Game Day Thread, Eskimos @ Lions, July 20, 2012

[WestCoastJoe]

Oooooohhhhhh ... The night before, and now the day of the big game.

Gotta favor the Lions.

But ... The Eskimos are playing tough on D. Kavis Reed IMO is a very good young coach, and he has the team not being thrown off by Tillman's interactions with the media.

We have some soft spots. O not totally cranking it out. Lulay, Geroy could be lots better. Akeem a rocket sitting on the launch pad, virtually ignored. Gore banged up. Johnson banged up. Geroy and Paris maybe whining a bit. Our secondary tackling still a big issue. Kick coverage poor. Ouch. Lots of soft spots.

It might be better for us if we feel up against it, instead of over confident.

Should be another good game in the little old CFL.

[B.C.FAN]

Rajon Henley has been made the scapegoat for the missed field goal return that decided last week's game. He'll sit in favour of fellow DE Brandon Peguese, who is considered a better special teamer. I look forward to seeing Peguese in the lineup. The Lions went to great lengths to keep him on the injured list for the first three games after he arrived in Kamloops just before the end of training camp. Henley has looked OK at defensive end but hasn't stood out. In three games, he has one defensive tackle, one special teams tackle and no sacks. With a good showing, Peguese can keep the designated import job.

I expect to see the Lions move the receivers around a lot this week in the absence of Kierrie Johnson and with Geroy Simon and Shawn Gore somewhat hampered by injury. I look forward to seeing Nick Moore as Johnson's replacement but I expect him to line up inside more often, with Geroy, Marco Iannuzzi and Akeem Foster as wideouts.

I hope the Lions can isolate Andrew Harris on Esks linebacker J.C. Sherritt as they did in the B.C. Place reopener last year, when Harris had 115 receiving yards and two touchdowns, plus another 60 yards on the ground. That was Harris's breakout game.

The B.C. offensive line has not allowed a sack since Week 1. The Lions lead the league in fewest sacks allowed and most rushing yards. Not bad for a position group with the most injury trouble.

The Eskimos don't have a running game, which makes it easier for defences to rush the quarterback. One of the supposed reasons for the Ricky Ray trade was that Jyles was more mobile and could be used in a more diversified offence to stretch the field horizontally. Through three weeks, Jyles has just 43 yards rushing, less than a third of Travis Lulay's league-leading total. He's also been passed by Ricky Ray after Wednesday's game. Ray also has a better rushing average than Jyles.

For all of their well-documented offensive struggles, the Esks are an unknown and unpredictable opponent. This will be a good test for the B.C. offence, especially given the Lions' injury problems at the receiver position. I just hope this game is more entertaining than the 17-1 Rider-Esks game of a few weeks ago.

[Blitz]

Rajon Henley has been made the scapegoat for the missed field goal return that decided last week's game. He'll sit in favour of fellow DE Brandon Peguese, who is considered a better special teamer. I look forward to seeing Peguese in the lineup. The Lions went to great lengths to keep him on the injured list for the first three games after he arrived in Kamloops just before the end of training camp. Henley has looked OK at defensive end but hasn't stood out. In three games, he has one defensive tackle, one special teams tackle and no sacks. With a good showing, Peguese can keep the designated import job.

I expect to see the Lions move the receivers around a lot this week in the absence of Kierrie Johnson and with Geroy Simon and Shawn Gore somewhat hampered by injury. I look forward to seeing Nick Moore as Johnson's replacement but I expect him to line up inside more often, with Geroy, Marco Iannuzzi and Akeem Foster as wideouts.

I hope the Lions can isolate Andrew Harris on Esks linebacker J.C. Sherritt as they did in the B.C. Place reopener last year, when Harris had 115 receiving yards and two touchdowns, plus another 60 yards on the ground. That was Harris's breakout game.

The B.C. offensive line has not allowed a sack since Week 1. The Lions lead the league in fewest sacks allowed and most rushing yards. Not bad for a position group with the most injury trouble.

