Leos Prepare to Battle the Stamps

[WestCoastJoe]

Westerman is listed at 280. Brooks at 295. Menard 259. Forde 262.

Do we have enough heft to eat up O Linemen over 300 pounds and the massive Messam? Can we stop a concentrated running game? Do we have DL large enough to absorb the size of OL and keep them off of our LBs? We hope so. MW has made the right plans and calls so far this year.

1 Protect Jennings. This fan is somewhat concerned that JJ has avoided trouble with his quick reads and quick releases. Methinks we need some more protection by way of schemes.

2 Run the ball. We have huge hogs. Effective running game so far this year. Keep it up.

3 Stop Messam. Easier said than done. We are putting a load of expectations on Brooks and Westerman, it seems to me. If they do not absorb the OL, Biggie and Solly might get locked up with OL just enough to give Messam avenues. MW might be counting on Brooks and Westerman to make plays on Messam. Fine, if they make the plays, but if not, and if the OL gets to our LBs, ouch.

This game will be a good test of our team. Should be the usual, intense encounter.

[B.C.FAN]

Westerman is listed at 280. Brooks at 295. Menard 259. Forde 262.

I don't believe any of those numbers. Brooks is probably closest to the mark. In the last game he was eating up doubleteams from O-linemen with a combined weight of over 620 pounds. Westerman and Forde have also bulked up this year with their switch inside.

[WestCoastJoe]

Westerman is listed at 280. Brooks at 295. Menard 259. Forde 262.

I don't believe any of those numbers. Brooks is probably closest to the mark. In the last game he was eating up doubleteams from O-linemen with a combined weight of over 620 pounds. Westerman and Forde have also bulked up this year with their switch inside.

That is good to hear, based on your observations.

Roster info has been suspect for years. Care should be given to its accuracy.

So far, so good this with our run stopping. This game will be a good test.

[Blitz]

Westerman is listed at 280. Brooks at 295. Menard 259. Forde 262.

I don't believe any of those numbers. Brooks is probably closest to the mark. In the last game he was eating up doubleteams from O-linemen with a combined weight of over 620 pounds. Westerman and Forde have also bulked up this year with their switch inside.

I would have preferred that our Leos went with a two import defensive tackles this season and kept Minter or went out and signed a huge penetrating nose tackle. That would have forced single teams on Brooks. It also would have helped to keep offensive lineman from blocking downfield on our linebackers.

I believe that Menard is good enough to start at defensive end and Roh is not an upgrade there. Forde can play defensive end or defensive tackle. In fact, he is a bit light for defensive tackle in the rotation. Max Forde is six-foot-five, 272 pounds (perhaps bigger now), has a big wingspan and very good 40yd. time. Even though he was drafted in the 7th round, he had the best analytics in the 2015 draft. In the 2015 CFL draft, Duane Ford had Maxx Forde rated above Use Mrabure-Ajufo and said this about Maxx Forde at the time - "his athleticism, frame, and intelligence suggest that he still has significant upside".

Forde was a three starter at defensive end at Idaho.

[Blitz]

Thanks WCJ, for posting the depth chart.

Three key changes for this game 1) Clarke slots in for T.J. Lee (we've also signed two defensive backs this week to push Clarke 2) Allen is slotted as the starter on the depth chart and I sure hope that he is our starter at tailback against Calgary and 3) Bryan Burnham has been moved to the outside slot position, in Moore's old spot and Boldewijn steps into the inside slot position opposite Arseneaux.

[Qman]

Westerman is listed at 280. Brooks at 295. Menard 259. Forde 262.

I don't believe any of those numbers. Brooks is probably closest to the mark. In the last game he was eating up doubleteams from O-linemen with a combined weight of over 620 pounds. Westerman and Forde have also bulked up this year with their switch inside.

I would have preferred that our Leos went with a two import defensive tackles this season and kept Minter or went out and signed a huge penetrating nose tackle. That would have forced single teams on Brooks. It also would have helped to keep offensive lineman from blocking downfield on our linebackers.

I believe that Menard is good enough to start at defensive end and Roh is not an upgrade there. Forde can play defensive end or defensive tackle. In fact, he is a bit light for defensive tackle in the rotation. Max Forde is six-foot-five, 272 pounds (perhaps bigger now), has a big wingspan and very good 40yd. time. Even though he was drafted in the 7th round, he had the best analytics in the 2015 draft. In the 2015 CFL draft, Duane Ford had Maxx Forde rated above Use Mrabure-Ajufo and said this about Maxx Forde at the time - "his athleticism, frame, and intelligence suggest that he still has significant upside".

