FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1 MAN IN THE MIDDLE: All eyes will be on Travis Lulay who makes his fifth start of the season after coming off the bench in Ottawa and almost orchestrating the biggest comeback in CFL history. The rally fell short but Lulay did enough to earn the starter’s job. He leads the CFL in completion percentage and efficiency rating, throwing for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the second half last week after coming in to replace Jonathan Jennings. 2 FILLING THOSE BIGHILL SHOES: Tony Burnett had his shot but it’s on to the next option this week as Micah Awe gets his crack at replacing the hardest working B.C. Lion ever. Bighill remains in New Orleans where he has joined the Saints practice roster so Wally Buono’s search has opened the door to Awe who has been solid on special teams and turned heads in camp. 3 IT’S MANNY TIME: Manny Arceneaux is on a roll of late. The Lions receiver has 17 catches over the past two games — the best two-game stretch of his career. The Lions targeted him 21 times over those two games which means he’s been extremely efficient as well. Along with Brian Burnham who leads the Lions with 82.3 yards per game it should give Lulay no shortage of sure-handed targets.
4 FIRST-QUARTER BLUES: As tough as it’s been for either team in tonight’s game to get on the board early, the team to score first might have a decided advantage. Neither the Lions nor the Als have scored in the first quarter in its past three games. Both teams are also on three-game losing skids. The Lions have been outscored 30-0 over the past three first quarters while Montreal has been hit almost as hard, down a combined 21-0 in the past three.
5 STRETCH IT OUT: A major part of the Lions’ struggles the past three games has been the almost total lack of any deep passing game. They have completed just four of 20 passes in the 20-or-longer scenarios. Worse still, they have turned the ball over four times among those 16 incompletions. Lulay’s experience may help in these matters.