BC Lions @ Saskatchewan Roughriders: June 11, 2016 Game Thread

[Will]

The third matchup of the evening.

[R.J]

I'll be pvr'ing the game. I'm interested to see the new look Riders and also interested to see the BC Lions defense with Edem starting at safety.

[jerrym]

Lulay will be backup to Jonathon Jennings today.

And that’s the ironic part about the full return to health of Travis Lulay — his arm is back but his starting job is not.
For the first time since 2010, when coach Wally Buono inexplicably brought Casey Printers back to the Lions for one last chance, Lulay is not the No. 1 quarterback at camp. From opening day two weeks ago, 23-year-old CFL sophomore Jonathon Jennings has taken the first-team reps, and the QB hierarchy isn’t likely to change Saturday when the Lions play their first pre-season game in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
For now, Lulay is a 32-year-old backup.
“That’s true, at this point,” Buono said this week. “There’s been no decision made because no decision has to be made at this point. The luxury I’m seeing is we have quality at quarterback and we have depth at quarterback. I would think by the end of the year they’ll both have had significant roles in our success. How we travel that journey is not as important. If you look at the season and both of them have seven wins, that’s a pretty good season.”
If both Lulay and Jennings finish with seven wins, then one or both of them was injured or there was one heck of a quarterback controversy.
We haven’t seen one of those since Buono, to quell unrest and galvanize his team, cut Printers adrift halfway through that 2010 season and made Lulay the starter.

http://www.canada.com/sports/footbal...626/story.html

[jerrym]

Riders depth chart for game:

http://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.net...C-New-Logo.pdf

[jerrym]

Five Riders to watch in BC game:

With Saturday’s game in mind, the Regina Leader-Post’s Murray McCormick has prepared five players (excluding quarterbacks) to watch:
No. 27 KEVIN FRANCIS
Chris Jones, the Riders’ head coach and general manager, has spent a lot of training camp challenging prospects to play different positions than they may have manned in college.Francis was a receiver for North Carolina A&T before being selected in the supplemental draft by the Riders on May 24. Prior to being picked, Francis was told that he might be looking at a switch to defence in the CFL. Francis, 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, started training camp as a linebacker before being moved to defensive back. He has worked primarily as a safety and is listed as a starter on Saturday’s depth chart. Francis has already shown strong pass-coverage skills and a linebacker’s mentality when it comes to rushing the line. His size could create some matchup challenges for offensive co-ordinators. He is also faster than one would expect for a player of his size. Francis may or may not make the roster as a safety. He could help his cause by showing that he can handle playing the position during Saturday’s game.
No. 35 GREG JONES
The Riders have been looking for a starting middle linebacker since Rey Williams was sidelined for the season in 2013 with a torn anterior cruciate knee ligament in the 10th game of the regular season. Shea Emry was expected to fill that role in 2015, but his season ended in the first half of the regular-season opener after he suffered a concussion. Chris Jones addressed the void at middle linebacker by signing Greg Jones as a free agent. Jones dressed for a combined 30 games over the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Toronto Argonauts. In 2015, he was an East Division all-star after finishing fifth in the CFL with 98 defensive tackles. He also chipped in two sacks and 19 special-teams tackles. The former NFLer (he played in the New York Giants’ 21-17 win over the New England Patriots in the 2012 Super Bowl) is a pure middle linebacker. He can plug holes along the line of scrimmage and chase down runners from behind. Keep an eye out for Jones to slam into runners and assert his personality early in Saturday’s game.
No. 68 THADDEUS COLEMAN
Watching offensive-line play is an acquired taste. From far away, it looks like really big guys trying to stop players from getting to the quarterback or creating holes for running backs to run through. Up close, it’s almost a ballet with a focus on technique and footwork. Coleman has both of those attributes despite being 6-foot-8 and 320 pounds. He is the tallest player on the offensive line and uses his height to his advantage. Coleman keeps some of the shorter defensive ends away with his long arms and then slides across the line with excellent footwork. Coleman is a three-year veteran who has played only 21 regular-season games in the CFL. He was still good enough that Chris Jones traded the rights to two undisclosed negotiation-list players to acquire the 30-year-old lineman from the Edmonton Eskimos. Coleman has been among the starters since the opening of training camp. Jerriel King has pushed him and that’s a good thing. Competition brings out the best in any player and Coleman seems to thrive on it.
No. 77 JORDAN REAVES
The Riders are trying to find a position that fits the athletic Reaves. He is a former CIS basketball star with the Brandon University Bobcats and is attempting to land a position with the Riders. He worked out as a receiver with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2015, but was released after the pre-season. The Riders signed Reaves with an eye toward playing him at fullback and/or slotback. Those plans changed at the Riders’ mini-camp in Vero Beach, Fla., where Reaves was flipped to defence. He lined up as a cornerback, defensive halfback, safety and linebacker before finally settling at defensive end. Reaves has worked primarily as a rush end at training camp, a position that doesn’t seem to suit his 6-foot-4 frame. At 230 pounds, Reaves needs to gain some weight if he’s to be a regular at defensive end. Right now, he has the speed to race by offensive tackles. He’s also enjoying the physical play that takes place along the defensive line. Reaves, the son of Blue Bombers legend Willard Reaves, is a long shot to make the team due to his football inexperience. He still should be fun to watch if he gets some repetitions on Saturday.
No. 82 NAAMAN ROOSEVELT
Roosevelt was among the Riders’ leading receiving prospects during the 2015 training camp. He was a favourite target of all the quarterbacks and rewarded them with some acrobatic catches. For some reason, he was cut after the pre-season. Roosevelt accepted a practice-roster spot and he continued to work just as hard on his game as he did in training camp. After eight regular-season games, Roosevelt was finally activated and showed the same form he did in training camp. Roosevelt finished the season with 25 receptions for 488 yards and five touchdowns. In 2016, he has picked up where he left off. He has great chemistry with Darian Durant and it also carries over to the other quarterbacks. Roosevelt has stood out every day at training camp and watch for him to add more to his resume in Saturday’s game against the Lions. There is no way that Roosevelt will be left off the active roster this year.

