Lions at Riders July 17 - Game Day Thread

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B.C.FAN
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Game day is almost here.

The Lions will have two new starting receivers for the rematch with Riders. Courtney Taylor is finally recovered from a nagging hamstring problem and will make his first start at slotback ahead of Bryan Burnham, who will likely be scratched. A.C. Leonard replaces the injured Cam Morrah in the H-back spot. I think both of these changes are good for the Lions because the Riders don't have current film on either player. Burnham made some good catches in his two games but Taylor is a big upgrade. No one sacrifices his body for a clutch second-down catch like he does. Leonard is a unique specimen who runs a 4.50 40 at 252 pounds. If he can catch the ball the way he did in training camp, he'll cause problems for the Rider linebackers and DBs.

As Cardiac Kid mentioned in the Keys to the Game thread, Zach Minter draws onto the 46-man roster but is listed as a backup to Michael Brooks at nose tackle. Craig Roh, who was an undersized injury replacement for Minter, is still listed as the starter at the 3-tech spot. The Lions list 8 defensive linemen on the roster. To me that suggests that Minter is not quite healthy enough to be activated and, unfortunately, will likely be a game-time scratch. I don't like the chances of this unit stopping Jerome Messam and Anthony Allen without cheating with the liebackers or calling a lot of run blitzes. Those schemes aren't typical of a Mark Washington defence.

Casey Chin also draws into the lineup on special teams to replace the injured Jason Arakgi. I like Chin and I think he'll rise to the challenge.

The Riders have made five roster changes and will have new starters at two positions in the secondary, including former Alouette Geoff Tisdale, who knocked Travis Lulay out of the lineup in 2013 with a hit near the goal line at B.C. Place. Again, these changes benefit the B.C. passing attack.

You can find the B.C. depth chart here.

Football is a game of momentum. The Riders have lost 10 of their last 12 regular-season and playoff games, some in heartbreaking fashion. If the Lions can get a good start and carry on where they left off, they can bury the Riders early.
TheLionKing
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Second half of back to back series. Lions won the first game 35-32 in a thrilling overtime finish. Rider Nation is restless over their team's 0-3 start. Riders will be fired up for the rematch after blowing a 11 point lead late in the game. Lions need to get off to a quick start and take the crowd out of the equation.
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WestCoastJoe
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Here is the depth chart ...

Jennings ahead of Beck at backup QB.

Did Ese M-A suit up last week? I would like to see him get some reps in the D Line. See what we got with our 1st round pick.

Our lineup looks good, with the possible exception of NT and DT. The Lions staff must see something in Craig Roh that compensates for his lack of size.

Let's see what A.C. Leonard can do when he gets the ball.

At this time, and maybe forever under MW, we don't really expect an attack style defence.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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I expect the Riders to establish the game tone early with lots of pressure on the Lions Offensive line via blitzes and stunts.... trying to get Lulay off his game and discourage the Lions relatively new look O-Line. Offence should be ready to pick up the blitz and have quick screen passes to Harris or Lumbala. This would be a great time to use the quick crossing throw to H-back Leonard. On Defense, the Leo's better be ready for the run with Messam/Allen and crossing routes with Getzlaff and Dressler... The crossing routes will move the outside LB's into coverage and could clear them from the middle thus opening up room for the run and putting pressure on the middle LB to stop the run once the D-line has been pushed out of the way by the strong Rider O-Line. I would love to see pressure on Glenn (to cause him to make judgement errors), but I've not seen that from the Lions D from a couple of years, so don't expect it tonight. The Riders have a lot riding on this game. They are much better than their record. I have hope, but I think the Leo's will be hard pressed to pull out a win.
o
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swervynmerv
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As BC. fan mentioned, momentum is key and in maybe no other stadium in the CFL do you see the benefit of the home crowd than at Mosaic Stadium.

The crowd is a fickle one however! At the beginning of the game the crowd will be loud and wild, in part to the extra hour of drinking they get from an 8pm start. If the Riders go down and struggle early, they can turn quickly and start to boo the home team.

The Lions need to score early and not just FG's. Any entry into the red-zone must result in a TD.

The D needs to pressure Glenn early and not let him get into a groove. Beware what I like to call the "rider horseshoe"! Maybe it's that home field advantage, but at least one to two times a game at home, the Riders will pull out some big play out of nowhere, usually when their offence is doing absolutely nothing, and get a quick TD or 2
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B.C.FAN
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Light rain is forecast for Regina tonight. It doesn't appear to be enough to disrupt passing games but it could be an advantage to the Riders with their two-headed running game. And turnovers could be a bigger factor. The Riders have lost the turnover battle in all three games (minus-4 overall), going winless in those three games. The Lions have not lost the turnover battle in two games (plus-2 overall), and they're the only team that has not given up any points off turnovers.

