THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg launched themselves into contender status with their 33-26 win over Edmonton.
Now, it’s BC’s turn to prove if they are in the mix with the group of three contenders in the league; Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary.
There could be reason to doubt the Lions, especially after a 41-8 loss to Saskatchewan last week. Reality is four of their five wins have come against team with a below .500 record.
Winnipeg had similar skeptics with all five of their wins against teams with losing records, until they handed Edmonton their first loss last night.
So that brings us to the Lions and Calgary Stampeders.
One team in Calgary who is a perennial contender and the Lions, who need a statement game.
The Lions without a doubt have the talent to compete with the top three teams in the division. They have a strong quarterback one/two punch. There is no doubt in their run game with Jeremiah Johnson, complimented by Chris Rainey. The receiving corps is one of, if not, the best in the league.
Defensively they are middle of the pack in points and yards allowed.
They do have one major area of improvement; the offensive line.
When you combine sacks allowed and pressures allowed, the BC Lions are behind all the others in the West with a total of 85. Edmonton follows with 59.
Not only are the offensive lines in the division getting better but so too are the defensive lines.
Tonight’s game for the BC Lions isn’t only important to prove they can play with the top of the division but also just to keep pace with them.
Winnipeg’s win puts them at 6-2, the Stampeders also have six wins, while Edmonton has seven.
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The Lions drop this one and they are midway through the season and sitting in fourth with some games to make up the top teams in the division.
But also look out below when it comes to the surging Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Yes, the Riders are still two wins shy of the Lions but with two games in hand as well as now owning the tiebreaker over the Lions by winning season series, the pressure is on BC.
The Lions need better line play, there is no doubt. But there is also the simmering heat of a quarterback controversy on the west coast.
While, Jonathon Jennings is the team’s number one coming into the season, there was no doubt that the Lions didn’t miss a beat with Travis Lulay running show. Jennings needs a serious bounce back game against the powerhouse Stampeders to reduce the heat on talk of who should be playing quarterback in BC.
Jennings had a tough outing last week and four interceptions from Riders DB Ed Gainey did little to help matters.
Jennings will be happy to know Gainey is still very much a Rider and won’t be on the field for Calgary tonight. There will, however, be a defence the Lions face tonight that are tied with BC for first in turnovers forced in the CFL.
While it may be only Week 9, it is the midway point of the season for BC and they can make a serious statement that last week was an anomaly and they are ready to chase down top spot in the West Division.
In short, a win would make quite the roar for the Leos.
