Leos Prepare for Argos

[Blitz]

Our 6-3 B.C. Lions, coming off a hard fought, exciting win over Ottawa now prepare to play the 4-4 Toronto Argos. It will be our Leos second consecutive road game against an East Division opponent.

Our Leos will also be playing against Ricky Ray who is returning to the Toronto starting lineup. This will be the third time this season our defense will face a talented quarterback coming back from injury. First it was Zack Collaras, then Trevor Harris, and now its the veteran Ray that will challenge us.

The B.C. Lions have been an excellent road team this season. We've won every road game so far, except our heartbreaking loss in overtime to the Calgary Stampeders, a game in which we led decisively until the closing moments.

Toronto has also won all of its road games this season but they have not been good at home, only winning one, while losing four games in their own stadium. That stat bodes well for our Leos but we also lost to the Argos at home, so this is not a team to take lightly.

The Argos also sent a strong message this week to its veterans. The Argos released Keon Raymond, a captain and starting linebacker who was considered a leader amongst his teammates. Raymond was one of the Argos highest paid players after coming over from Calgary in free agency. Its a head scratcher, as Raymond had 2 interceptions this season, returning one for a 38 yard touchdown in his previous game, a sack, and was one of the leading tacklers on the Argos.

Lets have a closer look at this matchup:

OFFENCE

Our Leos offence continues to be a work in progress. Our offence will be led by quarterback Jonathan Jennings, who can make every throw, and has shown his poise at crunch time.

However, our Leos have dropped to second in CFL scoring. Our running attack still leads the CFL in rushing attempts and rushing yards. Jeremiah Johnson has started five games for our Leos and has a 5.2 yds. average per rush. Anthony Allen has started four games for our Leos and has a 5.3 yd. average per rush. Both have different styles of running the football. I tend to prefer Allen behind a big offensive line but having two tailbacks, each who can come into a game fresh is positive and the competition keeps them highly motivated.

Our Leos are now 8th in the CFL in passing yards. Only Toronto has passed for less yards and they were without Ricky Ray, their staring quarterback for a period of time. Our net offence reflects our offensive inconsistency.

Our time of possession, based upon both offence and defense, leads the CFL. Its been an important factor in our success so far this season.

Our offensive line personnel decisions have recently been under the microscope. We inserted O'Neil, a 36 year old backup center and guard in place of Steward, stayed with Kirby Fabian at right guard, even though starting rookie guard Charles Vaillencourt was healthy, and replaced starter Antonio Johnson with Levy Adcock the last two games.

Buono began the season stating he wanted a bigger, more aggressive offensive line. Steward and Vaillencourt are bigger, more aggressive, and more athletic offensive lineman than the players who are starting ahead of them. Adcock adds size to the lineup but he has not impressed in his first two starts. Our Leos offensive line, with Steward and Vaillencourt starting, was dominating to begin the season and Johnson was solid in pass protection.

Last game Jonathan Jennings was sacked six times and could have been sacked many more times if not for his mobility. Buono has stated our offensive line play needs to be better. Whether that means personnel changes or not remains to be seen. A second problem has been our passing scheme. In our five receiver set, one would expect, for most passing plays, one receiver running a deep pattern, two receivers running intermediate patterns, and two receivers running short patterns. That has not been the case. On numerous pass plays, we have no receiver running a short pattern and our intermediate patterns tend to be of the deep variety. That forces Jennings to hold the football longer is his primary receiver is covered and to make pressure throws with a high range of difficulty.

Even though Jennings has a very accurate arm, our passing percentage is one of the lowest in the CFL due to the high level of difficutly in terms of executing our passing game. If we want our offence to improve, we need to do a better job of opening holes at the line of scrimmage to improve our average yards per rushing attempt. If we want our passing attack to be more conhsistent, we need to provide Jennings with higher percentage passing plays and more check downs, especially against blitzing defenses.

When our offence has incorporated higher percentage passing plays we've been more successful. Last game Jennings hit Rainey on a short underneath crossing pattern that went for a touchdown, threw another short crossing pattern to Arsenault that resulted in a huge gain, and threw a hitch screen to Burnham that went for big yardge and was a key offensive play of that game.

