1/3 of the season in the books: Opinions?

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DanoT
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What are the good, bad, the surprises and disappointments, expectations? for the Lions so far this season?

4-2 record is quite satisfactory and the 2 losses were as much about self inflicted mistakes as opposed to being seriously outplayed.

Both co-ordinators, Jones and Washington, seemed to have finally gained the knowledge and experience to match wits and play calling with the best in the CFL.

The New Wally, a lot like the old Wally, demands accountability and professionalism, challenges players to physically dominate and intimidate the opponent, and still doesn't wear the headset and leaves a lot to be desired with sideline challenge decisions. But he seems more relaxed and even enjoys the ribbing he sometimes gets from the players, strives to let players get more rest and allows iphone breaks. :shock: In the off season Wally addressed, with a high level of success, every single concern/need that the team had including depth at every position and imo is currently a leading candidate for Coach of the Year.

The D line: Many of us were concerned that they were perhaps too small and thus the Lions weakest unit. So after 3 of them go down with injuries the replacements show up and then the D line records 6 sacks. Plenty of depth there now. :yahoo:

Jonathon Jennings: He is becoming who we thought he was, only better. A true gunslinger with a great arm who seems too cool to get rattled. "JJ Cool Hand". :cool:

Louchez Purifoy: "Pure Joy" Purifoy is a ball hawk and play-maker and tackler and is probably the Lions best off season acquisition in what was probably the best off season (signing free agents, drafting, scouting) that the Lions have ever had. He is possibly better than Josh Johnson, last season's Nickleback who went to the NFL.

The O line: "The Good Girth Guys" are young and mostly playing new positions but they are getting the job done reasonably well, better than expected but aided by Jennings' quick release and ability to escape the rush and extend plays.

Wally wanted to go with 2 INT RBs sharing the load instead of one NAT RB. I didn't think he was gong to rotate them on and off the active roster but it seems to be working out real well by always having one of them fresh and not banged up over a long season (and hopefully long playoff run.)

Brian Burnham is really stepping up in place of injured Nick Moore. This is not a surprise to many of us on Lionbackers but Burnham is now being noticed by the rest of the league.

Shawn Gore is on his way to his best season ever and I assume at this point is a leading candidate for Best Canadian award.

Biggest concerns: The health of Levy Adcock and Charles Vallancourt.
Rodu
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Agreed on Burnham, he's becoming our primary 2nd and long target. Makes the tough catches, breaks tackles, just produces.

I think Purifoy is on his way to surpassing what Josh Johnson or Reddek before him brought to the team. Not yet at Carl Kidd/Korey Banks level yet
Blitz
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As I reflect on our 4-2 B.C. Lions, I didn't anticipate this success so early this season.

I knew there was a lot of talent on last season's team. It was young talent but one could see its potential. What are the differences from last year's squad and this season.

1. COACHING AND STRATEGY

We have a number of coaching changes. Buono returned as Head Coach and brought his stature, presence, and expectation to the team. Khari Jones replaced the very ineffective George Cortez. Dan Darazio was rehired as offensive line coach. Marcello Simmons took over special teams, Marcel Bellefeulle became our receivers coach, and Chris Tormey was hired to coach the linebackers and Adam Blasetti became our new running backs coach.

How much difference have the coaching changes made to our Leos? No question Buono taking back control of the coaching leadership has played an important role in our success in 2016. Washington has changed his philosophy on defense this season and that is making a difference.

On offence, Khari Jones has also changed his philosophy as well. Instead of being in the spread almost all the time, as he was in 2014, Jones has taken a number of pages out of Chap's version of the playbook this year and used a lot of tight end sets and two back sets. Bellifeulle has complimented Khari Jones. He is now a multi-formational offensive coordinator. Our offensive play book could be opened up more.

Simmons has brought a more disciplined approach, as well as better preparation to our special teams.

2. PERSONNEL

Our defense led the way to our early season success. Most of our starters are back from last year. On defence, Bazzie, Brooks, Roh, Westerman, Menard, Forde, Eliminian, Bighill, Lokombo, Yell, Phillips, Clarke, Fraser, T.J. Lee, Yell, Parker were all part of last year's defence.

We really only have three new starters on our defense from last season. They are Mike Edem, Brandon Stewart, and Purifoy. But they have been key additions. Stewart has been solid but nothing special. But Mike Edem has finally solidified our safety position and Purifoy has been a difference maker at nickel.

