West Showdown - Leos vs. Eskimos

[maxlion]

I'm surprised that Buddy Jackson starts ahead of Steven Clarke. Clarke seems to have fallen off the radar for some reason.

Jackson is considered a better cover guy. He's also 3 inches taller and faster. That's why he was pencilled in as starting field halfback before Gaitor returned, and Clarke was pencilled in as safety until Wally moved Purifoy to that spot at the last minute.

Jackson is the Lions' tallest DB, and his size is noticeable when he's on the field. (Chandler Fenner and Tony Burnett are also 6-1 but they play closer to the line of scrimmage.) I like what I saw of Jackson in camp and preseason. I'm looking forward to seeing him in a game against Mike Reilly and Edmonton's receivers.

Jackson
6-1, 190 lbs. (per bclions.com)
4.37 speed in the 40 (per nfldraftscout.com at 2012 pro day)

Clarke
5-10, 195 lbs. (per bclions.com)
4.53 speed in the 40 (per nfldraftscout.com at 2014 pro day)

Thanks for the info. My impression was that Jackson was more of a depth signing. Clarke has been a bona fide starter in my books.

[Blitz]

The Eskimos are treating this as a huge game.

A big key to this game will be turnovers, as B.C. Fan consistently reminds us of. The Eskimos only have 3 turnovers so far this season and Reilly has not thrown an interception.

We've committed 8 turnovers. Jennings had thrown 2 interceptions before his injury and Travis has thrown 4 interceptions.

Edmonton has won 4 games by a total of 12 points. Their defensive line pressure has been the key to their pass defence.

But the Eskimos offence has averaged less than 20 points per game. They are fifth in rushing, 6th in passing, and 6th in scoring points. Their go to guy is Zykstra...all their other receivers are not in the Top 20. There is no excuse for Washington not to have a good game plan for this game.

This is a game in which our defense really needs to step up and it sure would be nice to see some seams for Rainey on punt returns. He could be the difference maker in this contest.

[David]

I hope the Lions make Sean Whyte eat the turf.

There. Fixed it for you.


DH

[Blitz]

An interesting stat that showed up on cfl. ca is the way opposing defenses play Lulay vs. Jennings.

Defenses sent less rushers against Jennings than they've sent Lulay. Makes one think that defences would rather rush less defenders and instead double cover the long ball that Jennings likes to throw. Defences have preferred to rush more defenders against Lulay, hoping that pressure would be more effective by keeping him in the pocket and getting quick pressure against him.

That was the old book on defending against Lulay - blitz him, pressure him, spy him, and challenge him to throw deep. But its not working this time. Lulay has not flushed out of the pocket, he's stepped up into the pocket against pressure, and he's hurt defenses with both his poise and his stronger arm.

My guess is that the Eskimos will mostly rush four against him, possibly spy him with a linebacker, and respect his arm.

I really liked the play of Awe and Davis last week but its back to Burnett at linebacker.

Interesting comments re: Buddy Jackson vs. Stephen Clarke in Gaitor's spot.

Buddy Jackson, after college, eventually made his way to Calgary, where he spent the entire 2013 season on the practice roster. Jackson started 12 games at cornerback for Calgary during the 2014 CFL season before heading south for 2015, where he made the Dallas Cowboys practice roster in December of that season. Jackson then came back to the CFL, playing for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders last season.

Stephen Clarke started 15 games for our Leos in 2015. He recorded 48 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and one sack in a breakout campaign with our Leos. Clarke and Yell were our staring corners in 2015. Clarke's impressive 2015 season garnered NFL interest and our Leos released him to pursue his NFL dream. Clarke was signed by Tennessee but then released and made his way back to B.C.

If it was me, I would have configured our secondary differently. I would have Yell at corner, Gaitor at boundary halfback, Clarke at safety, Fenner at wide side halfback, and Purifoy at nickelback. I see Lee more as a corner than a halfback. Lee had a break out season with our Leos in 2015. Lee is only a generous 5'9 inches tall. He had a very good camp but he was beaten twice for touchdowns last week. Lee played wide side corner for us in 2014 and that is where I think his best fit is but, in going with a National at that spot, Lee would be my dime back.

But no matter how one configures our secondary, its our most talented defensive backfield since the days of Marsh, Banks, and Phillips played at their peak. Yell reminds me of Dante Marsh in terms of his aggressiveness and tackling ability. Gaitor is very much a Banks type of player but missing the same swagger.

[Blitz]

Interesting and very different approaches to this game, which is a showdown for 1st place in the West.

Jason Maas considers this game special and has made no bones about it being so, in talking publically and with his players. Meanwhile Buono has taken the approach that this is just another week.

[WestCoastJoe]

Depth chart ...

2017-07-28_0628.png

[WestCoastJoe]

Good for Forde.

And Richardson for making the 46.

Jennings listed as QB #3. LOL ... Ummm ... No. More rest prescribed.

We will see how Palmer does at right tackle.
.................

Benny seems to have the Schmos' D playing well. Hopefully not this game.

[Blitz]

How is the Edmonton Eskimos defence the best in the CFL so far this season. Benevedes is not doing anything magical or innovative. He mostly just rushes 4 players and drops everyone else into zone defense. He drops his corners off, as he always has.

Our Leos are averaging 427 yds of offence so far this season while the Eskimos are averaging 395 yds. On defense, we are giving up 338 yds. of defense per game while the Eskimos are giving up 304 yds. The net difference between the best offensive team in the CFL (Lions) and the best defensive team in the CFL (Eskimos) is 2 yards. Its a saw off.

