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From The Stands: Lions 27 Bombers 20

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fromthestands-wpg-bc_570_th
It was the BC Day holiday and it was BC’s day on the field as they ground out a tough 27-20 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Here’s how I saw it, from the stands.

Tired Team?

I wouldn’t be surprised if to a man the players would say the bye week is coming at the perfect time. After travelling to Toronto and back, having a short week in which they only had two practices, and playing their second game in less than a week, the Lions had to scratch and claw their way to a win over the Bombers. It was a critical win, as the Lions couldn’t afford to fall another game behind the leaders in the West with another loss to an East Division team.

Offence

The Lions certainly came out with a purpose on the opening kickoff after the hit of the game by Solomon Elimimian gave them an early turnover and great field position to work with. But the Lions couldn’t advance the ball and settled for Paul McCallum field goal. In fact it took the Lions until the second quarter to solve their red zone woes when Travis Lulay found Shawn Gore in the end zone after a nice fake on the end around. Elimimian made his presence felt again picking off a deflected Justin Goltz pass and two plays later Lulay zipped a ball into Korey Williams who made a great catch for his first CFL TD.

Overall though the offence was average which wasn’t helped with the fact that the Bombers defence held Andrew Harris in check for most of the night. I thought the offensive line did a fairly decent job protecting Lulay for most of the night with Dean Valli stepping in for the injured Kirby Fabien.

There is lots of work to be done to get the unit firing on all cylinders.

Defence

It was the defence that should get most of the credit for the win. Turnovers had the Bombers in the game and  Goltz looked decent in spurts. Chad Simpson and the Bombers offensive line had some success but the defence didn’t break often. After 16 points on the first half the Lions used good field position and their defence to hold the Bombers to four points in the second half.

Still, there should be more concerns about the lack of pressure from the Lions defensive line as the Lions head into the bye week. Lack of pressure has been a big reason why in back to back weeks young QBs have had some success against the Lions defence, although against the Bombers it had less of an impact. But the Lions didn’t give up the big play all night, and overall, it was a strong performance.

Anyone else know what Dante Marsh did to draw an unnecessary roughness penalty in the second quarter on the second Bombers touchdown? Just wondering, because I didn’t see it at the time, and the replays sure didn’t show anything.

Special Teams

We already talked about Elimimian’s big hit on special teams to start the game and the Lions did a good job of holding to the Bombers to modest returns on the night. Paul McCallum’s coffin corner punt was a thing of beauty and led to the Bombers giving up a key safety, but the veteran did miss two field goals from 45 yards leaving this blogger to wonder why they don’t send in Hugh O’Neill for anything over 40 yards. McCallum’s shank on the late punt that gave the Bombers a hope looked to be an early snap that he wasn’t expecting.

It should be interesting to see how the kicking game evolves as the season progresses, because 45 yarders are going to be needed down the stretch.

Twitter Fodder

 Steve @TheSpecialist4: @ryan_4real21 Congrats on 150 consecutive games. All played with class, style and the right amount of flying around.

Indeed, all with the Lions as well.

Jamie Cartmell @SweetJimmyC: Dedicated to the end. Gonna miss ya @JacqBlack #BCLions #CFL pic.twitter.com/XY278wdaUe –

Lions communications director Jamie Cartmell on the departure of assistant  Jacqueline Blackwell, who worked her last game last night after eight seasons. She has been a great friend to me as a blogger, and I wish her all the best in her new endeavours. She’s been a big part of building the Lions social media brand.

Jordan Ortillan @jortillan: I love this stadium. A shame there aren’t more people in it. #BCPlace #BCLions #CFL #football

A shame indeed, but I was surprised there were as many as there were. One of the most popular long weekends of the year for folks to get away, so just fewer than 27,000 was decent. I’m still confident crowds will approach 30,000 as we head towards Labour Day and play key Western Division opponents.

Enjoy the bye week everyone. Next up is a big Western Division match against the Calgary Stampeders, where we will get a real gauge of just how the Lions stack up against the West.

As always, we would love your comments on the game, either here or on Twitter @BCLionsDen.

 

Edmonton 33, BC 17: BC’s lack of offence leaves defence in a tough spot in loss to Eskimos.

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Travis Lulay - July 16th, 2011: Photo: Canadian Press / Ian Jackson

Travis Lulay and the BC Lions offence couldn’t get on track against the Eskimos
Photo Credit: Canadian Press / Ian Jackson

There is an old saying that says “The defence rests”. Saturday afternoon in Edmonton the Lions defence never got that chance as the Lions fell to the 3-0 Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 33-17.

