The good news for the BC Lions may be that they won’t lose next week.
Of course, that’s only certain because they don’t return to action until the 27th against the West leading Calgary Stampeders.
Again, the story of the Leos’ loss strikes up a familiar refrain: too many penalties, a porous offensive line, turnovers at particularly inopportune moments, and an anaemic offense which was unable to reliably move the ball for much of the game- and unable to capitalize on the few chances where they did get a little wind in their sails.
If it weren’t for Yonus Davis and his 51-yard touchdown run on the first offensive play of the third quarter for the Lions, the sole tallies for the Lions in the 37-13 loss would have been a pair of Paul McCallum field goals in the opening frame.
It gets harder and harder as the loss skein stretches to find new bright spots. Davis has to be one. Not only did he score the only BC major, but he led the team in rushing yardage, tying with Jamal Robertson with 84 yards on the ground. Davis also had a strong night on special teams, logging 133 yards in kick returns and an additional 28 in punt returns.
Ryan Phillips continued his statistically unlikely domination of Darian Durant, picking off two passes and raising his career total to 13 of his 24 interceptions coming from Durant throws, according to the TSN broadcast.
The bright spots end there. After looking good in relief last week against Calgary, Jarious Jackson was, well, as ineffective as anyone else at pivot behind the Lions O-line this year. Worse, although he had success on longer routes last week against the Stamps, he didn’t have a completion of twenty or more yards until after the game was out of reach, and ended up 18 of 31 for 194 yards and two interceptions against what had been the league’s least effective pass defence. He also absorbed five sacks.
Thirteen accepted penalties against the Lions handed the Riders 144 yards worth of field position. This sloppy execution is bad enough were it to happen to a team otherwise executing (Sasketchewan was flagged 14 times for 125 yards), but particularly when the offensive unit can’t give the defence time to catch their collective breaths it leads to vulnerabilities and poor field position.
It will be interesting to see what the bye week does to the Lions personnel, particularly as NFL teams get through their first two weeks of exhibitions and may be sending some players packing; and plenty of questions which might be answered. Could there be diamonds in the rough to bolster the shaky offensive line? Might the continued stagnation finally force the Lions organization to part ways with offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine?
Time will tell, but it’s getting harder and harder for the orange-and-black faithful to watch the drubbings week after week.
Quick Hits:
Many comments on the post-game show indicated that the Lions didn’t try and go deep often. Well, it’s tough to go deep when you’re quarterback is running for his life. Routes can’t develop, the QB can’t check off his receivers, and the whole play breaks down. Is it safe to say Darian Durant has arrived? The Rider QB looks to be easily the best in the league. His passes are crisp and accurate and when his blocking breaks down he just runs for the first down…One could also say the same for the Rider receivers, who constantly get open on 2nd and long. Adny Fantuz leads the CFL with 16 2nd down catches for first downs.
Saksatchewan 37 Lions 18
Brian Wawryshyn, BCLionsDen.caIt was the first regular season CFL game played outdoors in Vancouver since Nov. 6, 1982, and while the atmosphere for the return to Empire Stadium was outstanding, the Lions themselves showed they have a lot of work to do if they hope to contend with the big boys on the CFL’s west division.
BC had no answers for Saskatchewan’s defence who pressured the Lions quarterbacks at will, exposing an inexperienced offensive line that is going to have to get better if Casey Printers, Travis Lulay and Jarious Jackson want to finish this season on the active roster and not the injured list. Printers left the game just before the half as a result of a bruised or strained quad muscle trying to evade the pressure of Riders rookie Brent Hawkins.
The constant pressure rendered the Lions offense useless, with quarterbacks and receivers having no time to make reads or run their routes. The running game had flashes os success, but was otherwise ineffective with JamallRobertson netting just 54 yards on 10 carries. Withthe Riders offensive line firing on all cylinders, Durant was able to findreceivers seemingly at will on second down, and the green machine churned out 188 yards along the ground, 93 of them going to Wes Cates.
When the Lions weren’t allowing pressure, they were taking penalties. 16 all together on the night for 116 yards.
Withthe Lions defence on the field so much, they were worn down in the second half, and the Riders had no problem putting together drives to close out the game. Their defence sealed the deal with another blindside hit on Lulay who fumbled, giving the Riders an easy touchdown.
Slotback Geroy Simon was one of the lone bright spots for the Leos, scoring both Lions touchdowns on a 32-yard pass from Printers in the first quarter, then gave the faithful something to cheer for connecting with Lulay on a 92-yard play when the game was already decided.
Paul McCallum hit on a 16-yard field goal and added a 45-yard single, while also coming up short on a fake punt that exposed the kicker’s lack of blinding speed.
