Gettting Ready For the Playoffs

[dupsdell1]

I tend to agree, CardiacKid. While we have some talented players being inserted, it's a bit of a cheek to charge full pop for this game and not play our starters. I think there was a deal whereby if you renewed early for next year you could get a free ticket for this game? If true, that's great but doesn't help the casual fan much. I like these "flash sales" that Edmonton and Calgary are doing for the playoffs.

The worst case is that we rest our starters, it's a sloppy game and we lose, then lose again next week. I'm of the opinion that you play to win every home game, so this should not be treated or sold to the public as a glorified preseason game. DH

I agree with you you are out too win just look at what the jays did when they won thier division rested all there players for the next series and because of that they missed the home field advantage. I remember in 2000 when the lions had third place rapped up up played sask last game of the year it was passagulia night they did not sit anyone that night went on to win the grey cup

[B.C.FAN]

Calgary is changing seven starters this week.

On offence, QB Bo Levi Mitchell will be replaced by Drew Tate, as he was in the regular season finale against the Lions last year. SB Eric Rogers, the league's leading receiver, remains on the 46-man roster but is listed as a backup to Kamar Jorden. WR Joe West moves to the one-game injured list, replaced by rookie Greg Wilson. On the O-line LG Shane Bergman is replaced by John Estes, who attended training camp for the Lions but was cut when he lost the starting centre position to Jason Foster.

On defence, Canadian DT Quinn Smith replaces Micah Johnson. Johnson was one of two starting Stamps defensive linemen injured in a season-ending loss to the Lions in 2013. The Stamps didn't recover and lost the West Final at home to Saskatchewan two weeks later. The Stamps also will have two new starters in the secondary, while two others shuffle positions. Brandon Smith moves to the one-game injured list while CB Tevaughn Campbell is listed as a backup this week. Josh Bell moves to HB from safety, replaced by SFU alum Adam Berger.

[WestCoastJoe]

The Lions have declared their 46-man roster for the final regular-season game. They're resting nine starters: QB Jonathon Jennings (who is listed as backup to Travis Lulay), WR Lavelle Hawkins, SBs Bryan Burnham and Manny Arceneaux, DLs Jabar Westerman, Mic'hael Brooks and Khreem Smith, LB Alex Hoffman-Ellis and HB Ryan Phillips, who remains on the 46-man roster. Richie Leone and returner Chris Rainey are also moved to the one-game injured list.

With three of the five starting receivers being rested, Lulay and Greg McGhee will be throwing to the scout team. Geraldo Boldewijn starts in place of Hawkins at WR, Terence Jeffers-Harris starts for Burnham at SB and Courtney Taylor replaces Arceneaux at the opposite SB. I'm surprised that Austin Collie and Shawn Gore retain their starting spots but Marco Iannuzzi and Stephen Adekolu have been on the roster all year and will hopefully get some reps on offence to get ready for the playoffs. Adekolu has been used almost entirely on special teams.

There are no changes to the starting offensive line.

Andrew Harris starts as usual at RB, backed up by Shaquille Murray-Lawrence. Rookie Tim Flanders is listed as third-string RB. Iannuzzi and Murray-Lawrence are listed as the kick and punt returners, with Anthony Fera doing the kicking and punting.

On the defensive line, David Menard starts at DE for Westerman, backed up by rookie Ese Mrabure-Ajufo, rookie Lazrius Levingston from LSU starts at DT for Brooks and Craig Roh returns to the lineup, replacing Smith at DE.

Rennie Curran starts at weakside LB for Hoffman-Ellis. I'm surprised that Adam Bighill starts at MLB as usual. He is the defensive player that I would most fear losing to injury in a mean-nothing game. I hope he emerges unscathed. Casey Chin remains on the practice roster.

In the secondary, the only change to the starting lineup is the insertion of Cord Parks for Phillips at wideside HB. Phillips and Darious Lane are both listed as backups but at least one of them will likely be scratched.

Depth chart ...

Good chance to see Boldewijn and Jeffers Harris in action. Big guys. 6'4'' 220 and 6'2'' 213.

Flanders at backup RB. Levingston at DT. And Ese Mrabure Ajufo. Curran at LB.

The lineup looks good enough to me. Not really at the tryout level of preseason games, IMO. We've seen these guys in practice for months in most cases. Time to see them in game action. I expect a high level game from both teams.

[pennw]

"The Manny Show" has broken radio silence on twitter. Lots of tweet about "going where he is wanted" etc. Clearly Manny is not happy about getting some rest tomorrow.

I didn't see it the way you did at all either . Some how you looked at it selectively and missed the one a couple of tweets earlier where he says "it's a priveldge , not a right to be on a team" . You never noticed that one ?

