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From The Stands – Lions 24, Riders 5

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It’s always a good tailgate party when the Riders come to town!

Sunday afternoon football doesn’t come very often in Vancouver, although we have seen our share of Western Finals. With the Saskatchewan Roughriders in town and the roof open, the stage was set for a Western Division showdown before over 34,000 football fans. Here’s how I saw it, from the stands.

The Defence

The Lions offence seemed to come out of the gate a little slow, but you couldn’t say that about the defence. Cauchy Muamba had a strong game and had two interceptions, including a key pick in the fourth that really seemed to deflate the Riders.

Adam Bighill continues to flourish while Jabar Westerman and Maurice Evans filled in nicely for the suspended Khalif Mitchell. But for my money it was Dante Marsh who was the player of the game on defence. The veteran cornerback had a big interception and added six tackles and was solid all night long.

Not much more needs to be said when you consider this team hasn’t allowed a touchdown in three full games. It would likely be scary for other teams to learn that on the post game show, Muamba stated that while the Lions defence was playing well, they “weren’t there yet”.

The Offence

The Lions offence struggled early but stepped up when they were needed later in the game. It wasn’t Travis Lulay’s strongest game but he was hurried a lot, especially in the first half. The Lions were stuffed on third down from the one and a half yard line which was disappointing. Personally, instead of using the QB so much in short yardage I’d like to see us pound it with Rolly Lumbala or Harris.

Harris was held in check, with just 19 yards on 8 carries. Geroy Simon, Shawn Gore, Akeem Foster all had key catches, but it was Arland Bruce who led the way with 93 yards and a touchdown.

Ernest Jackson, making his second appearance of the season, continues to impress with size, speed and his catching ability. I loved what I saw from him in training camp and he could be on his way to finding a permanent spot in the lineup. The Lions will have some interesting choices to make when Kierrie Johnson eventually returns from his broken arm.

Special Teams

Special teams have been singled out a lot this season and most of the time not for good things. In this game there was very little not to like about their play. The Lions cover teams were strong for the most part. No yards penalties were few and far between (one?) and Tim Brown had a big return in the 2nd quarter that help set up a touchdown. Paul McCallum punted well which was nice to see since he has struggled in that department this season.

Thanks Wally

I thought the Lions did a nice job honouring the coaching career of Wally Buono. Video messages from Andrew Harris, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, daughter Christie Buono and Wally himself were tastefully done and understated, just the way Wally would have preferred it to be.

Thanks tailgaters!

I don’t do this usually, but we had a great tailgate party on Sunday. I was very proud to return to the lot and find it spotless. Well done everyone!

Tweets of the night

@DGilmour24: Great environment at BC Place tonight. Can’t beat watching a football game at BC Place on a Sunday afternoon with the roof open. #BCLions

Absolutely, I’m certainly looking forward to more afternoon games in the future.

@angusreid64: Thanks to all our great #BCLions fans for cheering us on to victory tonight! first place feels GRRRREEEAAT!!

Angus has been eating his Frosted Flakes again.

@BCLions: Speaking of @dantemarsh, he’s just 2 tackles shy of surpassing Barrin Simpson (475) atop the #BCLions all-time rankings in tackles. #CFL

Had no idea Dante was approaching team records like this.

@Lilminimo Me and cardboard @DanielJWood won the kiss cam at the @BCLions game tonight. EPIC! haha #kisscam #bclions

It’s true, she kissed some cardboard and one the kissing cam contest. Awesome.

Talk to you next week everyone, 5-2 as we head into Bomber land!

From The Couch – Lions 18, Argos 9

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It was BC Day in British Columbia and it turned out to be the BC Lions day in Ontario in a hard fought 18-9 victory over the Toronto Argonauts. Turnovers and defence were the stories of the game, and the Lions won on both counts, moving their record to 4-2, good for interim sole possession of first place in the CFL’s West Division.

Here’s how I saw it, from the couch.