The Lions had few wrinkles in their offense to throw at the Riders, prompting Dean Valli to say in a Lowell Ullrich piece that “They know what we’re going to do.” That’s not a ringing endorsement of the offensive game plan that at this time of year, should have had the Riders guessing. The talents of Jamal Lee and Andrew Harris are sparingly used, and if these players are going to have an impact, the Lions have to give them chances to do so.
Once again the team had trouble stopping the run. Possibly a product of being worn out in the second half, but on the last couple Rider drives of the game, they ran the ball down the Lions throats.
Things won’t get any easier for the Lions as they next take the field on Friday, July 16th at 7:00pm versus the Grey Cup Champion Montreal Alouettes.
Quick Hits:
The game was a sellout, at 27,528 fans…The Lions Brent Johnson played in his 152nd consecutive game…The atmosphere at Empire Field was fantastic, the tailgate parties were outstanding and had little to no issues, but inside some work needs to be done to address the concession lines. Reports of 30 to 45 minutes in the beer lineups had fans thirsty and cranky, and there were no options for refreshments in the stands. Fans on the west side of the stadium who were baking in the sun in the first half had few options but to brave the lineups and miss large chunks of the game if they wanted anything. All part of the learning process that comes from a temporary facility, and hopefully all involved can work out some of the kinks in time for Friday.
Casey Printers played well in his return as a Lion.
Former CFL MOP Casey Printers made his return to the field for the BC Lions Saturday and it was like old times in many ways, but his only mistake of the night proved to be a costly one as the Lions dropped a 33-30 overtime decision to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic field in Regina.
Printers started the game looking a little nervous on his first drive, on which he had good field position thanks to a nice kick return by Tristan George to start the game. As Lions fans have seen far too much of this season, the offense was stopped on 2 and 1 and turned the ball over on downs.
The Riders punted and on BC’s next drive Printers evaded several tacklers to find Geroy Simon and set up a field goal to open the scoring.
Riders went two and out on their first two possessions, but proceeded to have a nice drive to end the first and begin the 2nd quarter highlighted by a 60 yard completion over the middle from Darian Durant to Rob Bagg. A favourable spot on 2nd and 1 when it appeared the Lions had stuffed the Riders, gave the Riders a first down and two plays later Stephen Jyles followed the surge from his line up the middle to give the Riders a 7-3 lead on the converted touchdown.
Both teams failed to respond on their next possessions but eventually Durant found Bagg again in single coverage on a 32 yard touchdown pass to extend the Rider lead to 11. The teams then took turns kicking field goals including a nice 22 second march executed by Printers make the score 17-9 for the Riders at halftime.
The Riders opened the 3rd with a single off a Congi 54 yard punt. On the Lions first play of their second drive, centre Angus Reid went down with a badly sprained ankle on a 7 yard Martell Mallett run and the Lions were stopped on 2nd and 3 with about a yard remaining. The drive stalled, with Buono opting to punt rather than take the chance with his challenged short yardage offense on 2nd and 1. Reid would return to the game, hobbling around on one leg, reportedly refusing to be pulled.
Following a nice return by Michael Bumpus, Printers a 34 yard catch and run with Emmanuel Arceneaux to make the score 18-16. McCallum’s kickoff went out of bounds again, setting the riders up at the 45 to start their drive, but they went two and out and punted. Field position shifted however and after the Lions failed to get a first down, McCallum continued to struggle shanking the ensuing punt, and the Riders started at the BC 44 yard lie. The Riders settled for a single off a wide left 42 yard Congi field goal.
Jason Armstead provided some spark for the Riders on a big return, but the Lions defense held again. Congi added a 35 yard field goal to make the score 22-16 Saskatchewan with a 1:29 left in the 3rd quarter.
Then the injury bug really started to bite. Martell Mallett hurt went out with a leg injury and did not return. But on the very next play AJ Harris had nice run to bring the Lions near midfield. A Holding penalty moved the Lions back and Geroy Simon came up a yard short on a 2nd and 20. The Lions punted and pinned the Riders deep and appeared to have them ready to concede the safety but a bad pass interference penalty on LB Jojuan Amour gave the Riders a second life and they worked their way out from deep in their own end with three straight first downs but punted to end the drive.
Printers then hit Geroy Simon on a long pass to put the Lions on the Rider 19. A holding penalty put the Lions 1st and 20 on the 29, but Printers evaded the rush on the next play and launched a pass into the end zone that created a showboat catch by Michael Bumpus to give the Lions the lead at 23-22.
The teams exchanged punts before Barron Miles jumped on a medium route over the middle and picked off Darian Durant returning it to the house to give the Lions a 30-22 lead with just over 3 minutes remaining and the momentum looked to be in the Lions favour. But the TD proved costly, as Miles tweaked a hamstring on the return and had to come out on the next Rider drive. The Riders took advantage targeting backup Tad Crawford and marching down field for the tying touchdown with the successful two point convert.
