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From the Stands – BC Lions 16 Roughriders 20

August 28, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

Guarantees in sports get thrown out the window as soon as the first whistle blows, and after three quarters of tough defensive football, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were the team that found the plays they needed, coming from behind to defeat the BC Lions and give 33,196 fans a free ticket to another game. Here are my thoughts, From the Stands.

No Offence

The Lions exploded out of the gate thanks to the spark plug known as Tim Brown, but sadly he was the only player could provide a Lions touchdown on the night on a first quarter punt return. Kevin Glenn and the offence had no response to a Riders defence that contained Andrew Harris and Stefan Logan. There were slips on receptions that looked promising, dropped balls and untimely penalties. In a game that featured no turnovers for either side, the offence failed to deliver the points the Lions needed.

The offensive line did a decent job protecting Glenn for the most part despite giving up three sacks, none of those to John Chick who was held to just one tackle. What they were unable to do was open holes for the running game which was stymied all night. Andrew Harris had just 11 yards on 8 carries, while Logan only had just 1 carry for 1 yard, a stat that is hard to fathom after Logan’s success last week. But with Glenn and the Lions unable to sustain drives, there wasn’t many opportunities to establish the run, much to the credit of a stingy Riders defence.

Second guessers are wondering if the Lions should have given Travis Lulay the second half but with the bye week coming up, now is the time to hand over the torch. Glenn didn’t have a strong game and the Lions playoff hopes are starting to look in doubt in the tough CFL West. Lulay has to return and return ready to go when the Lions take on Ottawa on Sept. 5th.

Big Plays Given Up

In the second half it was Riders backup Tino Sunseri that ran on the field after an injury took Darian Durant to the bench. Sunseri almost made an immediate impact but had a sure touchdown pass dropped by a wide open Rob Bagg. But Sunseri made multiple big throws to keep Riders drives alive and the Riders started to have success with their running attack, which was often gaining solid yards on first down. A huge run by Will Ford setup the touchdown the Riders needed and they rode it out for the win.

The Riders running game really took hold with the loss of Solomon Elimimian, and Lions fans hope the bye week will be enough to mend whatever took him out of the game.

The Riders made a few big plays, the Lions didn’t make any, and that was the difference in the game.

Random Thoughts

Whenever the Riders come down the atmosphere is always ramped up and Lions fans were ready to their part. Riders fans were there as usual but were fairly quiet until the final two minutes of the game, but certainly had a lot to say outside of the stadium after the game.

Officiating was in no way the reason the Lions lost this game, but there was more mind boggling stuff on pass interference reviews, as a play very similar to what was deemed pass interference in the Bombers/Alouettes game was ruled as insufficient evidence in this contest. It’s become a crapshoot for coaches and the league is going to have to really look at whether this experiment is helping or harming the game.

Just how many yards does a receiver have to be offside before a linesman throws a flag? If anyone has the answer, please let me know.

The Lions are doing a good job establishing the “Roar Factor” among the fan base. Fans are making noise on their own most of the time, or at least they were on Sunday. It was also great to see the B-C chant slowly returning to BC Place, a tradition that has been lost for several years now.

The guarantee aside, 33,196 football fans will get a free ticket courtesy of the home side and if that turns a few more onto the game on a regular basis, a positive can be taken from the loss.

The Lions may have lost the game, but they secured the season series against the Riders on point differential. It could be a valuable tool to have in their back pocket, but they’ll have to rely on other teams to bring the Riders back to the pack, and they’ll have a lot of work of their own to as well.

It was the best tailgate of the season in Tailgate Empire. The lot was packed and a great time was had by all with many football traditionalists getting to the lot around 10:30 am. Kudos to all who attended for another great party, and another spotless lot after the game.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the game. Post a comment, or hit me up on Twitter @BCLionsDen. Make sure to check out BCLionsDen.ca for all of our Lions coverage and Pawdcasts as well.

From the Couch – Lions 33 Argonauts 17

August 28, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

In a week that once again saw the east giving western teams very little in the way of help, the Lions 33-17 win over the Argos Sunday in Toronto was important to keep pace in a jam packed CFL West. Here’s how I saw the game, From the Couch.