[sj-roc]

I tend to agree, CardiacKid. While we have some talented players being inserted, it's a bit of a cheek to charge full pop for this game and not play our starters. I think there was a deal whereby if you renewed early for next year you could get a free ticket for this game? If true, that's great but doesn't help the casual fan much. I like these "flash sales" that Edmonton and Calgary are doing for the playoffs.

The worst case is that we rest our starters, it's a sloppy game and we lose, then lose again next week. I'm of the opinion that you play to win every home game, so this should not be treated or sold to the public as a glorified preseason game.


DH

Maybe there's a positive we can take from this development.

It's been often opined on here for much of the season — with supporting evidence — that GM WB is having too much input in the day-to-day running of the team when it should all be left up to JT.

But WB has in the past been vocal about not resting starters in late-season "meaningless" games out of respect for paying fans who come to the games and has walked the walk on it. I distinctly recall his open criticism in 2004 of Pinball for resting a lot of his players at that time in such a situation (and it came back to bite him in the end). So is this an indication that maybe he is giving JT proper latitude in running his team?

I know it's not the best piece of evidence you'd want to cite as proof of a non-meddling GM, but it could be seen as evidence nonetheless.

[DanoT]

I tend to agree, CardiacKid. While we have some talented players being inserted, it's a bit of a cheek to charge full pop for this game and not play our starters. I think there was a deal whereby if you renewed early for next year you could get a free ticket for this game? If true, that's great but doesn't help the casual fan much. I like these "flash sales" that Edmonton and Calgary are doing for the playoffs.

The worst case is that we rest our starters, it's a sloppy game and we lose, then lose again next week. I'm of the opinion that you play to win every home game, so this should not be treated or sold to the public as a glorified preseason game.


DH

Maybe there's a positive we can take from this development.

It's been often opined on here for much of the season — with supporting evidence — that GM WB is having too much input in the day-to-day running of the team when it should all be left up to JT.

But WB has in the past been vocal about not resting starters in late-season "meaningless" games out of respect for paying fans who come to the games and has walked the walk on it. I distinctly recall his open criticism in 2004 of Pinball for resting a lot of his players at that time in such a situation (and it came back to bite him in the end). So is this an indication that maybe he is giving JT proper latitude in running his team?

I know it's not the best piece of evidence you'd want to cite as proof of a non-meddling GM, but it could be seen as evidence nonetheless.

Great post. I want to see the Lions do what it takes to best prepare for the WSF. I think that means resting as many regular starters as possible.

[B.C.FAN]

Each team is resting its starting QB and top receiver, among other players. It's a nice position to be in. I hope no one gets hurt this week but I expect the players on the field to give their best effort, and I look forward to seeing how they perform. We may not see as many points as we otherwise would but the Lions are fully capable of winning this game and the rematch.

[sj-roc]

Each team is resting its starting QB and top receiver, among other players. It's a nice position to be in. I hope no one gets hurt this week but I expect the players on the field to give their best effort, and I look forward to seeing how they perform. We may not see as many points as we otherwise would but the Lions are fully capable of winning this game and the rematch.

With both teams expected to field much different lineups for the season finale and the playoff game, this twofer will likely have a much different complexion than one would normally see from a home-and-home in the middle of the season for which you generally have both teams fielding their best possible lineups for both games. In the latter scenario it's not unusual that teams split the series, but this sort of thinking will go out the window with the contrasting lineups in the two games. So the outcome in the first game won't necessarily favour either team the following week as much as one might normally view the situation.

[TheLionKing]

So I'm paying big bucks to see another exhibition game.

[pennw]

I tend to agree, CardiacKid. While we have some talented players being inserted, it's a bit of a cheek to charge full pop for this game and not play our starters. I think there was a deal whereby if you renewed early for next year you could get a free ticket for this game? If true, that's great but doesn't help the casual fan much. I like these "flash sales" that Edmonton and Calgary are doing for the playoffs.

The worst case is that we rest our starters, it's a sloppy game and we lose, then lose again next week. I'm of the opinion that you play to win every home game, so this should not be treated or sold to the public as a glorified preseason game.


DH

Maybe there's a positive we can take from this development.

It's been often opined on here for much of the season — with supporting evidence — that GM WB is having too much input in the day-to-day running of the team when it should all be left up to JT.

But WB has in the past been vocal about not resting starters in late-season "meaningless" games out of respect for paying fans who come to the games and has walked the walk on it. I distinctly recall his open criticism in 2004 of Pinball for resting a lot of his players at that time in such a situation (and it came back to bite him in the end). So is this an indication that maybe he is giving JT proper latitude in running his team?

