TORONTO — The BC Lions make the trek east to BMO Field on Sunday night to take on the Toronto Argonauts as Week 1 comes to a close.
A team many are picking as Grey Cup favourites, the Lions have a plethora of talent on laced throughout their roster.
They’ll see a team in the Argos that not only have playmakers of their own, but has players who have been to the place the Lions want to go; the Grey Cup.
The offence for the Lions starts and stops with the play of quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and a receiving corps as deep as one can find in the league.
Adams Jr. proved in 2023 he can be the guy under centre, passing for a league high 4,769 yards and 31 touchdowns.
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Even without Dominique Rhymes, who now calls the nation’s capital home, and Lucky Whitehead, the receiving unit features difference makers in Alexander Hollins and Jevon Cottoy.
Add in Justin McInnis and the options are there for Adams Jr. through the air.
He could have good field position to start, too, as Terry Williams handles the kickoff duties fresh off a CFL-best 1,315 return yards.
If there’s an area for improvement in the Lions’ offence, it’s the run game. The front office addressed that in the off-season by scooping up William Stanback and his 800 rushing. yards from a year ago with the Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes.
Watch live. BC Lions @ Toronto Argonauts, June 10, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm EDT)
Having spent five season in Montreal, Stanback knows all about the tough test he’s about to face in the Argos run defence.
With Adams Jr. also having an affinity for using his legs, the Argonauts’ defensive front needs to be on its toes from the first snap.
Folarin Orimolade, who led the team with 10 sacks a year ago, anchors a line that was amongst the best against the run last season. Keeping Orimolade away from Adams Jr. will be atop the list of priorities in the Lions’ offensive game plan.
With the addition of Jake Ceresna and the 12 sacks he accumulated last year in Edmonton, finding holes on the ground has only become harder.
If Stanback finds success past the line, he’ll be met by a linebacker group led by one of the league’s best in Wynton McManis.
The Argos’ pass defence was known to give up significant yardage last season, something DaShaun Amos and Royce Metchie hope to correct. Quincy Mauger is also set to face his former team at linebacker and would surely like to make his mark in the opener in front of the Argos’ fans.
With a talented offence on the other side, Argos’ head coach Ryan Dinwiddie knows his defence needs to be ready to go.
“They’re a good team,” Dinwiddie told reporters this week. “We have to do some different things defensively. We’ll do some stuff that’s brand new to us that we weren’t doing in camp, try to make sure we can disrupt Vernon. We have to do a good job containing him in the pocket and not letting him extend plays.”
When the Argos’ offence gets the ball, it’ll be Cameron Dukes guiding them downfield. In limited action last season, Dukes threw for 780 yards.
If he stumbles, newly acquired QB Nick Arbuckle — an Argo briefly in 2022 — is there to take the bulk of the snaps.
When Dukes’ eyes turn downfield, he’ll see familiar faces. DaVaris Daniels pulled down 1,009 yards in 2023 for the Double Blue and Dejon Brissett averaged 11.6 yards per catch.
Watch live. BC Lions @ Toronto Argonauts, June 10, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm EDT)
Dinwiddie says the team is confident in its quarterback’s ability to get the ball into the hands of the receivers.
“He’s earned the right and we feel comfortable with where he’s at in his progression,” Dinwiddie told reporters. “He doesn’t have to be perfect. Just go out, manage the game, make good decisions and make the plays that are there to be made. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do.”
Much like their opponent, the Argos have a dynamic kick returner of their own in the recently acquired Janarion Grant. The 30-year-old is averaging 24 yards per return in his career, making the battle for field position something to follow on Sunday night.
CAMERON DUKES AND KA’DEEM CAREY WILL LOOK TO KEEP THE ARGOS AT THE TOP OF THE EAST DIVISION IN 2024 (ARGONAUTS.CA)
With running back AJ Ouellette packing up and heading west to Saskatchewan in the off-season, the Argos wasted no time finding a replacement in Ka’Deem Carey. If the Argos can get a full season out of Carey he should be more than capable of filling the void that Ouellette left.The entire offence is going to find out what they have in Week 1, as the Lions possess a talented defence that rivals their offence.
As 2023 Most Outstanding Defensive Player Mathieu Betts gives it a go with the Detroit Lions, Sione Teuhema, Pete Robertson and Josh Banks are there to pick up the slack in shutting down Carey and putting pressure on Dukes.
If they can do that, it makes the life of defensive backs Ciante Evans, Garry Peters and Adrian Greene easier, as they’ll be without T.J. Lee, who starts the season on the six game injured list.
Two teams that have goals of a Grey Cup square off on Sunday night to close out the Week 1 schedule.