3rd and 1: Best Bets for Week 9 of the CFL Season | TSN

Taking you back in time to re-live last week’s Thursday night bad beat.  The Riders were three and a half point underdogs against the Alouettes with Caleb Evans at quarterback.  I remember watching that first half with a wonderful feeling of being right as the Riders could do no wrong.  Until Davis Alexander entered the game.  The Als third string QB completed his first twelve passes with two touchdowns.  It was a sinking feeling to watch Sask squander a thirteen point lead and lose by four.  Brutal. 

Luckily, the rest of the weekend wasn’t much of a sweat with blowout wins by the Redblacks and Tiger-Cats.  But the losses tend to occupy more of my mental real estate than the wins.  Fast forward to present day and I still want to dare DA to do it again.  Hamilton is hot, Bo is back.  Let’s see Alexander cover four and a half in Steel town, I kept whispering to myself.  Then came the report that Cody Fajardo is off the six game injured list and back at practice.  It was a liberating news release that allowed me to temporarily drop my obsession over the Als third string QB.  And while we await final word on who’s starting, I’ll turn my immediate attention to solving the rest of the week nine slate. 

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BC Lions at Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Back with the Bombers, Lucky Whitehead makes his season debut against his former team on Thursday Night Football.  Winnipeg could certainly use another weapon.  But BC isn’t going to be out-gunned in an arms race.  Keon Hatcher is returning after finishing second in the CFL in receiving yards last season.  He joins a position group that is already fully loaded.  Justin McInnis and Alexander Hollins are first and third in receiving yards respectively and each of them has been on record pace at one point or another this season. Vernon Adams leads the league in passing yards and is far and away the frontrunner to win MOP.  The matchup problems jump off the page. The Bombers have allowed a league high 18 big plays by their opponents, including thirteen through the air.  They also give up the most yards on the ground and have the second fewest sacks in the league.  So, if they’re not going to slow down the number one ranked offence, can Zach Collaros and company keep pace?  Well, they’ve scored the fewest points and committed the most turnovers to date.  They’ve allowed a league high sixteen sacks while the Lions are second in the CFL with seventeen.  I could go on.  As if all that isn’t enough, Winnipeg had a short week while BC is coming off a bye.  With the scales seemingly tipped so heavily in the Lions favour, my most pressing concern is that BC only won by two when they visited Winnipeg six weeks ago. 

THE PICKS LIONS -4.5

Edmonton Elks at Saskatchewan Roughriders

Everybody wanna talk like they got something to say…

And [everybody] act like they forgot about TRE. 

Taken from Dr. Dre’s 2^nd single off the 2001 album but with an added Canadian football flare.  Tre Ford is taking over and it’s about time if you ask some CFL experts.  Others will tell you there’s a good reason he hasn’t started despite Edmonton’s oh-and-seven record. 

There’s never been any doubt about Ford’s wheels, now it would appear that he’s got the keys to the offence.  Such a rarity is a Canadian quarterback in the Canadian Football League that it’s no wonder the call to see what he can do reached a crescendo.  Adding fuel to Ford-mania, he threw for 121 yards and three touchdowns in the final tem minutes of last week’s loss to the Ti-Cats; a game that was over before he entered.  Ford’s athleticism is electric but starting in Saskatchewan against this drooling defence is a different set of circumstances.  Like a Ford Mustang in a game of chicken with a grain tractor, I’m excited to see what happens and a little scared at the same time.

THE PICK: ROUGHRIDERS -5.5

Toronto Argonauts at Calgary Stampeders

If you’ve got two quarterbacks, you don’t have one. 

The Argos exemplify this old saying.  Nick Arbuckle has taken over for Cameron Dukes in three of the last four games.  Needless to say, neither of them has been effective.  But with the Boatmen’s offence taking on water, Ka’Deem Carey has done his best to bail it out.  In his first year outside of Calgary, he’s second in CFL rushing yards and yards after contact.  He has fourteen runs of at least ten yards and 25 forced missed tackles, both league bests.  Facing his former team for the first time, Carey has a chip to cash.  The Stamps are allowing almost 100 rushing yards a game, third most in the league.  While they’re undefeated at home thus far, they haven’t won by more than a field goal since week one.  Not getting enough attention is how good the Argos defence and special teams have been in recent weeks to mask the absence of an aerial attack.  Toronto is allowing the second fewest yards per game, and they’ve allowed the fewest first downs.  Taking you inside the helmet, I considered Calgary when it opened at 1.5.  At 3.5, the underdog gains a glow.  Especially since dogs are 22-10 against the spread this season.

THE PICK: ARGONAUTS +3.5

CFL Fantasy Best Bet: FRANKIE HICKSON ($ 4.0 K)

All signs point to another start for Frankie 4K.  AJ Ouellette’s hip has kept him out of practice again this week.  If he’s out, Frankie is a full go.  He had 133 total yards and a touchdown against a very good Montreal defence.  If the Riders were able to hold their second half lead, his numbers would surely have sparkled even brighter.  Facing the winless Elks at home, Frankie 4K is scripted for another big day.