Lions at Redblacks June 30, 2022

[B.C.FAN]

Ottawa has scored 17 points off Rourke turnovers but still trails 28-23.

[TheLionKing]

Lions reestablish their 8 point lead

[TheLionKing]

A long time consuming drive would be nice

[Belize City Lion]

A little adversity for Rourke this week might pay dividends against the Bombers. The Lions have some film to learn from for the first time this season.

[KnightofCydonia]

Lions held on to the win! Good on Rourke for bouncing back after three costly turnovers.

But the winners for me tonight are the defence. The score doesn't reflect their impact on the game. Most of Ottawa's points came off turnovers and/or short field positions but they still kept them trailing.

[Hambone]

A little adversity for Rourke this week might pay dividends against the Bombers. The Lions have some film to learn from for the first time this season.

My thoughts too. Some adversity, tougher challenge and making some mistakes and turnovers should serve him well in his development. That he came out of it with a W is a bonus. Even after he threw those 2 picks in short order there was zero sign of being rattled or losing confidence. He just strapped on his brain bucket and went back to work. Excellent sign.

[TheLionKing]

The Redblacks were jumping the quick and out passes. After throwing the two interceptions, the offensive coordinator Jordan Myksmic adjusted and went deep. Result was a 71 yard touchdown pass to Keon Hatcher.

[Clash Dance]

Thank goodness for Whyte. Last year we would have likely lost this game due to our inconsistent kickers. Still some coverage work to do on ST's, but it shows how great the D was, as Ottawa was playing on a short field for most of the game, and we still forced them to punt 9 times!

[OV:54-40]

Last game - David Mackie with over 100 yards offence from scrimmage; next game - zero touches - LOL

Rourke down to earth with some mistakes, but also still made some plays and nice throws; he needs to learn to run more instead of making ill advised throws IMO; the replacement for Burnham wasn't exactly helping, but I guess putting in Peterman, Scarfone or Ross for some receiver reps - for a different look, like with Mackie, is not possible ?

[B.C.FAN]

Last game - David Mackie with over 100 yards offence from scrimmage; next game - zero touches - LOL

Rourke down to earth with some mistakes, but also still made some plays and nice throws; he needs to learn to run more instead of making ill advised throws IMO; the replacement for Burnham wasn't exactly helping, but I guess putting in Peterman, Scarfone or Ross for some receiver reps - for a different look, like with Mackie, is not possible ?

Scarfone played more than half the game against the Argos and wasn’t targeted once. I like Petermann but he’s an inside receiver and the Lions wanted someone to play wide-side WR. I’d prefer to see Shai Ross get some offensive reps once he gets comfortable with the playbook.

I wasn’t impressed with any of the rookie receivers in trainimg camp. The coaches liked Pearson best and gave him reps with the first-team offence when Burnham was out, as they did with Keon Hatcher last year. I wasn’t sold on Hatcher either as a rookie but he has blossomed into a clutch receiver this year and led the Lions tonight with 7 catches on 7 targets for 166 yards and a go-ahead TD. Through 3 games, he ranks second the league with 18 catches on 19 targets for 289 yards.

[DanoT]

Hatcher was playing the slot position, vacated by Burnham's injury and he sure delivered.

While Lucky did not get many touches, with his speed he has to be accounted for by the D on every play and as such Lucky makes a great decoy. He can also be very effective on short passes followed by YAC. It is a long season and with a small guy like Lucky it is not a bad outcome for him to have some low contact games, while still making an important contribution.

[Belize City Lion]

Watching the post game interviews with Rourke on the LIons website he wasn't his usual "golly gee, aw shucks, big smiling" Rourke. He almost seemed annoyed. The kid has a bit of fire in his belly. I'd love to see what a pissed off Rourke could do to an opponent.

