cb]#1 - Boise(12-5) at Honolulu(13-3)[/be1426cb]
Boise is once again featured in the game of the week as this turns out to be a rematch of last years conference finals match where Boise was manhandled by Honolulu, losing by the score of 31-6. This year may be a different story. Then again, it may not be a different story. Both teams are simply awesome. During the season these two teams played in Boise and the Stamped won by a score of 36-31. I think that Boise is still a little miffed by the ass-beating they received in last year's conference finals. Look for them to come out of their corner swinging hard.
Key Injuries: Honolulu will be getting WR Efron Herold back just in time to catch some playoff touchdowns. Efron went out early in the season with an injury to his ankle and has been hindered by it most of the season. For Boise, backup RB Archie Chun is doubtful for the game so his duties will most likely fall to Major Crumpler. A bigger loss, however is WR Terrance Ryan who recently strained his tricepts muscle. He's listed as doubtful, also. Also out for the Stampede are Safety Raymond Edgar and Defensive Tackle John Butt.
Analysis: Honolulu's offensive if where their strength is at. Ronnie Tu and company have both an effective running game and an effective passing game. To top it off, they don't turn the ball over much at all. Their defense is statistically mediocre, but they get it done when it counts, having taken the ball away from their opponents a league leading 36 times. Put this together with a good ball control offense and you have a turnover ratio of +18. That's just crazy. Let's look at the other side of the ball though. Boise is +17 on their turnover ratio, not doing so bad themselves. Top that all with the an excellent rushing and passing attack and you have another hell of a team. The key to this game will be turnovers. If one team can be more opportunistic and take away the ball at key times, they will win the game.
Klemu's Kall: Vegas says Honolulu by 1. Klemu says that the winner of this game will play in the CFL Bowl. I also say that I think it will be Honolulu and that they will win by 3. I can't wait for Sunday to come. This will be a great one!
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Klemu Hakkinen
-Starting RW for the Semi-Pro Mooseport Mousse Hockey Club
-Beat Writer for the CFL
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