Leo/Argos Keys to the Game

[TheLionKing]

Hope the Lions don't take the Argos lightly because they played Tuesday and they're missing some key personnel.

[Blitz]

Posted below is an article by Iain McIntyre on Stefan Logan and McIntyre's Themes to the Game and Players to Watch

Leadership: Elusive elder statesman set to fill in for injured BC Lions star Harris, showcase his team’s depth

By Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun August 16,

We’re not sure about tall buildings, but Stefan Logan can leap tall fences in a single bound.

He did it Friday near the end of the B.C. Lions’ practice in Surrey. Logan is 5½ feet tall. The chain-link fence was about 3½ feet tall. Without warning or an approach run, Logan soared over the barrier, delighting a few fans nearby.

The Lions could use a little bit of Superman from Logan on Sunday, when they play the Argonauts in Toronto without B.C.’s star running back, Andrew Harris, who has been ordered out of the lineup to rest a sore ankle.

Harris has not missed a game since becoming the Lions’ starting running back three years ago. Logan, the 5-6 Miami lightning bolt, has not had a Canadian Football League start as the featured running back since leaving the Lions in 2009 for a little fame and fortune as a returner in the National Football League.

He returned to the Lions last October.

“I’m excited every time I touch the field,” Logan, 33, said Friday. “God willing, He bless me to get up in the morning and play this game. I’m always excited.”

Often, fans get that way when Logan runs.

He is small and fast enough that he seems to disappear in a crowd, only to re-emerge with the ball tucked under his arm as he streaks toward daylight.

Before this season, his career average as a CFL running back was 7.3 yards per carry. But Logan is most dangerous returning punts and kicks, which is what earned him four years’ worth of NFL paycheques from the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions.

And that would have been a decent football career had Logan called it one when he was released by Detroit after the 2012 season.

Instead, after waiting the summer for an NFL training-camp invitation that never came, Logan changed Lions and returned to Vancouver in October and played the last four games of the season.

“Not a lot has changed, man,” B.C. head coach Mike Benevides said.

“He’s still extremely elusive. He takes a lot of pride in what he does, works hard.

“He made a lot of money (in the NFL), made a name for himself. (But) nowhere has there been any slight ego at any time. None. You can say what you want and think I’m full of crap, but he is absolutely an ultimate pro.”

Logan said he was never going to be “that guy” who returns to the CFL from the NFL and brags about the great things he saw and did. He doesn’t even talk about it, he said, except to close friend and teammate Tim Brown, another undersized runner/returner who gets back on to the active roster with the injury to Harris.

“He asks me a lot of stuff about the NFL because he didn’t get a chance to get out there,” Logan explained. “Some guys probably thought I was going to come back and be, like, more big-headed. ‘Aw, he thinks since he was in the NFL four or five years, he thinks he’s all that.’ Not at all.

“I didn’t want to sit out of football too long because it wasn’t like I was getting any younger. I just wanted to be ready when I came back. I wanted to do everything I can — run that ball, kick return, punt return, wide receiver, whatever it is — I just want to be able to help the team and win games.”

“That’s what makes Stef such a good addition to our team,” running backs coach Kelly Bates said. “It doesn’t matter what’s asked of him; he is a pro. He shows up and does his job to his best of his ability without ego. As the elder statesman of our group, that rubs off on other guys and has a positive influence on our group.”

Bates said the Lions are blessed with a group of running backs who are not only exceptionally talented, but close-knit and unselfish.

“It’s unfortunate Andrew went down because he’s a huge part of this team,” Brown said. “Lo just wants to pick up where Andrew left off. And when Andrew comes back, we just keep it rolling.”

Benevides said the Lions’ offensive philosophy won’t change without Harris, but the coach will shift his “chess pieces” to take advantage of Logan’s skill set. Logan doesn’t block or catch the ball as well as Harris does, but his explosive quickness often gives him a mismatch against linebackers in the open field.

Logan remembers starting for the Lions in 2008, when he was an unknown, undrafted rookie from the University of South Dakota who took the running back job away from Joe Smith and Ian Smart.

“I’m happy to get my first start of the season, a chance to carry the ball a little bit, carry the load and put the team on your back and show people there are more than one or two or three running backs on the B.C. Lions,” Logan said. “We’ve got a whole group of guys that can make plays.

“It’s not about the money for me. It’s about being out here with these guys and having fun and loving what you do. That’s what it’s all about for me.”

imacintyre@vancouversun.com

Follow me: @IMacVanSun

THREE THEMES

FATIGUE

The Argos’ schedule sometimes seems based on a dare. They beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 38-21 on Tuesday and had just one full practice to prepare for the Lions, who had four practices and haven’t played since winning 36-29 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats eight days ago.

QB OR NOT QB

Lions star Travis Lulay, who hasn’t played this season because of an extended recovery from shoulder surgery, did everything in practice this week to show head coach Mike Benevides he is ready. But the Lions are expected to stick, at least for now, with Kevin Glenn, who has won four of his last five starts.

