Lionbackers.com

The_Pauser wrote:

JohnHenry wrote:I'd like to see Hyland, Arakgi and Reddick, the 3 Amigos in the back line. I'd bet opposing receivers would get a serious case of "alligator arms" going over the middle.

I wouldn't worry too much about the receivers, there job is easy, especially in our offence. Just go out 7 yards and stand there, then catch the ball and fall down. The question is can the QB get them the ball? Which I think Lulay will be able to behind our revamped OL.

So the Lions should be able to chew up and spit out the flightless Larks on Thursday:

Lions 37 Als 26

That's only after we give the ball to Robertson for a 1 yard gain, right?

TheLionKing wrote:

korey&dante4ever wrote:Depth chart:

http://bclions.com/uploads/assets/BC/pa ... e%2030.pdf

Franks still out .. replaced by Reddick at wide side halfback... sigh

Whatever happened to Joe Henderson ?

Geroy Simon has 851 receptions in his 13-year CFL career, exactly 851 more than Shawn Gore, Akeem Foster, Nick Moore and Dobson Collins have combined.

Yet, that five-receiver package is one the B.C. Lions will be throwing at the Montreal Alouettes tonight in what promises to be a historic night for the CFL regular-season opener at Molson Stadium. It's historic in the sense that either Gore, Foster, Moore or Collins will establish himself as a bona fide CFL player by making a catch. If it works out well, perhaps all four will establish themselves as the future of B.C. football.

"You could say it's weird that four of us have never caught a pass," said Gore, a secondyear Lion who spent the 2010 pre-season with the Green Bay Packers. "But we've practised a lot together, we've caught lots of balls in practice and in preseason games. Yeah, it hasn't happened in an official game, with the cameras and lights on. But practices and pre-season games are football, too. We don't feel there's any extra pressure, just because it's a game that counts."

Paris Jackson, going into his ninth season, with 393 career catches to his credit, will back up Gore at slotback, partly because Jackson didn't participate in any training camp drills, scrimmages or pre-season games because of a wonky knee. It's also because Gore, the 10th overall pick in the 2010 CFL draft, might be the team's most improved player from a year ago.

Don't ask head coach Wally Buono if it's true. He says the people you should be asking are the players who have to defend Gore in practice.

"Shawn, in particular, is just so explosive. He's such a big-play threat," said Lions veteran cornerback Davis Sanchez. "Sometimes you have to give young guys a chance. I'm sure it will be a learning curve for those guys. But they've got to get a chance sometime. I've been very impressed with Shawn. Of all those young guys, I expect him to be the biggest surprise, because he's virtually unknown."

"If Wally has the confidence in us to make plays, he's going to put us in there," Moore said. "Obviously, this is the first game for all of us, except Geroy. So it's a tremendous opportunity to let Wally know we are capable of getting it done."

Moore said their advantage is having Simon around to watch, listen to and be inspired by.

"He's a tremendous leader, off and on the field," Moore said. "He's always giving us tips, when we're on the field. He's also at the centre of the little chats we have on the sidelines, what's going on with the defence, and he's here to help us with that."

Foster, at 6-4, 215, is a large, inviting target, nine years younger than the man he replaced, and another young player with a huge upside, if he can match the expectations.

"In the off-season, during practice, you catch 100 balls a day," Foster said. "It's just like riding a bike. A game is a little different than practice, but it's still football. I've caught a lot of passes over the years. When I catch my first pass in a real CFL game, it'll be just one more."

"We're going to do everything the coaches have taught us and rely on our talent," Foster said. "The only thing we're missing is experience. And that will come."

Blitz wrote: Our Leos coaching staff have often confused, in terms of having a very talented player sitting while someone else starts. Perhaps the best examples are Jamal Johnson and Ricky Foley. I like Reddick but we really should have Hyland in the starting lineup. Obviously the ratio is a critical factor but at the very important safety position, where Hyland would be a huge presence, we go into this game with Araki as the starting safety.

I would have preferred different decision making regarding the rario to have Hyland in the starting lineup.

Import Dobson Collins is the boundary side wide-out, whose only pro experience was camp and practice roster stints with San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Practice roster carry over import Nick Moore starts on the inside with the choice of two Canadians on the mend joining him. Paris Jackson and his repaired knee will start the season against the Alouettes Thursday, but former Eskimo Kamau Peterson and his healed Achilles is currently marked in as Jackson’s backup.

The field side wide-out is Shawn Gore, the Lions’ second pick in the 2010 Canadian Draft. Gore decided on taking a run at the Green Bay Packers and caught more passes in NFL exhibition (two) than in CFL regular season (none) in 2010. The Bishop’s grad displayed eye popping speed on special teams last year, but the jury is out on how productive he can be in his first full season.

WestCoastJoe wrote: Tight End.

B.C.FAN wrote:For those interested, Lowell Ullrich is taking online questions from the stadium in a live chat now:
http://communities.canada.com/theprovin ... fault.aspx