Lions Prepare for Saskatchewan Rough Riders

[Blitz]

Home field has been anything but an advantage in the CFL so far this season. Through three weeks, the visiting team has posted an 8-3-1 record. Lets hope that trend continues for our B.C. LIons as they prepare to play the Riders on Saturday in Regina. Our Lions are 2-1 going into enemy territory while the Riders are 0-2, losing their last contest 39-36 to the Eskimos, as Jones gambled on third and one in overtime for the victory and came up short.

Jonathan Jennings will lead our offence once again. Jennings was pulled in the third quarter against Regina, making way for Travis Lulay, who put up more passing yards in one and one third quarters than Jennings had prior to that point. Our run game is the best in the CFL to date but our passing attack has struggled often. Our offence has the lowest passing percentage completion rate in th6e CFL

Shawn Gore is our teams receiver over our first 3 games, ranked 7th in CFL reception yards. Manny Arsenault, the 6th most targeted receiver in the CFL is next, ranked 20th in CFL receiving yards over our first 3 games.

Anthony Allen rushed for over 100 yards in his first outing at tailback, averaging 6.7 yancrds per carry. He also had 3 receptions for 32 yards, including a pass and run touchdown in which he ran over defenders. Whether Allen will get a second start at tailback against his old team or whether Jeremiah Johnson returns to his starting spot is undetermined at this point.

The Riders made massive personnel changes in the off-season as Chris Jones brought his coaching staff over from Edmonton and decided to really shake things up in Regina. However, one change that Jones did not make was at quarterback, as Darian Durrant remains the Riders offensive leader. Naaman Roosevelt and Rickey Collins have been Durrants favorite targets in the Riders new look passing attack but he does have familiarity with Rob Bagg.

Former Argo tailback Curtis Steele is the Riders starting tailback and he has averaged 6.0 yards per carry in his first two games.

But when we think about Chris Jones, we usually think defense. Its where he carved his reputation in the CFL before taking over in Edmonton and winning the Grey Cup with his trade mark aggressive defence there. One usually expects a lot of blitzes from Jones and a lot of press coverage. However, against Edmonton, Jones ran a lot of 3 man defensive line, and the Riders defense struggled with it.

Jones does a lot of unpredictable things with his defenses, including using rush ends to drop back at times into linebacking spots. This season, he has coverted former Lions tight end A.C. Leonard into a defensive end, with no prior experience at that position. Jones does things his way and he has been successful doing so.

Defense had been the theme of our Leos 2016 season early success. Our defense had kept us in our first two games until we were able to get untracked offensively and that theme continued in the first half against the Argos. However, in the second half, the Argos successfully ran the football against us, with Brooks out of the lineup and it was a major factor in our first loss of the season.

What are the keys to a successful game against the Riders? No doubt we'll need to continue to run the football very well but we can also anticipate that Jones will have a defensive game plan that focuses on taking away that strength. No doubt that we need to improve our passing attack in order to win this game.

Defensively, we have to make adjustments to our run defense. If Brooks is healthy enough to return, that should make a significant difference. But we also need to make adjustments to keep offensive lineman off Bighill and Eliminian, who were successfully blocked in the second half against Toronto. Eliminian and Bighill also need to scrape better against the run and not be as vulnerable to the cut back.

Special teams have played an important role in our season so far. We lead the CFL in punt return average.

The Riders will be hungry for a win, having lost their first two games, playing at home and having lost a very close contest against Edmonton. Our Leos began the season with a lot of confidence and the loss to the Argos was unexpected. How we respond in Regina will tell us a lot about this 2016 edition of the B.C. Lions.

We'll either be 3-1 heading into the bye week or 2-2. Its an important contest for Wally Buono and our Leos in this early part of our season.

[Blitz]

I found this an interesting story regarding Jones Edmonton coaching staff joining him in Riderville

The Untold Story behind the Assistant Coaching Staff Exodus to Saskatchewan
By Gerry Moddejonge
Thursday, July 07, 2016


At first, it sounded like just another outlandish Grey Cup week rumour.

Then, only nine days after victoriously hoisting the historic trophy in Winnipeg, stunningly, those departure rumours turned prophetic. Yes, Chris Jones was indeed leaving the Edmonton Eskimos to become general manager and head coach of the much hated Saskatchewan Roughriders.

But that was just the first shoe to drop. The second was when the Eskimos faithful, already sick to its stomach, learned the entire Edmonton coaching staff – minus Kez McCorvey, who accepted a position at Middle Tennessee State – was following Jones to Regina.

