Limping Leos favoured
CFL: Oddsmakers have ignored B. C.’ s crutches with the Redblacks here.
Some hard truths evidently have escaped the oddsmakers at Bodog, the online gambling site where bettors can wager on poker, casino games, horse racing and — yes — the Canadian Football League.
Bodog has established the B. C. Lions as 10- point favourites over the visiting Ottawa Redblacks for Saturday’s game at BC Place Stadium.
It’s a point spread which might have made sense if the Lions weren’t looking like more of an expansion team these days and the first- year Redblacks less of one.
Minus Andrew Harris, Courtney Taylor, Stefan Logan, Bryan Burnham, Hunter Steward and Travis Lulay on offence, without defensive starters Dante Marsh, Ronnie Yell and Khalif Mitchell, and with long snapper Jordan Matechuk missing on special teams, the Lions continue to back- fill with practice roster players, free agents and anybody who can stand without aid of a crutch.
A 10- point spread is a hugely generous handicap toward the underdog. But who the underdog is between the 7- 7 Lions and 2- 11 Redblacks certainly is open to debate.
“I wasn’t aware of those odds,” Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said after this team’s first- ever walkthrough at BC Place. “But they are a good team. And it’s tough to play here. We’ll have to play well to beat ’ em. Last time ( Sept. 5), we could have got it done. It was a close game that they won ( 7- 5). If we come out and play well, I think it’s going to be a close game that comes down to the fourth quarter.”
“It was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen in a long time,” Lions kicker Paul McCallum said of the previous clash between the Redblacks and Lions five weeks ago, the lowest- scoring CFL game in 35 years. “Offensively, you have to do better as a team.”
Not much has changed for the Lions since then. The offence continues to stagnate, the growth occurring only in a lengthening injury list.
As for the Redblacks, who have held the lead in 10 of their 13 contests only to collapse in the second half, the frustrations of nine straight losses ended last Friday with the suddenness of a dam bursting. They overwhelmed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 42- 20 and arrive in Vancouver with momentum, albeit from a one- game win streak.
A road win, Redblacks quarterback Henry Burris said, is “something we need to achieve now.”
“I know, in the back of our minds, it’s there. It’s something we need to get done. It’s huge. We’ve been close so many times. It’s time to get over that hurdle.”
While not privy to the sins of their forebears, the Redblacks inherit a legacy which has seen Ottawa teams go 8- 56 away from home since the 1994 season. The Lions went 8- 0 against the Renegades in the four- year existence of Bytown’s second CFL representative, regularly pummelling them with impunity. Indeed, B. C. has won the past 10 meetings with an
Mr. Tuinei has got something to him. But it’s like everything else — it’s about capitalizing on the opportunity. MIKE BENEVIDES B. C. LIONS HEAD COACH
Ottawa team, dating back to July 12, 1996, when the Rough Riders were in the final year of a storied 120- year existence.
But historical trends seem meaningless this week, given the fractured state of the Lions, the injuries to key players, the inefficiency of the offence and the questionable status of playmaker Manny Arceneaux.
Tied for the league lead in receptions of 30- plus yards or more ( his seven receiving touchdowns lead the CFL), Arceneaux accounted for B. C.’ s only offensive touchdown last Saturday against Hamilton with a scoring strike to Shawn Gore, despite an ankle issue. Arceneaux didn’t practise all week, told his followers on Twitter that he likely wouldn’t be playing against Ottawa, then backtracked Friday when his name appeared on the 46- man roster as a starting slotback.
“What’s on the sheet?” Arceneaux said. “Then, that’s what people have to go off of. I’m going home to get some treatment. I’m preparing for the game ( Saturday).” But, do you expect to play? “It ain’t my job ( to declare that),” he responded.
Lions head coach Mike Benevides said Arceneaux could be a game- time decision. If Manny doesn’t suit up, practice roster player Lavasier Tuinei, who took Arceneaux’s reps in practice all week, is expected to make his first start for B. C.
Tuinei is six- foot- five — and about 80 pounds lighter than his father, Van Tuinei, who played four years as a defensive end in the National Football League. His uncles, Tom and the late Mark Tuinei, also had NFL pedigrees. Mark was on three Super Bowl teams with the Dallas Cowboys.
“Manny’s one of the top receivers in this league,” said Lavasier, who played his college football at Oregon. “But I’m going into this game as if I’m going to play. That’s my mindset. Mentally, I’m ready.”
Tuinei was released by the Lions earlier this season, then added back on the practice roster at the end of September when injuries started piling up.
Coincidentally, he was working at an employment agency in Surrey — Labour Ready — when told that the Lions needed his skilled labour again.
“I really do think he’s got a tremendous amount of talent — big, strong hands, and he’s a huge target,” Benevides said. “Mr. Tuinei has got something to him. But it’s like everything else — it’s about capitalizing on the opportunity.”
It would be a triumph against the odds if he can help the Lions’ offence pick up where it didn’t leave off.