It was a lopsided rivalry the likes of which we’ve never seen — eight straight victories filled with blowouts and shutouts galore. But despite all the excellence of the last several years, the B.C. Lions’ run of dominance over the Edmonton Elks came to a crashing halt on Sunday night.
It didn’t matter who was at the helm of the Green and Gold offence as B.C.’s backup quarterback didn’t have what it takes to compensate for a defence that forgot their fundamentals, falling 33-16 to the former worst team in the league.
Here are my thoughts on the game.
Water off an Elks’ back
After going down early, the Elks were able to battle back and seize control of the game thanks to some truly atrocious tackling from the Lions’ defence. It wasn’t uncommon to see multiple bodies left in the wake of Edmonton’s ball carriers, not through some sort of superhuman effort or imposing physicality but because their opposition simply slid off with little attempt to wrap up.
The tone was set on the Green and Gold’s second offensive series when running back Javon Leake appeared to be bottled up on an inside hand-off, only to spin free and shed several defenders like a light jacket en route to a first down. Receiver Tevin Jones then caught a dump-off over the middle and split Gary Peters and Adrian Greene like dry firewood, fending off an equally pathetic arm tackle from Bo Lokombo for a huge gain. Leake got the ball again a play later, walking virtually untouched into the end zone.
Sadly, that wouldn’t be the last time the Lions were walked all over for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, backup running back Justin Rankin turned upfield on a checkdown and ran through the typically reliable T.J. Lee for his first career major. The veteran defensive back tried to catch the physical runner before the goal line, rather than sticking a shoulder in him and driving through the hit. He did manage to dislodge the football, but only after Rankin was alone in the end zone to recover it.
The final statistics speak for themselves. 97 yards on 21 carries for Leake and 77 yards on seven tries for Rankin, plus another 54 combined through the air — mostly after the catch. Tevin Jones caught six passes for 123 yards and had 35 yards worth of YAC.
Open-field tackling was once considered a strength of this defence, particularly from a hard-charging secondary that consistently rallied downhill. That has not been the case this year and yards after contact have been a quiet issue on several occasions. In Edmonton, it was a death sentence and it will have to be addressed.
Running out of the gate
It certainly wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard but offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic put together a solid game plan for his team and did a good job compensating for his backup quarterback. Namely, he emphasized doing the thing that he was criticized for ignoring a week ago in Winnipeg: running the football.
It was hard to miss that philosophical shift when B.C. opened the game with three consecutive running plays, the first of which went to fullback David Mackie — who ultimately capped the drive with a touchdown plunge. William Stanback put up 26 yards on three carries on that first series, while Jake Dolegala amassed 33 yards passing on a pair of short hooks turned upfield by Justin McInnis and a jet pass to Stanley Berryhill — basically an extension of the run game.
Stanback finished the game with 13 carries for 86 yards, including a 21-yarder early in the third quarter that briefly gave the team hope. Critics might argue that he should have gotten the ball even more given his success but considering the game situation and a number of other Leo mistakes that limited rushing opportunities, I felt the play-calling was sufficiently balanced.
Vertically challenged
With six-foot-seven Jake Dolegala getting his first start for the Lions in place of the injured Vernon Adams Jr., I had two significant concerns: sacks and turnovers. B.C.’s offensive line has struggled to keep pressure away from the much more nimble VA the last few weeks and Jake from State Farm was good for at least a pick a game with the Riders.
None of those problems manifested in this game and credit once again goes to Maksymic, who forced throws out of his quarterback’s hand fast to keep him upright and the ball out of harm’s way. When all was going right, Dolegala looked as comfortable as I’ve ever seen him and was sacked just once. However, he finished 14-of-23 for 146 yards through the air — a statline not good enough to win with in the CFL unless everything else goes right.
Of course, not every incompletion can be laid at the Central Connecticut product’s feet. Two blatant drops — one by Alexander Hollins on their second series and another by Berryhill in the fourth — forced kicking units onto the field instead of moving the chains and potentially leading to touchdowns. The trouble with running a high-efficiency offence is that you actually have to be highly efficient and the receivers cost their team more on those two plays than the small gains they would have likely generated.
