Manziel’s arrival could make CFL-dregs Montreal bettable

Johnny Manziel is expected to see action as a backup quarterback Thursday night when the Montreal Alouettes play host to the Edmonton Eskimos in Canadian Football League action. The once-hyped “Johnny Football” was acquired by the Alouettes this week from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

If you’re like most bettors, you don’t have much experience betting the CFL. While its wider dimensions and more varied scoring possibilities do complicate matters for casual fans, it’s still football. Many professional wagerers bet the CFL aggressively because they consider point spreads to be softer because of less market liquidity.

Can Manziel make Montreal a smart bet?

Well, he can’t hurt. Montreal’s offense has been horrible this season by CFL standards. That’s why it was willing to gamble on Manziel. Hard to get worse when you’re already expansion caliber.

Here’s a quick look at how the Alouettes have fared against the point spread and in Over/Unders through five games:

How do you cover a spread when scoring only eight points? Montreal lost 25-8 as a monstrous 19-point underdog to the current Grey Cup favorite Stampeders. A total of 69 points in five games is just under 14 per game.

Market-wise, that’s 2-3 ATS, 1-4 to the Under. Taking “opponent” and “Under” has yielded a 70 percent success rate for bettors thus far. If Manziel’s energy and skill set can help the Alouettes find the end zone more often, there will be a window of opportunity you can climb through before the market adjusts. Monitor his performance Thursday so you can bet accordingly when he gets a chance to start.