Offence

When this season began Lions fans were excited about the prospect of having Stefan Logan and Andrew Harris together for a full season. With Harris carrying most of the load so far this year accounting for about a third of their offence, Logan had taken somewhat of a complimentary role. But without Harris on Sunday, the Logan reasserted his value to the Lions offence.

Logan racked up 145 yards on 19 carries for a 7.6 yards per carry average and gave the Lions several key runs when they needed them, while adding another 49 yards on receptions.

Kevin Glenn, who passed Doug Flutie on the all-time passing yards list, had a decent game. The Lions quarterback connected on just 14 of his 25 passes, but had enough good moments to lead the Lions. The dagger to the Argos came via 53 yard Glenn to Manny Arceneaux pass for touchdown in the fourth quarter.

I wasn’t a big fan of the way the Lions attempted to get Travis Lulay into the game as I felt it gave him little chance to succeed. Out of the blue in the first quarter, with Glenn having decent success, was a strange time to bring Lulay into the game and I thought it kind of killed some momentum the Lions were building.

With Glenn walking off the field with an ice bag on his left leg, Lulay could be declared the starter early this week. A full week of knowing he’s going to start and taking all the first team reps will hopefully put Lulay in a better position to have success. Surely the Lions would have liked to get out to a big lead to get Lulay some more time, but they would have been better off just sticking with Glenn than the way they handled it, in my opinion.

Defence

Alex Bazzie continued his strong play on the defensive line and should be entering the conversation for rookie of the year. Last week on the BCLionsDen.ca Pawdcast I questioned whether Bazzie was benefiting from being an unknown and having three other veterans along the line that were commanding more attention from opposing teams. After this game, I’m pretty confident in saying that Bazzie is simply a really good football player.

Coming into the game there was some concern about all the changes in a battered Lions secondary, but replacements Torri Williams and TJ Lee stepped in admirably for Josh Johnson and Dante Marsh whose short side corner spot was occupied by Ronnie Yell. Yell’s pick six late in the fourth salted away the win for the Lions.

Anytime you can hold Ricky Ray to 181 yards, you’ve had a good day, no matter who his receivers are. The Lions also shutdown Argos running back Curtis Steele who had 49 yards on 10 carries.

Special Teams

Is there a guy on this team that makes you feel good for him more than Tim Brown? Brown is the consummate team player and no matter what his situation is, when he is number is called, he delivers. Brown’s 70 yard punt return led to the Lions first touchdown and he was a definite spark plug on special teams. How nice would it be for the Lions to get Brown on the roster along with Logan and Harris? It would relieve Logan from having to do kick returns, keeping him fresh, along with giving a really good guy the spot he deserves.

Miscellaneous

Playing their second game in five days was a challenge for Toronto, and you have to give them props for a solid effort. On this night Ricky Ray alone wasn’t enough, thanks in large part to the solid play of the Lions defence.

I don’t know what the command centre was looking at on an apparent no brainer pass interference penalty on Marco Iannuzzi in the third quarter. Branden Smith had a hold of Iannuzzi’s jersey for a good 10 yards but somehow the league saw things differently. Not only that, they penalized Kirby Fabien for a chop block he didn’t do.

The Lions spoke about modifications to their gun metal uniforms to make the numbers more visible, but to be honest I didn’t notice much difference and I don’t think complaints about that issue are going to for some. But that’s fine, they’re the best damn uniforms in football.

Kudos to the BC Lions who held their first viewing party of the season at The Pint in downtown Vancouver. There was a great turnout of Lions fans and prizes included, hats, footballs, game tickets and a Lions jersey. The club his planning to hold another one later in the year at the soon to be reopened Shark Club. If you weren’t able to check it out this week, try and make it out to the next one. It’s always great to watch the Lions with fellow fans.

From the Stands – Lions 36 Ticats 29

August 14, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

There was a cat fight Friday at BC Place and when the fur stopped flying, the BC Lions had ground out a hard-fought win 36-29 win over the Tiger-Cats of Hamilton. Here’s how I saw the game, From the Stands.