The Eskimos don't have a running game, which makes it easier for defences to rush the quarterback. One of the supposed reasons for the Ricky Ray trade was that Jyles was more mobile and could be used in a more diversified offence to stretch the field horizontally. Through three weeks, Jyles has just 43 yards rushing, less than a third of Travis Lulay's league-leading total. He's also been passed by Ricky Ray after Wednesday's game. Ray also has a better rushing average than Jyles.

For all of their well-documented offensive struggles, the Esks are an unknown and unpredictable opponent. This will be a good test for the B.C. offence, especially given the Lions' injury problems at the receiver position. I just hope this game is more entertaining than the 17-1 Rider-Esks game of a few weeks ago.

While I'm a Rajon Henley fan I;m also excited to see how Peguese does at defensive end in the rotation. As you note B.C. Fan, he is considered a better special teamer although I wonder if that is true. Henlley is fast and a good tackler too but has paid a price for the field goal returns last week. A message is being send regarding our downfield coverage not only to Henley but also the rest of the special teams units with this change. At the same time I also think they wanted to take a look at Peguese in regular game action.

Nick Moore, becuase he is a rangy, smooth receiver who can play inside as well as outside, gives our Leos more options and as you note, we will see the shortside wide receiver lined up in the slot more than Johnson ever was.

I agree that our offensive line has done a good job overall, in terms of not giving up sacks,especially since we have played a rookie in Norman and an injured Hameister Rees. However, I don;t believe they have done a great job blocking for the inside run. We've had a few very long running plays that have made our running stats look good and we've run the footballl effectively to the outside. Our inside running attack needs to be better and especially it needs to be more conistent.

This is a game which provides an opportunity for our offence to really get untracked and I think the key to that is Travis Lulay really getting in a groove in terms of his passing . He has been inconsistent so far this year.

This is a game in which our defense can really get to the quarterback. Jyles is not a quarterback who makes the quick read and quick throw very often. With excellent pressure we may get sacks and interceptions.

Really looking forward to the game!!

[MexicoLionFan]

Injuries or not, the Lions simply have better talent than any other team in the league, including Edmonton...the Lions never need to worry about their opponents, they only ever have to focus on themselves and play to their ability...

This is why, for the Lions, it is so much about coaching...Chaps can help Lulay get the feel for the game early by setting up some shorter, high % throws, and some designed runs...this will get him into the game and build his confidence necessary to make those longer throws...Stubler can let Jyles know, early and often, that if he tries to set up in the pocket he is going to get harassed...keeping Jyles off his game all night.

And McCann can make a major statement to the Eskies by having his troops cover the first (and all) kick(s) with great passion.

The talent is there, but they need schemes in place to augment and assuage that talent, not hinder it. That is not to say that Chaps has been "awful" as the O coordinator this season...he hasn't, but he also hasn't called near enough screens, QB draws, and dump passes to take the pressure off of Travis...these little things will HELP...Stubler too hasn't been awful, but he has been far too predictable in this young season...and his defence, which is filled with aggressive players, has been far too SOFT...and he must take responsibility for that...and as for McCann, he's lucky to still have a job...

If the coaches have solid game plans tonight, this game won't even be close...the LIons are at least 2 TDs better than the Esks, and all they have to do is execute to show it, regardless of how the opposition plays!

[Blitz]

Travus Lulay describes Nick Moore in today's Vanouver Sun......

He moves kind of like Geroy,” Lulay said. “He’s got very good body control, he’s smooth and he catches the ball really well.”

The Eskimos have activated Tory Logan, a very, very elusive punt and kick returner for tonights game, knowing our Leos have had struggles with downfield coverage.

Its tune fir McMann to get on his 'man hat' and get our speical teams downfield coverage teams working as they should. We have speed, talent, and tackling ability on our downfield coverage units...its execution that has been missing. Its more than time to get our weak spot fixed.

[Blitz]

Its been an interesting story statistically so far this season for our Leos.

Travis Lulay ranks sixth amongst starting quarterbacks in terms of quarterback efficiency, with only Buck Pierce and Steven Jyles behind him and Lulay ranks last amongst league starting quarterbacks in terms of passing percentage. Lulay has never had a high passing percentage.

At the same time our offence leads the league in rushing yards and a chunk of those rushing yards have come off big plays. In terms of our passing offence, we rank last in team passing efficiency. Yet, we are third in the league in tems of the number of first downs made and second in the leaague, only behind Toronto, in terms of average yards per game.

