Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
Did you see Adarius Pickett on Sunday?
If you said no, I’m pretty sure you just weren’t paying attention. I don’t think it was possible for anyone to miss him. The Toronto Argonauts SAM linebacker was all over the field, racking up eight tackles, and another pair on special teams, to go along with a knockdown in his team’s win. Is he the best SAM in the league right now? I argue, yes.
Oh, and did you see that AJ Ouellette block? You know the one. First and goal on the Hamilton 10 about midway through the fourth quarter. Two Argo running backs, Andrew Harris and Ouellette, are on the field. Harris takes the handoff and Ouellette throws a massive block on Ted Laurent, completely flipping him upside down. All 300 pounds of him. Up. Side. Down. Touchdown Harris.
That’s my play of the week from Week 2. I’ll be taking no further questions.
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Here’s my CFL Fantasy team for this week:
QB – Cody Fajardo ($14,000) CAPTAIN
RB – William Stanback ($12,300)
RB – AJ Ouellette ($9,800)
WR – Austin Mack ($4,900)
WR – Damonte Coxie ($9,500)
Flex – Shawn Bane Jr. ($10,000)
Defence – Toronto Argonauts ($9,100)
I’m going with Cody Fajardo this week as my quarterback. With the Tiger-Cats giving up 296.0 yards through the air and surrendering 75 points in total through two games of the season, my hope is that Fajardo can build on his Week 1 performance (261 yards and a touchdown on the ground). I do think much of their offence will be in the hands of William Stanback, which is why I also took him this week. Hamilton has given up 127.5 rushing yards per game, the most in the CFL.
Edmonton has allowed 127.0 yards per game on the ground, which is why I decided on going with AJ Ouellette again. It was disappointing when Andrew Harris rushed in for the TD last weekend against Hamilton instead of AJ since I had the latter on my Fantasy team (can Ouellette’s massive block on Ted Laurent during that play count for some points, please??), but I still wasn’t upset with a 9.5 point performance.
Austin Mack was only $4,900 and though it was only one game, he’s emerged as Fajardo’s favourite target. I hope the bargain will pay off. Damonte Coxie has found some chemistry with Chad Kelly and my fingers are crossed that it continues this week in Edmonton and I’m going with Shawn Bane Jr. at my flex position.
I don’t think the Elks will put up a goose egg this week (though stranger things have happened in the CFL) but I’m loving what I’m seeing from Toronto’s defence so far this season.
KRISTINA’S PICKS
BC at Winnipeg
Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET
I’m still not picking against Winnipeg. Though, I do think this will be a really close, exciting game. Two of the league’s hottest offences meet at IG Field and one will stay undefeated while the other will pick up their first loss. I really like what the Lions defence is doing to start the year – they lead the league in points allowed with 7.5 per game, have allowed one TD and a league-low 134 passing yards per game – and what VA has done, too. But how do you bet against Zach Collaros right now?
PICK: Winnipeg
Montreal at Hamilton
Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
I’m not sure that having Bo Levi Mitchell on the sideline this week is exactly a bad thing for the Tiger-Cats. Just based on production last week against the Argos, Bo threw two interceptions and completed just 66% of his passes (16 of 24) while Matthew Shiltz was 13/14 and a touchdown. This is based on one game but is still something to consider. We’ve only seen Montreal once this year and while I’m not completely convinced just yet, I think they get the best of their East foes.
PICK: Montreal
Saskatchewan at Calgary
Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET
I need to see more from both of these teams to really get a gauge on what they’re all about. With Saskatchewan keeping up with Winnipeg last week, even though they did lose the game, I’m giving them the edge over the Stamps who beat the now 0-2 Ottawa REDBLACKS.
PICK: Saskatchewan
Toronto at Edmonton
Sunday, 7:00 p.m. ET
I don’t think Edmonton goes without scoring a point in this game, but with a defence as good as Toronto’s, it could be a possibility. I, like most around the CFL world, really liked what I saw from Chad Kelly last week. I think the reigning champs go 2-0 to start the season with a win in Edmonton.
PICK: Toronto