In fairness, Dolegala got bailed out by a beautiful one-handed stab from Keon Hatcher on one off-target short throw but his problems mostly came when looking down the field. He seemed to think every receiver was as tall as he was, badly overthrowing Hatcher and Berryhill deep on shots that ended drives before sailing another well past both Hollins and Ayden Eberhardt to force a field goal. He did throw one nice deep shot to Hatcher late but the pass was broken up by Devodric Bynum.
B.C. had no passing plays over 30 yards in this game and a 26-yard catch from McInnis was Dolegala’s longest completion by a significant margin. While keeping the game plan conservative is the right strategy for controlling the giant passer’s darker angels, he’s going to have to dial in and hit a deep ball or two if the Lions are going to win with him under centre.
Covering double
On a night with few highlights, veteran American defensive back Ciante Evans made the best play by either team when he snagged a toe-tapping interception in the third quarter. The 31-year-old had Hergy Mayala blanketed in the end zone when McLeod Bethel-Thompson heaved one in their direction and Eugene Lewis peeled off his route underneath to play for the jump ball. That made it a rare two-on-one for the offence with the pass in the air — the complete opposite of double coverage — but Evans still hauled in the spectacular catch on the sideline.
Perhaps the big play was karma for another throw to the end zone that didn’t go so well for B.C. In his return from injury, Emmanuel Rugamba made a great pass breakup on Dillon Mitchell and seemed to kill an Elks’ drive, only to be called for pass interference. The penalty resulted in a touchdown plunge for Dakota Prukop.
Rick Campbell was probably right not to challenge the play, as the replay showed a slight jersey tug that would have made it tough to overturn. However, I don’t think that pull had any effect whatsoever on Mitchell’s ability to make the catch, as he still high-pointed it exactly where he needed to. It was Rugamba’s other hand ripping over the top a second later that forced the incompletion on what looked to me like excellent, if slightly physical, coverage.
Dropping like flies
The biggest storyline of this game was electric young Canadian quarterback Tre Ford, who looked exceptional before leaving the game late in the second quarter with an injury. The initial fear was that linebacker Ryder Varga’s shoulder delivered a glancing blow to the quarterback’s head while he scrambled but it was actually Sione Teuhema tracking him from behind that did the damage, leaving him favouring his ribs.
With all eyes on the recently benched McLeod Bethel-Thompson, it seemed like a bevy of injuries to the Lions’ defence were largely glossed over. Star Canadian middle linebacker Ben Hladik went down with a calf injury early and did not return. Neither did rookie safety Cristophe Beaulieu with an apparent ankle issue and weakside linebacker Bo Lokombo missed most of the second half. Boundary halfback T.J. Lee also missed a stretch.
The secondary was in constant re-shuffle mode and the linebacking corps struggled to fit up properly against the run without their leader, relying on second-year Canadian Ryder Varga, Global Maxime Rouyer, and American rookie Ace Eley. With the Lions having been incredibly lucky healthwise this season, it will be interesting to see whether this was a turning point for the worse.
Risky Rick
For the second week in a row, Rick Campbell turned down a chance at almost certain points in a close football game in favour of an unsuccessful third-down gamble.
The typically conservative coach opted for an onside field goal in the shutout loss to Winnipeg but kept his offence on the field on third-and-five in this one, eliciting head scratches all around. The decision came after Terry Williams’ best return of the year and a bonus penalty put the team in plus field position in the second quarter, only for Noah Curtis to blow past Sukh Chungh to kill momentum with a sack. Still, Campbell declined to send out Sean Whyte for a 47-yarder, instead letting Dolegala chuck a pass toward Keon Hatcher that landed in another ZIP code.
There was some speculation as to whether wind played a factor in the decision, though the broadcast analysis seemed inconclusive as to whether there was actually a breeze. Either way, the turnover on downs helped Edmonton to take the lead on their next drive and they never looked back.
