CFL.ca Staff

Heading into Week 9, the playoff picture is slowly starting to shape itself out throughout the league.

With Labour Day just around the corner, teams will continue to jostle for better positioning, as the schedule enters the midway point of the season.

Related: Week 9 Action
» Video: Hamilton at Montreal Preview » Kromah, Sisco placed on 9-game IR » Irving: Can Elliott do it again? » Jyles, Esks looking forward » Morris: Westerman showing up » Pedersen: Riders have time » Dunk: Cobourne ready to go » Argos add Rambo to Practice Roster

This week, Avon Cobourne will make his first start of the season, as he and the Tiger-Cats invade Montreal to take on the Alouettes. The Friday night matchup will see the BC Lions face a confident Joey Elliott and an excited Bombers group at Canad Inns Stadium.

On Saturday, the Calgary Stampeders will travel to Mosaic as they prepare to battle the Roughriders in a crucial West Division battle. Finally, the Toronto Argonauts will welcome back a familiar face to Rogers Centre on Monday, as they prepare to battle Cory Boyd and the Eskimos.

Equipped with the most up-to-date storylines, roster moves, stats, milestones and trends, enjoy this week's CFL.ca Game Notes.

By the Numbers:

BC Defence 1: The Lions have now gone three consecutive games and 13 quarters without allowing a touchdown. In total, they have allowed just two touchdowns in their last 59 drives over their last five games. The last offensive touchdown allowed by the Lions defence was 206 minutes ago, or, 41-straight possessions.

BC Defence 2: Rich Stubler’s defence has allowed point totals of eight, nine and five throughout their last three outings and is the first group since the BC Headhunters ‘D’ of 1963 that has allowed 10 points or less in three-straight meetings.

Stingy Argos:  The Toronto defence has been outstanding as well as of late, yielding just five touchdowns in their last four games. They have also held the opposition to under 350 yards six times this season.

Als-systems go:  The Alouettes offence has now gone four-straight games where they have registered at least 400 yards of net offence. They have averaged 434 yards and 23 first downs in the last four games and have scored points in 18 of their last 46 possessions, with just eight two-and-outs in the process. Anthony Calvillo is currently riding a six-game streak of 300 yards passing or more.

Triple-Down: Hamilton’s Chris Williams leads the CFL with nine touchdowns in seven games, a pace that would give him 23 majors on the season. Should he accomplish the feat, he would tie Milt Stegall’s record that he set in 2002. Williams is the first player to record at least three touchdowns in a game in the same season since Charles Roberts in 2007.

Chad Owens 1K/3K: After seven games, Owens is on pace to record 1,000-yard seasons in receiving (1,419), punt returns (1,059) and kickoff returns (1,677). In CFL history, only Pinball Clemons has achieved that feat. Owens also leads the league with 1,622 combined yards, a pace that would add an unprecedented third consecutive 3,000-yard season.

Gone Streaking: BC Lions quarterback Travis Lulay threw a TD pass for the 18th-straight game, matching the fourth-longest streak in CFL history set by Khari Jones during the 2001-02 seasons.

Top Performers:

Brandon London: Without Jamel Richardson in the lineup last week, London took on added coverage, but was still able to register 91 yards on four receptions. Through seven games this season, he sits just three yards shy of his career-high of 475 yards that he set in 18 outings in 2011.

Joey Elliott: Last week, Elliott grabbed the attention of the league by throwing for 400 yards in what was his first start since Week 19 of the 2010 season. Can he continue his strong start against the league’s top defence?

Henoc Muamba: The 2011 first overall pick had the game of his career in Week 8, picking up a pair of forced fumbles as well as two tackles.

Cauchy Muamba: Not to be outdone by his brother, Muamba stole the show last week for the Lions, registering a pair of interceptions in BC’s convincing win over the Roughriders.

» Buy Week 9 Tickets
Thursday, 7:30 pm ET: Tiger-Cats at Alouettes
Friday, 8:00 pm ET: Lions at Blue Bombers
Saturday, 3:00 pm ET: Stampeders at Roughriders
Monday, 7:30 pm ET: Eskimos at Argonauts

Throwing the Flag:

Heading into Week 9, the most penalized team in the CFL are the BC Lions, who have seen the orange flag thrown their way 66 times for 553 yards.

The least penalized team is the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who have lost just 385 yards by way of penalties.

Roster Moves:

Joey Elliott will remain at quarterback for the Blue Bombers, allowing him another chance to prove himself under pressure.

Alouettes running back Brandon Whitaker will make his return to the lineup this week, but receiver Jamel Richardson will likely stay out with a nagging hamstring injury.

The Roughriders placed Abraham Kromah and Jordan Sisco on the 9-game injured list, and have also signed receiver Aaron Hargreaves.

The Toronto Argonauts added receiver Ken-Yon Rambo to their practice roster.

Tiger-Cats running back Avon Cobourne will get his first taste of action this season, as he takes over for the sidelined Chevon Walker.

Milestone Watch:

BC Lions receiver Geroy Simon sits just four receptions back of Allen Pitts for fourth place all-time in receptions.

Quarterback Henry Burris sits just 448 yards shy of Matt Dunigan for fifth on the CFL’s all-time passing yards list.