Jarious Jackson isn't fitting himself for a Superman's cape.
The B.C. Lions quarterback says it will take team work, not a super-human effort by one player, to put the Lions back on track. Jackson will get his first start of the CFL season Thursday when the Lions (1-5) face the Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-2) at Mosaic Stadium (TSN, 9 p.m. ET).
"I'm just looking at this as me being a football player and this is what I do," said Jackson. "We're not 5-1, we're 1-5. It just so happens we're playing a great team in Saskatchewan this week.
"We are trying to get this thing turned around. This is the bed we have made so far."
The likable 33-year-old started the season third on the Lions' depth chart after undergoing shoulder surgery in January. An injury to starter Casey Printers, and the inability of second-year player Travis Lulay to produce a win in three starts, has resulted in the Lions pinning their hopes on the former Notre Dame star.
Wally Buono, the Lions coach and general manager, has no qualms about using Jackson to snap a five-game B.C. losing streak. Jackson has a 13-5 record as a starter since joining the Lions as a free agent in 2005.
"He has been in this situation before," said Buono. "He has delivered for the club before. The players do rally around him.
"He understands what his job is."
Saskatchewan defensive back Omarr Morgan said the Riders know Jackson can be dangerous.
"He runs like a running back," Morgan said after the Riders practised Wednesday. "He makes a decision and he goes. There is no grey area.
"He probably has one of the strongest arms in the CFL. He can throw the ball from anywhere on the field. That causes a lot of problems. He's been around this game a long time. He knows the ins and outs."
Both teams are coming off loses. The Lions were beaten 27-22 last week by Calgary in a game made close when Jackson came off the bench to lead a late scoring drive.
Saskatchewan lost 30-26 to Montreal to drop to second place in the West. The Riders, who have not lost at home this year, need to win to stay in the hunt for first place in the West.
Calgary (5-1) plays the Edmonton Eskimos (1-5) on Sunday.
"We just want to try and keep pace with Calgary," said Morgan. "We try to defend our home. We win all our games here and we will be in pretty good position."
Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant missed a day of practice this week due to a bruised right thumb suffered in the loss to Montreal and a nagging intestinal infection.
He is expected to start against the Lions.
Durant leads the CFL having completed 140 of 235 passes for 2,040 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He is also the Riders second-leading rusher behind Wes Cates with 214 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
Saskatchewan has a flock of sure-handed receivers including Weston Dressler (37 catches for 542 yards) and Andy Fantuz (31-449).
The Riders also have a defence that gives teams fits with their different looks, plus a vocal home-town crowd that can crank up the noise when the other side has the ball.
"Up front they run a very confusing style of defence," said veteran Lions centre Angus Reid. "They will try to beat you with looks that are unnatural and maybe something you have never seen before.
"You have to figure it out while dealing with (The Canadian Press)not being able to hear each other."
Jackson completed eight of 17 passes for 99 yards and threw one interception in about a quarter of work last week. His greatest strength is being able to throw deep, something Lulay seemed unable to do.
Jackson takes over a toothless Lions offence that has scored the least amount of points in the league. B.C. is last, or second last, in several offensive categories, including touchdowns scored, passing TDs, time of possession, first downs and yards per game.
In an attempt to add more speed the Lions released veteran wide receiver Derick Armstrong and replaced him with rookie Darius Passmore.
Slotback Paris Jackson said Jarious Jackson will bring some confidence to the offence.
"As a whole the offence hasn't been moving," said Paris Jackson. "I think we are looking fro a spark.
"Maybe a guy that has a little veteran leadership skills . . . brings a little bit of energy and brings a discipline to the offence."
The Riders beat B.C. 37-18 in the second week of the season. The game was close at half-time before Printers was hurt.
Morgan said no one in green is taking the Lions lightly.
"They are dangerous," he said. "They have a great team.
"They've just had a couple of mishaps. They easily could have won three or four games. They are still going to come in and give us their best shot."
The Lions finished 8-10 last year, their worst record since Buono took over in 2003. B.C. will have to be 7-5 for the rest of the season to match that record.
Defensive back Korey Banks said the winning has to start soon.
"We're just going to battle," he said. "We're not going to play like we're a 1-5 team.
"We're just going to play the style of ball we know. Fight it out and see what happens."
