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Offence
It’s the debut of Jeff Tedford’s pedal-to-the-metal brand of football with plenty of tempo and an emphasis on execution more than anything else. You know the practices through the first 11 days were at a rapid pace when there has been exactly zero post practice conditioning sessions required.
At quarterback, look for newcomer Jonathon Jennings to get the start and play a majority of the first half of the game while sophomore Travis Partridge takes over in the final two quarters. Greg McGhee too will see the field and may be called upon in two-minute scenarios where his feet are as big an asset as his arm.
Among the receivers, Lions fans will get their first look at newcomer Austin Collie as the former NFL standout begins his days as a Leo. Vets seeing action will include Shawn Gore, Marco Iannuzzi, Terence Jeffers-Harris, Bryan Burnham, and Stephen Adekolu.
Keep an eye on the re-born H-Back position that Tedford and offensive coordinator George Cortez have installed this season. Cam Morrah, A.C. Leonard and Reggie Jordan each bring size, mobility, run-blocking skills and great hands to the table and will be a tough bit of business to handle for opposing defences. Not to be forgotten is speedster Tim Vizzi who has quickly become the talk of camp with great routes off the waggle and exceptional hands.
At running back, Andrew Harris will remain back in Kamloops as three rookies including Brendan Bigelow, Rickey Galvin and Damien Thigpen look to demonstrate not only the ability to run the ball but also help out with pass protection and as returners on special teams.
At fullback, both Rolly Lumbala and Pascal Lochard will make the trip as does UBC Thunderbird Brandon Deschamps who’s quietly enjoyed an effective camp thus far.
Along the offensive line, only veteran Jovan Olafioye gets to sit this one out with plenty of decisions yet to be made not only among who makes the final roster, but also with the ratio itself. Look for plenty of rotation among the internationals at centre and tackle spots, while national vets Valli, Fabien, Norman and Player also compete for starting spots.
Defence:
On defence the Lions return plenty of their core, but will give a long look to newcomers at defensive back and line positions.
Both Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill draw the vet card for Friday’s game while second-year ‘backers Bo Lokombo and Alex Hoffman-Ellis get the start. Look for Jason Arakgi and Casey Chin to also get reps as well as rookie Cody Acker and 2015 CFL Draft selection Adrian Clarke who’s been hitting everything that moves. At the nickel spot, Josh Johnson will get the start before giving way to newcomer Darious Lane who plays with a bit of an edge and arrives at the ball quickly and with bad intentions.
Like the offensive line, the Lions defensive big men will also be a key spot to watch against the Stamps. All four Canadians make the trip including draft selections Ese Mrabure-Ajufo and Maxx Forde. They’ll see reps, but not before both Jabar Westerman and David Menard get their work in at the end spot.
Alex Bazzie gets the start at the other end position with Michigan grad Craig Roh backing him up. The interior spots have five potential suitors led by Tim Jackson and Zach Minter. Fellow tackle Michael Brooks who went down with a knee sprain is day to day and will not play. Other hopefuls seeing action include Andre Monroe, Alex King and Jamarkus McFarland.
In the secondary, Ryan Phillips and Ronnie Yell will hold down the fort in Kamloops as Alex Tillman and Stanley Clarke get starting spots. Vets T.J. Lee, Cord Parks and safety Chris Rwabukamba fill out the other slots in the secondary. Former NFL’er Myron Lewis along with Derrick Morgan and Jeremiah Johnson will look to make an impression on coach Mark Washington at corner and halfback spots while Keynan Parker and draft pick Josh Brinkworth share back-up reps at safety.
On special teams, all eyes will be on the legs of both Anthony Fera and Richie Leone as they look for the starter’s gig after the Lions and Paul McCallum parted ways last week. Look for each to see action in all three phases including kickoffs, punts and field goals.
It’s a short business trip with the club traveling in and out of Calgary on game day, but for many it could be the most important 10 hours of their football lives as they look to send a message to the rest of the league that the 2015 version of the BC Lions are a different breed of cat.
The H-Back is only as affective as the players talent is. There is just too many changes on the O side of the ball to think that the Lions would a) employ that much of an advantage that the quick O will give to begin the season, and b) that the O units will be playing the QB's with enough experience to run the quick O. Bullets will be flying and hopefully the positive attributes of one or two QB's will be seen. Now with the Stamps changing out their OL, it will be very interesting to myself if the Lions DL can pressure the Stamps QB's. If they can't get pressure, it is going to be a position that the Lions need to improve quickly on, as the Lions will be counting on their D to keep them in games, if not outright win them games.MexicoLionFan wrote:Joe, I LOVE the return of the Tight End (H-Back) to the CFL...this can give us a huge advantage in the situational game played between coaches! As much as things change in football, winning and losing still remain the same, and controlling the LOS and TOP have always been and will always be KEY to winning!
On defence, our DLine, in particular the Tackles, needs to improve, so I am very excited to see improvement there. I like all the new personnel the Lions brought in to challenge an already talented roster! Competition and the demand of production always creates improvement!
They just showed it on TSN2, hail coming down on the McMahon turf an hour before kickoff.David wrote:Cool, wet weather in Calgary today, making it that much harder to evaluate talent and increasing the risk of injuries.
I can't remember the last time the Leos travelled to Calgary in the preseason and had decent weather.
DH