Turnovers

The Argos lost this game in large part to turnovers and they started early, with the Lions cashing in 10 points off two early interceptions thrown by Ricky Ray. Byron Parker looked to have the first interception for the Lions secondary this season and his 10th career pick six, but a bad offside call on the Lions wiped out what would have been a sweet return to Rogers Centre for the former Argonaut. Dante Marsh ended up getting the first pick for the unit with Toronto moving the football. It was a key moment in the game.

The Defence

While the offence struggled to get into a rhythm for much of the game, the defence went blow for blow with Argos, and for the second straight game, didn’t allow a touchdown by the opposition offence. They were also responsible for all four Argo turnovers. The Lions got solid pressure on Ray for much of the game, and kept Cory Boyd in check with just 23 yards on 8 carries, which was a key considering they were without defensive play caller Anton McKenzie. Rookie Jabar Westerman has a nice game for the Lions with a sack, two tackles and a forced fumble and may be the answer for when Khalif Mitchell serves his pending suspension.

The Offence

With the two early gifts from the Argos the Lions were able to cash in on their first two offensive possessions. But success was infrequent after that and I don’t believe the offence had a first down in the 3rd quarter (I could be wrong). Andrew Harris found the running tough, and Travis Lulay was under solid pressure from the Argos defence, making effective receptions sparse as well. Lulay was 18 for 27, but many of the completions were short passes that left the Lions with several two and outs. Lulay did find newcomer Ernest Jackson for a key 51 yard strike to the one in the fourth quarter, but the Lions needed four cracks, including an offside call on the Argos to get into the end zone.

The Argos held Andrew Harris in check for much of the night, but July’s Top Canadian ripped off a couple important runs in the dying minutes to help seal the deal for the Lions.

The previously mentioned Jackson had a strong debut performance and may have laid claim to the receiver opening that Nick Moore failed to grab hold of in his two game audition.

Special Teams

I’m not sure the break could come at a better time for Paul McCallum. There is something just not quite right with the veteran kicker. While the team did a good job containing Chad Owens, McCallum’s punting continues to be inconsistent and has to be a concern at some point. Tim Brown continues to leave a long field for the offence, but he isn’t getting a lot of blocking in front of him, unless my untrained eye isn’t seeing him miss the holes.

The Lions kept McCallum from trying a 46 yard field goal, no doubt in part because of Owens waiting to return the kick if it went wide or short. But it’s worrisome that the team doesn’t have confidence in their kicker’s leg on anything over 40-45 yards. Some in Lions nation are wondering if there is a way to get two kickers on the roster if this continues.

Lionized Tweets

@andrewharris33: Wasn’t pretty, but we stuck together and got the win! 4-2… #BCLions #33Nation

Stick together they did, particularly on a late headlock tackle on Harris that went uncalled. Rolly Lumbala and Harris were not pleased after the final whistle.

@LionFan15: #BCLions I guess it’s a safe bet that Ernest Jackson just leapt over Nick Moore on the depth chart for good. #CFL

Agreed…for now. Jackson has a lot to offer; size, speed and strength. I wouldn’t rule out Courtney Taylor getting a shot at some point as well, and Kierrie Johnson will be back at some point.

@GlennLove20: Just had my first game. What a great experience, but I still have a lot to improve and learn about this game. Great win for the #BCLions.

New BC Lions linebacker Glenn Love comments on his first CFL game experience.

@Heatbagger: Dominant closing drive to end the game for BC. Suitor saying BC wasn’t dominant. They only gave up 3 FG’s on the road, yup they suck. #BCLions

Well, I would say the game was pretty even. The Lions created more chances because of the turnovers, and that was the difference. Kind of agree with Suits on that one.

Until Next Time

It’s a bye week for the Lions and there is much to work on when they return, but at 4-2 the Grey Cup champs are in a good position to start the next phase of their season. Here is hoping that fans come out for a rare afternoon game in BC Place against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on the 19th. Enjoy the break everyone!

From The Couch – Lions 34, Stampeders 8

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The BC Lions needed to get a win in the CFL’s West Division after dropping their last two games to Saskatchewan and Edmonton respectively. After a shaky first half full of mistakes and penalties, the Lions got going in the second half to win convincingly. Here are my thoughts, from the couch.