Our Leos offence comes into this game with three receivers in the Top 10 in CFL receiving - Arseneaux (7th), Burnham (8th) and Gore (10th). Last game Boldewijn had four receptions and was an integral part of our passing attack.

Chris Rainey lobbied Buono for more offensive reps last game, with teams kicking away from him on our return units. Rainey made the most of his opportunities and will hopefully will be used in the same ways against Toronto.

Our red zone offence also needs to improve. We've left too many opportunities for touchdowns off the board in recent outings.

Toronto's defense, led by Rich Stubler, has given up less points so far this season than our Leos defense. Stubler's style of defense is copied by Hamilton's Orlando Steinauer. Its a defense that likes to mix its coverages and uses deception. Its a bend but not break style of defense that will give up a lot of yardage but not scoring points. Its a defense that we can run against and pass against but tends not to give up big plays.

Shawn Lemon leads the Argos in sacks and National Ricky Foley can still be effective at boundary defensive end but Toronto also has two big defensive tackles in Bryan Hall (295 pounds) and Ken Bishop (306 pounds) who can penetrate as well as sack opposing quarterbacks.

A positive going into this game is that Toronto's defense is tied for 6th in sacking the quarterback. However, Toronto is second in the CFL in interceptions and their pass secondary likes to ball hawk. Halfback T.J. Heath has 3 interceptions for Toronto.

DEFENCE

Ricky Ray, who will start again for the Argos has an impressive 73.7% completion rate and a 113.1 quarterback efficiency average. Ray is a veteran quarterback who can be difficult to sack, knows where all his receivers are on every play, and can find them quickly. Ray has a tendency to dump off, which is a good match for the way our Leos defense likes to play.

When we think of Ricky Ray and the Argos we tend to think of the Argos as a passing offence. That can be dangerous. Brandon Whitaker is third in CFL rushing, he has a good average run per carry, and he can be very tough to bring down in space, both as a runner and a receiver. Whitaker really hurt us in the second half of our home loss to Toronto and needs to be contained.

While the Argos offence struggled with Ray out of the starting lineup both Kenny Shaw and Vidal Hazelton are receiving threats as is Whitaker out of the backfield.

Our Lions, for most of the first half of the 2016 season, were the team that was the most difficult to score upon. Our Leos have now dropped to 6th in this category. Calgary, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Toronto have been scored upon less than our Lions.

Our best defensive pressure will come from Alex Bazzie, who is enjoying an outstanding season so far. He has 8 sacks on the year and had two sacks in our last game against Ottawa, including a key one on Ottawas' final drive. Jabar Westerman's play has often gone under the radar this season but he has 4 sacks on the season and is enjoying his best season as a Leo. Eliminian also has four sacks and has been much more effective when blitzing this season.

Anthony Gaitor lined up at boundary halfback for his first start as a Leo against Ottawa. He is the third defensive back to start in that difficult spot this season, with T.J. Lee and Stephen Clarke both lost for the season.

Last game, our Leos defense gave up some huge pass plays and a lot of passing yardage. Some of those plays were the result of blown coverage but others were just the result of poor play. Brandon Stewart needs to step up his play at wide side corner. Ronnie Yell continues to impress at boundary corner.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Last game, our kickoff coverage was terrible and that was Buono's fault. He personally changed the coverage and it hurt us. Thankfully his one game experiment in this area is over. Buono is at his best when he motivates and sets expectations. When he gets too involved with the x and o's, on offence, short yardage unit, defense, or special teams, it usually is a bad idea.

If this game comes down to a field goal contest, we're in trouble. The Argos Lirim Hajrullahu has hit 85% of his field goal attempts, including a 53 yarder. He has range and he is also accurate. Richie Leone has only connected on a miserable 65.4% of his field goal attempts and he has missed some easy ones. Watching Leone line up for a field goal attempt feels like playing roulette in Vegas.
Anthony Fera, who Leone 'beat out' in B.C. has now played two games for Montreal and connected on a 50 yarder.

Leone's strength is his punting, where he leads the CFL with an impressive 50.6 yard average. His punt placement is also improving.

