CFL Beat: Week 9

The boy’s top teeth have finally erupted, and the two weeks of disrupted sleep appear to be easing once again! It’s been incredibly difficult to stay on top of master’s coursework, family commitments, and football all at once due to the overall lack of sleep… Plus I’ve found his fine motor skills at typing aren’t sufficiently formed yet to subcontract the CFL Beat out to him just yet while I sleep. I hear that’s more of a next summer thing.

In league news this week:

• The BC Lions signed former MODP DE Lorenzo Mauldin IV this week, which is surprising news, as he previously signed a one-day contract to retire earlier this year as a member of the Ottawa REDBLACKS, where he won his award in 2022. In six CFL seasons, he played 91 regular season games, racking up 175 total tackles, 36 sacks, and six forced fumbles; he also played three seasons in the NFL with the New York Jets before coming to Canada in 2019.
• Hamilton LB Wynton McManis was ejected from last week’s game against Montreal after kicking Alouettes OL Cyrille Hogan-Saindon after the whistle; I fully expect some supplemental discipline over this action to be handed down soon.
• Despite the fact that kicker Brett Lauther has gone a perfect 20 for 20 on field goal attempts this season, the Ottawa REDBLACKS elected to bring back longtime kicker Lewis Ward to their practise roster after cutting him earlier this year before the start of training camp, while he was on his honeymoon… A curious (re-)addition indeed. Ottawa also signed RB Kevin Harris, who formerly played in the NFL for my beloved New England Patriots, who drafted him in 2022 and used him sparingly over the course of three seasons.
• Longtime BC Lion and Ottawa Rough Rider running back Jim Evenson, who played 100 CFL games between 1968-1973, will be the final man inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame class this year. Evenson, who died in 2008 at the age of 61, was already in the BC Lions’ Wall of Fame, having recorded 7060 rushing yards, 1147 receiving yards, and 43 touchdowns. Also elected to the CFHOF is former Edmonton head coach Frank “Pop” Ivey, who won the franchise’s first three Grey Cups in the 1950s, went 50-14 in his four seasons as a CFL head coach; his .781 win percentage is tops in league history, and is one of only three men to win ten games or more in every year of their CFL coaching career. Ivey died in 2003 at the age of 87, but is still a very worthy choice for a posthumous induction.

Onto the games!

WEEK 8 RECAPS

Edmonton 36 vs. Saskatchewan 34: Talk about a tight game. In one of the best games of the season, Edmonton pulled out the last-second victory courtesy of a walk-off 57-yard field goal from kicker David Blanchard. Both QBs had monster outings – Cody Fajardo threw for 510 yards and four TDs, while Trevor Harris had 386 and four scores of his own. Ultimately, the second half, with 42 combined points, was an absolute barnstormer, and fans certainly came away with their money’s worth of offensive action.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Edmonton

Calgary 52 vs. Winnipeg 30: It was the second 50-burger of the season for the Stamps, which makes it all the more incredible that this team is somehow still under .500 with the offensive firepower they tote. Tyreik McAllister was a major star for Calgary, racking up a rushing TD, a receiving TD, and a return TD off a 118-yard missed field goal attempt. Vernon Adams, Jr. also set a new CFL record by throwing for 21 consecutive TDs without throwing an interception at all… He’s had himself quite the start to the season. Winnipeg struggled against the Stamps’ D despite the points totals noted here; QB Dru Brown had four picks, including three to Canadian DB Ben Labrosse, and were it not for another strong night from workhorse RB Brady Oliveira, that final score would have likely looked even more lopsided than it already did.

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

Toronto 26 vs. BC 12: With Nathan Rourke still out, the Lions’ offence continued to struggle mightily. Chase Brice was once again inept in relief of the injured Nathan Rourke, and BC only got some life back in the second half once he was pulled in favour of Kaidon Salter, who managed 121 yards in just two drives to close out the game. Sex Pest Chad Kelly was forced to leave game in the second half due to a neck injury, but he connected with receiver Makai Polk for two TD passes that put the Argos out to a big lead early which the Lions had no hope of catching.

PICK: Toronto

RESULT: Toronto

Hamilton 18 vs. Montreal 31: The Als continue to lap the rest of the East as they took down the Tiger-Cats at home last Sunday. Hamilton gave them a good fight through the first three quarters, taking an 18-17 lead into the final  frame, but Jose Maltos Diaz hit two of his three field goals of the game to take the lead back for the Alouettes before RB Travis Theis scored a late rushing TD to really ice it for Montreal. Isaiah Wooden had a 100-yard punt return TD for Hamilton to give them some early life, but the offence didn’t really get going until the third quarter when Tre Ford found Kenny Lawler for his only TD of the game. Edmonton also ended Davis Alexander’s passing streak of completions with an interception at 356, which is a new CFL record.

