Riders 23 - Lions 20 Post Game Stats and Comments

[WestCoastJoe]

Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT
T. LULAY 23/38 345 2 2

Receiving Rec YDS TD LG
G. SIMON 6 75 0 22
M. IANNUZZI 4 59 1 23
P. JACKSON 4 50 0 30
A. HARRIS 4 45 0 16
A. BRUCE 3 29 0 12
K. JOHNSON 1 69 1 69
A. FOSTER 1 18 0 18

Rushing ATT YDS TD LG
A. HARRIS 8 37 0 11
T. BROWN 4 16 0 6
T. LULAY 3 58 0 43
M. REILLY 2 4 0 3

Fumbles NO LST REC YDS

Field Goals FG LG XP PTS
P. MCCALLUM 2/4 38 2/2 8

Punting NO AVG NET LG
P. MCCALLUM 4 41.0 150 50

Punt Returns NO YDS AVG LG TD
T. BROWN 1 9 9.0 9 0

Kickoffs NO YDS LG SG
P. MCCALLUM 4 275 72 0

Kick Returns NO YDS AVG LG TD
T. BROWN 3 66 22.0 25 0
S. FOORD 2 43 21.5 23 0

Defence TKL SK INT FF
A. BIGHILL 6 0 0 0
C. MUAMBA 5 0 0 0
A. MCKENZIE 5 0 0 0
A. REDDICK 4 0 0 0
K. BANKS 4 0 0 0
D. MARSH 3 0 0 0
K. WILLIAMS 2 1 0 0
R. PHILLIPS 2 0 0 0
L. SHELL 2 0 0 0
K. MITCHELL 1 0 0 0
E. TAYLOR 1 0 0 0
T. LULAY 1 0 0 0
K. SMITH 1 0 0 0
J. BELL 1 0 0 0

[WestCoastJoe]

Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT
D. DURANT 18/28 172 0 0

Receiving Rec YDS TD LG
C. GETZLAF 5 43 0 12
W. DRESSLER 4 29 0 9
J. SISCO 2 53 0 34
E. HILL 2 18 0 14
R. BAGG 2 15 0 8
K. SHEETS 2 9 0 7
L. RANKIN 1 5 0 5

Rushing ATT YDS TD LG
K. SHEETS 15 76 1 13
D. DURANT 2 18 0 13
N. HUGHES 1 0 0 0
D. WILLY 1 0 0 0

Fumbles NO LST REC YDS

Field Goals FG LG XP PTS
C. MILO 3/5 38 2/2 11

Punting NO AVG NET LG
C. MILO 4 40.3 152 42

Punt Returns NO YDS AVG LG TD
T. JACKSON 1 13 13.0 13 0
C. BUTLER 1 1 1.0 1 0

Kickoffs NO YDS LG SG
C. MILO 5 315 68 0

Kick Returns NO YDS AVG LG TD
T. JACKSON 2 48 24.0 29 0
L. RANKIN 2 46 23.0 27 0

Defence TKL SK INT FF
W. TURENNE 9 0 0 0
A. KROMAH 5 0 0 0
C. MCKENZIE 5 0 0 0
T. BRACKENRIDGE 4 0 0 0
B. HAWKINS 2 0 0 0
K. SHOLOGAN 2 0 0 0
J. PATRICK 2 0 0 0
E. RUSS 2 0 0 0
C. BUTLER 1 0 1 0
D. VEIKUNE 1 0 0 0
S. WILLIAMS 1 0 0 0
T. MAZE 1 0 0 0
O. WILLIS 1 0 0 0

[WestCoastJoe]

Rick Ball: "B.C. shot themselves in the foot."

Giulio Caravetta: "Five big plays made the difference."
............

Adversity. We tried hard, but sometimes it just doesn't happen.

Kick coverage once again. And Paul McCallum is not playing like the same guy as last year.

We can use some humility. It is hard to complain about McCallum. Since he has been so money since 2006. But this year he has kind of sucked. And your kicker kind of sets the pace for STs.

Adversity sucks. But it is how you respond to it that determines your character.

[SammyGreene]

For the first time since the days of Duncan O'Mahony we can hang a loss on a kicker. Full kudos to the Riders for the win but whatever momentum the Lions gained in the 2nd half was sucked away by McCallum's 2 missed FGs.
BC Place should at least be buzzing when the Riders visit next month.

[sj-roc]

Through week 3 McCallum has already missed as many FGs as he did all of last year.

