CFL Week 9 Preview: Mathieu Betts looks to continue record

With the clock ticking down to another exciting weekend of Canadian football, here is PFF's CFL Week 9 preview, highlighting the must-watch matchups and players set to shine on the field.

In one of the most anticipated rematches of the early season so far, the 6-1 Lions take on the 5-2 Bombers. When they first met in Week 3, the Lions dominated the game en route to a 30-6 win. That was the beginning of a rough two-game stretch for Winnipeg QB Zach Collaros, who graded out at 65.8 overall in Weeks 3-4 (he’s at 91.6 overall the rest of the season). The Lions will be once again starting backup QB Dane Evans, whose 88.7 passing grade so far this season trails only Collaros. Both teams will need strong play from their offensive lines, as each defense has some of the CFL's best pass-rushers. If either defense can find an advantage here (like BC did in Week 3), it will be a long night for the opposing offense.

Anyone who follows the CFL knows that Betts is having a season for the ages. He’s leading the league with 39 total pressures and is on pace for a record-breaking 31 sacks (by PFF metrics). The last time these two teams played, Betts record a ridiculous four sacks and multiple more pass rush wins. Those often came at the expense of Hardrick, who finished that game with a season-low 50.4 pass-blocking grade. If you take out that game, Hardrick’s 80.9 season-long pass-blocking grade is right near the top of the CFL. He’ll be getting a chance for redemption in this one. If he can’t stop Betts again, it’ll be tough for the Bombers to get anything going on offense.

One of the biggest differences between the Bombers team that lost to the Lions earlier this season and the current team is Lawler's return. In his first game back, Lawler recorded an impressive 70.5 receiving grade after catching seven passes for 93 yards and four first downs. He averaged 3.32 yards per route run, a mark that would rank first in the league if it qualified. Lawler is one of the best receivers in the CFL and having him back gives Collaros yet another weapon. More importantly, he gives Collaros a safety valve, someone he can force the ball to if the pressure is high and more likely than not, Lawler will come down with it.

The Argonauts are the best team in the CFL right now, and Calgary is struggling mightily. This has the makings of a blowout if Calgary can’t get some issues sorted out. Toronto is led offensively by QB Chad Kelly (86.8 overall grade) and RB A.J. Ouellette (84.6) while on defense, they’re getting phenomenal play from HB Robertson Daniel (85.5) and EDGE Folarin Orimolade (79.7). Calgary may be getting star RB Ka’Deem Carey back this week, which could be massive. His replacement, RB Dedrick Mills, started off the season great but has since fallen off. Through his first three games, Mills had 273 yards (5.8 YPC), 16 missed tackles forced, and an 85.9 rush grade. In the three games since, he has just 81 yards (3.5 YPC), three missed tackles forced and a 70.0 grade.

In the Week 8 preview, Maier was mentioned as a player to watch. He had just completed a fantastic two-game stretch in which he seemed to be trending in the right direction. Well, he went in the exact opposite direction last week and played his worst game of the year. Maier had four turnover-worthy plays and recorded a season-low 38.9 passing grade. He’ll need to step back up this week against one of the best secondary players in football. Daniel is a ballhawk, constantly reading quarterbacks and baiting them into making a mistake. He has four interceptions (and another dropped) along with five pass breakups this season. If Maier can avoid throwing the ball anywhere that Daniel can get it, Calgary could stand a chance.

Rose has been an absolute force this season. He can take over and completely wreck a passing game from the inside. His 85.5 pass-rush grade ranks third among all CFL defenders this season. He has eight sacks and 22 total pressures, both of which are top-five marks among interior defenders. His pass-rushing productivity score of 8.0 ranks second. Toronto’s interior offensive line has yet to allow a sack this season, but Rose could very well change that. He’s good enough that Toronto will have to gameplan around him, and if they don’t, he could make life difficult for Argos QB Chad Kelly.

It was an odd week last week for Hamilton. The team got starting QB Bo Levi Mitchell back, but he threw five interceptions and was injured on a meaningless final play. Nonetheless, the Tiger-Cats still won the game. Now, they’ll turn back to rookie QB Taylor Powell, who started one game two weeks ago and played a very conservative game. His average depth of target in that game was a mere 5.8 yards, and he recorded two turnover-worthy plays with no big-time throws. He’ll go against a Montreal pass defense that’s one of the best in the league. Montreal is coming off a big win against the Stampeders last week and offensively will be looking for another big game from top WR duo Kaion Julien-Grant (74.7 receiving grade) and Austin Mack (70.4).

As mentioned above, Julien-Grant is one of the CFL's top WRs this year. He’s the third-highest graded in the league and his 18 missed tackles forced is the highest by six. His 2.09 yards per route run ranks eighth. He’ll see a lot of Adeleke, who returned from injury a couple of weeks ago and has been playing halfback since. Adeleke hasn’t been phenomenal in coverage this year, but one reason that Hamilton may want him to stick on Julien-Grant is his tackling. Adeleke has yet to miss a tackle this season. If he can contain Julien-Grant after the catch, he takes away his No. 1 ability and could help slow down this Montreal passing game.

With rookie QB Powell starting again, Hamilton will look to serve up a large dose of Butler runs to help put the offense in favorable positions. The tough part of a rookie QB is that Montreal will stack the box against Butler. The good news for Hamilton is that it might not matter. Butler leads the CFL with 29 missed tackles forced in the run game. He has 354 rushing yards and an incredible 80.8% of those yards have come after first contact. He has 105 yards and 10 missed tackles forced on 25 carries with eight-plus box defenders. Hamilton has gotten away from the run game the past two weeks, but the teams really should lean on it this week. Even if Montreal stacks the box, Butler can still be effective.

The Dustin Crum show hit a bit of a speed bump last week, as the quarterback had the most challenging game of his young season. He was pressured a lot and was quick to leave the pocket but gained just two first downs on 13 scrambles. His 57.6 overall grade was the lowest of the year by far. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan saw their new-starting QB Mason Fine put up a pretty good game. His 79.0 passing grade ranked second last week, and he was showing that he could lead this offense even with some of the weaknesses he has. This game could either be a great battle between two young quarterbacks or, if these quarterbacks struggle, a sloppy mistake-filled defensively driven game.

Despite only recording two sacks on the season, Lanier has been one of the CFL's premier pass-rushers this year. His 81.5 pass-rush grade ranks fourth among defenders, and his 23.6% pass-rush win rate is the highest in the league. He’ll find himself frequently lined up across from Boyd, who has been having a solid season. His 64.9 pass-blocking grade ranks third among left tackle,s and his 4.2% pressure percentage allowed is one of the highest marks. Boyd may need to get some help from his left guard in this one though. His biggest struggle is the inside move, where he’s lost 16.2% of the time this year. Lanier’s best move? His inside rush, where he’s won 62.5% of his reps.

One of the biggest under-the-radar surprises this season has been the play of Addae as the Redblacks starting safety. In his rookie season last year, Addae finished with just a 44.2 overall grade (40.4 coverage grade). This year, he’s up to 81.9 overall and 82.9 coverage. He’s got a couple of interceptions and pass breakups. But more importantly, as a safety he’s been great in providing deep help on long routes, reading the field much better than he was a year ago. He’s also missing tackles at a much lower rate this year (18% vs 38% last season). Look for Addae to help Ottawa take away any big over-the-middle passes from Riders QB Fine and force him into more difficult outside-the-numbers throws.