Fun with Fantasy Numbers looks back at a Week 17 that was…well…how shall we put it…interesting.
Top 10 Disappointments: Of the 10 most used players in Week 17, only Winnipeg’s Andrew Harris (fifth, 4,890 users) cracked the Top 10 in scoring as he finished with 19.3 Fantasy points. Of the other not-so-nifty nine, Calgary pivot Bo Levi Mitchell proved to be the most disappointing. Mitchell led the pack with 6,126 users but his three interceptions and no majors in the 12-6 grinder of a win against Montreal resulted in just 3.4 FP, barely ahead of Saskatchewan’s Kyran Moore, who was sixth in users (4,032) but finished 57th in scoring with 3.3 FP.
Fantasy Analysis: Thanksgiving Monday produced all of one offensive touchdown (thank you, Calgary’s Terry Williams) in the two games. Defence (and kickers) ruled the day and sunk a host of Fantasy rosters. Perhaps the two best things to carry from Week 17 is that 1) it’s over and 2) expect the likes of Mitchell, Stamps running back Don Jackson, and Roughriders running back/return specialist Marcus Thigpen to rebound with stronger numbers in Week 18.
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Sticking to the Thanksgiving festivities, defences across the league were getting in on the stuffing. (Steve Hiscock, CFL.ca)
Clever Trevor: It wasn’t all bad in Week 17. Ask Fantasy users of Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris, whose 26.5 Fantasy points in Friday’s overtime loss against Winnipeg was the best score of the week. Ranked 16th in usage (2,273), Harris threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns on his way to a third straight 300-yard outing.
Fantasy Analysis: One of the few who delivered big days and left Week 17 unscathed, Harris might be the best Fantasy play at quarterback this week when he and the REDBLACKS visit an Eskimos team that will be fighting for their postseason lives. Harris threw for 313 yards in a Week 15 win over Edmonton but managed just one touchdown pass. He is a strong bet to improve on that TD pass total.
Nichols’ Slick Production: Ranked 26th in usage (1,269), Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols quietly produced his best game of the season in Friday’s 40-32 overtime victory over Ottawa. Mired in a slump that had seen him throw eight interceptions in his previous five games, Nichols turned things around with 265 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, finishing with 23.3 FP, third best in Week 17.
Fantasy Analysis: Finally! The ruthlessly efficient Nichols of 2017 brought his A-game in a win that bolstered the Bombers’ playoff hopes. The question now facing Fantasy users is whether he can maintain that level of production when Winnipeg contends with a Saskatchewan defence that will come into Saturday’s game with a wealth of momentum.
…a Little Help from His Friends: Receivers Darvin Adams and Weston Dressler contributed mightily to Nichols’ numbers. Adams had nine catches for 72 yards and a major on his way to 24.2 Fantasy points, the second-best total of the week. Dressler came through for his 799 users with a pair of touchdowns — including the game-winner in overtime — to record a season-best 23.1 FP.
Fantasy Analysis: Adams has double-digit Fantasy production in six of his last eight games and will still be a top-end Fantasy option in Saturday’s game against the Roughriders. As for Dressler, whose Fantasy stock had been dipping much of the season, Friday’s win could be the boost he needs to finish the regular season strong, making him an interesting Fantasy play in Week 18.
Eskimo Cry: Eventually, we had to talk about the Eskimos offence, which failed to score in a second straight game on Monday as they lost 19-12 to Saskatchewan. Most Fantasy users knew using Edmonton players against the Riders defence was risky to begin with, yet no one envisioned just how bad it would be, especially for quarterback Mike Reilly, who threw three more interceptions and finished with 8.6 Fantasy points. In his last three games, Reilly has just one major to go along with six interceptions.
Fantasy Analysis: Ouch. What was once the surest thing in Fantasy, Reilly probably feels like the last three games were a bad sequence of dreams. Unfortunately for him, it’s not. He’s way too good to continue at this awful pace, but there will be a lot of hesitant Fantasy users wondering if Reilly’s salary is worth the risk in Saturday’s game against Ottawa.
The Foresight Was Strong in Them: Argonauts quarterback James Franklin ranked 77th in Fantasy usage, yet the 106 of those who added him to the lineup had their hunch pay off in Saturday’s loss to the Lions. Franklin threw for a pair of touchdown passes and ran for 61 yards in relief of struggling McLeod Bethel-Thompson (four interceptions) before falling short in a 26-23 defeat. His 18.2 Fantasy points placed him 10th among the Week 17 pack.
Fantasy Analysis: Franklin has accounted for 17 of Toronto’s 27 offensive touchdowns this season and may have played his way back into a starting role for Friday’s game against Hamilton. With the Argos looking ahead to 2019 and the eventual life after Ricky Ray, Franklin may have used Saturday as a springboard toward a strong finish.
Three Lions: BC’s trio of quarterback Jonathon Jennings (13th), running back Jeremiah Johnson (12th) and receiver Cory Watson (14th) each placed in the Top 15 in scoring. Johnson was the only one of the trio ranked in the Top 20 in usage, finishing 18th with 1,877, but his 17 FP was buoyed by his first 100-yard game of the season.
Fantasy Analysis: Travis Lulay talk was deterred for at least a week as Jennings put up 16.7 FP, while Watson had 16.5 FP. However, don’t expect a rush on Lions players this week when they head to Calgary.
They Don’t Give Out Points for Effort: Montreal quarterback Johnny Manziel played tough in Thanksgiving Monday’s loss to Calgary, yet his effort resulted in only 9.8 Fantasy points, tying him with returning Stamps receiver Eric Rogers for 27th place.
Fantasy Analysis: Although he failed to get the Alouettes into the end zone, Manziel continued to show signs of progress. The Als are off this week but Manziel might be an interesting high risk move when they return to action against the Argos on October 20.
No One (Well, Almost No One) Saw Him Coming: REDBLACKS receiver Julian Feoli-Gudino had a season-high 18.3 Fantasy points in the loss to the Blue Bombers, catching four passes for 83 yards and his first touchdown of the season.
Fantasy Analysis: Feoli-Gudino finished ninth in scoring this week, but what makes him noteworthy is that only nine Fantasy users had him in the lineup. It’s not too late to join Team Julian, as he and Ottawa face Edmonton on Saturday in what might be a slugfest between two teams backed into corners.
