Every week in the Canadian Football League provides a major opportunity. And this one is certainly no different for a resurgent 1-1-0 BC Lions squad entering hostile territory against the 0-2-0 Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday night at Princess Auto Stadium (5:30 pm PT/TSN/RDS/980 CKNW/Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600).
While the standings indicate a chance for Vernon Adams Jr. and the Lions to create a nice cushion on the reigning Western Division champions, no one inside that Lion locker room is concerned with what records are at this early juncture.
“We need to focus on doing what we do to beat a good team this week and don’t look at their record or anything like that. That’s a good team with a good system over there,” said Adams, the CFL’s reigning PFF Honour Roll winner.
“It’s always a battle when we’ve got to go over there. (We’re) excited about this opportunity. That’s always a battle when we’ve got to go over there. Get to the game with a short memory.”
The Bombers are in the midst of a rare two-game losing skid and are two games below .500 for the first time since way back in 2016 following some key off-season departures and injuries to key contributors. Kenny Lawler is out for a few more weeks with an broken arm while Dalton Schoen missed practice time this week as did a major thorn in the Lions’ side in recent years, running back Brady Oliveira. Both Oliveira and Schoen were listed on Winnipeg’s roster released on Thursday morning.
None of the injury discussion matters when it comes to Rick Campbell’s message and the team’s preparation.
“They’re still really good. I find in this league right now, all nine teams are very close and all the games really seem to be close,” said the head coach.
“It’s a matter of who makes plays in the fourth quarter to win the game. If you find yourself on the right side of it you’re 2-0 and if you find yourself on the wrong side of it you’re 0-2. That’s how I view it. I know they have veteran coaches and veteran players there, so we’re just going to have to go in there and play really well to beat them.”
It certainly seems like a recipe for Adams Jr. and the offence to be able to take advantage of some holes in that Bomber defence. Pounding it with Will Stanback could play a big role in playing from in front and taking the loud crowd out of it.
“I tell them all the time, ‘I’m going to put it in the area and you guys make me look good.’ I would like to get some of these other guys a little bit more targets early on so they can be warmed up and ready to go when it comes there way in big moments. I’m going to keep taking what the defence gives me and going through my reads,” added Big Play VA.
The Quarterbacks
# 3 Vernon Adams Jr.– as a starter with British Columbia, Adams brings a 2-1-0 regular season record against Winnipeg with one more defeat coming in last year’s Western Final at a frigid Manitoba fortress. Big Play VA’s 640 passing yards entering week three trailed only Trevor Harris (680) and Bo Levi Mitchell (695) for the league lead.
# 8- Zach Collaros- the two-time Grey Cup champion is in the midst of a very rare two-game losing skid since joining Winnipeg at the 2019 trade deadline. Collaros has yet to throw a touchdown pass against three interceptions over the last two weeks. Friday’s matchup pits the top two passers from 2023 against one another: VA had 4,769 yards while Collaros threw for a career-best 4,262.
3 Lions To Watch
WR # 18 Justin McInnis- ‘who is going to step up after the departures of a couple of key veterans?’ McInnis entered week three as the CFL’s leader with 194 receiving yards and has hauled in touchdown in each game. VA has found himself a new favourite target early on.
DB # 27 Jordan Perryman– there was similar questions about a couple of spots in the secondary following some departures in free agency and the injury to TJ Lee. Perryman’s play at field corner has been far better than average. It was his forced fumble that helped seal the victory over Calgary last week.
DL # 90 Josh Banks– as radio man Bob ‘The Moj’ Marjanovich points out: ‘night train doesn’t always make the tackle but he makes the play.’ Banks’ ability to stop the run and disrupt activity in the middle is what helps the defensive line do its thing.
Extra Yards
Out for the Lions this week are wide receiver Jevon Cottoy (hamstring) who heads to the one-game injured list plus linebacker Ace Eley and defensive back Ronald Kent Jr. who move to the practice roster. Making their CFL debuts this week are wide receivers Stanley Berryhill III and Keiran Poissant. Veteran defensive back Ciante Evans makes his return in Kent Jr.’s spot after being out against Calgary due to personal reasons.
Campbell continues to climb the club’s all-time win list for head coaches. His next victory would tie him with the late Dave Ritchie for sixth spot. With three more wins, he ties his special teams coordinator Mike Benevides for fifth. Campbell has a record of 30-22-0 in his three-plus seasons at the helm in British Columbia.
More Adams data: Lions’ historian and CFL head stats man Steve Daniel points out Adams leads the CFL with nine completions of 20 yards or more. He also has a record of 16-8-0 in his last 24 starts.
Bat Signal alert: Alexander Hollins leads the CFL with 24 targets, 16 receptions and the overall depth downfield of those targets with 15.9 yards per throw, 381 yards total. The best part about Hollins’ game so far is he still will remind you he dropped a big pass early in the win over Calgary. Always room for improvement.
After starting the win over Calgary with three consecutive two-and-outs, the Lions engineered six offensive drives that had multiple first downs.
Another breakthrough season for Ben Hladik seems to be in the cards as the UBC product leads CFL defenders with 20 tackles (ten in each game).