I don’t know what Rick has been putting in his coffee the last few weeks but it might be time to go back to decaf. Sometimes being boring is best.
Flawed compromise
The narrative around the B.C. Lions’ defensive line heading into this season was that they sacrificed sacks for size, bulking up to better defend the run and win tight games. That philosophy hasn’t exactly looked brilliant to this point of the season but after allowing 200 rushing yards to an Elks team that didn’t even have Tre Ford on the field for half the night, it is a certified failure.
Yes, injuries at the second level created areas for the Elks to exploit with Leake and Rankin. However, Sione Teuhema was the only lineman to generate anything resembling penetration or disruption — as he has been all year — and the gaps that were opened weren’t exactly small either.
The bigger concern is the trade-off, as the Lions got just two sacks and none after the less-mobile Bethel-Thompson was inserted. Neither Elks’ QB threw an incompletion in the first half and MBT finished with just four. Every time I watch this team, I am stunned by how they entered the game tied for the league lead in sacks but never appear to generate pressure in critical moments to get the defence off the field.
Christian Covington, the team’s blue-chip offseason addition, finally generated a highlight play in this game by pushing the pocket in on Ford, but it was the only time I’ve noticed him all year. Good modern defences harass QBs from the interior, threaten off the edge, and create takeaways on the backend as a result. The Lions can do none of those things right now and if they can’t do the thing they are supposed to be good at either, what’s the damn point?
The Dark Knight crisis
Do you remember that scene in The Dark Knight Rises where Alfred goes to an Italian cafe and spots the supposedly dead Bruce Wayne enjoying a meal? The Lions need to send someone there for a cappuccino to see if they can spot Alexander Hollins and bring him back to Gotham.
The receiver known as “Batman” to his teammates had another inconsequential evening, hauling in two catches for 18 yards and letting a ball bounce off his chest early that would have been an easy first down. It’s just the latest example of a troubling trend for Hollins, who has made drops the only thing you remember about his performances for the last four weeks.
The 27-year-old had a piping-hot start to the year, catching 33 passes on 46 targets for 573 yards and five touchdowns through five games — on pace for over 2,000 yards on the year. In the last four games, he has recorded just 11 receptions on 27 targets for 151 yards and no scores — with 83 yards of that coming in a Week 6 game where he dropped several touchdowns.
Hollins had been anointed the CFL’s top receiver in the first month and now he’s just a picture on a missing person’s report. The Lions have to find ways to get him re-engaged, whether that is force-feeding him targets or giving him more of the easy touches on end-arounds that he used to excel at.
Inauspicious debut
Making your CFL debut is something you never forget but Julian Falaniko might want to while he spends the next few weeks waking up in a cold sweat after dreaming about punt return team.
The rookie defensive end stepped in for the injured Amir Siddiqi and was held off the stat sheet, save for one critical late-game mistake. After B.C.’s defence got a stop with 10 minutes remaining and down just six points, Falaniko was called for running into punter Jake Julien and gave his opponent a fresh set of downs. Edmonton took full advantage to march the field and score a touchdown, making it a two-score game.
The penalty wasn’t the reason the Lions lost this game but it was the final nail in the coffin. Here’s hoping the youngster gets a chance to redeem himself and wash that memory from our collective consciousness.
Wake up call
Here is the reality: the B.C. Lions aren’t good enough as a team right now to fulfill the promise of a home Grey Cup.
There is still plenty of time left to change that and the return of a healthy Vernon Adams Jr. could cover up a lot of flaws, so long as he plays up to potential. The defence needs to find an identity and the offence needs to get back to theirs but it has to happen quickly. There aren’t many gimme’s left on the schedule, especially when you are losing to the Elks, and all-important home-field advantage could slip away quickly as Saskatchewan gets healthy.
In many ways, the next game could determine who the Lions’ are at the mid-way point, as they host a 3-6 Winnipeg team that embarrassed them last time around. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PDT on Sunday, August 18.