Slow Start

TSN showed the pregame speech of coach Mike Benevides where he stated to his players, “It is time, its time, it is time. It is time that we play like the team that we know we are, it’s time that we play a complete game, it’s time that we win the field position battle, it’s time for us to score a ton of points…it’s time for us to show everybody who we are.”

The Lions offence must have thought he was talking about the second half, because the first was filled with penalties and stalled drives. The defence was doing their part, but for the most part the first half was a write-off for both teams offensively until the Lions connected on a late touchdown to Akeem Foster.

Special Teams

If the Lions were going to win this game they were going to have to shore up their special teams, especially with Larry Taylor returning kicks. They did just that, holding Taylor to 54 yards on 4 kick returns and to just 17 yards on 2 punts. Although I was a little irritated with the effort of Khreem Smith on the opening kick-off when he just stood there watching Tim Brown try to fend off three Stampeders before the whistle had blown.

Paul McCallum seems to have found his form again after kicking four field goals, the longest from 45 yards. Hopefully the next time he faces a 44 yarder at home, they’ll let him take a crack.

Travis Lulay

Some genius on Twitter tweeted this: “Lulay just looks nervous to me. Missing open guys, didn’t sense the pressure there, almost fumbled. #BCLions #CFL”.

Ok so it was me, and right after that Lulay got his game going. The fact is that for much of the first half, Lulay didn’t look sharp, but he stuck with it and slowly found his game. By the end of the game he looked like the MOP he was last year. He didn’t turn the ball over and managed the game down the stretch very well.

Lulay used spread the ball around nicely, particularly in the second half, with Bruce and Simon playing key roles, unlike last week. At the end of the night, 30-37 for 315 yards and 3 TD’s was a solid night’s work for the Lions pivot.

Akeem Foster

In Lowell’s chat on Friday on TheProvince.com, I brought up the play of Akeem Foster. Foster had a key touchdown at the end of the first half, and Glen Suitor indicated that Foster had been injured coming out of training camp. He had a strong game, leading all Lions receivers with 5 receptions for 72 yards. If Foster can find the form he showed last year before getting hurt, the Lions are going to have an impressive stable of Canadian receivers, which will allow them valuable flexibility with the ratio in other areas.

Discipline

Despite the win, the Lions would be wise to put some more emphasis on playing with control. Khalif Mitchell, already under the watchful eye of all, took an unnecessary roughing penalty early in the game and Anthony Reddick was fortunate that a very late and uncalled for shot on Kevin Glenn was not flagged. Although most of their penalties were in the first half the Lions still need to clean up that part of their game.

Defence

The Lions secondary still don’t have an interception, but it was nice to see Byron Parker cause a key turnover on a play that could have swung the momentum Calgary’s way. Deep in Lions territory, Parker punched the ball out of Johnny Forzani’s hands and Ryan Phillips recovered the fumble. It turned out to be the turning point of the game, because the Lions marched the ball down the field for a score. The Lions defence failed to register a sack on the night.

Adam Bighill picked up his first career interception and just continues to impress with his closing speed and effort, leading the team with 6 tackles on the night.

The Lions completely shut down Jon Cornish who finished with -1 yards on the night. They held the Stamps to just 29 yards rushing.

Lionized Tweets

@Nightowlsinc: Most importantly, we know now that the #BCLions can win if Coach Benevides doesn’t wear a hoodie.

One of the world’s great questions answered.

@Rikester13 “@rlestage: Looks like 2010 happy feet version of #Lulay is showing it’s face #BClions #CFL” 30-37 315 yds 3 td’s #toughcrowd @TravisLulay

Pretty sure that tweet was in the first half, Mike. Don’t worry, we still love ya!

Thanks for reading everyone. If you enjoy this kind of stuff give us a follow on Twitter, @BCLionsDen and I’d love to see your comments here!

From The Stands – Lions 14 Eskimos 27

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Travis Lulay huddles with the offence.
Travis Lulay and the BC have yet to fire on all cylinders this season.

