It felt good to see Dave Ritchie at practice on Tuesday. His fresh set of eyes can help the coaches’ film study of the last two weeks, where the Lions defense was shredded for about 450 yards on the ground. Compare that to the Alouettes, who average just about 60 rushing yards a game.
Former Lions Guard Bobby Singh, Linebacker JoJuan Armour and ex-Eskimo running back A.J. Harris looked good and seemed to fit in. Singh looks like he hasn’t missed too many meals lately. Harris is a solid player with a history of successfully running screens and draws, something the Lions don’t do much of, at least for the last two seasons.
Too bad for Javy Glatt, losing his position to Armour. He’s been getting caught too close to the defensive line and getting trapped in the wash much too often, failing to do his primary job of backing up the defensive line. Perhaps we’ll see him at the short side linebacker and on special teams, and maybe Cory Banks will be back at halfback beside Dante Marsh, who also got lit up last week by Hamilton
This week against Saskatchewan I look for significant improvement from last week, and maybe even an ugly win under the dome. Whether our next win comes this week, next week or the one after that, this group of talented players will eventually figure how to play like professionals and how to play as a cohesive unit.
Keys to success next week and beyond: good starts, eliminate dumb penalties and other bad mistakes, play a full sixty minutes with intensity and emotion, and develop solid team chemistry. The tightest group of guys wins the big games, a lot of the time.
Best of luck to all the players and coaches, this week and throughout the season and, hopefully, playoffs.[
Dooger in Surrey