Biggest Game of the Year in Toronto

[JohnnyMusso]

Lions starting Boyko again. Could be a long night for Reilly. Don't like this decision considering how poorly he has played.

[JohnnyMusso]

I also don't like them starting 4 Canadian receivers. It shows me they did a poor job recruiting American receivers. Lions will miss Burnham. Argos will key on Carter and see if Lions other receivers can beat them.

I agree with David, the heat and humidity will be a factor too.

My gut feeling tells me Lions are going to lose this game. They made no changes to defence and offence they are weaker. The longer Argos stay in it, their chances of winning increases.

Lion should win this, but it is going to be tough. Lose the game and their season could slip away for they have 3 tough games coming up.

[TheLionKing]

Lions starting Boyko again. Could be a long night for Reilly. Don't like this decision considering how poorly he has played.

I'll be watching the matchup real close. If he shows any lingering effect of his injury, Lions should replace him and insert Hunter Steward and move Foucault to right tackle.

[pennw]

Doesn't make sense to me, messing with the O-Line after how well they played last game . Was hoping we had found the right combination there . Do they think Foucault is better than Steward ? Or Boyko better than both Foucault and Steward ?
On the other hand if they turn out to be right about it , it does put BC in a pretty good position if they have that calibre of national OL , that they could "fall back" to putting in Steward or Knevel should some one else get hurt .
Doesn't say much about Marquis Bundy either if he's only a back-up and we have 10 nationals already playing .

[WestCoastJoe]

Strange. How has Steward fallen out of favour?

We will see if the faith in 4 NAT receivers pays off.

Key game of course.

Run game. Improved last game.

Pass game, with protection. We will see.

Defense? We will see. We have shown vulnerability vs both the pass and run. Pass rush non-existent.

STs? Taking candy from a baby. Gimme that ball.

[SammyGreene]

8 starting nationals (9 including Mackie) on offence must be some kind of team record.
A combined 8 career catches between Cottoy and Simonsen with the latter replacing their top American receiver.. Was Stevie Wonder our US scout this off-season?

[B.C.FAN]

A pair of Ed Willes articles offer some interesting quotes from DeVone Claybrooks and Rich Stubler about the Lions' defensive shortcomings.

“We rush differently,” Claybrooks said. “It’s not a four-man free for all. It’s more a systematic thing. They have to retrain their mind where they’re working off another man.

“The sacks will come as long as you trust in the system and believe in it.”

Ed Willes: It's time for the B.C. Lions' leaders to step up

Not surprisingly, the Leos are 0-3 as they head into Saturday’s meeting with the Toronto Argos, but fear not, says Claybrooks, the master plan is coming together.

“What makes this defence hard to score against is also what makes it easy to score against in the beginning,” he said. “It’s not like we play in straight lines. It flows and now the linebackers have to flow differently and the secondary has to fit differently. If any of those things go awry, you’ve got a problem.”

That much has been evident thus far.

“It’s all communication,” said Stubler. “A lot of people say we’re going to run this blitz and you cover this gap and if that guy goes to the bathroom, you go with him. We don’t play that way. Over the years I’ve coached, I figured it out that if we did it that way we lost.”

While neither man would reveal the deepest secrets of their defence, the general philosophy revolves around a knowledge of the other team’s offensive approach and all 12 defenders working in harmony to stop it. At Lions training camp this season, Claybrooks didn’t pass out a defensive playbook to his group. He gave them an offensive playbook to study.

“You have to know the base offensive calls and the base offensive systems in order to stop them,” he said. “That’s an adjustment. We’re trying to teach them something other than see ball, get ball.”

“It’s not bend don’t break,” Stubler said. “That’s a very overworked phrase by everyone who’s ever written about football. Every defence is bend but don’t break. Every defence is going to bend but if you don’t get beat over the top, you’re usually going to win.”

As for the pass rush, Claybrooks says that too is a function of the defence, and his players are closer to mastering it.

“We’re teaching a system for guys who are used to doing it individually,” he said. “It takes time. It’s more of a group effort.”

Ed Willes: Claybrooks, Stubler remain confident as Lions' defence evolves

[Hambone]

I firmly believe if Sol E doesn’t get hurt in the 4th Quarter of the West Semi Final against the Riders, we win that game and go on to the Grey Cup.

SolE didn't get hurt in the 4th quarter of that game. He didn't even suit up for it.

[swervynmerv]

I firmly believe if Sol E doesn’t get hurt in the 4th Quarter of the West Semi Final against the Riders, we win that game and go on to the Grey Cup.

SolE didn't get hurt in the 4th quarter of that game. He didn't even suit up for it.

Man I know I got really drunk watching the Lions blow that game but I didn’t think I was that bombed!

[SammyGreene]

Man, can't call it a trap game when you are 0-3 but it still feels that way after how bad the Argos have looked in their two games. Montreal beating Hamilton on Thursday provides another warning sign too.

-Hot humid weather in TO today and the Lions have been practising in unseasonably cool weather all week.

- Bethell-Thompson beat the Lions last year at BMO Field facing a much better BC defence.

-Not crazy about the changes on offence. O-line had its best game of the season last week in Calgary yet 2 positional moves with Boyko returning. Sure hope Steward is dinged to justify it.

- Burnham out and 2 inexperienced nationals as part of the 5-receiver set. Do the Argos pay plenty of attention to Durant and Carter and let the other 3 try and beat them? O-line is going to have to give Reilly addition time for receiver separation and they have to have a running game.

- A very motived Chris Rainey to worry about.

This is a coin flip.

[pennw]

Man, can't call it a trap game when you are 0-3 but it still feels that way after how bad the Argos have looked in their two games. Montreal beating Hamilton on Thursday provides another warning sign too.

-Hot humid weather in TO today and the Lions have been practising in unseasonably cool weather all week.

- Bethell-Thompson beat the Lions last year at BMO Field facing a much better BC defence.

-Not crazy about the changes on offence. O-line had its best game of the season last week in Calgary yet 2 positional moves with Boyko returning. Sure hope Steward is dinged to justify it.

- Burnham out and 2 inexperienced nationals as part of the 5-receiver set. Do the Argos pay plenty of attention to Durant and Carter and let the other 3 try and beat them? O-line is going to have to give Reilly addition time for receiver separation and they have to have a running game.

- A very motived Chris Rainey to worry about.

This is a coin flip.

Totally agree SammyGreen , what the Als did to the Ticats could be a sign of things to come for BC who will not be acclimated to the hot weather after a long trip over there.

O-line changes seem foolish if not necessitated by injury . After finally playing a great game why mess with the chemistry ? John White had a great game both rushing and catching passes out of the backfield . BC may have to rely on that as a prominent part of their game with Burnham going out. And changing the OL could dampen that prospect . Some continuity there would be a good thing IMO .

Hopefully Claybrooks has his defensive system up and running properly this game and we start seeing those results he was talking about .

[B.C.FAN]

Five things to watch in today'a game from Postmedia:

Lions Game Day: Pressure is on Reilly, Carter to find win zone against winless Argos

[Lion Guy]

Here's our season, let's go!

[TheLionKing]

Very few fans present. Sad situation

[TheLionKing]

Nice scramble by Reilly for a first down