Written by Graeme & Scott on Friday, June 21st, 2013Follow @BetCFLIn this article, we’re going to analyze all 4 teams in the CFL East Division, and tell you who we recommend betting to win the 2013 CFL East Division.
There are four teams in the CFL East. We have the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Alouettes won the East Division last year, the Blue Bombers the year before, and the Alouettes the year before that.
To bet on the team who will win the CFL East Division there is only one online sportsbook currently offering odds, and that is Bovada. Here are the odds:
CFL Betting Odds: To Win The East Division
Montreal Alouettes: 2.65
Toronto Argonauts: 2.65
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: 4.00
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 6.50
Quick Summary: We like the Argos to win the East. 2.65 odds at Bovada.
Let’s take the teams one by one:
Montreal Alouettes Betting Preview:
The Alouettes made it to the Division finals last year, but lost 27-20 to the Argonauts. That was a tough loss to take, but Toronto were clearly an inspired team who really wanted to play and win the Grey Cup in front of their home crowd.
There’s been a lot of changes in the off-season with the Alouettes. Yet another coaching change with Dan Hawkins – how he is going to adjust to the CFL will be very interesting and he will be under pressure after Trestmans performance.
In their two pre-season games, the Alouettes lost two high-scoring games to the Tiger-Cats and the Argonauts. While they were unlucky against the Argos the Alouettes looked disorganized.
Recommendation: Avoid betting the Alouettes. While they have the potential to win the division, we expect them to have a rocky start before settling down which could really hurt them.
Toronto Argonauts Betting Preview:
Winners of the Grey Cup last year, the Argos will be aiming to win back-to-back Grey Cups which is no easy feat. Since the Eskimos sick run in the late 70s and early 80s, only two teams have won back-to-back cups – that being the Argos and the Alouettes. What’s interesting is that not only is it tough to win back-to-back, but you rarely even see the previous winners in the final of the Grey Cup.
What the Argos did last year was amazing – and we’re seeing a lot of confidence from them this year in the pre-season. Even in pre-season games you’re seeing that “never give up” attitude. They’ve got some nice backups too – Trent Guy looked particularly solid in both pre-seasonggames.
Recommendation: If you’re betting one of the two favourites, we’d recommend the Toronto Argonauts. They look the team to beat this year, and true odds are probably more 2.00. 2.65 is a steal at Bovada.
Hamilton Tiger Cats Betting Preview:
Reminiscent of the PK Subban saga at the start of the NHL 2013 season – the potential of the Tiger-Cats is in the air due to the uncertainty over Chris Williams. Williams will be a huge loss for the Tiger-Cats, and this is something Hamilton really need to get sorted out.
Not that they don’t have replacements. Players like Fantuz, and the potential of Grant and Onrea Jokes are there. But this is still an issue that can take an average team into winners of the East. Playing in Guelph this year instead of Hamilton SHOULDN’T really change things for them – but it is another concern we have where we want to see how they play first.
Recommendation: If Williams agrees to come back, hop on the 4.00 odds at Bovada because it’s a good value and will give them a big boost. Until then, don’t back the Tiger-Cats.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers Betting Preview:
It wasn’t a good time for Winnipeg last season, and it was mostly due to the quarterback position. The one position where you really need consistency and they had no less than 4 QBs in rotation last season.
In the pre-season they had Goltz and Pierce playing against the Argonauts, and Goltz and Poblah against the Blue Bombers. It did not look good there – and Pierce in particular in his short outing did nothing to sell him as their #1 QB.
There really isn’t much change in the Blue Bombers team that really makes us convinced they can qualify, let alone win the East. We don’t think Creehan is the answer for their defensive issues.
Recommendation: Avoid.
CFL Betting To Win The East Summary:
Out of all 4 teams – we really only see one solid recommendation, which is the Argonauts. They are a team full of confidence who have built on last year and believe in themselves as well. While winning the Grey Cup back-to-back would be tricky, we do recommend betting them to win the East with 2.65 odds at Bovada.
