SAFIMOD’S 2022 CFL POWER RANKINGS – WEEK 2

SAFIMOD’S 2022 CFL POWER RANKINGS – WEEK 2

Published: Tuesday, Jun 14th 2022, 7:06pm

1 – Saskatchewan (LW: 2)
2 – Winnipeg (LW: 1)
3 – Calgary (LW: 5)
4 – Toronto (LW: 4)
5 – Ottawa (LW: 7)
6 –Hamilton (LW: 3)
7 – BC (LW: 8)
8 – Montreal (LW: 6)
9 – Edmonton (LW: 9)

They say defense wins championships, and if week 1 is any indication the Saskatchewan Roughriders must have improved their odds on winning the 2022 Grey Cup. 8 sacks, 5 turnovers, and almost perfect save for 1 blown coverage play that made things interesting. They go up against an Edmonton team that got absolutely lit up by the BC Lions and should be heavy favourites in that one.

Winnipeg drops down 1 spot despite their win. They needed all 60 minutes to pull out the victory over the much-improved Ottawa REDBLACKs on banner raising night, but in the end a win is a win. Dru Brown came in on the final drive after Zach was removed due to a headshot, and pulled out a victory.

Much like Winnipeg, Calgary needed 4 quarters and a last minute drive by their backup QB to seal a win versus an Eastern Rival. This time, Jake Meier came in and went 4/5 for 57 yards to set Rene Parades up for a game winning field goal.

Montreal drops from 6^th to 8^th despite their solid performance in week 1 versus Calgary. This has a lot to do with the questions marks they now have in their offensive backfield for the foreseeable future. In my opinion, William Stanback is the best RB in the CFL, and losing him for any length of time is a huge blow to their campaign. A solid performance by Jeshrun Antwi vs Toronto could shoot them right back up the power rankings.

BC is the team I had the biggest trouble finding a spot for. Nathan Rourke was lights out in the start vs Edmonton en route to a dominating 59-15 victory. My question becomes – was BC that good, or Edmonton that bad? Right now, it’s a little of both, but much like Montreal, a solid week 3 performance could see them rise very quickly.

Edmonton sits in 9^th, only because I really didn’t feel like adding a bunch of Usports/High School teams to my list. Saskatchewan fans know all too well how tough the first season under Chris Jones can be (2016 – 5 and 13) as he sets the groundwork for his team.