The BC Lions are coming off a humbling defeat in which they lost 0-25 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. More importantly, the Lions lost their starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. who is now week to week after leaving last week’s game with a knee injury. Meanwhile, Edmonton is finding newfound success after making a change at quarterback after Tre Ford made his first start of the season last week in their 42-31 win over Saskatchewan.

CFL Power Rankings Week 9

Predictions: CFL News Hub Writers’ Week 10 Picks

Game Details:

Date/Location: Saturday, August 11 /Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, AB

Kickoff Time: 7:00 PM ET, 4:00 PM PT

Channel: TSN (Canada), CBS Sports (USA), CFL+ (Global)

Odds: 

Spread: B.C. +1.5 (-120), Edmonton -1.5 (-102)

Moneyline: B.C. -104, Edmonton -115

Over/Under: 48.5 (Over -110, Under -110)

B.C. Lions: The BC Lions could be in serious trouble moving forward if Vernon Adams Jr. is missing extended time or if upon his return his mobility is being affected. Heading into the week 9 loss he was on pace to have the third most passing yards in a CFL season. The most impressive aspect of his season so far in my opinion was his ability to mitigate pressure by moving in the backfield to avoid defenders and extend plays before finding receivers downfield. BC currently has the lowest-ranked offensive line by Pro Football Focus with the lowest grades in pass blocking and low grades in run blocking as well. This creates a situation in which a quarterback is not set up for success as Jake Dolegala will get the start at quarterback with Adams Jr. being out.

Edmonton Elks: The Edmonton Elks fanbase has a new sense of hope after Tre Ford completed 18 of his 22 passes for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions to help lead the team to a 42-31 victory last week over Saskatchewan. Ford also added 46 rushing yards on 5 rushes. It was a great game for Edmonton on the ground as Javon Leake and Justin Rankin combined for 229 rushing yards. Despite the victory in week 9, the issues defensively continue to linger as Edmonton has allowed the 2nd most points against per game at 30.9. The Elks offense was productive with McLeod Bethel Thompson under center as well as held evident by the fact that the Elks currently have the third most points scored per game. Until Edmonton fixes their problems defensively the hope the fans are feeling from the quarterback change is likely false hope.

Lions Keys to the Game

Contain Tre Ford

The BC Lions actually showed the CFL last year how best to defend against Tre Ford in how they kept him contained in their meeting last season when they held him to 182 passing yards with 2 touchdowns and 43 rushing yards. BC won that contest 37 to 29 and effectively got pressure on Ford in a fashion that did not allow him to break contain outside to pick up yards on the ground. BC generated 7 sacks in that win for a total of 53 yards.

Bend But Don’t Break Secondary

Ordinarily, I hate this expression as it implies allowing the offense to pick up small gains which seems to be an overly common tendency at times among certain CFL teams in how they have their defensive backs lined up. I suspect Ford will want to use his arm to take some deep shots in this game as we have seen with him in the past. With how long he has waited to get starts in Edmonton after being a first-round draft pick in 2022 and the pressure that is now on his shoulder I suspect that he may get impatient and take some risks which BC could exploit for costly turnovers.

Utilize David Mackie Often

In week 3 we saw BC utilize fullback David Mackie more often in blocking schemes. At times he lines up as a 6th offensive lineman. This greatly improved BC’s run-blocking and pass-protection.

Pound the Rock

With Jake Dolegala stepping in for Vernon Adams Jr., it will be key to provide good run support for the young QB. If BC uses blocking schemes similar to in week 3 when William Stanback rushed for 83 yards, 5.19 yards per carry, against Winnipeg then they can improve their run blocking. The first point of contact on Stanback’s carries has been too close to the line of scrimmage at times even requiring him to break tackles in the backfield. BC needs to find a way to get their blocking to the next level.

5 Lions to Watch

#9 QB Jake Dolegala

Last year Dolegala played in 13 games with 9 starts for Saskatchewan. He completed 216 of his 332 passes (64.8%) for 2,656 yards with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He showed good potential last year for the Riders.

#31 RB William Stanback

Stanback has rushed 98 times for 431 yards and a touchdown this season, 4.4 yards per carry.

#13 WR Alexander Hollins

Last week Hollins led the team in receiving catching 3 of his 6 targets for 43 yards. He has 42 catches for 706 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season. He is third in the league trailing only Tyson Philpot (772 yards) and teammate Justin McInnis (780 yards).

#4 WR Keon Hatcher

Hatcher made his season debut last week and caught 3 of his 5 targets for 28 yards. It was his first game since leaving the Western Final last year due to injury.

#94 DT Tibo Debaillie

Debaillie will be playing his first game since sustaining a chest injury on July 7 against Hamilton. He has been a reliable run-stopper in BC’s defensive tackler rotation with an ability to generate pressure in the pass rush.

5 Elks to Watch

#32 RB Javon Leake

Last week Leake rushed 12 times for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns with his longest being for 61 yards. His big plays resulted in an impressive 14.1 yards per carry.

#31 RB Justin Rankin

Rankin rushed 10 times last week for 60 yards.

#84 WR Tevin Jones

Last week Jones caught all 3 of his targets for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns with his longest being for 93 yards.

#45 LB Nyles Morgan

Morgan leads the team in tackles with 56 and also has a sack and a forced fumble. At middle linebacker, he will be key in keeping Stanback in check.

#92 DL Noah Curtis

Curtis leads the team in sacks with 4 and also has 13 tackles.

Injury Report:

Depth Charts:

Score Prediction:

With Vernon Adams Jr. out and BC’s struggles in pass protection this season I think Edmonton will be able to find a way to win this game. With Edmonton riding the momentum of last week to return home to face a quarterback making his debut with his new team it seems like a perfect combination for Edmonton to get their 2nd win of the season. However, I expect this to be a close game with a lower score than some expect. I predict Edmonton to win 25-20 and again temporarily break the Commonwealth Curse.

@JonathanClink on Twitter