Forde was a three starter at defensive end at Idaho.

they went with allen at RE and uko on pr instead of minter. i suspect special teams was a factor putting allen on the 46

[Blitz]

Scott Mitchell of the Calgary Herald looks at five battles to watch on Friday night when our Leos play the Stamps.

These are the key battles that I see for the game.

1. Charleton Hughes vs. Antonio Johnso
Charleton Hughes is an excellent pass rusher. Antonio Johnson is only playing in his 5th pro start. Johnson will need to play well against Hughes in order to give Jennings time to throw.

2. Bakari Grant or Marquay McDaniel vs Stephen Clarke

Stephen Clarke will get his first start at boundary halfback and the Stamps will be looking to exploit him.

3. Mic'hael Brooks vs. Jerome Messam

It will be up to our defensive line to shut down the holes that Messam likes to run in. A key to stopping Messam is to get penetration. Brooks can play a key role in this regard.

4. Jermome Messam vs. Anthony Allen

Jerome Messam was shut down in our first game against the Stamps. They will be looking to run the football this time. Anthony Allen has the best average yds per run (6.2) in the CFL. Its a battle of two power backs and both will need good offensive line blocking to be successful.

5. Jonathan Jennings vs. Bo Levi Mitchell

A lot will play into which quarterback is most successful. Game planning, blocking, play calling will all be factors as will the play of the defense they face. However, the CFL is a quarterback driven league and making plays is also part of the recipe for quarterback success. Jennings is coming off his best passing game of his career. Bo Levi Mitchell is a very poised, skilled quarterback. With both quarterbacks facing tough defenses, an elevated game will be required for victory.

B.C. Lions at Calgary Stampeders: 5 battles to watch in Week 6

Scott Mitchell - Calgary Herald


If you include the two-game pre-season slate, the Calgary Stampeders have been through six different game-days so far this season, and four of them have been against those two franchises.

Friday’s clash with the Leos at McMahon Stadium (8 p.m., TSN, News Talk 770) will make it five of seven.

But unlike the Bombers — who the Stampeders (2-1-1) have dispatched in relatively easy fashion twice already in the regular season, including last Thursday’s 33-18 win at Investors Group Field — the Lions (3-1) have placed a blemish on the Red & White’s record.

That 20-18 loss in Week 1 at BC Place still stings — just about every Stampeders player believes they gave the game away — and they’re looking to make things right in the rematch.

Here are five battles to watch in a matchup for first place in the West Division:

STC Mark Kilam vs. KR Chris Rainey

Rainey is off to a terrific start in 2016, leading the CFL in punt-return average (13.1) and kick-return average (29.0). The former Florida Gator has become a Stampeders killer over the past year, running back a pair of touchdowns in the return game last year, and then ripping off a 72-yard punt return that finished in the end zone in Week 1, helping the Lions to a two-point win. But the Stamps did shut the bringer of rain down last year in the playoffs, and Kilam will look to repeat that game plan with his coverage teams.

RT Ucambre Williams vs. DE Alex Bazzie

After suffering through a sophomore slump last season — eight sacks in 15 games would be a career year for some guys, but expectations were high coming off a 10-sack season in 2014 — Bazzie has started hot in 2016, racking up four sacks in four games to tie Hamilton Tiger-Cats veteran John Chick for the league lead. That’ll provide a stiff test for Williams, a 23-year-old rookie out of South Alabama making not only his first CFL start but his first start at right tackle in lieu of veteran stalwart Dan Federkeil.

CB Ciante Evans vs. WR Marco Iannuzzi

Now fully recovered from a toe injury, it didn’t take long for Evans to supplant veteran Fred Bennett at field-side cornerback this week. Bennett is off the roster completely, and Evans will be looking to keep the job permanently with a lockdown job on Iannuzzi, a brainy Calgary product who went to Harvard. Iannuzzi has just five receptions on 11 targets this season, but someone will have to pick up the slack for Nick Moore, who blew out his ACL celebrating a touchdown.

K Rene Paredes vs. K Richie Leone

One year ago, Leone, in the first season of the extended 32-yard extra points, missed a CFL-high 11 point-after attempts. This season, Paredes is doing his best to erase the Lions’ big-legged punter/kicker from the record books by missing five PATs through the first four games of the season. Paredes and Leone also sit seventh and eighth, respectively, in field-goal percentage this season, ahead of only Montreal Alouettes kicker Boris Bede and his epic struggles out east. In what’s expected to be a close divisional game, neither one can afford to leave points on the field again.

