Lions vs. Roughriders June 16, 2017

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B.C.FAN
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The depth chart and roster are up for the final preseason game Friday at B.C. Place. It looks like the final training camp depth chart posted June 10 for FanFest. Luther Maddy, Chris Williams and Dylan Ainsworth are not dressed. All three have missed most of training camp with injuries.

I expect the projected starters to play at least half the game, perhaps more. Wally wants to win this.
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David
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Thu Jun 15, 2017 1:02 pm
The depth chart and roster are up for the final preseason game Friday at B.C. Place. It looks like the final training camp depth chart posted June 10 for FanFest. Luther Maddy, Chris Williams and Dylan Ainsworth are not dressed. All three have missed most of training camp with injuries.

I expect the projected starters to play at least half the game, perhaps more. Wally wants to win this.
I'm starting to get a little concerned for the future of Dylan Ainsworth's career. He was sidelined for most of the 2016 season with the Riders with a neck injury, and now he is out with an injured neck again. I don't believe he has participated in many (if any) practices so far at camp. Any word from anyone? He was going to be an awesome special teams addition.


DH :cool:
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WestCoastJoe
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There are trends in football. Mark W seems to be going for smaller, faster DTs.

Brooks 295
Turner 280
Luke 288
Forde 272
not dressed
Maddy 285

Not like years past with Tyrone Williams, Khalif Mitchell.

Our DT size is not bad, IMO, especially with Brooks. But wondering if we can stand up to a vigorous run game.
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WestCoastJoe
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Roster
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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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A few comments re: the depth chart.

1. Our Leos are not practicing Internationals at the outside slot position...where Iannuzzi is aligned as the starter and Vandervoot as his replacement. If our Leos were going with four International recievers, one would be practicing a couple of Internationals as Moore (who played at that spot last year before his injury and McNeil. This makes me think our Leos will begin this season with only three Internationals at receiver.

2. Facault gets the start at left guard. Vaillencourt could still start the season at left guard but it would not surprise me for Wally to start Facualt there....and it would certainly make his trading Olfiioye look better.

3. Even with the excellent training camp of Luke and Forde, it appears as if we will go with two International defensive tackles to begin with, with Bryant Turner getting the nod at tackle to compliment Brooks.

4. Right now Gaitor is ahead of free agent Jackson at wideside halfback. Fenner is backing up Purifoy so the notion of giving Fenner a shot at free safety is out. Looks as if we'll start the season with Clarke at free safety while going with McDonald on the practice roster, unless Macdonald can really stand out. But we could potentially use Macdonald as a dime back.

5. We'll probably platoon Burnett and Awe to begin this season.
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CardiacKid
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I am trying to find out who has been cut by the Riders but they don't appear to have done much of anything in terms of getting their roster pared down to the mandated amount. There has been the odd cut here and there but nothing like what the other teams have done; certainly nothing like what the Lions did with their 12 after the first pre-season game.
I have checked their website (which has no transactions section) and the transactions section of the CFL site which comes up pretty bare in regards to the Riders.
Aren't teams required to have reduced roster numbers at roughly half-way through training camp and then the final round of cuts? I hope the Riders are not thinking of playing fast and loose with the rules yet again? That last question was mostly meant to be cheeky......mostly.

While at the Riders' site, I noticed an item referring to their secondary as "a work in progress". Yikes for them I hope :cr: :cr: :cr:
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This is totally unrelated to whether he's the best choice, but I'd like to see Micah Awe make the team, only because his jersey would be cool # 51 AWE. (Reminds me of Junior Ah You).
Too bad he's not on offence ( but you could still get some great sounding calls, though even on D--"tackled by Ah-way!!"). If he made this highlight vid himself, he's got some skills.
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I want to see the offence get established early and put some points on the board in the first half. The veterans didn't play much last week in Calgary but they were ineffective when they were in the game. They've had 10 days to sharpen up and get ready for the final tuneup before the regular season. It's time to show up.

