Basketball Betting

2010 CFL Western Preview - British Columbia Lions

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06/21/2010 - Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2009 record - 8-10. Playoff result: Lost 56-18 to Montreal in Grey Cup Playoffs Finals. Stadium - B.C. Place. Capacity - 29,706. Colors - Orange, black and silver.

Even though the Lions of British Columbia finished the 2009 regular season two games under .500, the squad still caught enough breaks to take part in the postseason. However, even though that might be a positive for the Lions to take from last year, there's no doubt that the club and head coach Wally Buono have their sights set on moving up from fourth place in the West Division and making a more sustainable run in the playoffs this time around.

Buono, who has a record of 82-43-1 since taking over BC in 2003, knows what it takes to get to the Grey Cup Championship and win it all, having done so against Montreal in 2006, but the question is whether or not he has the talent to get the Lions back to those lofty heights.

Even though BC quarterbacks completed almost 61 percent of their pass attempts a season ago, the position was in disarray with as many as five different guys attempting at least 28 passes during the campaign. Buck Pierce did some of the damage for the group as he made good on 63.2 percent of his chances, but he still had more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10). Despite attempting barely half the number of passes as Pierce, Jarious Jackson logged a team-best 12 TDs, giving him an even 50 for his career with BC.

With Pierce no longer on the roster, the job is Jackson's to lose, which means he will have to withstand the pressure brought by Travis Lulay and Casey Printers. Back in 2004, Printers was a beast for the Lions as he threw for 5,088 yards and 35 touchdowns, against just 10 interceptions. Clearly, Printers has the ability to step in and take over the position, so having a healthy fight for playing time might be just what these guys need on offense.

The most productive receiver for the Lions a year ago was Geroy Simon, a slotback out of the University of Maryland who has been with the club for a decade now. Simon has logged at least 1,200 yards receiving in each of the last seven campaigns and led the squad with 1,239 yards in 2009, but the end result was just six touchdowns. While Simon was moving the ball between the 20's, it was Paris Jackson who had the most receiving TDs with eight on 76 catches for the team. Expected to give Jackson a run for his money at the position is the recently drafted Shawn Gore, that is as long as Gore makes it north of the border after signing with the Green Bay Packers.

Not to be lost in all of this is Emmanuel Arceneaux out of Alcorn State. As a rookie last year Arceneaux put up some impressive numbers with 63 catches for 858 yards and seven touchdowns, so it is expected that those stats will increase given his familiarity with the system.

Another area that will need considerable attention this year is at running back, seeing as how Martell Mallett played just one year with the Lions and then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL in January. Mallett, who set a franchise record with 213 yards rushing against Montreal in early September, was also fifth on the team with his 43 receptions for 342 yards and two touchdowns.

Finding a replacement for Mallett will be a challenge, especially when you take into consideration that the next two leading ground gainers for the Lions in '09 were quarterbacks (Pierce and Jackson). After spending a year away from football, Yonus Davis has been brought in to try and fill in some of the gaps at the rushing positions. British Columbia actually ranked fourth in the league in rushing per game with 115.5 yards per outing, but in doing so the club also left quarterbacks open to unnecessary hits.

Overall, the defense for the Lions a year ago was dismal, allowing 27.9 ppg to rank second-to-last in the league and if not for the lackluster efforts of Winnipeg, the rankings would be even more disappointing for BC. The secondary permitted opponents to generate 8.1 yards per pass, tied with Edmonton for the most in the CFL in '09. A veteran of 12 seasons in the league, safety Barron Miles kept games from getting out of hand as he led the league with eight interceptions, giving him 66 for his career, yet he has chosen to retire and that leaves yet another glaring hole that has to be plugged.

Now a coach with the Lions, Miles will have the opportunity to help groom the players that will be taking over for him in the secondary. Already playing a major role in the defensive backfield is Ryan Phillips, a defensive back who was tied for second on the team last year with four picks, along with Korey Banks.

The stability of the quarterback position is paramount for the Lions, yet that's still just one piece of the larger puzzle that coach Buono will have to patiently piece together in order to give the Lions back their roar.