I’m getting a lot of flak for daring to pick the Montreal Alouettes over the Saskatchewan Roughriders tonight.
And trust me, I’m not convinced I’ll be right, but there are three major factors playing into this pick.
First, the injuries to the defensive line.
Three of the starting four are out of the lineup, and they have been among the strongest group for a good Riders defence. The Als defence will focus on Charleston Hughes; one of the Riders’ young guys will really have to step up, or they could get gashed in the run game.
Two, it’s Montreal. Weird things happen to the Riders when they go to Montreal. They almost lost to Johnny Manziel there last year.
Third, they’re going into a bye week. An Eastern trip that allows players to actually fly home out of Montreal. They pack a little more and mentally can be a little less engaged.
I know the Als have injuries. I know they play Antonio Pipkin. I know. I know.
But as Hans Solo says, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”