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I think we can all agree that the success of the 2015 BC Lions is directly linked to the health of Travis Lulay. But after that, what is the most troubling aspect of the team heading into our first game of the season?


DH

The quality of the opposition coaching, especially Hufnagel, Austin and Milanovich.

Will the concepts of Jeff Tedford translate well to the CFL?

Personally, I am not all that concerned. Considering the state we were in by the end of last year, we have been most fortunate to have re-built the coaching staff with the highly qualified veterans we brought in: Jeff Tedford, George Cortez, Doug Malone and Robin Ross. We could not have done better. If we cannot succeed with these guys, then we will just have to eat humble pie for a while.

IMO we can still have hopes for success. This is especially so with all the QBs being knocked out. Levels the field a bit. Although in some ways, Kevin Glenn is an upgrade over Darian Durant. And whoever takes over in Edmonton will probably be more than adequate.

It has been said by many, including Wally, that games are won and lost in the trenches. The Lions O and D lines are their weakest and least experienced areas, possibly the weakest in the west.

On D line, one experienced vet in Smith, one first time starter in Westerman at DE which is a new position for him with the Lions, two rookie INT tackles who have never played a yard off the LOS until TC and didn't stand out in TC.

On O line, top notch DT; a second year Player, first time starter at RG; a rookie INT centre will be calling blocking assignment but has never played against a 12 man D; a still recovering his mental confidence from injury second year starter at LG; a rookie INT at LT.

THIS IS A REBUILDING YEAR.

Not suggesting I am down on this edition of the Leos with all those choices. But after watching the club perform at the end of last year and not exactly bowled over by anything I saw in preseason, a lot has to go right if we want to be in the top 3rd of the league.

After watching versatile scatbacks Paris Cotton and Brandon Whitaker eat up big yards against Saskatchewan and Edmonton respectively, I am somewhat concerned about our run game. Andrew Harris is one of the best in the league catching the ball out of the backfield. But coming off a major ankle injury, will he be tentative hitting the holes (provided there are any for him to hit)? Shaq Murray-Lawrence is still a big question mark. He shows promise and big time speed but he doesn't have any pro experience (drafted #16 overall). I am surprised the club has not looked into Jock Sanders who's both a skilled RB and returner.


DH

On the field:

- continuity of the offensive line

- defensive line. Will the new tackles provide the much needed pressure up the middle ?

- kicking game. Will Leone provide consistent field goal kicking ?

- Return game.

Off the field:

- declining fan base. Will Skulsky actually do anything to draw fans back other than talk ?

I am concerned mainly about the make-up of the offensive line, but I am very hopeful that a TE (and a new position coach) will see us through. I can't see Andrew Harris and Travis Lulay avoiding reinjury, but good for them if they do. If they are reinjured, there are RB's galore out there. QB? The two new guys could do well if the line gave them time. BC has a pretty good receiving corps.

The D line's a puzzler. Usually, one of the middle guys is always a grizzled veteran. This is a very inexperienced line except for Khreem Smith, but, you know, with our vaunted LB corps, maybe there's some expectation that they will help out much more than you might expect.

Quality of opposition coaches? Time is running out, the Hamilton defence is pressuring Bo Levi Mitchell over and over, then, with total disregard for the changes made to how you cover a receiver, Hamilton lines up with three (count 'em), three rushers. No pressure, Mitchell has all day, his receivers know where they're going, the DB's don't, and Calgary gets a long completion. On my TV screen, all you could see was 3 Ticats before the ball was snapped. I know Kent Austin probably didn't call that defensive formation, but if that's the "quality" of the coaching we have to be concerned about, then I certainly have no concerns whatsoever.

David, by far the most troubling thing for me is the Lion's sudden "lack of talent" at key positions. How did this franchise go so quickly from leading the league in finding new talent, to struggling to maintain what they have? As I said this past week, I doubt that Tedford will be finished tweaking the 2015 BC Lions until AFTER the NFL cuts! And if Lulay gets hurt, this season could turn into one with a disastrous W/L record!

WestCoastJoe wrote:The quality of the opposition coaching, especially Hufnagel, Austin and Milanovich.

Will the concepts of Jeff Tedford translate well to the CFL?

Personally, I am not all that concerned. Considering the state we were in by the end of last year, we have been most fortunate to have re-built the coaching staff with the highly qualified veterans we brought in: Jeff Tedford, George Cortez, Doug Malone and Robin Ross. We could not have done better. If we cannot succeed with these guys, then we will just have to eat humble pie for a while.

IMO we can still have hopes for success. This is especially so with all the QBs being knocked out. Levels the field a bit. Although in some ways, Kevin Glenn is an upgrade over Darian Durant. And whoever takes over in Edmonton will probably be more than adequate.

