With Saturday's East and West Division walk-throughs officially in the books, practice is over in the CFL for 2011. Now, it's time for Winnipeg and B.C. to make things perfect in their bids for the Grey Cup.
Both teams appeared loose putting the finishing touches on their preparations Saturday afternoon. Of the two squads, the Lions had the more structured workout, going over personnel groupings and special teams. The Bombers chose to run an abbreviated, 20-minute practice before fulfilling their media obligations.
In their post-practice press conferences, coaches Wally Buono and Paul LaPolice stressed how ready their teams were to play Sunday and how pleased they were with the work their clubs put in this week.
Aside from the slight controversy stirred up when Bombers' DE Odell Willis tweeted his displeasure over the CFL Players' Awards and the CFLPA all-star team voting, it has been an exceptionally professional and quiet week by Grey Cup standards. And I have no doubt these two squads will show up ready to play come kickoff time.
So, who's got the advantage in this one and how will the game go down?
When Winnipeg Has the Ball
Buck Pierce proved he was healthy enough to play no-holds-barred football last week in the East final. And given some extra incentive playing against his old club for the Grey Cup should light some serious fire in his belly.
Look for Pierce to threaten B.C.'s secondary deep with Greg Carr, Clarence Denmark, and Terrance Edwards early in this one just to keep the Lions' back end well out of the box.
Running back Chris Garrett had a breakout day against Hamilton last week and doesn't need much space to rip off big yardage. A few aggressive, downfield throws by Pierce should give him plenty of room to work in between Winnipeg's pass rushers.
Both Pierce and Garrett will have to be consistent in their first-down production, though, to keep Winnipeg's offence in manageable down and distance situations. Moving the chains and sustaining drives long enough to keep the field tilted their way will be paramount in this one considering how stingy the Lions' D has been down the back half of the season.
Lost in all the noise about the Bombers' defence is how good B.C. has played on that side of the ball this season. Simply put, the Lions' front seven don't surrender many yards, and they're even stingier when it comes to giving up points.
Pierce and company have to play a mistake-free game in the noise and bedlam of B.C. Place. And that's an almost impossible task in the face of the Lions' defence.
Advantage: Lions
When B.C. Has the Ball
Considering how well Travis Lulay's played over the last two months of this season, it's easy to forget how poorly he played the two times he faced the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this season, losing both tilts and getting benched in the second outing.
In both games, the Bombers' front seven dominated the line of scrimmage, getting Lulay on the ground 10 times and holding him without a TD pass. Winnipeg brought pressure from all angles and took real advantage of B.C.'s inability to protect Lulay against blitzes and stunts.
The Lions also had real trouble developing a consistent running attack. And, combined with turnovers and penalties, that failure to run on Winnipeg effectively made it too easy for the Bombers' to set loose their pass rush.
Unfortunately for the Bombers, that was a different Lions team and a different Travis Lulay.
Since his week 7 loss to the Bombers, Lulay has gone on a tear, going 11-1 and torching opposing secondaries on his way to winning this year's CFL Most Outstanding Player award.
Lulay has been effective pushing the ball downfield to receivers Geroy Simon, Arland Buce III, and Shawn Gore. He's also ben able to utilize RB Andrew Harris on screens for big yardage out of the backfield.
Yards won't come easy against the Bombers' defence. Neither will points. If Lulay can play a clean game in the style he's perfected since his last outing against Winnipeg, he'll produce enough of both to win the day.
Advantage: Lions (not by much, though)
Five Players to Watch
1) Greg Carr—Sometimes the forgotten man in Winnipeg's receiving corps, Carr is bad match-up for any secondary with his size and playmaking ability down the field.
2) Chris Garrett—He ripped the Ticats' defence for 190 yards rushing last week. If he can produce half that against B.C., it'll be a huge benefit to Buck Pierce.
3) Travis Lulay—Lulay was named CFL MOP over Anthony Calvillo this week due in large part to the roll he's been on for the last 10 weeks. If he keeps that roll on, the Lions win the Cup at home. It's that simple.
4) Solomon Elimimian—Elimimian has the ability to make the Bombers' offence one-dimensional with his tackling and pursuit. He'll punish Pierce and Garrett any time he finds them in his sights Sunday. Count on it.
5) Paul McCallum—Points will be at a premium in this one, and every kick will be big. I can't think of another kicker I'd want to handle the job than McCallum.
Roster Notes
Both B.C. and Winnipeg are heading into Sunday's Grey Cup as healthy as they could hope at this point in the season.
The only significant injury for the Bombers coming off their win in the East Final was the loss of DB Brandon Stewart. Deon Beasley slots into Winnipeg's secondary to replace Stewart this week.
The Bombers also added receiver Kito Poblah to active roster for the game for the first time since he injured his shoulder against Saskatchewan in the Banjo Bowl. To make room for Poblah, fellow rookie Jade Etienne came off the roster.
B.C.'s Andrew Harris is at full strength and coming off a strong performance in the West Final.
Up Next
Check back Monday for my wrap of how everything went down in this Sunday's showdown for the Grey Cup. It should be a real knock-down, drag-em-out affair and I can't wait to kick the thing off.
