Lions @ Riders, October 16, 2011 Vegas Odds and Comments

[B.C.FAN]

The Riders' problems on offence this year are due mainly to a lack of talent at receiver. Durant's frustration grew throughout the season, and his accuracy and decision-making suffered. Last week he had about five passes dropped in the second half, including a potential touchdown to Andy Fantuz that would have got the Riders on the scoreboard and into the game. He was only 7 of 24 passing but his passing stats would have looked a lot better if receivers had just caught the balls that hit them in the hands.

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Inside ... story.html

from Murray McCormick ...

Inside the Game: Riders looking to snap losing streak

THE SCENARIO: The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-10) may or may not be battling for their playoff lives on Sunday against the B.C. Lions (8-6). The sliver of playoff hope for the Riders is the cross over berth into the East Division. For that to take place the Riders must win out and hope that the Hamilton Tiger-Cats lose their remaining four games. The Roughriders may well know their fate before kickoff because the Tiger-Cats play the Montreal Alouettes earlier Sunday. The Lions are battling for first place in the West Division with the Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders.

Slim hopes if the Riders need Hamilton to lose their remaining four games.

WHAT’S AHEAD: The Riders travel to Calgary to play the Stampeders on Friday. The Lions play host to the Tiger-Cats on Sept. 22.

SLUMPBUSTERS: On Aug. 4, the Riders and Lions met for the first time in the 2011 season. The Riders were 1-4 and the Lions were 0-5. B.C. won 24-11 and has gone 8-1 since that game. The Riders are 3-6 over the same span.

STREAKING: The Lions have won seven straight. The Riders have lost three in a row. B.C. has qualified for the playoff for 15 straight seasons. The Riders are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The Lions are the second team to start the season 0-5 and still reach the playoffs. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers qualified for the 1955 playoffs after opening the season 0-5.

"The Riders have lost three in a row."

"The Lions are the second team to start the season 0-5 and still reach the playoffs. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers qualified for the 1955 playoffs after opening the season 0-5."

GETTING KICKED: The Riders have attempted a league-low 26 field goals and connected on a league-worst 19. B.C. is tied for third in the league with 40 field-goal attempts and has hit on a league-high 37.

MAKING MOVES: Two player additions have proven to be beneficial for the Lions. B.C. signed defensive back Tad Kornegay on July 30, after he was released by the Roughriders. Kornegay has solidified the secondary with 26 defensive tackles and two interceptions in nine regular-season games. On Aug. 3 the Lions acquired slotback Arland Bruce in a trade with the Tiger-Cats. Bruce has 34 receptions for 505 yards and six touchdowns in eight games with the Lions.

Nice pickups. Kornegay is very experienced. Arland Bruce has been a revelation for me. I never actually saw him play much before he arrived here. He is a very, very confident pro.

WOE THE OFFENCE: The Roughriders haven’t scored an offensive touchdown since the third quarter against the Toronto Argonauts on Sept. 17. That’s a streak of 13 quarters. They have scored just nine points in their past three games while committing 16 turnovers.

WHERE’S THE OFFENCE: The Eskimos beat the Riders 17-1 on Monday. It was the lowest-scoring game since Oct. 7, 2001, when the Riders beat the Eskimos 15-1. Neither team ran a play from inside the red zone Monday. The lone touchdown was scored by Edmonton running back Jerome Messam on a 51-yard-run.

"The Roughriders haven’t scored an offensive touchdown since the third quarter against the Toronto Argonauts on Sept. 17. That’s a streak of 13 quarters."

LION KING: B.C. placekicker Paul McCallum set a CFL record on Oct. 8 with his 30th consecutive field goal. McCallum broke the previous record of 28 set by Saskatchewan’s Dave Ridgway in 1993. McCallum missed on his 31st attempt, which was returned for a touchdown by Calgary’s Larry Taylor. McCallum’s last kick of the game was a season-long 53-yarder which carried B.C. to a 33-31 win.

Money McCallum on his way with Geroy straight into the CFL Hall of Fame.

[pennw]

This is a chance to pull away from the Stamps , as they lost to the Argos as time expired with the Argos kicking the game winning field goal . For the second week in a row . The Huffer looked plenty mad as the Argos were lining up to kick. You could just see him getting nice and red . Chris Jones too .
Hoping for a win tomorrow and a loss by the schmoes today to round out the week end .

[WestCoastJoe]

This is a chance to pull away from the Stamps , as they lost to the Argos as time expired with the Argos kicking the game winning field goal . For the second week in a row . The Huffer looked plenty mad as the Argos were lining up to kick. You could just see him getting nice and red . Chris Jones too .
Hoping for a win tomorrow and a loss by the schmoes today to round out the week end .

Too funny, pennw.

Picturing the "Huffer" looking "plenty mad." Getting "nice and red." LOL

Poor old Hufnagel. I like him. But he is with the opposition.

"Mama, don't let your sons grow up to be football coaches." Apologies once again to Willie Nelson.

[sasklionsfan]

The riders haven't been able to score more than 3 points for themselves in nearly a month. Durant is playing on a broken foot. Their defense isn't very good, and the offense is abysmal. They were going all out, as much as they could I guess, the last couple of weeks and still couldn't muster an offensive score. They are going to get their butts kicked royally tomorrow and there will be no hope left for riders fans and the players themselves. Then maybe they pull something like they did on the stamps last night on the Eskimos and we end up hosting the west final if we win next week as well. Don't say this is going to be tough, we could have said that when we played them a couple of weeks ago, but now we are going to slaughter them.

[Rodu]

I'd like to see someone other than Brown returning missed FG's, he's made to many bad decisions back there, and he doesn't have that explosive speed. Maybe put #87 there, or Harris

[TheLionKing]

Edmonton won tonight. Lions need to win to keep pace with the Schmoes

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Lion ... story.html

Mike Beamish ...

B.C: James Yurichuk, linebacker

One of five players on the Lions from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Que., the 24-year-old Yurichuk will see work as a starter following a high ankle sprain to import MLB Solomon Elimimian. Though not considered serious, Elimimian’s injury will force him to miss at least one week of action. Anton McKenzie moves over to replace Elimimiam, with Yurichuk and Anthony Reddick lining up on the outside. A practice roster player, Amara Kamara, another linebacker, is expected to take Elimimian’s spot on the game roster.

OUT OF AFRICA — Though new to to the Lions, ex-Temple LB Amara Kamara quickly has formed a natural bond with a number of B.C. players of African heritage: Rolly Lumbala (Gabon), Cauchy Muamba (Congo), Solomon Elimimian and Jovan Olafioye (Nigeria). The 23-year-old Kamara, who is being activated from the practice roster to play Sunday on special teams, was born in war-torn Liberia and moved to the U.S. at age 11. “Africa is diverse, so many languages and cultures,” Kamara explained. “But it’s easy to connect with those other guys because our stories are much the same. Our parents went through the same struggles to give us a better life.”