Riders 33 - Lions 30 OT Post Game Stats and Comments

[Vern Halen]

* Knock knock*

Is it safe to come in yet?

Well, I will have to say a couple things. When Patrick intercepted that pass in OT, my first thought was "Boy did we ever get away with one there."

PI should have been called for sure. But I was puzzled to see CP going for the endzone on 2nd down when I thought for sure he was going to call a QB draw. Printers was doing amazing things all night with his legs, extending plays and getting out of trouble. I even called a QB draw, and was stunned to see it go up in the endzone.

Geroy had a helluva game.

Even though the Lions got royally screwed in OT, had Congi made that FG with 0:04 left in regulation, it never would have even gotten to OT. And as far as people getting excited about a blown call costing the Lions the victory, it was a blown call that cost the Riders the game last week. Blown calls happen to every team - it just stings when it's your team and so much is on the line.

BC played a great game - it's unfortunate for Lions fans that BC couldn't have made the miraculous comeback at Mosaic, but as a Rider fan, I'll take the two points gratefully.

The Lions should hold their heads high - that was one hell of an exciting game!

[WestCoastJoe]

I see Vern Halen here. So I will give credit to the Riders.

Durant played very, very well. Elusive, strong arm. Quick decisions.

O Line and D Line play hard, a Rider tradition.

Rob Bagg is such a steal as a free agent. How could he be rated so much lower than Matt Carter prior to the draft?

[David]

* Knock knock*

Is it safe to come in yet?

Well, I will have to say a couple things. When Patrick intercepted that pass in OT, my first thought was "Boy did we ever get away with one there."

PI should have been called for sure. But I was puzzled to see CP going for the endzone on 2nd down when I thought for sure he was going to call a QB draw. Printers was doing amazing things all night with his legs, extending plays and getting out of trouble. I even called a QB draw, and was stunned to see it go up in the endzone.

Geroy had a helluva game.

Even though the Lions got royally screwed in OT, had Congi made that FG with 0:04 left in regulation, it never would have even gotten to OT. And as far as people getting excited about a blown call costing the Lions the victory, it was a blown call that cost the Riders the game last week. Blown calls happen to every team - it just stings when it's your team and so much is on the line.

BC played a great game - it's unfortunate for Lions fans that BC couldn't have made the miraculous comeback at Mosaic, but as a Rider fan, I'll take the two points gratefully.

The Lions should hold their heads high - that was one hell of an exciting game!

Great post as always Vern. I wish more fans were like you. Always gracious in victory and defeat.

Congratulations on the hard fought win. It was a hell of a game.

DH

[B.C.FAN]

Great post as always Vern. I wish more fans were like you. Always gracious in victory and defeat.

Congratulations on the hard fought win. It was a hell of a game.

DH

[OV - 54:40]

I see Vern Halen here. So I will give credit to the Riders.

Durant played very, very well. Elusive, strong arm. Quick decisions.

O Line and D Line play hard, a Rider tradition.

Rob Bagg is such a steal as a free agent. How could he be rated so much lower than Matt Carter prior to the draft?

Bagg was up for the CFL draft back in 07 - and he was not picked - went back for a 5th year at Queens and made 2nd team CIS all-star receiver that year. Riders signed him as a FA at least last year if not earlier- not sure who on their staff would get credit, but a great signing.

Carter was a 1st round draft pick this year.

Carter put up a far superior set of testing #s at the CFL Combine compared to Bagg; so, he's bigger, plus faster & more athletic maybe - a lot of football scouts & coaches are very big on testing #s & measureables. But Bagg has shown to be an excellent receiver at the pro level - runs good routes to get open, great hands, tough, plus breaks some good gainers where he looks a lot faster than his mediocre 40 Combine # would suggest. We don't know about Carter at the CFL level yet - maybe he's as good or better than Bagg, but hard to tell without seeing him get some playing time. Bagg ended up on a Rider team that had some injury problems at receiver plus maybe also were willing to audition or give playing time to a number of NI receivers. Carter might have been in quite different situations with the team's he's been with so far in the CFL; we'll see if he ends up getting much CFL playing time; his testing #s do suggest he was a very good receiver prospect, plus, like Bagg, he was an all-star receiver in CIS ball. Getting a real shot at the pro level and making the most of an opportunity is another matter.

