BC Lions at Als

You surely cannot be serious Gridiron! The Lions are in a dogfight for top spot in the West. It’s all about taking first place in the West, getting that bye and that all important Western Final home team advantage. I can see a team on cruise control if it already has a playoff position wrapped up and the remaining games are mean nothing games because they won’t affect a team’s position in the over all standings but no way is that the case half way into the season. I’m very surprised you would think the Lions have a don’t care attitude. A win against the Als and a SSK loss and the Lions are sitting in top spot in the west. Why on earth would they squander such an opportunity?

They have no idea what the future holds regarding injuries etc. The Lions will grab every 2 points they can get their hands on for that very reason. No team wants to be in a must win situation.

I don’t see the Als walking all over the Lions this upcoming game nor do I see the Lions sitting back on their heels. If anything they know the Als are hurting. If anything I think the Lions can’t wait to roll into Montreal. I just hope they don’t underestimate the Al’s tenacity. What could hurt the Lions will not be complacency but too much swagger having just beaten the Stamps.

Yeah, I’m not sure how much difference it makes TBH. Anthony hasn’t been great this year at all. I wasn’t really seeing much if any drop-off from Neiswander last week, which is kind of disturbing when you consider the experience disparity. So either AC is done, or our offense gives no one a chance to succeed, or both.

Like I said a few days ago, one positive from the SSK loss was better pre-snap motion from the offensive unit. Turnovers still a problem, but that’s not Berry’s fault (maybe Campbell’s in part, at least when it comes to receiver fumbles?). We were attacking the LOS pre-snap with a good mix of vertical routes and stacked horizontal and diagonal routes. We saw Marsh in for a trad QB sneak. The offense is making progress, albeit slow frustrating progress.

It'll take a miracle to win thursday but we might be lucky enough to get one.

I'm looking forward to meeting Patrick Kabongo on the field after the game thanks to his 'mom'.

According to RDS, NIP S Mike Edem did practice today.

According to Als Tweets:

IMP DE Anwar Stewart will play Thursday.

NIP LS Martin Bedard and NIP LB Bryn Roy will go to the 9 game injured list.

Richard

So probably a torn labrum for Bedard…

Be nice to see Anwar, but man, if we're relying on him to shore up our pass defense, our defensive recruiting is in sad shape...

Now if you want to talk of selfish players with a sense of entitlement, how about Paul McCallum:

Now Shott, a graduated junior from the Okanagan Sun, becomes the new alternative to Paul McCallum, who turns 44 a month after the CFL expansion draft in December. He has been added to the Lions' practice roster, forgoing an opportunity to play CIS football with the UBC Thunderbirds. Shott will be mentored by kicking consultant Don Sweet, Buono, a former CFL punter, special teams coach Chuck McMann and Benevides, a former special teams co-ordinator.

Conspicuously absent from that list of wise guides is McCallum himself. The veteran kicker/punter has never been keen to give a young rival a leg up (see Sean Whyte) at the expense of his place and continued employment.

"Every player is wired differently. And there's no doubt that's where he's (McCallum) wired now," Benevides explained. "For some guys, that (mentoring) comes naturally to them. For some others, it doesn't. It depends on where their people skills are and where their heart lies. I can't ask Paul to do that. That's something he has to feel in his heart, where he owes it to the game, or that young man. But Paul is still a competitor. It's still his job. Even though someone else is interning under him, it's still his (starting) job to protect."

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Kick ... z2cYxGwRqN

His GM cut Allen Pitts at the top of his game… McCallum is one of the smartest player in the game. During the off season they asked him to take a pay cut. He told Buono to take a hike. The reality they would have taken his money and given it to O’Neil who’s warming the bench, by refusing they could not extend O’Neil… Not a nice guy but he understands the business.

Yeah....Lions by 3 td's.

Non. Par 4.

Les Alouettes n’ont pas d’attaque. La venue de Berry n’a encore rien changé à ce fait, et l’équipe est décimée, une fois de plus.