http://leaderpost.com/sports/footbal...-the-b-c-lions

[jerrym]

HC Chris Jones will use the BC game to help determine who will be the second-string QB.

The pre-season game on Saturday between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions is a fact-finding mission for Chris Jones.
Overall, the Roughriders’ general manager and head coach is hoping to learn what his team is like in its first CFL pre-season test. Specifically, Jones wants to find out who will emerge as the backup to franchise quarterback Darian Durant in the 2016 season.
Durant will dress for Saturday’s game (7 p.m., TSN, CKRM) but won’t take any snaps. Jones is turning over the quarterbacking duties to B.J. Coleman, Brett Smith and Phil Sims, who only joined the Riders on Tuesday.
“We have three really good young quarterbacks,’’ Jones said. “Sims is a little bit behind the curve as far as academics go, getting in and out of the huddle and knowing what we’re doing. Coleman and Smith are both ready to go and they’re going to play a lot of football.’’
Jones wouldn’t disclose who would start, suggesting it might be a coin flip between Coleman and Smith.
Each of the quarterbacking prospects has been with the Riders for a varied amount of time and offers different attributes.
Smith, 23, is in his second season with the Riders. Smith (6-foot-2 and 206 pounds) earned a roster spot in 2015 after strong showings in back-to-back pre-season games.
A season-ending injury to Durant in the regular-season opener and a torn pectoral muscle suffered by then-backup Kevin Glenn four games later elevated Smith from third on the depth chart to starter in his rookie season.
Smith started eight games in 2015 and posted a 1-7 record while throwing 15 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
He showed a strong arm and also made plays with his legs while rushing for 444 yards on 57 carries. Smith needs to stay in the pocket and that would help him generate long drives.
Coleman, 27, has improved since joining the Riders at their early April mini-camp in Vero Beach, Fla. Coleman (6-foot-3 and 205 pounds) took time to adjust to the nuances of the Canadian game and that’s to be expected considering it was his first exposure to the CFL.
Coleman worked on what he learned in the mini-camp before attending the Riders’ main training camp. Once again, he took time to adjust to playing against veterans and everything that entailed.
Coleman has caught on and was promoted to working with the first- and second-team receivers and running backs this week. That promotion is an indication of Coleman’s progress.
He is a strong-armed pivot who had NFL experience on the Green Bay Packers’ practice roster in 2012 before being released after the pre-season in 2013 after never seeing any regular-season action. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2012 draft by the Packers. Coleman was out of football before signing with the Riders on Jan. 25.
Sims, 23, had NFL stints with the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks before his signing was announced Tuesday. At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, he’s the biggest of the quarterbacks.
Sims has gained from the double-barrel approach to offence and defence at camp because he has an opportunity for more repetitions. It’s still asking a lot from the young quarterback to step into a CFL game with only four days of practice under his belt.
Saturday’s game is still the best opportunity for Sims to play. With that in mind, Jones said that Sims will be on the field for a few offensive series.

