The Canadian Press
And so it begins. TSN CFL Fantasy Football Presented by Leo Vegas carries into the Semi-Final round with two games on Sunday. Salaries are tighter, with only $30,000 for Fantasy users to work with. Fewer players mean the margin of error is thinner, meaning one slip at a position can cost Fantasy users dearly.
It also means fewer words, so…
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QUARTERBACKS
| Matchup Rank (Position Rank) | Player | Value | Opponent |
| 1 (1) | Vernon Adams Jr., MTL | $10,169 | EDM |
| 2 (3) | Bo Levi Mitchell, CGY | $9,566 | WPG |
| 3 (2) | Trevor Harris, EDM | $9,805 | MTL |
| 4 (7) | Zach Collaros, WPG | $5,647 | CGY |
| 5 (8) | Chris Streveler, WPG | $5,618 | CGY |
| 6 (5) | Nick Arbuckle, CGY | $5,841 | WPG |
Even in limited snaps in the last two weeks of the regular season, Montreal’s Vernon Adams Jr. ($10,169) has thrown multiple majors in four straight games and five of his last six. The Eskimos led the league in pass defence (222.9 yards per game) but Edmonton’s D was eighth in average yards allowed on first down (6.99). Adams could have a big afternoon if the Alouettes are able to maintain that pace. With little production from his running game, Bo Levi Mitchell ($9,566) has averaged 345.7 passing yards per game in his past seven outings. He lit up the Blue Bombers secondary for a combined 687 yards and seven touchdowns in Weeks 19 & 20. Winnipeg has allowed a league-high 32 completions of better than 30 yards along with 27 touchdown passes.
Trevor Harris ($9,805) gets an Alouettes secondary that gave up a league-high 316.1 yards per game with one of his three 400-yard outings coming against the Als in Week 1. However, Harris has been a boom or bust when it comes to throwing touchdowns, as he was shut out of the end zone five times this season. Who do the Bombers go to on Sunday? Hard-nosed Chris Streveler ($5,618) is a big reason why Winnipeg is in the postseason, but Zach Collaros ($5,647) shined in his debut in Week 20 and gives the Bombers a better passing threat. The bet here is that some sort of timeshare comes down.
RUNNING BACKS
| Matchup Rank (Position Rank) | Player | Value | Opponent |
| 1 (3) | William Stanback, MTL | $6,847 | EDM |
| 2 (1) | Andrew Harris, WPG | $9,172 | CGY |
| 3 (2) | C.J. Gable, EDM | $7,373 | MTL |
| 4 (5) | Shaq Cooper, EDM | $5,428 | MTL |
| 5 (4) | Jeremiah Johnson, MTL | $5,504 | EDM |
| 6 (6) | Don Jackson, CGY | $5,403 | WPG |
| 7 (8) | Terry Williams, CGY | $3,918 | WPG |
| 8 (10) | Ante Litre, CGY | $4,686 | BC |
| 9 (T-14) | Calvin McCarty, EDM | $2,500 | MTL |
| 10 (T-14) | Johnny Augustine, WPG | $2,500 | CGY |
Almost one of every four runs (actually 24.7%) of William Stanback’s ($6,847) rushing attempts were of at least 10 yards, including a league-best 12 runs of better than 20 yards. Montreal will also use Adams and unsung backup Jeremiah Johnson ($5,504) as a trio that helped the Alouettes finish second in the league in rushing. Keep in mind that Stanback also averaged 10 yards per catch. League rushing champion Andrew Harris ($9,172) had a league-best 47 runs of at least 10 yards, but the Stampeders held him to a modest 4.8 yards per carry and did not allow a rushing major in any of Harris’ 45 rushing attempts against them.
The Eskimos are counting on C.J. Gable ($7,373) to return, but Shaq Cooper ($5,428) averaged 88 rushing yards and put up 13 runs of at least 10 yards in his 65 carries. The question surrounding Don Jackson ($5,403) is whether he can find his 2018 postseason spark. If not, expect to see doses of Terry Williams ($3,918) and Ante Litre ($4,686).
RECEIVERS
| Matchup Rank (Position Rank) | Player | Value | Opponent |
| 1 (1) | Reggie Begelton, CGY | $9,624 | WPG |
| 2 (3) | Eric Rogers, CGY | $8,294 | WPG |
| 3 (5) | Eugene Lewis, MTL | $7,414 | EDM |
| 4 (4) | Greg Ellingson, EDM | $7,488 | MTL |
| 5 (6) | DeVier Posey, MTL | $6,301 | EDM |
| 6 (12) | Ricky Collins, EDM | $5,294 | MTL |
| 7 (9) | Hergy Mayala, CGY | $5,533 | WPG |
| 8 (7) | Darvin Adams, WPG | $6,096 | CGY |
| 9 (11) | DaVaris Daniels, EDM | $5,332 | MTL |
| 10 (17) | Jake Wieneke, MTL | $4,185 | EDM |
| 11 (15) | Kenny Lawler, WPG | $4,430 | CGY |
| 12 (13) | Tevaun Smith, EDM | $5,174 | MTL |
| 13 (19) | Josh Huff, CGY | $4,132 | WPG |
| 14 (10) | Quan Bray, MTL | $5,348 | EDM |
| 15 (16) | Nic Demski, WPG | $4,185 | CGY |
| 16 (14) | Lucky Whitehead, WPG | $4,749 | CGY |
| 17 (21) | Chris Matthews, WPG | $3,422 | CGY |
| 18 (T-26) | Mario Alford, MTL | $2,500 | EDM |
| 19 (25) | Richard Sindani, CGY | $2,672 | WPG |
| 20 (24) | Natey Adjei, EDM | $2,945 | MTL |
Reggie Begelton ($9,624) has been below 10 Fantasy Points just once since Week 4 and has nine straight games of at least four receptions. Stamps teammate Eric Rogers ($8,294) has three touchdowns this season against the Blue Bombers while rookie Hergy Mayala ($5,533) pulled all five of his majors over the past four games that include two against Winnipeg.
Als playmaker Eugene Lewis ($7,414) has at least one reception of better than 20 yards in nine of his last 11 games. If it feels like all Alouettes rookie Jake Wieneke ($4,184) does is catch touchdowns, one has to consider that Wieneke averages a major once every 5.12 reception. The return of Trevor Harris will spark the value of the Eskimos receiving corps, but rookie Tevaun Smith ($5,174) has 17 catches for 216 yards and a pair of majors over the past three games. Smith’s gain has been a pain for DaVaris Daniels ($5,332), who has just four catches for 33 yards in his last three games.
The more Zach Collaros is on the field, the better the production for the Blue Bombers, who had a league-low 212.2 passing yards per game. Darvin Adams ($6,096) had just one game this season of better than 100 yards. Kenny Lawler ($4,430) has scores in consecutive games. There’s always the chance of either Nic Demski ($4185) and Lucky Whitehead ($4,749) arising to be a Fantasy factor.
DEFENCES
Winnipeg ($4,950) has scored defensive touchdowns in two of their last three games. Calgary ($4,119) went from 45 sacks last season to just 35 this season but added nine more interceptions while also going from two defensive majors to five in the regular season. Only Saskatchewan allowed fewer offensive touchdowns (30) than the 31 allowed by Edmonton ($3,746). Montreal ($3,200) won’t have a lot going for them but the Alouettes have had a knack for making the big defensive play at the right time.
