Hamilton and Calgary injuries may be key in the CFL's East and West Finals

The matchups are set for the CFL's divisional finals this coming Sunday, with the 12-6 Ottawa Redblacks hosting the 10-8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (thanks to Hamilton's win over Toronto Sunday) in the East Final and the 14-4 Edmonton Eskimos hosting the 14-4 Calgary Stampeders (thanks to Calgary's win over B.C. Sunday) in the West Final. Both games feature intense intraprovincial rivalries, and these Battles of Ontario and Alberta are always interesting. However, what may be even more important are some of the injuries these teams are facing, especially the challengers who came out of the divisional semifinals; Edmonton and Ottawa have had some injuries of their own, but they'll have had three and two weeks to rest respectively by the time these games kick off Sunday, so they should be in decent shape. That's not the case for Calgary and Hamilton.

For Hamilton, the losses are most prominent at quarterback, and that began in mid-September when starting quarterback Zach Collaros was knocked out for the year with a torn ACL. That left the Ticats without much experience at quarterback, but they opted to go with rookie Jeff Mathews (who came in with a much less famed NCAA profile than their other QBs) rather than try to trade for a veteran pivot like Kevin Glenn. This worked out for a time, with Mathews performing very well at first, but he hit some struggles and then he suffered a concussion in the team's second-to-last regular-season game against Ottawa, leaving the team with just Jeremiah Masoli and Jacory Harris. Both had some issues in the regular-season finale, with Harris starting and Masoli replacing him, and both weren't perfect Sunday either, with Masoli starting, being pulled for Harris and then being put back in. Masoli's late-game comeback was impressive, and he's already been named the starter for the East Final, so we'll see what he can do. The Ticats are strong in most other areas, but quarterback remains a big question mark without Collaros and Mathews, as Masoli and Harris have 453 and 160 regular-season CFL passing yards respectively. Compare that to Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris, who has 60,957, and you get quite a contrast of QB experience.

For Calgary, the losses up front may be the most crucial. The team had already lost tackles Dan Federkeil and Edwin Harrison amongst other linemen (they had used nine starters and 13 linemen in total heading into Sunday), and two more key linemen (centre Pierre Lavertu and left guard Shane Bergman) went down Sunday against B.C., forcing the Stampeders to put in converted defensive linemen Quinn Smith and Junior Turner. Both did well considering the circumstances, but if Lavertu and Bergman can't go in the West Final, that could be a significant disadvantage for Calgary and a major test of their depth. That's perhaps especially true against Edmonton's fierce pass rush.

The Stampeders are also likely to be missing star Canadian running back Jon Cornish, who's been going through the concussion protocol since suffering a head injury last month. (It's notable he suffered a late-season concussion last year, too.) Fortunately, their October trade for Jerome Messam has paid big dividends, as he's done an excellent job of carrying the load to date. The chance to use him and Cornish together is missed, though, and regardless of who starts at RB, they'll need a line to block in front of them.

It will be interesting to see how the banged-up Stamps do against the Eskimos, who have had the last two weeks off to rest and recuperate. Don't count Calgary out yet, as they've proven adept at surviving many injuries over the last several years. Still, there's definitely a health differential in this one, and it's in favour of Edmonton. We'll see if the Stampeders' replacements can step up and help them overcome that.