PICK: Montreal

RESULT: Montreal

BYE: Ottawa (0-6)

WEEK 9 PREVIEWS

BC(1-5) vs. Winnipeg (4-3), Thursday, July 30th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): With Chase Brice being utterly inept these past few games, the Lions turn to Kaidon Salter to try to get their stagnant offense going in Nathan Rourke’s absence. It appears he’s already back practising, which is good news, but BC really cannot afford to lose any more games down the stretch. That said, any QB is going to struggle when most of your receivers are also injured… the Lions’ biggest issue this season is their inability for the offense to all be healthy at once. Winnipeg is trying to shake off getting slapped around last week, and the question with Dru Brown is how much rope he’ll have if he’s going to start… Zach Collaros is likely close, but it’s still hard to say if he’ll take the reins back this week.

PICK: Winnipeg

Montreal (6-1) vs. Ottawa (0-6), Friday, July 31st, 7:30 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): The question isn’t whether Ottawa will lose; rather, it’s a question of how excruciating the loss is going to be. The Alouettes, despite their league-best 6-1 record and clear gap on the rest of the East, are still not completely dominating games start to finish… if the REDBLACKS can use the (notably waning) home crowd energy to get something going early and then blow it… I think I would honestly prefer them getting blown out at this point in time.

PICK: Montreal

Hamilton (3-4) vs. Calgary (3-4), Saturday, August 1st, 3:00 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CFL+): Pretty crazy to me that these teams have identical records at this point in the year when you consider just how absurdly good the Stamps’ offence has been this season. That’s a testament to the overall level of competition that Calgary has to regularly face in the West Division. Facing a Hamilton team coming off a loss and still missing their number one quarterback sounds like the ideal matchup to return to .500, particularly when playing back at home, and coming off a gigantic, record-setting road win.

PICK: Calgary

Saskatchewan (4-2) vs. Edmonton (6-1), Sunday, August 2nd, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CBSSN, CFL+): After such a great game last week between these two teams, I fully expect the same again. It was interesting to see that the offensive fireworks really only got going in the second half last week despite some eye-popping numbers from both teams’ pass games; the question is whether film study this week is going to lean more towards better defensive structure, or better exploiting those schemes… This is definitely my pick for game of the week.

PICK: Saskatchewan

BYE: Toronto (3-4)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Alexander, MTL – 2368
2. Kelly, TOR – 2323
3. Fajardo, EDM – 2291

Passing TDs

1. Adams, Jr., CGY – 20
2. Kelly, TOR – 17
3. Harris, SSK – 16

Rushing Yards

1. Mills, CGY – 584
2. Rankin, EDM – 561
3. Oliveira, WPG– 551

Receiving Yards

1. Philpot, MTL – 839
2. Schaffer-Baker, SSK – 656
3. Snead, MTL – 620

Defensive Tackles

1. Lee, CGY – 45
2. Pickett, TOR – 44
3. Jones, WPG – 44

Sacks

1. Hicks, CGY – 5
2. Ceresna, WPG – 5
3. Vaughters, SSK – 5

Interceptions

1. Alexander, CGY – 4
2. Katsantonis, HAM – 3
3. Labrosse, CGY – 3

Field Goals

1. Castillo, WPG – 21
2. Blanchard, EDM – 20
3. Lauther, OTT – 20

PICK POOL

No perfect weeks to go around this time. Personally, I screwed up picking Calgary in the article and then accidentally hitting Winnipeg instead in the post, costing me a precious point. Shame! Shame! Shame! As convenor, I dispense zero punishment upon myself for this infraction.

Remember to submit your picks here! https://www.officepooljunkie.com/picks-pickem.php?Pool=NFA9D4OXO6C2U0A1

CFL FANTASY

In Week 8 matchups, RoughRougestGTD had a massive outing, defeating BC Dick’s Dead Horse by a final score of 128-108. A lot of strong outings across the board for both teams, but Cody Fajardo and TJ Luther, with 34 and 25 points respectively, absolutely obliterated their projections on the week and sealed victory accordingly for Game Time Decision.

In the second matchup of the week, Maestrottawa improved to 5-3 by taking a 98-57 decision over Superfluous “U”s. If I ever have the chance to meet receivers Austin Mack and Kian Schaffer-Baker, I will buy them a drink for their outstanding contributions to my team’s total, courtesy of last week’s shootout between Edmonton and Saskatchewan.

Finally, to round out our slate, sixth-place Sacre Blew upset first-place O Spamada in a close 88-80 contest, thanks to Brady Oliveira and Sam Emilus putting the team on their backs and leading the way by scoring over half the winning team’s points between the two of them. We now have some intrigue as we head into the second half of the fantasy football season…

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Enjoy the games, everyone.