Checking Down: News and notes from Week 6

TORONTO — Tiquan Underwood and Tyrell Sutton are out this week while Travis Lulay gets a second start for the Lions.

Other than that, there are plenty of unknowns heading into Week 6.

We check on the latest in this week’s Checking Down:

Jump to team:

BC LIONS

Travis Lulay will draw a second consecutive start for the Lions in Week 6 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

– While Travis Lulay will start in Week 6, TSN‘s Farhan Lalji reports there’s a chance Jonathon Jennings could dress (Farhan Lalji, TSN).

– Emmanuel Arceneaux has been spotted with a brace on his knee this week but is still expected to play (Farhan Lalji, TSN).

– When Chris Williams comes back, someone is going to be left out. Could Nick Moore be the odd man out despite a strong start to his 2017 season? (Jason Botchford, Vancouver Province).

– Speaking of Williams, the dynamic receiver has taken part in his first full practice of 2017. All signs point to him returning on Aug. 5 vs. the Saskatchewan Roughriders (Matt Baker, BCLions.com).

– The Lions have another developmental quarterback in camp this week with the arrival of Jake Heaps, who spent some time in off-season camp with the Riders (Matt Baker, BCLions.com).

EDMONTON ESKIMOS

Eskimos head coach Jason Maas has no intention of downplaying this week’s clash with BC (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

– After a quiet few weeks since his breakout Week 1 performance, D’haquille Williams is looking to make adjustments and show his versatility (Dave Campbell, CHED).

– While the Esks have brought back Hugh O’Neill, Sean Whyte will continue to handle all three roles in the kicking game (Dave Campbell, CHED).

– With the Eskimos and Lions meeting after four straight wins, Esks head coach Jason Maas says this week’s clash is far more than ‘just another game’ (Terry Jones, Edmonton Journal).

CALGARY STAMPEDERS

– While Kamar Jorden continues his big year, DaVaris Daniels is coming off a surprising one-catch performance. No one’s talking about a sophomore slump, however (Daniel Austin, Calgary Herald).

– After bouncing around since leaving Stanford in 2014, James Vaughters has found a starring role with the Stamps (Kristan Odland, Calgary Herald).

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Despite a Week 5 incident, Duron Carter remains in Chris Jones’ good books (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

– While his time in Saskatchewan ended on a sour note, Corey Chamblin has plenty of sentimental value to Riders fans. He’s back for the first time since 2015 this week (Rod Pedersen, CKRM).

– Despite a misstep before last week’s loss to Calgary, Duron Carter has been in Chris Jones’ good books since joining the team this off-season (Murray McCormick, Regina Leader-Post).

– In another loss to Calgary, fewer than a quarter of the Riders’ passing plays traveled 10 or more yards past the line of scrimmage (Rob Vanstone, Regina Leader-Post).

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

Maurice Leggett appears likely to miss another game for the Bombers (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

– It appears Maurice Leggett will miss Week 6 as the Bombers’ lineup remains mostly intact from Saturday’s loss to BC (Darrin Bauming, TSN1290).

– While the Bombers’ run defence ranks first in the CFL, Thursday’s matchup with Montreal presents a new challenge against one of the league’s top rushing teams (Ted Wyman, Winnipeg Sun).

– There could be some tinkering on defence for the Bombers but for now, Roc Carmichael’s work ethic is keeping him in the starting lineup through some early-season struggles (Ted Wyman, Winnipeg Sun).

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

Kent Austin continues to throw his support behind starting quarterback Zach Collaros (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)

– Simoni Lawrence will sit Saturday’s Week 6 contest vs. the Calgary Stampeders (Drew Edwards, The Hamilton Spectator).

– When he was released in June, Dominique Ellis swallowed his pride and didn’t burn any bridges. Now he’s back with the Ticats and ready to make good on a second chance (Drew Edwards, The Hamilton Spectator).

– After his team’s 0-4 start, Kent Austin says he’s 100 per cent committed to Zach Collaros as the team’s starting quarterback (Drew Edwards, The Hamilton Spectator).

– Marshall Ferguson tracks the Ticats’ O-line, tracing continual improvement for that unit over the last couple of games (Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca).

– After practising on Tuesday, Abdul Kanneh was not seen at Ticats’ practice early on Wednesday (Louis Butko, TSN).

TORONTO ARGONAUTS

– While Bear Woods downplayed the severity of his injury, Cleyon Laing and Victor Butler are awaiting MRI results. All three left Monday’s win over the REDBLACKS by halftime (Mike Ganter, Toronto Sun).

– The Argos’ offence continues to hum but finishing drives remains a focal point for Head Coach Marc Trestman (Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun).

OTTAWA REDBLACKS

The REDBLACKS were outplayed in a close last-minute loss to the Argos in Week 5 (The Canadian Press)

– With 11 days between games and a chance to finally breathe, Tim Baines says the REDBLACKS have some soul searching to do (Tim Baines, Ottawa Citizen).

– Despite mixed results in Week 5, the REDBLACKS have moved up in the Nissan Titan Power Rankings (CFL.ca).

MONTREAL ALOUETTES

– Tiquan Underwood will be held out of Thursday’s game in Winnipeg with an ankle injury (Didier Orméjuste‏, RDS).

– According to TSN’s Joey Alfieri, Tyrell Sutton will sit out Montreal’s Week 6 matchup with the Bombers. Routine rest was part of the plan for the veteran RB but Sutton is also dealing with a calf injury, meaning Brandon Rutley gets the start (Joey Alfieri, TSN690).

– With Underwood out, Eugene Lewis has high expectations for his Canadian Football League debut (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).