Just my opinion , but Glenn is a huge drop off from Durant . I now expect the Riders to be no better then BC last year . Should be an interesting year watching Sask with our old coaches plus now seeing Glenn fill in there as it may show if some ofthe speculation on this board was correct or not regarding some of our previous personnel .
Was Glenn really better than he appeared last year and did not get enough support from those around him ? Or was it the Stamps who made him look better than he was before that ? My opinion is that it was the latter , just the way they are making Mitchell look better than he really is too with a tremendous supporting cast and coaching . Seems they have more plug and play capable system there .
For me the telling moment last year was when Glenn refused to throw to a wide open in the end zone Ianuzzi for a badly needed TD and preferred one of his double covered go to guys for an incompletion and a third down instead . After that I could no longer buy into the view that it was others making Glenn look bad .

The Lions seem to have upgraded in all areas except the D-line and kick returner, but I have high hopes for Shaquille Murray-Lawrence as a returner if he gets a chance. The D-line is by far my biggest concern. I haven't seen that and Minter and Brooks can stop the run or cause enough trouble to allow other pass-rushers to get to the quarterback.

B.C.FAN wrote:The Lions seem to have upgraded in all areas except the D-line and kick returner, but I have high hopes for Shaquille Murray-Lawrence as a returner if he gets a chance. The D-line is by far my biggest concern. I haven't seen that and Minter and Brooks can stop the run or cause enough trouble to allow other pass-rushers to get to the quarterback.

My major concern also B.C. Fan. We have two rookie tackles in Minter (presently nicked) and Brooks, the aging Smith at rush end, and a converted defensive tackle in Westerman at short side defensive end. I still am wondering why we didn't choose to leave Westerman at tackle (he's at least the same size as Minter) and go with an import defensive end at that position. Bazzie and Menard are part of the rotation and I like both. Only two Leo players in our history had more sacks than Bazzie as a rookie and Menard has take a step up. Ajuruo rounds out the rotation.

With the new defensive cover rules (no contact past 5 yards) a consistent pass rush is essential. One key is to use our linebackers more on blitzes. We have the best linebackers in the CFL but last season only Sol E. was used as a delayed blitze on occasion. It's a waste to have such talent almost always in coveage. Bighill has excellent speed and Josh Johnson is also a smart blitzer and Lokombo can also be used as a situational run stopper and blitzer.

Our run stopping was also poor last season and a reason why we made changes to the interior of our defenive line. That has yet to be proven.

A second concern of mine is the quarterback position and not just the concern of Lulay injuring his shoulder. My concern is how he will play this season. His MOP season was in 2011 and he hasn't looked like the same quarterback since 2012. Never the most accurate long or intermediate passer, he now has a lot of rust on him plus the psychological effects of his injuries- something that Tedford is working wih. Lulay did not look good at all in his limited actions last season before seriously hurt his shoulder again. He looked fairly good in pre-season action this year, which is hopeful.

With four starting quarterbacks now on the shelf in the CFL (Ricky Ray, Durrant, Reilly, and Crompton) plus backup LeFevour the back up quarterback position can be very important. Jennings has that role with our Leos at present and should Lulay get hurt again or struggle, his play could become very important to our season. Jennings has all the tools but he is a rookie, unlike Glenn in Saskatchewn or Harris in Toronto, and therefore more of a question mark, if pressed into action.

Actually the quarterback position concerns me the most, namely the health and recovery of one Travis Lulay, chronically injured at least once, if not debilitated or lost for the duration, in the last three seasons!!!

PigSkin_53 wrote:Actually the quarterback position concerns me the most, namely the health and recovery of one Travis Lulay, chronically injured at least once, if not debilitated or lost for the duration, in the last three seasons!!!

Did you not read the second part of the head line ?

pennw wrote:

PigSkin_53 wrote:Actually the quarterback position concerns me the most, namely the health and recovery of one Travis Lulay, chronically injured at least once, if not debilitated or lost for the duration, in the last three seasons!!!

Did you not read the second part of the head line ?

I think PS did read it all unless you're kidding around which you might be pennw.

This season according to most prognostications hinges a great deal on the QB position as an unknown for BC.

Blitz IIRC sort of makes the case for adequate QBing (almost like Crompton last year) to carry the day but no one knows how the others will perform under fire.

We all know that Buck's injury situation was a factor in his teams' mindset towards the latter stages. The team say they don't worry about Travis but that is more media hype than reality. Can the backups actually perform?

Even if Travis roars back and goes on a run of Ws I hope they get their back ups some time as they must develop two others who can play.

A new coaching philosophy and culture is great but in football it takes time to gel and get it all together. Trestman is a great example and while Tedford has CFL experience coming back to a different reality means he still has a learning curve too.

Of course Travis health is a concern to all . The questioners asked is after the Situation with Travis ,what is your biggest concern . We all know about Travis , and yes it is concern number one.

pennw wrote:Of course Travis health is a concern to all . The questioners asked is after the Situation with Travis ,what is your biggest concern . We all know about Travis , and yes it is concern number one.

Yup. You are correct. I meant after the obvious (meaning, if Travis goes down there's not much hope for the season), what is the next biggest concern?

Of put another way, even if Travis's shoulder holds up and he maintains his status as #1 quarterback, what concerns you mosty about the football club?


DH