The West semifinal's most compelling storylines

With the regular season over, the CFL's first-round playoff matchups are all set for this coming Sunday. The B.C. Lions will cross over to the East Division to face the Montreal Alouettes in one divisional semifinal (1 p.m. Eastern), while the Edmonton Eskimos will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West semifinal (4:30 p.m. Eastern). Both games should be exciting, and there are plenty of intruiging storylines ahead of each. Here's a look at the top storylines in the West. (See also our look at the top storylines in the East.)

Quarterback health: Both of these teams have questions about their top pivots, neither of whom played in the season finale between the sides Saturday (which Saskatchewan won 24-17). Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly played last week against B.C. but sat out this game with a "lower-body injury," and there are reports that it may be a broken foot. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant hasn't played since tearing a tendon in his throwing elbow early in September and having surgery to repair that. The potential absence of one or both of these guys could play a big role in this game.

Defensive strengths: The 12-6 Eskimos and 10-8 Roughriders both leaned on their defences heavily this season. Edmonton's was much better overall, allowing just 340 points (the lowest in the league), while Saskatchewan allowed 441 (fifth-best), but both these teams do some things particularly well on defence. Edmonton head coach Chris Jones has done a great job of implementing his unconventional blitz and coverage schemes, leading to an Eskimos' defence that recorded 55 sacks (second-best in the league), notched a CFL-best 21 interceptions, gave up a league-low 6.7 yards per pass and allowed a CFL-low 54.7 per cent completion rate this year. Saskatchewan head coach Corey Chamblin and defensive coordinator Richie Hall have built an impressive defence of their own, one that notched a league-best 61 sacks despite not blitzing as frequently thanks to the strength of their defensive line, and one that also allowed just 7.3 yards per pass (third-best in the league). One difference is that Edmonton's much better against the run, though; the Eskimos conceded 95.9 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry (second and fourth in the CFL respectively), while the Riders gave up 115.4 and 5.9 respectively (seventh and tied for eighth).

Pounding the ball: Both of these teams love to run, and they've found success doing so, but in different ways. Edmonton is tremendously efficient on the ground, leading the CFL with a 6.4 yards per carry average. Between up-the-middle pounder John White, quick running back/receiver Kendial Lawrence and new threat Tyler Thomas, plus running from quarterbacks like Reilly and Pat White, the Eskimos have a variety of ways to hurt teams on the ground, and they put up 136.6 rushing yards per game. The Roughriders also have a deep stable of running backs, including Anthony Allen, Keith Toston and Steven Miller, but they haven't been quite as efficient, averaging 5.7 yards per carry (third-best in the league). They ran the ball 417 times this year, though, more than anyone else (Edmonton was fourth with 386 rushing attempts).

One star receiver versus a deep corps: Edmonton's Adarius Bowman led the league with 1,456 receiving yards this season, while his closest competitor was Winnipeg's Clarence Denmark with 1,080. No one else in the CFL even cleared 1,000. However, no one else on the Eskimos was above 500 yards. They have talented guys, including Fred Stamps and Nathan Coehoorn, but haven't featured them as much this season. Meanwhile, top Saskatchewan receiver Rob Bagg had just 738 yards this season, but the Riders also have Chris Getzlaf (562) and Weston Dressler (who notched 308 in half a season after returning from the NFL). They've been a little better at spreading the ball around.

Pass protection battles: The Riders and Eskimos both have been great at recording sacks this year, but they've also been decent at preventing them. Edmonton's offensive line was a tire fire last year, but has improved dramatically this season, allowing just 46 sacks on the year (fourth-best in the league) as compared to 60 last season. Part of that's been about the improvement of existing players like Simeon Rottier, who went from being called out by Eskimos' GM Ed Hervey to being named the team's top lineman, but part of it's been about bringing in new players like left tackle Tony Washington. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan's line has been about equivalent to last year's; they fell from tied for third-best in the league to fifth-best in the league, but their sacks allowed only increased from 47 to 49. Both lines will have a difficult challenge against these defences, though, and whoever can keep their quarterback more upright may have a big edge.