B.C. LIONS: Leos ‘excited’ to be in CFL playoffs, despite the sorry stats
They talk a good game, but can they play one and win Sunday’s showdown in Steeltown?
Bryan Burnham is a veritable glow stick of positivity as the B.C. Lions prepare for Sunday’s crossover playoff game in Hamilton.
Sure, the Leos have been outscored 51-25 in their last two games and the opposition’s defence has scored as many touchdowns (two) as the Lions’ offence over that span. And the Lions’ defence, which is the strength of the team, surrendered 344 rushing yards in those two games while their own running game, which everyone agrees is the key to the offence, barely produced 100 combined yards in the losses to Saskatchewan and Calgary.
While we’re at it, we’d point out the Lions absorbed a 40-10 beat down the last time they were in Hamilton six weeks ago but none of these inconvenient truths darken Burnham’s mood.
No, for the newly minted all-star receiver, it’s quite simple. The Lions are now in a six-team tournament that will end with the Grey Cup game and, if that doesn’t perk you up, then, brother, you’re not breathing.
And Burnham is nothing if he’s not perky these days.
“Man, we’re in a good spot,” Burnham insists. “We’re not worried. There’s no worries. I think we’re in a very good place, mentally. I’m excited. We’re all excited.”
Which makes us wonder what their mental state might be if they’d actually won one of those games.
As the Lions prepare for Sunday’s win-or-go-home showdown in Steeltown, it’s difficult to know what to make of Wally Buono’s CFL team. Their two most recent outings — the 35-16 loss in Regina, the 26-9 loss at home last weekend — were bad enough. But it is the way they capitulated in both contests that is the larger source of concern.
The Leos are built to win with defence and special teams, a balanced offence and a physicality that runs through both the offensive and defensive lines. As it happens, this is a proven recipe for success and there have been times this season when the Lions have been that team.
But their two season-ending losses also raise uncomfortable questions about their preparedness for the post-season. The party line is the Lions had nothing to play for in those two games and they’ll be dialed in this Sunday.
But, heading into the meeting with the Roughriders, they still had a realistic shot at second in the West and the Stampeders’ game came in Buono’s finale at B.C. Place Stadium in front of the largest crowd of the season.
So, again we ask, where is this team heading into the playoffs?
“Wally’s been saying the same thing,” said quarterback Travis Lulay. “When we’ve had our backs to the wall and the pressure’s been on, this team has risen and played its best. That’s what gives us the confidence we can go into this game and compete at the level you need to win in the playoffs.”
And you can give them that. Before the “Mess at Mosaic,” the Lions had won six of their previous seven games and stirred echoes of the 2011 season in which they won 12 of their last 13 games on the way to the Grey Cup.
Over those six wins, they also created an identity they have to re-establish in Hamilton. That identity was best expressed in the Lions’ two most impressive wins of the season — a 26-21 victory in Calgary and a 42-32 homefield decision over Edmonton in consecutive weeks a month ago.
Those two wins were highlighted by a combined 203 rushing yards from Tyrell Sutton and the veteran back, who played just four games with the Lions after coming over in a trade with Montreal, is the key to the Lions’ hopes in Hamilton.
“It’s setting the tone early,” Sutton said. “It has to be that way. That’s what got us in trouble the last two games. We didn’t play physical and that’s why we got our asses kicked.”
Sutton suffered a slight knee injury against the Stampeders and sat out the second half. He was asked if he’d be ready to go against the Ticats.
“Man, I haven’t played a playoff game since 2013,” he said. “I’m not going to miss this one.”
Coincidentally, 2013 also marks the same year Lulay made his last start in the playoffs, a heartbreaking 29-25 loss for the Lions on a frigid day in Regina. The veteran is also coming off two dismal performances in the last two games of the regular season but Buono immediately named him the starter for the crossover game when the Lions returned to practice this week.
The leash won’t be long but Lulay gets a chance to rewrite his story Sunday. So, come to think of it, does his team.
“I don’t take a minute of this for granted,” said Lulay. “I think that’s part of the reason I’m so excited and appreciative of this opportunity right now because I know how golden these opportunities are. They’re not guaranteed and they don’t come all the time.”
Which gives him reasons for optimism, even if he has to look hard for those reasons.