I know it's not the best piece of evidence you'd want to cite as proof of a non-meddling GM, but it could be seen as evidence nonetheless.

Actually there has never been any evidence presented for any of those opinions . What you present at the end for the flip side is not evidence at all either . "I see such and such a result , therefore that had to be WB meddling" is not evidence at all . And that is all that has ever been presented . That and some maybe posting as though they have insider knowledge .
I don't buy for a minute that JT doesn't call his own shots ,good or bad . He never needed this job and still doesn't . He may well get input from WB , but IMO , that is at his discretion to take it or leave it .
As for resting starters , it's no evidence for any such speculations either . Consider that John Hufnaagel is doing the same sort of thing on the other side , did he consult with WB on that too ? The fact is this has been a common practise in the CFL for Years ,for the last regular season game for play- off bound Teams , whose position has been set .

[DanoT]

I tend to agree, CardiacKid. While we have some talented players being inserted, it's a bit of a cheek to charge full pop for this game and not play our starters. I think there was a deal whereby if you renewed early for next year you could get a free ticket for this game? If true, that's great but doesn't help the casual fan much. I like these "flash sales" that Edmonton and Calgary are doing for the playoffs.

The worst case is that we rest our starters, it's a sloppy game and we lose, then lose again next week. I'm of the opinion that you play to win every home game, so this should not be treated or sold to the public as a glorified preseason game.


DH

Maybe there's a positive we can take from this development.

It's been often opined on here for much of the season — with supporting evidence — that GM WB is having too much input in the day-to-day running of the team when it should all be left up to JT.

But WB has in the past been vocal about not resting starters in late-season "meaningless" games out of respect for paying fans who come to the games and has walked the walk on it. I distinctly recall his open criticism in 2004 of Pinball for resting a lot of his players at that time in such a situation (and it came back to bite him in the end). So is this an indication that maybe he is giving JT proper latitude in running his team?

I know it's not the best piece of evidence you'd want to cite as proof of a non-meddling GM, but it could be seen as evidence nonetheless.

Actually there has never been any evidence presented for any of those opinions . What you present at the end for the flip side is not evidence at all either . "I see such and such a result , therefore that had to be WB meddling" is not evidence at all . And that is all that has ever been presented . That and some maybe posting as though they have insider knowledge .
I don't buy for a minute that JT doesn't call his own shots ,good or bad . He never needed this job and still doesn't . He may well get input from WB , but IMO , that is at his discretion to take it or leave it .
As for resting starters , it's no evidence for any such speculations either . Consider that John Hufnaagel is doing the same sort of thing on the other side , did he consult with WB on that too ? The fact is this has been a common practise in the CFL for Years ,for the last regular season game for play- off bound Teams , whose position has been set .

I was agreeing with most of your post until the underlined part where you appear to be stating as fact that it is common practice to rest starters when it is an end of the season mean nothing game. Hufnagel in the past has played starters in meaningless games who have then sustained injuries resulting in starters not playing in the playoff game and he is now resting starters for this game. So it is difficult to say something is common practice when we have an example of a coach doing opposite things in similar situations. There is no agreed to consensus in either the CFL or NFL as to which is better: rest or play starters?

[Dusty]

I do not have a great deal of inside information or coaching experience, however, as a fan, I have seen the dismal results of "playing not to lose". I have also seen the equally dismal results of "playing not to get injured". I think you either play to win with your best team, or you rest your starters and play others so that your starters do not have to play not to get injured. It seems to me that resting players who have that competitive urge to always play (as they must) is a 50/50 proposition.... you either come back the next week full of fire or you sulk..... either way, it remains a dress rehearsal for next game/year.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions and Stamps are not just resting key players such as their starting QBs to save them from injury. In many cases, they're resting players who have been playing hurt and can use a week off to heal. Hawkins and Rainey have both been fighting through injuries in recent weeks. In his weekly radio interview on Tuesday, Tedford said this game gives the injured players a chance to rest and heal up.

[JohnHenry]

Giving some starters the opportunity to pad their stats is also a factor, especially those in contention for MOP awards and league supremacy like Bighill and Harris...who are key players who could have been rested.

[Dusty]

The Lions and Stamps are not just resting key players such as their starting QBs to save them from injury. In many cases, they're resting players who have been playing hurt and can use a week off to heal. Hawkins and Rainey have both been fighting through injuries in recent weeks. In his weekly radio interview on Tuesday, Tedford said this game gives the injured players a chance to rest and heal up.

Yes, resting players who are "dinged up" a bit is understandable..... if they played, they would be playing to not get even more injured.... and with that in the back of their minds, those are the times when players are likely to get even more dinged up......

At least todays game should not have any controversy about whether or not the roof should be open....