Morris: Lions eager to deliver another nail in the Esks coffin

Odell Willis swears there will be nothing personal when the BC Lions play the Edmonton Eskimos Friday night, the team that traded him away last winter.

“I might have taken it personal the first game,” the big Lions’ defensive end said after practice this week. “When you get traded you always feel some type of way about the team.

“I have no ill will towards nobody over there, but the GM maybe. I still love a couple of the guys over there on the team. It’s just going to be a fun game.”

That doesn’t mean beating his old team and further denting their playoff hopes wouldn’t be special for Willis.

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Odell Willis is hopeful he and the Lions will be able to deliver another nail in the Eskimos coffin, further removing them from their playoff hopes. (Jimmy Jeong, CFL.ca)

“Winning is always nice,” he said. “I don’t care if I’m beating them or anybody else. Everything is nice when you win, no matter who it’s against.”

A win for BC (8-7) clinches the Lions a spot in the playoffs. A loss won’t bury the Eskimos (8-8) but would be another nail in their coffin.

The last month has been like an elevator ride with the two teams heading in opposite directions. The Eskimos began September considered the second best team in the CFL while the Lions’ were mired at the bottom of the West Division.

Willis spent five seasons with the Eskimos, was named a CFL All-Star in 2014 and was part of Edmonton’s 2015 Grey Cup team. His journey to Vancouver began in February with him being traded to Ottawa for defensive tackle Jake Ceresna. The REDBLACKS then sent Willis to BC for a fourth-round draft pick.

In 15 games with the Lions the 33-year-old from Meridian, Miss., has 18 tackles and nine sacks.

The Lions’ march into the showdown against Edmonton having won five of their last six games, including last week’s 26-21 upset of West Division-leading Calgary. The stumbling Eskimos had lost three straight before beating Ottawa 34-16 last weekend.

“What is special is watching this team from where we started from to where we are now,” said Willis. “Early in the season, we were bottom of the barrel. We could have easily given up, easily given up on each other and the coaches.

“Look at the position we have put ourselves in. The team just kept fighting.”

There has been much discussion in Vancouver about the Lions erratic offence and questions about the future of quarterback Jonathon Jennings. While the offence has wavered BC’s defence has been resolute.

In their previous five wins, the Lions’ defence has collected 21 sacks, nine interceptions and created five fumbles.

Overall, BC leads the league with 21 interceptions and is fourth with 40 sacks, just three behind Edmonton and Saskatchewan. The Lions are also fourth in the league with 99 points off turnovers.

Individually, first-year Lion defensive backs Winston Rose and Anthony Orange have five interceptions each, leaving them in a league-leading four-way tie. Defensive end Shawn Lemon, obtained in a July trade from Toronto, has 10 sacks, third best in the league while Willis is tied with three other plays at fourth.

Anthony Orange (pictured) and Winston Rose have both totalled five interceptions each as the Lions lead the league in total interceptions. (Johany Jutras, CFL.ca)

“We just believe in each other,” said Orange. “We just trust everybody else is going to do their job. I trust the D-line is going to get to the quarterback, they trust us we are going to cover guys.”

Some eyebrows were raised when the Lions held Calgary to just 38 yards rushing. It’s the kind of effort head coach Wally Buono has come to expect.

“Our defence has been strong more than just the last six games,” said Buono.

“The thing we have been stressing is team defence. It’s not about one guy stopping the run, it’s about everybody doing what they are supposed to do. When the guys do what they are asked to, when they fill the gaps, when we are physical, usually we have done well.”

On nights when the offence has trouble finding traction, the defensive has stood firm.

“It gives us a little bit of an edge,” said Orange, a Fresno State product who broke into the CFL with Toronto in 2015. “We know the offence hasn’t been as best as they could be. That . . . puts it on us that we have to score.

“I don’t think it’s pressure. It’s more of a challenge for us to get those turnovers, to try and score on defence, make it easier on our offence.”

The Lions know the key to beating the Eskimos is getting Mike Reilly off his game. The Edmonton quarterback leads the CFL with 558 completions for 4,974 yards. His 28 touchdown passes are only three less than the league-leading 31 thrown by Calgary’s Bo Levi Mitchell.

Willis compares Reilly to BC quarterback Travis Lulay.  Getting pressure on them and delivering big hits won’t intimidate either player.

“I’ve smoked Mike Reilly a couple of times,” Willis said. “He got up, led the team down and scored a touchdown.

“Pressure and hitting Mike Reilly doesn’t do it. The pressure don’t matter, it’s all about executing the game plan. As long as we keep Mike confused and frustrated . . . we will be pretty successful. You see those guys frustrated when (receivers) aren’t running the right routes or stopping the run, batting down balls at the line.”

Reilly also leads the league with 17 interceptions, something that has the Lions secondary licking their lips.

“We know he’s going to throw the ball,” said Orange. “Of course we are all excited the ball is going to be in the air and give us an opportunity to get some more interceptions.”