Eskimos and Lions Game Day Thread

[Qman]

Way too many penalties. To my count, there have been 23 penalties so far.

i think this is the same crew that refereed in Fort Mac last week

[TheLionKing]

Lokombo looking very good. Too bad the guy he's backing up is named Bighill

[Coast Mountain Lion]

What's with the waggle stutter on every passing play?

welcome to Tedford-ball

TedBall?

[TheLionKing]

Fera badly shanks a punt. Dilemma for Jeff Tedford. Leone is a natural punter learning to kick field goals. Fera is a natural field goal kicker learning how to punt.

[DanoT]

Does Lokombo have the speed to be a SAM linebacker/nickelback or a free safety?

[TheLionKing]

Does Lokombo have the speed to be a SAM linebacker/nickelback or a free safety?

Buono said in an interview that Lokombo doesn't possess the mentality to play safety.

[TheLionKing]

Interception by Keynon Parker.

[TheLionKing]

Fera kicks a 49 yard field goal.

[Qman]

Fera kicks a 49 yard field goal.

they are going to have to keep both.
i assume they made this decision weeks ago and thats why Ferra was kept and Paul was cut

[TheLionKing]

McGhee comes into the ball game with the ball on their own 5 yard line and 4 minutes remaining.

[Hambone]

Fera kicks a 49 yard field goal.

they are going to have to keep both.
i assume they made this decision weeks ago and thats why Ferra was kept and Paul was cut

I had that gut sense at training camp. You're talking two rookies. It only makes sense to keep both to start the season at least. Then you have an inhouse Plan B should one falter. I wouldn't be adverse to them splitting duties for the whole season if need be as it could create a two-headed kicking monster.

[TheLionKing]

Sounds like Alex Bazzie may be on the bubble judging from Tedford's post game comments.

[B.C.FAN]

The good thing about a game like this is that it will make the coaches' jobs easier on cutdown day Saturday. No one who was on the bubble played himself onto the roster, with the possible exception of Terrence Jeffers-Harris, who came into camp late and outplayed most of the receivers who have been practising with the team since spring and, in some cases, since last year. Farhan Lalji said on the postgame show that this is not a strong receiving corps, probably in the bottom half of the league, and that's a fair assessment. It will be better with Courtney Taylor back in the lineup. Manny Arceneaux is effective outside, Austin Collie is a possession receiver but he has taken Shawn Gore's role and position. Gore is ineffective outside, especially with Travis Lulay at QB. That's a long throw for a QB with a weak shoulder. The H-backs haven't been worked into the passing game and haven't helped the running game, which was flat again tonight.

Lulay looked poised in the pocket, and had good protection. The Eskimos didn't blitz much and didn't get pressure with a four-man rush. Lulay missed some throws and mainly dumped the ball short but overall it was an encouraging debut and probably drew a collective sigh of relief from fans as well as people in the Lions' organization.

Andrew Harris, on the other hand, was terrible in his pre-season debut. He looked tentative every time he touched the ball, waiting for holes that didn't open instead of knifing into the line and trying to break tackles. He looked much better in camp. Hopefully he'll get some better looks when the Lions get their starters in place on the offensive line because they will need an effective running game to keep pressure off the QB.

I hope the Lions get rid of the American running backs and kick returners they auditioned. Pascal Lochard and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence can back up Andrew Harris. Murray-Lawrence and Marco Iannuzzi are probably their best returners by default because no one else has looked capable.

I'm not sure who will be dime back. The Lions need an American DB to fill that role but no one in the secondary stepped up. The Esks repeatedly converted on second and long all night when the secondary should be able to step up and make plays.

Richie Leone, despite two missed field goals, is my choice for kicker. For the second straight week, he averaged 50 yards on his punts. Anthony Fera shanked his only punt out of bounds for 19 yards, or a net of 9 yards after the penalty. Two others of 55 and 39 yards were called back by penalty.

The defensive line still seems to be a question mark. For the second straight game, Zach Minter couldn't hold his gap against the running game. I thought Michael Brooks was better but that unit conceded too many easy yards. Roh, McFarland and Jackson were much more effective against the run in the second half.

Penalties ruined the flow of the game and any momentum that the Lions established on defence. Most of them were undisciplined penalties. I wouldn't want to be in Alex Bazzie's shoes after he got ejected before he even got to take a snap on defence. If Tedford wants to set an example about undisciplined play, Bazzie is an easy target.

I was chatting with David after the game and we seemed to agree that it was a great family atmosphere for a pre-season game but the game itself was terrible. I think the Lions will be looking for some new personnel even after making their final cuts on Saturday.

