Brett Holmes/CFL.ca
Week 9 of CFL Fantasy play will be highlighted by a doozy of a Thursday night clash for Western supremacy as the Lions and Blue Bombers clash for the second time this season. BC dominated Winnipeg in a 30-6 win in Week 3 yet could be without starting pivot Vernon Adams, Jr., who missed the Week 8 win over the Elks while Dane Evans ($10,000) passed for 330 yards and a pair of scores. The Bombers will be coming off an open week and should be at full capacity now that star receiver Kenny Lawler ($10,000) has a game under his belt.
Each of the other three games may not have the high stakes as Lions-Bombers II, but as this week’s Start/Sit shows, there’s plenty of talent to go around.
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» Steinberg’s MMQB: The Argos keep on flexing
» Landry’s five takeaways from Week 8
BC (6-1-0) at Winnipeg (5-2-0), Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Winnipeg (-4.5)
O/U: 44.5
Start: BC Defence, $11,000 salary
Over the past three games, the Lions D has been lights out, allowing just 28 total points. BC is coming off a 27-0 shutout at Edmonton on Saturday where the defence scored 15.0 fantasy points, the third straight game of at least 11 FP and the fifth time this season they have scored in double digit production. Facing a Bombers offence filled with elite talent across the board could rightfully provide pause for fantasy users yet keep in mind the Lions held them to just two field goals on June 22. No defensive unit is playing as well as BC has and with the pressure on Winnipeg having to prove they can break through against the destructive schemes of coordinator Ryan Phillips, the bet here is that the Lions continue to be a solid play.
Sit: Brady Oliveira, RB, Blue Bombers, $14,000 salary
Oliveira scored just 7.3 FP in the Week 3 loss to the Lions, his second-lowest total of the season. He has since scored at least 14.0 FP in his last four games while establishing himself as one of the more reliable fantasy options among running backs. However, BC’s defence has caused sheer destruction to opposing backs the past two weeks, holding Saskatchewan’s Jamal Morrow ($12,700) and Edmonton’s Kevin Brown ($14,000) to a combined 16 yards on 17 carries. If Winnipeg is going to have a chance to make fantasy users happy, it will likely come from the arm of Zach Collaros ($15,000), so look elsewhere in Week 9 for better production from the backfield.
Toronto (6-0-0) at Calgary (2-5-0), Friday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: Calgary (-8.5)
O/U: 50.5
Start: Reggie Begelton, WR, Stampeders, $13,000 salary
Begelton is in the form that made him a 2019 CFL All-Star. In his past three games, Begelton has caught 18 passes for 274 yards on 25 targets. Sure, it would have been nice if he had found the end zone, but his totals of 12.2 FP, 15.0 FP and 18.2 FP in the same span has made Begelton’s fantasy users thrilled. The Argos remain undefeated, but they did allow 402 passing yards in Saturday’s win over the Roughriders while giving up 12.9 yards per completion. The Stampeders have been extremely pass-heavy the last three games and will likely continue the trend if they hold any hope of handing Toronto their first loss of the season. That means Begelton will be heavily involved. Don’t be surprised if he gets at least 10 targets from Jake Maier ($14,000) for a third straight game.
Sit: Dedrick Mills, RB, Stampeders, $12,000 salary
Calgary’s commitment to the pass has come at the expense of taking touches away from one of Pro Football Focus’ five highest graded backs. Mills had just five carries for 16 yards in Sunday’s loss at Montreal and has just 16 total touches from scrimmage the past two games, which has resulted in his fantasy production grounding to a near halt at 11.6 total FP in that span. The Stamps are going to have to score (lots of) points to keep pace with the league’s most prolific offence, and that likely means throwing the ball 30-plus times. That level of game flow doesn’t bode well for Mills’ production, putting him in position to fall below his expected fantasy production yet again.
Montreal (3-3-0) at Hamilton (3-4-0), Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Hamilton (-1.5)
O/U: 46.5
Start: William Stanback, RB, Alouettes, $9,000 salary
The best is yet to come for Stanback, who has started to regain his form after a slow start. The former All-Star rushed for 86 yards on 15 carries in the Week 7 win over Calgary while adding three catches for 18 yards. As fun as it has been watching Austin Mack ($10,000) and Kaion Julien-Grant ($11,500) shredding secondaries, the heart and soul of Montreal’s offence is centered around getting Stanback the ball. He’s scored a combined 26.3 FP in his last two games and could equal that with four quarters against a Tiger-Cats run defence that is eighth in the league. With his salary still at a bargain level, we suspect Stanback is going to have another week of heavy fantasy usage considering 31.7 per cent of users had him in their Week 8 lineups.
Sit: Tim White, WR, Tiger-Cats, $12,000 salary
One could make an extraordinarily compelling case that RB James Butler ($11,000) belongs in this spot, but with the Ticats reverting to rookie pivot Taylor Powell ($5,000), Butler will have opportunities to snap out of his recent funk. White, on the other hand, has been in single digit fantasy production in three of his last four games including 8.6 FP in Week 8. Bo Levi Mitchell made a concerted effort to feature White, giving him eight targets in the win over Ottawa but with Mitchell heading back to the six-game injured list, White could return to sharing targets with Duke Williams ($10,500) and Terry Godwin ($11,700). Wait and see how this plays out rather than going all-in with White this week.
Ottawa (3-4-0) at Saskatchewan (3-4-0), Sunday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Saskatchewan (-1.5)
O/U: 44.5
Start: Tevin Jones, WR, Roughriders, $13,600 Salary
Jones is the one constant on an inconsistent Riders offence. The 22.3 FP he scored in the Week 8 loss to the Argonauts marked the second time this season Jones has scored at least 20 fantasy points while also continuing his streak of scoring at least 10.0 FP in each game. Regardless of who’s throwing him the ball, Jones has emerged as a CFL All-Star calibre pass catcher that can make plays against any defence. He’ll have a good look at a third game of over 20 FP when he lines up against a REDBLACKS pass defence that gave up 353 yards in the loss against the Tiger-Cats while allowing four plays of at least 23 yards.
Sit: Jaelon Acklin, WR, REDBLACKS, $8,000 Salary
We’re still waiting for Acklin to break out, and after consecutive weeks of at least 11.0 fantasy points in Weeks 6-7, the 2022 East Division All-Star managed just 3.7 FP in the Week 8 loss to his old Hamilton teammates. Acklin is averaging just 7.1 FP per game and has not exceeded 60 receiving yards in a single game this season. Ottawa’s passing game will feel limited so long as QB Dustin Crum ($7,500) continues to average nearly 10 carries per contest and his shaky 148-yard effort in the skies against the Tiger-Cats will also hamper the production of Justin Hardy ($11,000) and Nate Behar ($9,500). With Jeremiah Masoli out for the remainder of the season, chances of an Acklin resurgence dims with each week.