The Eskimos and Lions engaged in a defensive battle for much of Friday’s contest, but as was the case in Saskatchewan a week earlier, special teams and a costly mistake were contributing factors in the team’s second loss of the season and second in as many games. Here are my thoughts, from the stands.

Gentlemen, Watch Mr. Harris Please

If every BC Lion started the game with the determination that Andrew Harris did last night, the result may have been a lot different. In fact, after some of the plays he had early on, it’s a wonder he didn’t jack his teammates up to his level. Harris refused to be tackled and early on it was clear the game plan was to get him involved to neutralize the Edmonton pass rush. For the most part they were successful, racking up 453 yards in offence against the “league’s best defence”. Harris finished the night with 185 yards, 120 of them through catch and runs.

Special Teams

The Lions racked up much of that offence because they were starting deep in their own end much of the night. The Eskimos on the other hand enjoyed numerous starts at midfield thanks to shoddy return coverage and below average punting from Paul McCallum. McCallum has had a shaky start to 2012, and looked visibly frustrated coming off the field at times last night. The Lions didn’t even attempt a 44 yard field goal, in the dome, with the roof closed. That has to tell you something about the confidence that the coach has in his special teams unit right now. I’m not sure what Benevides can do to fix the situation, but it needs to be rectified quickly.

All That Talent, So Little Use

With the exception of Harris and Marco Iannuzzi, who is proving he belongs, the Lions didn’t have many other weapons on the night. Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce had four catches between them and that’s just a waste. The Lions are going to have to find ways to get Bruce and Simon more involved, and what has happened to Akeem Foster? This was a guy who looked like he had arrived before injuring his knee last year, and now is almost invisible in the offence.

Travis Lulay looked uneasy at times and appeared to lock onto one receiver on numerous occasions.  Nick Moore returned to the lineup and showed ok, although he dropped one with no one around him that won’t do him any favours in his bid to make more frequent appearances in the lineup.

Defence

The defence did their job for the most part. I thought Dante Marsh was having a strong game before he left with another dislocated shoulder. Hopefully he will be ok, and Marsh was telling anyone who would listen after the game that he would be fine. It’s the same shoulder he’s injured in the past.

Just two sacks for the defence on the night, and the difference was the two turnovers by the Eskimos defence. The Lions need to get more of those from their defence, especially with the offence not firing on all cylinders.

The Eskimos

The Eskimos came as advertised. I though Steven Jyles had a pretty good game, connecting on some nice plays before leaving with reported concussion symptoms. Kerry Joseph did his job managing the game the rest of the way. I’m still not sold that the Eskimos can win a Grey Cup with that tandem though. Much like the Lions tried to neutralize the Lions pass rush, the Eskimos did the same with a lot of work for Hugh Charles who finished with 118 yards rushing and another 61 through the air.

Their defence is solid, but the Lions did a nice job with the Eskimos front seven, only allowing one sack on the night, although there were many hurries. Right now you have to say the Eskimos are playing the best defence in the league and that unit is definitely winning them games, but it’s not November yet.

The Turning Point

With the Lions looking to punch it into the end zone to take the lead they chose to pass the ball on first and goal. Lulay tried to force a pass into Geroy Simon a touch late, who had two defenders on him. TJ Hill contacted Simon, the ball deflected into the arms of Joe Burnett who took it back 107 yards for the touchdown that would prove to be the nail in the coffin for the Lions. With the way Andrew Harris was playing it was surprising to see the Lions pass on first and goal. Not only that, but they emptied the back field telegraphing a pass play and Lulay was hurried on the play. That’s the way it has been the last two of games; one mistake, game over.

The Mitchell Play

I didn’t see this during the game, so I had to watch it on the PVR. I just don’t see this intent to injure other are seeing. What I am seeing is Rottier having a hold on Mitchell, to the point where it actually looks as though his hand is caught in Mitchell’s pads. To me it looks like Mitchell was just trying to break free of the hold. I’ll call a spade a spade if it’s warranted, but that’s what it looked like to me. Mitchell is an emotional player, and I’ve often wondered if we would see him lose his cool at some point. He may be getting a little frustrated with all the double teams he’s seeing, but I really don’t think there was any “intent” to injure Rottier.

