There was a lot of talk in the off-season about the Edmonton Elks as a potential sleeper pick at 10-1 to win the Grey Cup.

On Thursday night, they finally showed signs of their potential.

Edmonton’s Grey Cup winner odds lengthened from +1000 to +1600 following back-to-back losses to open the season.

Depending on where you looked at the start of this week, you could find the Elks at +9.5 versus the BC Lions.

As Davis Sanchez told us in The CFL Spotlight before the game, there was value buying into Edmonton’s stock at its lowest.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Friday, Aug. 20, 2021.

Elks’ offence shows promise

Trevor Harris threw for 296 yards and a touchdown to lead the Elks (+150 ML) to a 21-16 win over the Lions on Thursday night.

James Wilder Jr. averaged 5.8 yards per carry for 127 rushing yards. He also picked up 33 receiving yards on four receptions.

Greg Ellingson averaged 16.4 yards on nine catches for 148 yards.

While the offence still had some trouble getting the football into the end zone, those strong individual performances, combined with four field goals from Sean Whyte, were enough to pick up a crucial victory in BC.

It also helped that the Edmonton defence held Michael Reilly to just 128 passing yards.

CFL underdogs improved to 7-2 against the spread and 6-3 straight up.

The under 46.5 also cleared by a 10-point margin, as the under improved to 8-1 so far this season.

Through the first eight games, CFL scoring was down 40 per cent compared to the same time frame in 2019.

While in theory we should see an eventual regression as the season progresses, there’s no reason to think we will see a sudden spike this weekend.

The Montreal Alouettes are set to visit the Calgary Stampeders as Week 3 continues tonight on TSN.

The number for that game is up to Alouettes -5.5, with the total set at 44.5. I’d lean Montreal at anything lower than a touchdown.

CFL underdogs have had the slight edge through the first couple of weeks, but I think that changes this weekend.

A two-team parlay with the Alouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win outright nets you +150 odds.

Newton, Jones shine in Patriots win

While the early season trend towards the under continued in the CFL last night, we saw the same thing with the lone NFL preseason game on the slate.

Cam Newton and Mac Jones combined to lead the New England Patriots (+100) to a 35-0 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The over might have had a chance if Jalen Hurts wasn’t a last-minute scratch due to a stomach infection.

Fortunately, it looks like Hurts will be fine.

Meanwhile, Newton and Jones combined to lead five touchdown drives as the Patriots improved to 2-0 this preseason.

 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Newton was 4-for-4 on passes that travelled at least 20 yards through the air.

Newton completed 8-of-9 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. As for the rookie, Jones went 13-of-19 for 146 yards.

Sure, it’s only preseason. I get it. But if Jones turns out to be something special, how much are we going to hear about how the rest of the league let him fall to the Patriots at 15th overall?

As far as I’m concerned, the free-agent additions, COVID-19 exemption returns, and an impressive rookie class should make the Patriots one of the most improved teams in the NFL this season.

As of this morning, New England is +360 to win the AFC East, +1700 to win the AFC and +3700 to win the Super Bowl. 

Orioles’ historic slide continues

There are a lot of bad teams in baseball right now. None of them have been able to match what the Baltimore Orioles have done in August.

In fact, there isn’t another team in MLB history that has done what the Orioles have done this month.

The Tampa Bay Rays handed Baltimore their 15th straight loss on Thursday night.

That’s 15 straight losses by two runs or more.

The Orioles have dropped seven in a row by four runs or more.

The Rays were -360 at first pitch on Thursday.

Next up, Baltimore will welcome the Atlanta Braves to town for a three-game series. Atlanta has won 10 in a row on the road. 

The Braves are up to -260 to win and -165 on the run line.

Who’s taking the Orioles at +215?

I’ll ride the slide and take Atlanta.

Personally, I can’t wait to see where the numbers for this game are at by first pitch tonight.

The Braves aren’t even the biggest favourite on tonight’s board right now.

The Toronto Blue Jays are -300 to beat the Detroit Tigers at home with Robbie Ray schedule to get the nod opposite Tyler Alexander.

The Boston Red Sox are up to -350 with Chris Sale versus Dane Dunning and the Texas Rangers.