[SammyGreene]

Random thoughts on another win and a fantastic start to the season:

-Lions defence was lights out. Throw out the late TD against the always horrible prevent defence and Masoli did very little after throwing for over 300-plus in both games against Winnipeg. It took two very short fields after Rourke INTs for Ottawa’s other 2 majors. Secondary is loaded with experience and talent. As good as the LockDown U days. Wasn’t sure what they were doing at FA signing Breaux and Purifoy with what I thought already was a good group of young DBs but they have taken it to another level entirely.

-Speaking of Lockdown U, Sean Whyte has also taken us back in time to the days of Paul McCallum. Converts are automatic and he hasn’t missed a FG yet either. Thank you White Rock Fire Department for helping to bring a BC boy back home and upgrading the place kicking immensely.

-Keon Hatcher wanted to switch to #4 back at training camp but a mix-up gave it to the now released Micah Awe instead. It was a number Hatcher wore in high school, college and means a lot to his family. Did he ever look good in Burnham’s slot position last night.
And remember they quietly signed Hatcher to a contract extension a couple of weeks ago too. I questioned why the Lions wanted to drop a starting national at receiver (Shaq Johnson) but not anymore. This is the best group of receivers in the league and just think they wanted to add Kenny Lawlor to the mix too. BTW I don't recall Johnson being targeted once last night.

-As great as the Nathan Rourke story is, it’s just as fantastic to see how much faith the Lions (Rick Campbell) have shown in him since last season. The league has been in a rut with too many low scoring games and a lot of mediocre quarterbacking the past few years. Smothering defence has been the catalyst to the Bombers’ back-to-back cup wins. Rourke and the Lions’ offence are again showcasing how wide open and entertaining the CFL game can be. Jordan Maksymic’s balanced play calling continues to put Rourke’s talent on full display. He also stuck with the running game last night when some other OCs might have abandoned it.


-Just wait until Rourke gets even comfortable throwing on the run when he sees a receiver open just before he is about to run past the line of scrimmage. Happened a couple times last night where he missed an open receiver but it’s likely just his mechanics and figuring out his footwork. The main thing is his eyes are still looking down field rather than just taking off.

- Next Saturday is going to be fun. After the Toronto game, and a bit of a reality check after the opener, no outlandish guess on the attendance but just hoping it exceeds 20,000.

[Hambone]

Last game - David Mackie with over 100 yards offence from scrimmage; next game - zero touches - LOL

Rourke down to earth with some mistakes, but also still made some plays and nice throws; he needs to learn to run more instead of making ill advised throws IMO; the replacement for Burnham wasn't exactly helping, but I guess putting in Peterman, Scarfone or Ross for some receiver reps - for a different look, like with Mackie, is not possible ?

Scarfone played more than half the game against the Argos and wasn’t targeted once. I like Petermann but he’s an inside receiver and the Lions wanted someone to play wide-side WR. I’d prefer to see Shai Ross get some offensive reps once he gets comfortable with the playbook.

I wasn’t impressed with any of the rookie receivers in trainimg camp. The coaches liked Pearson best and gave him reps with the first-team offence when Burnham was out, as they did with Keon Hatcher last year. I wasn’t sold in Hatcher either as a rookie but he has blossomed into a clutch receiver this year and led the Lions tonight with 7 catches on 7 targets for 166 yards and a go-ahead TD. Through 3 games, he ranks second the league with 18 catches on 19 targets for 289 yards.

That is true. Burnham's replacement came up with 166 yards. Hatcher's replacement, Pearson, didn't have a debut to remember. Drop on his first target, rookie jitters maybe?Then he did make a great play climbing up the ladder to haul down a tipped ball to extend a drive, a ball that might have turned into an interception with 2 or 3 REDBLACKS right there. I was looking forward to seeing how he'd do. I don't know how he performed in the rest of camp after I left Kamloops but in the first 3 days it seemed like he was at the receiving end of some of the biggest plays by the second and third units in team play.

[DanoT]

Last season was a big rebuild year for the Lions and now the second year players are stepping up: Butler, Hatcher, Bonner, Banks, Gwachum, Williams. Perkins at RT has also played well although he did give up a sack vs a Redblacks spin move blitz.