Kadie Smith
The 3-3 Lions head to Hamilton Saturday to take on the 4-2 Ticats. Yes…it’s a catfight. The Ticats have yet to lose a game at their new digs, Tim Horton’s Field, and will be looking to make it 10 in a row (including preseason) in front of their loud Tigertown faithful.
The Lions, who struggled on the road in Week 6 against Winnipeg, are coming off a huge come-from-behind Week 7 home win over the top-ranked Edmonton Eskimos. Lulay connected with Andrew Harris deep with just 1:17 left to play as the Lions erased a five-point deficit to take the lead. Then, in a play that you have to see to believe, Ronnie Yell picked off Nichols on 3rd and 4 as the clock hit the forty-five-second mark to squash Edmonton’s hope of retaking the lead.
The Lions, who had been criticized for their defensive play through much of the season, shutdown Nichols and the Eskimos in the second half while racking up 16 points of their own to topple the Esks 26-23.
“That’s the kind of defence we know we can be,” said Yell of his big play. “We came together as a unit.”
The Ticats are also coming off a big 38-8 win at home over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who lost QB Drew Willy to a knee injury. Hamilton put pressure to the Bombers often and early, and by halftime, the score was 31-0.
Both teams are riding high, and it would seem the Lions have the challenge, with the home team taking the last eight games and 16 of the last 20 in the CFL. They’ll need to focus in some areas to uncrown the Ticats at THF. As Travis Lulay said, “we’ll need to be aggressive right off the bat.” You can catch the game on TSN 1040, or watch live on TSN
Here are your 3 Keys to the Game:
Get the Ball to Andrew
Jeff Tedford said it in Training Camp; at the time, the two were playing around, but it’s appears to be true: get the ball to Andrew Harris. The crash-and-burn RB exploded in the Lions’ win over the Esks with 118 yards rushing – his tenth career 100+ rushing game – and another 57 through the air, with two touchdowns to boot, and it seems he shows no signs of slowing down. After an ankle injury sidelined him for the last part of the 2014 season, Harris is back, and back with a vengeance.
He’ll be the first to admit that he plays with a chip on his shoulder and the early-season doubts that some had about his ability to bounce back have only served to fuel that fire that he plays with every night…and every practice too. “Andrew’s one of the finest players in our league,” said Travis Lulay. Strong words form the 2011 MOP, and indicative of the kind of team unity that exists on the Lions.
The outing was good enough to earn Harris the Lions’ game ball that night, and the #2 spot n the CFL’s weekly player of the week honours, and more than good enough to put him front and centre in the conversation for one the best running backs in the league with a league-leading 519 yards on 97 carries. He also leads in yards from scrimmage with 807, and is now sitting pretty with 42 touchdowns – 21 receiving and 21 rushing; dual threat indeed.
For Harris’ part, he says he just tries to be an impact player each game, and he’s lucky enough to do what he loves each week and play on a team that has faith in him. Safe to say fans are pretty lucky too.
Give Lulay Time to Throw
The Lions’ o-line has been solid all season long, leading the league in pass protection, allowing just five sacks through six games compared to Hamilton’s 16. There’s a definite unity on the o-line this season, and an aggressiveness. As Harris puts it, “we’ve got some dogs on there; they make my life easier.”
Newcomer Jason Foster continues to impress at centre, and has a cerebral quality in his play that is not often seen at that position. “I like to know what the assignments are for everyone around me,” he said. Along with left-guard T-Dre Player, and the rest of the unit, they’re giving Lulay plenty of time to make a play. Perhaps what’s been most impressive about the 2015 Lions’ o-line is the cohesion with which the unit is playing. They make up for one another and are able to communicate on field during plays very well. Jeff Tedford says that’s exactly what you want to see from your guys up front.
“They’re the batteries,” said Lulay. “When the offensive line is playing well, they give everyone else a change to play well too.”
When the Defence Plays as One
Through much of 2014, the Lions’ defence led the league in a number of categories, and Ryan Phillips will be the first to tell you, they hadn’t been playing the way they know they can though the first five games of 2015.
But in Week 7 at home, down 23-10 to Edmonton at the half, they came up huge, shutting down the Eskimos through the second half of play. At the end of the game, the stats were eerily similar between the two teams, but it was the timely plays that the Lions’ defence made that spelled the difference between a win and a loss. The secondary looked poised and confident, aided by pressure up front from the d-line. “That’s how we want to play every game, and that’s how we know we can play,” said Ronnie Yell, who sealed the Eskimos’ fate with a late-game pick off Nichols.
For the reigning MOP, Solomon Elimimian, there was nothing new that the defence did to come up big in Week 7 aside from just executing. “There were no new plays or schemes,” he said. “We just played our game, gelled. When we play as one, we’re successful.”
With both Ryan Phillips and Ronnie Yell back in action together, look for the Lions’ defence to come fast and aggressive against a stellar Ticats offence that has outscored their opponents 242-126 at THF, 77-13 in the fourth quarter.
Of Note
Adam Bighill leads the league in tackles with 46 and is on pace for 138.
Mic’heal Brooks has 15 tackles, #1 in the CFL among interior linemen.
The Lions have now scored three times on their opening drive, #1 in the league. They’ve also scored twice on the opening drive of the second half.
Richie Leone leads all kickers with a 50.7-yard-per-punt average. Last week, he out punted Edmonton’s Grant Shaw to the tune of 11.3 yards on nine punts to total 101.7 yards, giving the Leos an almost field-length advantage in position.
Hamilton is 55% on second-down conversions through 6 games.