Lions hope Als are just the tonic to end skid
Wally Buono relaxed on the picturesque Sunshine Coast for a couple of days before taking a trip up to Whistler. Solomon Elimimian visited friends south of the border and found himself at a Seattle restaurant eating fried grasshoppers.
No matter how or where the B.C. Lions chose to unwind during their bye week, the three consecutive losses that helped push them into the basement of the CFL’s ultra-competitive West Division loomed overhead like the smoky haze from wildfires that continue to blanket the region.
“You can’t separate yourself from what you do,” said Buono, the Lions’ head coach and general manager.
“It’s always on your mind,” added Elimimian, B.C.’s standout linebacker and the league’s leading tackler.
Seemingly in good shape a month ago, the stumbling Lions (5-5) will look to get back on track Friday when they host the Montreal Alouettes (3-7) — a club equally desperate to snap its own three-game slump.
The West holds a dominant 19-3-1 edge in head-to-head meetings with the East this season, including B.C.’s 23-16 triumph in Montreal on July 6, but the Alouettes did pick up home wins over Saskatchewan and Calgary early in the schedule.
Much like Friday’s opponent, Montreal is searching for answers after the club’s current slide stretched to three games with an ugly 32-4 loss to Ottawa last week. The Alouettes sit third in the East, but will probably need to finish first or second in the division to qualify for the playoffs because of the crossover rule.
“It’s always tough playing a team coming off the bye, especially with the situation they’re in,” quarterback Darian Durant said in Montreal this week. “We know they’re going to be ready. We have to start fast.”
The Alouettes, who are 2-14 in Vancouver since 2001, have failed to score an offensive touchdown in two of their last three games and come in 0-4 on the road.
“We just have to be consistent across the board,” added Durant. “It’s mental or physical errors being made by a different guy each play.”
The Lions know they need better efforts from a defence that has surrendered too many big plays and a special teams unit that has only been average.
“We know that these next eight games are going to determine where our future lies. We’re excited for that challenge,” said Elimimian.
Oh, and how were the grasshoppers? “Actually, pretty good.”