The B.C. Lions made Hamilton’s backyard their litterbox on Sunday night, humiliating the hometown Tiger-Cats by a score of 44-28. Despite the strong feline presence, the lopsided catfight brought the boo birds out early as the West Coast visitors raced to a commanding first-half lead.
Here are my thoughts on the game.
With great power comes great responsibility
Depending on which fanbase you are a member of, the first half of Sunday’s game was either one of the greatest offensive showings of all time or one of the worst defensive outings in history. In reality, it was both as Vernon Adams Jr. took full advantage of a Ticats’ secondary that melted away like butter under a hot knife.
Even for Lions fans, the amount of blatant zone coverage busts and utter confusion on the opposing backend was hard to watch — if only because some of us have a residual soft spot for defensive coordinator Mark Washington due to his time in B.C. This was the type of performance that gets players cut and coaches fired, especially given that Hamilton is heading into a bye next week. Given that Scott Milanovich already slew one sacrificial lamb in special teams coordinator Paul Boudreau last week, nobody should feel safe.
With that said, the poor quality of competition does not diminish the brilliance of the Lions’ quarterback play. Adams looked like he was operating on another plane from everybody else at times, racking up 383 yards and four touchdowns through the air. 321 of those yards and all of the majors came in the first half, before play-caller Jordan Maksymic elected to call off the dogs — or rather cats, in this case.
This game was the perfect showcase of VA’s ability to manipulate and escape the pocket, as the offensive line had a fairly pedestrian evening. Their quarterback covered up for any rough edges with his dazzling footwork, reacting to pressure and anticipating open throws as if he had just been bitten by a radioactive arachnid. Any time his spidey senses tingled, Adams was able to step up and away from defenders or squirt out into space, extending plays until he could find an open target.
The amount of separation between the Lions’ receivers and any nearby defenders didn’t do justice to how effectively VA was going through his reads while on the move, or how unconventional some of the throws truly were. Unfortunately for Adams, perhaps his two best passes weren’t even caught, as he wired balls into Stanley Berryhill III and Jevon Cottoy on back-to-back plays late in the first half. Neither receiver was able to haul in what would have been impressive touchdown catches but the windows they were thrown into were jaw-dropping regardless.
It seems the tides have finally started to turn in favour of Adams around the league, as casual fans begin to recognize just how incredible his play has been since last year. He has now gone 169 passes without an interception dating back to Week 1 and the turnover-prone label is fading. It will only take one bad outing for those question marks to come back with a vengeance but for now, he is the consensus M.O.P. frontrunner — just as he should have been in 2023.
Moose on the loose
Justin McInnis has been brilliant this season for B.C. and sits third in receiving yards across the league after this game. Still, it is difficult to conceive of how Hamilton managed to leave somebody who runs like a newborn ungulate so wide open time after time.
By the time the Lions had concluded their second drive, the six-foot-six Canadian target had already caught five passes for 81 yards and a touchdown — often with no defender within five yards or more. By the end of the first quarter, he was over the century mark. He then opened the second quarter with two more big catches and another major.
McInnis finished the contest with 10 receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns — the biggest game of his young career. The long-limbed galloper from Pierrefonds, Que. isn’t going to route anybody up like some of his teammates but he’s become one of the best in the league at settling into space and moving the chains. His massive frame also makes him a physical mismatch, which he demonstrated both by setting up a first-and-goal with Stavros Katsantonis on his back and shaking off pass interference from Destin Talbert to corral a badly underthrown touchdown pass from VA.
B.C.’s other top receiver, Alexander Hollins, had a solid night of his own, catching six passes for 116 yards. The majority of that came on a 69-yard touchdown where Adams found the 175-pound speedster free well behind coverage, allowing him to put strong-side linebacker Jonathan Moxey in a spin cycle to finish the score.
I’m not much for early season pace statistics but for those that are, Hollins remains on track to break Allen Pitts’ CFL single-season receiving yardage record. McInnis, meanwhile, could set a new mark for a Canadian if he keeps this up, though fellow countryman Tyson Philpot of the Alouettes sits squarely between the two Lions.
Sucking wind
The B.C. defence had a bit of an awkward evening, as they held Hamilton almost entirely in check with just 139 net yards and 11 points surrendered in the first half before fading in the second. With the result already feeling like a foregone conclusion, the Ticats were able to rack up 256 yards over the final two quarters and score 17 points.
