Ottawa RedBlacks at Edmonton Eskimos (-6.5)
Sunday, November 29: 6:05 PM ET
It’s been a blast posting my CFL picks this year on 3DownNation. I had two goals at the beginning of the year: a) to correctly pick at least 46 games against the spread and b) to correctly pick 57 of this season’s 86 games (ie. two of every three) straight-up. I succeeded in my first goal, picking 47 games correctly against the spread (so far) and topping the 53 percent mark. This is significant because, to make money betting on sports, you need to succeed at a rate of at least 53 percent. I was able to do this (54.5 percent), meaning that, if you wagered on all 86 games this season in accordance with my picks, you would have made money (albeit not a huge amount). As for my second goal, I came up a few games short. I’m disappointed, but, as the sports cliche goes, there’s always next year.
As for my Grey Cup pick, it has to be the Eskimos. No disrespect to the RedBlacks — I expect to be surrounded by Ottawa supporters in the stands later today — I just think Chris Jones’ defence is too good to allow Henry Burris to get into the type of rhythm his short passing game needs. I also fear Ottawa could come out somewhat flat. The RedBlacks are a young team and, in many ways, I believe they may have seen last week’s East Final victory as their true championship game in many ways. It was wonderful to see such a young team be so good so soon, but I think Ottawa’s Cinderella story ends here. Give me the Esks by thirteen.
Pick straight-up: Edmonton
Pick against the spread: Edmonton
Season record straight-up: 51-34
Season record against the spread: 47-37-1
John Hodge, Blue Bomber Talk
Twitter: @BlueBomberTalk
Email: [email protected]