Defensively, so far, we rank best in the league, in terms of giving up the least amound of yards and surprisingly our defense ranks second against the rush. For all the discussion about soft defensive pass coverage we rank right up there agains the pass as the best in the league, along with Toronto and we lead the leauge in tems of the lowest percentage of passes completed against.

[MikeAK]

Love game days! Not much to say other than I'm looking forward to seeing the Lions play some solid ball. Enjoy the game everyone.

[David]

Defensively, so far, we rank best in the league, in terms of giving up the least amound of yards and surprisingly our defense ranks second against the rush. For all the discussion about soft defensive pass coverage we rank right up there agains the pass as the best in the league, along with Toronto and we lead the leauge in tems of the lowest percentage of passes completed against.

We are also 2nd last in INTs which I'd like to see us improve on to give us better field position (only Hamilton has fewer). Yes, interceptions can be a misleading stat, particularly if we lead in lowest pass completion %, but we don't have a single pic yet among the starting 5 in the defensive backfield (only Reddick our nickel and Yurichuk a linebacker have intercepted passes this season).

I am also excited to see what Nic Moore can bring tonight. Is he just a practice/preseason player or can he perform when it counts? I am obviously counting on the latter but he did have his big chance in Montreal last year and made a lot of mistakes (he also got hurt which could have affected his performance to a degree). I just hope he's not another Rufus Skillern, who looked great in practice but very ordinary in actual games (sorry BC FAN!).


DH

[woody]

Is Shawn Gore going to start today?

[B.C.FAN]

Is Shawn Gore going to start today?

No, but Lowell Ullrich's game-day chat is under way at The Province.com. He may have more informaiton.
http://live.theprovince.com/Event/BC_Li ... ll_Ullrich

[TheLionKing]

The Eskimos have activated Tory Logan, a very, very elusive punt and kick returner for tonights game, knowing our Leos have had struggles with downfield coverage.

Just what our coverage team needed to hear

[notahomer]

Love game days! Not much to say other than I'm looking forward to seeing the Lions play some solid ball. Enjoy the game everyone.

[Rammer]

The Eskimos have activated Tory Logan, a very, very elusive punt and kick returner for tonights game, knowing our Leos have had struggles with downfield coverage.

Just what our coverage team needed to hear

The Riders did the same thing and took the victory mainly due to the success they had on ST, expect it to happen moreso. The flipside of that though is a team is sacrificing elsewhere to use a returner, the Lions need to exploit that. Last week IIRC the Riders had 5 receivers for the game, that should have slowed them down for the 4th quarter, yet didn't become a factor, even with Bagg getting nicked.

[TheLionKing]

The Eskimos have activated Tory Logan, a very, very elusive punt and kick returner for tonights game, knowing our Leos have had struggles with downfield coverage.

Just what our coverage team needed to hear

The Riders did the same thing and took the victory mainly due to the success they had on ST, expect it to happen moreso.

Good coaching. Opponents are trying to take advantage of the one weakness on the Lions

[Blitz]

Defensively, so far, we rank best in the league, in terms of giving up the least amound of yards and surprisingly our defense ranks second against the rush. For all the discussion about soft defensive pass coverage we rank right up there agains the pass as the best in the league, along with Toronto and we lead the leauge in tems of the lowest percentage of passes completed against.

We are also 2nd last in INTs which I'd like to see us improve on to give us better field position (only Hamilton has fewer). Yes, interceptions can be a misleading stat, particularly if we lead in lowest pass completion %, but we don't have a single pic yet among the starting 5 in the defensive backfield (only Reddick our nickel and Yurichuk a linebacker have intercepted passes this season).

I am also excited to see what Nic Moore can bring tonight. Is he just a practice/preseason player or can he perform when it counts? I am obviously counting on the latter but he did have his big chance in Montreal last year and made a lot of mistakes (he also got hurt which could have affected his performance to a degree). I just hope he's not another Rufus Skillern, who looked great in practice but very ordinary in actual games (sorry BC FAN!).


DH

Moore is going to be an excelllent receiver for us in the game ahead....Ièm very confident of that...