Hamilton -8.5

THOUGHT THIS WAS WORTH POSTING HERE FROM SPORTSCHATPLACE. I AGREE.

The Hamilton Tiger Cats begin their highly anticipated 2011 season by hosting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in an all East division matchup as both teams look to finally unseat the Montreal Alouettes as the East division Champions who have been to 3 straight Grey Cups. Hamilton bolstered their offense by adding Avon Cobourne to their backfield and their defense by adding Rey Williams to an already stellar linebacking corps setting up one of the better defensive presences in the league. The Bombers meanwhile will be building this season but do have some pieces to pull off some upsets and disrupt the agenda of a number of Grey Cup hopefuls.

The Bombers come into the 2011 season with little expectation from their skeptics and from prognosticators around the country and for good reason. Despitre having Buck Pierce anchoring their offense at quarterback and Fred Reid who is always a dangerous option in the backfield the Bombers are weak offensively and will struggle against the better defenses in the CFL. Adarius Bowman and Terrence Edwards will carry the bulk of the offensive load but with a strong linebacking unit of the Ti-Cats putting pressure on the inexperienced Bombers offensive line I think they will struggle in the season opener and the Bombers will have to resort to their run game for offensive production. Defensively the Bombers wil have to step up and tame the ferocious Tiger Cats offense if they want to keep this one close but with the offensive output laid down by the Cats in their preseason finale it might be very difficult to do so.

Hamilton is once again the runner up in terms of Easstern Division favourites as they have yet to prove they can get over the hump that is the Montreal Alouettes. The Cats lost for the second straight season at home in the East Division semi finals leaving one of the league's best fan bases thirsty for a playoff victory and possibly a Grey Cup appearance. With Kevin Glenn leading the charge at quarterback and Arland Bruce and Maurice Mann out at wideout the Cats high powered offense will once again be among the league's best and with the addition of Cobourne in the back field it adds an extra dimension to an already scary unit. Defensively the Cats remain strong with the aforementioned Rey Williams being picked up to join Jamall Johnson and Markeith Knowlton but their secondary is suspect. If their front line can continue to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks and their linebacking unit can live up to potential than the issues in the secondary will be minor but if they get exposed it will be the downfall of this team.

With a line opening at 9.5 it is starting to move south and that is good news for us as I think the Cats are just a better team all across the board. With two returns for TD's in their preseason finale we know they can get into good field position and could make easy work for Glenn and Co. offensively. Winnipeg has the potential to keep games close but on the road in the home opener for the Cats I think they are just a bit too strong in this spot. Lay the points with the Cats as the Hamilton faithful will go home happy as they celebrate Canada Day.

HAMILTON -8.5