Start vs. Sit: Will order be restored in Week 3?

Brandon C. Williams

CFL.ca

Start/sit is about faith, yet Week 3 of the TSN CFL Fantasy presented by Leo Vegas comes with a sense that an extra helping or two of said faith will be needed when it comes to trusting those players who have stumbled out of the gate.

Two weeks does not a season make. With a full slate of games that takes us from Thursday to Monday’s Canada Day, there’s a good chance normalcy will prevail.

Edmonton at Winnipeg
Thursday | 8:30 p.m. ET

Start: Kenny Stafford, WR, Eskimos, $4,731 Salary

Greg Ellingson ($8,254) is off to a strong start, and the Eskimos passing game could even finally unveil DaVaris Daniels ($7,370). With Winnipeg having to put much of its focus on them, the opportunity presents itself for Stafford to rebound from a quiet Week 2 that saw him catch just two passes for 15 yards in the win over BC.

Although the Bombers held Mike Reilly in check during their Week 1 victory over the Lions, the defence still gave up a league-worst 8.3 yards per pass and allowed three completions of better than 30 yards. It is no secret Trevor Harris ($10,475) will dial up the deep ball frequently; look for Stafford to find favorable matchups in the middle of the field, where his ability to make things happen after the catch will open the door for him to reward Fantasy users in a big way.

Sit: Drew Wolitarsky, WR, Blue Bombers, $5,128 Salary

Effective in the red zone he may be, but if Wolitarsky isn’t scoring majors, then his Fantasy value takes a steep drop. Unlike Darvin Adams ($7,829), Wolitarsky doesn’t get enough downfield targets for him to put up solid yardage totals. He has recorded just one game of better than 67 receiving yards in his brief career and has only one outing with more than five catches. Winnipeg is still a ball-control oriented team and will look to keep pivot Matt Nichols ($7,699) from throwing more than 30 passes. It’s high-risk, high-reward when it comes to the talented third-year pro, but this feels like a week where taking the risk isn’t worth it.

Montreal at Hamilton
Friday | 7:30 p.m. ET

Start: Sean Thomas Erlington, RB, Tiger-Cats, $5,102 Salary

Who wouldn’t want a dual-threat back who averages 9.2 yards from scrimmage? Saying “no” (what, are you mad?) means shunning one of the league’s early eye-openers. Thomas Erlington is averaging 7.7 yards per carry and has a 15.2 yards per catch average that would be the envy of most receivers. He’ll put those on display against an Alouettes defence that gave up 607 yards of offence to the Eskimos in Week 1 that included 161 yards on the ground. Montreal will have their hands full with Jeremiah Masoli ($11,394) and the Ticats’ fleet of receivers, a frightening scenario that means Thomas Erlington will be certain to see open lanes each time he touches the ball.

Sit: Eugene Lewis, WR, Alouettes, $5,828 Salary

Surprisingly, Lewis had just two receptions for 41 yards in Week 1. He was all but left out of the fourth quarter rally that Vernon Adams Jr. ($5,571) launched after he replaced the injured Antonio Pipkin ($7,495) in the lineup, as B.J. Cunningham ($5,498) became the receiver of choice. Adams will get the start on Friday and will likely target Cunningham frequently while also trying to get Lewis and DeVier Posey ($6,050) more involved. That’s a tough task considering the Als’ offence had just 48 plays from scrimmage in Week 1 along with the reality that William Stanback ($7,356) will need to be fed frequently in a bid to help keep Hamilton’s offence on the sidelines.

» RELATED: Week 3 Fantasy Projections

Bralon Addison is coming off a three-touchdown performance for the Ticats (Geoff Robins/CFL.ca)

BC at Calgary
Saturday | 7:00 p.m. ET

Start: Bo Levi Mitchell, QB, Stampeders, $8,918 Salary

There were a lot of nominees in this so-called “Fantasy Redemption Cup,” so settling on Mitchell was more of a safe choice. Mitchell threw for 275 yards and a touchdown in the Week 1 loss to Ottawa, but the REDBLACKS’ pass rush threw the Stamps off-balance in the second half. Statistically, the Lions have looked solid against the pass (239 yards per game, second only to the Eskimos), but much of that is because BC has allowed 142.5 yards per game on the ground. There’s not a lot of faith in a rebound from Calgary’s running attack, which managed just 43 yards in the opener, so here’s banking on Mitchell to get his value-friendly receiving corps in tune the entire evening and do what the Stampeders offence does best: breaking the will of opponents with the deep ball.

Sit: John White, RB, Lions, $4,552 Salary

Yes, it might have been easier to put Mike Reilly ($11,554) here. However, much of the problem with BC’s sluggish offensive start has been a running game that has all of 57 yards on 19 attempts. Almost half of those yards (27) came on one carry from White in last week’s loss at Edmonton, making the true value of the Lions’ ground game more disturbing. The Stamps did give up 142 rushing yards to the REDBLACKS in Week 1 but it took 30 attempts for them to achieve that total. Calgary is second in average rushing yards allowed (4.2), so don’t attempt to sneak White into the lineup as a sleeper.

Toronto at Saskatchewan
Monday | 7:00 p.m. ET

Start: Marcus Thigpen, RB, Roughriders, $7,359 Salary

Thigpen could do to the Argos’ defence what Sean Thomas Erlington did to them last week, especially if Saskatchewan gives him at least 10-12 touches from scrimmage. Thigpen accounted for 57 yards rushing on nine attempts and caught a 19-yard major in last week’s slugfest with Ottawa. Toronto allowed an average of 9.8 yards per offensive play in last Saturday’s loss to Hamilton and could be hard-pressed to keep a suddenly-balanced Roughriders offence from doing similar damage. Thigpen also had a 35-yard kickoff return and his ability to take one to the end zone makes playing him more sound.

Sit: James Franklin, QB, Argonauts, $9,903 Salary

Last week marked the 13th game that Franklin failed to throw for a passing major in a Toronto uniform, and with him failing to record a single carry, his one saving grace was nowhere to be seen. Saskatchewan’s usually-solid pass defence faltered against Ottawa’s Dominique Davis, but it’s not too often you’ll see the Riders’ secondary put together consecutive bad outings. Another sluggish outing from Franklin will not only burn Fantasy users who heed this warning but it will also make a McLeod Bethel-Thompson ($7,824) appearance a reality.

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