Kevin Glenn

Friday night could have very well been Kevin Glenn’s last start for the Lions for the foreseeable future with Travis Lulay very close to returning. But Glenn made a statement in this game, throwing for over 400 yards and also using his legs more than we’ve seen him do thus far in a Lions uniform. Yes there were two more interceptions (both tipped passes) but Glenn turned in a gutsy performance and the veteran QB looks to be settling in as a Lion. Should he be needed down the stretch, the Lions look to be in good hands behind centre.

The Receivers

With just nine catches coming into the game, Shawn Gore had his best game of the season to date, with 5 catches for 117 yards, including a huge 43 yard catch in the fourth quarter that gave the Lions a little breathing room after a Paul McCallum field goal extended the lead to a touchdown.

Manny Arceneaux also had a 100 yard game that included his fourth touchdown of the season, and the Lions were able to spread the ball around, even getting Rolly Lumbala involved in the offence at key moments in the game.

Defence

The biggest problem the defence had on the night was giving up the big play. But as they old cliché goes the Lions bent but didn’t break, once again allowing just one touchdown as a unit. Newcomers Alex Bazzie and Ronnie Yell continue to impress. The latter replaced Dante Marsh at corner back after the hamstring that had bothered Marsh at practice earlier in the week sent him to the sidelines for the night. Yell seems to be all over the field and is becoming a key piece of a good Lions defence.

The rushing of Dan LeFevour and the receiving of Sam Giguere gave the Lions the most trouble, but in the end they played well enough to prevent touchdowns, something they’ve done all season long for the most part.

Special Teams

Brandon Banks had a strong game returning the football for the Ticats, including a punt return for a touchdown. He averaged over 20 yards on both kick-offs and punt returns but the Lions also benefited from the strong leg of Ricky Schmitt and the veteran field goal kicking of Paul McCallum whose reduced role this season may have contributed to a 47 yard field goal on the way to going five-for-five on the night. While chasing Banks on his TD return, Schmitt seemed to tweak something in the shoulder he injured in his scooter accident a few weeks ago, but managed to finish the game and should be ok.

Cause for Concern

The Lions trainers were a busy unit Friday, with injuries to four starters a cause for concern. The most concern revolves around the ankle of Andrew Harris, who picked up the injury on his first touch from scrimmage. Harris gutted it out long enough to give the Lions one more touchdown in the third quarter, before shutting it down for the night. With nine days between games the Lions will hope the player responsible for about a third of their offence this year will be ready to go against the Argos.

Another concern is the injury to new offensive guard Jermarcus Hardrick who had been settling on the left side and playing well. It sounds like he may be out long-term, so second year guard Kirby Fabien will regain the starting role next week. If Harris can’t go next week, the Lions would likely activate Tim Brown which they could do by starting Fabien.

Josh Johnson and the previously mentioned Dante Marsh were the other casualties on the night.

Atmosphere

As the Lions continue to fight great summer weather when to comes to putting bums in the seats this season, Friday’s crowd of 24,236, the smallest of the season, was probably the loudest so far. The fans got a lot of encouragement from the Lions sideline as well, especially when Khalif Mitchell wasn’t in the game. The passionate and colourful Mitchell ran up and down the sideline all night getting fans out of their seats to make some noise for the Lions defence.

But give some credit to the Lions as well, who have been trying to educate fans right from the start of the league to bring the Roar Factor and get loud on defence. It’s starting to hit home in the stands and that can only serve the club well down the road this season when crowds traditionally get larger and louder in the fall.

From the Stands – Lions 25 Stampeders 24

August 7, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

Road games usually means that this blog is entitled ‘From the Couch’, but seeing how I was at McMahon stadium Friday night to witness the huge 25-24 BC Lions win over the Stampeders we’ll use the home game application. Here’s how I saw the game, From the Stands.

The Offensive Line

It’s no coincidence that the Lions three wins this season have come in games where the offensive line has come together and played a solid game, and Friday night they did just that. Coming into the game that was my main concern against a good Stampeders defensive line and the Lions did a great job keeping Kevin Glenn upright, even if it didn’t result in points early in the game.

It was in the second half where the line really stepped up as Khari Jones decided that if the Lions were going to win this game, it would start with Andrew Harris who finished with 143 all-purpose yards. The line opened holes for Harris and gave Glenn protection for quick checkdown passes to the Lions best offensive player, who took it from there.