SB Lemar Durant vs. HB Ryan Phillips

The last time we saw Durant, he was making a spectacular leaping grab down the sideline at BC Place in Week 1. The only problem was the fact the 23-year-old limped off the field with a high-ankle sprain after that 31-yard catch and was forced to sit out the next three games. But the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder practised in full this week and is ready to return against his hometown team and Phillips, a player 10 years older than him who he grew up watching. The youth and playmaking ability of Durant against the wiliest of wily veterans should be fun to watch.

smitchell@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @ScottMitchellPM

[SammyGreene]

Funny the Stamps felt they gave the game away and they are right not because they outplayed the Lions but only because BC's punt blocking was an absolute disaster.

A win would be fantastic but I would be content with a very competitive loss too just to reconfirm the Lions are a legimate heavyweight in the Western Division. Need the offence firing on close to all cylinders right out of the gate. Something that is rare so far this season. The less Mitchell is on the field the better so establishing the running game early would be a big plus.

[Blitz]

Funny the Stamps felt they gave the game away and they are right not because they outplayed the Lions but only because BC's punt blocking was an absolute disaster.

A win would be fantastic but I would be content with a very competitive loss too just to reconfirm the Lions are a legimate heavyweight in the Western Division. Need the offence firing on close to all cylinders right out of the gate. Something that is rare so far this season. The less Mitchell is on the field the better so establishing the running game early would be a big plus.

No question we need the offence firing out of the gate Sammy!

I'm starting to wonder if we are being asked to drink a little Kool-Aid about the size of our offensive line, in comparison to other teams.

For example here are the weights of our Leos offensive lineman and the Calgary offensive line.

B.C.Lions

Center: Cody Husband - 307 pounds
Left Guard: Hunter Steward - 315 pounds
Right Guard: Kirby Fabian - 305 pounds
Left Tackle: Jovan Olafoye -325 pounds
Right Tackle: Antonio Johnson - 305 pounds

Total: 1,557 pounds

Calgary Stampeders

Center: Pierre Lavertu - 302 pounds
Left Guard: Shane Bergman - 347 pounds
Right Guard: Spencer Wilson -331 pounds
Left Tackle: Derrick Dennis - 341 pounds
Right Tackle: Dan Federkeil - 315 pounds (Ucambre Williams - 285 pounds)

Total: 1636 pounds

Note: Ucambre Williams will replace Federkeil for this game. That would reduce the total weight of the Calgary offensive line by 30 pounds to 1606 pounds.

The reality is that our offensive line is not the biggest offensive line in the league and its certainly not as big as Calgary's offensive line. If Vaillancourt and Adcock were in our lineup, we would still not have as big an offensive line as Calgary does.

Calgary's guards are especially huge. Add 268 pound tailback to the mix and that's a lot of beef when its focus is to run the football. When all their starters are healthy Calgary has four starting National offensive lineman and a starting National tailback in Messam. That gives them lots of options regarding their ratio, in terms of playing Internationals.

Hope this provides some perspective regarding the size of our offensive line, whose size has often been a topic so far this season.

[B.C.FAN]

A game featuring the league's two top defences will likely come down to turnovers and special teams.

The Lions have a record of 3-1 this year despite being minus-2 in turnover margin. They've been able to overcome their turnovers on talent, as they did last week in Saskatchewan, but they're playing with fire to expect to do it against Calgary.

The Lions won the turnover battle 2-1 in their two-point victory over the Stamps in Week 1. The first Calgary turnover was T.J. Lee's sack and forced fumble against Bo Levi Mitchell inside the B.C. 30 yard line, killing a potential Calgary scoring drive. The second was a goal-line stand by B.C. that resulted in a turnover on downs after the Stampeders had blocked a B.C. punt (one of three punts blocked or partially blocked on the day) and returned it to the one-yard line. B.C. special teams redeemed themselves with a 72-yard Chris Rainey for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to give the Lions their first and only lead of the game. Rene Paredes also missed two field goal attempts. All of those turnovers and special teams plays were pivotal. Don't sleep on special teams in this game.

[WestCoastJoe]

Thanks WCJ, for posting the depth chart.

Three key changes for this game 1) Clarke slots in for T.J. Lee (we've also signed two defensive backs this week to push Clarke 2) Allen is slotted as the starter on the depth chart and I sure hope that he is our starter at tailback against Calgary and 3) Bryan Burnham has been moved to the outside slot position, in Moore's old spot and Boldewijn steps into the inside slot position opposite Arseneaux.

We all pitch in, Blitz. About the time that I get around to checking, I almost always find that BCFAN has already posted the link. I have done the picture often enough that I can quickly mess around and post it.

Great work on your previews and post game analyses. Serious fans know the time and passion that such work takes.