[WestCoastJoe]

Bagg was up for the CFL draft back in 07 - and he was not picked - went back for a 5th year at Queens and made 2nd team CIS all-star receiver that year. Riders signed him as a FA at least last year if not earlier- not sure who on their staff would get credit, but a great signing.

Thanks for the info, OV.

It's difficult to say how Carter might have panned out if he was not plucked off our PR by the Cats. As you say, he had great results at the combine.

He certainly did not seem like a flashy receiver at TC and in his short time here. Not sure if the Lions were disappointed in what they saw (keeping him behind Hetherington and Wilson) or if it was just one of those roster management situations. We'll see how he does in Hamilton.

In regard to receivers, whether Canadian or import, I would rather have a guy with great hands and perhaps less than top-end speed than a flashy guy with supposedly great wheels who does not catch well. I would prefer guys like Bagg (5'11", 192 lbs.) and Dressler (5'8", 164 lbs.) to guys like Cory Rodgers, Rufus Skillern and even RGM who did not show good catching ability from Day 1, but do have speed.

[Solar Max]

Seems like a lot of blame being laid at Casey's feet, when in fact there was plenty to go around.

For example, having no dbs on the 30-28 TD catch, and again on the 2 pt convert. On the other side of it, Miles makes the great pick to go up 30-22 in the first place.

It wasn't won in the last seconds, and it wasn't lost in the previous 60 minutes and overtime. It was Regina making their own breaks, and Lions sometimes capitalizing on Rider mistakes, and sometimes not.

Speaking strictly in the pure nature of the game, whichever team makes the fewest mistakes almost always wins, unless the other team's errors are so large as to preclude that. Lions started the season making more mistakes than most teams, and slowly but surely have been correcting that. This encompasses both execution, gameplanning and strategy. No one is blameless, nor is anyone a shining beacon of this club for 2009.

Beating Calgary even at home will be a monumental task, and will require execution, and gameplanning.

There has to be varied offences (Screens, anyone? Calgary saw Regina Blitz Casey to death.)
There has to be protection for Casey. And discipluned line play. (I can just imagine what it was like at the Dorazio home today. Noise?)
There has to be pressure from the front 3-4-5.
There has to be a run D for Reynolds/Cote/Cornish.
There have to be no secondary breakdowns.

If those things happen, Lions can win. If even one is weak, then beating Huffer is nigh impossible imo, even at home.

Having Frank Burris show would help too.

[TheLionKing]

There was much discusssion on television and radio about Angus Reid being a warrior, never missing a practice, playing injured etc. Anyone noticed that Reid missed the guy who put pressure on Casey Printers forcing him to hurry his throw which ultimately lead to the interception ?

[David]

There was much discusssion on television and radio about Angus Reid being a warrior, never missing a practice, playing injured etc. Anyone noticed that Reid missed the guy who put pressure on Casey Printers forcing him to hurry his throw which ultimately lead to the interception ?

Ummm....he played on a broken foot and could be done for the year. I think we can cut him some slack.

DH

[CatsEyes]

There has to be varied offences (Screens, anyone? Calgary saw Regina Blitz Casey to death.)

I think if I saw a screen or a shovel pass, I would probably pass out on the spot.

[TheLionKing]

There was much discusssion on television and radio about Angus Reid being a warrior, never missing a practice, playing injured etc. Anyone noticed that Reid missed the guy who put pressure on Casey Printers forcing him to hurry his throw which ultimately lead to the interception ?

Ummm....he played on a broken foot and could be done for the year. I think we can cut him some slack.

DH

I heard that it was ankle sprain during the game. Be that as it may, it would have been wiser to put his back up in. To expect someone to play at 100% on one leg is unrealistic.

[TheLionKing]

There has to be varied offences (Screens, anyone? Calgary saw Regina Blitz Casey to death.)

I think if I saw a screen or a shovel pass, I would probably pass out on the spot.

We haven't seen a shovel pass since the days of Dave Dickenson and Damon Allen.