Turnovers in the red zone cold be costly for either team. The Lions have the worst red-zone defence in the league, giving up 5 TDs on 6 opposition penetrations inside the 20 yard line (83%). The Rider defence is right down there with them, giving up 10 TDs on 13 opposition red-zone penetrations (77%).
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David
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I can't speak to Roh, WestCoastJoe, but the club appears to be happy with Michael Brooks's 5 tackles last game (the roughing the passer penalty notwithstanding).

It was Brooks' tackle that stopped Messam short of a first down in OT, which forced them to settle for a field goal. He also played a part in the 3rd down stuff by Bighill. According to his D-line coach Robin Ross, "If he doesn’t tie up the centre (on Bighill’s tackle), if he doesn’t make the tackle in overtime, maybe we’re talking about a different result.” (SOURCE: Vancouver Sun 7/15/15).

I would prefer to see Westerman & Menard moved inside and Roh on the outside (where he played at Unversity Of Michigan), bookending Khreem Smith. So it would look like:

Roh // Brooks/Minter // Westerman/Menard // Smith/Bazzie


DH :cool:
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WestCoastJoe
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David wrote:I can't speak to Roh, WestCoastJoe, but the club appears to be happy with Michael Brooks's 5 tackles last game (the roughing the passer penalty notwithstanding).

It was Brooks' tackle that stopped Messam short of a first down in OT, which forced them to settle for a field goal. He also played a part in the 3rd down stuff by Bighill. According to his D-line coach Robin Ross, "If he doesn’t tie up the centre (on Bighill’s tackle), if he doesn’t make the tackle in overtime, maybe we’re talking about a different result.” (SOURCE: Vancouver Sun 7/15/15).
Good to hear, David.
.................................

I have not checked rosters.

But is there a trend towards smaller interior D Line personnel?

The Riders start (I) George, 6'4'' 277, and (N) Connop, 6'5'' 282.

Where are the 300+ fire hydrants of yesteryear? At one time the Riders started Nate Davis and Scott Schultz in the middle.

Davis 6'5'' 315

Schultz 6'2'' 300 or thereabouts, although listed at times at 287

Davis seemed to be impossible to move, plus he got great pressure inside as did Schultz.

When we had Eric Taylor and Khalif Mitchell we had the two most dominant interior D Line players that I recall.

310 and 315. Run stoppers. Pressure up the middle on passing downs. Caved in the O Line.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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DanoT
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So Roh was an end in university and is now playing DT for the FIRST TIME and Westerman has been a DT for all of his career with the Lions and is now playing end for the FIRST TIME, all I can say is :dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy:
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pennw
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I agree they should swap Westerman and Roh so both are playing their natural spots . Menard seems more versatile and can go in either spot .
Ese was in the line up last game Joe , standing around in the back ground . I did not see if he got on the field though . Maybe he was out on special teams , can be difficult to see all the numbers TV . Will be watching for 98 , hope to see him get some reps .
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WestCoastJoe
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pennw wrote:I agree they should swap Westerman and Roh so both are playing their natural spots . Menard seems more versatile and can go in either spot .
Ese was in the line up last game Joe , standing around in the back ground . I did not see if he got on the field though . Maybe he was out on special teams , can be difficult to see all the numbers TV . Will be watching for 98 , hope to see him get some reps .
Thanks, pennw.

Wanna see Ese in game action.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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B.C.FAN
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On the plus side, having eight DL on the roster, and seven dressed for the first two games, is a big improvement from four years ago, when the Lions used a five-man rotation . Unfortunately, while the team's quantity of D-linemen has increased, the quality hasn't. I'd rather have the five-man rotation of 2011, featuring Brent Johnson, Eric Taylor, Keron Williams, Khreem Smith and Aaron Hunt, with Khalif Mitchell in reserve. That's a Grey Cup-winning D-line.
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BC 1988
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Forecast for Regina 15-20mm rain expected to start by 5:20, with NE winds 15kph gusts to 30. Temp 15.
The field is likely to be wet by gametime. A very different environment to last week.
dupsdell1
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BC 1988 wrote:Forecast for Regina 15-20mm rain expected to start by 5:20, with NE winds 15kph gusts to 30. Temp 15.
The field is likely to be wet by gametime. A very different environment to last week.


Lulay has never won a game in those conditions as a lion I just heard on 1040
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sj-roc
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dupsdell1 wrote:
BC 1988 wrote:Forecast for Regina 15-20mm rain expected to start by 5:20, with NE winds 15kph gusts to 30. Temp 15.
The field is likely to be wet by gametime. A very different environment to last week.


Lulay has never won a game in those conditions as a lion I just heard on 1040
How many such games has he played in and was he the main reason we lost those games? It rained heavily for part of the @Ott game last year, much like it's doing right now as they host Edm as I type, and we won that one — we prob won because of the rain as Ott botched a late, potential go-ahead FGA just moments after the clouds began dumping. Not sure I'd get too down over the Ssk weather.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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