Lions 26 @ Riders 13 -- Post Game Stats and Comments

[BC 1988]

Agreed, Benevides needs to calm down. I don't know if the cameras were on him more than usual, but there sure was a lot of film of him ranting. The Riders beat themselves more than his coaching beat them.

Great to see Operation Orange get the coverage on the broadcast.

[MexicoLionFan]

As all of us talked about before the game, if we want to win, pressure Durant, run the football and control the Time of Possession (TOP)...we did all three...

Durant, 15/34 for 150 yards
Lions rushed for 186 yards
Lions had the football for over 34 minutes...

Congrats to both Jones and Washington for having good game plans and executing them! And as I said before the game, we possess talent to rival anyone in the league...its not our issue. And our OLIne is ONLY going to get better as the young, injured players come back...huge difference already with Fabien in the game...when he's healthy, perhaps Hunter Steward can play tackle, with help from Lumbala, and free up yet another INT spot. Kevin Glenn is only going to get better with time...Stefan Logan hasn't really even got going yet...Khari Jones and Mark Washington will continue to improve. So there is lots to be hopeful about!

[Ballistic Bob]

Anyone understand going for 3rd and 3 and not kicking a fieldgoal to go up by 16. Wierd if not scary. Thnx BB

[Ballistic Bob]

Agreed, Benevides needs to calm down. I don't know if the cameras were on him more than usual, but there sure was a lot of film of him ranting. The Riders beat themselves more than his coaching beat them.

Great to see Operation Orange get the coverage on the broadcast.

Operation Orange had 14 fans IIRC. Is that concern? Thnx BB

[green road kill]

HEY I'M WALKEN ON ROAD KILL OYAH, Two things from the game One we got a QB,he may noy have been perfict but who is Two we have an Oline ,stil needs some work but a lot better.After 1 week of listning to how the MEANY GREENIES were going to wipe thier behinds with the Leo's WALKEN ON ROAD KILL FEELS GOOD OYAH

[Rammer]

Anyone understand going for 3rd and 3 and not kicking a fieldgoal to go up by 16. Wierd if not scary. Thnx BB

Lets face it, Beny isn't a very good game manager. I am beginning to suspect that he was also in charge of that the last few seasons when Wally was the HC, as similar mistakes were taking place then. At least this didn't come back and haunt us, and hopefully it eliminates one more potential decision going awry at the end of a game.

[Rammer]

Agreed, Benevides needs to calm down. I don't know if the cameras were on him more than usual, but there sure was a lot of film of him ranting. The Riders beat themselves more than his coaching beat them.

Great to see Operation Orange get the coverage on the broadcast.

Operation Orange had 14 fans IIRC. Is that concern? Thnx BB

I would say that with a limited amount of teams that they can run the Operation Orange to, it will phase out at some point, and isn't this the 3rd or 4th time that the Lions have run the Regina operation. Overkill going there, albeit like sitting in the eye of the storm.

[WestCoastJoe]

Attaway, MLF. Let 'er rip.

[DanoT]

The team is getting better on the field but the HC is getting worse on the sidelines. Although in his favour there at least weren't any embarrassing inept chest bumps, or at least none were shown on TV.

In the post game radio show Benevides said that he went for the 3rd and 3 gamble (I'm paraphrasing) in order to make a statement and stuff it at the Riders, blah, blah, blah. A stupid decision made by what appears to be an overly emotional HC.

Trying a FG against the wind in a tight game (and McCallum had already missed one FG in the game) and risk a big return on a missed FG might cause a HC to play it a bit more conservative and so: PUNT A SINGLE TO MAKE IT A 14 POINT LEAD is a no brainer.

Punting for a single would have given the Riders the ball on the 25 yard line and the Lions a 14 point lead. Instead the Lions ill conceived failed gamble gave the Riders the ball on the 30+ yard line and the Lions only a 13 point lead.

I have a growing confidence in both the OC and DC and a diminishing confidence in the HC.

[BC 1988]

Operation Orange had 14 fans IIRC. Is that concern? Thnx BB

I would say that with a limited amount of teams that they can run the Operation Orange to, it will phase out at some point, and isn't this the 3rd or 4th time that the Lions have run the Regina operation. Overkill going there, albeit like sitting in the eye of the storm.

Is it still 40 spots available for Operation Orange? I wasn't surprised at the low turnout, usually the trips are later in the season than Week 3. Add to that the chaos of the first 2 weeks providing a lot of negative buzz.

I agree, Taylor Field is the last place I'd think of for a good-natured fan experience.

[TheLionKing]

Very pleased to see the Lions established the running game and stuck with it all game. They kept pounding the football til the Riders showed they can effectively stop it. They couldn't and the Lions kept running it. The previous OC would have done the Riders a favour by abandoning it.

[Rammer]

Agreed, Benevides needs to calm down. I don't know if the cameras were on him more than usual, but there sure was a lot of film of him ranting. The Riders beat themselves more than his coaching beat them.

Great to see Operation Orange get the coverage on the broadcast.

As for coverage, not sure if this was mentioned anywhere else, but Chris Schultz suggested that Braley told Wally that they better not go 0 - 3, and Wally then told Jaques Chapdelaine not to go 0 - 3 and Jaques Chapdelaine told his assistants not to go 0 - 3. Keep in mind he is also responsible for the fluff of an article regarding the Lions pre regular season.

Edit: Corrected Schultz's first name.

[DanoT]

Agreed, Benevides needs to calm down. I don't know if the cameras were on him more than usual, but there sure was a lot of film of him ranting. The Riders beat themselves more than his coaching beat them.

Great to see Operation Orange get the coverage on the broadcast.

As for coverage, not sure if this was mentioned anywhere else, but Scott Schultz suggested that Braley told Wally that they better not go 0 - 3, and Wally then told Jaques Chapdelaine not to go 0 - 3 and Jaques Chapdelaine told his assistants not to go 0 - 3. Keep in mind he is also responsible for the fluff of an article regarding the Lions pre regular season.

That would be Khari Jones not Jaques Chapdelaine AND that would be Chris Schultz not Scott Schultz. LOL

Rammer, you are excused for your mistake. Schultz OTOH is a pro sports commentator and he should know the teams better AND so should his colleagues on the Panel, none of whom corrected him.

I like Schultz' usual take on things as he often tries to get inside a players head and figure out his point of view. However I find that he is prone to mistakes and often needs an editor for his written columns.

[The_Pauser]

Just got back from Regina. Our flight was delayed leaving as it seemingly took forever to load all of the luggage on the train. With everyone in great spirits though it wasn't a problem.

Had an absolute blast once again. I've been on 3 of these road trips now and my personal record is 3-0. Got a nice little streak going.

Operation Orange will not phase out. In fact we were talking today about how to attract more fans out to it, and also how to attract younger fans out to games. The team definitely recognizes that we need to continue attracting new fans to the games, and also experiences like this one help solidify lifelong fans with amazing cherished memories.

To anyone who's never been to Regina, definitely go there on one of these trips. Though I don't think they're expecting to do another one out there next year. Heard Hamilton will be a stop. Also heard I got some good airtime which is pretty cool.

The game itself was great. Not a classic, but a well executed road game and enough to get the W.

[Toppy Vann]

Benny was mic'd up in pre-season and he was harping at refs non- stop. At one point a player stood for a brief moment over a Lion on the ground an and he went nuts - he can't do that blah blah blah. It was brutal.