The Rookies

Casey Printers will lead the B.C. Lions into the Eastern Final today.

Last week’s CFL playoffs saw a pair of thrilling games, with the B.C. Lions seeing off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Calgary Stampeders taking down their provincial rivals in Edmonton. That sets up a pair of intriguing matchups for this week. Time to break them down below.

Eastern Final: B.C. versus Montreal:

Yes, B.C. is the CFL’s most westernmost team, but they’re playing in this one thanks to the CFL’s unique crossover format, which I quite like. The Lions finished fourth in the West, but had a better record than the third-place team in the East, so they advanced into the Eastern playoffs and took down Hamilton, earning a spot here. They’ll have a tougher task against Montreal, the most dominant team in the CFL this year, but they do potentially have a shot. Casey Printers, who only returned to the team a few weeks ago, has been very impressive at quarterback, and the Lions have done well againt Montreal this year. If their defensive line can get after Montreal QB Anthony Calvillo and shut down the rushing attack of Avon Cobourne, I think they’ve got a good shot at this one.

Pick: B.C.

Western Final: Calgary versus Saskatchewan:

This could be a good one as well. It’s the first time in several decades that the Riders have hosted the Western Final, and their fans should be in great form. They’ll be motivated. Quarterback Darian Durant has looked better in recent weeks, and he has an impressive case of receivers, including Rob Bagg, Andy Fantuz, Chris Getzlaf and Jason Clermont. Calgary’s fighting for the right to advance to their hometown Grey Cup next week, though, and they have the league’s top RB in Joffrey Reynolds and one of its better QBs in Henry Burris. Their dual-threat receiving tandem of Nik Lewis and Jermaine Copeland will also cause problems for Saskatchewan. Still, I think home-field advantage will be enough to put the Riders over the top, especially if the weather comes into play.

Pick: Saskatchewan

I’ll be live-blogging both games today over at Sporting Madness. Stop by and join in for one or both: the East final kicks off at 1 p.m. Eastern, with the West final to follow at 4. I’ll also have a full recap of the games up here later this week.