Esks.com
Two of the Week 12 matchups are rematches from last week, while BC comes off their open week in hopes of reviving the offence against a Montreal team that is also struggling to generate points. Fresh off their first win of the season, Hamilton seeks to build upon that momentum at the expense of an Ottawa team playing its best stretch of total football. Who are the best bets to deliver for Fantasy owners and who needs to stay out of your lineup? Let’s find out, shall we?
Montreal at BC
Friday | 10:00 p.m. ET
Bryan Burnham has been one of Travis Lulay’s favourite targets this season. Can they continue the chemistry this week? (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Start: Lions receiver Bryan Burnham ($5,915) has been more productive with Travis Lulay ($11,422) at pivot. Three of his four 100-yard games this season are the byproduct of having Lulay getting the ball downfield to him, and with the veteran replacing Jonathon Jennings in the lineup, Burnham should put up solid numbers against an Alouettes defence that was burned for 341 yards and three majors from Ottawa’s Trevor Harris last week. Montreal has allowed the fewest passes of 30 or more yards (12) in the league, yet are eighth in total completions and have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete passes at a 72.6 percent clip. Burnham, eighth in the league in receiving yards, has also caught touchdowns in consecutive games and stands a good chance to extend his streak of majors at the expense of an Alouettes secondary that has faltered of late.
Sit: Burnham’s teammate, Chris Williams ($6,580) has slipped of late after starting with nine catches for 170 yards and touchdown in his first two games with the Lions. Williams has just 67 yards receiving in his last two contests, paltry numbers for a player regarded as one of the league’s premier playmakers. The pairing with Lulay might help, yet this feels like a week when it’s best keeping Williams and his high salary (fourth-highest) on the bench, especially with Burnham serving as the featured receiver and Emmanuel Arceneaux ($6,226) showing signs of finally breaking out after what has been a disappointing season thus far for the All-Star.
Saskatchewan at Winnipeg
Saturday | 3:00 p.m. ET
Duron Carter is a no-brainer to start this week as the pass-catcher has collected double digit fantasy points in four of the last five games (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Start: No receiver has been as prolific over the past month as Duron Carter ($6,541), who has scored double-digit Fantasy points in four of his last five games. Carter has scored majors in each of his last five games and gets another opportunity at Winnipeg’s eighth-ranked pass defence in the Banjo Bowl. The Bombers, who allowed Carter, Bakari Grant ($4,872) and Naaman Roosevelt ($6,588) to each catch over 100 yards in passes last week, lead the league with 20 touchdown passes allowed while giving up 20 passes of over 30 yards. Winnipeg knows where Kevin Glenn ($10,200) is going with the ball, yet the question is whether they can stop Carter, who had a season-high ten catches for 101 yards in the Labour Day Classic.
Sit: Winnipeg’s Clarence Denmark ($4,775) has 29 catches in his last five games, yet unless he’s scoring touchdowns, his middling yardage totals hurt his Fantasy value. Denmark has two majors in that same span but hasn’t gained more than 69 yards in any of the five contests. The return of Weston Dressler ($5,169) last week will continue to take away some of the targets Denmark received when Dressler was out, but Dressler, Darvin Adams ($6,089) and running backs Andrew Harris ($8,487) and Timothy Flanders ($3,117) are more viable options for pivot Matt Nichols ($11,646), who tossed for 364 yards and two scores in last week’s loss to the Roughriders.
Hamilton at Ottawa
Saturday | 6:00 p.m. ET
The league’s leading passer is a must-start this week (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Start: Trevor Harris is locked in and has replaced Edmonton’s Mike Reilly as the league’s hottest quarterback. Harris ($11,277) has thrown for two or more majors in six of his last seven games and comes into the rematch against the Tiger-Cats with three straight outings of over 300 yards passing, a streak that started when he tossed for 394 yards and a pair of scores against Hamilton in Week 9. Having the best receiver in the league in Greg Ellingson ($7,607) helps the cause, yet the recent play of Diontae Spencer ($5,695) and the steady hands of Brad Sinopoli ($5,156) and his league-leading 71 receptions have made Harris an explosive source of production for Fantasy owners. He’s a must-start at this point of the season and there’s little reason to think the Ticats’ defence, last in the league in pass yards allowed per game (364.8), will slow him down.
Sit: The optimism for Hamilton receiver Luke Tasker ($4,709) after his 15.3 Fantasy point outing against the REDBLACKS in Week 9 was dampened with his three-catch, 32-yard output against the Argonauts on Labour Day. He has just one game with double-digit Fantasy production and while Tasker has caught at least five passes in all but one game this season, he’s averaging just 9.8 yards per catch. Ottawa allows a respectable 8.2 yards per opponents’ pass, a number that should play well against Hamilton’s league-low 6.5 yards per gain on completed passes. A second start from Jeremiah Masoli ($5,702) might help establish a better rapport with Tasker, but it’s still not enough to consider adding Tasker to your lineup.
Edmonton at Calgary
Saturday | 9:00 p.m. ET
Derel Walker is back and is a safe bet to start this week (CFL.ca)
Start: That we’re suggesting go on a limb and play Adarius Bowman ($6,236) is a sign of how tough a season the All-Star has had. Bowman returned from the injured on Labour Day and caught five passes yet managed only 41 yards. Exclude his nine-catch, 117-yard performance against Montreal in Week 2 and Bowman has all of ten receptions for 77 yards in the three other games he has played in. Reilly ($14,000) was the first quarterback in the last eight games to throw over 300 yards against the Stampeders and will be a good bet to do so again. Brandon Zylstra ($5,214) continues his breakout season and the return of Derel Walker ($7,123), signed by the Eskimos on Wednesday, adds more firepower to the Edmonton arsenal. However, it’s Bowman who makes the passing game truly quick and for the first time since early summer, Saturday will be the night he reminds us why he’s so darn good.
Sit: Until proven otherwise, it’s best to steer clear of Bo Levi Mitchell ($9,598). He’s failed to throw a touchdown in two of the last three weeks and has thrown an interception in each of the three games. Whether it’s an issue with his arm or if the Stamps choose when to go into a ball-control mode remains to be seen, but Mitchell does not look like the gunslinger who won Most Outstanding Player honors last season. As a whole, Calgary is good enough to win on nights when Mitchell doesn’t bring his A-material, yet the up and down numbers are too frustrating for Fantasy owners to invest in.