On offence, returning personell have been Jennings, Lulay, Arseneaux, Burnham, Gore, Lumbala, Iannuzzi, Olafoye, Fabian, Husband, Steward (who was injured for most of last year).

Deployment of offensive personnel has been different this season. We started Husband at center, moved Steward to guard, and Olafoye to left tackle. We also moved Gore to boundary wide receiver. We didn't sign Harris and instead have used two Internationals at tailback - Johnson and Allen. Jennings has started at quarterback right out of training camp. Antonio Johnson replaced the injured Adcock right out of training camp and Fabian has replaced rookie starter Vaillencourt after our first two games.

New starters on offence this season are Husband, Antonio Johnson, Boldewijn (replacing Nick Moore who replaced Hawkins) and Jeremiah Johnson/Anthony Allen replacing Andrew Harris.

On offence we replaced an International center with a National center and changed from a National tailback to an International. There really hasn't been that much difference in our tailback performance this season from last. Harris is second in the CFL in rushing for Winnipeg (382 yards) while Johnson/Allen have split the position so far (3 games each) and have been effective for our Leos (194 yard each (388 total rushing yds.)

The biggest difference maker on our Leos team, personell wise, has been the play of Jonathan Jennings. I really don't believe we would be in the position we are in without him. I dont' see us being 4-2 with Lulay at quarterback. Jennings is just more of a poised, aggressive quarterback who reads more quickly than Lulay and has a much more accurate and stronger arm.

DEPTH, FREE AGENTS, AND TALENT

Wally had a record of not being able to attract free agents but that changed this off-season. He brought in players as Edem, Stewart, O'Neil, Bryant Turner Junior, Nick Moore, Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen. While most of these players were cast-offs who were not wanted by their respective teams, Buono saw their value in terms of experience, depth, or the ability to round out our lineup.

This off-season Buono signed eight CFL free agents. That is seven free agents more than last season. Buono has had an advantage this season over what Tedford was given to work with last year. Eliminian was also hurt for most of last season, Lulay was not 100% or very effective, and Jennings was a rookie third string quarterback who only started the last 6 games of last season.

We also did a very good job in the draft. Vaillencourt became a rookie starter at guard before getting injured and Anthony Thompson has made a contribution on defense.

The off-season recruiting of Purifoy has been our most significant find but Antonio Johnson has filled in at right tackle solidly and Darius Allen and Hudson have brought depth to the defensive end position.

When we have experienced injuries (eg: Jeremiah Johnson, Adcock, Vaillencourt, Brooks, Roh, Edem, Stewart, T.J. Lee, Menard, and Moore, we've had the depth to replace them more than adequately.

We didn't need to make a lot of changes from last year's squad but the one's we have made, we've gotten right.

TEAM CHEMISTRY AND CONFIDENCE

This 2016 Leo team creates a sense that they are more confident, as well as being more resilient and motivated. I atttibute that to three factors.

The first is the Buono factor. Buono has set expectations high while instilling more confidence and discipline. Wally is not going to inspire with pre-game speeches or make great challenge calls. But he knows how to build a winning culture. This Leos 2016 has spirit and they like playing for each other.

The second factor is Jonathan Jennings. He has provided a lot of optimism. The offensive players believe in him. He can make all the throws. He's a gunslinger who playes with confidence and is poised well beyond his experience.

A third factor is that Andrew Harris is no longer with us. I loved the Andrew Harris story in B.C. I was sad to see him go. But he was an often disgruntled tailback. He was critical of every offensive coordinator he played for, even though he was most often the center piece of our offence. Buono believed he negatively impacted team chemistry and morale and perhaps he was right.

POTENTIAL

This 2016 Leo team has not reached its potential. We really could be 6-0 and probably should be undefeated. Our second half against Toronto, missing Brooks, was a let down against Toronto's running game. The loss in Calgary was self-inflicted.

Our offensive line is the area with the most potential. Cody Husband only has 6 games under his belt as a starting center and can only get better. When Vaillencourt returns, at 327 pounds, he adds a lot of aggression to the right guard position. Levy Adcock, at 325 pounds, when he returns, is a talented right tackle. Steward, at 315 pounds, is learning the guard position. Olafoye is still adjusting to the left tackle spot.

Our offensive line can get bigger and better as this season progresses.