Our B.C. Lions best edge in special teams comes from the play of the 'Rain Man' Chris Rainey. Rainey leads the CFL in punt return average with a 17.8 average. He almoso has two punt return touchdowns to lead the CFL in that category too. Marco Isnnazzi is our short return man on punt returns. He has a 9.7 yd. average but has had some solid punt return run backs.

Rainey has also run the football well on kick returns but this is an area that needs improved blocking. Shaq Murray Lawrence also is used as a kick returner and never looks dangerous. Our Leos could insert Ianuzzi in his place with likely better production.

WRAP

The Argos will be excited about their chances with the return of Ricky Ray. The Argos veterans will be feeling the pressure to perform better with the release of Keon Raymond. The Argos, after two losses, also see the opportunity to take the lead in the East, with the Red Blacks sliding. The Argos beat our Leos at home this season and will feel confident they can beat us again.

Our Leos will be wanting to avenge our defeat to the Argos at home earlier this season. With Edmonton and Winnipeg playing well recently, our coaches and players know they need to win this game to maintain our standing in the West and also stay in the hunt should Calgary falter.

Hopefully our Leos will come back from their Eastern road trip with a second win. The game promises to be another tough contest but our Leos will prevail if our coaches and players can bring their best effort.

[Hambone]

However, our Leos have dropped to second in CFL scoring. Our running attack still leads the CFL in rushing attempts and rushing yards. Jeremiah Johnson has started five games for our Leos and has a 5.2 yds. average per rush. Anthony Allen has started four games for our Leos and has a 5.3 yd. average per rush. Both have different styles of running the football. I tend to prefer Allen behind a big offensive line but having two tailbacks, each who can come into a game fresh is positive and the competition keeps them highly motivated.

Our Leos are now 8th in the CFL in passing yards. Only Toronto has passed for less yards and they were without Ricky Ray, their staring quarterback for a period of time. Our net offence reflects our offensive inconsistency.

Our time of possession, based upon both offence and defense, leads the CFL. Its been an important factor in our success so far this season..

I think those things do all kind of intertwine. If you're leading the league in rushing attempts, yards and running on first down it should stand to reason that your time of possession numbers should be high and passing numbers somewhere farther down the board.

As for being second in scoring? We'll probably be 3rd unless Hamilton keeps Calgary under 16 today. How many potential points have been taken off the board due to turnovers deep in the opponent's zone?
Game 2 Jennings fumbles snap with BC 1st and 10 at Hamilton 4. Hamilton recovers.
Game 5 Jennings intercepted in endzone in OT when scrimmaging from Calgary 10 killing a chance to push the game into 2nd OT with a FG.
Game 6 Lulay intercepted in endzone on 2 pt convert attempt.
Game 9 Manny fumbles at the Ottawa 7 with BC trailing by 1.

Game 7 Got lucky when Jennings fumbled snap on Hamilton 1 and Johnson scooped it up to score.

[Blitz]

I think those things do all kind of intertwine. If you're leading the league in rushing attempts, yards and running on first down it should stand to reason that your time of possession numbers should be high and passing numbers somewhere farther down the board. Hambone

To a degree! But Edmonton is second in rushing and first in passing. Ottawa is third in rushing and second in passing. Ottawa and Edmonton are second and third in terms of time of possession.

While running the football more should impact passing numbers (and time of possession) the reason that we are 8th in passing is more due to the fact that we have a low completion rate compared to other CFL teams. The reasons for that are intertwined in terms of pass blocking, passing, receiving, and passing scheme. I believe the most significant factor is our passing scheme.

[WestCoastJoe]

Great stuff, Blitz.

Re OL personnel decisions and changes ... Dunno. Confusing to fans. No doubt confusing to players. Is Hunter Steward in the dog house? No? Seems like it. Is Vaillancourt in the dog house? Adcock for Johnson? That is a head shaker. It seems like Adcock was not ready on his return from illness. There is a chance he is just not as good as Johnson or the dismissed Tommie Draheim. Yes, yes, the coaches know better. "Working in the lab, late one night."