Jones leaving was devastating enough, but watching the whole staff leave en mass created absolute outrage among the Green and Gold faithful. Why and how could they be so disloyal? How could euphoria so quickly turn into perceived acts of ingratitude by leaving for an arch rival? Well, seven months later, it now appears the story goes far beyond what has previously been viewed as the entire staff simply leaving for greener financial pastures.

According to a CFL coach who has worked with members of Jones' staff in the past, there was a very significant – and previously undiscussed – element to the mass exodus.

According to this source, only eight days after Chris Jones had accepted the dual role in Saskatchewan, his assistant coaching staff, many of whom had not made final decisions to stay or go, found out they were not being paid on Dec. 15, discovering they would not be compensated for the two weeks subsequent to winning the Grey Cup, even though they were still employed by the club.

When the assistant coaches inquired, they were told that the instruction of non payment came directly from Eskimos GM Ed Hervey. Incensed, any doubt about how many would follow Jones to Saskatchewan was eliminated immediately. Not only did Stephen McAdoo, Craig Dickenson, Jarious Jackson, Mike Scheper, Ed Philion, Phillip Lolley and Jason Shivers accept offers to join Jones in Regina, but the Riders organization “made them whole,” by agreeing to pay them for the entire month of December.

When asked about the matter on Thursday, Hervey's comments were both interesting and revealing. And, in spite of being fined by the league office for previously suggesting the Riders tampered with Jones and Co. prior to the Grey Cup game, he once again stuck to his guns.

"As far as when guys leave, I knew two weeks before the Grey Cup that there was stuff going on, so I was prepared for it," Hervey said. "I was in full motion on trying to prepare for the next guy. I was looking for a new head coach and I wanted the give the next head coach an opportunity to hire his own staff.

"I wasn't interested in holdover, I was interested in new. That's the direction I wanted to go in. I wasn't going to be put in a situation where Jason (Maas) had to interview anybody from the previous staff to hold them over. To me, it was an all-or-nothing move (to Saskatchewan). That's what I was comfortable with, and it was what I was hoping for. And, it happened that way.

"There are no secrets in this league. People can pretend they are hush-hush, but like I said earlier, what I was fined for happened."

When asked about the matter on Thursday, Chris Jones took the high road.

"Yeah, my guys were under contracts for two more weeks (until the end of December)," he said. "He (Hervey) had already spoke to Jason, I think, and they (the Eskimos) wanted change. So, we got what we wanted and they got what they wanted."

GModdejonge@postmedia.com

[WestCoastJoe]

Good work, Blitz.

Issues:

1 Continue to run the ball. Jones will have his team prepped to stop what has worked well for us so far.

2 Passing game adjustments. Jones will bring heat against Jennings. Will we be ready? Can our receivers get separation?

3 We must be effective in stopping the run. Will the undersized interior of our D Line keep the hogs in check? Or will those hogs get good contact on Biggie and Solly?

We had two wins to start the season. Reality has arrived after a home loss to the Argos. Smart teams adjust. They take the film, and come up with even minute ways to attack. How a receiver gets separation. How a team run blocks. How to get to the linebackers on running plays. Vanilla does not cut it. Each game needs creative, fresh planning. The jury is out in looking at how we adjust, game to game, and within the games.

Teams seem to have figured out ways to limit the effectiveness of Jennings in the passing game. They seem to have figured out how to run on us.
..........

Re Jones. He is loyal to himself.

Re Hervey. He makes clear decisions. But this CFL fan is not sure if his methods will be productive in the long run. Is it all about him? Dunno ...

[squishy35]

We need a lot more play action out of the backfield.... The offence so far has been very un-imaginative in the formations and play calling. The other BIG thing that is missing is a bonafide deep threat that can get past coverage. What I saw in the Toronto game was very good defence by the Argos in the coverage past 10 yards. They were literally attached at the hip of any receiver running a medium or deep route.

[TheLionKing]

Seems like everyone missed the most important key of all........... Ryan Phillips saying hello to Darian Durant.

[CardiacKid]

I think Jones' overall goal regardless of which team he is facing, is to beat them physically man to man, one on one. Putting aside game plans, offensive schemes, stunts and gambles, he wants his players to ultimately come out on top in the physical battles.
The Lions will likely need to literally pound this one out if they want the 2 points. Play mean and give no quarter. The usual suspects will need to contribute as well as guys like Edem, Vaillancourt (if he is playing) and even Manny (who can make DBs suffer when he decides to throw blocks) to play mean.
Hopefully Brooks will be back; if not perhaps Uko should start.