Jonathan Jennnings, at quarterback, has exploded, passing wise, in his last 3 games. He still has not played a full season at the position in the CFL. He is still learning and getting wiser and better.

In the defensive backfield, defenders are still getting used to each other. Clarke has been impressive in his twoa games at defensive halfback and he replaced T.J. Lee, who was havin an all-star start to the season. Clarke may be better. Clarke and Yell still need to get used to each other. Stewart and Phillips are also learning to play with each other. Mike Edem, at safety, is learning the tendencies of his fellow defensive backs. It takes time to jell together in the defensive backfield as it does on the offensive line, because both play as units.

WRAP

Most CFL prognostictors have been surprised by our start to this season. But most Lionbackers saw last year, that there was a lot of young talent on this Leo squad. Buono's return, Jennings starting the season at quarterback, a few key additions sprinkled into the starting lineup, more depth, a different and more aggressive defensive philosophy, and better team chemistry have enabled our Leos to get off to an excellent start to the 2016 season.

We've surprised some teams. They will be more ready for us in the future. But we also have the potential to be better. Its good to feel more excited again about our Leo team.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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David
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Player Awards at the 1/3 mark:

MOP - Jonathan Jennings (rather quiet start to the season but is emerging as one of the elite QB talents in the league. Strong arm that can place the ball in tight windows. 3 straight 300+ passing yard games)

Most Outstanding Defensive Player - Mic'hael Brooks (almost unstoppable unless double teamed, and a terrific run-stopper too)

Most Outstanding Canadian - Shawn Gore (has made a number of spectacular catches this year, 10th overall in receiving yards)

Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman - Jovan Olafioye (seamlessly transitioned to the all-important LT position)

Most Outstanding Rookie - Loucheiz Purifoy (fast, athletic, and versatile. And I don't think we've even seen his best work! Still learning all the intricacies of the nickel position)

Most Improved - Alex Bazzie (perhaps guilty of over-pursuing in past years, Bazzie has been ferocious coming off the edge this year. 6 sacks leads the league)

Biggest Surprise - Cody Husband (Show of hands. Who saw this coming??)

Most Exciting - Chris Rainey (a threat for 6 points every time he touches the ball. Sublime open field runner that can cut on a dime)

Unsung Hero - Antonio Johnson (quietly stepped in for Adcock at the important RT position after camp and has been solid).
Runner-Up - Rolly Lumbala (has been giving Jennings an extra second or two all season by picking up key blocks)


DH :cool:
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Blitz
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Biggest Surprise - Cody Husband (Show of hands. Who saw this coming??) David

Not me!!~ :cheer:

Husband was undrafted out of UBC before signing with Hamilton, where he was mostly a depth player at the guard position. He spent his first season in Hamilton in 2012 on the injury reserve list. In 2013, in Hamilton he made two appearances and then spent 12 weeks on their injury reserve list.

We signed him for the 2014 season. He began his first season as a Leo on the injury reserve list, then dressed for 4 games, started one game, and then went back on the injury reserve list. Last season he was on the injury reserve list for 10 weeks and then started at guard for us for the final 8 games of the season and the playoff.

Struggling to develop an offensive National center, since Angus Reid retired, last season we went with an International center and it was expected that O'Neil, signed in the off-season would take over at center this year.

The next thing you know at Husband comes out of training camp as our starting center and looks like he has been playing the position for years.

A very positive, pleasant surprise and a great story of an undrafted UBC player now making the offensive line calls as our starting center. A great story!!

I agree with you David about the unsung work of Antonio Johnson.

But I admit to wanting to watch Adcock play. He's 325 pounds, His athleticism is above-average, and he has good footwork and mobility in tight spaces. Adcock was an All-American while playing at Oklahoma State. He is very strong, has especially strong hands, and plays with a powerful base. He can get into the second level and seal. He has always kept himself in good shape. He can run a 5.2 40 yd. dash - athletic for a guy of his size. He can play with an edge and has leadership ability.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
TheLionKing
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Surprises:

- 4-2 record
- finally Shawn Gore living up to his billing
- Brian Burnham
- aggressive attacking defence and offence. I'm really surprised given how we were promised this several years ago under Benevides and Tedford
- play of the special teams
- play of the defensive line
- much more disciplined in all 3 facets of the game

Disappointments

- continued low attendance
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Sir Purrcival
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TheLionKing wrote:Surprises:

- 4-2 record
- finally Shawn Gore living up to his billing
- Brian Burnham
- aggressive attacking defence and offence. I'm really surprised given how we were promised this several years ago under Benevides and Tedford
- play of the special teams
- play of the defensive line
- much more disciplined in all 3 facets of the game

Disappointments

- continued low attendance
Agree with most.
Gore I believe has been under-utilized and misused for years. Finally we have someone who can get him the ball and in position that fits him better.
Play of defensive line has been a huge change for the better. Pressure from 4 rushers! What a concept! Clogging up running lanes. Sol and Biggie must think they are on vacation. It is no surprise that we have heard those two names less this season.
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caobax
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Blitz wrote:As I reflect on our 4-2 B.C. Lions, I didn't anticipate this success so early this season.

I knew there was a lot of talent on last season's team. It was young talent but one could see its potential. What are the differences from last year's squad and this season.

1. COACHING AND STRATEGY

We have a number of coaching changes. Buono returned as Head Coach and brought his stature, presence, and expectation to the team. Khari Jones replaced the very ineffective George Cortez. Dan Darazio was rehired as offensive line coach. Marcello Simmons took over special teams, Marcel Bellefeulle became our receivers coach, and Chris Tormey was hired to coach the linebackers and Adam Blasetti became our new running backs coach.

How much difference have the coaching changes made to our Leos? No question Buono taking back control of the coaching leadership has played an important role in our success in 2016. Washington has changed his philosophy on defense this season and that is making a difference.

On offence, Khari Jones has also changed his philosophy as well. Instead of being in the spread almost all the time, as he was in 2014, Jones has taken a number of pages out of Chap's version of the playbook this year and used a lot of tight end sets and two back sets. Bellifeulle has complimented Khari Jones. He is now a multi-formational offensive coordinator. Our offensive play book could be opened up more.

Simmons has brought a more disciplined approach, as well as better preparation to our special teams.

2. PERSONNEL

Our defense led the way to our early season success. Most of our starters are back from last year. On defence, Bazzie, Brooks, Roh, Westerman, Menard, Forde, Eliminian, Bighill, Lokombo, Yell, Phillips, Clarke, Fraser, T.J. Lee, Yell, Parker were all part of last year's defence.

We really only have three new starters on our defense from last season. They are Mike Edem, Brandon Stewart, and Purifoy. But they have been key additions. Stewart has been solid but nothing special. But Mike Edem has finally solidified our safety position and Purifoy has been a difference maker at nickel.

On offence, returning personell have been Jennings, Lulay, Arseneaux, Burnham, Gore, Lumbala, Iannuzzi, Olafoye, Fabian, Husband, Steward (who was injured for most of last year).

Deployment of offensive personnel has been different this season. We started Husband at center, moved Steward to guard, and Olafoye to left tackle. We also moved Gore to boundary wide receiver. We didn't sign Harris and instead have used two Internationals at tailback - Johnson and Allen. Jennings has started at quarterback right out of training camp. Antonio Johnson replaced the injured Adcock right out of training camp and Fabian has replaced rookie starter Vaillencourt after our first two games.

New starters on offence this season are Husband, Antonio Johnson, Boldewijn (replacing Nick Moore who replaced Hawkins) and Jeremiah Johnson/Anthony Allen replacing Andrew Harris.

On offence we replaced an International center with a National center and changed from a National tailback to an International. There really hasn't been that much difference in our tailback performance this season from last. Harris is second in the CFL in rushing for Winnipeg (382 yards) while Johnson/Allen have split the position so far (3 games each) and have been effective for our Leos (194 yard each (388 total rushing yds.)

The biggest difference maker on our Leos team, personell wise, has been the play of Jonathan Jennings. I really don't believe we would be in the position we are in without him. I dont' see us being 4-2 with Lulay at quarterback. Jennings is just more of a poised, aggressive quarterback who reads more quickly than Lulay and has a much more accurate and stronger arm.

DEPTH, FREE AGENTS, AND TALENT

Wally had a record of not being able to attract free agents but that changed this off-season. He brought in players as Edem, Stewart, O'Neil, Bryant Turner Junior, Nick Moore, Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen. While most of these players were cast-offs who were not wanted by their respective teams, Buono saw their value in terms of experience, depth, or the ability to round out our lineup.

This off-season Buono signed eight CFL free agents. That is seven free agents more than last season. Buono has had an advantage this season over what Tedford was given to work with last year. Eliminian was also hurt for most of last season, Lulay was not 100% or very effective, and Jennings was a rookie third string quarterback who only started the last 6 games of last season.

