2009 CFL Eastern Preview - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Football Betting Lines

06/23/2009 - Winnipeg, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2008 Record: 8-10. Playoff Result: Lost, 29-21, to Edmonton in division semifinals. Stadium - Canada Inns Stadium. Capacity - 29,533. Colors: Blue and Gold

The good news for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last season was that they finished in second place in the CFL's Eastern Division. Unfortunately, the club posted an 8-10 record during the regular season, not exactly cause for celebration, and the team was bounced from the playoffs in the semifinal round. Sometimes offseasons can be boring and quiet. However, that wasn't the case for the Blue Bombers.

First, head coach Doug Berry was shown the door, and Brendan Taman resigned his general manager position. Mike Kelly took over as head coach, and his first major duty is deciding who will start at quarterback.

Kevin Glenn was released, so the quarterbacks battling for the nod from Kelly are Stefan Lefors and Ryan Dinwiddie. Lefors played very little as the third- string quarterback in Edmonton, but he showed enough ability in his limited playing time that Winnipeg wanted to bring him aboard. As for Dinwiddie, he has been a backup for the Blue Bombers and now hopes to prove that he can carry the load.

There is no question that he has talent, but an unproven quarterback will always be heavily scrutinized.

Whichever quarterback wins the job, he will be playing behind an offensive line that has some fresh faces. Dominic Picard and Alexandre Gauthier, a pair of reliable linemen, left via free agency. Dan Goodspeed was also lost in a trade, so it is hard to imagine that the line will not suffer.

Fred Reid, Derrick Armstrong and Romby Bryant do bring explosiveness to the offense. Reid, a smallish tailback at 5-8 and 185 pounds, Reid finished sixth overall in the CFL in 2008 with 709 rushing yards on 101 carries. Armstrong led the team with 81 receptions to go along with 1,010 yards and five touchdowns, while Bryant had 65 grabs for 1,206 yards and nine scores.

Defensively, Winnipeg has enough talent in place to hold opponents in check. James Johnson is a new addition to the secondary, and Bombers' fans will likely remember him as the guy who intercepted Dinwiddie three times in the 2007 Grey Cup.

Keep an eye on Barrin Simpson, who missed most of last season with an injury. The linebacker is back on the field, and that's bad news for opponents.

Overall, Winnipeg has plenty of talent, but questions at quarterback keep us from picking the Blue Bombers to win the East Division.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Finish: Second

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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