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August 23, 2008

Mike Mastovich | Simon’s return key for Lions

By MIKE MASTOVICH The Tribune-Democrat Sat Aug 23, 2008, 11:56 PM EDT

Geroy Simon’s return to the British Columbia Lions lineup wasn’t everything the prolific receiver had hoped for on Friday night.

But Simon’s presence most certainly offers the Canadian Football League team its best opportunity to snap out of the doldrums associated with an uncharacteristic 4-4 record.

“It was a tough game. We lost. We didn’t play that well on offense,” Simon said a day after the Lions fell 36-29 to visiting Calgary – the Stampeders’ first win in Vancouver since 2002. “We’re just kind of struggling right now, and it’s kind of frustrating. We’ve been so good for so long, now that we’re struggling it’s frustrating.”

A Greater Johnstown High graduate, Simon has been and still is about as good as it gets in his slotback position even as he approaches his 33rd birthday. On July 25, the 10th-year CFL veteran in his eighth season with British Columbia broke the Lions’ all-time career receiving record that had stood for 29 years. Overall, Simon has more than 10,000 career receiving yards in the CFL.

But the same night he shattered the Lions’ all-time record, Simon injured his hamstring and had to miss two games.

“It was the end of the game. I was hot. I was tired. I was running and beat my guy,” Simon said. “He reached out and grabbed me and pulled me back. I was in full stride. The hamstring popped.

“But it was good for me to see how things are during the game. You get to see things from a different perspective. You get to watch the offense on the field and how the coaches react. I get a chance to sit back and see all the things that go on from a different set of eyes that I don’t normally pay attention to when I’m playing.”

Simon usually attracts plenty of attention on the field. He led the league in receiving yards last season and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2006 when the Lions won the Grey Cup.

The opposition frequently double teams Simon, so when he’s out of the lineup, there is a trickle-down effect that makes life tougher for the rest of the receiving corps.

“With me coming back, it takes a lot of pressure off some of our other receivers,” he said. “I pretty much get double-teamed every game. When I was out, that went to our next receiver, Paris Jackson. He’s not used to seeing a double team.”

Simon caught four passes for 47 yards in his return and has 27 receptions for 510 yards through eight games.

“I played the whole game and there was no problem with that,” Simon said. “(But) I got kneed in my back, the same injury that I had last year. I was nervous that I was going to be out again. It ended up just being a bruise. It wasn’t that bad.”

Simon is back. He hopes the Lions as a team also will return to form.

“We’ve been a team that starts slow every year but this is the farthest that we’ve been where we’re only .500,” he said. “We as a group have got to get better. We want to make that run to win the West and hopefully get to the Grey Cup and win it.”

A healthy Simon improves the Lions’ odds immensely.

Mike Mastovich is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat.

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