An inept offence kept the defence on the field for most of the game and it was too much to ask against an Edmonton offence firing on all cylinders to start the season. With the win the Eskimos sit alone at the top of the CFL West division while the Lions are sharing the basement with the equally hurting Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Eskimos set the tone for the game early, methodically marching down the field and in the process using up half the first quarter on a drive that saw Ricky Ray go 7-8. Edmonton failed get a major but opened the scoring on a 20 yard Damon Duval field goal.

The Lions proceeded to go two and out on their first possession, and that would be the story of the first half. With the Lions defence settling down after that first drive they gave the offence the chance to get going by keeping the score close. But fatigue would soon set in.

Last week’s game saw Lulay the victim of drops by his receivers. But on this night he saw his passes bouncing off the turf or thrown over his targets head. The running game was once again not utilized, and the Eskimos defence barely saw the field.

Even when the defence appeared to make a stop, there were penalties that kept drives alive. An Eric Taylor offside penalty kept saw the Eskimos take advantage on the next two plays, with a 17 yard pass to Jason Barnes and then 42 yard pass and run to Fred Stamps for the game’s first touchdown. The Eskimos led 10-0 with the Lions only touching the ball four times.

The Eskimos would add a single on the ensuing kickoff after Tim Brown bobbled the ball in the end zone and the Lions ineptitude on offense continued as two more passes went incomplete with Lulay still looking shaky. Lulay was 1 for 6 for 7 yards in the opening frame.

When the 2nd quarter began, the Lions defence was again trying to do their part, forcing the Eskimos to punt on their first possession of the 2nd quarter. But the offense continued to sputter and after another two and out Edmonton blocked a Paul McCallum punt and things started going from bad to worse for the Lions.

With the Eskimos scrimmaging at the Lions 35, Ray drove the Esks into field goal position and Duval extended the lead to 14-0. The Lions looked to build on their 7 yards of offence but an end around to Shawn Gore went nowhere and Lulay couldn’t connect on a 2nd and 5 forcing the Lions to punt once again. McCallum pinned the Eskimos deep and the Lions defence who had practically been on the field for the whole game were able to get a stop and the Lions had great field position to start at the Eskimo’s 45 after the punt. Lulay completes a 7 yard pass to Geroy Simon but the Lions couldn’t convert on 2nd and 3 after Jamall Robertson was stuffed. BC sent out Paul McCallum to try a 45 yard field goal and he connected to get the Lions on the board, making the score 14-3 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

The fatigue of being on the field for the whole half started to show on the Lions defence. Marcus Henry caught a pass in front of Dante Marsh for a nice gain, before Adarious Bowman went on a 46 yard romp after a missed tackle by David Hyland. The Eskimos punched it into the end zone on the next play with a Ricky Ray pass to Daniel Porter and it was 21-3 Eskimos.

The Lions got their first 1st down of the half with just over 2:00 minutes remaining. The set of plays saw a big completion to Geroy Simon of 38 yards as the Lions looked to get some points before the half. They accomplished that when Lulay found Simon in the end zone with 1:34 remaining and the Lions were amazingly only down by 11.

But with just over a minute left Ray wasn’t satisfied and marched the Eskimos into Lions territory. Once again sloppy tackling was a key by a tired defence. To make matters worse, nose tackle Eric Taylor had to leave with a leg injury and the Lions didn’t have a backup leaving the defensive line thin. The Eskimo drive stalled and a 44 yard Duval field goal sailed wide for a single, making the score 22-10 at the half.

The Lions received to start the 3rd quarter and scrimmaged from inside their 25. A two yard toss to Andrew Harris and a 2nd down conversion to Akeem Foster saw things start more promising for BC. The drive continued with completions to Dobson Collins and Kamau Peterson but stalled on the next two plays, forcing the Lions to punt.

The Eskimos first possession of the 2nd half started at their own 21. Daniel Porter ran for 8 yards to start the drive but the Lions stuffed him in the backfield on 2nd down and the Eskimos had to give the ball back. A great return by Andrew Harris on the punt was nullified by a Rolly Lumbala holding call however and the Lions scrimmaged from their 35 but failed to generate anything more than a first down.

On the next drive Ray scampered for 27 yards. The Lions had the Eskimos facing third and five, but Edmonton caught the Lions sleeping on a fake punt and direct snap to Mathieu Betrand to extend the drive. The move paid off for the Eskimos as even though the drive was stopped again it got them into field goal range. Luckily for the Lions Duval pushed it wide again for another single, extending the lead to 23-10.