C’est encore une année de transition pour les Alouettes et pour ma part, je ne ls vois pas finir meilleurs que 3ièmes dans l’Est. Et encore, ils devront se battre comme des diables dans l’eau bénite pour y arriver.

Nous avons tous l’impression qu’il manque si peu pour que les choses changent. Mais le problème est que le peu qu’il manque demeure manquant semaine après semaine. Le système de jeu offensif ne fonctionne pas suffisamment pour donner les points et le temps dont la défensive a besoin. Même quand la défensive joue un gros match, l’attaque ne peut l’appuyer.

Nous devrons donc regarder nos jeunes évoluer et applaudir ceux qui ne cèdent pas et donnent toujours le meilleur d’eux-mêmes. De meilleurs jours attendent l’équipe après cette saison, car Popp aura eu amplement le temps d’Évaluer ses joueurs et ses entraîneurs.

Well said. It’s disappointing but they are still playing hard. That’s all I ask. I’m kind of looking forward to see the Als transition at the QB position. I still think think like they did in Saskatchewan they will come out and play hard for the fans.

I am very curious to see what Neiswander can do with a week of first-team reps and the coaches game-planning specifically for him. I thought he acquitted himself fairly well against Saskatchewan. His mistakes were ones I'd expect from a young QB: forcing balls into double coverage, making ill-advised throws on the run. But he did get the ball where it was supposed to be much of the time -- not his fault that Green fumbled, Whyte sucked, and Tisdale and Gainey couldn't stop the Rider receiver from scoring a TD in one big play...

As per the Roster on the Als site, the following changes have been made,since last game:

Out:
NIP LS Martin Bedard. To 9 game injured list.
NIP LB Bryn Roy. To 9 game injured list.
NIP LB Jonathan Beaulieu-Richard. To 1 game injured list.
IMP DE Brandon Denson. To practice roster.
IMP LB Kyries Hebert. To 1 game injured list.
IMP DT Scott Paxson. To practice roster.
IMP DB Ben Wells. To practice roster.

IN:
NIP G Anthony Barrette. From practice roster.
NIP DB Jamahl Knowles. From practice roster.
NIP FB,also LS, Jerod Zaleski. From unemployed,football wise.
IMP WR Duron Carter. From practice roster.
IMP DB S.J. Scott. From practice roster.
IMP DE Anwar Stewart. From practice roster.
IMP RB Brandon Whitaker. From 1 game injured list/

Anthony Calvillo, Brandon London,Josh Bourke and Brandon Whitaker are all injured,of/by different degrees; I presume that they will be the 4 "healthy" scratches tomorrow.

There are presently 25 Imports and 21 Non-imports on the active roster.

Richard

At sportbookies, odds opened with BC -7 as a strong favorite. Now BC-9 as most money is on BC. This season, road favorites are 8-1 against the pointspread and west favorites are 12-4 ATS. Also BC tends to play well against stronger Montreal teams in previous meetings.

I wonder if the odds would be different if BC was missing:
QB Travis Lulay,RB Andrew Harris,WR'sNick Moore,Emmanuel Arcenaux, OL Patrick Kabongo, Ben Archibald and Steve Norman on offense.
DT Eric Taylor and LB Adam Bighill on defence.

I definitely don't expect the Als to win,but I hope that the game will be close.

Richard

I foresee a complete implosion.. I'm really hoping I'm wrong.

This team is like the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the mid-2000s. Absolutely unbearable to watch. The smallest bit of positive momentum immediately undone by:

Turnover
Penalty
Big play given up

Are they trying to set a record for most turnovers in a single season? This is just getting ridiculous.

RDS guys have made the point several times that the number of injuries the Als have suffered is really hurting the special teams. Results seem to back that up.

Nice switch to Marsh. Seems to have more poise than Neiswander so far.

Excuses. To have no one covering McCallum, allowing him to sail a 15-yard pass on third down, is on Rychleski and no one else.