Jul
Lions dealt another blow
Courtesy Globe and Mail:
If the B.C. Lions problem in their 2009 season opener was rushing the quarterback, than Cameron Wake’s surprise appearance at practice yesterday would have been a cruel reminder of past success.
Wake, a defensive end who signed with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins this winter after two dominant CFL seasons, stopped by B.C.’s suburban practice facility in street clothes to visit with his old mates, saying that Vancouver was still a home away from home.
But it was the Saskatchewan Roughriders who looked as though they had several Cameron Wakes in uniform on Friday, sacking B.C. quarterback Buck Pierce nine times and pressuring the Lions into seven turnovers in a 28-24 victory at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
General manager and head coach Wally Buono said the defeat was “embarrassing and humiliating,” mostly because his revamped offence was impotent and because special teams, specifically the return game, were a disaster. Making matters worse, starting running back and chief return specialist Ian Smart is likely to miss B.C.’s home opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.
Smart watched practice yesterday from the sidelines as newcomer Tyler Ebell, a former Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts running back, took his place. Rookie Martell Mallett is expected to be the main ball-carrier on Friday at B.C. Place Stadium, while Ebell and receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen handle kick return duties.
Smart said his groin injury, which forced him from the game early in the third quarter, would be evaluated day-to-day and he was optimistic of a swift return. Buono said he was being “realistic” and that Ebell would dress Friday.
Ebell, 26, is a three-year CFL veteran who was cut by the Argonauts in training camp. He missed last season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, but led the Eskimos in rushing a year earlier, when his 650 yards propelled him to being named the team’s top rookie.
“I was the odd man out [in Toronto] and that’s fine,” Ebell said. “I’m happy to be here in B.C. and have this opportunity.”
In a busy off-season, the Lions re-engineered their offence to open the field for star slotback Geroy Simon, and stretch defences vertically by throwing deep. After one game, neither aim was achieved.
Simon caught just three balls for 14 yards and was a non-factor. Paris Jackson, who moved from wide receiver to slotback to help take attention away from Simon and improve his own production, had just four catches for 43 yards. Pierce’s longest completion was 29 yards.
“How do you get more catches?” Buono asked rhetorically. “You got to protect the quarterback and stay on the field.”
The pressure on Pierce came, in large part, because Saskatchewan’s innovative defensive alignments caught B.C. by surprise. But it also came because the rebuilt left side of B.C.’s offensive line, which lost tackle Rob Murphy to free agency and guard Kelly Bates to a trade, failed its first test.
Left guard Dean Valli missed practice yesterday with a toe injury and could be supplanted by veteran Bobby Singh, who was signed last week. B.C. also added import tackle Daren Heerspink yesterday, who should at least motivate starting left tackle Walter Stith to improve on his Week 1 performance.
“We’re not going to panic,” Buono said. “But if things need to be corrected, we’re going to correct them.”
On kick returns, the Lions were forced to scramble after Smart left the field. Rookie defensive back Darren Toney fumbled his first punt return, and let another bounce over his head, costing the team valuable field position in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Smart and Mallett also allowed a kick-off to go for a single point in the first quarter by not communicating.
B.C. blocked two Saskatchewan punts, but also had its own trouble when Paul McCallum fumbled a would-be punt that went for a ‘Riders touchdown.
The Tiger-Cats will come to town with two linebackers – Otis Floyd and Jamall Johnson – who started for B.C. last season.
Buono had been looking for extra help at linebacker, but said that he didn’t think free agents Reggie Hunt and JoJuan Armour would be happy covering kicks, and thus is no longer interested. Buono also said that he is trying to trade veteran receiver Cory Rodgers, who spent Week 1 on the inactive list.
