Fun With Fantasy Numbers looks back at a Week 4 where TSN CFL Fantasy football players finally realized that as popular as Jerome Messam is, his likeability doesn’t translate into points.
The (un)Usual Suspect in Ottawa: Sure, we’re all accustomed to a REDBLACKS receiver — usually Greg Ellingson or Diontae Spencer — at or near the top of the Fantasy Points standings, but it came as a surprise of sorts that Brad Sinopoli was the highest scorer in Week 4, racking up 31.8 FP on the strength of a career-high 11 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown in Ottawa’s win over Montreal. Fantasy players must have had a premonition about Sinopoli, as 3,878 users added him on their rosters, the 13th most-used performer.
Fantasy Analysis: Sinopoli’s first 100-yard game since Week 2 of last season and first major since Week 5 of 2017 came with a lesson the rest of the league may want to embrace: focusing too much on Ellingson, Spencer and running back William Powell can be costly to an opposing defence. However, banking on Sinopoli may not be wise in Week 5 as Ottawa faces the league’s best pass defence in Calgary.
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James Wilder Jr. took much of the jitters away from Argos new starting QB James Franklin by doubling up his season output in yardage and scoring his first touchdown of the season vs. the Eskimos. (Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca)
Run to Daylight: After receivers dominated Week 3, the ground pounders highlighted Week 4, with five running backs among the 11 highest scorers. Toronto’s James Wilder Jr. led all backs with 23.7 FP, ranking third overall, while Winnipeg’s Andrew Harris finished in fourth with 23.1 FP. Saskatchewan’s Marcus Thigpen was ninth with 19.5 Fantasy points, followed by BC’s Jeremiah Johnson (18.7 FP) and Tyrell Sutton of the Alouettes (18.5 FP). Harris was first overall at 9,719. Wilder (14th, 3,715), Johnson (16th, 3,655), Thigpen (18th, 3,273) were in the Top 18, while Sutton was 29th overall (1,991).
Fantasy Analysis: Week 5 has a chance to running back-centric, with six of the league’s top seven rushers in action. The seventh, Winnipeg quarterback Chris Streveler, still put up 17.1 Fantasy Points in the Bombers’ win over the Lions by scoring two touchdowns in his new role as the short yardage pivot.
No Mercer: After a pair of solid weeks, Hamilton running back Mercer Timmis busted the production of 4,503 users when he managed only nine yards on seven carries in their loss to Saskatchewan. Timmis was 11th overall among the 90 players used who accumulated points in Week 4, and with only 22 yards on 14 carries over his last two games, the memory of his breakout performance in Week 2 has dimmed in the eyes of Fantasy players.
Fantasy Analysis: The Tiger-Cats are off in Week 5, but the state of their ground game could still be murky when they return against the Roughriders on July 19. John White made his Ticats debut on Thursday, while Sean Thomas Erlington and Nikita Whitlock are still factors. Oh, let’s not forget Alex Green, who is eligible to come off the 6-game injured list. Crowded doesn’t begin to describe this situation.
Another Week, Another 100-yard Game: Edmonton receiver D’haquille Williams was the third most used player (7,319) and rewarded Fantasy players with eight catches for 125 yards in the Eskimos’ loss to the Argonauts. Saturday was the third straight game Williams eclipsed the 100-yard mark while leading all receivers with 20.5 Fantasy Points.
Fantasy Analysis: Williams goes into Friday’s rematch against Toronto with three straight games of at least 20 Fantasy points. The league leader with 433 receiving yards, there’s no question he’ll be atop the rankings for another week.
So Many Yards, So Few Points: Hamilton’s Jeremiah Masoli and Edmonton’s Mike Reilly each racked up the passing yards, yet both were unable to generate points in the process. Masoli tied the CFL record with his ninth straight 300-yard game (333) but did not throw a touchdown in the Ticats’ 18-13 loss to the Roughriders. Reilly lit up the Argos for 374 yards yet only connected on one passing major in the Eskimos’ 20-17 loss on Saturday afternoon.
Fantasy Analysis: Masoli has the week off, but Reilly should be in line for a strong rebound on Friday night. An off-sync Edmonton offence still generated 426 total yards despite scoring one touchdown, and it’s hard to envision the Eskimos keeping the scoreboard quiet twice in six days.
47 Beaulieu
One of the most unlikely candidates to score 15 Fantasy Points, REDBLACKS fullback Jean-Christophe Beaulieu found his way into the end zone on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Harris in Friday’s win over the Alouettes. Those 15 points were a surprising bonus to the 47 users who had Beaulieu in their lineup, a small group that must have envisioned Beaulieu would shine against his former Montreal teammates.
Fantasy analysis: He’s not going to be a Fantasy staple, but Beaulieu could have another surprise week or two, as Harris does use the fullback in the passing game (see Lavoie, Patrick). This probably won’t be the week to use Beaulieu considering how the Stampeders locked up the REDBLACKS passing game in Week 3.
Jean-Christophe Beaulieu notched his first touchdown of the season against his former team after spending the past four seasons in Montreal. (The Canadian Press)
0h, N0: Bombers receiver Adarius Bowman and Alouettes wideout Ernest Jackson failed to score a single point in Week 4 as both were unable to record a reception. It’s a far, far (and we do mean far) cry from when the two combined for 208 catches, 2,986 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2016.
Fantasy Analysis: Bowman hasn’t looked like a good fit in Winnipeg, but the return of Matt Nichols offers a glimmer of hope for better days. Jackson might move up the Alouettes’ pecking order if Chris Williams is sidelined with a lower-body injury. Until then, neither former All-CFLer should be passed up.
Apt Pupil: Toronto quarterback James Franklin put up 19.8 Fantasy Points in defeating Reilly and Edmonton on Saturday. The former Eskimos backup rushed and passed for a touchdown in his first start in place of injured Ricky Ray.
Fantasy Analysis: Expect better numbers in time from Franklin, who threw for 211 yards. He’ll need to air the ball out and get S.J. Green more involved in the offence. The Argos may have found their sorely needed third receiver in Llevi Noel, who had two catches for 81 yards on Saturday. Noel can make things easier for Green and Armanti Edwards, both of whom are off to slow starts.