http://leaderpost.com/sports/footbal...ut-their-stuff

[Will]

The game was delayed by a power failure.

I didn't watch much of it, but those Lions jerseys are just as horrible as expected.

The Lions won 28-16

http://www.tsn.ca/lions-top-riders-i...-game-1.505822

[paulwoods13]

I didn't watch much of it, but those Lions jerseys are just as horrible as expected.
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The Lions' entire look, from helmets on down, was utterly horrendous. Way worse than I expected.

[R.J]

The game was delayed by a power failure.

I didn't watch much of it, but those Lions jerseys are just as horrible as expected.

The Lions won 28-16

http://www.tsn.ca/lions-top-riders-i...-game-1.505822

The Lions' entire look, from helmets on down, was utterly horrendous. Way worse than I expected.

Agreed on the jerseys and the whole look for that matter. Too much black and the helmet colour is also way off the Lions orange. they've changed the "Lions Orange' yet again; not sure why - I thought last years look was fantastic.

As for the game itself; decent game and BC looks like they could do some damage this year. A lot of work still needs to be done in Saskatchewan. I also think they (Riders) need to bring in more young QB's - not a fan of Smith and coleman at the very least needs more time developing.

[Argo57]

Agree with all of you, the Lions have always had pretty nice uniforms (and a great logo) but they have totally screwed that up with this redesign, must have been the same group of "deep thinkers" who worked on the third jersey project a couple of years back and thought that looked great.

[Gill The Thrill]

Those jerseys and the helmet mind you, were so hideous that I couldn't watch. I do agree that the Lions have always had one of the best colour schemes and helmet in Pro football. This clearly is one of the worst of any pro football teams. Bobby Ackles and Annis Stukus must be spinning in their grave if they could see what's happened to their beloved Lions jersey and helmet.

This is nothing new to a Vancouver based pro sports team, perhaps the designer was the same stoner who did the NHL Canucks V sweaters from 1979-86.http://www.sportsk.com/vivacaro19.html

[R.J]

Anyone else notice how Saskatchewan jerseys looked awkward about the neck and shoulder area ? Looked like they were all wearing those neck protecter things.

[ArgoRavi]

IMO, there is no substitute for the crisp, clean uniform looks of the 1970s and 1980s but the designers of the modern-day uniforms obviously think otherwise.

[jerrym]

Video recap of the game:

http://www.riderville.com/2016/06/11...skatchewan-16/

[jerrym]

BC game balls:

http://www.bclions.com/2016/06/12/ga...ls-bc-vs-sask/

[R.J]

Neighborhood kids shooting off a confetti cannon caused the power outage at Mosaic Stadium on Sat. night. #CFL #Riders

— CFL News (@CFL_News) June 13, 2016

[argolio]

Confetti cannon? I find that hard to believe.

[ArgoRavi]

Apparently, this game drew over 500k viewers on TSN despite the one hour delay midway through. It looks like Canadians are hungry for Canadian football.

[KCargosfan]

Apparently, this game drew over 500k viewers on TSN despite the one hour delay midway through. It looks like Canadians are hungry for Canadian football.

I pondered in the past if no Canadian teams making the NHL playoffs would help the CFL out early in the season.

[jerrym]

Apparently, this game drew over 500k viewers on TSN despite the one hour delay midway through. It looks like Canadians are hungry for Canadian football.

Hungry? At this point most of us are starved for Canadian football.