Here’s the Scouting Report on the BC Lions (12-7), Western Division Champions, for this year’s 2011 Grey Cup championship in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
OFFENCE
BC Lions quarterback Travis Lulay had his coming out party this year, in his first year as the starter. For the first time in almost a decade, Lulay was behind centre for all 18 games this season, The former Montana State star was voted the top QB in the Western Division this year, and is favored to win the Most Outstanding Player award this week. Lulay tied for first in TD passes (32), and was second overall in passing (4,815 yards) while leading the Lions as the CFLs second highest scoring offence. The Lions were also the second best offence statistically, behind only Montreal. But it’s not only Lulay’s arm that threatens defences as witnessed by his 61-yard scamper during last weekend’s win over the Edmonton Eskimos. Lulay uses his legs to not only gain good yardage, but also extend plays. Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce lead the receiving corps, while the offensive line was the best in the league, allowing only 29 sacks.
Advantage: BC Lions
DEFENCE
The Lions have what is considered to be the best front seven in the Canadian Football League. While the Bombers may have garnered one more sack than the Leos 54, the linebacking crew is led by All-CFL middle backer Solomon Elimimian, second in the league in tackles. BC also goes with a six-man rotation up front, which has proven problematic for most O-Lines in the league during the Lions 11-1 run. In the defensive backfield, Korey Banks, Ryan Phillips and Dante Marsh headline a secondary that has more than 30 years of CFL experience. The Lions forced four turnovers in West Division final win, which the offence was able to convert into 21 points.
Advantage: Even
SPECIAL TEAMS
What can you say when you have a kicker who was almost perfect through an entire season, as Lions kicker Paul McCallum has hit on 54 of 57 field goals this season including last weekend’s 4-4 display. The CFL’s oldest player at 41, McCallum set a league-record with a 94.3 per cent success ratio during the year. He also had another league mark by hitting on 30 straight field goals. And while not as spectacular, McCallum did a solid job of punting (42.1-yard punting average) and posted a respectable 57.6-yard kickoff average. On the return game, Tim Brown was fourth overall in punt returns and third in kickoff returns.
Advantage: BC Lions
COACHING
With 254 regular season wins, four Grey Cup titles and three Coach of the Year awards, Wally Buono defines coaching in the CFL. There is not a single coach in the history of the game who would get an advantage when it comes to coaching the big game. And after having turned around an 0-5 team into a squad which looks poised to win for a number of years, this just may have been Buono’s greatest coaching job ever.
Advantage: BC Lions
Overall Advantage: BC Lions
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