Re pass protection ... a most of the time problem since 2003 under this regime. It seems to this fan there are problems at the planning stage --> Quick hitters? Screens? Hitches? Hot reads? One gets the impression the staff does not think we need those anti-blitz plans. There also seems to be a need for individual and group pass blocking skill development. Individuals beaten cleanly one on one in pass protection. Build the skills. Keep it simple and effective. Too much focus on hand position, brain work and intricate footwork destroys athletic instincts.
.................

Mostly good this year with the team. Lots of energy, except for the last Calgary game. Great team spirit.

We have a chance to have a special year. But we do have soft spots.

As noted ... FG team. Pass protection, with all that entails. Keep the pedal down on defence. Diversify the offence.
.............

It seems the Argos, especially under Ricky Ray always play us tough. It will be another good test.

[SammyGreene]

Great breakdown Blitz! In an interview on the team website, Wally says he was not happy with the offensive line play. Six QB sacks was too much wear and tear on the quarterback. Now with three former starters sitting on the sidelines, will he do anything about it for the Argos?

http://www.bclions.com/2016/08/28/wally ... in-ottawa/

[maxlion]

Thanks for the great preview Blitz.

Good move I think to stay in the east for this game. I hate these early starts as I miss half the game due to work.

Interesting point on completion %. We have a great young QB who will have growing pains. Collaros was a backup at this stage in his career. BLM was 3rd string. It's not all on JJ, but probably fair to say that he is still learning, offensive schemes notwithstanding.

[cromartie]

I have depressing memories of Ricky Ray running all over us when we rushed four and dropped eight playing zone.

Offensively, we're apparently of the mindset that we're going to rush frequently and throw deep, not unlike when JJ was our starting QB (2007). That can work, if you roll your QB to one side of the field to cut down on the number of reads. Keeping a QB in the pocket with nothing but deep routes is asking for trouble.

No mention in the comments about how the Argos were able to run and run well against us in the match earlier in the year in Vancouver. I would think/hope a healthier defensive line would make that more difficult for Toronto, no?

[Blitz]

Great stuff, Blitz.

Re OL personnel decisions and changes ... Dunno. Confusing to fans. No doubt confusing to players. Is Hunter Steward in the dog house? No? Seems like it. Is Vaillancourt in the dog house? Adcock for Johnson? That is a head shaker. It seems like Adcock was not ready on his return from illness. There is a chance he is just not as good as Johnson or the dismissed Tommie Draheim. Yes, yes, the coaches know better. "Working in the lab, late one night."

Re pass protection ... a most of the time problem since 2003 under this regime. It seems to this fan there are problems at the planning stage --> Quick hitters? Screens? Hitches? Hot reads? One gets the impression the staff does not think we need those anti-blitz plans. There also seems to be a need for individual and group pass blocking skill development. Individuals beaten cleanly one on one in pass protection. Build the skills. Keep it simple and effective. Too much focus on hand position, brain work and intricate footwork destroys athletic instincts.
.................

Mostly good this year with the team. Lots of energy, except for the last Calgary game. Great team spirit.

We have a chance to have a special year. But we do have soft spots.

As noted ... FG team. Pass protection, with all that entails. Keep the pedal down on defence. Diversify the offence.
.............

It seems the Argos, especially under Ricky Ray always play us tough. It will be another good test.

No question to me and you West Coast Joe, that the Achilles heel of our offence has always been its lack of anti-blitz strategies and lack of quarterback protection. There are two reasons for this: we've basically used the same offensive scheme and playbook for most of those seasons, no matter which offensive coordinator was at the helm and Dorazio has been the offensive line coach for almost all of those seasons as well. We've either relied upon our quarterback to stand in there and deliver (Dickenson, Jennings) or to buy time/escape (Printers, Pierce, Lulay, Jennings). The sack totals and quarterback injuries during the Buono era are a reflection of our offensive scheme and lack of pass protection.

Numerous NFL teams have moved away from the spread offence and a major reason for doing so was that the spread offence left quarterbacks more vulnerable to injury and the drop off to playing the second string quarterback was too impactful.

