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Heeere's Johnny! B.C. Lion's Season Set to Open

By 250 News

- by John Goodwin


The criteria for input into my bud Meisner’s newest undertaking has gotta be, no experience in writing for an on line communication or any other publication for that matter, and no claim to fame other than being a loyal follower of a sports team during all of my adult life.
I am also no "expert" in matters pertaining to the BC Lions be they internal or on the field. That said, what may have been Ben's motive in making this call is his understanding (almost too well) the ilk of this CFL fan who has spent more hours in his company than the both of us care to remember, glued to his big screen like a couple of pre-schoolers hyped up on chocolate.
Unlike our neighbors to the South this country’s got it right. Football season starts in June and ends at a time that the average bloke can "only dream" of being invited by the boss to sit in his friend's heated box seat to see the big final. The reality is, this country's passionate CFL fan will wait in line to freeze his butt off for the right to look over a frozen field at guys in gloves, warm head wear tucked under their helmets and visible vapors of breath wafting skyward. So thanks to the fathers of our game for their smart scheduling, the premiss of which has endured for so many years.
The season at hand...the season opener: Two hot wires are about to cross as the BC Lions arrive in Toronto with their newly calibrated machine to take on a team who beat them in almost every facet of the game when they met during last season's Grey Cup epic.
Here's what to look for.

We're being told that after some tinkering and some new faces "Wally's world" will , this season feature an offensive line equal to anything they will face throughout their schedule.
The much maligned corners, Sam Young and Jason Crumb who I believe now enter their sophomore yr. are wiser and we are told will no longer be the easy prey of opposing quarterbacks. If these two guys are effective, this team will have solved perhaps their biggest weakness of the past season.
Special teams, kick off returns and coverage have been average at best in the past few campaigns and we can only hope that this important area has been adequately addressed.
The pass rush was among the least successful in the league during 04, an area not only important to field position and saving the secondary from running themselves into the ground, but will help keep opposing quarterbacks honest. A new defensive alignment is being implemented and expected to result in a lot more grief for opposition QB's
The kicking game was among the league's best and Duncan O'Mahony appears poised to do it all over again. This position has proven to be all that coaching staff thought it would be as upon his arrival they found themselves defending their decision to stick with him while he struggled to get his game on track.
If the pre-season is any indication, quarter backing looks to be the best one two three punch the league has to offer. Coaching will be challenged to keep them all happy but must do so to have this position maximize it's potential.
Coaching has gotten a lot stronger with key changes and I believe their influence will be reflected in the results.
Just one more sleep!!
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