The TSN broadcast may have dubbed this to be “yards after beatdown” but I’m not ready to dismiss them so flippantly. The offence and defence both seemed to take their foot off the gas simultaneously in the third quarter and the Ticats started to mount a comeback. In a league where no team is ever out of it, the defence had some holes exposed that others may exploit.
I can forgive the major to Kiondre Smith on the game’s final play because nobody who shoots finger guns while being blown out at home should ever be taken seriously. It was Hamilton’s two third-quarter drives, both of which lasted more than 10 plays, that raised my eyebrows. On a muggy night in Steeltown, the Lions started to get gassed as time of possession swung heavily in the home team’s favour.
James Butler got in a lot of work catching passes underneath as the Lions played conservatively in the secondary, racking up over 100 yards. Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 374 yards largely unadulterated after looking inept for the first quarter. It was the type of defensive game plan that only works if you go up by three scores early but we’ve seen B.C. throttle down too fast in the past. They must avoid the temptation to keep doing so whenever they jump in front.
Copy cats
B.C.’s first touchdown came from a recognizable source in an unusual way, as William Stanback went completely uncovered up the seam for a 45-yard touchdown catch. It was the running back’s longest reception since 2019 and there were a few tense seconds as the back floated in the air, wondering if the between-the-tackles bruiser was equipped to track the absolute gift. He was and remained active through the air all night, adding four more catches for 74 total yards.
I love the idea of getting Stanback more involved in the passing game, tearing a page out of the playbook from when James Butler was the team’s feature back. Now in Hamilton, the former Lion did plenty of that against his old club, as noted above, but the inspiration went two ways.
On the Ticats’ first touchdown, Milanovich sent Butler streaking 32 yards up the right sideline, with Ben Hladik trailing helplessly behind him. It came from a different route and alignment but the parallels were fun given how rare it is to see two ball carriers catch a deep touchdown in the same game.
Getting handsy
It’s not a statistic that has a lot of merit given that the Lions had the third-best pass defence in the league entering this week, but B.C. was dead-last in the CFL before tonight with just five pass knockdowns. Despite allowing Mitchell to rack up yards in the second half, the visitors more than doubled that mark with seven breakups in this game alone.
Leading the charge was Garry Peters, who got his hands on three passes — all in the first quarter. The first came on a big hit against Tim White on Hamilton’s opening series, which forced the Tabbies to punt from their end zone and set up B.C.’s offence beautifully. Christian Covington, Emmanuel Rugamba, Bo Lokombo and Ciante Evans all batted balls of their own.
For all the fingers on footballs that they were able to generate, B.C. ended the game without an interception, which was a travesty. Ben Hladik, who was playing one-handed with a cast over his injured thumb, should have had his second of the season in the second quarter but Peters was called for illegal contact. It was an extremely soft call by the official, as the replay showed only minimal hand-fighting, but B.C. couldn’t challenge and Hamilton added a field goal.
Did you miss me?
After going three games without surrendering a sack, B.C. gave up two on back-to-back plays to start the fourth quarter. On the first, defensive tackle Casey Sayles abused centre Tyler Packer on a push-pull move, while David Menard followed it up by beating veteran guard Sukh Chungh cleanly on a speed rush on the next snap.
Menard, who spent eight seasons with the Lions over two separate stints, was released by the team before the season to make room for Christian Covington. Given how average the homegrown NFL veteran has been through the first quarter of the year, I’m not entirely convinced it was the right move, though B.C. has at least been stouter against the run.
Right now, ProFootballFocus has the Lions ranked as the second-worst defensive line in the league and I struggle to disagree. Though they were credited with three sacks in this game, one of those came on a blitz from Bo Lokombo and the pressure was otherwise inconsistent. Except for one great rep from Canadian Josh Archibald, it was a very below-average night from the pass rush and neither Pete Robertson nor Sione Teuhema got home against Hamilton’s rookie tackles. That has to change if the Lions want to keep winning.
Born to run
When was the last time you saw the B.C. Lions finish out a victory by running the football? Well, it finally happened on Sunday.
William Stanback collected 82 yards on 14 carries on the ground and was exceptional on the team’s last drive, capping things with his second touchdown. Frankly, the team could have benefitted from feeding him a little earlier but he made the most of it whenever his number was called, grinding out the hard yardage to ice the clock.
This was exactly what the Lions were hoping to add when they picked up the 30-year-old power back in free agency. It bodes extremely well for their ability to protect large leads late going forward, something that caused more than a couple of heart attacks in 2023.
Not so scary
Okay, it’s finally time to talk about Terry.
