Q. The Western Division champion B.C. Lions lost three starting offensive linemen to injury against Hamilton on Oct. 21 - guard Kelly Bates (thigh contusion), tackle Rob Murphy (knee) and guard Bobby Singh (shoulder). How should coach Wally Buono approach the regular-season finale against Winnipeg?

Frers: I understand continuity, timing and momentum entering the playoffs but what overrides everything is the health of [starting quarterback] Dave Dickenson.

The line of defence is compromised [with injuries to the offensive line]. If you can't protect the quarterback [the offence] breaks down. I don't care how good [top receiver] Geroy Simon is.

I think Buono should play [injury-prone] Dickenson one quarter at the most and get him out. Why not let [third-stringer] Jarious Jackson start.

It's bad timing. The big question is, how healthy is it going to be going into the biggest game of the season [on Nov. 12]? The players who don't play this weekend, what kind of crispness are they going to have [in the West final]?

Do the Lions want to win [against Winnipeg]? Yes. But it will be under a reduced playbook and a different roster.

Q. World Anti-Doping Agency head Dick Pound criticized the league recently for not testing for performance-enhancing drugs. He suggested a drug program could be funded each season by taking no more than one dollar per ticket sold. A surcharge of 50 cents per ticket would have generated $1.15 million in 2005. Why doesn't the league have a drug policy? What was your reaction to Pound's comments?

Frers: I was quite upset about it. It was just about hurling insults, was poorly investigated and was based on a number of assumptions.

I spent 10 years in the league as a player and have spent four years in TV and I've never seen the abuse of drugs. I'm not saying [drugs] aren't around but it's not rampant.

The CFL has other priorities like the salary management system to get some [additional] talent into the [eight] organizations. Something also needs to be done about the officiating in the CFL. Ultimately, the officials came under a bit of criticism this season. Last year, director of officiating George Black scraped the bottom of the barrel to get $125,000 to improve the recruitment of officials. He spent another $125,000 to introduce instant replay.

If you're looking at the integrity and credibility of the league you have to crawl before you run or choose to run.

Dick Pound wants to saturate the coffers of the CFL and spend up to $1.5 million for a drug-testing policy. Only three years ago we had two teams in receivership. Teams were resistent to contribute money to the CFL for the improvement of officiating. Some of the teams are just looking to make a profit.

Q. Barring a career performance in the season finale at Toronto, Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo will fall short of 5,000 yards passing for the first time in five seasons. He enters the game with 4,488 yards through the air and 19 touchdowns. What, if any, flaws or changes have you seen in Calvillo's game this season?

Frers: There are some throws he missed but ultimately all individual records are contributed by the team. Obviously the offensive line has come under criticism and the receivers have not necessarily been running the right pass routes or catching the ball.

Does he have the supporting cast he once did? No. But I don't think he's been a different quarterback this year.

His confidence in the pocket was shaken in the first two Winnipeg when the Blue Bombers' defence destroyed Anthony Calvillo. It created a memory in his head that instead of having five to six seconds to throw the ball, he would only have two or three. He started releasing the ball prior to when the receivers had completed their pass route.

Q. A number of players made their CFL debuts in 2006. In the Eastern Division, Winnipeg receiver Arjei Franklin and cornerback Gabriel Fulbright, Toronto linebacker Ray Fontaine and Montreal's tandem of linebacker Etienne Boulay and halfback Chip Cox have stood out. Who gets your vote as top rookie in the East?

Frers: Of all the guys mentioned I think Chip Cox stands out because of his special teams play [13 tackles]. I don't know about his defensive play.

I think [Montreal running back/kick returner] Avon Cobourne would be right up there. He has a decent return yardage [20 yards on kickoffs]. He was thrown into a role he had never done before. They tried him at running back with [starter] Ricky Edwards out [of the lineup against Edmonton [on Oct. 21] but he only had 16 yards [on five carries].

He's up there as well on special teams with 21 tackles. He's pretty consistent.

Q. Hamilton's Terry Vaughn, the CFL's all-time leading receiver, finished the season with 695 yards to snap his 12-year streak of at least 1,000 yards. To what do you attribute his disappointing season?

Frers: He's still very talented [at age 34]. Eventually the streak was going to stop. It's a great career if you can play more than 10 years and Terry's been a consistent performer for more than that.

He slowed right down this year. He's never been a blazer but he's always had great balance. The extra gear he had to get past a defender wasn't always there. And his ability to turn a short catch into a big gain wasn't where it once was.

[Ticats quarterback] Jason Maas only averaged 6.6 yards per completion, so it would take a lot of catches to get over 1,000 yards.

Q. The CFL on CBC features a first-place battle between the Montreal Alouettes and hometown Toronto Argonauts this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET. The winner will be declared the Eastern Division champion and gain a bye to the division final on Nov. 12. Montreal followed up Toronto's 13-9 loss to Saskatchewan on Oct. 20 with a 30-20 setback against Edmonton the following day. After splitting their first two meetings this season, who has the edge this time around?

Frers: As bad as Toronto's offence was against Saskatchewan [164 net yards] they still should have won the game 15-13 because [kicker Noel] Prefontaine missed two makeable field goals [from 17 and 36 yards].

Montreal had a flat game [against Edmonton]. Over the last two weeks they haven't executed well in all three phases of the game [offence defence and special teams] whereas Toronto has looked good in two of three [defence and special teams.

If the Argos can capitalize on special teams and come away with three points they can win a field-goal battle. They win ugly. [Coach] Michael Clemons understands they have to win ugly to advance [far in the playoffs]. It's very similar to 2004 and they won the [Grey] Cup that year.

Montreal has lost eight of its last 10 games. They're a second-place team that has looked very bad the past 10 weeks. [Former Alouettes coach] Don Matthews's experience would have been a huge asset [against Toronto].

In the East, I think I'll pick Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal in that order, so that means the Alouettes will have to travel to Winnipeg for the semifinal [on Nov. 5]. In the East final, I like Winnipeg and Toronto and that will be a very interesting game.