We also did a very good job in the draft. Vaillencourt became a rookie starter at guard before getting injured and Anthony Thompson has made a contribution on defense.

The off-season recruiting of Purifoy has been our most significant find but Antonio Johnson has filled in at right tackle solidly and Darius Allen and Hudson have brought depth to the defensive end position.

When we have experienced injuries (eg: Jeremiah Johnson, Adcock, Vaillencourt, Brooks, Roh, Edem, Stewart, T.J. Lee, Menard, and Moore, we've had the depth to replace them more than adequately.

We didn't need to make a lot of changes from last year's squad but the one's we have made, we've gotten right.

TEAM CHEMISTRY AND CONFIDENCE

This 2016 Leo team creates a sense that they are more confident, as well as being more resilient and motivated. I atttibute that to three factors.

The first is the Buono factor. Buono has set expectations high while instilling more confidence and discipline. Wally is not going to inspire with pre-game speeches or make great challenge calls. But he knows how to build a winning culture. This Leos 2016 has spirit and they like playing for each other.

The second factor is Jonathan Jennings. He has provided a lot of optimism. The offensive players believe in him. He can make all the throws. He's a gunslinger who playes with confidence and is poised well beyond his experience.

A third factor is that Andrew Harris is no longer with us. I loved the Andrew Harris story in B.C. I was sad to see him go. But he was an often disgruntled tailback. He was critical of every offensive coordinator he played for, even though he was most often the center piece of our offence. Buono believed he negatively impacted team chemistry and morale and perhaps he was right.

POTENTIAL

This 2016 Leo team has not reached its potential. We really could be 6-0 and probably should be undefeated. Our second half against Toronto, missing Brooks, was a let down against Toronto's running game. The loss in Calgary was self-inflicted.

Our offensive line is the area with the most potential. Cody Husband only has 6 games under his belt as a starting center and can only get better. When Vaillencourt returns, at 327 pounds, he adds a lot of aggression to the right guard position. Levy Adcock, at 325 pounds, when he returns, is a talented right tackle. Steward, at 315 pounds, is learning the guard position. Olafoye is still adjusting to the left tackle spot.

Our offensive line can get bigger and better as this season progresses.

Jonathan Jennnings, at quarterback, has exploded, passing wise, in his last 3 games. He still has not played a full season at the position in the CFL. He is still learning and getting wiser and better.

In the defensive backfield, defenders are still getting used to each other. Clarke has been impressive in his twoa games at defensive halfback and he replaced T.J. Lee, who was havin an all-star start to the season. Clarke may be better. Clarke and Yell still need to get used to each other. Stewart and Phillips are also learning to play with each other. Mike Edem, at safety, is learning the tendencies of his fellow defensive backs. It takes time to jell together in the defensive backfield as it does on the offensive line, because both play as units.

WRAP

Most CFL prognostictors have been surprised by our start to this season. But most Lionbackers saw last year, that there was a lot of young talent on this Leo squad. Buono's return, Jennings starting the season at quarterback, a few key additions sprinkled into the starting lineup, more depth, a different and more aggressive defensive philosophy, and better team chemistry have enabled our Leos to get off to an excellent start to the 2016 season.

We've surprised some teams. They will be more ready for us in the future. But we also have the potential to be better. Its good to feel more excited again about our Leo team.
Blitz, I think Jennings may not be able to throw the intermediate route as well as Lulay does. When you diagnose jj, you will find out that he intercepted when throwing intermediary passes. I too am very excited with our Leos inability to spoil ball games. After watching the Montreal game, I noticed that he threw a camper hitch to S. Gore right off the line for a negative 1 yard. That play illustrates two things. It illustrates how Shawn did not have a slot receiver come and block the defender who spyed on him. Secondly, because JJ has a an arsenal cannon for a shoulder, the coaches think it is OK to go wide splits every single play. An eighteen game regular season ought to imply that receivers are all inside the numbers because they want to protect their qb throwing shoulder as the season progresses.

Furthermore, when you look at the screen-pass Johnson caught and cut it back center field, you will hear the commentary and TV analyst s say in closed captioning that the online ought to have been upfield near the chains.
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David
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TheLionKing wrote:Disappointments

- continued low attendance
A bit early to frame it as "continued low attendance" after two games isn't it? One was the season opener in June (coming off several dull, disappointing seasons - most recently a 7-11 campaign and a playoff annihilation), the second was a miserable Thursday night against the Argos.