We have been fortunate in B.C. that, when our first string quarterback has been injured, most of the time, our second or third string quarterback has been able to come in and play well. We had a Printers to come in for Dickenson in 2004 and 2005, we had a Buck Pierce to come in for Dickenson in 2006, we had a Jarious Jackson to come in for both Dickenson and Pierce in 2007, we had a Jarious Jackson to come in for Pierce in 2008, we signed Casey Printers part way through the 2009 season and he came in and started 5 games and the playoffs for us as we used 5 different quarterbacks that season due to injury. In 2010, Travis Lulay came in for Printers, who had badly injured his knee but had continued to play on it before being cut and needing knee reconstruction surgery. In 2013, we acquired Buck Pierce, who replaced Lulay and DeMarco. In 2014 we acquired Kevin Glenn to replace an already injured Lulay and Glenn also got injured that season. In 2015, we replaced Lulay, who hurt his knee, with Beck, who was lost after two games and paved the way for Jennings.

Our B.C. Lions from 2004 to 2014 gave up the most quarterback sacks of any CFL team. We gave up the most sacks during that period of time even though we either had experienced quarterbacks (Dickenson, Glenn) or mobile quarterbacks (Printers, Pierce, Jackson, Lulay). We gave up the most sacks even when we were on an 11 game winning streak in 2005 and even when we had a great offensive line and a Grey Cup championship team (2006).

When there is a trend over a long period of time, of sacks and quarterback injuries, its a reflection of more than personnel. Its a reflection of an offensive passing scheme and offensive line pass protection scheme.

I have depressing memories of Ricky Ray running all over us when we rushed four and dropped eight playing zone.

Offensively, we're apparently of the mindset that we're going to rush frequently and throw deep, not unlike when JJ was our starting QB (2007). That can work, if you roll your QB to one side of the field to cut down on the number of reads. Keeping a QB in the pocket with nothing but deep routes is asking for trouble.
No mention in the comments about how the Argos were able to run and run well against us in the match earlier in the year in Vancouver. I would think/hope a healthier defensive line would make that more difficult for Toronto, no?

cromartie Hall of Famer

I believe Brooks was injured and did not play in our last game against Toronto cromartie. However, that should not have resulted in such a let down in the second half. When we lost to Toronto at home earlier in the season, Toronto's defense really shut us down. We had four turnovers and gave up four sacks in the game. Jennings was replaced by Lulay in the contest. Both Whitaker and Drurie hurt us. We missed a lot of tackles. Gurley also hurt us as we struggled to cover him.

I totally agree that keeping a quarterback in the pocket with a lot of deep routes and deep intermediate routes is asking for trouble. We need a better mix and to take some pressure off Jennings while still allowing him to look for big plays.

We ran the football well in that game - Anthony Allen had 76 yards on 10 carries.

[Hambone]

I have depressing memories of Ricky Ray running all over us when we rushed four and dropped eight playing zone.

Offensively, we're apparently of the mindset that we're going to rush frequently and throw deep, not unlike when JJ was our starting QB (2007). That can work, if you roll your QB to one side of the field to cut down on the number of reads. Keeping a QB in the pocket with nothing but deep routes is asking for trouble.

No mention in the comments about how the Argos were able to run and run well against us in the match earlier in the year in Vancouver. I would think/hope a healthier defensive line would make that more difficult for Toronto, no?

I don't exactly recall the game but seems to me the Lions tackling in that game was downright awful once the ball carrier got outside the box and into open space. It was also a game where Brooks was noticeably absent sitting due to injury. Whitaker had 13 for 97 of the Argos 108 yards on the ground. His runs broke into 3 categories. 1/3 of his yardage game on 1 big rumble of 32. Another 1/3 came on 3 runs of 12, 10 & 10. He was largely held in check the rest of the way getting the remaining 33 on 9 carries. He probably had a bigger impact catching the ball out of the backfield with another 7 touches for 55 yards.

[David]

It has been reported that Geraldo Boldewijn has taken ill. Courtney Taylor flying in from Vancouver and may be inserted into the line-up Wednesday.


DH

[Hambone]

It has been reported that Geraldo Boldewijn has taken ill. Courtney Taylor flying in from Vancouver and may be inserted into the line-up Wednesday.


