The Canadian Press
It was the biggest game of their season and the BC Lions won it in impressive fashion. BC’s 32-14 win over Montreal on Friday night was full of positives, but it also came at a high cost.
The good news is the positive outweighed the negative. The bad news, however, is the Lions will likely be without one of their leaders for the next little while.
We’ll start with the bad, because I just felt so bad for Travis Lulay in the first quarter. Lulay reportedly suffered a separated shoulder early in Friday’s game and was replaced by Jonathon Jennings for the duration. Losing Lulay is a blow on the field, as he’s really helped solidify things for BC since taking over the starting reins back in Week 5.
More than that, though, it’s just too bad for Lulay. The guy has been a consummate pro over the last number of years and has done everything the right way in earning back his starting job this season. For all the hard work, rehab, and discouraging times, Lulay has worked his tail off to remain in the CFL, and to suffer another injury setback is really too bad.
There is a bright side, though; in fact, there are many things to feel good about in BC coming out of a second consecutive win. The play of Jennings has to lead the way, as he stepped into the void early and got the job done. Jennings wasn’t outstanding, but he limited mistakes, which was all that was required in Montreal.
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Trevor Harris and the Ottawa REDBLACKS closed out Week 14 with a win over the Riders (CFL.ca)
That’s because the Lions were dialed in defensively, which is starting to become a theme. After a rough start, Defensive Coordinator Mark Washington has turned his group around. BC allowed 14 points or less for a second straight game and they’ve now gone four straight games allowing fewer than 23.
Washington deserves a lot of credit as the Lions have moved past Winnipeg into the West Division’s final playoff spot, even without star linebacker Solomon Elimimian. BC has a secondary reeling in balls on a regular basis; Anthony Orange, Winston Rose, and TJ Lee have 11 combined this season. And, don’t look now, but Odell Willis has quietly moved into second place on the CFL sack chart with nine.
The positives don’t end there, though, because there’s one other crucial trend developing. Due in large part to early growing pains, receiver Bryan Burnham got off to an uncharacteristically slow start. To see one of the league’s elite pass catchers going five straight games without a touchdown and hauling in just 15 catches in the process was surprising. But he’s come on with a vengeance of late.
Burnham has touchdown catches in four straight games and five of his last six and is seeing the ball far more often. After averaging just three receptions in his first five games, that number has gone up to over four in recent weeks; it goes all the way to five if you take a Week 9 loss out of the conversation.
Burnham is coming off his best game of the season; he hauled in five catches for 104 yards and a major, which is something Lions’ fans have to be ecstatic about. With the addition of DeVier Posey, Burnham should only get more dangerous as the season goes on.
BC isn’t out of the water yet. With all three byes behind them, the Lions have a tough schedule down the stretch; they play Calgary and Hamilton twice with single games against Edmonton and Saskatchewan also on the docket. With the way things are trending in BC, though, the optimism level is justifiably high right now.
Going deep
Stampeders fans are getting sick of star receivers going down and not returning. With Eric Rogers already on the shelf, Calgary lost emerging superstar Kamar Jorden on Labour Day before seeing the always dangerous DaVaris Daniels go down in Saturday’s 43-28 win over Hamilton and not returning.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound minor for Daniels either. Head Coach Dave Dickenson said Sunday their red hot receiver is set to be “out a while”, which now means the team’s three most dangerous players at the position are on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Luckily, Calgary’s depth in this particular area is rather strong. As such, I don’t know how many Stamps fans are overly worried.
Part of the evidence is right there on the field. Since Jorden’s injury, Reggie Begelton has stepped into his void effortlessly. Begelton rattled off his second consecutive 150-yard game to go along with his first touchdown of the season. Also in an enhanced role, Juwan Brescasin went over 100 yards himself, which was encouraging to see.
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» Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET: Montreal at Winnipeg
» Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET: Edmonton at Ottawa
» Saturday, 7:00 p.m. ET: Saskatchewan at Toronto
» Saturday, 10:00 p.m. ET: Hamilton at BC
With three key players on the sidelines, more of the same from Brescasin and Begelton is important, but they’re not the only players the Stamps are going to need lots from. There are two other names that come to mind when you think about elevated usage: Marken Michel and Lamar Durant.
We know Michel and Durant are capable of big games and have had them before, but now it’s all about consistency. Playing in an offence with huge targets like Daniels, Jorden, and Rogers, or even two of those guys, can be a nice security blanket. With all three of those guys out, though, that insulation is gone and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is going to be looking their way on a regular basis.
Calgary goes into their third and final bye in Week 15 before welcoming Toronto to kick off their stretch drive. At worst, the Stamps will have a two-and-a-half game edge for top spot in the West Division after this weekend’s action, which gives them a nice cushion as this new look receiving core gets thrust into the spotlight.
Statement made
As much as it frustrates me to type, our own Jeff Krever made a great point this week. He came on my show in Calgary and underlined why Ottawa’s Week 14 showdown with the Riders was a statement game for that team’s offence, and specifically their quarterback. Well, we heard Trevor Harris and the REDBLACKS loud and clear.
“That’s one of the toughest places to play and (Harris is) playing his worst football of the season now,” Krever said on Friday afternoon. “In back-to-back weeks (going into Week 14) he’s struggled, the REDBLACKS offence is struggling, and everybody is wondering ,where does this team stand right now? I think this needs to motivate the Ottawa REDBLACKS going into a tough place to play.
“They have to be able to play this game and prove some people wrong, and what a challenge against the hottest defence in the CFL right now. I want to see what Trevor Harris and what the REDBLACKS’ offence, with a lot of weapons on their side and in that lineup, can do in that game.”
There wasn’t much to dislike in Ottawa’s game on Saturday night, specifically with the ball in their hand. Harris looked like his old self in a much-needed 30-25 win; he was virtually mistake free in throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns, which is exactly what the doctor ordered.
Krever was right: Harris had struggled in a pair of losses prior to this weekend. He was under a 60 per cent completion rate in setbacks against Montreal and BC, throwing three interceptions against just one touchdown. Those struggles seemed very much behind him at Mosaic, though.
Not only was Harris accurate and efficient, but he also got Diontae Spencer involved in a big way. Spencer led all REDBLACKS receivers with 110 yards and a touchdown, which is encouraging to see.
Prior to Saturday night, the dynamic Spencer had just two total TD catches and only one other game over the century mark. Getting him back into a groove to help complement Greg Ellingson, Brad Sinopoli, and RJ Harris (what a catch) is huge.
Harris’s success in the passing game on Saturday also helped William Powell bust off his biggest game of the season. Ottawa’s star running back finished with 148 yards on 18 carries and a pair of touchdowns. A game like that wouldn’t have been possible had Harris struggled the way he did in the two games prior.
With a big win over the weekend, the REDBLACKS are back into top spot in the East Division with a big game against Edmonton ahead in Week 15. With a home-and-home with Hamilton still on the horizon, Ottawa’s success on Saturday has to be just the start of a consistent run.