Week in and week out, one response dominates the comments on my articles: “What about the return game?” In general, it seems that the Lions’ fanbase is underwhelmed by the production they are getting from Terry Williams and that’s not without cause. Entering this week, the 28-year-old sat ninth among qualifying returners with an 8.4-yard average on punts and sixth with 22.3 yards per kickoff.
Against a Ticats team that fired their special teams coordinator on Tuesday, Williams was merely adequate once again. He exceeded his season averages in both categories, getting 17 yards per punt and 23 per kickoff, but a couple of 25-yard gains came courtesy of punting miscues. He took exactly what was given and nothing more, while also failing to corral a bouncing ball that pinned his team deep in their end.
B.C.’s management doesn’t seem to have any concerns in this area because Williams consistently generates yardage. He sat fifth in the CFL for all-purpose yards entering this game and was near the top of the charts in 2023 as well, leading the league in kick return yardage by virtue of having more reps than any other player. What the Tennessee-Martin product lacks is a certain big play gear that fans expect from elite returners and its absence drags down his overall average.
Indeed, Williams has scored just twice in his career, with the only touchdown coming on his memorable missed field goal return that sparked a comeback against Ottawa last season. Missed kicks are something of his specialty, as the other points came off a missed extra point in the 2022 West Final. Even his star-making 341-yard outing earlier that same year against Winnipeg included 155 yards on three errant field goals and his only two “big play returns” of 2024 — defined as a run of over 30 yards on a punt or field goal, or over 40 yards on a kickoff — have come on a pair of shanked converts by Lirim Hajrullahu in Week 1.
Those are great splash plays to have in your arsenal but the opportunities to create them are few and far between. You need to hit the occasional home run on punt or kickoff returns, but the Lions seem to believe the ability to consistently bunt for singles makes Williams elite.
The reality is that he is a solid player, both reliable and competent, but not close to the top half of returners in the league. Nobody is giving up Javon Leake, DeVonte Dedmon, Janarion Grant, Mario Alford, or James Letcher Jr. for Williams, placing him at best sixth out of nine candidates. That may not necessarily be grounds for a change but B.C. can’t claim the return game as a strength so long as the status quo persists.
Fifty shades of gray
If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to watch a CFL game in black and white, you got a small taste of it on Sunday.
Sure, the field was still in technicolour and there were a few orange and yellow highlights on display, but this game had to be the first in CFL history where both teams were wearing gray as a primary colour. The hometown Ticats had on their steel-coloured ‘Made in the Hammer’ third jerseys while the Lions sported their road fog greys, making for a strange contrast of the world’s most boring shade.
Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of either team’s look and seeing them both simultaneously solidified my opinion. Sports jerseys should be colourful and vibrant, not muted and dull. The next time either team puts out a new kit, I hope it is something brighter.
Help is on the way
It didn’t help them in this game but the Lions got a huge boost this week with the return of several injured players to practice. All-star receiver Keon Hatcher, veteran halfback T.J. Lee, Canadian defensive tackle Nathan Cherry, and 2023 first-round draft pick Francis Bemiy Jr. were all full participants all week after beginning the year on the six-game injured list and were declared questionable for the game.
Players can now begin to practice with the team after four games on the injured list, which is why all four returned this week. The Lions have the luxury of bringing them back up to speed slowly before adding them to the game-day roster in Week 7. Still, this is tremendous news for the B.C. faithful, particularly because it means both Hatcher and Lee are well ahead of schedule after both tore their Achilles in the 2023 West Final.
At that time, it seemed like Labour Day would be the earliest we would see these two vitally important players back on the field — if ever in 2024. Now it appears the Lions will be whole much sooner than anticipated, although Week 5 was not without some attrition. Defensive tackles Josh Banks and Tibo Debaillie didn’t finish this game and neither did Canadian receiver Jevon Cottoy, putting their statuses up in the air.
Friends? We’re barely acquaintances
The Lions will head home this week and host the undefeated Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-0) on Saturday, July 13. It may be early in the season but the result of this matchup could have huge ramifications for the West Division standings, as the Riders look to prove they belong at the top now that Port Moody native Corey Mace is in charge.
Fortunately for B.C., Saskatchewan will still be without starting quarterback Trevor Harris, leaving backup Shea Patterson to make his second career start. The Michigan product may or may not be a familiar face to fans in Vancouver given that he spent three months in orange to begin his CFL career back in 2021 but never made it off the practice roster before being released. He later landed in Montreal and dressed for five games as the third-stringer because some dude named Vernon was hurt — not sure what happened to that guy.
The not-remotely-anticipated reunion will kick off at 4:00 p.m. PDT at BC Place.
