Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Suggesting a defence in Start/Sit hasn’t happened often this season, yet Week 10 brings an obvious unit to the forefront. While there are players who are obvious starts (and a couple of pivots that Fantasy owners should stay away from), we’ll also go out on a limb and offer a deep sleeper who will build off the near success of last week’s roll of the dice – Calgary receiver Marken Michel – and have Fantasy owners bragging about the payoff around the water cooler come next Monday.
Week 10 only means the fun is halfway over. No one’s in a rush to see this season end, so let’s get at it.
Winnipeg at Montreal
Thursday |7:30 p.m. ET
Can Darvin Adams continue his impressive play as of late in Week 10? (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
Start: Blue Bombers receiver Darvin Adams ($6,174) is starting to look like the WR1 many envisioned he’d be at the start of the season. Over the past two weeks, he’s 14-for-16 in receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns while giving Fantasy owners a combined 29.3 points. As good as Adams’ numbers have been in the last five games, Winnipeg pivot Matt Nichols ($10,993) has yet to get Adams over the 100-yard mark in receptions, a feat he achieved four times last season. He’ll get his first on Thursday at the expense of an Alouettes secondary reeling from the 377-yard, four-TD dismantling handed to them by Toronto’s Ricky Ray last week. Montreal is also eighth in opponents’ pass efficiency (104.1) and opponents’ completion percentage (72.4), and with the Als having to contend with the all-purpose threat of running back Andrew Harris ($8,226), Adams – who had six catches for 91 yards the first time the teams met in Week 6 – should be able to exceed that while also scoring for the fourth time in his last six games.
Sit: Don’t buy into the belief that Darian Durant can repeat his numbers against Winnipeg in Montreal’s 41-40 loss in Week 6. Durant ($8,474) threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns in the shootout, but since putting up 21.4 Fantasy Points that night, he’s produced a combined 19.2 his last two outings, both against Toronto. The running threat Durant has always presented has been boxed in this season, as he has just 84 rushing yards and has yet to score on the ground. The Winnipeg defence allows 30.9 points per game, but the Alouettes have scored more than 19 points just twice this year. If Durant looks more like the harried passer he was at Toronto last week, those gambling on him will see their Fantasy team at a huge disadvantage.
Saskatchewan at Edmonton
Friday | 9:30 p.m. ET
It seems every week Mike Reilly is a viable option for fantasy owners and Week 10 isn’t any different (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Start: Mike Reilly ($14,000)? Why, of course. Reilly comes into the week with five straight games scoring 20-plus Fantasy points, and, at this point, Fantasy owners aren’t bemoaning the salary when he’s making it seem like a bargain these days. He’s second in the league with both a 71.3 percent completion rate and 15 touchdown passes and his five rushing majors have him on pace to eclipse the nine he ran for last season. Second in scoring defence (24.6 points allowed per game), the Roughriders’ D has been solid against the pass, allowing 291.6 yards per game, and they lead the league in opponents’ completion percentage with an impressive 60.7 percent mark. However, they’ve yet to face Reilly, who gets the good news of having receiver Brandon Zylstra ($4,345) back in the Eskimos’ lineup this week to join Vidal Hazelton ($5,162) and the ever-emerging D’haquille Williams ($2,707), the latter of whom is coming off his third 100-yard game in last week’s loss at Winnipeg.
Sit: The Eskimos’ defence leads the league with fewest plays from scrimmage allowed and is second in both total yards allowed (336.8), sacks (22) and QB pressures (61). Each of those numbers don’t bode well for Kevin Glenn ($10,295), who has established an interesting trend of following outstanding efforts with less than stellar performances. Glenn’s 22.8 FP effort against BC in Week 8 came off a 3.4 FP performance the previous week against the Lions, which came after he had a season-best 29.6 FP against the Argos, an outing preceded by the 8.1 FP he had against the Stampeders. Get the picture? Up-down-up-down doesn’t sound logical, yet Glenn’s season has flown in the face of it. Considering he’s coming off an up week, everything suggests that this isn’t the week to play him, even with the Roughriders coming off an open date.
BC at Ottawa
Saturday | 3:30 p.m. ET
Diontae Spencer could be an option to put up big points this week if he has a performance like he did last week against Hamilton (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)
Start: If Diontae Spencer ($3,922) fills in at return specialist for the injured Quincy McDuffie ($2,500), he could be in for a very productive afternoon. The Lions have had their share of issues, yet the fact they are eighth in opponents’ punt return (11.4) and last in opponents’ kickoff return average (25.1) makes Spencer an intriguing option who will also remain involved in the REDBLACKS’ passing game. Spencer accounted for 187 all-purpose yards in last week’s win at Hamilton and could exceed that total if Trevor Harris ($10,344) can get him in favorable situations as a receiver in the open field. One of a handful of players who can cause high-level damage with even a limited number of touches, Spencer could be lethal if he gets 10-12 touches this week.
Sit: Even with the REDBLACKS giving up nearly 333 passing yards per game while allowing 17 passes of over 30 yards, it’s still not enough reason to play Jonathon Jennings ($8,246) this week. Sooner or later, Jennings is bound to break out of his season-long malaise, and while it wouldn’t be a surprise if Saturday’s the moment he turns around his fortunes, that 52.1 QBR and paltry 33.3 percent completion rate on passes longer than 20 yards are a pair of sobering numbers that temper any expectations of a Jennings breakout. He has seven interceptions to just two majors in his last three games and has led the Lions to just ten touchdown drives this season. Ouch.
Toronto at Calgary
Saturday | 9:00 p.m. ET
Bo Levi Mitchell may not be the best option this week as he has only gone over the 20 point mark once since Week 2 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Start: The Stampeders defence ($6,148) has been dominant all season, leading the league in a variety of categories that includes turnover ratio (+12), points allowed (162) and returns for touchdowns (six). With a healthy Ricky Ray ($9,832), the Argonauts and their pass-heavy attack won’t pull punches, but stretching the ball downfield to S.J. Green ($5,558) will be a daunting task considering Calgary is second only to Montreal in fewest big plays allowed against the pass (11). Keep in mind it was the Stamps that held Ray to a season-low 7.6 Fantasy Points in their 41-24 win in Week 7 before sending him to the sidelines with a shoulder injury that caused Ray to miss a game.
Sit: Calgary continues to lead the league in scoring (34.4) despite not having Bo Levi Mitchell ($9,302) on top of his game. Mitchell was just 15-for-31 for 237 yards in last week’s win over BC and has not thrown for over 300 yards since Week 4. He’s crossed the 20-point barrier for Fantasy players just once since Week 2, which oddly enough came against the Argos when he put up 22 FP in the Week 7 victory. The Stamps obviously don’t need him to throw for 360 yards and four majors, but Fantasy players won’t complain if that Mitchell makes his return.