DH

Oh lovely. Just as Geraldo seems to be gelling nicely into the offence.

[Blitz]

It has been reported that Geraldo Boldewijn has taken ill. Courtney Taylor flying in from Vancouver and may be inserted into the line-up Wednesday.


DH

Oh lovely. Just as Geraldo seems to be gelling nicely into the offence.

Not only do we get Ricky Ray to play against, now recovered fully from his sprained MCL, but for the first time this season he’ll have a full complement of weapons as Tori Gurley, Vidal Hazelton, Kevin Elliott and Diontae Spencer are all set to play.

What is the difference between playing Ricky Ray vs. playing Logan Kilgore? Kilgore threw 9 interceptions in the 3 games that he played. Ray threw 9 touchdown passes and only 1 interception in the 5 games that he started and had a 73.7% completion rate. Ray beat us at home in Vancouver earlier this season in a game in which he completed 71.3% of his passes against us.

On the defensive side of the football, Toronto was 2nd in the CFL in Week 5 in sacking the opposing quarterback. But now they are tied for 7th place, after 8 games.

But Toronto will also be facing Jonathan Jennings, who is in third place in the quarterback power rankings, behind Bo Levi Mitchell and Mike Reilley. Jennings has thrown 12 touchdown passes to 5 interceptions this season. While his passing percentage is the lowest of any starting quarterback in the CFL and his quarterback efficiency average is below that of Bo Levi Mitchell, Mike Reilley, Zack Collaras, Ricky Ray, and Matt Nichols, our sophomore quarterback, with less than a full season of game experience, continues to make big plays, difficult throws, and deliver at crunch time.

Of all the backup quarterbacks who have had playing time in the CFL this season and thrown over 15 passes, only Logan Kilgore has a lower quarterback efficiency average than Travis Lulay, who has a miserable 69.6 quarterback efficiency average, with 2 interceptions and one touchdown pass. The list of backup quarterbacks who have played better than Lulay, with their limited work, includes Mitchell Gale, Brock Jensen, and Rakeem Cato. We need Jennings.

Here is an interesting stat. Which quarterback has been pressured the least in the CFL so far this season. The answer: Matt Nichols of Winnipeg with 13 per cent - the lowest rate in the league. Bo Levi Mitchell is second at 17 per cent. Both get lots of time to throw or have safety valves or hot reads with almost every pass play and they play behind good pass protection.

Of all tailbacks who have more than 25 carries this season, Jerome Messam and Anthony Allen have the best average yds. per carry. Both have averaged 5.3 yards per carry. Jeremiah Johnson is second at 5.2 yds. per carry.

Another interesting and surprising stat is which CFL receivers, with 30 receptions or more, that have the highest average yds. per catch. Based on Week 10 stats, Greg Ellingson of Ottawa leads the way with 18.3 yds. per reception. Second is our own Bryan Burnham, with 17. 7 yds. per reception, and third is Ottawa's Chris Williams at 16.4 yds. per catch.

Tori Gurley of the Argos has only suited up for 3 games for Toronto but will play in this game. He averaged 17. 1 yds. per reception and will add a dimension to Toronto's passing attack when they play us on Wednesday.

Toronto's interior offensive line is undersized with McEwen, Holmes, and Watman all just under 300 pounds. One of the keys to this game is to get a strong inside pass rush on Ray. Brooks and Westerman have an opportunity to have strong games. Toronto had given up the most sacks in the CFL in their first 5 games of the season but have really tightened things up over their last 3 games, only giving up 5 sacks.

In reviewing our loss to Toronto at home, after Jennings led our offence to an early first quarter touchdown drive, the Argos really shut down our passing offence. Even though Anthony Allen had 76 yards on 10 carries, we didn't score again until late in the game, as we were held scoreless in the second and third quarters and for most of the fourth. Jennings was pulled in that game. Four turnovers and four sacks added to the misery.

Stubler will use a lot of disguised coverages and false pre-snap reads. Patience is the key on offence. The Argos can be run against. Our offence has to take what is there in the passing game. You can't telegraph or be predictable against a Stubler defense. The Argos have twice as many interceptions as our Leos defense does for a reason. Their defenders will jump a route and have a green light to do so.