Hunter Steward looks to be settling into the left tackle spot and battled all-star Charleston Hughes well. Jermarcus Hardrick, who started in place of Kirby Fabien, looks to be a solid find as well.

Defence

The game saw two solid defences go head to head. In the first half the Lions had some issues dealing with former Leos running back Martell Mallett, who hit 100 yards rushing before halftime, but the Lions locked things down in the second half.

The defensive front was solid and Eric Taylor was a handful for the Stampeders all night. Will this be the year that the big man gets acknowledged for what he brings to the table? Khalif Mitchell was also causing problems for the Stamps, and won’t have to answer questions about his lack of stats anymore after picking up two tackles on the night. The Lions appear to have found a good one in Alex Bazzie who had another strong game and the only Lions sack of the night following a huge pursuit and loss for Bo Levi Mitchell.

Solomon Elimimian continued his journey to a possible defensive player of the year nod, adding another 10 tackles to his league leading total. But the big hit of the night came on the final play of the game courtesy of Adam Bighill who ran right through Simon Charbonneau-Campeau.

With Calgary driving in the third quarter Mallett fumbled the ball after being hit by Bighill, an alert play by Dante Marsh knocked the ball out of bounds and the resulting turnover after a BC challenge seemed to give the Lions the momentum they needed.

Offence

Like the Stampeders, most of the Lions offence came from the running game, even though both of their offensive TDs came via the pass. Harris once again put the team on his shoulders in the second half and led the way. If the Lions can find a way to get more production from the dangerous Stefan Logan, it would be a scary situation for opposing defences.

Courtney Taylor continues to be the Lions most consistent receiver, and it was nice to see Marco Iannuzzi have a strong game.

Glenn threw another costly interception but for the most part had more time and managed the game in a tough environment, beating his former club. His pass to Ernest Jackson for the game winner was on the money, and it must have felt great for Glenn to get the win at McMahon.

Special Teams

While the Lions return game wasn’t productive, the cover teams were thanks to the return of Ricky Schmitt. His hang time on punts allowed the cover teams time to get downfield and contain, often giving the Stamps a long field to work with.

Discipline

The Lions did a better job with penalties, but there were still some that need to be eliminated. Jordan Matechuk took an unnecessary roughing penalty that gave the Stamps good field position on the ensuing kickoff, a drive that led to a touchdown. Shawn Gore’s holding call that nullified an electrifying touchdown run by Harris could have been costly, but in fairness to Gore that type of play goes uncalled a lot.

Pregame

No report from Calgary from a fans perspective would be complete without talking about the tailgating at McMahon. Through my CFL travels I have met a lot of great fans from other cities, so when I come to Calgary I have a lot of stops to make around various tailgate parties around the stadium.

Calgary is the mecca of tailgating in Canada and this pastime adds so much to the football experience. I was fed ribs, Spolumbo’s sausages and had to turn down even more. My cup was never empty thanks to some great Alberta hospitality. If you have never been to a game in Calgary, put it on your CFL bucket list.

From the Stands: Lions 6 Blue Bombers 23

July 30, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

One step forward two steps back. The BC Lions were anything but super on Geroy Simon Night at BC Place Stadium, and could have used an intervention from Superman to inject life into their inept offence. Here’s how I saw the game, From the Stands.

The Bombers

Let’s talk about the Bombers first, because they were full value for the win. Mike O’Shea came in with a great game plan and I thought it was a brilliant move by O’Shea to go to the no-huddle offence. While it didn’t result in touchdowns, it kept the Lions defence guessing and took some of the crowd impact out of the game.

Defensively the Bombers owned the Lions offensive line and never really allowed the Lions running game to get on track. Statistically, the Lions and Bombers had similar numbers, but the three turnovers by the Bombers defence were the difference.

Yes the Bombers are for real in the West Division, and so is Drew Willy. His pocket presence was outstanding, and even when the pressure came he stood in there and delivered strikes to extend drives and get his team a position to put points on the board.

Unlike the Lions the Bombers were a disciplined club, and only took 5 penalties to the Lions 12.