LIONS FACE TOUGH TASK
Stamps defence dominant
Jeremiah Johnson still hurts, and it’s not his ankle.
The ankle injury that knocked him out in the first quarter against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers two weeks ago, and was severe enough that he missed the following game against Ottawa, has been dealt with.
He’ll suit up in the B.C. Lions’ backfield against the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
This pain, this chronic torment, is purely psychological.
“They ’ve taken a Grey Cup from me, blew us out in ’16, and pretty much embarrassed us,” said the Lions’ running back.
“That’s one thing I hate … not having gone out there and gotten payback for what they made us go through. Winning there … would put a smile on this man’s face.”
That’s a big ask. B.C. hasn’t won a regular-season game in McMahon Stadium since 2014, going 0-4 and being outscored 113-68, while being blown out in two playoff games — 35-9 in the 2015 Western Semifinal and 42-15 in the 2016 Western Final.
The Leos finished second in the West in 2016 with a 12-6 record — the first time they had finished second in 30 years — and had Cup aspirations.
But the Stamps bolted to a 32-0 halftime lead in the final, throttling out those championship hopes and snuffing the Lions’ season.
“As simple as it may seem, ’16 still haunts me,” said Johnson, who joined the Lions from Ottawa that season.
The 2016 Stamps flirted with the CFL record for wins in a single season (16), going 15-2-1, but this year’s squad might be even better. Calgary is 6-0, having given up a league-low 11.3 points per game while scoring at a prodigious clip only exceeded by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
B.C. (2-3) has scored the thirdfewest points in the CFL, but has been buoyed by the return of Travis Lulay under centre. He has passed for 651 yards and three touchdowns in the two games since taking over from Jonathon Jennings.
Injuries have kept the Lions from getting into a groove on the ground. Johnson missed the Ottawa game, then saw backup Brandon Rutley tear his ACL against the Redblacks.
Chris Rainey was also banged up in the Ottawa game, twisting his ankle. He returned hobbled to the field only after Rutley was knocked out.
Getting Johnson back brings some stability to the backfield, but it’s going to take a monumental effort Saturday to take down the league leaders.
“It’s funny, I was talking to my wife about this. I asked her, ‘How do you be perfect, when you know it’s impossible to be perfect?’ ” said Johnson, who has 222 yards rushing on 37 carries this year.
“And she said, simply, ‘Just do your job. And when you leave that field, make sure you’ve left it all out there.’
“I think, essentially, with football and its ups and downs, that’s what perfect is to me.”
The Stamps are dominating every defensive statistical category, including having surrendered just four offensive TDs this year, and amassing 17 sacks — both CFLbests — while racking up a ridiculous plus-14 turnover differential in six games.
Opposition quarterbacks average a microscopic 27.4 rating against their defence, which also gives up an equally minuscule 75.3 rushing yards.
TSN reporter Lowell Ullrich noted that they averaged just one missed tackle in 15 attempts, while the league average is one in five.
“It’s a team that doesn’t hurt itself, and you have to make plays to score on them,” said Lions coach Wally Buono.
“Calgary plays a great team defence. They run hard to the football, and I think that’s one of the reasons they don’t have a lot of missed tackles. They keep everything in front of them.”
“They have some good players on defence,” added Johnson, singling out linebacker Alex Singleton, who set a team and league record for Canadians with 123 tackles in 2017. He’s fifth overall this season with 35.
“We want to keep him on his heels. Looking at the defence on film, he’s the guy who flows around and makes all the big plays and tackles. We’ll get our big five on him, let the other guys make plays, and if we keep them guessing about what we’re doing, I think we’ll be all right.”
The last time the Lions emerged victorious from McMahon Stadium in the regular season was with Kevin Glenn under centre in August 2014, when the ageless QB threw a 65-yard TD to Ernest Jackson with 1:32 left to beat the Stamps 25-24.
The 2015 season opener was the last time the Leos beat Calgary, downing the Stamps 35-23 at B.C. Place Stadium.
“We’ve got to be disciplined,” said Rainey, whose team has been flagged for a CFL-low 378 penalty yards this year.
“That’s why Calgary always wins. They ’re disciplined and feed off of your mistakes. If you execute and do everything right in all three phases, then we’ve got a chance.”
That’s why Calgary always wins. They’re disciplined and feed off of your mistakes. If you execute and do everything right in all three phases, then we’ve got a chance.