CFL Beat: Week 6

Well, I knew grad school was going to be brutal, but at least the people here are nice. Suffering in a cohort certainly beats suffering alone, does it not? That’s why we’ve all been denizens of this website for so long, as far as I can understand it. Hard to devote your full attention to football when you’re doing 200 pages of academic reading and writing a week… Yuck.

In league news this week:

• The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced that DB Bennett Williams will be out for the rest of the 2026 season with a torn Achilles tendon; Williams was in his third year with Ottawa, and in four games this season started all four at boundary halfback, where he recorded seventeen total tackles on both defence and special teams. That’s a bummer for the secondary to lose him for the year.
• The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced that QB Bo Levi Mitchell had successful ankle surgery after he broke his due to a sack from Bombers rusher Jake Ceresna; while he’ll start recovering and rehabbing now, your guess is as good as mine as to when he comes back. Given his age, it wouldn’t shock me if he was done for the year (barring a deep playoff run at least). In his absence, Hamilton has signed veteran CFL depth QB Jarret Doege to round out their roster.
• The Montreal Alouettes signed former Winnipeg Blue Bombers QB Terry Wilson to their roster; he left the Blue Bombers in training camp after Taylor Elgersma jumped ahead of him on the depth, following which Winnipeg released him. With Davis Alexander and Dustin Crum each having a complete hold on their respective QB1 and QB2 jobs, I am doubtful he’ll see the field much in the near future.
• The Canadian Football Hall of Fame announced the induction of long-time DE Charleston Hughes as the newest member of their class; he led the CFL in sacks four times, was an eight-time All-Star, and won two Grey Cups, both as a member of the Calgary Stampeders. A very worthy induction for one of the most feared pass rushers in in the game back in his day.

Onto the games!

WEEK 5 RECAPS

Toronto 36 vs. Calgary 58: So, uh, holy shit, Vernon Adams, Jr. had the game of his life against the Argos. The Stamps’ QB1 threw for 405 yards on 20-25 attempts and six TDs against Toronto and then added a seventh score on the ground – the Argonauts had literally no answer for Calgary’s offence all game. Credit to Toronto for mostly hanging around in the first half, down 29-18 after 30, but the second half was just a true beatdown. If he can lock in like that down the stretch, Calgary is going to be a real, true problem for the entire league this year. Amazing what having a healthy receiving corps can do for you…

PICK: Calgary

RESULT: Calgary

Saskatchewan 27 vs. Ottawa 22: As a REDBLACKS fan, yes, I’m frustrated with having the worst team in the league once again. But arguably what is more frustrating here is that they actually played an overall okay game against the defending Grey Cup champs, but couldn’t keep things together in a sloppy third quarter, which saw Riders returner Mathew Sexton score the winning major off a punt return TD. A late push got Ottawa back within five, but they couldn’t complete the comeback, and the REDBLACKS are now the only winless team left in the CFL. Yuck.

PICK: Saskatchewan

RESULT: Saskatchewan

Edmonton 24 vs. BC 36: The Lions are officially on the board, with a big win over the league-leading Elks at the Kelowna Apple Bowl. While Nathan Rourke had a mediocre day, throwing two picks to go against just one TD, RB James Butler put BC on his back and carried the team with 135 yards and two TDs on just 15 carries; backup rusher Zander Horvath also chipped in with 27 rush yards, a rushing score, and a receiving score. The Lions also pulled out the win due to the fact that their D was able to hone on star Elks rusher Justin Rankin, who was held to just 19 yards rushing on seven carries, though he did have ten catches for 100 yards receiving instead, presenting a new wrinkle in the game plan.

PICK: Edmonton

RESULT: BC

Winnipeg 14 vs. Hamilton 13: Well, it was an ugly, ugly game – not only for the injuries to both quarterbacks in Bo Levi Mitchell and Zach Collaros, which one always hates to see, but also for the ensuing dropoff in offensive capability for both teams. Fun fact from this game: it’s the first time since 1969 that two Canadians who played USports football (Tre Ford, Waterloo, for Hamilton and Taylor Elgersma, Wilfrid Laurier, for Winnipeg) were facing off at quarterback against each other. Elgersma and the Bombers ultimately came out on top, with the rookie pivot going 11 of 15 for 86 yards and a TD, helping Winnipeg come all the way back after being down 13-4 at the half. With Collaros out with what seems to be a concussion (yet again), one wonders whether Elgersma will be back in to start next week or if former Winnipeg backup and Ottawa starter Dru Brown will take over the QB1 job moving forward, particularly due to his pro experience and familiarity with Winnipeg’s systems already.