[Blitz]

I think Jones' overall goal regardless of which team he is facing, is to beat them physically man to man, one on one. Putting aside game plans, offensive schemes, stunts and gambles, he wants his players to ultimately come out on top in the physical battles.
The Lions will likely need to literally pound this one out if they want the 2 points. Play mean and give no quarter. The usual suspects will need to contribute as well as guys like Edem, Vaillancourt (if he is playing) and even Manny (who can make DBs suffer when he decides to throw blocks) to play mean.
Hopefully Brooks will be back; if not perhaps Uko should start.

If Brooks can't go, I would put Uko in there too. We don't need the extra International end. Uko goes about 288 pounds but he was not a good run stopper at USC. I still wonder why we said goodbye to Zack Minter. He was over 300 pounds and could play nose and that complimented Brooks play.

Jones has traditionally liked to blitz and play press man coverage but he played a lot of zone against Edmonton.

Three ways defenses play the spread (or a combination of all three). The first is to blitz it and play zone behind it, the second is to rush three and drop 9 into zone coverage (or combination man/zone coverage), and the third is to blitz it and play press man coverage.

It will be interesting to see how Jones plays us. My guess is that we'll probably see a lot of blitzes (which will work as run blitzes to defend our run as well as pass blitzes) and press man coverage. The big question is whether Jones thinks he has the quality of defensive backs to play that style of defense.

[Alputt]

Does anyone know if Allen is starting at RB again? I thought he did a pretty good job last week, but Johnson is presumably starting once healed?

[chwk_lionsfan]

Looks like Brooks is back in on Defense and Allen starting against Sask. Fabien will keep his place on the Oline this weekend too.

[B.C.FAN]

It will be interesting to see how Jones plays us. My guess is that we'll probably see a lot of blitzes (which will work as run blitzes to defend our run as well as pass blitzes) and press man coverage. The big question is whether Jones thinks he has the quality of defensive backs to play that style of defense.

Jones doesn't have the quality of DBs to play a lot of press man coverage. He also doesn't have run stoppers on the D-line. That's why he started former Lion project Ese Mrabure-Ajufo at defensive tackle last week and traded for 300-pound defensive lineman Cedric McKinley from Edmonton this week. He is still building his team. It will take time to get there. The Lions are lucky to be playing the Riders early in the season while they're still figuring things out.

[Blitz]

It will be interesting to see how Jones plays us. My guess is that we'll probably see a lot of blitzes (which will work as run blitzes to defend our run as well as pass blitzes) and press man coverage. The big question is whether Jones thinks he has the quality of defensive backs to play that style of defense.

Jones doesn't have the quality of DBs to play a lot of press man coverage. He also doesn't have run stoppers on the D-line. That's why he started former Lion project Ese Mrabure-Ajufo at defensive tackle last week and traded for 300-pound defensive lineman Cedric McKinley from Edmonton this week. He is still building his team. It will take time to get there. The Lions are lucky to be playing the Riders early in the season while they're still figuring things out.

I agree B.C. Fan. Chris Jones will eventually get his defense playing well with the type of players who fit with his system...it will only be a matter of time. He's proven that in the past.

Certainly its a surprise to see A.C. Leonard converted to a defensive end and Ese Mrabure-Ajufo playing on Jones defensive line.

Two Leo rookies who have made very positive early season impressions are Charles Vaillancourt, our first round draft choice. A 329 pound right guard, Vaillancourt will likely not play in Regina but he sure looked good in his first two games.

On defense International rookie Loucheiz Purifoy, playing nickel back on our defense has also impressed. He had two forced fumbles and an interception against Hamilton and a sack against Toronto. He has 9 defensive tackles so far, is aggressive and very athletic. Finding a new nickel back who could play was a key need for our defense for 2016 and it looks like we've found a very good one.

Lions’ Purifoy keen on going from zero to hero, on and off field

Cam Tucker

July 12, 2016

Loucheiz Purifoy may wear No. 0 with the B.C. Lions, but ask those involved with the Canadian Football League team about what stands out when watching the rookie defensive back, and they all have one common response: Pure athleticism.

That was noted as perhaps his best strength, according to a combine scouting report on the NFL’s website, and it holds true with what the Lions have seen from him — especially since training camp and through the pre-season.

