If we could clone him...

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have reportedly made Casey Printers the highest-paid player in the CFL. That’s great news.

For Casey Printers.

I want to love this deal, I really do. And it would be VERY easy to blame this lackluster 2007 season on the quarterbacking duo of Timmy Chang and Jason Maas. It would also be very unfair. Sure, of the nine games the Cats have played, Maas has only finished four of his eight starts, Chang was replaced in his only start, and third-stringer Richie Williams has even seen action. And sure, they’ve only thrown for eight touchdowns. But it’s not like they’ve been getting a whole lot of help.

The best thing that’s happened to the Ticats in the first half of the season is Jesse Lumsden. End of story. No substitutes. He’s third in the league with 627 rushing yards, his 8.5 yards per carry is tops among runners with more than five carries (and a full 2.3 yards per carry better than the next running back). Lumsden’s 309 receiving yards are not only second among Tiger-Cats, but are also 50 more than any other running back in the league has. Lumsden’s 936 total yards trails only Winnipeg’s Charles Roberts.

But he’s hurt. So it’s up to the rest of the offense, which doesn’t bode so well. This is a group that’s giving up sacks like they’re going out of style, dropping passes like a bunch of kids playing hot potato, and giving back the rare successful play with 100 yards worth of penalties every game.

Is one Casey Printers enough to overcome all of that? We’ll find out, but I’m sure not going to put any money on it. Is Printers going to get this team into the playoffs? Again, it’s no safe bet. But I’ll still be cheering as loud as ever the rest of the way.

And now, a new mid-season feature: weekly CFL picks.

The second half of the season kicks off with rematches of all four Labour Day weekend games. The Calgary Stampeders have to be feeling good heading into Edmonton Friday night. Including their preseason tilt, the Stamps are 3-0 against Edmonton this season, including a dominant second half last Monday. There is no reason the believe Calgary won’t finish the season sweep.

Hamilton is in Toronto Saturday afternoon, reeling from the beating they took at Ivor Wynne on Labour Day. The Argos need the win to keep pace with Edmonton, in trying to prevent a playoff crossover. The Ticats’ Jason Maas was apparently moment away from being dealt to Montreal Thursday night, so Saturday’s starter, much like this team’s direction, is up in the air. But they can totally still beat the Argos.

Montreal hosts B.C. in the early game Sunday. The Alouettes should be embarrassed following their performance last Friday in B.C. (and in last year’s Grey Cup for that matter), but the Lions are still the best team in the league (though they’re technically in second place), and they should walk all over Montreal. Again.

Lastly, Saskatchewan is in Winnipeg after a thrilling win over the Blue Bombers at home last week. These division leaders match up well against one another, and it’s easy to believe the home team will take this game as well. The Blue Bombers win the best game of the week.