I’m all for player social media use, but it may be a little inappropriate that Eskimos offensive lineman Greg Wojt tweeted at halftime: “Annoyed at the play, that was bush league by Khalif Mitchell. Intentionally trying to injure a player #NoClass.”

On to a tough game in Calgary next week, and as Coach Benevides is fond of saying this Lions team has lots of work to do.

From The Couch – Lions 20 Riders 23

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Geroy Simon catches a pass in a 23-20 loss to the Riders (Photo: CP)

Ok this wasn’t exactly from the couch it was actually from the bar, fringe benefits of being a fan rather than an unbiased journalist. Some great CFL fans were in town from Montreal, and it was great to watch the game with them and a few others. It reminds you why you love this game and the fans that follow it.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had to blog about a loss, so here it goes.

Mistakes

Mistakes were the order of the day and the Lions were their own executioners on this day. Lulay, throwing into double coverage for a key interception, the veteran McCallum missing two field goals, and of course special teams allowing big returns again. Both defences battled hard and without those Lions mistakes the score is different. The Riders offence didn’t produce a lot, but as a team they made fewer mistakes and capitalized on the ones the Lions made.

Maintaining Focus

Losing this game wasn’t the worst thing in the world. The Lions last had won 14 of their last 15 heading into Regina, so a little wakeup call might do them some good. The talk of 18-0 can be thrown out the window and we can talk about 17-1. (I kid). Seriously though, sometimes a loss can refocus the troops and I expect the Lions to be hungry next week against Edmonton.

Offensive consistency

In addition to the special teams issues the Lions offence has yet to reach peak efficiency this season. One drive they look fantastic, the next few they look ordinary or sub-par. Injuries to the offensive line have likely impacted the running game to some degree, and if you listened to the pregame show you would have heard that in addition to Jesse Newman having a setback with his knee, Dean Valli may have had similar bad luck this past week.

Kierrie Johnson’s injury no doubt hurts, and you have to feel sorry for him after it looked like he may be on his way to a breakout year. The Lions do have some options to plug in with Ernest Jackson and Nick Moore each having good training camps and on the practice roster. There wasn’t much success for either Geroy Simon or Arland Bruce on the day and the Lions must find away to get those two more involved. The Lions appear to have dodged a bullet with the early reports that Simon dislocated a finger rather than breaking one.

With a good Edmonton defence in town next week, better consistency will be needed in all areas on offence.

No hoody, no win?

Just throwing this out there; Coach Benevides wasn’t wearing his trademark grey hoody…discuss.

Any coincidence?

Is it any coincidence that Paul McCallum has missed a few field goals and shanked a few punts this year with a new long snapper and a new field goal holder?

“The Clip”

The big play of the game was of course the missed McCallum field goal that lead to the Tristan Jackson return for a touchdown. By definition of the rule the block that sprung Jackson certainly could have been called a clip, but it was close. Even so, there were still 110 yards between Jackson and the end zone. Paul McCallum summed it up best on Twitter when he retweeted and commented on this submission:

“@Glenbuchat2: @BCLions @PaulMcCallum4 it was a blatant clip that sprung Jackson free. Should never have been a TD” If so it is what it is.

Tweets of the game

@ LadyApriil: Saskatchewan rough riders have the ugliest and scariest mascot ever… I’m pretty sure Lions eat gophers! #BCLions #Win3BC

Take that Rider fans!

@CanuckClay: Holy smokes! Was that Kierrie Johnson or Ben Johnson? What a great catch and run! @bclions #win3BC

Great question, too bad we’ll have to wait another 6-8 weeks to see more.

@geroysimon: Finger is good to go! I have 9 others that work fine. Making adjustments to win next week.

Well there you go; the silver lining in every cloud makes an appearance. I feel better already.

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