Right now its tough to play defense in the CFL, mainly because we have never had so many talented quarterbacks. When you look around the league there is Bo Levi Mitchell in Calgary, Mike Reilley in Edmonton, Jonathan Jennings in B.C. Darian Durrant in Saskatchewan and in Ottawa there is Trevor Harris, Zack Colllaras in Hamilton, Ricky Ray in Toronto, and Glenn in Montreal. The CFL has never had this much talent right across the CFL at the quarterback position.

[Blitz]

When you have an experienced quarterback like Ricky Ray, you can anticipate that he will test where he believes there could be a potential weakness.

Therefore, we can expect that Anthony Gaitor, our third boundary halfback to play the position this season, following injuries to T.J. Lee and Stephen Clarke to be tested.

Gaitor was a 7th round draft choice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gaitor played 12 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 2011 and 2012

He doesn't have size but he has toughness, route recognition, closing speed, and a knack for interceptions.

Gaitor was considered an instinctive defensive back in college according to scouting reports - quick to recognize run and get involved. He was considered pro ready in terms of reading the quarterback's eyes in zone coverage and receivers' routes when playing off. He was also drafted because of his low backpedal and quick feet. He has both straight-line speed and changes directions well. Good ball skills, playing bigger than his stature, standing up to blocks, and taking on ball carriers with aggressiveness were also considered strengths.

At 5'9" Gaitor is not very tall but he is considered an Impressive athlete with the speed to run with any receiver - he is also extremely quick.

Gaitor has played in two games for our Leos. In our victory over the Montreal Alouettes, which was Gaitors' debut game, he forced a fumble, the result of a rather large collision between himself and Montreal running back Brandon Rutley in the open field. Gaitor a;sp did not look out of place against Ottawa.

Ryan Phillips on Gaitor: "He brings an NFL pedigree. But he also brings a newfound energy, if that’s what you want to say. A guy who is eager to play, a guy who wants to seize his opportunity.He showed that he can be reliable and a guy we can depend on if anything went wrong".

Its been a tough season so far in terms of the most important defensive backfield position. Your best defensive back plays the boundary half back position. Its a tough spot to play.

Fans thought T.J. Lee was having a very good season before he was injured and he was but I thought Stephen Clarke was even better Ronnie Yell said of Clarke...."(Clarke) is a huge loss for us, because not only was he an exceptional defensive player but because of what he did on special teams as well."

Our Leos have done a good job of bringing in defensive backfield depth this season. Chandler Fenner is the 'next one up' should we have another injury. Fenner is a different style of defensive back to Gaitor. Fenner is 6'1" and runs a 4.53 40 yd. dash. He was also a 60 meter track star in college.

Fenner was a big physical corner in college. Considered strong and an excellent run defender he showed an ability to blitz as well. He played an aggressive brand of football. Fenner's strengths included burst speed, fighting to get through blocks and making plays on the ball.His defensive skills make him more suitable to a zone defensive scheme.

[Blitz]

The CFL's "Weekly Say" looked at our Leos and the Argos in terms of the second half of this season and what both teams need to do.

For our Leos, the article focused on 1) giveaways/takeaways and 2) red zone success

We're not doing a good enough job in the turnover ratio. Most Leos fans are aware of this. But what surprised me is that our offence has been in the red zone more than any other CFL team. However, we're only converting 53% of our visits there....its obviously an area in which we need to improve significantly and could be a difference maker down the road.

What’s the key to second-half success for the Lions?

A successful first half of the season has put the Lions in a position to contend for both the West Division and to ultimately win a Grey Cup Championship. The Lions enter Week 11 play with the second-best record in the CFL, a top-notch defence and one of the most electrifying young quarterbacks in the league.

What do the Lions have to do to be successful in the second half of the season and solidify their status as a league powerhouse?

It starts with protecting the football better. The Lions may be the CFL’s second-best team but have turned the ball over 18 times, giving them a turnover ratio of minus two – tied for third-worst in the league. On the other end of that, their defence has only forced 16 takeaways also the third-worst in the league.

