Nathan Rourke is out again for BC, and Winnipeg is trying to shake off a 52-point beatdown as they open Week 9 on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
This Week’s CFL Schedule<\/p>\n
BC Lions<\/a> at Winnipeg Blue Bombers<\/a><\/p>\n WhenThursday, July 30 at 8:30 PM ET This one looks lopsided on paper, and the numbers back it up. The BC Lions<\/a> are 1-5, dead last in the West, and they’re still without Nathan Rourke under center. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers<\/a> just got run over 52-30 by Calgary last week, so this is as much about the Bombers cleaning up their own mess as it is about exploiting a banged-up BC roster.<\/p>\n Winnipeg’s 4-3 and holding onto third in the West, but the defense has leaked 208 points against through seven games \u2014 that Calgary loss was the low point. BC comes in having dropped two straight, including a 12-26 setback against Toronto last week, and they’re 2-4 ATS on the year. Betting markets have Winnipeg as heavy home favorites, and it’s hard to argue against that with BC’s quarterback situation the way it is.<\/p>\n Players to Watch:<\/p>\n Brady Oliveira (Winnipeg, RB) \u2014 Third in the league with 554 rushing yards, but he’s questionable with a knee injury heading into Thursday. Injury Watch:<\/p>\n Nathan Rourke (BC, QB) \u2014 Out, left shoulder. Still BC’s biggest problem week to week. Pick: Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27-13. BC’s offense without Rourke and Berryhill just doesn’t have enough juice to keep pace, and Winnipeg’s average of 4 overs in 7 games says the total could sneak past 54 even in a lopsided game \u2014 but the O-line questions up front make me lean toward the under holding up while the Bombers cover comfortably.<\/p>\n CFL Standings<\/p>\n TeamWLPFPA<\/p>\n Edmonton Elks61203172 Quick Hits<\/p>\n Winnipeg activated OL Micah Vanterpool off the six-game injury list, a needed boost for a line already dealing with Broxton and Bryant question marks. Standings<\/a> | Full Schedule<\/a> | League Leaders<\/a><\/p>\n Who wins this week? Drop your picks in the comments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nathan Rourke is out again for BC, and Winnipeg is trying to shake off a 52-point beatdown as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-836294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWherePrincess Auto Stadium, Winnipeg
\nTVTSN
\nStreamWatch live on CFL+<\/a>
\nLineWinnipeg Blue Bombers -7 | O\/U 54<\/p>\n
\nWillie Jefferson (Winnipeg, DL) \u2014 The Bombers’ pass rush needs to get after whoever BC trots out at quarterback and set the tone early.
\nMathieu Betts (BC, DL) \u2014 BC’s best defender needs a big night if the Lions have any shot at hanging around in this one.<\/p>\n
\nStanley Berryhill III (BC, WR) \u2014 Out, thigh. Another weapon missing for whoever’s throwing the ball.
\nBrady Oliveira (Winnipeg, RB) \u2014 Questionable, knee. Worth watching pregame \u2014 Winnipeg’s ground game takes a hit if he’s limited.
\nJarell Broxton, Stanley Bryant, Micah Vanterpool (Winnipeg, OL) \u2014 All questionable with knee issues, which could matter up front against BC’s pass rush.<\/p>\n
\nMontreal Alouettes61239204
\nSaskatchewan Roughriders42204169
\nWinnipeg Blue Bombers43185208
\nHamilton Tiger-Cats34167190
\nCalgary Stampeders34278244
\nToronto Argonauts34220219
\nBC Lions15152182
\nOttawa Redblacks06153213<\/p>\n
\nBC had a wave of moves this week, adding OL Alex Berwick and RB Emani Bailey off the practice roster while extending Joshua Donovan and Garry Peters on the six-game injury list \u2014 a sign of just how thin this roster has gotten.
\nFantasy players should monitor Brady Oliveira’s status closely before Thursday \u2014 if he’s limited, expect a bigger workload for Winnipeg’s backup ground game.
\nBC’s offense has scored the fewest points in the league at 152 through six games, and with Rourke and Berryhill both sidelined, that number isn’t likely to jump against a Winnipeg defense desperate to bounce back.<\/p>\n