When he’s done with football workouts and lifting weights in the morning, Purifoy said he’ll play basketball for up to eight hours — “Everyday I’m looking for a gym after football practice,” he said. It’s one way of building up his foot work. He ran track and would’ve continued in college, but said his football coach at the University of Florida told him it wasn’t a good idea.

What the Lions and their fans are discovering through three weeks of the regular season is that, in addition to that coveted athleticism, Purifoy has what seems to be an innate ability to make plays.

“It’s so evident, you can’t miss it even if you wanted to,” said head coach and GM Wally Buono. “That was, to me, the issue. We had to get him on the field somehow because this guy, in time, should be a big-time player.”

Since training camp, the 23-year-old Purifoy has left such an impression on the Lions that he won the starting nickelback position to begin the season, taking over for Josh Johnson, who is now in the NFL. Purifoy hasn’t looked back with nine defensive tackles as a versatile member of Mark Washington’s defence.

His impact goes further, with an interception and two forced fumbles against Hamilton and a quarterback sack in last week’s loss to Toronto. Yet in that aforementioned NFL draft profile, where it lists a player’s supposed weaknesses, it stated Purifoy’s instincts and anticipation were lacking.

“He’s very athletic. But even more so, he understands football. He’s a very good football player. If you take that athleticism and his football IQ … you got yourself a pretty good ballplayer. That’s what you have with him,” said Washington, the Lions’ defensive coordinator.

“The thing about instincts — obviously, you’re born with instincts. But football instincts, you’re not born with those. Those are things that actually can be developed. He may not have had those (football instincts) then, but he’s developed them over the years and he’s still developing them.”

Before signing Purifoy in March, and bringing him to training camp, the Lions put him on their negotiation list, after a team scout in the U.S. saw Purifoy at an NFL camp last year. The age, the size — he is listed at 5-11 and 190 pounds — and his athletic ability were all attractive elements for the Lions.

“Being the big body he is — we were trying to get bigger in the defensive backfield — and just felt he was a good fit for what we wanted to do,” said Neil McEvoy, the Lions’ director of football operations and player personnel.

Purifoy has told Postmedia in previous interviews that wearing No. 0 for the Leos represents a fresh start.

His past includes being waived by the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts because of “minor, in-house disciplinary issues,” according to one report in the Indianapolis Star. Before that, he was arrested for misdemeanour marijuana possession and had another encounter with police, however no charges stemmed from that incident because he cooperated with an investigation.

It’s a past he doesn’t like to discuss. When asked, he described his hometown of Pensacola, Fla., as “hectic.” In this case, being on the opposite end of the continent playing football can be advantageous.

“I’m glad to be away from home,” he continued. “It’s just a lot of bad influences. I’m just trying to be one of the positive vibes.”

To receive an opportunity from the Lions has been, in Purifoy’s own words, a blessing.

It’s one thing to be given another chance — Washington noted that Purifoy’s previous transgressions have been “absolved” and he’s been a model professional since joining the Lions while Buono acknowledged there was no real hesitation on his part to bring in this player, as the club was willing to take a risk — but it’s another to actually make it count, which so far is what Purifoy has been able to do.

“I could be at home. I could have no calls from nobody. They gave me a chance so I give them all I’ve got,” said Purifoy. “You never know what could happen after this.”

[Blitz]

An interesting stat going into our game against Regina is that the Rough Riders have only given up one sack in their first two outings.

Its a good thing that Brooks is back in our lineup for Regina. We missed him against Toronto.

[Robbie]

An interesting stat going into our game against Regina is that the Rough Riders have only given up one sack in their first two outings.

Roughriders (one word), not the CFL team based out of Ottawa two generations back.

[Sir Purrcival]

An interesting stat going into our game against Regina is that the Rough Riders have only given up one sack in their first two outings.

Its a good thing that Brooks is back in our lineup for Regina. We missed him against Toronto.

Yes but Edmonton screwed the pooch in that department a few times in that last game. They may only have one against but it could just as easily be 3 or 4. What is they say, good to be lucky, lucky to be good.

[CardiacKid]

An interesting stat going into our game against Regina is that the Rough Riders have only given up one sack in their first two outings.

Its a good thing that Brooks is back in our lineup for Regina. We missed him against Toronto.

In their game against the Esks, the Riders went with 3 internationals on the offensive line; not sure if that was the case in their first game. That may mean St. John gets rushed into a starting role perhaps? Particularly if Jones wants international talent in the receiving corps.