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It's first vs. worst in the West, as Stamps visit Lions

Wed 25th, August 2010

Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - A couple of teams heading in opposite directions in the CFL's Western Division clash at Empire Field in Vancouver for the second time in less than a month as the British Columbia Lions entertain the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night.

Last week all of the clubs in the division enjoyed a bye, giving Calgary more time to plot how to distance itself from the rest of the league while BC was left to wonder how it got caught in this mess in the first place.

Since defeating Edmonton in the season opener by a score of 25-10, the Lions have headed south and fast, losing six in a row to match the Eskimos for last place in the division standings. On August 12, BC barely put up a fight as Saskatchewan rolled to a 37-13 victory at home, continuing the longest losing streak in the career of head coach Wally Buono who has a total of 236 regular- season victories to his credit.

Aside from receiver Geroy Simon catching the 800th pass of his career, placing him ninth in CFL history, and Ryan Phillips recording two more interceptions to give him 11 all-time against the Roughriders, little went right for the Lions. Newly named quarterback Jarious Jackson converted 18-of-31 passes for 194 yards, but he was picked off twice and sacked five times. Running back Yonus Davis scored on a 51-yard run in the third quarter, while kicker Paul McCallum's 32-yard field goal in the first period represented the first points scored in the opening frame in any game this year for the Lions.

While British Columbia is staring up at the rest of the division, outside of Edmonton of course, Calgary is rolling along after blowing the doors off the Eskimos two weeks ago in an ugly 56-15 final at home. Henry Burris hit on 21- of-29 passes for 305 yards and three touchdowns and even backup Drew Tate got in on the action as he converted all four of his pass attempts and added a passing TD of his own in the onslaught. Nik Lewis, one of eight players with at least one reception, did the most damage with five catches for 117 yards and a pair of majors for the home team. While the Stamps were putting up 504 yards of total offense, they were limiting Edmonton to a mere 283 yards and a total of 13 first downs.

Over the last seven meetings against the Lions, Burris has tossed at least one touchdown pass and actually has a total of 12 TD strikes against just three interceptions during that span. The signal-caller also has five rushing touchdowns to his credit since 2008 versus BC. Adding to the offensive attack for the Stampeders has been running back Joffrey Reynolds who for the most part has had quite a bit of success against the Lions since the start of the 2008 campaign. He has gained at least 100 yards rushing in five of the seven meetings, averaging no less than 5.4 yards per carry in any of those contests, which means he and Burris have put together a solid one-two offensive punch that BC has yet to stop.

The Lions, who are averaging just 108.3 yards per game on the ground in 2010, have turned the ball over 18 times through seven outings and that hasn't helped matters either. Adding to the confusion is the ever-changing quarterback position which has seen Jackson, Travis Lulay and Casey Printers all taking their share of the snaps. Certainly that wasn't the intention coming into the season, but after Printers went out with an injury and Lulay proved to be ineffective, the original plans were thrown out the window. Printers, who has completed 56.8 percent of his passes for two touchdowns and as many interceptions, could be back on the field this week, but given how much this group has gone through nothing is guaranteed.

After seven weeks of the season, the passing attack for the Lions was dismal at best, completing a combined 58 percent of pass attempts for a mere three touchdowns and a total of 10 INTs. The combined efficiency rating was a paltry 66.4, compared to Calgary which was at 99.2 thanks to having a league-high 18 TD passes. Not only do the Stamps possess one of the top offensive units in the league, the defense has managed to hold opponents to just 310.1 ypg, by far the best mark in the CFL this year thus far.

Coming into the 2010 campaign, Calgary held a 91-71-5 advantage over the Lions in the all-time regular-season series dating back to 1954. The Stamps won the first meeting of the season a few weeks back with a 27-22 victory on the road as Burris threw for a pair of touchdowns in the seventh straight series victory for Calgary. The teams are scheduled to meet again at the end of September and late in October to complete the season series.