Five games and 34 days: that is what remains in a 2017 regular season that has seen more twists and turns than your average Quentin Tarantino thriller. And if the BC Lions want to extend the CFL’s longest active playoff streak to 21 seasons, they need wins and some help.
At 6-7-0, Solomon Elimimian and company remain last in the highly competitive Western Division, but just two points behind the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Barring the unforeseen, four Western clubs will qualify for the playoffs. That means they only have to finish one point better than one of those clubs they are battling with.
Elimimian used his bye week wisely, spending time with his Mother and other family members in his offseason home in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles.
“It was good to rest and re-charge. I hadn’t been back since before training camp,” said Elimimian after a Monday workout at the club’s facility.
“I am normally a guy who is 100 percent focused on football. This time it was good to dis-connect, enjoy family, have some home cooking and live in the real world. It was a good visit and now it is back to work.”
As for that uphill climb they have to conquer, the 2014 CFL Most Outstanding Player says you can’t look at tackling it all at once.
“Obviously we have a challenge in front of us, but I don’t look at it as five games. It has to be one at a time and you can’t worry about anything else except Ottawa right now,” explained number 56.
“It is a very important game and in our mind it is a must win. That is the attitude we have this week. It felt good to get back on the practice field (on Sunday), start the game plan and just see the guys again. It is a playoff mentality right now.”
Some players can’t get enough out of town scoreboard watching. Others refuse to get emotionally invested in contests they can’t control. The stout linebacker is intrigued to see how these division rivals will fare.
“It’s the CFL. You always watch the games because they are great,” said Elimimian.
“A lot of these games are being decided in the last minute or going to overtime. There is a lot of parody in the league and as we know, anything can happen in the last 2-3 minutes, right?”
The Roughriders’ visit to Toronto will be playing on the big screen during warm ups. On Monday, several players may eat some Thanksgiving Turkey while tuning into the Eskimos and Alouettes (full remaining schedules below). It will all be much more enjoyable, the Turkey and the football, if they take care of business against a 5-9-1 REDBLACKS squad that defeated them 31-24 six weeks ago.
“At this point, every team is going to be tough. Ottawa is also jockeying for playoff position and trying to get to where they want to be, which is the playoffs,” added Elimimian.
“We have to come with a positive mindset and seize the opportunities as they happen. As you mention, the last game was a very close one and it always comes down to four or five plays. It is going to be a good matchup.”
Boss Echos Solly’s Thoughts
Wally Buono made his weekly appearance on TSN 1040’s 3 Down Radio and agreed with the notion that every game can be tilted if only a few plays go the other way. Speaking with Lowell Ullrich, Farhan Lalji and Giulio Caravatta, the GM/head coach had this to say about the 24-23 loss to Hamilton before the bye:
“We can go back and just rehash that. If you look at late in the game there is opportunities for the offence to score a touchdown and we kick a field goal. It’s 3rd down and five ( when the Ticats received a clutch third down catch by Luke Tasker), we have an opportunity to make a play and we win the game. At the end of it, those five plays in the last five or six weeks, we haven’t made. Because you don’t make them, you end up losing football games.”
Additional Topics and Comments From Buono’s Interview
On Travis Lulay’s successful knee surgery: “The surgery went well. The good thing about that is Travis worked extremely hard from the day he was injured to the surgery to get the swelling down. These are all critical things to the recovery. He got it (the swelling) down to where almost he could walk on it without it being an issue. The ACL was torn and there was other things they obviously cleaned up. It went well, I saw Travis yesterday and he felt good. He seemed pretty optimistic.”
On his future with the organization beyond this season: “I told (Owner) David (Braley) and anybody that has asked that I committed in 2017 to coach. I do have a contract beyond that and I really don’t know the next step until after the season is over. I think that is the most honest answer I can give you and it is the most consistent answer, I believe, that I have put out there. My wife tells me if we’re really really really close: ‘Wally, I just don’t see you not coming back.’ And I have said the same thing. I don’t want to be coaching this football club if I am not 100 percent committed.”
Listen to the entire Buono interview, including his plans for tweaking the practice routine, HERE!
A Closer Look At The Western Race
Although catching Winnipeg for second place in the division remains mathematically possible, it is probably safe to say the Lions, Roughriders and Eskimos are battling for two playoff spots: 3rd in the division and a likely trip to the Manitoba capital for the Western Semi-Final and 4th place, which would involve crossing over to the Eastern Division.
The Lions have not travelled to Winnipeg for a playoff game since a division semi-final loss in 2002. They have been the crossover team four times: 1997, 2003, 2009 and 2014. The only victory for them in an Eastern playoff game came in Hamilton in 2009. They lost the Division Final in Montreal the following week.
Here is a look at the remaining schedules for the three teams mentioned above. They all have five games remaining.
BC Lions (6-7-0)- 3 Home, 2 Away
Oct. 7 vs. Ottawa, Oct. 14 @ Winnipeg, Oct. 21 vs. Edmonton, Oct. 28 @ Winnipeg, Nov. 4 vs. Toronto
Saskatchewan Roughriders (7-6-0)- 3 Home, 2 Away
Oct. 7 @ Toronto, Oct. 13 vs. Ottawa, Oct. 20 @ Calgary, Oct. 27 vs. Montreal, Nov. 4 vs. Edmonton
Edmonton Eskimos (7-6-0)- 2 Home, 3 Away
Oct. 9- @ Montreal, Oct. 14 vs. Toronto, Oct. 21 @BC, Oct. 28 vs. Calgary, Nov. 4 @ Saskatchewan
Tiebreaker notes: Edmonton and Saskatchewan have both claimed the season series against BC, hence why the Lions must finish ahead of one of them in points. Saskatchewan currently holds the season series edge on Edmonton, by virtue of a 54-31 win at Commonwealth Stadium on August 25th. As a result, the green Riders sit 3rd place in the West. Both the Roughriders and Eskimos have lost the season series to Winnipeg, meaning they would have to overtake the Blue Bombers in points to end up in second place. The Bombers are the only team with a mathematical chance to catch first place Calgary. Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stampeders have clinched a home playoff date for a sixth consecutive season.