[Belize City Lion]

sooner or later we had to lose a game... as much as I hate looking up at the Riders in the standings, this loss may be more beneficial than dropping a game to Toronto or Montreal down the road. Edmonton is feeling better about themselves, the Lions need a bounce back... can't wait for next Friday!

[B.C.FAN]

It was a good game. The 14-point swing on special teams errors by the Lions was the difference.

The B.C. offence played well. Iannuzzi and Jackson made some good plays filling in for the injured Shawn Gore and Kierrie Johnson, but the Lions missed the speed and explosiveness that Gore and Johson provided. Still, the offence twice responded with good drives when the Lions were down at the end of the first half and late in the fourth quarter. Lulay had his best passing game of the season, with 345 yards despite missing two starting receivers for most of the game.

The Riders are for real and are full value for the victory. They not only won the special teams battle but protected Durant well and played mistake-free football. Their patchwork offensive line easily handled four-man pressure from the Lions, allowing Durant time to find the open man against zone coverage. When the Lions blitzed, the Riders picked it up and used Sheets effectively on shovel passes and runs up the middle.

These teams came into the game leading the league in sacks but Keron Williams was the only player on either team to register a sack. All in all, it was a great game by two good teams. The Lions just need a better game from their special teams, including Paul McCallum.

[Rammer]

For the first time since the days of Duncan O'Mahony we can hang a loss on a kicker. Full kudos to the Riders for the win but whatever momentum the Lions gained in the 2nd half was sucked away by McCallum's 2 missed FGs.
BC Place should at least be buzzing when the Riders visit next month.

I am not sure that PMc is the one wearing goat horns after this game. I can't believe the stats that Lulay got, the Lions gameplan seemed to be suffocated throughout the match. How many open receivers were there? Not many alright, and for the most part were running under our routes. You have to give credit to the Riders young coaching staff, they made the adjustment by bringing in Triston Jackson and he was the difference maker in the game.

[cromartie]

Hey all,

This is why they lost this game:

Rushing: A. HARRIS 8 carries, 37 yards

And this:

Sacks: Keron Williams, 1

Cheers,

James

I think that's a bit misleading.

Let me start with sacks. Sacks can come in one of two ways, either because you out physical your man, which they did often, or because of coverage. That one could easily have been three, resulting in two fewer extended drives, if DD's primary read had been covered. But he wasn't, so those passes were completed for first downs. This loss doesn't reside on the defensive line for not getting there fast enough, it resides on the back eight (and to a lesser extent the coaches) for not correctly identifying the first read and having him covered causing DD to have to reset himself. Lulay had more time in the pocket, overall, than DD did, but DD got rid of the ball faster.

I don't have an issue with the offensive game plan either, though I noticed Lulay rolled out less than he has been previously, but you have to execute your passes in order to move the ball, something the Lions didn't do well early, but did much better later. They also missed on both deep shots (Bruce and Geroy).

You don't run to win. You run when you are winning. Run to win is one of the biggest misconceptions of football fans.

[WestCoastJoe]

Cro, I know there is no point in complaining about the refereeing.

However, when they call 8 on the Lions, for 86 yards, and 3 on the Riders for 10 yards, it is hard to take. And I would say let the people complain. Sometimes the refs can be influenced by the crowd, and the environment.

In a close game, I would feel better if the refereeing shows even results in the stats.

[agent2]

Full marks to Sask for playing virtually mistake free but no question this should have been a Leo win. 2 missed FGs = 13 point swing. Did anyone notice the blatant block from the rear on the TD return? It happened at the goal line. Man if they make that call, the game's in the bag.

[notahomer]

It was a good game. The 14-point swing on special teams errors by the Lions was the difference.

The B.C. offence played well. Iannuzzi and Jackson made some good plays filling in for the injured Shawn Gore and Kierrie Johnson, but the Lions missed the speed and explosiveness that Gore and Johson provided. Still, the offence twice responded with good drives when the Lions were down at the end of the first half and late in the fourth quarter. Lulay had his best passing game of the season, with 345 yards despite missing two starting receivers for most of the game.

The Riders are for real and are full value for the victory. They not only won the special teams battle but protected Durant well and played mistake-free football. Their patchwork offensive line easily handled four-man pressure from the Lions, allowing Durant time to find the open man against zone coverage. When the Lions blitzed, the Riders picked it up and used Sheets effectively on shovel passes and runs up the middle.

