Half the playoff spots in the CFL are all locked up. With two weeks of games left, what can my ratings tell us about what's to come?
As far as predicting the future, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are in a very good spot. If they lost both their final games, at Montreal and vs Toronto, I'd still pick them to win the Grey Cup, their first this century.
It wouldn't be any good for their rating, but it's important to understand the surrounding context. The Tiger-Cats have already locked up the top seed in the East and their best record in franchise history. They don't need to win anymore games—though it might not hurt them.
If they end up doing anything but winning out the regular season, I'd expect it to come from sitting their normal starters to keep them healthy for a postseason run.
On the other end of the East standings, I expect the loser of Saturday's REDBLACKS at Argonauts meeting to lock up the top pick in the 2020 draft.
The West, on the other hand, remains a mystery. Only the Eskimos are locked into a specific seed: they will play in Montreal in the East semifinal.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have one more game, hosting the Stampeders tonight, and then their fate falls into the hands of other teams. It'd be more than a stretch to expect them to get that top spot at this point. They still can deny the Stamps of it—but if it gives it to the Roughriders, is it worth it?
Don't let the ratings and standings table fool you into thinking only one game truly is a tossup. At this point, anything can still happen. The Tiger-Cats have separated themselves from the pack, but any game between any of those middle six teams could go either way.
I would feel confident locking in these picks, but who knows? It's the postseason! Anything can still happen.
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