The Eskimos average 91 yards rushing per game while we average 89 yds.

The key to Edmonton's defense is their front four. Odell Willis has 3 sacks this season and 10 quarterback pressures. Hunt, Cummings, and Sewell round out the Eskimos front four. The key to their defensive line is Sewell. He gets pressure inside and prevents quarterbacks from stepping up in the pocket. If we can limit his pressures and also run the football effectively, we have the best chance to win this game.

We need to run the football well and we need to get good positive yardage on first down. Second and 10 is the worst way to play the Edmonton defense.

Where can we exploit them? At linebacker. Canadian rookie Christophe Mulumba-Tshimanga makes his first start after being drafted in the third round (22nd overall) out of Maine. He's huge (245 pounds) but he is green. In the passing game we need to give them a dose of Johnson and Rainey.

[green road kill]

So the shmucks have an idiot kicker that likes to run his mouth off. I'm sure his words of wisdom will be well remember by the guys that are going to play this game , and if we win he will be properly thanked by our Leo's. (Maybe even give him a game ball)

BOTH Wally and Moss know that this is a very important game , despite what is said in the media. Wally level headed , calm and cool ,Mass a little more hyped up ,a little more yap in the press.( some times that's the sign of a coach with a little bit of fear.)

The shmucks have won there first 4 games in a row , but haven't lit the league on fire on O . Our Leo's are coming into this game with a little bit of pay back on mind. There is no question that Mike Riley is a very good QB but so is Travis(MK2 PART 2 MOD2) is every bit as good. Our Leo's had a melt down on D last game, but by games end had forced 6 two and outs ,a turn over and put 18 points on the board. That's quite a 4 quarter
, something so far this season the Shmucks haven't matched

Hunter has bin saying that the O line will be better than the first game , well quite bluntly it has to be. There is no doubt that the Esks D line is very good , but if we can keep Travis up right ,buy him a bit of time to use all our weapons.There is no reason to think we can't turn this into a very long night for the shmucks.

The D has to get after Riley get in his face, knock him around a bit, I think we''ll soon see He's human.

Lets get this game played,and we'll see who has a reason to yap saturday morning.

[SammyGreene]

Sure looking forward to tonight. Nothing against the Eastern teams and the Bombers but a true measuring stick 6 games in against an opponent the Lions have struggled with over the past 3 seasons. The home opener score flattered the Lions overall performance which wasn't good enough on both sides of the ball, especially in the trenches against the Eskimos excellent front lines.

Tough debut game for Palmer. Reminds me of last season when they decided to insert Adcock in a crucial mid-August game against the Stamps and he got his dinner handed to him. Johnson did struggle in the season opening loss to Edmonton so we might see an immediate upgrade at tackle while Palmer shakes off the rust.

Wally sure does invest a lot of internationals (4) into the defensive line when I don't see any difference with the national options. It will be under the microscope even further when Nick Moore is dropped from the line-up next week for Chris Williams.

So true Blitz. Definitely need to establish the run game to keep the Eskimos off balance. If Travis puts up anywhere near 400 yards again and the Lions win then there officially is a quarterback controversy and I'm a big fan of Jennings!

[David]

Benevides has been trying to get in JJ's head (IMO). Twice now this week he's publicly said Travis is "BC's best quarterback." I think he wants to sew the seeds of doubt in the kid's mind for when he comes back, but make it all just seem like it's about having the utmost respect for Travis.


DH

[CardiacKid]

I hope the Lions make Sean Whyte eat his words.

Was he all liquored up a la Mike Vander Jagt? Well now that he handles the punting, he will get a chance to lay a pounding on Josh Shirley.

[Hambone]

Lulay's health is at risk on this move, surely Johnson would have worked on game film and made some adjustments by game six for the Esks.

Hope this change works out, but it is against the CFL's best Dline, without an experienced back up to Lulay. Risky business IMO, and without Jennings for the next couple of games either. That makes the Lions vulnerable and will make the Esks preparation all the more ... inspired.

What a fickle lot we are. Lol. We spent the first two or three games criticizing and wringing our hands over Johnson's play and lamenting Palmer's absence due to injury. Now Palmer, who by all accounts earned the spot in camp, is healthy (and for all we know has been for a couple of weeks and we're wringing our hands and fretting again this time over Johnson being sat.

[pennw]

In fairness to Johnson , he has improved his game since the opener. Fabian has been better too the last couple of games. But we will see how the OL fairs against one of the best Dlines . Hamilton has pretty formidable DL too , and one that gave the Esks a lot of trouble in the Esk's last game. BC fared better against he Ticat DL than the Esks did , after the early going of that game . Hopefully Palmer proves to be an up grade .

[Hambone]

In fairness to Johnson , he has improved his game since the opener. Fabian has been better too the last couple of games. But we will see how the OL fairs against one of the best Dlines . Hamilton has pretty formidable DL too , and one that gave the Esks a lot of trouble in the Esk's last game. BC fared better against he Ticat DL than the Esks did , after the early going of that game . Hopefully Palmer proves to be an up grade .

I suppose given Palmer was initially expected to start coming out of camp at some point they have to find out if their initial assessment was correct. They aren't going to dress both so only way to find out is to sitone and play the other. Edmonton gives them the chance to not only assess Palmer against a top DL but to also have tape on both players against the same competition. Conversely perhaps it gives Benevides an unknown factor to deal with. EE might have a pretty good book on Johnson.