Power Poll (Week 1)

Unlike many other power rankings that proliferate the Internet, I'm not afraid to shake things up. Most times, teams will move down only slightly after a loss and move up only slightly after a win. Sometimes teams that lost will be ranked above teams that won. While that might happen here from time to time, and does this week, I'm also not too timid to make major changes.

1. Montreal Alouettes (Last Week: 1)

The defending champs came out like they had something to prove. They absolutely hammered BC in the first half, but the Lions came back in the second half and nearly stole the game away. I am loath to move a team down from first after they win, but I nearly did in favour of the surprise team of the week.

2. Edmonton Eskimos (Last Week: 7)

I gave very serious consideration to putting Edmonton at the top of the poll. They beat down the defending West Division champs like a rented mule. Ricky Ray looked like the Ricky Ray of 2005 with the way he picked apart the Roughrider Defense. I'm worried that Edmonton is a flash in the pan, but after the first week, they sure looked like the second-best team in the CFL.

3. Toronto Argonauts (Last Week: 5)

People have claimed that I've downplayed the Argos because of my personal dislike for them. But every time I watch them, I remain unimpressed. They find ways to win, but they usually don't look good doing it. The Boatmen got another sub-200-yard game from Cleo Lemon, and sooner or later those types of performances are going to catch up with them. Until then, they move up, but only slightly.

4. BC Lions (Last Week: 6)

This might be the first controversial entry, because the Lions lost, while Winnipeg won. But in watching both games, I liked the moxie I saw out of BC. They got behind in the first half in Montreal, but came back to make a game of it. If not for a questionable call from Wally Buono, the Leos might have escaped Percival Molson Stadium with a win.

5. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Last Week: 8)

Out of all the winners in Week 1, none looked less impressive than Winnipeg. The Bombers beat the Ti-Cats, but it looked more like Hamilton beat themselves; Winnipeg just happened to be the lucky team opposite them. I'll need to see more out of Winnipeg before I'll consider them one of the top teams in the CFL.

6. Saskatchewan Roughriders (Last Week: 3)

The next three could be ranked in any order, because none of them looked particularly good this week. I put Saskatchewan ahead of Calgary and Hamilton despite the fact that the Riders were beat by the largest margin. But the Riders did more things that I liked than the other two teams. For that, they get the higher ranking.

7. Calgary Stampeders (Last Week: 2)

Calgary allowed an inferior Toronto team to hang around, and that cost them. I just didn't like anything I saw from the Stamps. There really isn't much to say other than the Stamps put up a real stinker in Week 1.

8. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Last Week: 4)

And rounding out the list is the Tiger-Cats. No team played worse in Week 1 than Hamilton. They gave away a game they could have won, but poor execution and too many mistakes cost the Cats big time. I don't think Hamilton will reside at the bottom for long, but based solely on the Week 1 results, no team is more deserving of the dishonour of being in eighth than the team from Steeltown.

Highest Climb: Edmonton (+5)
Steepest Fall: Calgary (-5)