Fraudulent. That鈥檚 the word one long-time CFL executive used to describe the B.C. Lions last season.
I wouldn鈥檛 disagree. A team that roared out to a 5-1 start limped home with a 4-8 record to finish the season at 9-9.
So when people start talking about how great the 21-20 win against the Alouettes in Montreal was last Saturday, you have to take a step back and look at the entire body of work.
Yes, there were some good facets to the Lions performance but there are a lot of things that need to be cleaned up moving forward against the Edmonton Elks this Sunday in Alberta (4pm TSN, CKNW 730, Sheer E Punjab Radio 600).
First off there鈥檚 the penalties.
The Lions were least penalized team in the CFL through their first three games being flagged just 14 times for 118 yards. The last two weeks have been a different story. They took 14 penalties for 125 yards against Saskatchewan and then got dinged 11 times for 146 yards in Montreal.
It鈥檚 not only the frequency of the penalties but when the penalties have been occurring as the Lions have had two touchdowns taken off the board and had to settle for field goals both against Saskatchewan and Montreal.
鈥淚t's not sustainable for sure. That's one of the fastest ways to give the opponents first downs. Penalties on special teams give them field position. Pre-snap penalties on offence obviously hurt you. That's not winning football,鈥� Lions head coach Buck Pierce admitted when the subject was broached. "You talk about being clean. So it's an area of focus for us. It's something that we have to continue to communicate and inspect and to identify the individuals that are having issues with penalties and see how we can remedy that."
Turnovers have been another issue for the team as they go into the Edmonton game with a league-high 15. The closest team to the Leos is Winnipeg with eight while Saskatchewan has a CFL-low five.
Throw in some big plays given up on defence 鈥� and on some big plays missed on offence 鈥� and there is a lot of room for growth.
鈥淵ou always want to look at areas of improvement and that's the main focus. There are still some parts of our game that we need to continue to improve on where mistakes are still showing up. You look at the last three weeks, we鈥檝e had some missed assignments and a few busts here and there. We need to clean up our communication. We just need to get everybody back on the same page,鈥� said Pierce.
As we stated previously, not all is bad with this Lions team.
Perhaps the biggest positive Pierce sees is that his club continues to battle no matter what the circumstances.
鈥淕uys stepped up and made plays at critical times in Montreal. They鈥檙e a resilient group and they've been fighting every week. You just got to make sure you're able to overcome the mistakes you make in the game to put yourself in a position to win,鈥� stated Pierce
As this team tries to continually grow and hopefully peak when the time is right, there is one thing that Pierce鈥檚 team is focusing on.
鈥淚t's to improve steadily each week. We're sticking to our process of accountability and in the standard of what we expect. It's got to come from within. It can't just come from coaches. It has to come from the players too and they have to echo that message to their teammates and live by it,鈥� explained Pierce.
"Winning is hard. You don't just win on game day. You win every day. You win with your decisions that you make away from the football field. You win in meetings. That's what it's got to be about, and that's what I mean by the process. It鈥檚 not just the 60 minutes on the field where you go play and hopefully execute. It鈥檚 all the time leading up to the game and how you prepare. We have to stick to our process. We have to dial it up."
Given that mandate, hopefully this version of the Lions will get stronger as the season progresses.
At least it won鈥檛 be called fraudulent.
EXTRA POINTS:
* With injuries piling up on the offensive line, and in particular with Canadians, the Lions signed veteran free agent Hunter Steward. The 33-year-old played for the Elks last season but then went unsigned in free agency. It鈥檚 his second stint with B.C. having played here from 2014 through 2021. He supplies depth on an O-line that has seen Michael Couture (hand) join the likes of Tyler Packer (concussion), Dejon Allen (arm) and David Foucault (leg) on the injured list.
* B.C.鈥檚 Sean Whyte has an active streak of 22 consecutive field goals made. It's the second longest active streak behind Hamilton鈥檚 Marc Liegghio, who has hit 24 straight. According to CFL stats guru Steve Daniel, it鈥檚 the sixth streak of Whyte鈥檚 career of 22 or more consecutive field goals made.
* A win against Edmonton on Sunday will give the B.C. the season series. The Lions defeated the Elks 31-14 on June 7 in the season opener for both teams and will conclude their season series on Oct. 17 in Vancouver.
* The Lions have announced that the upper bowl will be open for the game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, July 19.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob 鈥渢he Moj鈥� Marjanovich writes about the B.C. sporting scene for Black Press Media. This column is brought to you by:
- The West Coast Auto Group. For the very best car buying experience 鈥� be sure to check out .
- Delaney鈥檚 OK Tire Langley and Aldergrove. The experts you can trust. 19863 Fraser Highway in Langley or 3063 275a Street in Aldergrove