PICK: Hamilton

RESULT: 

BYE: Montreal (3-1)

WEEK 6 PREVIEWS

Ottawa (0-4) vs. Edmonton (3-1), Thursday, July 9th, 9:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): I, for one, do not want any more moral victories for the REDBLACKS. I understand that it’s really difficult to change a culture of a team quickly, but this is still a nightmare start to the year for Ottawa. Having to go on the road to play a team that’s already beaten them once this year, in part by cluing in on an RB who ran roughshod all over them, I must say I unfortunately do not like the REDBLACKS’ chances for success in this particular game either.

PICK: Edmonton

Toronto (2-2) vs. Winnipeg (2-2), Friday, July 10th, 8:30 PM EDT (TSN, CTV, CFL+): I didn’t love Winnipeg’s chances against the Argos in this one, and I like them even less now that Zach Collaros appears to be out for this one. While the Argos’ D certainly got exposed last game, the lack of a pass game by Winnipeg is probably just what the doctor ordered to right the ship for Toronto and get them back to above .500 on the year.

PICK: Toronto

Calgary (2-2) vs. Montreal (3-1), Saturday, July 11th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): After such a stellar offensive performance last week, I am curious to see how things go on the road this time around against the Alouettes. Montreal’s D is much better than Toronto’s, of course, but this is among the toughest tests that the Stamps have faced early this year. If they can hang here, I really, really like their chances down the stretch.

PICK:

Hamilton (2-2) vs. Saskatchewan (3-1), Sunday, July 12th, 7:00 PM EDT (TSN, CFL+): It’s Tre Ford’s time now – this is precisely the kind of situation that he was brought in to handle, and I suspect he’ll have a little tiny bit of rope to start. But of biggest interest to me is how much the Ti-Cats will opt to change their playbook, now that they have a QB with better legs but less pocket poise. The Riders can certainly bring the hurt on QBs from their excellent D-line play. Being at home sure is a nice treat as well to tip the scales further in their favour.

PICK: Saskatchewan

BYE: BC (1-3)

STANDINGS AND STATS

East Division Standings

West Division Standings

Passing Yards

1. Kelly, TOR – 1484
2. Alexander, MTL – 1478
3. Harris, TOR – 1418

Passing TDs

1. Kelly, TOR – 12
2. Adams, Jr., CGY – 11
3. Harris, SSK – 10

Rushing Yards

1. Rankin, EDM – 406
2. Mills, CGY – 339
3. Oliveira, WPG– 306

Receiving Yards

1. Philpot, MTL – 587
2. Snead, MTL – 438
3. Schaffer-Baker, SSK – 393

Defensive Tackles

1. Morgan, OTT – 31
2. Lee, CGY – 30
3. Brooks, Jr., SSK – 29

Sacks

1. Ceresna, WPG – 4
2. Hicks, CGY – 3
3. Howsare, HAM – 3

Interceptions

1. Alexander, CGY – 3
2. Hutter, OTT – 2
3. Katsantonis, HAM – 2

Field Goals

1. Lauther, OTT – 13
2. Maltos Diaz, MTL – 12
3. Hajrullahu, TOR – 11

PICK POOL

A lot of upsets this past week screwing things up. Looking at you, Calgary and Winnipeg… somehow I screwed up my entries and picked Toronto in the pool but Calgary in the article. Hmm….

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

CFL FANTASY

In Week 5 matchups, BC Dick’s Dead Horse matched his point total predictions perfectly, improving to 4-1 and getting some breathing room at the top of the standings by taking down Superfluous “U”s by a final score of 98-59.

In the second matchup of the week, RoughRougesGTD defeated Sacre Blew 97-58; the SBs had a tough week with just about everyone underperforming their point totals, contributing to the collapse down the stretch.

Finally, last but not least, thanks in part to Zach Collaros’ negative fantasy points due to his injury, O Spamada beat my beloved Maestrottawa 124-74 in a beatdown. I think it’s time to at least metaphorically take ol’ Zach out behind the barn and pull an Old Yeller, at least from a fantasy perspective…

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Enjoy the games, everyone.