Eskimos vs. Alouettes Prediction: CFL Week 7 Point Spread, Odds
Week 7 of the CFL season begins Thursday from Montreal as the Alouettes host the Edmonton Eskimos in what looks like a mismatch – but all the intrigue will be on whether Johnny Manziel will make his Als’ debut.
Betting Analysis
No line as of this writing at Sports Interaction because of the quarterback situation for Montreal, although certainly the Eskimos will be favored because the Alouettes have been the worst team in the league thus far at 1-4 and outscored 148-69.
The biggest football news in both Canada and the United States early this week was Montreal acquiring former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel from Hamilton – which had no need for Manziel sitting on the bench with how well Jeremiah Masoli was playing.
Montreal acquired Manziel and offensive linemen Landon Rice and Tony Washington, while sending Hamilton defensive lineman Jamaal Westerman, receiver Chris Williams and the Alouettes’ first-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021. That’s a big haul for a guy who has never played a down in the CFL, but you can never give up too much to land a franchise quarterback. Manziel knows Als coach Mike Sherman as Johnny Football was a redshirt freshman under Sherman at Texas A&M. Sherman was fired following the 2011 season as the Aggies’ head coach and replaced by Kevin Sumlin. Manziel’s legacy was born in 2012 when he won the Heisman.
Edmonton has covered seven of the past eight meetings against the Alouettes. The total has gone over in four of the past six in Montreal.
Edmonton Eskimos
The Eskimos are tied for second in the West Division, two games behind unbeaten Calgary. Edmonton was on the bye last week and edged visiting Toronto 16-15 the week prior. Mike Reilly and the offence were able to run off the final 2:23 of the game after an Argos punt. Reilly threw for 258 yards and two scores with a pick, while leading the club with 55 yards rushing.
Duke Williams had another big game with nine catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. It marked a fourth consecutive 100+ yard game of the season for Williams, who was named a CFL Player of the Week. Reilly leads the CFL in passing yards and TDs (tied) and Williams is tops in receiving yards. The Eskimos are 0-4 ATS in their past four after a bye.
Montreal Alouettes
So, will Manziel start Thursday? Most likely not because he would have such little time to learn Montreal’s schemes. Perhaps if the Als had been playing Saturday instead of Thursday this week. Early indications from practice are that Matt Shiltz has been taking most of the first-team snaps. Still, it’s likely that Manziel at least gets into the game – anything to bring hope (and some fans) to Montreal. All four Alouettes losses this year are by double digits following last week’s 25-8 defeat to Calgary.
There should be another Montreal player making his team debut Thursday as the club acquired veteran receiver Adarius Bowman from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a conditional eighth-round pick in 2019. The three-time CFL all-star Bowman had just nine catches this season. Montreal has covered just one of its past 11 on Thursday.
