B.C. coach Wally Buono staying positive in face of Lions injuries

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Coach Wally Buono of the B.C. Lions must be one of those glass-is-half-full guys.

Injuries forced him to start four different quarterbacks this CFL season and a fifth is waiting in the wings.

Tailback Martell Mallet, who led the league in rushing until he hurt his foot, didn't practise again Thursday as the Lions prepared for the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday night.

The offensive line has been shuffled after centre Angus Reid, who calls blocking assignments, suffered a broken ankle after 142 consecutive starts.

Yet Buono said the Lions have been fairly fortunate on the injury front.

"I don't believe the injuries have caused us to be what we are, which is 8-8," Buono said. "The guys who have stepped up for the guys who are injured have done a decent job. It's more about finishing a game, finishing a drive."

But there are more Lions on the limp.

Quarterbacks Buck Pierce, Travis Lulay and Jarious Jackson, all of whom have won at least one start this season, have shoulder problems, prompting B.C. to bring back Casey Printers, the league's most outstanding player five seasons ago.

It's not much better on the defence as the Lions face a club that has beaten them six straight times in a game overflowing with playoff implications.

Defensive end Ricky Foley will start again with a broken thumb and tackle Aaron Hunt has a cast on a fractured finger suffered in last week's 33-30 overtime loss to the Roughriders in Regina.

Cornerback Trestin George is out with a torn knee ligament, defensive end Nautyn McKay-Loescher will play with a herniated disc and safety Barron Miles, the league's interception leader with seven, has seen only light duty in practice.

And those are just the injuries the club is admitting to.

Buono said his revolving-door roster has responded well to the injury-induced changes.

"It's gone well because the players that we've had to plug in have worked at those positions, they understand the system," Buono said. "We have to be able to adjust and the guys who have the opportunity to play have to step up."

The Lions can look to Printers for hope. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 339 yards, two touchdowns and an interception that led to the game-winning field goal in his first start last week.

"The offence as a whole, as a collective unit played well," said Printers who hadn't played for almost a year when he was a Hamilton Tiger-Cat.

"We had our downs but we definitely had our ups. We've just got to try to keep building off what we did and see how well we can do."

He's adjusting to new receivers on the fly but hit two of them, Emmanuel Arceneaux and Michael Bumpus, in his first start on offence, for scoring strikes.

"We have a system in place," Printers said. "As long as the guys can get into the system and understand what they do, then we'll be fine."

His favourite target against Saskatchewan was veteran slotback Geroy Simon who had six catches for 144 yards to go over 1,000 receiving yards for the seventh season.

"He looks like the same old Casey from the past," Simon said. "From Day 1, he asked a lot of questions and tried to get on the same page. I think our chemistry's still there."

The 9-6-1 Stampeders, who are tied with Saskatchewan for first in the West, will be looking to at least lock up a home playoff date against the Lions. The Riders can do the same if they win in Hamilton or B.C. loses.

The Lions can grab at least a playoff berth with a win or if both Hamilton and Winnipeg lose.

One of the keys to beating Calgary will be to stop tailback Joffrey Reynolds who is heading for his second straight rushing title and has averaged 141 yards in the two wins over B.C.

"We're going to change it up a little bit," Hunt said. "It'll be different this week and I'm sure it'll work. We're looking forward to playing them again because we've got to redeem ourselves."

Valli expects a relatively seamless transition to centre from guard when he replaces Reid, his roommate on the road.

"It's really cerebral," Valli said of his new position. "You really appreciate Angus Reid telling you what to do on every play. I don't think people give a lineman in general enough credit, let alone the centre."