These teams came into the game leading the league in sacks but Keron Williams was the only player on either team to register a sack. All in all, it was a great game by two good teams. The Lions just need a better game from their special teams, including Paul McCallum.

Pretty much what I wanted to say BC Fan. I don't think Durant was amazing but when he is it often can be Burris like (Jekyll/Hyde). Today I think he was a lot less amazing and did enough to win. Finally backing his claim of cutting down on interceptions, so far anyways.... Sheets did look good. I personally thought the officiating was fine. Sure the long missed field goal looked a bit off, IMO but then again we got some calls I don't think should have gone our way. These things usually balance out and today I think they did. Suits and Cuthbert had a long discussion about why Chamberlain didn't challenge Iannuzzis catch but I knew why right away. I'm not sure that catch stands if it was replayed. I still think there was some good coming out of this game. Start off strong and get a field goal to start, finish off a half with a great drive, hold the Riders late. This team had a chance to win this game but the Riders were the better team today.

It is also cool to finally hear what many of us have known for awhile. The Riders will soon have a shiny new palace to call home. I'm hoping this league is able to do this because it is pouring a foundation for the future. I don't know what the current field is like but it sounds weird to do all these renovations and spend all this money fixing up a place that isn't going to be home for much longer.

[Wakesbetterthanyou]

Cro, I know there is no point in complaining about the refereeing.

However, when they call 8 on the Lions, for 86 yards, and 3 on the Riders for 10 yards, it is hard to take. And I would say let the people complain. Sometimes the refs can be influenced by the crowd, and the environment.

In a close game, I would feel better if the refereeing shows even results in the stats.

I counted 11 holds vs sask, sorry but that's a bit much to miss. Esp the guy holding pmc by both arms on the missed fg return. I really can't take the choke job that suitor does for the riders when he calls their games. Be objective, its a national broadcast

[Blitz]

It was a good game. The 14-point swing on special teams errors by the Lions was the difference.

The B.C. offence played well. Iannuzzi and Jackson made some good plays filling in for the injured Shawn Gore and Kierrie Johnson, but the Lions missed the speed and explosiveness that Gore and Johson provided. Still, the offence twice responded with good drives when the Lions were down at the end of the first half and late in the fourth quarter. Lulay had his best passing game of the season, with 345 yards despite missing two starting receivers for most of the game.

The Riders are for real and are full value for the victory. They not only won the special teams battle but protected Durant well and played mistake-free football. Their patchwork offensive line easily handled four-man pressure from the Lions, allowing Durant time to find the open man against zone coverage. When the Lions blitzed, the Riders picked it up and used Sheets effectively on shovel passes and runs up the middle.

These teams came into the game leading the league in sacks but Keron Williams was the only player on either team to register a sack. All in all, it was a great game by two good teams. The Lions just need a better game from their special teams, including Paul McCallum.

A loss at this juncture won't kill us at this point of the season and might make us better.....

A few post game thoughts..

1. McCallum can be forgiven for missing a 45 yarder but missing the 40 yarder really killed us...it would have tied the game and instead we were down 10 points...a real killer. Jackson also returned McCallum's 45 yard miss for a huge return. Long field goals that are missed are hard to cover and the guys we had out there couldn't get it done.

2. We really struggled to run the football effectively.

3. Lulay had some decent stats but once again he missed some key throws...including a bad miss to a wide open Arland Bruce in the fourth quarter. Paris Jackson and Mark Iannuzzi both filled in well for Gore and Johnson and were not the problem in terms of our offence. One thing that has not been discussed was how much time Lulay had to throw the footballl during our winniing streak last season...sometimes he had all day back there...and we had Newman and Valli at the guard positions. Our offensive line has not provided the same kind of pass protection this season...its been ok but not great like last season and Olifoye has not played as well this season as last year. Lulay has been under more pressure and he has not been able to perform as well without that addiitional time. He's forced a lot of throws and also thrown into very tight windows.

4. The Riders threw quickly today to negate our pass rush and for the most part they were successful. Overall, though our defense was solid if not spectacular....they didn't get the two and outs and they also had to deal with poor field position due to a returned punt, a bad punt from McCallum etc. The defense still gave us an opportunity to win.

5. I know that Tim Brown had an excellent game last week but to me he does not look fast and often looks like he's running in cement in comparison to other returners in the league.

We gotta run and pass better in the future, McCallum needs to get back on his game, and we need to get some different people out there on our field goal unit who can cover and tackle.