The Lions were forced to punt and the Riders had enough time to get into position to try a 50 yard field goal but the kick was a little off target and hit the upright, sending the game to overtime. With the Riders having the first possession they appeared to have scored a go ahead TD but the replay showed former Lion Jason Clermont did not maintain possession on the catch and Riders settled for a field goal.
Crowd noise and the Riders continuous practice of blitzing then played a factor as the Lions took two procedure calls costing them nine yards on their drives. Still though, Printers got them close, hitting Paris Jackson over the middle and setting the Lions up first and goal. But the Riders brought the pressure again, and Printers, scrambling for his life chose to throw to Simon in triple coverage, and the Riders intercepted it, ending the game, and giving the Riders the 33-30 overtime win. It looked like Simon was held on the play, but there was no flag.
The Lions battled hard, but came up just short. Casey Printers finished the game 19-of-31 for 339 yards for two touchdowns and the one interception.
Extra Yards:
- S Barron Miles had his 64th and 65th career interceptions in the game.
- WR Michael Bumpus likely earned himself another look after replacing Ryan Grice-Mullen with a nice return and a great touchdown catch.
- Casey Printers finished the game 19-of-31 for 339 yards for two touchdowns and the one interception.
- The game was tough injury-wise for the Lions with Angus Reid (ankle), Martell Mallet (leg/foot), Barron Miles (hamstring) all getting nicked up.
- Travis Lulay (shoulder) didn’t even dress for the Lions, while Buck Pierce did.
Well after the Lions 48-10 beat down at the hands of the Stampeders last night, hopefully we can enjoy and talk about a real football game this afternoon. Join us for today’s game at 12:45 to talk a little CFL football, and we can also dissect last night’s debacle under the dome.
(Regina, SK) The BC Lions were in a generous mood Friday night, and handed the Saskatchewan Roughriders a 28-24 victory at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field on Friday.
Buck Pierce fumbled four times and threw two interceptions under constant pressure from a Rider defense that was seemingly having it’s way with BC’s new look offensive line, which often seemed confused with picking up the blitz giving Pierce little time to look down field allowing 9 sacks. Walter Stith showed that he is a work in progress replacing Rob Murphy, while Dean Valli also had a tough game at times. These deficiencies will need to be addressed or Buck Pierce will end up on the injured list in no time.
The Lions picked up key injuries as well, the most concerning being to running back/kick returner Ian Smart. Smart pulled up lame on a carry and looked to have popped a groin the way his body language was suggesting. Promising newcomer Emmanuel Arceneaux, who had a TD catch on the night, left the game with an apparent shoulder injury. The Lions got big scare came when Omar Morgan rolled up on the leg of Geroy Simon, bending the star receiver’s leg in a way it shouldn’t bend. Simon laid on the turf grabbing his leg but walked off under his own weight and thankfully returned to finish the game.
The loss of Smart left the return game in shambles and Darren Toney looked lost filling in for the CFL’s former special teams player of the year.
On a promising note the Lions defense looked pretty decent at times. Ryan Phillips picked off two Darian Durant passes and took one back for a touchdown, and the front four got decent pressure most of the night, registering three sacks and would have had a bunch more had Durant not been so agile and thrown the ball away on other occasions. Javier Glatt had a strong game for the Lions at linebacker, and Korey Banks looks as though there will be some exciting moments coming from him at his new nickleback position.
The Riders didn’t do themselves a lot of favours trying to win the game. They added turnovers of their own, and almost gave the Lions the win in the dying moments when Ryan Grice-Mullen was wide open deep but dropped the ball. Durant went 18-32 for 313 yards, 0 TD’s and 3 interceptions. 154 of those yards were to star Weston Dressler who served notice to the league he is quickly becoming the premier receiver in the CFL.
Footnotes:
- The Lions have lost out on the Jamall Johnson sweepstakes as the former Lions linebacker signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Sad that an NFL tryout costs the Lions a good player, who may have had a bigger role here had he not left. The Lions apparently exchanged contract numbers with Reggie Hunt while in Regina, and will now explore the possibility of adding him or JoJuan Armour.
- With the injury to Ian Smart the rumored signing of RB Tyler Ebell could be finalized this week, or perhaps junior star Andrew Harris will dress. Martell Mallet had some promising carries, and looks to be a similar type of runner as Joe Smith.
- Former Lion Jason Clermont finished the night with 1 catch for 9 yards, while former Rider Anton McKenzie registered 6 tackles, 1 sack and a forced fumble.
- If Emmanuel Arceneaux can’t go Friday, we’ll likely see the other promising receiver in camp, Terence Scott get his chance to shine.
- Lowell Ullrich has more in a nice video blog he composed after the game in Regina. You can view it here.