[sj-roc]

http://www.tsn.ca/lulay-shines-but-lion ... s-1.313330

Lulay shines, but Lions fall to Eskimos
The Canadian Press

CFL: Eskimos 18, Lions 13

VANCOUVER - Travis Lulay says he enjoyed getting knocked down.

That's not something usually uttered by a quarterback, but getting some contact was critical for the B.C. Lions' veteran pivot after two seasons marred by injuries to his throwing shoulder.

Lulay was solid in his first live action in more than nine months on Friday as the Lions dropped an 18-13 decision to the Edmonton Eskimos in CFL exhibition play.

"In a weird way it felt good to get hit," said Lulay, who went down on the second play from scrimmage and bounced right back up. "That's always kind of the question mark and the final test is doing it with live, moving parts and just reacting when you're not thinking about it."

Lulay hooked up with Manny Arceneaux for a 22-yard touchdown pass on the game's first series and finished 8-of-13 for 121 yards in two quarters of work before taking a seat at halftime.

"Travis was sharp in his first series," said Lions head coach Jeff Tedford. "I thought as the first half went on you could see a little rust there, just missing a couple guys. Those are things we can clean up, no doubt about it."

Lulay was 3-for-3 on the scoring drive and linked up with Austin Collie on two long passes later in the half, but also missed a few makeable throws, including one over the middle to a wide-open Brian Burnham.

"We're ironing out some kinks," said Lulay. "There were one or two throws tonight where it was just us not being on the same page."

With backup quarterback John Beck still out with an illness, rookies Jonathan Jennings and Greg McGhee split time in the second half for the Lions. Richie Leone, who is competing with Anthony Fera for the kicking job after B.C. cut veteran Paul McCallum five days into training camp, missed field-goal attempts of 38 and 44 yards before making one from 24 yards. Fera made his only try from 48 yards.

On the Edmonton side, James Franklin threw a touchdown to Kenny Stafford, while Grant Shaw connected on 3 of 7 field-goal attempts, with two of the misses going for single points. Starting quarterback Mike Reilly played the first two series before sitting out the rest of the game.

The Eskimos open their regular season on June 27 in Fort McMurray, Alta., against the Toronto Argonauts, while the Lions have a bye in Week 1 before kicking off their schedule on the road in Ottawa against the Redblacks on July 4.

Friday's game was played in front of 6,117 fans at the University of British Columbia because B.C. Place Stadium is being used by the FIFA Women's World Cup until early July.

Lulay initially injured his right shoulder in September 2013 on a goal-line plunge, but eventually made it back in the lineup and started the Lions' playoff loss that year.

He underwent off-season surgery in hopes of being ready for the 2014 campaign, however, the recovery took longer than expected and he re-injured the same joint in his only start last season — a rain-soaked affair in Ottawa in September — while reaching for a fumble.

Lulay elected against a second procedure in favour of a rehabilitation program that included purposely falling on mats and throwing the ball on the run and from different angles. He took part in an April throwing session and was a full participant at training camp, but sat out the Lions' first pre-season game last week in Calgary.

"I didn't shy away instinctively from making a play with my feet," Lulay said of Friday's performance. "To get knocked down and get back up again and get back in the huddle felt good."

[CardiacKid]

Not one for the ages but pre-season never is. From my rather hard seat, the pluses were....
-attending a pro football game outdoors in great weather makes for a great change of pace. Loved the atmosphere and seeing little kids play catch along the sidelines during the game. It was refreshing...
-lulay looked confident, comfortable and protected himself. He wasn't walked off the field by Bill Reichelt and that is a small victory.
-the punting of Leone was something else. Too bad he can't split the uprights though...
-Bo Lokombo was impressive again; how they are going to use this guy to his full potential I don't know but he certainly appears to have been worth the risk of that 3rd round pick.
-Collie looked good, Westermann looked good, Lawrence-Murray had the best return all night...
-We could have the makings of a nasty rivalry with the Eskimos. But then I think Jones coaches his guys to get under everyone's skin.

Negatives?
-goes without saying, waaaaaaaaay too many penalties.
-The play of our returners, including Antolin, putting balls on the ground. I think I remember Tim Brown fumbling once...ever.
-the lack of production from Harris running the ball. He seemed to get caught by the backside pursuit every time but he seemed game and was his usual self catching the ball.
-this one is for my wife; she hated the waggle interruptus the Lions had going all night. Can someone explain for her (and me) just what is going on there? Were the Lion's changing the play as the receivers advanced to scrimmage? Were they trying to get Edmonton to tip their hand?
-and for those members of Lionbackers who hated JC's hand-signals, you will have reason to get riled up again as the hand-signals were flying fast and furious from the Lion sidelines.

I bet there will be a few surprises amongst the cuts on Saturday. Plenty of fodder for board....