The defence had kept the score within a couple of touchdowns and on the Lions next drive they decided to start using Jamall Roberston and it started to pay off. But then the wheels came off as Lulay threw a pass to the sideline that was jumped on by TJ Hill. Lulay did save a touchdown on the play by hustling back to make the tackle on Hill, but the Eskimos were threatening again. After a too many men in the huddle penalty on the Eskimos, Ray ran for a first down then found Jason Barnes to set the Eskimos up first and goal at the five. They only needed one play from Daniel Porter to punch it in, and the Lulay interception proved a costly one, extending the Eskimos lead to 30-10.

That seemed to suck the life out of any momentum the Lions had and the Eskimos added a field goal before Akeem Foster scored a late touchdown to make the final 33-17.

Quick Hits:

  • Geroy Simon was one of the lone bright spots on offence for the Lions and surpassed the 14,000 yard mark for his career with a catch in the 4th quarter.
  • The Lions rushed the ball just 8 times for 56 yards.
  • Ricky Ray has yet to throw an interception in 3 games this season, and was 24 of 33 for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns.
  • The Lions next game is Friday July 22nd at 7:00pm against the Hamilton Tiger Cats at Empire Field.

Bye week changes nothing, Lions stamped at home again.

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BC Lions fans showed up at Empire Field hoping the bye week had worked out the issues the team had seen compiling a 1-6 record to start the year. In the end it was the Calgary Stampeders who looked rested and fine tuned, as they easily defeated the home side by a score of 48-35. The score flattered the Lions who scored two late touchdowns in garbage time.

The game started ominously for the Lions after the defence held the Stamps to a field goal attempt. Rob Maver’s attempt was short but was fumbled by the Leos’ Yonus Davis and recovered by the Stamps on the Lions 9 yard line where Burris would run it in for an early touchdown.

Photo: BCLionsDen.caThe Lions did respond on the next series, thanks in part to a great 44 yard leaping catch by Emmanuel Arceneaux to put the Lions in great field position. After Jamal Robertson took it to the one, the Lions needed three chances to get the ball into the endzone, with Casey Printers eventually breaking the plane of the goalline, confirmed by  video review.

The Lions would take the lead on a Paul McCallum field goal, but it would be their last lead of the game, as the Stampeders started to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, a common theme for the Lions this season. Henry Burris, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for one himself, did his best to keep the Lions in the game in the first half. After an Emmanuel Arceneaux fumble at midfield, Burris tossed the first of his three interceptions in the game, setting up a Paul McCallum field goal. Burris promptly threw another to Dante Marsh and a great catch at the 1 yard line by Simon set up a Jamal Robertson touchdown late in the half, closing the score to 24-20. The Stamps would get a field goal late, aided by a horse collar penalty assessed to Tad Crawford and the Lions were actually in the game at the half, down by just seven points.

It was the same old story in the second half as the Stampeders made some adjustments and the Lions couldn’t adjust. Burris worked underneath routes to John Cornish and Joffrey Reynolds at will. On one drive in the half it was all Cornish all the time, and the Lions were at their mercy. The Stamps built up a big lead before the Lions scored twice late.

Printers was under constant pressure in the second half as the Lions offensive line continued to struggle, particularly up the middle of the line. The resulting sputtering of the offence kept the defence on the field far too long and Burris and the Stamps seemed to move the ball at will as the defence wore down.

Burris completed 20 of 34 passes for 276 yards in the night to go with his 2 TD’s, 1 rushing TD and 3 interceptions on the night. His counterpart Printers finished the game completing 10 of 26 passes for 191 yards. The Lions finished the game with a paltry 44 yards rushing, while the Stamps rolled to 215.

Quick Hits:

A moment of concern came in third quarter when BC receiver Darius Passmore crashed into one of the advertising signs along the sideline, landing on the sign in his neck area. Reports indicated a cut to the neck area of the Lions rookie receiver. After being worked on for some time by medical staffs from both teams, Passmore was taken off the field by stretcher, and and gave the crowd the the thumbs up sign. He was taken to hospital for further treatment and evaluation, but was proclaimed in good shape by Wally Buono on the post game show.

The Lions now travel to Montreal for the Labour Day weekend. It’s been reported that Als’ quarterback Anthony Calvillo will not be ready to play and is still recovering from a bruised sternum.

Game Stats

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