BUILDING BLOCKS

Kirby Fabien returns to the starting lineup at left guard because of an injury to Jermarcus Hardrick (knee), whose absence keeps the turnstile spinning on the left side of B.C.’s offensive line. With B.C. running back Andrew Harris (ankle) replaced by tiny Stefan Logan, the Argos may try to overwhelm the Lions’ pass blocking.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

RICKY RAY, TORONTO

Quarterback

On his body of work — and with the injury to Travis Lulay — it’s hard to argue that Ray isn’t the best quarterback in the CFL. His 1,984 passing yards, second in the league, are only part of the story. Ray has completed nearly 70 per cent of his throws and his 12-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio is superb. He went 26-of-33 in Tuesday’s win against Winnipeg and the Argos lead the CFL in passing (305) and total yards (405.9) per game.

STEFAN LOGAN, B.C.

Running back

The darting 33-year-old who gets his first start Sunday at running back this season, was a ball of fire last year in the final three games, rushing 33 times for 236 yards. Logan, filling in for injured star Harris, has been prominent in the B.C. offence since the season began but should get more carries. He had a career average of 7.3 yards per carry before this season. Speedy Tim Brown returns to the active roster to back up Logan.

Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun

Sure hoping that Stefan Logan has an excellent game against Toronto. With Harris having such an excellent season before his ankle injury, Stefan Logan has been in the background rather than the spotlight this season and therefore its easy to forget what a difference he has made to our running attack and to the more than inspired play of Andrew Harris. A fresh Andrew Harris, due to the rotation, has been a difference maker as well.

I'm surprised that our Leos have not really done much to create some special plays for Logan's skil set this season (and lining up Logan stationary in the six receiver set is not a good use of his skill set). Screen passes, motion hitch screens, swing passes, quick toss plays, misdirection plays that allow for a cutback are all the types of plays that would get Logan into space. An old play we used to use in the Dunnigan era was a fake slant pass and quick reverse to Larry Key that was very effective.

Looks more and more like Kevin Glenn will start against Toronto. Fabian gets the nod at left guard as anticipated.

A win in Toronto and our Lions are in good shape to challenge for the West Division crown...a loss and we're back to being a .500 team.

[B.C.FAN]

Ricky Ray gets Jason Barnes back at slotback for this game. He has missed all but two games with a knee injury but should be a popular target on Sunday, especially in the red zone.

[David]

In 2012 we gave up an average of 76.4 yards per game, best in the CFL. In 2013 we gave up 94.4 yards per game, 2nd best in the CFL, without Khalif or a big tackle to compliment Taylor. This season, with Khalif back in the fold, (plus Jamal Johnson) we are giving up 109.7 yds. per game, 6th best in the CFL.

I asked MLF his thoughts on this topic. Do you have any thoughts David as to why we are either giving up so many yds. per game or why we are giving up so many big 20 yd. or more runs?

It looks like some teams are running some misdirection on us. Plays are being blocked one way (i.e. linemen being sealed to the right) with our linebackers going that direction, and they're cutting back to the left with some mismatches in the secondary. I recall Week One in Calgary last year (2013), their O-linemen were penetrating the second level and blocking our linebackers which allowed Cornish to eat up huge chunks of yardage. We simply weren't big enough up front. That is not the case this year.

I have noticed that bigger running plays seem to occur in the 1st half before our half-time adjustments. The Riders' Hugh Charles had something like 86 yards in the 1st half before shutting their running game down in the 2nd. Mallett's 63 yard run occurred in the 1st half (to be fair the Umpire ran a superb pick on Williams), as did LeFevour's.


DH

[sj-roc]

In 2012 we gave up an average of 76.4 yards per game, best in the CFL. In 2013 we gave up 94.4 yards per game, 2nd best in the CFL, without Khalif or a big tackle to compliment Taylor. This season, with Khalif back in the fold, (plus Jamal Johnson) we are giving up 109.7 yds. per game, 6th best in the CFL.

I asked MLF his thoughts on this topic. Do you have any thoughts David as to why we are either giving up so many yds. per game or why we are giving up so many big 20 yd. or more runs?

It looks like some teams are running some misdirection on us. Plays are being blocked one way (i.e. linemen being sealed to the right) with our linebackers going that direction, and they're cutting back to the left with some mismatches in the secondary. I recall Week One in Calgary last year (2013), their O-linemen were penetrating the second level and blocking our linebackers which allowed Cornish to eat up huge chunks of yardage. We simply weren't big enough up front. That is not the case this year.

I have noticed that bigger running plays seem to occur in the 1st half before our half-time adjustments. The Riders' Hugh Charles had something like 86 yards in the 1st half before shutting their running game down in the 2nd. Mallett's 63 yard run occurred in the 1st half (to be fair the Umpire ran a superb pick on Williams), as did LeFevour's.


DH

This seems to be a league-wide phenomenon. I haven't watched every game but I've been going through all the play-by-play data so far this year on the league's website and found 12 rushes of 30+ yds. All but one of these came in the first half of games, the lone exception being a 38yd scamper by Ssk's Will Ford about 5mins into Q4 of Tor @ Ssk in Week 5, by which point Ssk had a huge 34-9 lead and were in clock management mode.