I'm not worried about the defence overall but I haven't seen proof that they can generate turnovers. The secondary is deep and fast. There's no reason this unit should again rank last in the league in interceptions.
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5 things I'll be watching for tomorrow:

1) They've had a good camp, but can the O-line have a bounce-back game? Wally thought they were alright in Calgary and instead tossed his QBs under the bus (he would be able to assess that far better than I, but it sure sounded like they were springing leaks somewhere. All kinds of hurries and sacks). And the $64,000 question: How much will we miss Jovan's veteran presence??

2) Who will win the safety spot? Clarke or McDonald? I would probably give a slight edge to Clarke being the veteran (and Wally likes his vets), but someone may clearly emerge tomorrow night. They weren't tested in Calgary.

3) Who's going to win the strong side defensive end spot? Lots of great candidates here - Evans, Boatright, Shirley. I'd say it's up for grabs but being a FA signing, it's likely Evans' job to lose. At least to start the season.

4) Two guys are battling Shaq Johnson for the National WR position, but I think the club is only going to carry one back-up. Meaning it's going to come down to Blazsco or Adekolu. Had you told me at the start of camp that Adekolu might not have a place on the team, I'd say it's almost unthinkable. But he's clearly in tough.

5) Can any of the other guys who've slipped down the depth chart a bit win their jobs back? Vaillancourt to Foucault? Parker to Thompson? Probably neither to start the season. All things being equal, Wally will want to show SOMETHING for giving up the best tackle in the game. And Parker may still be a bit nicked up (but if Thompson starts, he has earned it. GREAT camp).


DH :cool:
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The_Pauser
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The Lions are going to start 2 nationals at receiver. This was made clear at the draft party. Though if you ask me I would say there's some flexibility there as we easily could start a national on the defensive line. I love what I've seen so far from Luke, and Forde/Menard both look very solid.
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David
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The_Pauser wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:24 pm
The Lions are going to start 2 nationals at receiver. This was made clear at the draft party. Though if you ask me I would say there's some flexibility there as we easily could start a national on the defensive line. I love what I've seen so far from Luke, and Forde/Menard both look very solid.
Yes and no. Iannuzzi will take one spot (slot), and Johnson will likely take the other at field side wideout. Doubtful that they will both be on the field at the same time much of the time though. There will be back-ups for both, meaning Vandervoot will likely back-up Iannuzzi. However, only one of Blazsco or Adekolu will back-up Johnson. Therefore, one of those two will be sent packing. I don't see any other way other than a 6-gamer.


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B.C.FAN
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David wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:11 pm
The_Pauser wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:24 pm
The Lions are going to start 2 nationals at receiver. This was made clear at the draft party. Though if you ask me I would say there's some flexibility there as we easily could start a national on the defensive line. I love what I've seen so far from Luke, and Forde/Menard both look very solid.
Yes and no. Iannuzzi will take one spot (slot), and Johnson will likely take the other at field side wideout. Doubtful that they will both be on the field at the same time much of the time though. There will be back-ups for both, meaning Vandervoot will likely back-up Iannuzzi. However, only one of Blazsco or Adekolu will back-up Johnson. Therefore, one of those two will be sent packing. I don't see any other way other than a 6-gamer.


DH :cool:
Iannuzzi and Johnson (or Adekolu/Blaszko) will be on the field whenever the Lions run their five-receiver set, which is probably about 60% of snaps. Adekolu has been my favourite player for several years. He catches everything in sight and is a leader in practice with his dance moves and outgoing personality. Johnson has been a great onfield presence since coming back from injury. I haven't seen anything from Blaszko on or off the field to suggest that he should be ahead of Adekolu, other than that he is four years younger and might be seen as a bigger contributor on special teams.
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B.C.FAN
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Hunter Steward is not in uniform tonight. Aaron Epps and Jeremy Zver are taking reps at left tackle in warmups.
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Roof is closed. Ridiculous
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CardiacKid
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TheLionKing wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 6:59 pm
Roof is closed. Ridiculous
Uh huh! I am needlessly sweating here.
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