It was the English courtier Sir Anthony Weldon who first penned the proverb, “He that deceives me once, it’s his fault; but if twice, it’s my fault” in 1651.
Nearly 400 years later, it seems the B.C. Lions may need to crack open a copy of The Court and Character of King James I. After a second straight West Final loss, it is they who are now at risk of becoming the wisest fools in Canadian football.
In each of the past two seasons, a high-flying passing attack has made the Lions the envy of the league throughout the regular season and powered them through the first round of the playoffs. That hasn’t mattered a lick when they’ve come face-to-face with the dynastic Winnipeg Blue Bombers in November, leaving many to wonder what has to change to get them over the hump?
“That’s a good question. I don’t know,” veteran linebacker Bo Lokombo admitted following Saturday’s 24-13 defeat.
“Definitely this year, we felt we could keep up with them in all phases. Last year, we lost by eight, it was a close game. This year, it was a close game — I don’t even know what we lost by. They’re a tough team and a tough team to beat, especially at home with the crowd and with some of the execution, like how Brady (Oliveira) was running today. We’ve got to get bigger, man.”
Indeed, much has been said about the mismatch between the Bombers’ pounding rushing attack — affectionately dubbed “Bully Ball” by its proponents — and the Lions’ slight-framed defence, built for rushing the passer and covering in space. Time and again, Winnipeg has found success in sacrificing receivers for extra offensive linemen and ramming the ball forward, with their M.O.P. candidate Canadian running back crossing the century mark in each of their two playoff victories. On Saturday, he generated 70 yards by himself on the game’s opening drive.
But even once the B.C. defence took advantage of a banged-up Bombers’ receiving corps to load the box in the second half and shut down Oliveira, their defensive stops mattered little. Offensively, the team’s bread remained un-butterable after leading receiver Keon Hatcher went down with an Achilles injury. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., himself playing through an MCL sprain, could not find a rhythm without his top target and surrendered a playoff-record nine sacks.
The year prior, it was the generational talent Nathan Rourke, just weeks removed from his miraculous recovery from Lisfranc surgery, who initially floundered in the passing game, finding his form too late for a comeback. On neither occasion did the Lions have an alternative to fall back on, as the running game has been merely an afterthought in the team’s offensive strategy.
“Everybody knows we’ve been a pass-first team throughout the year. Especially when you go down 18-3, you’ve got to move the ball, we’ve got to go downfield and things like that,” Adams said post-game, defending the team’s lack of balance. “It’s something the coaches will explore in the offseason. If we feel we need to (focus on running the ball more), we will but it is what it is.
At least in 2022, the team had a thousand-yard rusher on the roster that they didn’t utilize, handing James Butler just six carries for four yards when the season was on the line. After letting the 28-year-old walk in free agency, the Lion’s rushing attack regressed. Newcomer Taquan Mizzell spear-headed a ground game that finished dead last in the CFL and did little to complement the number one aerial offence in the country. Even while the Lions trailed by just a single score, he was afforded only five carries for 37 yards against Winnipeg — with 22 of those coming on his very first touch.
Even still, head coach Rick Campbell was not ready to commit to changing his roster construction in the aftermath of another defeat.
“I’m not there yet; I’m just thinking about this game,” he insisted at the podium. “I really like a lot of our team and I hope we get a lot of our guys back. Things will happen in the offseason but we’ve got a good team and I like it and we’ll keep trying to grow and get better.”
Once again, it was Lokombo who seemed the only one willing to truly reflect on the team’s systemic failure, painting a portrait of one offence able to lean on something stable when their passing attack faltered and another with no way to control the chaos.
“We felt like they control the ball, they control the time,” he explained. “This game, they were really slowing things down, especially in the first half. You could tell they wanted to eat up the clock, they wanted to run the ball, they wanted to establish a physical game.”
“On offence, we’ve got VA back there who likes to sling it, and we play more fast-paced. When you’re playing a team that likes to slow things down, you really have to try to score early. We always talk about starting early, starting fast. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get that done.”
“I think as far as when that time comes for us to see them again, we’ve got to play great on all phases. I felt like at times our offence was a little bit slow.”
It’s not that the Lions have misplaced priorities; any modern-day football strategist or data scientist will rightfully tell you that throwing the ball and effectively defending the pass is the best path to victory. The problem is you can’t harvest from one garden and leave another to rot. When the blight comes for your best crops, you need at least a simple starch to subsist on.
That is never more true than in the playoffs, where long-term strategies are purely theoretical and the only thing that matters is beating the team across from you. It is no secret that, barring a dramatic shift in the CFL’s balance of power, that team is likely to be Winnipeg again next season and the Lions will be found wanting until they can overcome them.
“They’ve kind of been the top dogs in the West the last few years and we’ve just got to take that step and beat these guys when we play them, especially when it matters,” Adams said. “It was great matches all year against these guys, love competing against them, and I felt we had a good plan going into the week and we prepared hard. Again, it’s just about executing and that starts with me.”
It actually starts with some serious offseason introspection. As it stands right now, the unwashed masses are correct in their assertion that the Bombers are better built for the playoffs, though it has nothing to do with any sort of fundamental weakness stemming from playing under a dome. They are superior because they are better balanced; a more complete football team that can win in any form or fashion the situation demands.
With the bones of contender already in place, B.C. now needs to get to that stage in their development. It will require sizing up the roster, upgrading the offensive line, and committing to a running scheme that fits their personnel — whether that be Mizzell or someone with a little more downhill heft.
While he was happy to shoulder the title of the “soft team from the West Coast” this week, Rick Campbell must know the clock is ticking on that moniker. With the 2024 Grey Cup set to take place in BC Place, the next West Final this team plays could have the highest stakes yet and Winnipeg isn’t going anywhere.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times and you may not get a chance at a fourth.