I would expect if the Lions keep this up, we should see crowds in the 24K - 26K range as the season progresses. Perhaps not against Hamilton, but if they win that game, it's going to present a dandy first place showdown against the Stamps!


DH :cool:
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Could someone remind me of what has kept Adcock out of action? I believe it wasn't so much an injury but an illness? A really bad lung infection I think... I'm afraid something like that might really negatively impact his strength, weight, stamina, the whole schmear and take a fair chunk of time to get in game shape.
TheLionKing
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CardiacKid wrote:Could someone remind me of what has kept Adcock out of action? I believe it wasn't so much an injury but an illness? A really bad lung infection I think... I'm afraid something like that might really negatively impact his strength, weight, stamina, the whole schmear and take a fair chunk of time to get in game shape.
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I am very pleased with the Offensive Line's overall play as I feel it is much improved from last year. Jennings is maturing more and more each game and is showing that he is better able to handle the pressure in difficult games.
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I'm pleasantly surprised. Even though I picked the Lions to finish first in the West, I didn't expect them to play as well as they have, especially with all the injuries to key players. I credit the Wally factor. Players believe they can win and they know that no alternative is acceptable.

The Lions have had one of the best defences in the league for years, and having Adam Bighill and Solomon Elimimian both healthy makes them better than last year's team. Nickelback was a huge concern heading into the regular season but Loucheiz Purifoy has been an excellent replacement for Josh Johnson. I was worried about a lack of size and pass-rushing ability on the defensive line but the performance of that unit has exceeded my expectations, especially with Mic'hael Brooks out of action. The secondary took a big hit when T.J. Lee was lost for the season but the backups have performed admirably when pressed into service.

On offence, I expected Nick Moore to bolster the receiving corps. Again, others have stepped up when called upon after Moore was injured. Bryan Burnham has shown an excellent ability to make clutch catches in traffic. Burnham, Manny Arceneaux and Shawn Gore give Jonathon Jennings three reliable targets who can move the chains and keep defences honest. The offensive line, despite injuries, has been solid, despite having new starters at all positions and having several of those starters sidelined for most of the early season. This group should get better as the season goes along.

Now I don't feel as lonely in picking the Lions as serious Grey Cup contenders.
Blitz
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Now I don't feel as lonely in picking the Lions as serious Grey Cup contenders. B.C.Fan
You are a Lionbacker 'wise man' B.C. Fan! :thup: :thup:

I didn't expect Khari Jones and Mark Washington to be doing such a good job, scheme wise, with their respective units and am pleasantly surprised with their work so far.

Our Leos have been under the radar, according to an article and cfl.ca. They are not anymore!

Under the radar

I want to clarify something really quick. The BC Lions have a human highlight reel as a quarterback; they have one of the most exciting returners in football; they boast an exciting, deep group of receivers and are able to roll out the best linebacker combo in the CFL and they’re still flying under the radar? It’s hard to believe, but it seems to be the truth.

The 4-2 Lions are one of the early surprises of the 2016 season but they looked good once again in a 38-18 win over Montreal on Thursday. Even with one of the top records in the league to this point, though, the Lions don’t seem to be getting a lot of run. Perhaps they should be.

Jonathon Jennings is ridiculous. The stuff this guy is capable of doing while on the run is truly unmatched right now. His arsenal of talent was on full display against the Als as he literally made one mistake as part of a stellar 331-yard outing. Sure, Jennings is young and still has lots to learn, but he’s also one of the league’s best quarterbacks a third of the way through 2016.

The Lions have one of the league’s most exciting players in Chris Rainey. I know I get out of my seat every time he’s about to return a kick. Yeah, he wasn’t very busy against Montreal, but that doesn’t change how much of an impact he can make when he touches the ball.

BC has a dynamic receiving duo with Emmanuel Arceneaux and Shawn Gore and it sports just as important a duo on the other side of the football, too. Linebackers Soloman Elimimian and Adam Bighill form a devastating partnership in the middle of the field and have been as advertised so far this season.

The point I’m trying to make is this: one of the players I just highlighted fall into the “under the radar” category, so perhaps the team they play on shouldn’t be in that category, either. If BC keeps building on its 4-2 start, I doubt it will be for much longer.

cfl.ca

"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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