Red zone percentage is another area the Lions will look to improve. So far this season they’ve converted on only 53 per cent of their visits inside the opponents’ 20, a number that ranks them fourth-worst in the league despite making a CFL-high 34 trips.

What’s the most pressing improvement the Lions must make in the second half of the season in order to take the next step forward?

In terms of the Argos, they were in first place with Ray at the helm but the wheels came off in their last two games without their veteran quarterback. The Boat Men are confident that they can return to their winning ways with Ricky Ray back.

Can the Argos score a double-double in Week 11?

It wasn’t long ago the Argos were heading into the bye 4-2 and in top spot in the East, full of momentum and optimism in the midst of their first season at BMO Field. Oh how things change.

Two one-sided losses later and a tough stretch of games on the way, including two in six days, and Scott Milanovich has some work to do to get his team back on track.

The good news is no one in the East has gained any ground — the REDBLACKS, Ticats and Alouettes all lost in Week 10, while the Ticats have lost two of their last three and the REDBLACKS four of their last five.

Oh, and there’s good news about playing two games in six days, too — as fast as the wheels went off the track for the Argos they can be firmly planted back on.

With Ricky Ray back under centre and a full complement of receivers, how will the Boatmen come out looking after Labour Day?

[Blitz]

Milanovich said that Argos had their best week of practice this season, filled with energy and speed, with the return of Ricky Ray and the release of defensive captain Keon Raymond.

Keon Raymond’s release not-so-subtle message to Argonauts


When a player of Raymond’s stature is gone from the room, players notice. The Argos face the Lions Wednesday night and are coming

By Chris O’LearySports Reporter

Tues., Aug. 30, 2016

The writing was on the wall for the Toronto Argonauts to make a change.

They are 4-4 this season, including a disappointing 1-4 at their brand-new home, BMO Field. And as they head into Wednesday’s meeting with the 6-3 B.C. Lions, the Argos are coming off a pair of blowout losses.

Still, when the team released a veteran and defensive captain in linebacker Keon Raymond — who opened the Argos game against the Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 20 with an interception and touchdown — it seemed like a surprising move.

But if you’ve been in football long enough, nothing surprises you.

Argos linebacker Brandon Isaac, who gets the start this week in Raymond’s spot, didn’t have to dig too deep in his memory bank when asked if he’d seen anything like this before.

“Yeah, me,” the 31-year-old said.

“In 2013 I was a captain with this football club, and four games into the season they decided to go the other way. I’m used to this kind of situation.”

Isaac signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats a day later and spent the rest of that 2013 season there, reaching his second consecutive Grey Cup. He eventually re-signed with the Argos in May 2015.

Argos coach Scott Milanovich has said Raymond’s Aug. 25 release wasn’t about sending a message. But when a player of Raymond’s stature is gone from the room, players notice, as Isaac can attest.

“It’s been an eye-opening week,” Isaac said.

What Isaac, Milanovich and anyone else you talk with around the Argos will agree on is they are ready for Wednesday’s game.

Quarterback Ricky Ray is back after missing three games with a sprained left MCL and will start. Even if Raymond’s release wasn’t a message, Milanovich said Ray’s return — and he’s looked like he hasn’t missed a beat, Milanovich said on Tuesday — should give his team a lift.

“When you watch Ricky and the way he practised this week . . . a great quarterback, a hall of fame quarterback can give a team hope and a belief,” he said.

With Ray on the field, Milanovich said his team had its best week of preparation thus far this season.

“The energy, the speed was high-tempo. I didn’t think we gave a great effort in the last game against Edmonton,” the coach said. “I didn’t think we prepared as well as we should have in the meeting rooms, on the practice field.

“I think we were humbled by the last two losses we had. I think we felt we were maybe better than we are. I think we’re in a position now where we understand what it takes. We’re getting some guys back, and hopefully that’ll help us.”

Receiver Tori Gurley is back in the lineup for the first time since July 13, giving Ray a target he knows well. Dan LeFevour is slotted as the team’s third-string QB and will play in short-yardage situations in place of Cody Fajardo, who landed on the six-game injured list after he hurt his shoulder against the Eskimos.